Zoetis Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Sportsman's Warehouse Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Riley Timmer, Vice President of Investor Relations.

Operator

Thank you, Riley. You may begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator. Participating with me on the call today is Paul Stone, our Chief Executive Officer and Jeff White, our Chief Financial Officer. I will now remind everyone of the company's Safe Harbor language. The statements we make today contain forward looking statements Within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which includes statements regarding expectations about our future results of operations, demand for our products and growth of our industry. Actual results may differ materially from those suggested in Such statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties.

Speaker 1

Those are described in the company's most recent Form 10 ks and the company's other filings made with the SEC. We will also disclose non GAAP financial measures during today's call. Definitions of such non GAAP measures as well as reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures Are provided as supplemental financial information in our press release included as Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 8 ks we furnished to the SEC today, which is also available on the Investor Relations section of our website at sportsman.com. I will now turn the call over to Paul.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Riley, and good afternoon, everyone. It's an honor to be here, and I'm excited to lead the Sportsman's Warehouse team as the next CEO. As one of the leading specialty outdoor retailers, I look forward to partnering with our more than 5,000 dedicated associates across the organization for what I believe is a very promising future. The mission of Sports and Warehouse is clear. We provide outstanding gear and exceptional service to inspire outdoor memories.

Speaker 2

This is the core of who we are as a retailer and one of the key reasons why I chose to join and lead this great company. During my time with the competing large outdoor retailer, I quickly learned that all those who participate in the outdoors share a passion that is unmatched. When one of our customers walks through our doors, they expect to talk with someone knowledgeable and feel their passion for the outdoors, whether it be hunting, fishing or camping. As a company who prides itself on having that local homegrown image in field, It's critical that we serve our customers with vigor and passion. We will continue to build on being the outdoor company of choice, not for retail theatrics, but for the value, the deep assortment and the absolute unmatched service we provide.

Speaker 2

Looking now at our Q3 results. Sales for the quarter came in above our stated expectation, led by our honey and shooting sports category. However, the difficult macro environment continues to pressure consumer discretionary spend, creating a continued headwind for the business. While there were some bright spots in our hunting and fishing categories during the months of August September, soft sales trends persisted during these 2 months of Q3. In early October, Unfortunate World Events resulted in sales improvements in our shooting sports category, which was the key contributor to our beat of expectations.

Speaker 2

While we are no doubt faced with some short term challenges, the careful execution on the key areas of the company has never been more important. It is critical that we carefully navigate and adjust the business to the current environment. Our objective is to further position the business for a successful future. To that end, during the Q3, we made significant progress on our short term initiatives. The team did a great job executing at a high level of success at each of the key areas, which is reflected in our Q3 results.

Speaker 2

I'm going to be focused along with the team on a successful closeout of the fiscal year. This includes providing customers with a positive holiday shopping experience and further execution on the following areas of the business. Inventory Management, specifically the reduction of our apparel and footwear inventory omni channel and e commerce Cost Reduction and Control Measures and Capital Allocation Priorities. During the Q3, the team took swift action to address each of these areas with meaningful results achieved. 1st, in regards to inventory management, we made significant progress through a series of promotions and markdowns to reduce our apparel and footwear inventory.

Speaker 2

Starting in early Q3, the team laid down Solid plan to move through this inventory during the back half of the year, and I'm pleased with the progress. However, Given the tough macro environment and the deep markdowns we are seeing by competitors, we will be more aggressive in Q4 to move this inventory. These aggressive markdowns will put additional pressure on our Q4 gross margins. It is critical to end the year with healthy inventory, so we can invest in the right merchandise that appeals to our core customer. I am pleased that during the quarter, we reduced our total inventory and paid down our debt by approximately $20,000,000 versus last quarter, improving our total liquidity.

Speaker 2

We will continue our plans to refine how we manage inventory across our wide range of locations in order to leverage our strengths in omni channel and keep our deep assortment of brands locally and seasonally relevant. Our goal is to continue refining our processes, invest in better tools and build stronger partnerships with our key vendors to improve the overall customer experience and deepen brand loyalty. 2nd, e commerce, which once again outpaced the performance of the overall business in the Q3 and continued to comp positive. This is an area where we will continue to improve our capabilities, evolve our programs and invest strategically. These are all critical pieces to enable us to leverage our omnichannel platform to drive additional sales and serve more customers outside of our geographic areas.

Speaker 2

3rd, in regards to our cost reduction efforts, I am proud of the team for how swiftly they reacted to rightsize SG and A calls to our current business trends. We will continue to closely manage the business, look for areas where we can further reduce expenses and invest only in areas that are value add and provide a measurable return on investment. I am proud of our employees for how they reacted to these difficult changes and continue providing passionate service to our customers. And 4th, capital allocation priorities. On November 16th, we opened our final store for 2023 in South Tucson, Arizona.

Speaker 2

As we look forward on new stores, we review our capital allocation priorities and consider the current macroeconomic conditions and its impact on ourselves. Given these conditions, we've made the decision not to open any new stores during fiscal 2024. However, as I I think about the future of our new store growth for Sportsman's Warehouse. I do see meaningful opportunity and significant white space across the country. I believe our unique store size flexibility, which allows us to open stores in areas that our competitors simply cannot, provides us with a distinct competitive advantage.

Speaker 2

This, coupled with the significant white space available, leaves new store openings as a significant piece of our in development long term growth plans. I am truly excited to be part of Sportsman's Warehouse as we carefully but swiftly adjust, adapt and refine our business to the current demands of our passionate customer. As I continue my review of the business and the efficiency and effectiveness of our systems, people and internal processes, it's critical that we have all the foundational pieces firmly in place to successfully support our stores and the customers we serve. Having spent nearly 28 years in stores and overseeing operations with the Fortune 1 retailer, spending time in our stores, meeting with our associates and customers is critical. We have a unique company and opportunity.

Speaker 2

I firmly believe we will make the necessary improvements to grow this company and increase shareholder value. On our year end earnings call in March, I will provide an update to our shareholders and analysts on the short and long term strategy for Sportsman's Warehouse. The foundation of this company is strong and I'm very excited to be here to lead us through our next evolution of growth. With that, I'll turn the call over to Jeff.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Paul. I'll begin my remarks today with a review of our Q3 fiscal 2023 financial results, then cover our outlook for the Q4 of 2023. Net sales for the Q3 of fiscal 2023 were $340,600,000 compared to 350 $9,700,000 in the Q3 of 2022, a decline of 5.3%. Same store sales decreased 11.4% compared to the Q3 2022. In looking at comparable sales by department, our hunting department same store sales were down 10.6% versus last year.

Speaker 3

Breaking it down further, ammunition comp sales were down 10.6% with firearms down 5.2% in the quarter. While the 1st 2 months of Q3 saw pressure from the macroeconomic environment and consumer discretionary spending, sales in early October positive in these two categories due to the tragic events that took place in Israel, leading to war and social unrest. These events led to the majority of our guidance feed on a top and bottom line basis for Q3 2023 compared to guidance. Looking now at our other department. On our last call, we highlighted the need to begin strategically promoting and marking down portions of our apparel and footwear inventory as we move through the second half of this year.

Speaker 3

I am pleased with our progress. However, we are executing a more aggressive strategy with our promotions during Q4 to ensure that we achieve our planned inventory goals and end the year in a much healthier position. It's important to note that this is a one time effort to quickly eliminate non go forward brands, styles and slow moving inventory that does not resonate with our customer. This will, however, allow us to expand the breadth and depth of Products and brands that our customers are seeking when they shop our stores and website. When looking at total apparel sales, we were down slightly at 2.1 percent versus last year with footwear up 1.8% over the prior year.

Speaker 3

These were both significantly better than the run rate of the company given the promotional activity to clear out inventory, but was the main contributor to the 330 basis point decline in gross margins over the prior year. While our fishing department was down 5.8% versus last year on a comparable store basis, trends in this department outpaced our other departments with total fishing sales up 2.7% versus prior year. This is a department where we see future opportunities to capture additional market share and will make strategic investments in inventory going forward. Turning now to our other key items on the P and L. Gross margin was 30.3% for the 3rd quarter versus 33.6% in the prior year comparable period.

Speaker 3

Gross margins for the quarter came in as we expected given the aggressive promotional activity in our apparel and footwear departments as we clean up inventory. Lower margins on ammunition compared to last year also contributed to the decline in gross margin as ammo margins have normalized and category inventory is now readily in stock and available. SG and A expense as a percentage of net sales was 29.4 percent or $100,100,000 compared with 28.4 percent or $102,300,000 in the Q3 of last year. While we increased as a percentage of net sales, in absolute dollars, operating expenses were down $2,200,000 versus last year, which includes the expenses of 15 additional stores in our fleet. Last quarter, we laid out a plan to reduce and streamline our operating costs.

Speaker 3

We made significant progress in our cost cutting effort with payroll and other OpEx down $8,400,000 versus Q3 of last year. We will continue to execute on our planned expense cuts and manage our other variable expenses very closely to keep costs aligned with the current trends in the business. Net loss for the Q3 was $1,300,000 or negative $0.04 per diluted share compared to net income of $12,900,000 or $0.33 per diluted share in the prior year period. Adjusted net loss in the Q3 of 2023 was $200,000 or negative $0.01 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $13,100,000 or or $0.34 per diluted share in the Q3 of the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the Q3 was $16,200,000 or 4.8 percent of net sales compared to $27,700,000 or 7.7 percent of net sales in the prior year period.

Speaker 3

Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity. 3rd quarter ending inventory was $446,300,000 compared to $485,200,000 at the end of the 3rd and 2.4% compared with Q2 2023. We are pleased with the progress made to our inventory in Q3 and will continue to reduce our inventory levels through the balance of the year. Our plan as we move through the end of the year is to reduce our on hand inventory to a level below $375,000,000 Regarding liquidity, we ended the 3rd quarter with $185,400,000 on our $350,000,000 line of credit and $2,900,000 of cash on hand. We have approximately $111,000,000 available under our credit facility for borrowing.

Speaker 3

We expect the outstanding balance on our line of credit yet to end the year below $135,000,000 as we continue to reduce inventory and closely manage expenses. With over $45,000,000 of capital invested in our new store and store refreshes this year, our primary focus in terms of Capital allocation heading into 2024 will be the pay down on our line of credit. We will continue to prioritize the best use of capital and will provide more detail on this when we announce our strategic plan for 2024 on our year end earnings call in March. Looking to cash flow for the 1st 9 months of 2023, Cash used in operating activities was $16,600,000 versus cash provided by operating activities of $14,500,000 for the 1st 9 months of 2022. The increase in our cash outflows was primarily due to additional inventory for our 15 new stores and a net loss in the 1st 9 months of this year compared to net income during the prior year 9 month period.

Speaker 3

Turning now to our guidance. The underlying business continues to see pressure from the difficult macroeconomic environment weighing on consumer discretionary spend and our top line sales. We will continue our efforts to drive both store and online traffic with additional promotional activities planned for the balance of the quarter. I am pleased that how the team has executed thus far during holiday and we are seeing positive trends in our inventory reduction efforts and debt pay down and will end 2023 in a much healthier position. Now focusing on our Q4 guidance.

Speaker 3

We expect net sales to be in the range of $365,000,000 to $390,000,000 We expect that our more aggressive promotional activities during the Q4 will reduce gross margins between 600 basis points to 800 basis points versus the prior year. Same store sales in the 4th quarter are anticipated to be in the range of down 11% to down 6% and adjusted EPS for the Q4 is expected to be in the range of negative $0.35 to negative $0.25 per diluted share, driven primarily by the reduction in gross margin. This reduction in gross margin will be partially offset as we continue to implement our cost saving initiatives throughout the quarter. As a reminder, the Q4 of 2023 will include a 53rd week, which we have included in our guidance. We anticipate this extra week will add between $14,000,000 $17,000,000 in additional top line sales and run at an EPS loss of between $0.04 and $0.06 That concludes our prepared remarks today.

Speaker 3

I will now turn the call back over to the operator to facilitate any questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer session.

Speaker 4

A

Operator

confirmation Thank you. Our first question is from Ryan Sigdahl with Craig Hallum. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 5

Hey, good afternoon, guys.

Speaker 3

Hey, Ryan.

Speaker 5

Curious on you mentioned competitors are promoting as well.

Speaker 3

I think it's twofold. I do think that out in the industry, out in retail, we see retailers overstock And moving through inventory, but also if you look at the health of the consumer, as we look at the patterns that we've seen from our customer coming into the stores, They are seeking the deals and they are buying the deals and then they're moving on to their next purchase. So I think all retailers are seeing that In the industry as we sit here today.

Speaker 5

Quick one and then I have one more. Was ammo and firearms, were they did they remain positive in November?

Speaker 3

Are you saying so we saw a nice lift in October From the unfortunate events in Israel, the event driven demand cycles as we see them today are much shorter lived. So I would say that that was a short lived event driven demand cycle that we saw really benefit October And then we've returned back to normal consumer behavior in November.

Speaker 5

Good. Last one for me. Just on the store openings, how much flexibility do you have with non planned in 2024, but did that trigger any one time terminations of leases and other costs. And are you able to hold any of those locations basically deferring them until 2025 or later?

Speaker 3

As we think about the no new store openings in 2024, we didn't exit out of any leases that we were in for 2024. We just

Speaker 5

Great to hear. Thanks, Jeff. Welcome, Paul. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from Eric Wold with B. Riley Securities. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 4

Thanks. Good afternoon, everybody. I guess, first, just kind of a couple of follow-up questions on the Kind of new store opening or no new store opening guidance for 2024, I guess. Will the decision to kind of restart Kind of development and kind of opening in 2025, is that driven solely by your comfort with the balance sheet Sometime during 2024 or do you actually need to see sales and margins improve from current trends before you want to open Additional store, is it another way or store opening returns still attractive to you at current operating levels?

Speaker 2

Hey, Eric, it's Paul. Thanks for the question. I think as we looked at it and we've had the discussions over the last 30 or 40 days and trying to build out What the 'twenty four pipeline looks like, I think we looked at it twofold. 1, the opportunity to pay down debt Being a huge focus for the organization and 2, I think us really working on the fundamentals and the details of retail as we Continue to move through the inventory and the distressed inventory and to really put focus on with our buying team and Being regional and aligning with what do we need to be. So I think it gives us twofold the opportunity, 1, to work on the fundamentals at the same time Working behind the scenes on real estate for 25 because we truly think that it's a competitive advantage we have It's to be able to be in these small markets and open stores, but I think for us, it gives us the opportunity to sell down the distressed, Get in a much better position from an inventory level with new inventory and buying deep on the kind of the eightytwenty principle that we have here, while we're working to be able to pay down debt.

Speaker 4

Got it. I guess, so my last question, I mean, is opening a store at current levels still mature and attractive or would you actually want to see things improve?

Speaker 3

Yes, Eric, this is Jeff. I'll tell you that as we look at the real Market and the competitiveness in the market, there is a we're at an all time low in terms of retail space availability. So There are deals being done out there in the market where a few years ago, we would have been able to find an attractive location and those deals now are not Hitting the hurdles that we expect out of our new stores in terms of productivity. So for me, focusing on new store productivity, hitting those minimum thresholds 10% 4 wall EBITDA and 20% ROIC is key to our real estate strategy. And as I look at the Space and our plan going forward, focusing on those return metrics is going to be key into our real estate strategy.

Speaker 4

Thank you. That's helpful. And then without any new stores next year, I guess, excluding if you start building towards the end of the year for a store to open 25, excluding that, just what is kind of the CapEx plans for next year? Are you still doing any remodels, upgrades, what is kind of maintenance?

Speaker 3

Yes, we'll have to do normal maintenance. And if you look into the script, I gave a Range of what we spent on new stores this year, we've invested more than $45,000,000 in new stores and refreshes this year. And then if you bump that up against the CapEx guidance that I've given, that'll give you kind of an understanding of what normal maintenance CapEx looks like in a year.

Speaker 2

I do think there'll be a piece from a technology standpoint as we look at us being able to invest and continue our investment as far as merchandising, planograms, how we operate the stores and then just For ease for the customer that these are things that we'll have to invest in, but I would just add that to the everyday day in and day out CapEx that you would typically have.

Speaker 4

Okay. Final question, if I may. I know you mentioned, Jezet, The aggressive discounting you'll be doing in the 4th quarter is playing into that 600 basis point to 800 basis point reduction in margins year over year. How much of that Is kind of one time from these actions versus maybe structural that need to continue into next year? Eric, that's a good question.

Speaker 3

I want to emphasize all of that degradation in margin is relating to this one time event of us clearing through this inventory. We are hitting it very aggressive in the 4th quarter to ensure that we're clean of it by year end and we start 24 in a much better position, so we can position Sportsman's Warehouse for success.

Speaker 4

Perfect. Thank

Speaker 3

you, guys. Appreciate it.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from Mark Smith with Lake Street Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 4

Hi, guys. Just want to follow-up a little more in-depth on that last question. As we think about the 600 basis points to 800 basis points Declined here in Q4 versus 300 plus in Q3. Is it really Is it purely just clearing out and find a clip getting rid of this excess inventory in apparel and footwear? Or how do you compare kind of the holiday Black Friday promotional environment this year versus last year?

Speaker 4

Mark, this is Jeff. It's a good question. If we look

Speaker 3

at just the overall holiday environment, I think most retailers are coming out and Sportsman's included with the issue of driving traffic. So in order an effort for us To drive traffic, we're really focusing on heavily discounting the apparel and footwear, making it known. If you're subscribed to our Advertising campaigns, you'll see that we're going to hit it heavily over the next 3 weeks before Christmas. So we're using that as a traffic driver to People in the stores and shopping the other products. So I'll frame up again the 600 basis points to 800 basis points It's driven primarily by the reduction in margin in the apparel and footwear that we're moving through the end of the year.

Speaker 4

Okay. And if you could maybe tell us what percent or how you feel about as of today That you've moved through of that inventory and maybe how much has moved since the end of Q3? I will be looking at that. Yes, we've done by the end of the year.

Speaker 3

We moved through a Very good portion of the inventory in Q3. What we have left to move through in Q4 is items that we have to take Deeper discounts on which makes the margin impact more significant than it did in Q3. I was very happy with the team's execution in Q3 On moving through the clearance apparel and footwear, I'm very pleased with the progress, but the items that we have left over are going to need much deeper discounting in order to move through the remainder of it by the end of the year.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then I think you guys maybe called out a little bit within the ammunition Category, some margin pressure. Can you walk us through maybe anything that's going on just as we look specifically at that? Is that just Inventory being back fully stocked and need to move some of that or any additional insights into the ammo space would be great.

Speaker 3

Yes, I think the big driver on the margin degradation there is just the supply being fully back in stock. We saw A little bump in ammo during October with some of the demand driven events, but that was really focused on very specific types of ammunition. Holistically, across the ammo category, we are in a well in stock position. The manufacturers are pumping it out And the industry is very well in stock. So we're seeing the pressures from that across the board.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then Jeff, I think you said I think you quantified kind of an inventory goal at the end of the year at $375,000,000 correct me if Wrong. And then talk about kind of your comfort level of getting there.

Speaker 3

Yes, you're correct, Mark. It was 375, it was somewhere below 375, if we get specific. I am very comfortable with us hitting that target and achieving that target. There is nothing more important as we think about our year end strategy Then moving through inventory, getting it into a healthy position and getting productivity out of that inventory as we move into 2024. So as we sit here today, I'm very confident in hitting that target.

Speaker 4

Okay. And the last one for me. Just as we think about cost Cutting SG and A, you guys have done a good job thus far. Maybe just talk about where you're at in this Total program, are we kind of middle innings or are we still early or have you worked through a lot of this cost cutting so far?

Speaker 2

Hey, Mark, it's Paul. I'll take that as we kind of made this assessment and the work that's been done early on as far as Efficiency and productivity gains that I think will continue, I mean, to push To simplify the business and I think as we continue to simplify the business both for the employees, whether they be in the stores, distribution centers here at corporate, that we have an opportunity clearly to continue the momentum that we have from an SG and A, but I think is our message is really around simplification of the business. So are going to continue to work at that. So I would just kind of sum it up by saying we are not we think we have a lot of room to go here. And it's And the fact of the matter is that we just want to simplify the business both for the employee and the customer.

Speaker 4

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question is from Mark Herrman with R5 Capital. Please proceed with your question. Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question.

Operator

Just to dig a little deeper on the promo situation in Q4, and kind of looking back at what happened already, would you say that the activity That you've had has been more successful at actually driving new traffic or more at driving attachments for Firearms customers were already coming in the store, if you can break that down.

Speaker 2

Yes. Hey, Mark, it's Paul. I think as we look at it, It's kind of a mixture of both, but we don't look at it and say exclusively that it was driving Traffic to the store, but I think that the opportunity we had is once we had them in the store with the attractive discounts that was there, That I was able to help on attachment, but I wouldn't lean if I had to lean more one way would be helping us overall from attachments And what it looks like for the items in the basket versus the traffic to the store.

Operator

Okay, great. Thanks. And then kind of looking forward, Is there any can you break down the thought process into is it geared more towards private label or branded? For 4Q, is it more higher end versus lower end goods? And is it limited to apparel and footwear?

Operator

Are you going to go outside of those areas for the promos?

Speaker 2

Yes, I think it's when the team lined this up and really started at the beginning of Q3 into Q2 and they started this process of cleaning up, It just wasn't only apparel and footwear. I mean, there was a lot of work done behind the scenes around a lot of different Departments from a cleanup and they moved a lot, lot more. But as we get down to the end here, we have That's primarily what we have left and the reason for going deeper to be able to clean up in Q4 and get us to the position we need to be To start the fiscal year clean, I think Jeff said it earlier, this is an opportunity. We've seen some small wins out there with Subcategories where we've had really good work from SKU optimization being able to pull back SKUs, condense where we're at and get more Productivity from less SKUs and we really like what that looks like. But I think as we look at this, In most cases, we're looking at it and saying it's mostly It's not private label that we'll be looking at it.

Speaker 2

It's more name driven as we think about it.

Operator

Okay, good. Thank you. And then just same as kind of Mark's question in more another detail. I think you said payroll was down 8.4%. Is that representative of kind of in store labor if you look at that only?

Operator

And then how do you think about how much further that could go before you really start impacting the customer experience that you talked about at the initial part of your presentation today.

Speaker 4

Yes, Mark, that's a good question. I just want

Speaker 3

to clarify, I think on a per store, if we were to break down our payroll expense for the quarter, on a per store basis, we were down almost 22% versus prior year. So we made significant headway in the payroll reduction, rightsizing that line item for what we're seeing in current business trends. And I will say that that's where if we look at the expense cuts, the majority of them were executed on during Q3. As we think about Go forward opportunities continuing to simplify the business, as Paul stated, I think is front and center in our mind, Whether that be looking at the contracts that we have outstanding, looking at some of our partners in terms of business operations, Then continuing to look at our staffing levels across the organization, not just in the stores, not just the distribution center, but everywhere to make sure that we're running as efficiently as we can.

Speaker 2

And I think to your earlier point, we want to get ourselves in a position. I think the uniqueness of our Brand and really what attracted me to Sportsman was the employee base itself and the outfitter that connect with the consumer that we have there. And I look at that as a huge opportunity for us to be able to enhance what that experience looks like as we simplify the business. So I I don't want to put ourselves in a position where we're like you said, you're a critical mass or you're in a position where you're hurting yourself more than being able to drive I think there's a fine balance there as you look at this and we're not going to take sight off of the customer that I think that is going to be the core of all the

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time.

Speaker 4

I'd like to hand the floor back over to management for any closing comments.

Speaker 2

Thank you for joining the call today and thank you to all the dedicated employees around the country for their commitment to Sportsman's Warehouse. Together, we look forward to providing our customers with the best experience and customer service in the outdoor industry. Thank you.

Earnings Conference Call
Zoetis Q3 2024
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