WD-40 Co (WDFC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Good day, and welcome to the WD-40 Company Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions).

女士們先生們，謝謝你們的支持。美好的一天，歡迎參加 WD-40 公司 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。 （操作員說明）。

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.

我現在想將演講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.

謝謝。下午好，感謝大家今天加入我們。今天參加我們電話會議的是 WD-40 公司總裁兼執行長 Steve Brass；副總裁兼財務長 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-K for the period ending August 31, 2023. 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 shortly after this call.

除了今天電話會議上提供的財務資訊外，我們鼓勵投資者查看截至2023 年8 月31 日期間的收益演示、收益新聞稿和10-K 表格。這些文件可在我們的投資者關係網站Investor.wd40company上取得.com。今天電話會議的重播和文字記錄也將在電話會議結束後不久提供。

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 the earnings documents posted on our Investor Relations website. As a reminder, today's call includes forward-looking statements about our expectations for the company's future performance. 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 discussions.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論某些非公認會計準則措施。這些非公認會計準則措施的描述和調節可在我們向 SEC 提交的文件以及我們投資者關係網站上發布的收益文件中找到。提醒一下，今天的電話會議包含有關我們對公司未來業績預期的前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能存在重大差異。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。請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件中詳細說明的風險因素，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, October 19, 2023. The company disclaims any duty or obligation to update any forward-looking information as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

最後，對於收聽網路廣播重播或查看本次電話會議書面記錄的任何人，請注意，所提供的所有資訊僅截至今天（2023 年10 月19 日）。該公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性內容的任何責任或義務。因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而產生的資訊。

With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Steve.

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. It's been a privilege and honor to lead our great company over the last year and even more special as my first year as CEO coincide with our 70-year anniversary. I have taken time over the last year to meet with our employees across the business and around the world, and it was truly a pleasure to have the chance to listen to their personal stories. While it was not surprising to me, has been exceptional to see and feel the depth of engagement and commitment across the organization. Witness in their inspired energy to reinforce my own commitment and responsibility to nurture and build on our unique culture. I want to thank each of them for their dedication to drive superior results and the execution of our strategy.

謝謝溫迪，也謝謝大家今天下午加入我們。過去一年能夠領導我們偉大的公司是一種榮幸，更特別的是，我擔任執行長的第一年恰逢我們成立 70 週年。去年，我花時間會見了我們整個企業和世界各地的員工，我很高興有機會聆聽他們的個人故事。雖然這對我來說並不奇怪，但看到並感受到整個組織的參與和承諾的深度是很特別的。見證他們所激發的能量加強了我自己的承諾和責任，以培養和建立我們獨特的文化。我要感謝他們每個人為推動卓越成果和執行我們的策略所做的奉獻。

Looking at fiscal year 2023, for us, it was essentially a tale of two halves. Our first half saw disruption in from general economic uncertainty, higher costs, the loss of our Russian business and price increases that were implemented. In the second half of the year, we saw volumes recover, and we were also pleased with the recovery we experienced in EMEA where we delivered double-digit constant currency growth for the last 2 quarters. Despite a difficult first half and the negative impact of currency of nearly $18 million, we still grew revenue by 4% over prior year. Excluding the impact of currency, revenue grew 7% and which is in line with our long-term growth projections. We are encouraged by the improvement in trends we experienced through the second half of the fiscal year as we enter fiscal year 2024.

展望 2023 財年，對我們來說，這基本上是一個分成兩半的故事。上半年，我們看到了總體經濟不確定性、成本上升、俄羅斯業務損失以及價格上漲的干擾。今年下半年，我們看到了銷量的恢復，我們也對歐洲、中東和非洲地區的復甦感到滿意，在過去的兩個季度中，我們實現了兩位數的恆定貨幣成長。儘管上半年很困難，而且貨幣帶來了近 1800 萬美元的負面影響，但我們的收入仍然比上年增長了 4%。排除貨幣的影響，收入成長了 7%，這符合我們的長期成長預測。進入 2024 財年，我們對本財年下半年趨勢的改善感到鼓舞。

Now turning to our fourth quarter 2023 results. Today, I'll begin by discussing our sales results. I'll then walk you through our new Four-by-Four strategic framework including an update on our full year results and the progress we've made as it relates to our Must-Win battles. Sara will provide further details on our fourth quarter results and update on our business model and our outlook for fiscal year 2024, and then we'll take your questions.

現在轉向我們 2023 年第四季的業績。今天，我將首先討論我們的銷售業績。然後，我將向您介紹我們新的「四乘四」策略框架，包括我們全年業績的最新情況以及我們在「必勝之戰」方面取得的進展。 Sara 將提供有關我們第四季度業績的更多詳細資訊、我們業務模式的最新資訊以及 2024 財年的展望，然後我們將回答您的問題。

Turning to our fourth quarter sales results. Today, I'm happy to share with you that we reported net sales of GBP 140.5 million, up nearly 8% over the fourth quarter of last fiscal year. Translation of our subsidiaries results into the U.S. dollar had a favorable impact on our consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter on a non-GAAP constant currency basis, fourth quarter sales would have been $139.2 million, up 7% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

轉向我們第四季的銷售業績。今天，我很高興與大家分享，我們報告的淨銷售額為 1.405 億英鎊，比上一財年第四季成長近 8%。將我們子公司的業績換算成美元，對我們第四季的綜合淨銷售額（以非GAAP 固定貨幣計算）產生了有利影響，第四季銷售額將為1.392 億美元，比去年第四季成長7%年。

Now let's take a closer look at the fourth quarter sales results in our trade blocks, starting with the Americas. Sales in the Americas, which includes the United States, Latin America and Canada, were up 10% in the fourth quarter to $74.7 million. Maintenance product sales in the United States increased 18% and driven by double-digit growth of both WD-40 multiuse product and WD-40 specialists. We're seeing solid improvements in volume now that we've lapped the impact of the price increases that we put into place last fiscal year. In the fourth quarter, we experienced double-digit volume and sales increases in the U.S. As a reminder, the U.S. was the first region to implement price increases and therefore, have been the first region to recover from the related disruptions. Maintenance product sales in Latin America were down 12% against a strong comparative period in the prior year. As you may recall, the fourth quarter of last fiscal year was the strongest sales quarter in the region's history, where sales grew 80%, largely as a result of many of our marketing distributor customers purchasing product in advance of price increases that went into effect near that time.

現在讓我們仔細看看我們貿易區第四季的銷售結果，從美洲開始。第四季美洲地區（包括美國、拉丁美洲和加拿大）的銷售額成長了 10%，達到 7,470 萬美元。在 WD-40 多用途產品和 WD-40 專家兩位數成長的推動下，美國的維修產品銷售額成長了 18%。由於我們已經克服了上一財年漲價的影響，我們看到銷量有了顯著改善。第四季度，我們在美國的銷售量和銷售量實現了兩位數的成長。提醒一下，美國是第一個實施提價的地區，因此也是第一個從相關中斷中恢復過來的地區。拉丁美洲的維護產品銷售額與去年同期相比下降了 12%。您可能還記得，上一財年第四季度是該地區歷史上最強勁的銷售季度，銷售額增長了 80%，這主要是由於我們的許多營銷分銷商客戶在價格上漲生效之前購買了產品接近那個時間。

Sales in maintenance products in Canada decreased slightly down 3% period-over-period, that the favorable impact of sales price increases was completely offset by lower sales volumes due to weaker economic conditions in the region. We continue to experience positive momentum in our direct market in Mexico from the shift we made in 2020 from a distributor model. Maintenance product sales in our direct marketing Mexico decreased 19% in the fourth quarter as we continue to add new points of distribution, making our maintenance products available in more places for more people who find more uses more frequently.

加拿大維修產品的銷售額年比小幅下降 3%，銷售價格上漲的有利影響完全被該地區經濟狀況疲弱導致的銷售下降所抵銷。由於 2020 年我們從經銷商模式轉變，我們在墨西哥的直接市場繼續保持積極勢頭。第四季度，我們直銷墨西哥的維護產品銷售額下降了 19%，因為我們不斷增加新的分銷點，使我們的維護產品可以在更多地方為更多經常使用的人提供。

Sales of our homecare and cleaning products in the Americas were down 4% in the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of last year. We consider our home care and cleaning products as harvest brands continue to generate consistent contributions and cash flows but are generally expected to become a smaller part of the business over time. We shared with investors last quarter that we're currently exploring options to further deemphasize our homecare and cleaning brands. We are currently conducting a global strategic review about the future of our homecare and cleaning brands. The result of this strategic review could mean many things, but no decision has yet been made. We look forward to providing an update in the future. In total, our Americas segment made up 53% of our global business in the fourth quarter.

與去年第四季相比，第四季我們在美洲的家庭護理和清潔產品銷售額下降了 4%。我們認為我們的家庭護理和清潔產品作為收穫品牌繼續產生持續的貢獻和現金流，但隨著時間的推移，通常預計將成為業務的較小部分。上季我們與投資者分享說，我們目前正在探索進一步淡化我們的家庭護理和清潔品牌的選擇。我們目前正在對我們的家庭護理和清潔品牌的未來進行全球策略審查。這次戰略審查的結果可能意味著很多事情，但尚未做出任何決定。我們期待將來提供更新。總的來說，第四季我們的美洲業務佔全球業務的 53%。

Now let's take a look at our sales results in EMEA, which includes Europe, India, the Middle East and Africa. I'm happy to share with you that the recovery will begin to experience in EMEA last quarter continued into the fourth quarter. Sales in EMEA were up 16% to $50.7 million. We saw strong sales in the U.K., Italy and Benelux, which all turned in their best quarters performance for the year. Currency fluctuations positively impacted our sales in EMEA and on a constant currency basis, sales would have increased 13% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Marking the second consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth in constant currency. 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 73% of the region sales in the fourth quarter increased by 19% compared to last year.

現在讓我們來看看我們在歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷售業績，其中包括歐洲、印度、中東和非洲。我很高興與您分享，歐洲、中東和非洲地區將在上個季度開始出現復甦，並持續到第四季。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的銷售額成長 16%，達到 5,070 萬美元。我們看到英國、義大利和比荷盧經濟聯盟的銷售強勁，這些國家都實現了今年最好的季度業績。貨幣波動對我們在 EMEA 的銷售產生了積極影響，以固定匯率計算，銷售額將比去年第四季成長 13%。以固定匯率計算，這標誌著連續第二季銷售額實現兩位數成長。如您所知，我們透過直接經營和行銷經銷商結合的方式向歐洲、中東和非洲地區銷售產品。我們的 EMEA 直接市場銷售額佔第四季度該地區銷售額的 73%，與去年相比成長了 19%。

Maintenance product sales in the EMEA direct markets increased in the fourth quarter, driven primarily by double-digit growth of both WD-40 multiuse product and WD-40 specialists in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, mainly due to the impact of price increases, which is partially offset by slightly lower demand, which resulted in decreased sales volume. The increase in sales is also driven by the timing of promotional programs, particularly in the wholesale and trade channels. Sales in our EMEA distributor markets, which accounted for 27% of the regional sales in the fourth quarter increased by 9% compared to last year. This increase in sales was primarily driven by higher sales of maintenance products in many distributor markets. In total, our EMEA segment made up 36% of our global business in the fourth quarter.

第四季度歐洲、中東和非洲直接市場的維護產品銷售額有所增長，這主要是由於英國、義大利和西班牙的WD-40 多用途產品和WD-40 專家的兩位數增長推動的，這主要是由於價格上漲的影響，這被需求略有下降部分抵消，導致銷量下降。促銷計劃的時機也推動了銷售額的成長，特別是在批發和貿易管道。佔第四季度區域銷售額 27% 的 EMEA 分銷商市場銷售額比去年增長 9%。銷售額的成長主要是由許多經銷商市場的維護產品銷售增加所推動的。總的來說，我們的 EMEA 業務佔第四季全球業務的 36%。

Now on to Asia Pacific. Sales in Asia Pacific, which includes Australia, China and other countries in the Asia region were down 20% in the fourth quarter to $15 million. In Australia, sales were down 1% in the fourth quarter, primarily due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, sales for Australia would have increased by 5% compared to last year, primarily due to higher sales of the homecare and cleaning products as a result of successful promotional programs. In our Asia Pacific distributor markets, sales were down 38% in the fourth quarter against a tough prior year comparison. As you may recall from last year, severe lockdown restrictions from earlier in the year were lifted, and we resumed shipping product to the area, resulting in strong sales during the fourth quarter.

現在轉向亞太地區。第四季亞太地區（包括澳洲、中國和亞洲地區其他國家）的銷售額下降了 20%，至 1,500 萬美元。在澳大利亞，第四季銷售額下降了1%，主要是由於外幣匯率的影響。以固定匯率計算，澳洲的銷售額將比去年增長 5%，這主要是由於成功的促銷計劃導致家庭護理和清潔產品的銷售額增加。在我們的亞太分銷商市場，第四季銷售額與去年同期相比下降了 38%。您可能還記得去年，今年稍早嚴格的封鎖限制被取消，我們恢復了向該地區運送產品，導致第四季度的銷售強勁。

In China, sales were down 4% in the fourth quarter, primarily due to the impact of foreign currency exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, sales for China would have increased by 2%. In total, our Asia Pacific segment made up 11% of our global business in the fourth quarter.

在中國，第四季銷售額下降4%，主要是由於外匯匯率的影響。以固定匯率計算，中國的銷售額將成長 2%。總的來說，第四季我們的亞太業務占我們全球業務的 11%。

Now let's talk about our long-term growth aspirations. The WD-40 company, we're privileged to have one of the world's best known and most iconic brands. We have a strong competitive moat that allows us to capture the tremendous runway of opportunity before us. As we enter fiscal year 2024, I'm proud to introduce you to our new Four-by-Four strategic framework which we tie to our purpose and values and will guide our future performance. Our Four-by-Four strategic framework has developed to drive profitable growth for sustainable value creation.

現在讓我們來談談我們的長期成長願望。 WD-40 公司，我們很榮幸擁有世界上最知名和最具標誌性的品牌之一。我們擁有強大的競爭護城河，使我們能夠抓住擺在我們面前的巨大機會。在我們進入 2024 財年之際，我很自豪地向您介紹我們新的「四乘四」策略框架，該框架與我們的宗旨和價值觀緊密相連，並將指導我們未來的業績。我們的「四乘四」策略框架旨在推動獲利成長，創造永續價值。

There are two main elements of our strategic framework. The first element, which we refer to as our Must-Win battles, focuses on what we do to increase sales of our maintenance products. This is an area of focus we discuss investors for several years. Our Must-Win Battles include growing WD-40 product sales through geographic expansion, growing sales and gross margin through the premiumization of WD-40 multiuse product, growing WD-40 Specialist product line through category leadership, and accelerating our capabilities in building our brand digitally and maximizing our global digital commerce presence. Today, we're also introducing the second element of our strategic framework, which we refer to as our strategic enablers. These four strategic enablers focus on operational excellence and support how we will achieve our Must-Win Battles and include ensuring a people-first mindset where we can attract, develop and engage outstanding employees. Building a sustainable business for the future, achieving operational excellence in supply chain and driving productivity by our [enhance] systems. These are the primary areas that make up our Four-by-Four strategic framework and where we will continue to focus our time, talent and treasure to be successful in achieving our long-term financial and operational goals.

我們的戰略架構有兩個主要要素。第一個要素，我們稱之為“必勝之戰”，重點是我們如何增加維護產品的銷售量。這是我們多年來與投資者討論的一個重點領域。我們的必勝之戰包括透過地理擴張來增加WD-40 產品銷售、透過WD-40 多用途產品的高端化來增加銷售額和毛利率、透過類別領導地位擴大WD-40 專家產品線，以及加快我們打造品牌的能力數位化並最大化我們的全球數位商務存在。今天，我們也介紹了戰略框架的第二個要素，我們稱之為策略推動因素。這四個策略推動因素專注於卓越運營，支持我們如何實現必勝之戰，包括確保以人為本的心態，從而吸引、培養和聘用優秀員工。透過我們的[增強]系統建構未來可持續發展的業務，實現供應鏈的卓越營運並提高生產力。這些是構成我們「四乘四」策略框架的主要領域，我們將繼續集中時間、人才和財富，以成功實現我們的長期財務和營運目標。

Let's reflect on the progress we made against our Must-Win Battles for fiscal year 2023. Starting with Must-Win Battle #1, lead geographic expansion. Our largest growth opportunity in first Must-Win Battle is a geographic expansion of the blue and yellow (inaudible) top. We estimate the potential global growth opportunity for WD-40 multi-use product to be approximately $1 billion, and we're laser-focused on covering long-term growth in our top 20 growth markets around the world. In fiscal year 2023, global sales of WD-40 multi-use product grew 2% over prior year. Though this growth is not in line with our long-term expectations we ended the year strong and expect to see growth return to historic levels. For the year, we made good progress in several key markets on this Must-Win Battle with strong sales growth of 14% in the U.K. 14% in Mexico, 10% in China and 17% in the U.S.

讓我們反思一下我們在 2023 財年的必勝戰役中取得的進展。從必勝戰役 #1 開始，引領地域擴張。我們在首場必勝之戰中最大的成長機會是藍色和黃色（聽不清楚）頂部的地理擴張。我們估計 WD-40 多用途產品的潛在全球成長機會約為 10 億美元，並且我們將重點關注全球前 20 個成長市場的長期成長。 2023財年，WD-40多用途產品的全球銷售額比上年成長2%。儘管這種成長不符合我們的長期預期，但我們在今年結束時表現強勁，並預計成長將恢復到歷史水平。今年，我們在這場必勝之戰中在幾個關鍵市場取得了良好進展，英國銷量強勁增長 14%，墨西哥 14%，中國 10%，美國 17%。

Next is Must-Win Battle #2, accelerating premiumization. Our smart store delivery system has been our most successful innovation in the company's 70-year history and is loved by end users around the world. Our EZ-REACH delivery system provides our end users but even more options to solve problems in factories, workshops and homes. For us, premiumization is a major contributor to our revenue growth as well as gross margin expansion and also delights our end users. Over the last 5 years, we've achieved a compound annual growth rate for net sales of premiumized products of 7.3% in reported currency and 8.2% on a constant currency basis. We are on track to fully implement the WD-40 Smart Straw next generation capacity for the new Americas in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, which we expect to accelerate the sales of WD-40 multi-use premiumized products. On a go-forward basis, we'll be targeting a compound annual growth rate for net sales of premiumized products at greater than 10% in reported currency.

接下來是必勝之戰#2，加速高端化。我們的智慧商店配送系統是我們公司 70 年歷史中最成功的創新，受到世界各地最終用戶的喜愛。我們的 EZ-REACH 交付系統為我們的最終用戶提供了更多選擇來解決工廠、車間和家庭中的問題。對我們來說，高端化是我們收入成長和毛利率擴張的主要貢獻者，也讓我們的最終用戶感到高興。在過去 5 年裡，我們高端產品淨銷售額的複合年增長率（以報告貨幣計算）為 7.3%，以固定貨幣計算為 8.2%。我們預計在 2024 財年第一季在新美洲全面實施 WD-40 智慧吸管下一代產能，我們預計這將加速 WD-40 多用途高端產品的銷售。展望未來，我們的目標是優質產品淨銷售額的複合年增長率以報告貨幣計算超過 10%。

Our third Must-Win Battle is to drive WD-40 specialist growth. However, we see this as much more than an incremental revenue opportunity, driving WD-40 Specialist growth focuses on achieving category leadership by leveraging our core brand equity and taking advantage of our strong moat. It's about taking competitors off the shelf and increasing our market share. I'm happy to report that our efforts to drive brand awareness, maximize store placement and increased shelf space or paying off for fiscal year 2023 sales of WD-40 Specialist products were just under $67 million, up 11%. We saw growth in WD-40 Specialist products across all three trade blocks with a growth of 18% in the Americas, 7% in EMEA and 3% in Asia Pacific. Over the last 5 years, we've achieved a compound annual growth rate for net sales of WD-40 specialists of 14.4% in reported currency and 15.4% on a constant currency basis. On a go-forward basis, we'll be targeting a compound annual growth rate for net sales of WD-40 Specialist of greater than 15% in reported currency.

我們的第三場必勝之戰是推動 WD-40 專業發展。然而，我們認為這不僅僅是一個增量收入機會，推動 WD-40 Specialist 成長的重點是透過利用我們的核心品牌資產和強大的護城河來實現類別領導地位。這是為了讓競爭對手下架並增加我們的市場份額。我很高興地向大家報告，我們在提高品牌知名度、最大化商店佈局和增加貨架空間方面所做的努力或為WD-40 Specialist 產品2023 財年的銷售額帶來了略低於6700 萬美元的回報，成長了11%。我們看到所有三個貿易區的 WD-40 Specialist 產品均成長，其中美洲成長 18%，歐洲、中東和非洲成長 7%，亞太地區成長 3%。在過去 5 年中，我們的 WD-40 專家淨銷售額的複合年增長率按報告貨幣計算為 14.4%，以固定貨幣計算為 15.4%。展望未來，我們的目標是 WD-40 Specialist 淨銷售額的複合年增長率以報告貨幣計算超過 15%。

Our final Must-Win Battle #4 is to Turbo-Charge Digital Commerce. Our ambition here is to engage with end users at scale and become the global leader in our category within the digital commerce platform. Must-Win Battle #4 is that much more than selling products online, we view it as the accelerator for all our other Must-Win Battles. Digital commerce is about brand building. It drives awareness of our brands by leveraging digital media to teach end users how to use our solutions in addition to driving online sales. For fiscal year 2023, e-commerce sales were up over 35% for the year, largely due to strong growth in the Americas. We believe the greatest benefit of this Must-Win Battle is to increase brand awareness and engagement online which will lead to an improved shopping experience and higher sales across all channels, both in-store and online.

我們最後的必勝之戰#4 是推動數位商務。我們的目標是大規模與最終用戶互動，並成為數位商務平台中我們類別的全球領導者。必勝之戰#4 不僅僅是在線銷售產品，我們將其視為所有其他必勝之戰的加速器。數位商務涉及品牌建立。除了推動線上銷售之外，它還利用數位媒體教導最終用戶如何使用我們的解決方案，從而提高我們品牌的知名度。 2023 財年，電子商務銷售額成長了 35% 以上，這主要歸功於美洲的強勁成長。我們相信這場必勝之戰的最大好處是提高品牌知名度和線上參與度，這將改善購物體驗並提高所有管道（包括店內和線上）的銷售額。

As part of our digital commerce strategy in 2023, we launched our first global online marketing campaign, Repair, Don't Replace. This campaign further expands our opportunity to inspire millions of doers, makers, fixes and builders to use our solutions not only to extend the lifespan of their tools or equipment but to support global efforts to reduce waste, reserve resources and leave a positive handprint for future generations.

作為 2023 年數位商務策略的一部分，我們推出了首個全球線上行銷活動「修復，請勿更換」。這項活動進一步擴大了我們的機會，激勵數以百萬計的實幹者、製造者、修理者和建造者使用我們的解決方案，不僅可以延長他們的工具或設備的使用壽命，而且可以支持全球減少浪費、儲備資源並為未來留下積極印記的努力幾代人。

And now turning to the second element of our strategic framework, our four strategic enablers, which collectively underpin our Must-Win battles. We view these as the how we will achieve our drivers for success.

現在轉向我們戰略框架的第二個要素，即我們的四個戰略推動因素，它們共同支撐著我們必勝的戰鬥。我們將這些視為我們實現成功的驅動力。

Starting with Strategic Enabler #1, ensuring a people first mindset, at WD-40 company, we know our people make us great. You will not find the greatest asset we have on our balance sheet because it's comprised of our 613 employees. We strive to be an employer of choice where all employees can bring their best and genuine self to work. We're committed to fostering a culture of belonging, recognition rewards and resiliency while attracting, developing and engaging talent, which will drive our sustainable forward momentum. We will measure ourselves against this enabler at three quantitative metrics: employee engagement, our Better Together scores and our employee retention rates.

從策略推動者 #1 開始，確保以人為本的心態，在 WD-40 公司，我們知道我們的員工讓我們變得偉大。您不會在我們的資產負債表上找到我們最大的資產，因為它是由我們的 613 名員工組成。我們努力成為所有員工都能在工作中展現最好、最真實的自我的首選雇主。我們致力於培養歸屬感、認可獎勵和彈性文化，同時吸引、培養和吸引人才，這將推動我們可持續的前進動力。我們將透過三個定量指標來衡量自己是否符合這項推動因素：員工敬業度、我們的 Better Together 得分和員工留任率。

Next is strategic enabler #2, building a business for the future. Simply put, we are committed to operating our business in a manner that will have a positive environmental and societal impact and one that will continue to create and protect long-term stakeholder value. We've shared with you in the past that we are philosophically aligned with the vision to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The term sustainability is increasingly perceived as a climate-related matter, but we see it as more than that. We define sustainability as the ability of a business to exist for a long period of time, perhaps indefinitely. A sustainable enterprise should ensure a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being. We believe that taking an integrated approach to environmental, social and governance issues enhances our long-term sustainability and resilience of our business and protects the long-term interest of our stakeholders. We're in the process of setting further targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which we will share in our 2024 ESG report.

接下來是策略推動者#2，為未來打造業務。簡而言之，我們致力於以一種對環境和社會產生積極影響並持續創造和保護長期利害關係人價值的方式經營我們的業務。我們過去曾與您分享過，我們在理念上與到2050 年實現溫室氣體淨零排放的願景是一致的。「永續性」一詞越來越多地被視為與氣候相關的問題，但我們認為它不僅僅如此。我們將永續性定義為企業長期（甚至無限期）生存的能力。永續發展的企業應確保經濟成長、環境保護和社會福祉之間的平衡。我們相信，對環境、社會和治理議題採取綜合方法可以增強我們業務的長期永續性和彈性，並保護利害關係人的長期利益。我們正在製定進一步減少溫室氣體排放的目標，我們將在 2024 年 ESG 報告中分享這些目標。

Strategic enabler #3, achieving operational excellence in supply chain. Operational excellence has always been an important part of our strategy at WD-40 company. Our supply chain was tested during the pandemic, and we learned a lot. The advances made by our own employees to production capacity and product availability only helped to recover our supply chain, but also uncover a myriad of ways to make it better than it is today. This strategic enabler is meant to continue that quest for operational excellence. We believe that a resilient and high-performing supply chain enabled by people, capacity and capabilities will secure the long-term success of our company. I'll go under this enabler to achieve on-time delivery of greater than 95%, and manage our inventory on hand to less than 90 days.

策略推動因素#3，實現供應鏈卓越營運。卓越營運一直是 WD-40 公司策略的重要組成部分。我們的供應鏈在疫情期間接受了考驗，我們學到了很多。我們自己的員工在生產能力和產品可用性方面取得的進步不僅有助於恢復我們的供應鏈，而且還發現了多種使其比今天更好的方法。這項策略推動因素旨在繼續追求卓越營運。我們相信，由人員、能力和能力打造的富有彈性和高性能的供應鏈將確保我們公司的長期成功。我將利用這項推動因素實現超過 95% 的準時交貨，並將我們的現有庫存管理在 90 天內。

Finally, strategic enabler #4, driving productivity via enhanced systems. We will identify and implement productivity solutions by using secure technologies to improve processes, provide effective access to critical analytics and deliver the highest value investments through effective project and program management. This will drive profitability improvements to enhance productivity, controlled IT spending, increased employee satisfaction as well as access to timely and accurate data that drives better decision-making. The first project identified under the strategic enabler is our new cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, which the company is in the process of implementing and Sara will discuss with you in a moment.

最後，策略推動因素#4，透過增強的系統提高生產力。我們將透過使用安全技術改進流程來確定和實施生產力解決方案，提供對關鍵分析的有效訪問，並透過有效的專案和計劃管理提供最高價值的投資。這將推動獲利能力的提高，從而提高生產力、控制 IT 支出、提高員工滿意度以及獲取及時、準確的數據，從而推動更好的決策。在策略推動因素下確定的第一個項目是我們新的基於雲端的企業資源規劃系統，公司正在實施該系統，Sara 稍後將與您討論。

To summarize our Four-by-Four strategic framework is designed to help us deliver on our long-term revenue compound annual growth rate for maintenance products in the mid- to high single digits on a non-GAAP constant currency basis. This is supported by the growth outlook for each trade block, we anticipate the real Americas to grow between 5% to 8%, EMEA to grow 8% to 11% and Asia Pacific to grow 10% to 13%. In addition, our Four-by-Four strategic framework will drive EBITDA margin expansion as we improve our gross margins and invest across the business to gain efficiencies and productivity improvements.

總而言之，我們的「四乘四」策略框架旨在幫助我們在非 GAAP 固定貨幣基礎上實現維護產品的中高個位數的長期收入複合年增長率。每個貿易區的成長前景都支持這一點，我們預計美洲實際成長 5% 至 8%，歐洲、中東和非洲將成長 8% 至 11%，亞太地區將成長 10% 至 13%。此外，我們的「四乘四」策略框架將推動 EBITDA 利潤率的擴張，因為我們提高毛利率並在整個業務領域進行投資，以提高效率和生產力。

With that, I will now turn it over to Sara.

有了這個，我現在就把它交給薩拉。

Thank you, Steve, and thank you for the overview of our sales results. As I approach my 1-year anniversary as CFO for WD-40 Company, I reflect on the strong bench of leaders across this organization that have supported me in my transition, as well as all our global employees that I've had the pleasure of working with for the past 2 years. This past year has been a year of transition, not just for me but for the company. And as Steve noted, fiscal year 2023 has been somewhat a tale of two halves, where the first half was met with volatility and uncertainty especially as we work through implementing price changes across markets, currency fluctuations and cycled the exit of our Russia business. However, we started to see signs of recovery and demand and volumes in the second half of fiscal year 2023, giving us conviction as we head into fiscal year 2024. We turned in a strong performance in the quarter, resulting in a solid fiscal year 2023. I'm happy to report that we grew our top line for the year despite the headwinds we face due to currency. Furthermore, each of our financial results performed within the targeted guidance ranges that we guided midyear even as we continue to invest across the business.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，也謝謝你對我們銷售業績的概述。在我擔任 WD-40 公司財務長一周年之際，我回顧了整個組織中在我的過渡過程中支持我的強大領導者，以及我有幸與他們合作的所有全球員工過去2 年與我們一起工作。過去的一年是轉型的一年，不只對我來說，對公司也是如此。正如史蒂夫所指出的那樣，2023 財年在某種程度上是一個分成兩半的故事，上半年遇到了波動和不確定性，特別是當我們努力實施跨市場價格變化、貨幣波動以及俄羅斯業務的循環退出時。然而，我們在2023 財年下半年開始看到復甦、需求和銷售的跡象，這讓我們在進入2024 財年時充滿信心。我們在本季度取得了強勁的業績，從而為2023 財年帶來了穩健的表現. 我很高興地向大家報告，儘管我們面臨著貨幣方面的不利因素，但我們今年的收入還是實現了增長。此外，即使我們繼續對整個業務進行投資，我們的每項財務表現仍處於我們年中指導的目標指導範圍內。

Now let me walk you through our fourth quarter results and provide an update on our capital deployment. I will close by providing an updated view on our 55/30/25 business model and providing fiscal year 2024 guidance. Turning first to our fourth quarter gross margin performance. Once again, we experience strong gross margin growth over the prior year fourth quarter. Our fourth quarter gross margin of 51.4% performed within the expected range we communicated. This margin performance reflects a 400 basis point improvement compared to the prior year fourth quarter and a sequential improvement of 80 basis points compared to the third quarter of this fiscal year. The 400 basis point improvement from prior year fourth quarter was driven by continued actions we have taken throughout the course of the year including price increases across all our markets and geographies, which positively impacted gross margin by 460 basis points. These positive impacts were partially offset by changes in major input costs. Higher costs associated with specialty chemical costs and aerosol cans when combined, negatively impacted our margin by 90 basis points. Finally, we recognized marginal benefit from lower costs associated with warehousing, distribution, freight and other miscellaneous input costs, which were offset by higher filling fees.

現在讓我向您介紹我們第四季的業績，並提供我們資本部署的最新情況。最後，我將提供有關我們 55/30/25 業務模式的最新觀點並提供 2024 財年指引。首先來看我們第四季的毛利率表現。我們再次經歷了比去年第四季強勁的毛利率成長。我們第四季的毛利率為 51.4%，符合我們溝通的預期範圍。這一利潤率表現比去年第四季提高了 400 個基點，與本財年第三季相比較上季提高了 80 個基點。與去年第四季相比，毛利率提高了 400 個基點，這是由於我們全年採取的持續行動，包括所有市場和地區的價格上漲，這對毛利率產生了 460 個基點的正面影響。這些正面影響被主要投入成本的變動部分抵銷。特種化學品成本和氣霧罐成本上升，對我們的利潤率產生了 90 個基點的負面影響。最後，我們認識到與倉儲、配送、貨運和其他雜項投入成本相關的較低成本所帶來的邊際效益，這些成本被較高的填充費用所抵銷。

Now let's take a deeper dive in the margin for the fourth quarter by trade bloc as we continue to focus on our margin improvement plan. Each trading bloc is at a different stage in recovery in their gross margin and I'm happy to see improvements in all three trading blocs this quarter over the prior year fourth quarter. Within the Americas, gross margin was 49%, an improvement of 110 basis points. EMEA's gross margin was 53.6%, an improvement of 860 basis points. Finally, Asia Pac's gross margin was 55.7%, an improvement of 460 basis points. We are incredibly pleased with the improvements we have made to gross margin over our fiscal year 2023. Recovering our margin continues to be a priority for us but we continue to believe returning our gross margin to our 55% target will be a multiyear task.

現在，讓我們更深入地了解各貿易集團第四季的利潤率，因為我們將繼續關注利潤率改善計劃。每個貿易集團的毛利率恢復都處於不同的階段，我很高興看到本季所有三個貿易集團都比去年第四季有所改善。美洲地區的毛利率為 49%，提高了 110 個基點。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的毛利率為 53.6%，提高了 860 個基點。最後，亞太地區的毛利率為55.7%，提高了460個基點。我們對 2023 財年毛利率的改善感到非常滿意。恢復利潤率仍然是我們的首要任務，但我們仍然相信，將毛利率恢復到 55% 的目標將是一項多年任務。

Turning to our cost of doing business which we define as total operating expenses, excluding depreciation and amortization and measure as a percentage of net sales. A WD-40 company, cost of doing business is primarily comprised of three areas: investments in our employees, investments in building our brand and freight expense to get our products to our customers. For the fourth quarter, our cost of doing business was 34%, and which increased from 31% in the comparable quarter of last year. This increase was largely due to higher employee-related expenses associated with our earned incentive compensation. Increased professional service fees and higher travel and meeting expenses as we continue to get back to our normal travel schedule in a post-pandemic world. We also continue to incur higher costs associated with the implementation and licensing of our new cloud-based enterprise resource planning software system. Net sales growth is the most important factor in managing our cost of business towards our long-term target of 30%. We are making deliberate investments in the business to support growth. So we expect to see improvements in the cost of doing business over time as net sales grow.

談到我們的業務成本，我們將其定義為總營運費用，不包括折舊和攤銷，並以佔淨銷售額的百分比來衡量。作為 WD-40 公司，業務成本主要由三個方面組成：對員工的投資、對品牌建立的投資以及將產品交付給客戶的運費。第四季度，我們的業務成本為 34%，高於去年同期的 31%。這一增長主要是由於與我們賺取的激勵薪酬相關的員工相關費用增加。隨著我們在大流行後的世界中繼續恢復正常的旅行計劃，專業服務費用增加，旅行和會議費用增加。我們也繼續承擔與新的基於雲端的企業資源規劃軟體系統的實施和許可相關的更高成本。淨銷售額成長是管理業務成本以實現 30% 長期目標的最重要因素。我們正在對業務進行有針對性的投資以支持成長。因此，隨著淨銷售額的成長，我們預期業務成本會隨著時間的推移而有所改善。

Turning now to EBITDA. For the fourth quarter, EBITDA margin, which we measure as a percentage of net sales was 18% and which improved from 16% in the comparable quarter of the previous year. This is the result of the improvement in net sales as volumes recovered in the back half of the fiscal year and stronger gross margin performance partially offset by an increase in our cost of doing business, as I previously noted. Before fiscal year 2022, we consistently delivered EBITDA margins of between 20% and 22%. However, EBITDA margins continue to be under pressure due to the current inflationary environment and intentional investments we have made to support our new four-by-four strategic framework. These investments are important growth accelerators for our future. Getting EBITDA above 20% remains a priority as we are laser-focused on improving sales volumes, rebuilding gross margins and disciplined cost management. Once we are consistently back at a historic 20% to 22% level, then we will look to leverage scale and returns on our investments across the business as we target 25% EBITDA margins over the longer term.

現在轉向 EBITDA。第四季的 EBITDA 利潤率（我們以佔淨銷售額的百分比來衡量）為 18%，較去年同期的 16% 有所提高。正如我之前指出的，這是由於本財年後半段銷售回升導致淨銷售額改善的結果，而毛利率表現的強勁則部分被我們經營成本的增加所抵銷。在 2022 財年之前，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率始終維持在 20% 至 22% 之間。然而，由於當前的通膨環境以及我們為支持新的四乘四戰略框架而進行的有意投資，EBITDA 利潤率繼續面臨壓力。這些投資是我們未來的重要成長加速器。使 EBITDA 超過 20% 仍然是我們的首要任務，因為我們專注於提高銷售量、重建毛利率和嚴格的成本管理。一旦我們持續回到歷史性的 20% 至 22% 水平，我們將尋求利用整個業務的投資規模和回報，因為我們的長期目標是 25% 的 EBITDA 利潤率。

Now let me discuss some items that fall below the EBITDA line. Net income improved to $16.6 million in the fourth quarter, which was an increase of 12% over the previous year's fourth quarter. On a constant currency basis, net income would have improved 10% compared to the fourth quarter last year. Our net income reflects a rate of 25.4% for the provision of income taxes. Diluted earnings per common share for the quarter were $1.21 compared to $1.08 for the fourth quarter last year, which reflects an increase of 12%. Our diluted EPS reflects 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

現在讓我討論一些低於 EBITDA 線的項目。第四季淨利增至1,660萬美元，較去年第四季成長12%。以固定匯率計算，淨利潤將比去年第四季成長 10%。我們的淨利潤反映了 25.4% 的所得稅率。本季稀釋後每股普通股收益為 1.21 美元，而去年第四季為 1.08 美元，成長了 12%。我們的稀釋後每股盈餘反映了 1,360 萬股加權平均流通股。

Now let's look at our balance sheet and capital allocation strategy. Our resilient and asset-light business model, coupled with actions we have taken to grow our top line while improving gross margin are all contributors to maintaining a strong balance sheet and liquidity position. Maintaining a disciplined and balanced capital allocation approach is a priority for us. We will make the necessary near-term investments to drive long-term profitable growth while also providing strong returns to our shareholders. This year, we saw liquidity from operations improve as we made considerable progress in lowering our inventory levels, which we had invested in to stabilize our U.S. supply chain in prior years. Our inventory levels peaked in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. And since then, we have reduced inventory by $32.5 million or 27%. We will continue to make progress on our inventory levels in conjunction with our strategic enabler #3 that Steve shared with you earlier. Our cash flow from operations in fiscal year 2023 was $98.4 million, and we elected to use $28.4 million of that cash to pay down a portion of our short-term higher interest rate borrowings.

現在讓我們來看看我們的資產負債表和資本配置策略。我們富有彈性的輕資產業務模式，加上我們在提高毛利率的同時增加收入所採取的行動，都有助於維持強勁的資產負債表和流動性狀況。保持嚴格和平衡的資本配置方法是我們的首要任務。我們將進行必要的短期投資，以推動長期獲利成長，同時為股東提供豐厚的回報。今年，我們看到營運流動性有所改善，因為我們在降低庫存水準方面取得了顯著進展，我們在前幾年投資了庫存水準來穩定我們的美國供應鏈。我們的庫存水準在 2023 財年第一季達到頂峰。此後，我們的庫存減少了 3,250 萬美元，即 27%。我們將結合史蒂夫先前與您分享的策略推動因素#3，並繼續在庫存水準上取得進展。我們 2023 財年的營運現金流為 9,840 萬美元，我們選擇使用其中的 2,840 萬美元來償還部分短期高利率借款。

During the fiscal year, we invested $6.6 million in capital projects, which is in line with our asset-light strategy of investing between 1% and 2% of sales. In addition to investments made in capital projects, since fiscal year 2021, we have been investing in a new cloud-based enterprise resource planning system, which is expected to go live in the first half of fiscal year 2024. Our investments to date include approximately $9 million in costs, which have been capitalized and will begin to amortize once we go live with the new system. As part of this project, we have incurred and will continue to incur costs that need not qualify for capitalization. We expect to incur these costs through the first and second ways of implementation over the upcoming year. This is a significant project for the company that is necessary as we continue to grow and support our business.

本財年，我們在資本項目上投資了 660 萬美元，這符合我們投資佔銷售額 1% 至 2% 的輕資產策略。除了資本項目投資外，自 2021 財年以來，我們一直在投資新的基於雲端的企業資源規劃系統，預計將於 2024 財年上半年投入使用。迄今為止，我們的投資包括約900 萬美元的成本已資本化，一旦新系統投入使用，這些成本將開始攤提。作為該專案的一部分，我們已經並將繼續產生不需要資本化的成本。我們預計在來年透過第一種和第二種實施方式產生這些成本。這對公司來說是一個重要的項目，隨著我們不斷發展和支持我們的業務，這是必要的。

For the foreseeable future, we expect maintenance CapEx of between 1% and 2% of net sales per fiscal year, which is in line with our asset-light strategy. In addition, we continue to return capital to our shareholders through regular dividends and buybacks. On October 6, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.83 per share. Payable on October 31 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 20. During the fourth quarter, we repurchased approximately 14,000 shares of our stock at a total cost of approximately $3 million under our current share repurchase plan.

在可預見的未來，我們預期每個財年的維護資本支出將達到淨銷售額的 1% 至 2%，符合我們的輕資產策略。此外，我們繼續透過定期股利和回購向股東返還資本。 10 月 6 日，我們的董事會宣布季度現金股利為每股 0.83 美元。於 10 月 31 日支付給 10 月 20 日收盤時登記在冊的股東。第四季度，我們根據目前的股票回購計畫回購了約 14,000 股股票，總成本約為 300 萬美元。

This concludes my discussion on our reported results. Before I share fiscal year 2024 guidance with you, I would like to discuss an updated view on our 55/30/25 business model. As Steve shared earlier, today, we introduced our new Four-by-Four strategic framework, which is designed to help us achieve our expected long-term revenue and profitability objectives. We see significant opportunities for sustainable growth, which, over time, will align with our 55/30/25 business model objectives. Steve and I think about our 55/30/25 business model, as a long-term beacon that we will move toward and align with over time. In the short to midterm, we think about each critical component of the model in a range. Near term, we're targeting a range of 50% to 55% for gross margin, 30% to 35% for cost of doing business and 20% to 25% for EBITDA. We believe these ranges represent a more realistic short-term view of the business in the current economic environment, and they will also allow us to make the necessary investments to support our new Four-by-Four strategic framework. Strategic investments remained this year around ESG, information technology, innovation and organizational design. These investments were significant year-over-year but are not anticipated to grow at the same level going forward now that we have the right people in the right roles to drive our strategy forward. We believe these investments were necessary to jump-start our Four-by-Four strategy. As we move forward, we will use the myriad of strategic levers at our disposal to move each component in the correct direction over time.

我對報告結果的討論到此結束。在與您分享 2024 財年指導之前，我想先討論一下對我們 55/30/25 業務模式的最新看法。正如史蒂夫今天早些時候分享的那樣，我們推出了新的四乘四戰略框架，旨在幫助我們實現預期的長期收入和盈利目標。我們看到了可持續成長的重大機遇，隨著時間的推移，這將與我們的 55/30/25 業務模式目標保持一致。史蒂夫和我認為我們的 55/30/25 商業模式是一個長期的燈塔，我們將隨著時間的推移朝著這個燈塔邁進並與之保持一致。在短期到中期，我們會在一定範圍內考慮模型的每個關鍵組成部分。近期，我們的毛利率目標為 50% 至 55%，業務成本為 30% 至 35%，EBITDA 為 20% 至 25%。我們相信，這些範圍代表了當前經濟環境下對業務更現實的短期看法，它們也將使我們能夠進行必要的投資，以支持我們新的「四乘四」戰略框架。今年的策略投資仍圍繞著 ESG、資訊科技、創新和組織設計。這些投資同比規模很大，但預計未來不會以同樣的水平增長，因為我們擁有合適的人員擔任合適的角色來推動我們的策略向前發展。我們相信這些投資對於啟動我們的四乘四戰略是必要的。隨著我們的前進，我們將利用我們可以使用的無數戰略槓桿，隨著時間的推移將每個組成部分推向正確的方向。

Ultimately, we are focused on long-term value creation. We know that when we consistently grow our top line, manage our 55/30/25 business model for EBITDA growth and leverage our asset-light model, we can continue to drive an ROIC of greater than 25%. That will generate continued strong and stable free cash flow, which we will continue to optimize for our best returns on investment and to our stockholders. Looking more closely at our outlook for fiscal year 2024. Net sales growth is projected to be between 6% and 12% and with net sales between $570 million and $600 million in constant currency. We also expect gross margin to be between 51% and 53%. Advertising and promotion investment is projected to be between 5% to 6% of net sales. The provision for income tax is expected to be between 24% and 25%. Net income is expected to be between $65 million and $70 million. And diluted earnings per share is expected to be between $4.78 and $5.15, which is based on an estimated 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. Also, as a reminder, this guidance assumes no major changes to the current economic environment. Unanticipated inflationary headwinds and other unforeseen events may affect our view of fiscal year 2024.

最終，我們專注於長期價值創造。我們知道，當我們持續成長營收、管理 55/30/25 的業務模式以實現 EBITDA 成長並利用我們的輕資產模式時，我們可以繼續推動超過 25% 的投資報酬率。這將產生持續強勁、穩定的自由現金流，我們將繼續優化現金流，以獲得最佳投資回報和股東回報。更仔細地審視我們對 2024 財年的展望。預計淨銷售額成長將在 6% 至 12% 之間，以固定匯率計算，淨銷售額將在 5.7 億美元至 6 億美元之間。我們也預計毛利率將在 51% 至 53% 之間。廣告和促銷投資預計佔淨銷售額的 5% 至 6%。所得稅撥備預計介於24%至25%之間。淨利潤預計在 6500 萬美元至 7000 萬美元之間。稀釋後每股收益預計在 4.78 美元至 5.15 美元之間，這是基於估計的 1,360 萬股加權平均流通股計算的。另外，提醒一下，本指南假設當前經濟環境不會發生重大變化。不可預見的通膨逆風和其他不可預見的事件可能會影響我們對 2024 財年的看法。

That completes the financial overview. Now I would like to turn it back to Steve.

這樣就完成了財務概覽。現在我想把它轉回給史蒂夫。

Thank you, Sara. If we've learned anything over the last 70 years, its WD-40 Company is a resilient business. I'm proud of what we've accomplished over the last year. Once again, I want to thank our employees as they are our most powerful assets and continue to be the real magic formula that drives our company forward.

謝謝你，薩拉。如果說我們在過去 70 年學到了什麼的話，那就是它的 WD-40 公司是一家有彈性的企業。我對我們去年所取得的成就感到自豪。我要再次感謝我們的員工，因為他們是我們最強大的資產，並將繼續成為推動我們公司前進的真正神奇公式。

In summary, what did you hear from us on this call? You heard that despite a difficult first half and a negative impact from currency of nearly $18 million, we grew revenue 4% over prior year. Excluding the impact of currency, revenue grew 7% and which is in line with our long-term revenue growth target. You heard that we saw improvements in volumes and sales in the second half of fiscal year 2023 and are encouraged by these trends as we enter fiscal year 2024. You heard that we've introduced our new Four-by-Four strategic framework, which is tied to our purpose and values and will guide our future performance, investments and drive long-term value creation. You heard that we're making investments across our organization, in our people, products, processes, productivity and the planet and that we will continue to make the necessary investments to capture the tremendous runway for revenue growth and margin expansion in front of us. You heard that we saw liquidity from operations return as we made considerable progress in lowering our inventory levels over the fiscal year. You heard that our asset-light model provides a cash flow for us to invest in the business whilst also providing returns to our stockholders. You heard that we consider our 55/30/25 business model, a long-term beacon, but we will move toward and align with over time but that our short-, medium-term focus is on driving EBITDA margins back above 20%. As you heard that we issued guidance for fiscal year 2024 and that we expect revenue growth of 6% to 12% on a constant currency basis which equates to net sales of $570 million to $600 million.

總而言之，您在這次電話會議中從我們那裡聽到了什麼？您聽說，儘管上半年很困難，而且貨幣帶來了近 1800 萬美元的負面影響，但我們的收入比上年增長了 4%。剔除匯率影響，營收成長7%，符合我們的長期營收成長目標。您聽說我們在 2023 財年下半年看到了銷量和銷售額的改善，並在進入 2024 財年時對這些趨勢感到鼓舞。您聽說我們推出了新的四乘四戰略框架，即與我們的宗旨和價值觀緊密相關，並將引導我們未來的績效、投資並推動長期價值創造。您聽說我們正在整個組織、人員、產品、流程、生產力和地球方面進行投資，並且我們將繼續進行必要的投資，以抓住我們面前收入成長和利潤擴張的巨大跑道。您聽說，隨著我們在本財年降低庫存水準方面取得了顯著進展，我們看到了營運流動性的回歸。您聽說我們的輕資產模式為我們投資業務提供了現金流，同時也為我們的股東提供了回報。您聽說我們將55/30/25 業務模式視為長期燈塔，但隨著時間的推移，我們將朝著這一目標邁進並與之保持一致，但我們的短期、中期重點是將EBITDA 利潤率拉回20% 以上。正如您聽說的那樣，我們發布了 2024 財年的指引，預計以固定匯率計算收入增長 6% 至 12%，相當於淨銷售額 5.7 億至 6 億美元。

Thank you for joining our call today. We'd now be pleased to answer your questions.

感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。我們現在很高興回答您的問題。

(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 和 Jefferies 的對話。

If we look out into 2024 with what you're expecting, are you assuming input and filling costs decrease or kind of flatten out from here? Just given kind of the different dynamics within the environment.

如果我們按照您的預期展望 2024 年，您是否認為投入和填充成本會下降或趨於平穩？只是給了環境中不同的動態。

Daniel. This is Sara. So from an input cost standpoint, when we're looking at the guidance that we put out there, we're not seeing significant pullback in the input costs or the filling fees. So They are -- the filling fees are slightly up over prior year, and I got trend. It's not substantial, but we are forecasting those to be a little higher going into next fiscal year than what we're sitting at right now.

丹尼爾.這是薩拉。因此，從投入成本的角度來看，當我們查看我們發布的指導意見時，我們沒有看到投入成本或填充費用顯著下降。所以他們是——填充費比去年略有上升，我得到了趨勢。這個數字並不大，但我們預測下一財年的數字會比我們現在的數字略高。

Okay. And then I think you mentioned the 55/30/25 framework. That's not changed, right? I mean I'm just misremembering I think, but I think that's kind of what you guys are always kind of pushing towards, correct?

好的。然後我想你提到了 55/30/25 框架。那沒有改變，對吧？我的意思是我只是記錯了，但我認為這就是你們一直在推動的，對嗎？

Yes, the 55/30/25 framework has not changed, and it continues to be our longer-term beacon as to what we're striving for long term.

是的，55/30/25 框架沒有改變，它仍然是我們長期奮鬥目標的長期燈塔。

Okay. And then just in terms of revenue, I think for geographic expansion, you said, I think, $1 billion in sales opportunity. I think that's -- I assume that the addressable market. But that's -- or -- and maybe I missed it -- don't remember the number, but that's like double what you're roughly double what your sales are now. I was just wondering how you're going to attack that and I mean how viable that is kind of.

好的。然後就收入而言，我認為對於地理擴張，你說，我認為，10 億美元的銷售機會。我認為這就是——我假設潛在市場。但這是——或者——也許我錯過了——我不記得這個數字了，但這大約是你現在銷售額的兩倍。我只是想知道你將如何解決這個問題，我的意思是這有多可行。

Yes. Thanks, Daniel. This is Steve. So the $1 billion growth opportunities are long-term growth aspiration based upon our internal benchmark in terms of what's possible. So yes, it's not a number we're going to put out there in terms of achieving within 3 or 5 years. It's a long-term growth opportunity. It's based on a benchmark opportunity for all countries we're operating at a similar level to the U.S. So it is aspirational, but what it does do is give us a prioritized list of geographies for us to target and where to invest in.

是的。謝謝，丹尼爾。這是史蒂夫。因此，10 億美元的成長機會是基於我們關於可能性的內部基準的長期成長願望。所以，是的，這不是我們要在 3 或 5 年內實現的數字。這是一個長期成長的機會。它是基於我們與美國運營水平相似的所有國家/地區的基準機會。因此，它是有抱負的，但它所做的是為我們提供了一份優先考慮的地區列表，供我們瞄準和投資。

Okay. And a final question. You mentioned getting inventories on hand, I think, below -- I think the goal is below 90 days. I was just wondering where we are now and where we were historically speaking?

好的。最後一個問題。我想，您在下面提到了獲取現有庫存——我認為目標是低於 90 天。我只是想知道我們現在在哪裡以及歷史上我們在哪裡？

So we currently are a little over just shy of 4 months actually globally. So the trading bloc, it does differ by trading bloc when you look at between the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. The place that we've had, the biggest headwinds from our inventory levels has been in the Americas, and we are still just shy of about 6 months of inventory there. So that's really where our opportunity is, is to continue to pull back our inventory levels and get that below. Get that closer to our 3-month target.

因此，目前全球範圍內的實際時間不到 4 個月。因此，當你觀察美洲、歐洲、中東和非洲和亞太地區的貿易集團時，它確實有所不同。我們的庫存水準面臨的最大阻力是在美洲，我們在那裡的庫存仍只夠維持 6 個月左右。因此，這確實是我們的機會所在，就是繼續降低我們的庫存水準並使其低於這一水準。更接近我們的 3 個月目標。

Our next question comes from Linda Bolton-Weiser with D.A. Davidson.

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

So sorry if I missed this, but did you say what the volume and price change was, respectively, in the quarter for sales?

如果我錯過了這一點，我很抱歉，但是您是否說過該季度的銷售量和價格變化分別是多少？

Hi, Linda, this is Sara. So I can go through that. So in our deck, you will see it at the consolidated level. So from a fourth quarter perspective, the impact of price had an 8% impact globally. And the volume was slightly down just about 1%.

嗨，琳達，這是薩拉。所以我可以經歷這一點。因此，在我們的套牌中，您將在綜合層面上看到它。因此，從第四季度的角度來看，價格的影響在全球範圍內產生了 8% 的影響。成交量略有下降，僅約 1%。

Okay. Great. And then I'm just curious a little bit about the sales guidance for the next fiscal year. It's a pretty wide range I'm just wondering what represents the situation at the low and the high ends of the range? Like what are the variables there that are making that range be that wide?

好的。偉大的。然後我只是對下一財年的銷售指導有點好奇。這是一個相當寬的範圍，我只是想知道該範圍的低端和高端的情況代表什麼？是什麼變數導致這個範圍如此大？

Thank you, Linda. So we're still facing as we recover our volumes. So you've seen -- we're just chasing back the U.S. being the first market to execute the price increases. We saw the same kind of 6 months. So this was back in May of the prior year. We saw 6 months of disruption, then we saw a recovery, and now we're seeing double-digit volume growth in the U.S. market. In terms of our POS sales for the fourth quarter, we were up 13% in units and up 19% in dollars in the U.S. market. So we take a great deal of encouragement from the U.S. market, which went first with the price increases. And the strong volume recovery we've now got into double digits. So the next biggest piece of our business, the recovery is EMEA. You saw some recovery in the second half in terms of volumes. But we now expect those in FY '24 to become positive, maybe not out of the gate, but over time, they will build, and we're already seeing patches in our September results from the new fiscal year where we have pockets of really outstanding volume recovery in Europe as well. So we as expected, the guidance range is really between the low end and the high end, Europe is quite a factor in terms of how strongly Europe can recover the other region being Latin America, we expect a strong recovery in Latin America as well in volumes.

謝謝你，琳達。因此，我們在恢復銷售量時仍然面臨挑戰。所以你已經看到了——我們只是追趕美國成為第一個執行價格上漲的市場。我們看到了同樣的 6 個月。這是前一年五月的情況。我們經歷了 6 個月的混亂，然後看到了復甦，現在我們看到美國市場的銷售出現兩位數成長。就第四季度 POS 銷售額而言，我們在美國市場的銷量成長了 13%，銷售額成長了 19%。因此，我們從美國市場得到了極大的鼓勵，首先是價格上漲。銷量的強勁復甦現在已達到兩位數。因此，我們的下一個最大業務是復甦，即歐洲、中東和非洲地區。下半年銷售回升。但我們現在預計24 財年的業績將變得積極，也許不是一開始就能實現的，但隨著時間的推移，它們將會逐漸增強，而且我們已經在新財年9 月份的業績中看到了一些補丁，我們確實有一些真正的業績。歐洲的銷售恢復也很出色。因此，正如我們所預期的那樣，指導範圍確實介於低端和高端之間，就歐洲能否強勁復甦而言，歐洲是一個相當重要的因素，而拉丁美洲其他地區也將強勁復甦，我們預計拉丁美洲也將強勁復甦。卷。

Okay. And then I think, well, let's see. Sara talked about these different factors that increased your SG&A expense, the different investment areas in FY '23. And I think, Sara, you said that it would be less growth of SG&A. Maybe you could just clarify, do you mean like in dollar growth, the SG&A will grow less as a percentage growth rate? Or is the ratio expected to come down or be flat? Or I mean, can you just give a little more color on the quantification of that?

好的。然後我想，好吧，讓我們看看。 Sara 談到了這些增加 SG&A 費用的不同因素以及 23 財年的不同投資領域。我想，Sara，你說過 SG&A 的成長會減少。也許你可以澄清一下，你的意思是像美元成長一樣，SG&A 的成長百分比成長率會更低？或者該比率預計會下降或持平？或者我的意思是，您能否就其量化提供更多資訊？

Sure, Linda. So yes, we have been investing in those areas that I mentioned. And a lot of the investment outside of the IT investments relate to people, right? When we look at ESG, and we look at innovation. A lot of those investments over FY '23, we're hiring. We have an ESG team that's now fully dedicated to looking at sustainable products, looking at different ways for us to ship our products holistically. So there is investments that began in FY '22. And now we're going to have a full year essentially of a lot of those individuals from an SG&A perspective. So my comment on it not continuing at the same pace is really around, once we get through this fiscal year, I don't expect the percentage increase of our SG&A to be at the same pace that we've seen in the last 2 years, if that makes sense.

當然，琳達。所以，是的，我們一直在我提到的那些領域進行投資。 IT 投資以外的投資很多都與人有關，對嗎？當我們關注 ESG 時，我們會專注於創新。我們正在招募 23 財年的大部分投資。我們有一個 ESG 團隊，現在完全致力於研究永續產品，尋找不同的方式來全面交付我們的產品。因此，22 財年就開始了一些投資。現在，從SG&A 的角度來看，我們將有很多這樣的人度過一整年。因此，我對不以同樣的速度繼續進行的評論確實存在，一旦我們度過了本財年，我預計我們的 SG&A 百分比增長不會與過去 2 年的速度相同，如果有道理的話。

Okay. And I was just wondering about your -- well, I mean, Sara, you usually have some quantification of like maybe the FX effect on the top line growth. Do you have a rough projection for that for FY '24?

好的。我只是想知道你的——好吧，我的意思是，薩拉，你通常會有一些量化，例如外匯對營收成長的影響。您對 24 財年有粗略的預測嗎？

So for FY '24, we are viewing the average rate that we had in FY '23. And so right now, it's apples-to-apples. When we start to get out into the Q1, Q2, and we have currency that starts to impact the comparable period. This year, we are going to guide. Our revenue guidance is going to stick with a constant currency guidance. So we'll probably -- starting in Q1, we will give both actuals and then at constant currency. So that number right now is apples-to-apples on an average FX rate and then going into the year, we will be updating that and guiding to a constant currency revenue number.

因此，對於 24 財年，我們查看的是 23 財年的平均利率。所以現在，情況是一樣的。當我們開始進入第一季、第二季時，我們的貨幣開始影響可比時期。今年，我們將進行指導。我們的收入指導將堅持不變的貨幣指導。因此，我們可能會 - 從第一季開始，我們將提供實際值，然後按固定匯率提供。因此，現在的數字是平均匯率的同類數字，然後進入今年，我們將更新該數字並指導一個恆定的貨幣收入數字。

So you mean your 6% to 12% growth, that's in constant currency?

那麼您的意思是以固定匯率計算 6% 到 12% 的成長率？

Yes. Yes.

是的。是的。

Okay. And maybe also you -- do you have an oil price assumption that is kind of built in for FY '24?

好的。也許您也有 - 您是否有 24 財年內建的油價假設？

We do. And as you are aware, oil has been bouncing all over the place the last month or so, but we have an estimate in the plan of between $80 and $100.

我們的確是。如您所知，上個月左右油價一直在到處反彈，但我們計劃中的預估價格在 80 至 100 美元之間。

Okay. And I guess this is more of a longer-term question, a big picture question. It seems like for all the years I've been following you that the cost of doing business ratio has always been the struggle for you guys. I mean your gross margin has progressed upward and you've had sales growth and everything else. But it seems to be stubbornly high, and you do need to invest. There's all these areas that you need investment to continue to grow. So that's understandable. But I just kind of wonder, is it as a small company with relatively small size that you're just -- it's more of a struggle to gain like scale economies or I just -- I guess I'm wondering like where is the beef, so to speak, in terms of that ratio ever coming down. Do you have thoughts on that?

好的。我想這更像是長期問題，一個大局問題。看來我多年來一直關注你們，做生意的成本比率一直是你們面臨的難題。我的意思是，你的毛利率有所上升，銷售額和其他方面都有所成長。但它似乎居高不下，你確實需要投資。所有這些領域都需要投資才能繼續成長。所以這是可以理解的。但我只是想知道，作為一家規模相對較小的小公司，你只是 - 想要獲得規模經濟更像是一場鬥爭，還是我只是 - 我想我想知道牛肉在哪裡可以這麼說，就這個比率而言，一直在下降。你對此有什麼想法嗎？

So I think the -- I mean, Sara, you can add to this. But from my point of view, it's all about -- we are laser-focused on these Must-Win Battles like never before. And I think we put out our historic rates in terms of what we've achieved. We put out our forward rates by each of the battles in terms of what we want to achieve with the big ones being geographic expansion, premiumization and WD-40 specialist. And so it's really about accelerating revenue growth to gain scale having a higher sales base to leverage the cost base over. So if you take things like our ESG investments, that's a team of 3 people in 5 years' time, that team will still be a team of 3 people, but we had to put it in place for various reasons. So I think that going forward, it's about driving faster revenue growth via laser-focused execution on those battles and just accelerating the pace at which we execute our strategy.

所以我認為——我的意思是，薩拉，你可以補充這一點。但從我的角度來看，這一切都是關於——我們以前所未有的方式專注於這些必勝之戰。我認為我們根據我們所取得的成就來公佈我們的歷史利率。我們根據我們希望實現的目標，對每場戰役提出了遠期利率，主要目標是地域擴張、高端化和 WD-40 專業化。因此，這實際上是為了加速收入成長，以擴大規模，並擁有更高的銷售基礎，從而利用成本基礎。因此，如果像我們的 ESG 投資這樣的事情，5 年後，這個團隊將由 3 人組成，該團隊仍將是由 3 人組成的團隊，但由於各種原因，我們必須將其落實到位。因此，我認為，展望未來，重點是透過專注於這些戰鬥的執行來推動收入更快成長，並加快我們執行策略的步伐。

Okay. Sounds good. Thank you very much.

好的。聽起來不錯。非常感謝。

Our next question comes from Rosemarie Morbelli with Gabelli Funds.

我們的下一個問題來自 Gabelli Funds 的 Rosemarie Morbelli。

I think that you and Sara, you've kind of talked about what you are expecting for 2024. But I was wondering if you could give us a little more detail. You are expecting top line growth of 6% to 12%. You're expecting a higher gross margin advertising and sales seems to be similar to what you have been experiencing on a percentage of sales. So -- but we are looking at the low end at potentially lower EPS year-over-year. So I understand that you are spending more on that operating -- the cost of operation. But what will go wrong for you to have actually a down year? That is the part that I am struggling with. Why [$4.78], why not a flat year? What is the main factor that would create that?

我認為您和 Sara 已經談到了對 2024 年的期望。但我想知道您是否能為我們提供更多細節。您預計營收成長 6% 至 12%。您期望廣告和銷售的毛利率更高，這似乎與您在銷售百分比方面所經歷的類似。所以，但我們正在關注每股收益同比可能較低的低端。所以我知道你在營運上花了更多——營運成本。但如果你的這一年實際表現不佳，會出現什麼問題呢？這就是我正在努力解決的部分。為什麼[$4.78]，為什麼不是平淡的一年？造成這種情況的主要因素是什麼？

So there are a couple of things happening below the operating line. So we've talked already about the increase in the SG&A cost. So yes, there is less leverage being dropped to the bottom line this year versus prior year. But below the operations line when we do go live in our new ERP system, we are going to have additional noncash amortization expenses hitting. So that is going to be increasing. And then in addition, our tax rate is going up. So it is going up 200 basis points as a result of increased statutory rates in the U.K. essentially increased foreign taxes year-over-year with statutory increases along with increased interest rates on to our uncertain tax positions in the U.S. So the impact on our tax line is not inconsequential. And obviously, that's having a pretty decent impact on our EPS number.

因此，在營運線以下發生了一些事情。我們已經討論過 SG&A 成本的增加。所以，是的，與去年相比，今年的槓桿率下降到了底線。但當我們啟用新的 ERP 系統時，在營運線以下，我們將面臨額外的非現金攤提費用。所以這個數字將會增加。此外，我們的稅率正在上升。因此，由於英國法定稅率的提高，外國稅收逐年增加，因此它上漲了 200 個基點，法定稅率的增加以及利率的增加對我們在美國不確定的稅收狀況造成了影響。線並非無關緊要。顯然，這對我們的每股盈餘數字產生了相當大的影響。

And if I can just add, in terms of the kind of the drivers of the business in terms of revenue, so this volume recovery, particularly in Europe, right? So for the fiscal year, $37 million of volume loss this year. The big question is how much of that can we recover? We think we're likely to recover somewhere between 50% and 80% for the year of that, but that's dependent largely upon Europe and Latin America recovery. And then on the gross margin, as Europe becomes a bigger part of our business, the -- there are mix benefits, right? Our gross margin in [many of our continental] European businesses, in particular, which suffered last year is very, very strong. And so as we do more business in Europe and Asia Pacific, that country mix on gross margin is positive. Just simply from a gross margin point of view, selling more products, more of our highest gross margin products. So Smart Straw, EZ-REACH, [Smart] Premium format, WD-40 Specialist and selling less of our lowest gross margin products, household products is a big driver of our gross margin going forward as well.

如果我可以補充一下，就收入方面的業務驅動因素而言，銷量的復甦，尤其是在歐洲，對嗎？因此，就本財年而言，今年的銷售損失為 3,700 萬美元。最大的問題是我們能恢復多少？我們認為今年經濟可能會復甦 50% 到 80% 之間，但這在很大程度上取決於歐洲和拉丁美洲的復甦。然後在毛利率方面，隨著歐洲成為我們業務的更大組成部分，會有混合效益，對吧？我們的[許多大陸]歐洲業務的毛利率，尤其是去年遭受的損失，非常非常強勁。因此，隨著我們在歐洲和亞太地區開展更多業務，該國家/地區的毛利率組合是積極的。單純從毛利率來看，銷售的產品越多，我們毛利率最高的產品就越多。因此，Smart Straw、EZ-REACH、[Smart] Premium 格式、WD-40 Specialist 以及銷售較少的毛利率最低產品、家用產品也是我們毛利率成長的重要推動力。

So there is -- I'm still confused about one thing. Wouldn't the cost of the ERP system that will now be expensed instead of capitalized. Wouldn't that be part of the SG&A? Why is it below the line? I am confused about that.

所以，我仍然對一件事感到困惑。 ERP系統的成本現在不會被費用化而不是資本化嗎？這不是 SG&A 的一部分嗎？為什麼是在線以下呢？我對此感到困惑。

So I look at -- sorry, when I say below the line, I meant below our EBITDA margin. But yes, amortization is sitting up in SG&A. So apologies for that comment.

所以我看看——抱歉，當我說低於線時，我的意思是低於我們的 EBITDA 利潤率。但是，攤銷確實存在於SG&A 中。所以對這個評論表示歉意。

No, it's okay. I enlist all of the business. Okay. Then you are working on supply chain changes. What do you think you need to improve there? I mean everyone was hit with an increasing inventory level after the pandemic and difficulties in getting raw materials than it was destocking. So what do you see need to change for you to do better to these circumstances, which I hope is not the case, but come back.

不，沒關係。我徵集了所有的業務。好的。然後你正在致力於供應鏈變革。您認為您需要改進哪些方面？我的意思是，每個人都受到了大流行後庫存水平不斷增加以及獲取原材料比去庫存更困難的打擊。那麼，您認為需要做出哪些改變才能更好地應對這些情況，我希望情況並非如此，但請回來。

So we've spent a tremendous amount of time in the last year to half stabilizing our supply chain, particularly in the U.S. And we are actually pretty much done at this point with expanding our filler network in the U.S. We've also expanded our filler network in Europe. We also have expanded our suppliers. So we have multiple suppliers now for our cans and have continued to expand our supplier base as well. So we're feeling very good about where we're at from a supply chain standpoint. So from here, it's really about optimizing. And volume solves a lot of those problems, right? As we start to have volume continues to come back, we're able to push more volume across a broader filler base and when we can push more volume into our filler network, we get better unit pricing. We're able to turn inventory quicker. So there's a lot of things that we're looking at from an optimization standpoint. But at this point, we don't see any full-scale changes to our supplier network. We're always looking at kind of what the next year longer-term change for us. But in the near term, we feel very good about where we're at with our overall network on the supply chain side. Steve, anything to add?

因此，我們在去年花費了大量時間來穩定我們的供應鏈，特別是在美國。實際上，我們目前在美國的灌裝機網路的擴展工作基本上已經完成。我們還擴展了我們的灌裝機歐洲網路。我們也擴大了供應商。因此，我們現在擁有多個罐頭供應商，並且仍在繼續擴大我們的供應商基礎。因此，從供應鏈的角度來看，我們對自己所處的位置感覺非常好。所以從這裡開始，這實際上是關於優化。體積解決了很多這樣的問題，對嗎？當我們的銷量開始持續回升時，我們能夠在更廣泛的填料基礎上推動更多的銷量，當我們可以將更多的銷量推向我們的填料網絡時，我們可以獲得更好的單位定價。我們能夠更快地週轉庫存。因此，我們從優化的角度考慮了很多事情。但目前，我們的供應商網路還沒有任何全面的變化。我們一直在關註明年對我們來說的長期變化。但在短期內，我們對供應鏈的整體網路狀況感到非常滿意。史蒂夫，有什麼要補充的嗎？

No, I think that's it. Optimizing the next stage, particularly within the Americas, right? And when you look at our gross margin by trading bloc, you can see that. So the Americas having reestablished their supply chain, there are optimization opportunities there. You look at our gross margin within the Asia Pacific region, we're already backed up at 55%, Europe is heading that way in terms of 52%, 53%. It's really the Americas where we need to extract those optimizations now.

不，我想就是這樣。優化下一階段，特別是在美洲，對吧？當您按交易集團查看我們的毛利率時，您可以看到這一點。因此，美洲已經重建了供應鏈，那裡存在優化機會。你看看我們在亞太地區的毛利率，我們已經達到了 55%，歐洲也朝著這個方向發展，達到 52%、53%。我們現在確實需要在美洲進行這些優化。

Isn't the reason for the lower margin, the lower gross margin in the Americas. Well, no, I guess I am wrong. I was going to ask if it is because you have your headquarters here, but I guess that would affect the SG&A. It would not affect the gross margin, correct?

這不是利潤率較低的原因嗎，美洲毛利率較低。嗯，不，我想我錯了。我本來想問是否是因為你們的總部在這裡，但我想這會影響 SG&A。這不會影響毛利率，對嗎？

No. And our U.S. gross margins are pretty healthy. It's really been about Latin America gross margins and getting those back on track.

不會。我們在美國的毛利率相當健康。這實際上關係到拉丁美洲的毛利率以及使其重回正軌。

Okay. And if I may ask one last question. Any potential acquisitions you are looking at of a new product line which would fit with your existing product lines?

好的。我可以問最後一個問題嗎？您正在考慮是否有可能收購適合您現有產品線的新產品線？

So we spoke in terms of kind of M&A in terms of last quarter, we spoke about the strategic review of the household brands. That's ongoing. We have had no further kind of decisions being made there. So what's this space for more information in future quarters. In terms of acquisitions, I mean, we say that we're in the business of acquiring new points of distribution and new users every day, and that's where our focus needs to be going forward. Having said that, there may be ways for us in future to accelerate the growth, particularly in geographic expansion by different ways of partnering or making moves that would accelerate geographic expansion. So that would be where, if anywhere, we might do something in the future, but nothing in the plans to report as of this quarter.

因此，我們談到了上個季度的併購類型，我們談到了家居品牌的策略審查。這是持續進行的。我們在那裡沒有做出任何進一步的決定。那麼，未來幾季的更多資訊有哪些空間呢？在收購方面，我的意思是，我們說我們的業務每天都在收購新的分銷點和新用戶，這就是我們需要關注的重點。話雖如此，我們未來可能有辦法加速成長，特別是在地域擴張方面，透過不同的合作方式或採取加速地域擴張的舉措。因此，如果有的話，我們將來可能會做一些事情，但截至本季的報告計劃中沒有任何內容。

Thank you very much. I really appreciate all the help. Good luck next quarter.

非常感謝。我真的很感謝所有的幫助。祝下個季度好運。

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

女士們先生們，我們分配的提問時間到此結束。我們感謝您參加今天的電話會議，並請您斷開線路。