WD-40 Co (WDFC) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by Good day, and welcome to the WD-40 Company Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). I would now like to turn I would now like to turn the presentation over to the host for today's call, Ms. Wendy Kelley, Vice President of Stakeholder and Investor Engagement. Please proceed.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們支持美好的一天，歡迎來到 WD-40 公司 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）。現在我想把演示文稿轉交給今天電話會議的主持人，利益相關者和投資者參與副總裁 Wendy Kelley 女士。請繼續。

Thank you. Good afternoon, and thanks to everyone for joining us today. On our call today are WD-40 Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, Steve Brass; and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Sara Hyzer. In addition to the financial information presented on today's call, we encourage investors to review our earnings presentation, earnings press release and Form 10-Q for the period ending February 28, 2023.

謝謝。下午好，感謝大家今天加入我們。今天接聽我們電話的是 WD-40 公司總裁兼首席執行官 Steve Brass；副總裁兼首席財務官 Sara Hyzer。除了今天電話會議上提供的財務信息外，我們鼓勵投資者查看我們截至 2023 年 2 月 28 日期間的收益介紹、收益新聞稿和 10-Q 表。

These documents are available on our Investor Relations website at investor.wd40company.com. A replay and transcript of today's call will also be made available at that location shortly after this call. On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP measures. The descriptions and reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures are available in our SEC filings as well as our earnings presentation.

這些文件可在我們的投資者關係網站 investor.wd40company.com 上獲取。今天電話會議的重播和文字記錄也將在此次電話會議後不久在該地點提供。在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 措施。這些非 GAAP 措施的描述和對賬可在我們的 SEC 文件以及我們的收益報告中找到。

As a reminder, today's call includes forward-looking statements about our expectations for the company's future performance. Of course, actual results could differ materially. The company's expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith but there can be no assurance that they will be achieved or accomplished. Please refer to the risk factors detailed in our SEC filings for further discussion.

提醒一下，今天的電話會議包括有關我們對公司未來業績預期的前瞻性陳述。當然，實際結果可能大不相同。公司的期望、信念和預測是真誠表達的，但不能保證它們一定會實現或完成。請參閱我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中詳述的風險因素以進行進一步討論。

Finally, for anyone listening to a webcast replay or reviewing a written transcript of this call, please note that all information presented is current only as of today's date, April 6, 2023. The company disclaims any duty or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Steve.

最後，對於收聽網絡廣播重播或查看本次電話會議書面記錄的任何人，請注意，所提供的所有信息僅截至今天，即 2023 年 4 月 6 日。公司不承擔任何更新任何前瞻性信息的義務或義務信息，無論是作為新信息、未來事件或其他原因的結果。有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Wendy, and thanks to all of you for joining us this afternoon. Today, I'll begin by discussing our sales results for the second fiscal quarter of 2023. I will also provide you with an update on our must-win battles and the results from an internal diversity equity inclusion and belonging survey we recently completed. Sara will review some financial topics with you, including our updated guidance for FY '23.

謝謝 Wendy，也感謝大家今天下午加入我們。今天，我將首先討論我們 2023 年第二財季的銷售業績。我還將向您提供我們必勝之戰的最新情況，以及我們最近完成的內部多元化股權包容和歸屬感調查的結果。 Sara 將與您一起回顧一些財務主題，包括我們更新的 FY '23 指南。

As Wendy mentioned earlier, we have prepared a presentation covering our second quarter results and have posted it to our investor website. We invite you to refer to that document for the duration of our call. Let's discuss our sales results. Today, we reported net sales of $130.2 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, which was relatively constant compared to the same period of last year.

正如 Wendy 之前提到的，我們準備了一份介紹我們第二季度業績的演示文稿，並將其發佈到我們的投資者網站上。我們邀請您在通話期間參考該文件。讓我們討論一下我們的銷售結果。今天，我們報告了 2023 財年第二季度的淨銷售額為 1.302 億美元，與去年同期相比相對穩定。

There are several things obscuring top line performance this quarter. Sales volumes are down year-over-year as expected due to the severe disruptions caused by the price increases we put into place over the last 12 months. We estimate that the disruptions caused by price increases impacted our sales by about $15 million in the second quarter.

本季度有幾件事掩蓋了頂線表現。由於我們在過去 12 個月實施的價格上漲造成的嚴重中斷，銷量如預期的那樣同比下降。我們估計，價格上漲造成的中斷對我們第二季度的銷售額造成了約 1500 萬美元的影響。

Translation of our subsidiaries results into the U.S. dollar had an unfavorable impact of about $5.5 million on our consolidated net sales in the second quarter. On a constant currency basis, net sales would have increased by 4% year-over-year. Also impacting our top line results this quarter is our values guided decision to suspend sales of our products to our marketing distributor customers in Russia and Belarus, which negatively impacted our sales by just over $3 million. Now let's take a closer look at second quarter results in our trade blocks, starting with the Americas.

將我們子公司的業績換算成美元對我們第二季度的綜合淨銷售額產生了約 550 萬美元的不利影響。按固定匯率計算，淨銷售額同比增長 4%。同樣影響我們本季度收入的是我們以價值觀為導向的決定，即暫停向我們在俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的營銷分銷商客戶銷售我們的產品，這對我們的銷售額造成了超過 300 萬美元的負面影響。現在讓我們仔細看看我們貿易區的第二季度業績，從美洲開始。

Sales in the Americas, which includes the United States, Latin America and Canada, were up 15% in the second quarter to $62.9 million. This increase in sales was driven primarily by strong maintenance product sales in the United States, which increased 22% in the quarter. This was due to a trifecta of strong sales of WD-40 Multi-Use Product, WD-40 Specialist and 3-IN-ONE, which all performed well in the quarter.

包括美國、拉丁美洲和加拿大在內的美洲銷售額在第二季度增長了 15%，達到 6290 萬美元。銷售額的增長主要是由於美國維護產品銷售強勁，本季度增長了 22%。這是由於 WD-40 Multi-Use Product、WD-40 Specialist 和 3-IN-ONE 的三重銷售強勁，它們在本季度都表現良好。

The increased sales were driven by the favorable impact of price increases on revenues as well as increased production capacity and improved availability as our supply chain continues to adapt. These increases were somewhat offset by lower demand, which resulted in decreased sales volumes. Maintenance product sales in Canada increased 12% in the second quarter, primarily due to the favorable impact of price increases which were partially offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and weaker economic conditions.

隨著我們的供應鏈不斷適應，價格上漲對收入的有利影響以及生產能力的提高和可用性的提高推動了銷售額的增長。這些增長在一定程度上被需求下降所抵消，需求下降導致銷量下降。第二季度，加拿大的維修產品銷售額增長了 12%，這主要是由於價格上漲的有利影響被外匯匯率的不利變化和疲軟的經濟狀況部分抵消了。

Maintenance product sales in Latin America were up 3% in the second quarter when compared to last year, due to higher sales in Mexico. Maintenance product sales in Mexico increased 21% in the second quarter due to increased distribution, successful promotional programs and price increases as well as the favorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

與去年同期相比，第二季度拉丁美洲的維修產品銷售額增長了 3%，這是由於墨西哥的銷售額增加所致。由於分銷增加、成功的促銷計劃和價格上漲以及外幣匯率變化的有利影響，第二季度墨西哥的維修產品銷售額增長了 21%。

However, this growth in Mexico was significantly offset by decreased sales volumes in our Latin America marketing distributor markets due to weaker economic conditions and lower levels of demand. In total, our Americas segment made up 48% of our global business in the second quarter. Over the long term, we anticipate sales within this segment will grow between 5% to 8% annually.

然而，由於經濟狀況疲軟和需求水平較低，墨西哥的這一增長被我們拉丁美洲營銷分銷商市場的銷量下降所抵消。總的來說，我們的美洲部門在第二季度占我們全球業務的 48%。從長遠來看，我們預計該細分市場的銷售額每年將增長 5% 至 8%。

As a reminder, the compound annual growth rates associated with our trade blocks reflect our long-term growth expectations and may not always align with shorter-term trends and results. Now let's take a look at what happened in EMEA this quarter. Sales in EMEA, which includes Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India, were down 13% in the second quarter to $46.8 million. Currency fluctuations significantly impacted our sales results for EMEA trade block during the quarter.

提醒一下，與我們的貿易區相關的複合年增長率反映了我們的長期增長預期，可能並不總是與短期趨勢和結果保持一致。現在讓我們來看看本季度 EMEA 發生了什麼。包括歐洲、中東、非洲和印度在內的歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷售額在第二季度下降了 13%，至 4680 萬美元。貨幣波動顯著影響了本季度我們在 EMEA 貿易區的銷售業績。

Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of nearly $5 million on net sales for the second quarter. On a constant currency basis, sales would have decreased 4% compared to the second quarter of last year. The disruptions we've been experiencing in EMEA, primarily due to the pricing actions we've taken over the last 12 months, coupled with our loss of sales in Russia and Belarus have gotten us off to a rocky start.

外匯匯率的變化對第二季度的淨銷售額產生了近 500 萬美元的不利影響。按固定匯率計算，與去年第二季度相比，銷售額將下降 4%。我們在歐洲、中東和非洲地區經歷的中斷，主要是由於我們在過去 12 個月採取的定價行動，再加上我們在俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的銷售損失，使我們的開局並不順利。

However, we're expecting a strong comeback in EMEA in the second half of the fiscal year. As you know, we sell into EMEA through a combination of direct operations as well as through marketing distributors. Sales in our EMEA direct markets, which accounted for 74% of the region's sales in the second quarter declined by 2% during the quarter compared to last year. This decline was due to a lower level of customer orders and promotional programs as a result of pricing actions we took earlier this year and was partially offset by the favorable impact of price increases.

然而，我們預計歐洲、中東和非洲地區將在本財年下半年強勢回歸。如您所知，我們通過直接運營和營銷分銷商相結合的方式向 EMEA 銷售產品。我們 EMEA 直接市場的銷售額佔第二季度該地區銷售額的 74%，與去年同期相比下降了 2%。這一下降是由於我們今年早些時候採取的定價行動導致客戶訂單和促銷計划水平下降，部分被價格上漲的有利影響所抵消。

In addition, weaker market and economic conditions have led to reduced footfall in some retail channels. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates also had a negative impact on net sales for the direct markets in the second quarter. Sales in our EMEA distributor markets, which accounted for 26% of the region's sales in the second quarter decreased by 35% during the quarter compared to last year. More than half of this decline was due to our suspension of sales in Russia which resulted in decreased sales of approximately $3.3 million compared to last year.

此外，疲軟的市場和經濟狀況導致一些零售渠道的客流量減少。外匯匯率的變化也對第二季度直接市場的淨銷售額產生了負面影響。我們 EMEA 分銷商市場的銷售額佔第二季度該地區銷售額的 26%，與去年同期相比下降了 35%。這一下降的一半以上是由於我們暫停了在俄羅斯的銷售，這導致與去年相比銷售額減少了約 330 萬美元。

The remaining decline was linked to the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and lower sales volumes of maintenance products in most distributor markets but particularly in India and Turkey. In total, our EMEA segment made up 36% of our global business in the second quarter, over the long term, we anticipate sales within this segment will grow between 8% to 11% annually.

其餘下降與外匯匯率變化的影響以及大多數分銷商市場（尤其是印度和土耳其）維護產品銷量下降有關。總體而言，我們的 EMEA 部門在第二季度占我們全球業務的 36%，從長遠來看，我們預計該部門的銷售額每年將增長 8% 至 11%。

Now on to Asia Pacific. Sales in Asia Pacific, which includes Australia, China and other countries in the Asia region, were down 4% in the second quarter to $20.5 million. In Australia, sales were up 6% in the second quarter. This increase in sales was driven by strong sales of maintenance products, which were up 15% in the quarter, but this was partially offset by lower sales of home care and cleaning products.

現在轉向亞太地區。亞太地區（包括澳大利亞、中國和亞洲地區其他國家/地區）的銷售額在第二季度下降了 4%，至 2050 萬美元。在澳大利亞，第二季度銷售額增長了 6%。銷售額的增長是由維護產品的強勁銷售推動的，該產品在本季度增長了 15%，但這部分被家庭護理和清潔產品的銷售額下降所抵消。

Higher maintenance product sales were due to the favorable impact of price increases and successful promotional programs. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on sales in the second quarter. On a constant currency basis, sales for Australia would have increased by 10% compared to last year.

較高的維護產品銷售額是由於價格上漲和成功的促銷計劃的有利影響。外幣匯率的變化對二季度的銷售產生了不利影響。按固定匯率計算，澳大利亞的銷售額與去年相比增長了 10%。

In our Asia Pacific distributor markets, sales were down 11% compared to last year, primarily due to lower sales of WD-40 multi-use product driven by weaker market demand and economic conditions as well as the timing of customer orders. We put a price increase through in December of 2022, and many of our distributors purchased product in advance of those price increases.

在我們的亞太分銷商市場，銷售額與去年相比下降了 11%，這主要是由於 WD-40 多用途產品的銷售額因市場需求和經濟狀況疲軟以及客戶訂單時間的減少而下降。我們在 2022 年 12 月提價，我們的許多經銷商在提價之前購買了產品。

This decrease in sales was partially offset by the positive impact of price increases. In China, sales were relatively constant compared to last year. The favorable impact of price increases we've implemented were completely offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, sales would have increased by plus 7% compared to last year.

銷售額的下降部分被價格上漲的積極影響所抵消。在中國，銷售額與去年相比相對穩定。我們實施的價格上漲的有利影響完全被外幣匯率變化的不利影響所抵消。按固定匯率計算，銷售額與去年相比增長了 7%。

In total, our Asia Pacific segment made up 16% of our global business in the second quarter as the long term, we anticipate sales within this segment will grow between 10% to 13% annually. Our words and our prospects for the remainder of the fiscal year. We signaled to investors back in October that we expected revenue in the first 6 months of fiscal year '23 and to be disrupted by the implementation of the unprecedented price increases that we put in place over the last several months. I'm pleased to report that we have now worked through most of those disruptions.

總體而言，我們的亞太地區業務在第二季度占我們全球業務的 16%，從長遠來看，我們預計該業務部門的銷售額每年將增長 10% 至 13%。我們對本財政年度剩餘時間的言論和前景。我們在 10 月份向投資者發出信號，我們預計 23 財年前 6 個月的收入將受到我們在過去幾個月實施的前所未有的價格上漲的影響。我很高興地報告說，我們現在已經解決了大部分中斷問題。

And the prospects for revenue growth in the back half of the fiscal year are looking optimistic. Indeed, I'm happy to report that it's looking like the month of March, though not yet fully finalized from an accounting perspective, will be a new record sales month for the company. This includes a very strong recovery in EMEA. As we emerge from the price-related disruptions we've experienced despite slower economic activity in some regions, we expect stronger top and bottom line growth for the remainder of the fiscal year.

本財年下半年的收入增長前景看起來很樂觀。事實上，我很高興地報告說，雖然從會計角度來看尚未完全確定，但看起來 3 月份將成為公司新的創紀錄銷售月份。這包括歐洲、中東和非洲地區的強勁復甦。儘管某些地區的經濟活動放緩，但隨著我們擺脫與價格相關的干擾，我們預計本財年剩餘時間的收入和利潤增長將更加強勁。

Now let's talk about our growth aspirations in must-win battles. Globally, we're targeting revenue growth in the mid- to high single digits to deliver against our aspirational 2025 goal. The bulk of that growth is expected to come from sales of WD-40 multi-use products through geographic expansion, increased penetration and premiumization and supported by our continued investment in digital commerce.

現在讓我們談談我們在必勝之戰中的增長願望。在全球範圍內，我們的目標是實現中高個位數的收入增長，以實現我們 2025 年的宏偉目標。大部分增長預計將來自 WD-40 多用途產品的銷售，通過地域擴張、滲透率提高和高端化，以及我們對數字商務的持續投資的支持。

These areas are encapsulated by what we referred to as a must win battles and must win battles are the primary areas of action -- that will enable us to deliver against our revenue growth aspirations. These hyper-focused actions are the key drivers of revenue growth. Our largest growth opportunity in first must-win battle is a geographic expansion of the blue and yellow can with the little red top. So consolidated sales of our flagship brand are down 1% in the second quarter and 7% year-to-date, we have a high level of confidence that the WD-40 multi-use product will return to solid growth this fiscal year.

這些領域被我們稱為必須打贏的戰鬥所概括，必須打贏戰鬥是主要的行動領域——這將使我們能夠實現我們的收入增長願望。這些高度集中的行動是收入增長的主要驅動力。在第一場必勝之戰中，我們最大的增長機會是藍色和黃色罐頭與小紅頂的地理擴張。因此，我們旗艦品牌的綜合銷售額在第二季度下降了 1%，今年迄今下降了 7%，我們對 WD-40 多用途產品將在本財年恢復穩健增長充滿信心。

Despite this disappointing result, we've experienced significant growth in priority markets like the United States, Mexico and China, where sales of WD-40 multi-use products have increased year-to-date by 13%, 12% and 10%, respectively. We've identified 20 priority markets, which show the highest potential for growth and we will continue to prioritize investing in these priority markets to drive stronger growth into the future.

儘管結果令人失望，但我們在美國、墨西哥和中國等重點市場實現了顯著增長，這些市場 WD-40 多用途產品的銷售額今年迄今分別增長了 13%、12% 和 10%，分別。我們已經確定了 20 個顯示出最高增長潛力的優先市場，我們將繼續優先投資這些優先市場，以推動未來更強勁的增長。

Our second must-win battle is to grow WD-40 multi-use product to premiumization. We began our premiumization journey in 2005 and we came up with a solution to the biggest problem our end users were having with our product, they kept losing the little red straw.

我們的第二場必勝之戰是將 WD-40 多用途產品發展到高端化。我們在 2005 年開始了我們的高端化之旅，我們想出了一個解決方案來解決我們的最終用戶在使用我們的產品時遇到的最大問題，他們總是丟失紅色的小吸管。

Our Smart Straw delivery system solves that problem. And as a result, it delights our end users. In addition, premiumization creates opportunities for revenue growth and gross margin expansion. Year-to-date, sales of WD-40 Smart Straw and EZ-reach when combined, were $89.4 million, down 7%. However, we do expect to return to growth in the second half of the fiscal year. Sales of premiumized products represented 46% of global sales of WD-40 multiuse product year-to-date.

我們的智能吸管輸送系統解決了這個問題。因此，它讓我們的最終用戶感到高興。此外，高端化為收入增長和毛利率擴張創造了機會。年初至今，WD-40 Smart Straw 和 EZ-reach 的總銷售額為 8940 萬美元，下降了 7%。但是，我們確實希望在本財年下半年恢復增長。迄今為止，優質產品的銷售額佔 WD-40 多用途產品全球銷售額的 46%。

Our Smart Straw next generation delivery system is currently available in the Americas and is being rolled out globally this fiscal year. Smart Straw next generation supports our objective to grow premium delivery system penetration to greater than 60% of WD-40 multi-use product sales by 2025.

我們的 Smart Straw 下一代輸送系統目前在美洲有售，並將在本財年在全球推廣。下一代 Smart Straw 支持我們的目標，即到 2025 年將優質輸送系統的滲透率提高到 WD-40 多用途產品銷售額的 60% 以上。

Our third must-win battle is to grow WD-40 specialists. Sales of WD-40 specialists were up 5% in the second quarter and 13% year-to-date. The United States continues to see outstanding momentum with WD-40 specialist this year, reporting an increase of 39% year-to-date. We're pleased that WD-40 specialist is fully leveraging our most iconic asset, the blue and yellow brand with a little red top.

我們的第三場必勝之戰是培養 WD-40 專家。 WD-40 專家的銷售額在第二季度增長了 5%，今年迄今增長了 13%。美國今年繼續看到 WD-40 專家的強勁勢頭，據報告今年迄今增長了 39%。我們很高興 WD-40 specialist 充分利用了我們最具標誌性的資產，即帶有紅色頂蓋的藍色和黃色品牌。

We recently conducted some end user research and learned that DIY and Tradesman in the U.S., Germany and the U.K. who have used are significantly more likely to highly recommend our brand than those that have only used WD-40 Specialist multiuse product. I shared with you earlier this year that you will see an increased focus in 3 key areas: which I call my strategic priorities during my tenure.

我們最近進行了一些最終用戶研究，了解到在美國、德國和英國使用過 WD-40 Specialist 多用途產品的 DIY 和 Tradesman 強烈推薦我們品牌的可能性要高得多。我在今年早些時候與您分享過，您將看到 3 個關鍵領域的重點得到加強：我將其稱為我任期內的戰略重點。

The first of those areas is pivoting the company toward a more sustainable future. I'm excited to share with you today that we've launched a new WD-40 Specialist product developed with sustainability in mind. WD-40 Specialist Degreaser and cleaner EZ-Pods are a new degreasing formulation comprised of concentrated pods rather than the traditional liquid format.

這些領域中的第一個領域是將公司轉向更可持續的未來。今天我很高興與您分享，我們推出了一款以可持續發展為理念開發的全新 WD-40 Specialist 產品。 WD-40 專業脫脂劑和清潔劑 EZ-Pods 是一種新型脫脂配方，由濃縮豆莢組成，而不是傳統的液體形式。

EZ-Pods have no harmfull fumes and nonabrasive noncorrosive, leave no residue and don't require California Prop 65 warning. This innovative new product is one of the first products of its format. When paired with a reusable plastic bottle our EZ-Pods to reduce plastic waste. In addition, shipping the small pod through the liquid full containers, improved transportation and storage efficiency and costs.

EZ-Pods 沒有有害煙霧和非磨損性非腐蝕性，不會留下任何殘留物，並且不需要加州 65 號提案警告。這種創新的新產品是其格式的首批產品之一。當與可重複使用的塑料瓶搭配使用時，我們的 EZ-Pods 可減少塑料浪費。此外，通過裝滿液體的容器運輸小容器，提高了運輸和儲存效率和成本。

The product is currently available in the United States. Going forward, we expect WD-40 Specialist would be our vehicle to launch many more sustainable products in the future. With this in mind, we've recently added 2 new roles to the company, one in research and development and other in supply chain. Both these senior global functions will have a significant role to play in pivoting the company and its products towards a more sustainable future.

該產品目前在美國有售。展望未來，我們預計 WD-40 Specialist 將成為我們未來推出更多可持續產品的工具。考慮到這一點，我們最近為公司增加了 2 個新職位，一個在研發部門，另一個在供應鏈部門。這兩個高級全球職能部門都將在推動公司及其產品走向更可持續的未來方面發揮重要作用。

Our final investment battle is focused on driving digital commerce. E-commerce sales were up over 18% in the second quarter and 34% year-to-date. This was driven primarily by strong growth in the U.S. and China. We continue to believe we are well positioned to benefit from the significant shift to online behaviors in the post-pandemic world. Digital commerce is not just about driving online sales. It's about driving awareness of our brands and teaching end users how to use them.

我們最後的投資戰是專注於推動數字商務。第二季度電子商務銷售額增長了 18% 以上，今年迄今增長了 34%。這主要是由美國和中國的強勁增長推動的。我們仍然相信，我們有能力從大流行後世界向在線行為的重大轉變中受益。數字商務不僅僅是推動在線銷售。這是關於提高我們品牌的知名度並教導最終用戶如何使用它們。

We're focused on developing a data-driven marketing strategy that empowers us to engage directly with end users in meaningful ways online and expect e-commerce will be the fastest-growing retail sales channel globally for the duration of fiscal year 2023. Now I'd like to share a quick update on our Tribe W company. We call ourselves a Tribe WD-40 company.

我們專注於製定數據驅動的營銷策略，使我們能夠以有意義的方式在線直接與最終用戶互動，並預計電子商務將成為 2023 財年全球增長最快的零售銷售渠道。現在我我想分享我們 Tribe W 公司的快速更新。我們稱自己為 Tribe WD-40 公司。

We define tribe as a community of people with shared values and a shared purpose. At WD-40 company, we know our culture is our super power. One of the things I'm most proud of is our stable, highly engaged, highly committed tribe of employees. We recently conducted a check-in with our tribe, and our global employee engagement score continues to be industry-leading at 94%.

我們將部落定義為具有共同價值觀和共同目標的人們組成的社區。在 WD-40 公司，我們知道我們的文化是我們的超級力量。我最引以為豪的事情之一是我們穩定、高度敬業、高度忠誠的員工部落。我們最近對我們的部落進行了檢查，我們的全球員工敬業度得分繼續保持行業領先，達到 94%。

We benefit greatly from the discretionary effort that comes from that high level of engagement. In addition to regularly measuring employee engagement, we've begun to regularly measure diversity equity inclusion and belonging. I'm happy to share with you that 84% of our tribe mates believe our company actively promotes and values diversity.

我們從這種高度參與的自由裁量權中受益匪淺。除了定期衡量員工敬業度外，我們還開始定期衡量多元化股權包容性和歸屬感。我很高興與您分享，我們 84% 的部落成員認為我們公司積極促進和重視多樣性。

78% agree that WD-40 company is an equitable place to work. 89% believe our culture is an inclusive one and 92% of our tribe mates experience a sense of belonging here. We believe the belonging is a psychological feeling of acceptance, connectedness, security, support inclusion and identity.

78% 的人同意 WD-40 公司是一個公平的工作場所。 89% 的人認為我們的文化具有包容性，92% 的部落成員在這裡體驗到歸屬感。我們相信歸屬感是一種接受、聯繫、安全、支持包容和認同的心理感覺。

Although these results are positive, our work is not yet done. We're exploring new ways to create an even more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace for every tribe mate experience is a sense of belonging. One of the lessons we've gained from this work is that belonging exists when diversity, equity and inclusion behaviors exist. This mindset must begin at the very top of the organization and to achieve this senior management and Board level diversity are critical.

儘管這些結果是積極的，但我們的工作尚未完成。我們正在探索新的方法來創造一個更加多樣化、公平和包容的工作場所，讓每個部落成員的體驗都是一種歸屬感。我們從這項工作中獲得的教訓之一是，當存在多樣性、公平和包容行為時，歸屬感就存在。這種心態必須從組織的最高層開始，要實現這種高級管理層和董事會級別的多元化至關重要。

We have made fabulous progress in this area as reflected by the makeup of our Board of Directors and senior leadership team, which we refer to internally as a global strategic counsel. Our current Board reflects the most diverse board composition in our company's history. In addition to gender and ethnic diversity, our Board is comprised of diverse nationalities, cultural backgrounds and world views.

從我們的董事會和高級領導團隊的構成中可以看出，我們在這一領域取得了驚人的進展，我們在內部將其稱為全球戰略顧問。我們目前的董事會反映了我們公司歷史上最多元化的董事會組成。除了性別和種族多樣性外，我們的董事會還由不同國籍、文化背景和世界觀的人組成。

We are equally proud that our Global Strategic Counsel currently has 8 female members out of 16 management members and 6 nationalities are represented. We believe diversity leadership fuels diversity of thought, which leads to better strategic decision-making. Also supporting our tribe and another one of my strategic priorities is to leverage our capability as a global learning and teaching organization, and transform our company into a true global learning organization.

我們同樣感到自豪的是，我們的全球戰略顧問目前在 16 名管理成員中有 8 名女性成員，代表來自 6 個國家。我們相信多元化的領導力會促進思想的多元化，從而帶來更好的戰略決策。同樣支持我們的部落和我的另一個戰略重點是利用我們作為全球學習和教學組織的能力，並將我們的公司轉變為真正的全球學習組織。

We believe that learning is a foundation of our agility and sustainable growth into the future. In support of this initiative, we now have a Global Director of Learning who is 100% focused on enabling us to learn faster to grow faster by coordinating increasingly consistent global learning programs. The level of global interaction of our tribe-mates around key aspects of strategic execution is increasing exponentially and a mantra of learning faster to grow faster is permeating our language and actions. Now I'll turn the call over to Sara, who will provide you with a financial update on the business.

我們相信學習是我們未來敏捷和可持續發展的基礎。為了支持這一舉措，我們現在有一位全球學習總監，他 100% 專注於通過協調日益一致的全球學習計劃，使我們能夠更快地學習並更快地成長。我們部落成員圍繞戰略執行關鍵方面的全球互動水平呈指數級增長，更快學習才能更快成長的口號正在滲透到我們的語言和行動中。現在我將電話轉給 Sara，她將為您提供有關業務的最新財務信息。

Thanks, Steve. Thank you for that overview of our sales results. While our top line results this quarter were lighter than we had expected, we continue to believe that most of our top line growth this year will be weighted towards the second half of the year. Currency continues to be a headwind for us. On a constant currency basis, net sales would have increased 4% compared to the second quarter of last year.

謝謝，史蒂夫。感謝您對我們銷售結果的概述。雖然我們本季度的營收業績低於我們的預期，但我們仍然相信，我們今年的大部分營收增長將集中在下半年。貨幣繼續對我們不利。按固定匯率計算，與去年第二季度相比，淨銷售額將增長 4%。

Let's start with a discussion about our business model and the long-term targets we use to guide our business. We target our gross margin to be at or above 55% of net sales. Our goal is to drive our cost of doing business which is our total operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization, toward 30% of net sales over time. Finally, we target EBITDA to be at 25% over time.

讓我們從討論我們的商業模式和我們用來指導我們業務的長期目標開始。我們的目標是毛利率達到或超過淨銷售額的 55%。我們的目標是推動我們的經營成本，即我們的總運營費用，不包括折舊和攤銷，隨著時間的推移，達到淨銷售額的 30%。最後，我們的目標是 EBITDA 隨著時間的推移達到 25%。

The model has been under pressure lately due to the inflationary environment we continue to operate in. The first phase of our margin restoration plan, which was driven by tactical price increases is working. We saw 860 basis points of lift due to price increases last quarter and 910 basis points this quarter.

由於我們繼續經營的通貨膨脹環境，該模型最近一直處於壓力之下。我們的保證金恢復計劃的第一階段是由戰術性價格上漲驅動的，該計劃正在發揮作用。由於上個季度的價格上漲和本季度的 910 個基點，我們看到了 860 個基點的提升。

Last quarter, I shared with you that we believe we would continue to see sequential margin improvement coming into the second quarter. Our gross margin declined slightly from the first quarter by 60 basis points, which is a disappointment but progress is seldom linear, and many factors impact gross margin changes quarter-to-quarter. We still believe our full year gross margin will be above 51% but have narrowed the top end of the range down to 52%.

上個季度，我與您分享，我們相信我們將繼續看到第二季度的連續利潤率改善。我們的毛利率比第一季度略微下降了 60 個基點，這令人失望，但進展很少是線性的，而且許多因素都會影響毛利率的季度變化。我們仍然相信我們的全年毛利率將高於 51%，但已將該範圍的上限收窄至 52%。

We know we still have a lot of work to do to return our margins to our targeted levels. The good news is we are making fantastic progress on gross margin in both our Asia Pacific and EMEA trading blocks. Unfortunately, we are not seeing as much progress as we had expected in the Americas where our inventory levels have been the highest, and it is taking longer to work through the higher cost inventory levels than previously expected.

我們知道，要將利潤率恢復到目標水平，我們還有很多工作要做。好消息是，我們在亞太地區和 EMEA 交易板塊的毛利率方面都取得了驚人的進步。不幸的是，在我們的庫存水平最高的美洲，我們並沒有看到我們預期的那麼多進展，而且解決更高成本庫存水平的時間比之前預期的要長。

As sales volumes improve and we continue to work our way through the inventory that remains on our balance sheet, we will realize benefits of both price increases and lower commodity costs, which we expect will positively impact our gross margin. Our gross margin target of 55% is an important component of our business model. And Steve and I remain committed to restoring gross margin to our target of 55%.

隨著銷量的增加以及我們繼續努力解決資產負債表上剩餘的庫存，我們將實現價格上漲和商品成本降低的好處，我們預計這將對我們的毛利率產生積極影響。我們 55% 的毛利率目標是我們商業模式的重要組成部分。史蒂夫和我仍然致力於將毛利率恢復到我們 55% 的目標。

Let's take a closer look at gross margin this quarter as compared to the second quarter of last year. In the second quarter, our gross margin was 50.8% compared to 50.4% last year. This represents an improvement of 40 basis points year-over-year. Price increases, which have been implemented across all markets and geographies, positively impacted our gross margin by 910 basis points this quarter.

讓我們仔細看看本季度與去年第二季度相比的毛利率。第二季度，我們的毛利率為 50.8%，而去年為 50.4%。這表示同比提高了 40 個基點。價格上漲已在所有市場和地區實施，本季度對我們的毛利率產生了 910 個基點的積極影響。

I continue to be very pleased with the positive impact our pricing actions have had on our gross margin. While changes in foreign currency exchange rates are a headwind to the business overall, it did positively impact gross margin by 90 basis points this quarter compared to the prior year. This impact is due to fluctuations in exchange rates for the euro against the pound sterling in our EMEA segment.

我仍然對我們的定價行動對我們的毛利率產生的積極影響感到非常高興。雖然外幣匯率的變化對整體業務不利，但它確實對本季度的毛利率產生了積極影響，與去年同期相比提高了 90 個基點。這種影響是由於我們歐洲、中東和非洲地區歐元兌英鎊匯率的波動。

The euro strengthened against the pound sterling, resulting in a favorable foreign currency transaction impact. These positive impacts to gross margin were mostly offset by changes in major input costs, which includes specialty chemicals and aerosol can costs. And these costs when combined, negatively impacted our gross margin by 810 basis points. Higher costs associated with specialty chemical costs negatively impacted our margin by 410 basis points, and the remaining 400 basis points came from higher costs associated with aerosol cans.

歐元兌英鎊走強，對外匯交易產生有利影響。這些對毛利率的積極影響大部分被主要投入成本的變化所抵消，其中包括特種化學品和氣霧罐成本。這些成本加在一起，對我們的毛利率產生了 810 個基點的負面影響。與特種化學品成本相關的較高成本對我們的利潤率產生了 410 個基點的負面影響，其餘 400 個基點來自與氣霧罐相關的較高成本。

Raw material costs for both steel and tin plate were at historic highs when we source them. In addition, in EMEA, higher energy and labor costs continue to negatively impact the cost of aerosol cans. Gross margin was also negatively impacted by 90 basis points from higher filling fees paid to our third-party contract manufacturers, primarily in the Americas.

當我們採購時，鋼材和鍍錫板的原材料成本均處於歷史高位。此外，在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，更高的能源和勞動力成本繼續對氣霧罐的成本產生負面影響。毛利率也受到 90 個基點的負面影響，原因是支付給我們的第三方合同製造商的灌裝費用增加，主要是在美洲。

We are beginning to see input costs stabilize and we are hopeful that this trend will persist, but it continues to be a dynamic environment. We remain confident that our plans to rebuild gross margin, coupled with the advancement of our gross margin accretive must win battles will enable us to deliver on our long-term goals.

我們開始看到投入成本趨於穩定，我們希望這種趨勢能夠持續下去，但它仍然是一個動態環境。我們仍然相信，我們重建毛利率的計劃，加上我們毛利率增長的進步，必須贏得戰鬥，這將使我們能夠實現我們的長期目標。

It will still take some time, but we will continue to take the necessary actions to restore our gross margin to 55% or higher. That completes the gross margin discussion. Now on to the 30, the cost of doing business. In the second quarter, our cost of doing business was 33% compared to 30% last year, but it did improve from 36% in the first quarter as revenues improved, and we continue to manage our expenses. The cost of doing business is primarily comprised of 3 areas: investments in the tribe, investments in brand building and freight expense to get our products to our customers. This quarter, our cost of doing business increased by $3.3 million or 8% due to higher employee-related expenses and increased travel and median expenses compared to the prior year second quarter.

這仍然需要一些時間，但我們將繼續採取必要的行動，將我們的毛利率恢復到 55% 或更高。這就完成了毛利率的討論。現在到了 30，做生意的成本。第二季度，我們的經營成本為 33%，而去年為 30%，但隨著收入的增加，它確實比第一季度的 36% 有所改善，並且我們繼續管理我們的費用。開展業務的成本主要由 3 個方面組成：部落投資、品牌建設投資和將我們的產品送到客戶手中的運費。本季度，我們的經營成本增加了 330 萬美元或 8%，原因是與去年第二季度相比，員工相關費用增加，差旅費用和中位數費用增加。

Although our cost of doing business increased, our cost of doing business as a percentage of sales was impacted more significantly due to the lack of revenue growth this quarter compared to the prior year second quarter. This brings us to EBITDA, the last of the 55/30/25 measures. EBITDA was 19% of net sales this quarter, which is down from 21% compared to last year, but an improvement from 17% in the first quarter.

儘管我們的經營成本有所增加，但由於與去年第二季度相比，本季度收入增長乏力，我們的經營成本佔銷售額的百分比受到的影響更大。這將我們帶到 EBITDA，這是 55/30/25 措施中的最後一個。本季度 EBITDA 占淨銷售額的 19%，低於去年的 21%，但比第一季度的 17% 有所改善。

EBITDA has been under pressure due to the current inflationary environment. Prior to fiscal year 2022, we have consistently delivered EBITDA of between 20% and 22%. My first priority is to get us back above 20% as we continue to focus on rebuilding our gross margins and look for sales volumes to recover post price increases. Once we are consistently back at our historic 20% to 22% level, then we will look to leverage the business over the long term towards our 25% aspirational target.

由於當前的通脹環境，EBITDA 一直面臨壓力。在 2022 財年之前，我們的 EBITDA 一直保持在 20% 到 22% 之間。我的首要任務是讓我們回到 20% 以上，因為我們將繼續專注於重建我們的毛利率並尋找銷量以恢復價格上漲後的增長。一旦我們始終回到我們歷史上 20% 到 22% 的水平，那麼我們將尋求長期利用業務來實現我們 25% 的理想目標。

That completes the discussion on our business model. Now let's discuss some items that fall below the EBITDA line. Net income for the second quarter was $16.5 million versus $19.5 million in the prior year reflecting a decrease of 15%. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates had an unfavorable impact on net income. On a constant currency basis, net income would have declined 10% compared to the second quarter of last year.

關於我們的商業模式的討論到此結束。現在讓我們討論一些低於 EBITDA 線的項目。第二季度的淨收入為 1650 萬美元，而去年同期為 1950 萬美元，下降了 15%。外幣匯率變動對淨利潤產生不利影響。按固定匯率計算，與去年第二季度相比，淨收入將下降 10%。

Diluted earnings per common share for the quarter were $1.21 compared to $1.41 for the same period last year. Now a word on our capital allocation strategy. Our capital allocation strategy includes a comprehensive approach to balance investing in long-term growth and providing strong returns for our stockholders. In addition to investing for future growth, we also focus on returning capital to our stockholders.

本季度每股普通股稀釋收益為 1.21 美元，而去年同期為 1.41 美元。現在談談我們的資本配置策略。我們的資本配置策略包括一種全面的方法來平衡投資於長期增長和為我們的股東提供豐厚的回報。除了為未來增長進行投資外，我們還專注於向股東返還資本。

Historically, our business model has been asset-light, which has typically require low levels of capital investment, roughly between 1% and 2% of sales. As we have previously disclosed, in fiscal year 2023, we expect to invest about $9 million in capital projects. Excess capital generated by the business is then allocated to the highest return alternatives.

從歷史上看，我們的業務模式一直是輕資產，這通常需要低水平的資本投資，大約佔銷售額的 1% 到 2%。正如我們之前披露的那樣，在 2023 財年，我們預計將在資本項目上投資約 900 萬美元。然後將企業產生的多餘資本分配給回報最高的替代方案。

Annual dividends will continue to be targeted at greater than 50% of earnings. On March 21, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.83 per share. I indicated last quarter that we may elect to slow down our stock purchases under our current share buyback plan and utilize that cash to repay a portion of our current debt during the remainder of this fiscal year.

年度股息將繼續以超過收益的 50% 為目標。 3 月 21 日，我們的董事會宣布派發每股 0.83 美元的季度現金股息。我在上個季度表示，我們可能會選擇根據當前的股票回購計劃放慢股票購買速度，並在本財年剩餘時間內利用這筆現金償還部分當前債務。

During the second quarter, we repurchased approximately 9,000 shares of our stock at a total cost of approximately $1.6 million under the plan. Now let's chat about our inventory. Inventory levels continue to have our attention. For the duration of the pandemic, we have been intentionally building up certain raw material components and finished goods, particularly in the United States in order to be very agile and ensure adequate supply of our products. Disruptions experienced due to pandemic-related conditions required us to expand our Aerosol filler network.

在第二季度，我們根據計劃以大約 160 萬美元的總成本回購了大約 9,000 股股票。現在讓我們談談我們的庫存。庫存水平繼續引起我們的關注。在大流行期間，我們一直在有意增加某些原材料組件和成品，特別是在美國，以便非常靈活並確保我們產品的充足供應。由於與流行病相關的情況而經歷的中斷要求我們擴大我們的氣霧劑灌裝網絡。

And as a direct result of these choices, we have experienced increases in the capacity and flexibility of our supply chain. This has enabled us to better meet market demand for our products. We believe this was a good use of our working capital. With most of that disruption behind us, we believe inventory levels peaked in the first quarter of this year and are now heading in the right direction.

作為這些選擇的直接結果，我們的供應鏈能力和靈活性都得到了提升。這使我們能夠更好地滿足市場對我們產品的需求。我們相信這是對我們營運資金的良好利用。隨著大部分中斷已經過去，我們認為庫存水平在今年第一季度達到頂峰，現在正朝著正確的方向發展。

Our inventory levels have gone from approximately $119 million at the end of the first quarter to $109 million at the end of the second quarter, which is a reduction of almost 10%. We anticipate our inventory levels will continue to decline for the rest of fiscal year 2023. I do not believe that we will be at pre-COVID inventory levels anytime soon as the environment . Today remains dynamic and requires us to carry higher levels of inventory than we have historically.

我們的庫存水平從第一季度末的約 1.19 億美元增加到第二季度末的 1.09 億美元，減少了近 10%。我們預計我們的庫存水平將在 2023 財年剩餘時間繼續下降。我認為我們不會隨著環境的變化而很快達到 COVID 之前的庫存水平。今天仍然充滿活力，要求我們擁有比以往更高水平的庫存。

So with that, let's turn to guidance. As Steve indicated earlier, we expect sales volume performance to improve in the second half of fiscal year 2023 as price-related disruptions abate. We expect strong sales in the remaining 2 quarters of fiscal year 2023, but the recovery of our sales volumes impacted by the disruptions caused by our pricing actions has been slower than we originally anticipated, and we no longer believe that we will fully recover those losses in the back half of this year.

因此，讓我們轉向指導。正如史蒂夫早些時候指出的那樣，隨著與價格相關的干擾減弱，我們預計 2023 財年下半年的銷量表現將有所改善。我們預計 2023 財年剩餘的兩個季度銷售強勁，但受定價行動中斷影響的銷量恢復比我們最初預期的要慢，我們不再相信我們會完全彌補這些損失在今年下半年。

In addition, interest rates have continued to rise, which is negatively impacting our results. Accordingly, we have updated our fiscal year 2023 guidance. We expect assuming foreign currency exchange rates remain close to current levels, Net sales growth is projected to be between 3.5% and 7.5%, with net sales between $535 million and $560 million. Gross margin for the full year is expected to be between 51% and 52%.

此外，利率持續上升，這對我們的業績產生了負面影響。因此，我們更新了 2023 財年指南。我們預計，假設外幣匯率仍接近當前水平，淨銷售額增長預計在 3.5% 至 7.5% 之間，淨銷售額在 5.35 億美元至 5.6 億美元之間。全年毛利率預計在51%至52%之間。

Advertising and promotion investment is expected to be between 5% and 5.5% of net sales. The provision for income tax is expected to be around 21%. Net income is projected to be between $64.5 million and $68.5 million. And diluted earnings per share is expected to be between $4.80 and $5 based on an estimated 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

廣告和促銷投資預計將占淨銷售額的 5% 至 5.5%。預計所得稅撥備約為21%。淨收入預計在 6450 萬美元至 6850 萬美元之間。根據估計的 1360 萬股加權平均流通股計算，每股攤薄收益預計在 4.80 美元至 5 美元之間。

Our projections for fiscal year 2023 reflect fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates. Without those currency headwinds, our sales growth projections would have been between 6.5% and 11.5% of net sales. We also want to remind everyone that there are dynamics outside our control that may impact our fiscal year 2023 results, unanticipated inflationary headwinds and other unforeseen events. This guidance does not include any future acquisitions or divestitures. That completes the financial overview. Now back to you, Steve.

我們對 2023 財年的預測反映了波動的外匯匯率。如果沒有這些貨幣逆風，我們的銷售增長預測將在淨銷售額的 6.5% 到 11.5% 之間。我們還想提醒大家，我們無法控制的動態因素可能會影響我們 2023 財年的業績、意外的通脹逆風和其他不可預見的事件。本指南不包括任何未來的收購或資產剝離。這完成了財務概覽。現在回到你身邊，史蒂夫。

In summary, what did you hear from us on this call? You heard that foreign currency exchange headwinds continue to negatively impact sales results and in constant currency sales grew 4% in the second quarter.

總之，您在這次電話會議上從我們這裡聽到了什麼？你聽說外匯逆風繼續對銷售業績產生負面影響，第二季度銷售額按固定匯率計算增長了 4%。

You heard that we've experienced solid sales of WD-40 Multi-Use Product in many priority markets year-to-date. You heard that sales of WD-40 Specialist were up 13% year-to-date. You heard that we continue to make outstanding progress in digital and e-commerce and that our e-commerce sales have grown 34% year-to-date. You heard that 84% of our tribe mates believe our company actively promotes and values diversity, 78% agreed that WD-40 Company is an equitable place to work, 89% believe our culture is an inclusive one and 92% of our tribe mates experience a sense of belonging here.

您聽說我們今年迄今在許多重點市場的 WD-40 多用途產品銷售穩健。您聽說 WD-40 Specialist 的銷售額今年迄今增長了 13%。你聽說我們在數字和電子商務方面繼續取得顯著進步，我們的電子商務銷售額今年迄今增長了 34%。您聽說我們 84% 的部落成員認為我們公司積極促進和重視多樣性，78% 的人同意 WD-40 公司是一個公平的工作場所，89% 的人認為我們的文化具有包容性，92% 的部落成員體驗對這裡有歸屬感。

You heard that although we continue to experience pressure on gross margin, we're making progress in our margin restoration plan and remain committed to restoring margins to our target of 55% plus. You heard that we continue to return capital to investors through regular dividends. You heard that it's looking like the month of March, though not yet fully finalized from an accounting perspective, will be a new record sales month for the company.

您聽說，儘管我們繼續承受毛利率壓力，但我們的利潤率恢復計劃正在取得進展，並將繼續致力於將利潤率恢復到 55% 以上的目標。你聽說我們繼續通過定期股息向投資者返還資本。您聽說 3 月份雖然從會計角度尚未完全確定，但將成為公司創紀錄的新銷售月份。

And you heard that for the remainder of the year, we expect strong top and bottom line growth. Sales growth in constant currency is expected to be between 6.5% and 11.5%. In closing today, I'd like to share with you a quote from Buzz Aldrin. Keep in mind that progress is not always linear. It takes constant course correcting and often a lot zigzagging. Thank you for joining our call today. We would now be pleased to take your questions.

你聽說在今年餘下的時間裡，我們預計收入和利潤將強勁增長。按固定匯率計算的銷售額增長預計在 6.5% 至 11.5% 之間。今天結束時，我想與大家分享 Buzz Aldrin 的一句話。請記住，進步並不總是線性的。它需要不斷地修正路線，而且通常會曲折很多。感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。我們現在很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Daniel Rizzo with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Daniel Rizzo 與 Jefferies 的合作。

If we just think about inventory for a second. I guess how should we think about inventory turnover for -- I guess, for 2023 and over the longer term. What's kind of the goal versus where we kind of are now?

如果我們只考慮一下庫存。我想我們應該如何考慮 2023 年及更長期的庫存周轉率。與我們現在所處的位置相比，目標是什麼樣的？

Daniel, good to hear from you. This is Sara. So inventory is starting to turn, which we're very pleased to see. I think we had anticipated it starting to turn this quarter, and we do expect it to continue to turn towards the back half of the year in the right direction. We've always targeted close to around 3 months of inventory pre-COVID.

丹尼爾，很高興收到你的來信。這是薩拉。所以庫存開始轉向，我們很高興看到這一點。我認為我們已經預料到它會在本季度開始轉變，我們確實預計它會在今年下半年繼續朝著正確的方向轉變。在 COVID 之前，我們的目標一直是接近 3 個月左右的庫存。

The reality is, I think we're well north of -- it is dependent by region. So certain regions are closer to the 3 months. And in the Americas, we are well beyond the 3 months. I think it's 6 to 9 months depending on product lines. So we are well north of our historical targets. We are working back to those. And I don't think we'll get there before the end of the year, but we are trending in the right direction.

現實是，我認為我們在北方——它取決於地區。所以某些地區更接近 3 個月。而在美洲，我們遠遠超過了 3 個月。我認為這是 6 到 9 個月，具體取決於產品線。所以我們遠遠超出了我們的歷史目標。我們正在努力解決這些問題。我不認為我們會在今年年底之前到達那裡，但我們正朝著正確的方向發展。

Is there something about the Americas that makes it, I guess, tougher logistically than the other regions? I don't know if it's just your -- go ahead.

我想，美洲有什麼地方比其他地區在後勤方面更嚴格嗎？我不知道這是否只是你的 - 繼續。

Yes. No. So most of it comes to just the supply chain recovery efforts that the that we put in place last year and the expansion of the filler network. So any time we're expanding that filler network, you want to make sure you have enough inventory on hand, and with just the difficulty in getting the right components in place and making sure we have the right raw materials and components to take advantage of line time when it was becoming available, we did intentionally build up that inventory to both support the Americas in the supply chain recovery efforts last year. So that was intentional.

是的。不，所以大部分只是我們去年進行的供應鏈恢復工作和填料網絡的擴展。因此，無論何時我們擴展該填料網絡，您都希望確保手頭有足夠的庫存，並且很難將正確的組件到位並確保我們有正確的原材料和組件來利用當它可用時，我們確實有意增加了庫存，以支持美洲去年的供應鏈恢復工作。所以這是故意的。

Okay. And then it seems that almost all of the volume or the price hikes that caused some volume declines was in Europe, but the other regions were kind of okay. Or am I not thinking about that right? And if I am thinking about it right, why is that, I guess? Why would (inaudible) curve there as opposed to the Americas or APAC?

好的。然後似乎幾乎所有導致銷量下降的銷量或價格上漲都在歐洲，但其他地區還不錯。還是我沒有考慮到這一點？如果我的想法是正確的，我猜這是為什麼呢？為什麼（聽不清）會在那裡彎曲而不是美洲或亞太地區？

Yes. So Dan, it's Steve. So in terms of volume, the volume versus price situation, so it has been improving. So we started the year with a kind of a loss of volume. If you look back to September, we were at like 23% volume loss overall. And we've recovered to about 17% by the end of February. It's linked to the price increase timing of the execution of the price increases.

是的。丹，是史蒂夫。所以在量方面，量價比的情況，所以一直在改善。因此，我們以一種銷量下降的方式開始了這一年。如果回顧 9 月份，我們的銷量總體下降了 23%。到 2 月底，我們已經恢復到 17% 左右。它與執行價格上漲的價格上漲時間有關。

So the Americas having gone first in the third quarter of last fiscal year, they've been the first to drive improved volume. So you can see that pretty clearly in the mix. Americas volumes have recovered quickest, EMEA has obviously got the loss of the Russian business still in there. Recall that the Russian business is about 7% or 8% of EMEA volume. So that's why EMEA volumes look higher. And then we did indicate in our comments that EMEA has been recovering and in March had a very, very strong recovery. So we do see that turning around quite quickly now.

因此，美洲在上一財年的第三季度取得了領先，他們率先推動了銷量的增長。所以你可以在混音中非常清楚地看到這一點。美洲銷量恢復得最快，歐洲、中東和非洲顯然已經失去了俄羅斯業務。回想一下，俄羅斯業務約佔 EMEA 業務量的 7% 或 8%。這就是為什麼 EMEA 銷量看起來更高的原因。然後我們確實在我們的評論中表示 EMEA 一直在復蘇，並且在 3 月份有非常非常強勁的複蘇。所以我們現在確實看到這種轉變很快。

Your next question comes from the line of Linda Bolton-Weiser with D.A. Davidson.

你的下一個問題來自 Linda Bolton-Weiser 和 D.A.戴維森。

Yes. So another question I have on the volume versus price. And I think you disclosed in the 10-Q last quarter, what that was for the full quarter globally. Can you just give it to us for the full quarter globally what the breakdown volume versus price was?

是的。所以我有另一個關於數量與價格的問題。我想你在上個季度的 10-Q 中披露了全球整個季度的情況。您能否在全球範圍內向我們提供整個季度的細分數量與價格的關係？

So that's the total (inaudible) down there.

這就是下面的總數（聽不清）。

Yes, Linda, so we didn't have that in the 10-Q when it comes out. So the increase -- year-to-date increase in selling price has been $50 million. And then the total decrease in volume has been -- so we've got $8 million from Russia and all of the markets of $36 million. And then you obviously have $15 million of currency impact as well.

是的，琳達，所以我們在 10-Q 發佈時沒有它。因此，今年迄今為止的銷售價格上漲了 5000 萬美元。然後總銷量下降了——所以我們從俄羅斯和所有 3600 萬美元的市場獲得了 800 萬美元。然後你顯然也有 1500 萬美元的貨幣影響。

Okay. And -- so maybe you could just give us like a better number. Like you said volume by the end of February was down 17%. But what does that look like in the U.S. or in the Americas? Because I think you said last quarter in U.S. is down 7% or something. So like can you just kind of tell us how the U.S. or Americas compares to the global volume?

好的。而且 - 所以也許你可以給我們一個更好的數字。就像你說的那樣，到 2 月底，銷量下降了 17%。但這在美國或美洲是什麼樣子的呢？因為我認為你說美國上個季度下降了 7% 左右。那麼，您能告訴我們美國或美洲與全球銷量相比如何嗎？

Sure. So the U.S. is just into double digits, about 12%, if I recall exactly. Americas overall was about 16% -- just below 16% Year-to-date. Asia Pacific is positive. We have volume growth in Asia Pacific of around 6% year-to-date, and EMEA at 28%, but don't forget that Russia was 7% or 8% of that number.

當然。所以如果我沒記錯的話，美國剛剛達到兩位數，大約 12%。美洲總體約為 16%——年初至今略低於 16%。亞太地區是積極的。今年迄今為止，我們在亞太地區的銷量增長約為 6%，歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷量增長為 28%，但不要忘記俄羅斯佔該數字的 7% 或 8%。

So sorry, the U.S. year-to-date is down 12% of volume?

很抱歉，美國今年迄今銷量下降了 12%？

Yes, 12%, so yes.

是的，12%，所以是的。

Okay. So I mean, again, like I guess I can do the math, but if it was down 7% in last quarter, the first quarter, it was down less now in the second quarter? Or is that the case?

好的。所以我的意思是，我想我可以算一下，但如果上個季度，第一季度下降了 7%，第二季度現在下降得更少了？或者是這樣嗎？

No. I think it distinguish. We spoke about market share. So POS data is different. In the first quarter, we did speak to POS data. And so our POS data, which -- so these numbers here reflect sales and overall volumes right to the market. Our POS data represents a substantial chunk of our overall business. It's hard to track overall because we're active in so many different channels, right? And so our volume in terms of the latest read in terms of market share POS data in the U.S., our category sales, I believe, were up like 17% and volumes are down just into double digits. So that's the latest status in the U.S.

不，我認為它有區別。我們談到了市場份額。所以POS數據是不同的。在第一季度，我們確實談到了 POS 數據。因此，我們的 POS 數據，這些數字反映了市場的銷售額和總銷量。我們的 POS 數據代表了我們整體業務的很大一部分。很難全面跟踪，因為我們活躍於許多不同的渠道，對嗎？因此，就美國市場份額 POS 數據的最新閱讀量而言，我相信我們的類別銷售額增長了 17%，而銷量下降了兩位數。這就是美國的最新狀態

Okay. And again, sorry, that year-to-date or in the quarter?

好的。再次抱歉，是年初至今還是本季度？

Well, that is actually -- those numbers I gave you on POS are actually the last 3 months, last 3 months.

好吧，那實際上是——我在 POS 上給你的那些數字實際上是過去 3 個月，過去 3 個月。

Okay. So I think the previous analyst asked us this too, but I'm still having a hard time understanding why if the Americas is recovering volume quicker and your sales were actually strong. Why is the gross margin most disappointing in that region where it's recovering the quickest. That's what I'm having a hard time understanding.

好的。所以我想之前的分析師也問過我們這個問題，但我仍然很難理解為什麼如果美洲的銷量恢復得更快而你們的銷售實際上很強勁。為什麼毛利率在恢復最快的地區最令人失望。這就是我很難理解的。

That's a fair question. So I'll start with that, and maybe Sara can add to it. I think we're still cycling through because of the high inventory levels we have in the Americas, and that was done purposely for us to build up and be able to service demand.

這是一個公平的問題。所以我將從這個開始，也許 Sara 可以補充。我認為我們仍在循環，因為我們在美洲的庫存水平很高，這是有意為我們建立並能夠滿足需求而做的。

So we've now got to a situation in Americas where we're at 99% fill rates on our core products and 98% on time in full delivery. So we're servicing fully -- almost fully all of our needs. But those inventories were purchased 6 to 9 months ago, and so they purchased at those cost prices at that time. So it's taking longer for inventories to push through.

所以我們現在在美洲的情況是，我們的核心產品的供貨率為 99%，完全交付的準時率為 98%。所以我們正在全面服務——幾乎完全滿足我們所有的需求。但是這些存貨是6到9個月前購買的，所以他們當時是按成本價購買的。因此，庫存需要更長的時間才能完成。

And also, I think there is a certain element looking forward of the Americas driving volume, particularly the U.S. And so driving volume, getting back with promotions in store also may have some margin implications.

而且，我認為有一定的因素期待美洲的駕駛量，特別是美國因此駕駛量，通過店內促銷回來也可能對利潤率產生一些影響。

Okay. And then so just longer term, obviously, you always historically have had promos come and go each period, but historically, when you've taken pricing like this, have you ever given back or reversed on the list prices -- or do you the always set the pricing...

好的。然後，從長遠來看，很明顯，從歷史上看，每個時期都有促銷來來去去，但從歷史上看，當你採用這樣的定價方式時，你有沒有退回或推翻標價——或者你始終設置定價...

No, we've...

不，我們已經...

Yes, go ahead.

好，去吧。

No, we've never. So I've been here 32 years. We've never gone down with pricing once we've gone up. What we tend to do is if the situation changes with commodities over time, then we may promote to the end user and give the end user extra value with something like an extra ounce as promotional or something. So we have done that historically yet.

不，我們從來沒有。所以我已經在這裡 32 年了。一旦我們上漲，我們就不會隨著定價而下降。我們傾向於做的是，如果隨著時間的推移情況隨著商品的變化而變化，那麼我們可能會向最終用戶推銷並為最終用戶提供額外的價值，比如額外的盎司作為促銷之類的東西。所以我們在歷史上已經做到了。

Okay. And then I guess the pricing benefit in gross margin in the quarter was very close to what we had projected, but the impact of the higher petroleum-based input and (inaudible) can cost was more negative. So I'm just wondering like I know it's hard for us to know what you're pulling through these things.

好的。然後我猜本季度毛利率的定價收益非常接近我們的預期，但更高的石油基投入和（聽不清）罐頭成本的影響更為負面。所以我只是想知道，就像我知道我們很難知道你在這些事情中的表現。

But [Ohio] has wrapped. So why is it that was still such a negative? And do you think there will be neutral to gross margin in third quarter those inputs or annual fourth quarter?

但是[俄亥俄州]已經結束了。那麼為什麼它仍然如此消極呢？你認為第三季度這些投入或年度第四季度的毛利率會有中性嗎？

Linda, it's Sara. So it is challenging to compare some of the decreases in the spot prices that we're seeing to exactly what we're seeing from what we're paying for our commodity pricing currently. We are seeing some benefits, but they're not as significant as what we're seeing in the spot pricing because of the offset to labor and energy costs are kind of offsetting the benefits that we could be seeing in the future on the spot pricing.

琳達，是薩拉。因此，很難將我們看到的現貨價格的一些下降與我們目前為商品定價支付的價格進行比較。我們看到了一些好處，但它們不如我們在現貨定價中看到的那麼重要，因為勞動力和能源成本的抵消在某種程度上抵消了我們未來可能在現貨定價中看到的好處.

But for the quarter, part of that is just, again, working through the levels of the inventory. So what we had anticipated to work through this quarter, while volumes are improving, they were not improving as fast as we had hoped. And so that's partly why the margin didn't pick up as much as we had hoped during the quarter.

但對於本季度，其中一部分只是再次解決庫存水平。因此，我們預計本季度將完成的工作，雖然銷量正在改善，但它們的改善速度並沒有我們希望的那麼快。因此，這就是為什麼本季度利潤率沒有像我們希望的那樣回升的部分原因。

Yes. Okay. And then (inaudible) recent volume issue that you had said previously that for the year, you had baked in kind of volume flat to down slightly. So what would be baked in right now to the guidance that you've given now for volume for the year?

是的。好的。然後（聽不清）最近的銷量問題，你之前說過，今年你的銷量持平到略有下降。那麼，現在您為今年的銷量給出的指導中會包含什麼？

Yes. So it's hard to call. There's certainly different variables. So probably at the start of the year, we did say that we thought that volumes were going to be kind of flat to slightly negative. You have to factor out the kind of Russian loss as a one-off kind of loss, right, which was 4% of our overall volumes, but we have a half year of that. And I think we kind of see it as a little bit higher than kind of low single digits. It's probably going to be more towards the kind of low single -- double digits to high single digits.

是的。所以很難打電話。當然有不同的變量。所以可能在今年年初，我們確實說過我們認為交易量會持平到略微下降。你必須將俄羅斯的損失視為一次性損失，對，占我們總銷量的 4%，但我們有半年的時間。而且我認為我們認為它比低個位數高一點。它可能會更傾向於那種低個位數——兩位數到高個位數。

But there's a lot of variables out there, right? So you do have a lot of markets around the world where footfall is a little lighter than we would like footfall in retail stores has fallen off by maybe 10% to 15%. So that's a variable that's out there and where that goes in the future. So yes, I think we're looking at negative high single digits to low double digits.

但是那裡有很多變數，對吧？所以你在世界各地確實有很多市場，那裡的客流量比我們希望的要少一些，零售店的客流量下降了 10% 到 15%。所以這是一個存在的變量，也是未來的變數。所以是的，我認為我們正在尋找負高個位數到低兩位數。

Okay. And then finally, one last thing. Just on the interest expense. I mean it was kind of higher than we had modeled in the quarter. Do you have a guidance of for the year that we can put in our models for that?

好的。最後，最後一件事。只是利息支出。我的意思是它比我們在本季度模擬的要高。您是否有我們可以為此放入模型的年度指南？

Sure. Yes. So we are -- I'm happy to -- let me just -- give me 2 seconds, and I can pull that up. I would guide to a little bit north of $5 million, Linda.

當然。是的。所以我們——我很高興——讓我——給我 2 秒鐘，我可以把它拉起來。琳達，我會引導到 500 萬美元以上一點點。

Your next question comes from the line of Rosemarie Morbelli with Gabelli Funds.

你的下一個問題來自 Rosemarie Morbelli 與 Gabelli Funds 的合作。

Steve, I was wondering, when you are talking about March being a record top line quarter, if I understood probably, is that still mostly priced? Or are you beginning to see some volume in the March quarter -- I mean, in March month?

史蒂夫，我想知道，當你談論 3 月是創紀錄的最高季度時，如果我可能理解的話，這仍然是主要定價嗎？或者您是否開始在 3 月季度看到一些交易量——我的意思是，在 3 月？

Yes. So we're seeing -- well, again, without results being fully final, so this is directional. We're seeing a big improvement in volumes. And that's particularly been noticeable in Europe. And so Europe went through the same kind of disruption at the U.S. They're just a quarter behind the Americas. So the recovery in Europe is really starting to happen now as we emerge from kind of 6 months or so post price increases. We have much greater promotional activity in market. And so yes, in particular, in Europe, you're seeing a strong volume recovery.

是的。所以我們看到 - 嗯，再一次，沒有完全最終的結果，所以這是方向性的。我們看到銷量有了很大的改善。這在歐洲尤為明顯。因此，歐洲在美國經歷了同樣的破壞。他們只落後美洲四分之一。因此，隨著我們從價格上漲後 6 個月左右的時間裡走出來，歐洲的複蘇現在真正開始了。我們在市場上有更大的促銷活動。所以是的，特別是在歐洲，你看到了強勁的銷量復甦。

Okay. And then when we look at inflation, you touched on the higher cost of labor and the higher cost of cans even though some of your raw materials are coming down. Can you put a number on the inflation -- in the inflation increase that you are seeing? And do you have enough price to cover it? Or do you need to raise prices some more?

好的。然後當我們看通貨膨脹時，你提到了更高的勞動力成本和更高的罐頭成本，儘管你的一些原材料正在下降。你能給通貨膨脹一個數字——你看到的通貨膨脹增加嗎？你有足夠的價格來支付它嗎？還是需要再漲價？

So if we're -- obviously, the can is made up of a few different components, but -- if we were to break that down a little bit, the can, so the physical can itself I think what we're looking at this year versus last year is going to be relatively flat globally. We have some regions that are slightly up in some regions that are slightly down.

因此，如果我們 - 顯然，罐頭由幾個不同的組件組成，但是 - 如果我們將其分解一點，罐頭，那麼物理罐頭本身我認為我們正在看的是什麼與去年相比，今年全球將相對平穩。我們有些地區略有上升，有些地區略有下降。

So while the tin plate spot prices coming down, the cost to convert that into our physical can is higher when you compare it to prior year. So there are some offsets that are happening there. As far as the specialty chemicals, I mean, what we're buying at today versus what we were buying at around this time last year.

因此，雖然錫板現貨價格下降，但與去年相比，將其轉換為我們的實物罐頭的成本更高。所以那裡正在發生一些抵消。至於特種化學品，我的意思是，我們今天購買的產品與去年這個時候左右購買的產品相比。

Those are going to be around the high single digits, maybe low double digits depending on the region. So we are seeing some benefit of what we're actually buying there. But again, the just last week, those prices started to go back up. So those can be pretty volatile month-to-month depending on what's happening out there. So those are just that maybe helps give some ranges. It is very different depending on kind of the makeup of the different components of the can. We're seeing differences between those buckets.

這些將大約是高個位數，可能是低兩位數，具體取決於地區。所以我們看到了我們在那裡實際購買的東西的一些好處。但就在上週，這些價格又開始回升。因此，根據那裡發生的事情，這些每月可能會非常不穩定。所以這些只是可能有助於提供一些範圍。這取決於罐頭不同成分的構成種類。我們看到了這些桶之間的差異。

Okay. So you said that if your overall cost come down, okay, you may give an extra ounce per can or something like that, you will not reduce pricing. But if some of those costs are going up, and we know that labor is going up I am not too sure what is happening with freight, but probably nothing terribly positive. Do you need to raise prices some more? And therefore, could we see a second bout of volume decline because of that?

好的。所以你說如果你的總成本下降，好吧，你可以給每罐額外的盎司或類似的東西，你不會降低價格。但如果其中一些成本上升，而且我們知道勞動力在上升，我不太確定運費會發生什麼，但可能沒有什麼特別積極的。需要再漲價嗎？因此，我們會因此看到第二輪交易量下降嗎？

So in terms of overall price increases, we believe we're through most of the significant price increases. And so for the rest of this fiscal year, it's about driving the volume now that we have the higher gross margin. So that's kind of the balance that we need to strike going forward for the remainder of the fiscal year. There are some limited price actions, for example, Australia had increased at the beginning of March. So they're still flushing through. There are limited incremental price actions planned in places like Latin America, but it's not overly material in the overall business. And it's about now, like I say, driving back those volumes in store after all of this disruption we faced for the last 6 months.

因此，就整體價格上漲而言，我們相信我們已經度過了大部分顯著的價格上漲。因此，在本財年的剩餘時間裡，由於我們擁有更高的毛利率，因此要推動銷量。因此，這就是我們在本財年剩餘時間內需要取得的平衡。價格走勢有限，例如，澳大利亞在 3 月初上漲。所以他們還在衝過去。拉丁美洲等地計劃採取有限的增量價格行動，但在整體業務中並不過分重要。就像我說的那樣，在過去 6 個月我們面臨的所有這些中斷之後，現在就是在減少庫存量。

Okay. And lastly, if I may, Steve. You have mentioned weak economic environment, weak demand and so on, based on what you see out there, we are already in a recession. And as one CEO mentioned this morning, the economist will mention in October that we are in a recession. And by the way, it started in February. Do you think that this is the case?

好的。最後，如果可以的話，史蒂夫。你提到疲軟的經濟環境、疲軟的需求等等，根據你所看到的，我們已經處於衰退之中。正如一位首席執行官今天早上提到的那樣，經濟學家將在 10 月份提到我們正處於衰退之中。順便說一下，它是從二月份開始的。你認為是這樣嗎？

Well, I think whatever is going on in the economy and if you look back at WD-40 performance. And so last quarter, we put out our 20-year track record constant currency for multipurpose maintenance products. And if you recall, we showed growth every single year apart from 2020 where we had a small decline. And so I think whatever happens out there in the economy, and we are a global business and different things are happening in different economies at different times.

好吧，我認為無論經濟發生什麼，如果你回顧一下 WD-40 的表現。因此，上個季度，我們推出了 20 年多用途維護產品的固定貨幣記錄。如果您還記得的話，除了 2020 年出現小幅下滑外，我們每年都在增長。因此，我認為無論經濟中發生什麼，我們都是一家全球性企業，不同的經濟體在不同的時間發生著不同的事情。

And whatever happens, we tend to stand off better than most, and we are -- we're not recession proof, but we are a very resilient business. And so we expect the kind of forecast we've given for the remainder of the year involved strong growth in the back half. We believe they have the programs in there to drive that volume, and we see better times ahead over the next couple of quarters.

無論發生什麼，我們往往比大多數人都能更好地脫穎而出，而且我們 - 我們不是經濟衰退的證明，但我們是一個非常有彈性的企業。因此，我們預計我們對今年剩餘時間的預測涉及下半年的強勁增長。我們相信他們有推動這一銷量的計劃，我們看到未來幾個季度會有更好的表現。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our allotted time for questions. We thank you for your participation on today's conference call and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

女士們，先生們，我們的提問時間到此結束。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議，請您掛斷電話。