Varex Imaging Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
May 2, 2024

There are 7 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Varex Imaging Second Quarter Full Year 20 24 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, Chris Belfior, Director of Investor Relations.

Operator

Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Speaker 1

Good afternoon, and welcome to Barrick Imaging Corporation's earnings conference call for the Q2 of fiscal year 2024. With me today are Sunny Sanyal, our President and CEO and Sam Maheshwari, our CFO. Please note that the live webcast of this conference call includes a supplemental slide presentation that can be accessed at Verix's website atveriximaging.com. The webcast and supplemental slide presentation will be archived on Varex's website. To simplify our discussion, unless otherwise stated, all references to the quarter are for the Q2 of fiscal year 2024.

Speaker 1

In addition, unless otherwise stated, quarterly comparisons are made year over year from the Q2 of fiscal year 2024 to the Q2 of fiscal year 2023. Finally, all references to the year are to the fiscal year and not the calendar year unless otherwise stated. Please be advised that during this call, we will be making forward looking statements, which are predictions or projections about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks relating to our business are described in our quarterly earnings release and our filings with the SEC.

Speaker 1

Additional information concerning the factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those anticipated is contained in our SEC filings, including Item 1A, Risk Factors of our quarterly reports on Form 10 Q and our annual report on Form 10 ks. The information in this discussion speaks as of today's date, and we assume no obligation to update or revise the forward looking statements in this discussion. On today's call, we will be discussing certain non GAAP financial measures. These non GAAP measures are not presented in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP financial measures. We will provide a reconciliation of each non GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure in our earnings press release, which is posted on our website.

Speaker 1

I will now turn the call over to Sunny.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Chris. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our Q2 earnings call. Sales in the Q2 was in line with our expectations, resulting in revenue of $206,000,000 Non GAAP gross margin of 33% was within the guided range and non GAAP earnings per share was $0.16 in the quarter. Revenue in the 2nd quarter was down 10% year over year. Revenue in the Medical segment decreased 15% year over year, while the Industrial segment revenue increased 6%.

Speaker 2

Non GAAP gross margin in the 2nd quarter was 33%, which was flat compared to the same quarter last year and non GAAP EPS was $0.16 compared to $0.26 last year. We ended the 2nd quarter with $190,000,000 worth of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on the balance sheet, up $68,000,000 compared to the Q2 of fiscal 2023. Now let me give you some insights into the sales detail by modality in the quarter compared to a 5 quarter average, which we will refer to as the sales trend. Sales in our Medical segment was down in the quarter due to cautious purchasing behavior by our customers, in addition to the continued softness in China. Global sales of CT tubes improved in the quarter and is now in line with the sales trend.

Speaker 2

Fluoroscopy and mammography were both in line with their respective sales trends. Oncology, radiographic and dental modalities were all below their respective sales trends. Global sales of our industrial products were solid in the quarter and in line with our sales trend. Our cargo inspection products and industrial tubes continued to see strong sales, while we experienced some softness in other industrial end markets, primarily in semiconductor, electronics and battery inspection.

Speaker 3

Now I'd like to take a

Speaker 2

moment to give you an update on our photon counting technology. As we highlighted in the past quarters, photon counting detector technologies are a significant focus across the entire imaging industry. Both medical and industrial OEMs continue to explore the use of photon counting in imaging applications across various modalities from food inspection to full body medical CT. Engagement with our OEM customers has accelerated over the past year and we believe Varex continues to be well positioned to benefit from these trends given our innovative technology and breadth of our product portfolio. Our industrial segment where technology adoption tends to be faster continues to be the main driver of our photon counting Our photon counting detectors continue to be integrated into new customer systems and we expect industrial applications to remain solid source from sales of Varex's photon counting products in the future.

Speaker 2

In addition, last year, we provided an overview of 2 collaborative photon counting projects in our industrial business, Parsec and Grinner. These projects are sponsored under the Horizon Europe Program, the European Union's key funding program for research and innovation. Both projects are focused on the speed of imaging and material discrimination, which are distinctive strengths of photon counting. The Parsec project aimed at addressing the potential abuse of postal and express service express courier services by criminals and terrorists is making solid progress. The material discrimination capability of our photon counting technology coupled with AI software is being used to test the detection of illicit substances within clusters of parcels.

Speaker 2

The Gruner project, which is aimed at preventing battery caused fires in the electronics waste management chain is also progressing well. A prototype incorporating our photon counting technology is expected to be deployed to an end user facility in Europe for gathering data and field testing. Once testing at the recycling facility is complete in late fiscal 2024, we expect to work with our customer on commercialization of the final system. In our Medical segment, our Photon County technology is being used in full body scans and panoramic dental imaging. As we noted on our Q1 earnings call, we're working with a major OEM to integrate our photon counting technology in their next generation of CT scanners.

Speaker 2

This process is moving along as planned. We also now have other prospects in the pipeline who are in various stages in assessing our technology for CT applications. We expect new and existing applications of our photon counting technology to contribute strong sales growth over the next 5 years. Specifically, we expect additional applications in medical, including CT to add over $100,000,000 of revenue over this timeframe. Coupled with traction in our industrial markets, we expect our Photon Counting portfolio to contribute more than $150,000,000 of revenue annually by fiscal 20 29.

Speaker 2

We continue to be encouraged by the acceptance of Photon County Technologies for medical and industrial applications. With that, let me hand over the call to Sam.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Sunny, and hello, everyone. Our revenues in the Q2 were $206,000,000 at the midpoint of our guidance, while non GAAP gross margin was 33% within our guided range. Non GAAP EPS was $0.16 below the midpoint of our guided range. 2nd quarter revenues decreased 10% compared to the Q2 of fiscal 2023. Medical revenues were $149,000,000 and industrial revenues were $57,000,000 Medical revenues were 72% and industrial revenues were 28% of our total revenues for the quarter.

Speaker 3

Looking at revenues by region, Americas increased 1% compared to the Q2 of fiscal 2023, while EMEA increased 2% and APAC decreased 27%. The decline in APAC was primarily the result of lower sales in China due to the government's anti corruption campaign there and investigation into its healthcare system. China accounted for 12% of overall revenues in the Q2 compared to 17% in the Q2 of prior fiscal year. Further, sales to China in the 2nd quarter declined sequentially from the 1st quarter. Given this trend, we no longer expect a pickup in China sales before the start of our next fiscal year.

Speaker 3

We remain optimistic about the prospects of long term healthcare related growth in China. Let me now cover our results on a GAAP basis. 2nd quarter gross margin was 32% year. Operating expenses were $58,000,000 up $1,000,000 compared to the Q2 of fiscal 'twenty 3. And operating income was $8,000,000 down $8,000,000 from Q2 of 'twenty 3.

Speaker 3

GAAP net earnings were $1,000,000 and EPS was $0.03 per share based on a fully diluted 41,000,000 shares. Moving on to the non GAAP results for the quarter. Gross margin was 33% flat compared to the Q2 of fiscal 2023. Gross margin benefited by approximately 1 percentage point due to a reclassification of fixed expense related to our joint venture, Dipex, from cost of goods sold to SG and A expense. This change is expected to remain in place for foreseeable future and we are assessing ways to reduce this expense.

Speaker 3

This benefit to gross margin was offset by approximately 1 percentage point of higher warranty expense in the quarter. We expect the higher warranty expense to taper off and return to historical levels by the end of our fiscal year. R and D spending was $23,000,000 flat compared to the Q2 of fiscal 'twenty three. R and D was 11% of revenue. In the Q2, we made the 4th milestone payment of $1,000,000 to MicroX.

Speaker 3

Generally, our target for R and D spending is 8% to 10% of revenue on an annual basis. R and D spending is expected to remain around current levels. However, R and D as a percentage of sales may fluctuate due to overall sales levels. SG and A expense was approximately $32,000,000 up $3,000,000 compared to the Q2 of fiscal 'twenty 3. SG and A was 16% of revenues.

Speaker 3

The increase in SG and A in the quarter was primarily the result of the aforementioned reclassification of fixed expense related to our joint venture, DepEx. Operating expenses were $54,000,000 or 26 percent of revenues above our expectations for the quarter. Operating income was $13,000,000 down $10,000,000 compared to the same quarter last year. Operating margin was 6% of revenue compared to 10% in the Q2 of fiscal 'twenty 3. Tax expense was $2,000,000 or 19 percent of pretax income compared to $4,000,000 or 28% in the Q2 of the prior year.

Speaker 3

We continue to expect a tax rate of 21% to 23% for full fiscal year 'twenty four. Net earnings were $7,000,000 or $0.16 per diluted share, down $0.10 year over year. Average diluted shares for the quarter were 41,000,000 on a non GAAP basis. Now turning to the balance sheet. Accounts receivables increased by $12,000,000 from the Q1 of fiscal 'twenty four, primarily the result of higher sales in the quarter.

Speaker 3

Day sales outstanding remained flat at 67 days. Inventory decreased $4,000,000 sequentially in the 2nd quarter and days of inventory decreased by 13 days to 185 days. Accounts payable decreased by $5,000,000 and days payable decreased 5 days to 45 days. Now moving to debt and cash flow information. Net cash flow from operations was $3,000,000 We ended the quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $190,000,000 up $68,000,000 compared to the Q2 of the prior year and down $5,000,000 compared to the Q1 of fiscal 'twenty four.

Speaker 3

Please note that $190,000,000 includes $142,000,000 of cash and cash equivalents and $47,000,000 of marketable securities, which is now broken out as a separate line item on our balance sheet. Gross debt outstanding at the end of the quarter was $447,000,000 and debt net of $190,000,000 of cash and marketable securities was $257,000,000 Regarding capital structure, we implemented $155,000,000 revolver on March 26. Separately, we recently secured an additional $20,000,000 financing as a delayed draw term loan. Both of these actions put us in a comfortable liquidity position as we approach refinancing of our convertible bonds. Now moving on to the outlook for the Q3 and the remainder of fiscal 'twenty four.

Speaker 3

As discussed by Sunny, due to cautious purchasing behavior by our customers broadly, in addition to continued softness in China, we are reducing our expectations for the remainder of the fiscal year. Based on our current visibility, we expect revenue in the 4th fiscal quarter of 24 to be flat with that of the 3rd quarter. While demand is soft in the near term, we continue to be optimistic in the long term and continue to invest in promising technologies such as photon counting. With the above context, guidance for the Q3 is revenues are expected between $200,000,000 $220,000,000 and non GAAP earnings per diluted share are expected between $0.05 $0.25 Our expectations are based on non GAAP gross margin in a range of 33% to 34%, non GAAP operating expenses in a range of $52,000,000 to $53,000,000 tax rate of about 22% for the 3rd quarter and non GAAP diluted share count of about 41,000,000 shares. And with that, we'll now open the call for your questions.

Operator

Thank you. We will now conduct a question and answer session. Our first question comes from Suraj Kalia with Oppenheimer. Please proceed.

Speaker 4

Hi, Sunny and Sam. This is Seamus on for Suraj.

Speaker 2

Hi, Sam. How are you?

Speaker 4

Doing fine. Doing fine. Just to get started, China kind of any more color you can give there? What's What are you seeing on the ground? Obviously, it's kind of pushed out from your initial expectations of second half of the year of calendar year kind of getting started, kind of can you talk a little bit more about the delay pushing out through the remainder of your fiscal year and when we may start seeing some pickup?

Speaker 2

Yes. So we as you might recall, a couple of quarters ago, we started talking about softness in China based on early signals that we were getting from our customers. And this was driven by the audit process the Chinese government had launched on the hospitals there. And it was anticipated that it would take about 12 months to complete that process. So signals that we were getting from our customers broadly on the ground was that by early late spring, early summer, this thing should start to free up and buying would begin again.

Speaker 2

And so that was there that's what led us to give you the indications that we would expect to start to see recovery in the second half of the year. And I think that was somewhat consistent with what others were seeing as well. What we we are not seeing the early indicators at this time that would lead us to believe that the recovery will happen in with any significant volume in the second in our second half. As you know, we're always 90 to 120 days ahead of in the value chain of our customers. And so with that in mind, we are giving a cautious view of the second half and as far as China is concerned.

Speaker 2

Now that said, as we continue to keep our ears to the ground there and work with our customers, what we expect is likely to happen is there are multiple factors playing at play here. 1 was the audit, but secondly, there may be some impact of the stimulus package that's being that's in the wings. It's not clear what that is, and it's not clear what the impact is, but there's some general confusion. All of this leads us to believe that the recovery in China will be more of a gradual, steady recovery as opposed to any significant burst of pent up recovery. We're not anticipating that, but again, it's very fluid there and we're just staying close to it.

Speaker 4

Got it. Appreciate that. And then kind of what's can you describe the environment you're kind of seeing outside of China? I think America's growth was, I think, 1%. EMEA was 2% or 3% somewhere there.

Speaker 4

Kind of what kind of environment are you seeing outside there? Is it kind of sorry.

Speaker 2

Let me add one more point regarding China. We have seen no shift or no change in the Chinese government's intent or their policy for or their intentions to expand healthcare delivery continue to expand healthcare delivery services throughout China. And to the contrary, it seems like the intention of the stimulus is also to continue to support that. Now what we're seeing outside of China, ex China, is that there continues to be a general softness in demand. And this is what we characterized as some cautious buying behavior by our customers.

Speaker 2

Our customers, they predict, they forecast their needs and then they place orders with us within our lead prescribed lead times. And then as they get closer to their when they meet the product, that's when they give us delivery dates. And what we've seen is general cautiousness around volumes of shipments that they would like from us. So they're asking us across the board several many customers have asked us to defer, delay, slowdown shipments as they adjust their stocking levels and inventory levels to match their more recent forecasts of when they expect to deploy these products into new systems for shipment. So that's a broad based view that we're getting of the overall Medical segment.

Speaker 2

It's hard for us to tease apart where some of that softness is coming from because as you know our customers are global customers. We ship products to them and then they send those products all over the world. So it's hard to pinpoint any specific sources of softness.

Speaker 4

Got it. Thank you. And just one last one from me from our side. And photon counting, we appreciate the color and quantification. I think you noted somewhere in that slide deck, it's about $150,000,000 in revenues by about 2029.

Speaker 4

So I guess kind of can you describe how you're expecting the growth? Is this going to be kind of a slow burn? Is it going to be some inflection point where in the year everything is going to kind of start to accelerate? Any color there? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. Our photon counting detectors, 1st of all, it's a new platform. And any time a new technology is introduced in the health care environment, the time to adoption is fairly long. So that's why this our R and D cycles are long and our customers' R and D cycles are long and then their regulatory cycles. So with that said, that's the backdrop on the medical side.

Speaker 2

Our photon counting sales are coming from industrial and medical, both. On the industrial side, which is currently our largest chunk of photon counting sales, the uptake there is steady and it's growing and it's accelerating. So in this trajectory from where we are today in $20 ish million of sales going up to the $150,000,000 ish that we talked about in the slides. We expect to see steady accelerating uptake on the industrial side and driven by new applications that are coming out. And adoption in industrial tends to be much faster than medical because they just they have a product, they just put it out there and they try it out.

Speaker 2

On the medical side, we have customers currently that have designed our photon counting detectors in certain applications. And there are a variety of applications that these this technology, these detectors are going into. Few of them are out, and we mentioned that during the earnings call. And then there are more that are in the pipeline. These tend to in the early stages of these applications design in process, we see low volumes, largely prototypes that we ship Then there's customers take a couple of years to bring the product to market and then we see initial pilots and then in a year after that we see run rate higher volumes.

Speaker 2

So that's the I'd say the general modality most of the modalities behave that way. Now CT detectors, we expect will have a different trajectory and that's because they are much larger, higher priced, bigger detectors. So there, it will be we will be in design phase and implementation phase for at least 2 to 3 years, after which we expect the acceleration to be fairly rapid as our customers take their new CT systems to market. And it will be driven by the pace of adoption really of CT systems more so than the new CT system that our customers bring to market versus just photon counting technology at that point. Our photon counting technologies are being driven towards mainstream markets.

Speaker 2

So we're confident that once our customers bring these products to market, it won't be a very narrow niche application. It will be we are targeting at the mainstream CT market. So towards that outer end of our trajectory that we showed you in the walk, it's going to be driven by CT. In the between now and 2028, it's going to be 2026, 2027, 2028. It's going to be driven by industrial and a few other medical modalities.

Speaker 2

I hope that gives you the color you are looking for. It's hard for us to go get more specific because there's good challenges in predicting that far out on products that were that are in design phase with the customers.

Speaker 4

Appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Operator

The next question comes from Young Lee with Jefferies. Please proceed.

Speaker 2

Hello, Young. Great.

Speaker 5

Hey there. Thanks for taking our question. I guess to start, maybe to follow-up on China a little bit. I mean, it sounds like most, if not all the impact is due to the anti corruption campaign. Wondering if there is any local competitive dynamics that's at play there as well?

Speaker 2

No. That's we don't see that as the reason for any of this slowdown. The slowdown is it's substantial slowdown and it's most as you know, most of our business in China is driven by X-ray tubes. And within X-ray tubes, the majority of our volume comes from the CT systems where we are it's a highly engineered product that's designed in. So what we are experiencing is a result of our customers not needing the products because their sales have dropped pretty significantly.

Speaker 5

Okay, great. Very helpful. I guess, just a separate question, just related to photon counting, that generates a lot more images and data. I'm curious, is there a software play or AI play for Verisk? And how is your software business doing recently?

Speaker 2

Yes, absolutely. So photon counting, depending on the application, what you just described, would be certainly true for CT. For CT, 1st of all, high resolution detectors and imaging at high frame rates produces a lot of data. Yes, there is. So the good news is in there that with the high resolution images, the amount of information that's now available in these images is gives opens up a lot of opportunities for AI plays and for material discrimination and more precise pinpointing of artifacts and reasons to and to be able to distinguish between one type of artifact versus another.

Speaker 2

Our software group is very capable with CT reconstruction and applying image processing and techniques to look into and extract more and more information out of the data that's received. So we certainly expect that our software group will continue to benefit from Photon County. We are we have quite a bit of technology that we offer currently with our detectors for image processing and those are actually a key part of our photon counting detector offerings. And as we take our products to market for CT, they are certainly playing a role in the image processing and image construction.

Speaker 5

All right, got it. Thank you very much.

Operator

Our next question comes from James Sidoti with Sidoti and Company. Please proceed.

Speaker 6

Hi, good afternoon and thanks for taking the question. On the situation in China,

Speaker 3

do you think there's some there'll be

Speaker 6

some pent up demand because of the slowdown in buying now or procedures are still getting done, tubes are still wearing out. So when these restrictions get lifted, do you think there'll be an increase in demand?

Speaker 2

Yes. So Jim, procedure volumes are continuing. People need care, they will get care. So what we are seeing is sales of replacement tubes. And that's for us, that's a recurring revenue stream.

Speaker 2

The pent up demand is results when we get increased procedure volumes. So that is I don't know whether we can predict that at this point. However, what we believe will drive the return to growth is the continued push to expand healthcare services in China. That they have not come off of that. That is everything that we hear from our customers is that the Chinese government is continuing to press forward.

Speaker 2

What is unclear at this stage is what effect the stimulus package that is sort of in the sidelines will have on how that pent up demand will play out. There is very little we don't have we're not getting much transparency around what hospitals will have to do in order to be able to take advantage of the stimulus program that's being rolled out. Once there's more clarity on that, we'll be able to assess how we the trajectory of the demand. But the thing that we have noticed through over time is when there is any kind of a slowdown or stoppage for economic reasons or other reasons, when it does when the demand comes back, the pent up demand doesn't go away, it comes back. And the question is whether it will be a gradual ramp up, which we think it's more likely versus is there going to be a sharp inflow of orders.

Speaker 2

That we don't know that yet honestly. So that's what in the next 90 days or so we expect to get more clarity on that and we will continue to share that with you.

Speaker 6

Okay. All right. And then can you talk about your options regarding the refinancing the convert? Are you looking at another convert to that or possibly going with straight debt? When do you need to do it?

Speaker 6

And how are rates comparing now to the existing loan?

Speaker 3

Yes, sure. So thank you, Jim. So we just recently closed about $175,000,000 of new financing. 1 is a revolver, dollars 155,000,000 and another $20,000,000 of delayed draw term loan. So from our position, we feel we are in a very strong position from the liquidity perspective to address the refinancing.

Speaker 3

So at this time, the existing convertibles are maturing next June, so June of 2025. So we are going to monitor the situation and make the right decision for us. And we'll share with you as the Board makes that there are a lot of factors that go into it, including interest rates, stock price and various other things.

Speaker 2

So

Speaker 3

that's the way we are thinking about. And then in terms of interest rates, our current loan is at 4%. The current convertible bonds are at 4% based on what we have seen from the convertible market, it's around there. It's probably a little bit less than that if there were to be a new convertible loan. But as you know, convertible loans can be structured with various dimensions and various outcomes.

Speaker 3

So the interest rates can vary depending upon how it is structured. But at the same time, we feel we have good cash on the balance sheet. We are in an excess cash position. And with this extra liquidity that we now have raised, I think there is also the possibility that we can pay down partially or completely. So we'll share with you as and when we make the decision.

Speaker 6

All right. And that was going to be my next question. How much cash do you need on the balance sheet to comfortably run the business?

Speaker 3

Yes, we if you go back 4, 5 years ago, we were running the business with about $50,000,000 $60,000,000 Since COVID, we've decided to have $100,000,000 or thereabouts in terms of the cash that we would like to carry on the balance sheet. So with $190,000,000 we have about $90,000,000 of excess cash compared to that threshold.

Speaker 6

Okay. So theoretically, you could pay down almost 25% of the outstanding debt?

Speaker 3

Outstanding debt, meaning the

Speaker 4

high convert? No,

Speaker 3

I mean, we could theoretically pay down 50% the convert because the convert is about $200,000,000 And between now June, we do we are targeting to generate cash. So we might be able to pay down 50% from balance sheet.

Speaker 6

Right, right. Which should theoretically lead to lower interest rates in 2025 and beyond, lower interest expense, right? All right, thank you.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Jim.

Operator

The next question comes from Larry Solow with CJS. Please proceed.

Speaker 4

Great. Thanks, guys. And good afternoon, good evening. I guess first question, in terms of the guidance or the lower outlook, is it principally it sounds like it's China, but it's also U. S.

Speaker 4

Or ex China, because China is only 10% of your overall revenue, right? So are there other drivers, I guess the U. S. Or ex China is also weaker in medical? And how about industrial, has that changed at all?

Speaker 4

Just trying to kind of piecemeal the reduction. And I

Speaker 2

think when you started

Speaker 4

the year, you had said you talked medical, I think, was going to be flattish overall sales, if I remember correctly. Is there kind of a revised number to that? I know you kind of only guide for the quarter, but it sounds like as a whole, your whole year is clearly coming down. But any more pieces to that kind of puzzle would be great.

Speaker 3

Yes. Thanks, Larry. So yes, China is soft, but on top of that, we did say that the broader market in medical is also soft, particularly driven by what we said cautious customer behavior. And that phenomenon is not just China. So yes, there is the effect of China as well as ex China, there is also softness in medical.

Speaker 3

So medical, we expect it to be down this year, year over year. So that's what we are currently seeing in medical. In terms of overall revenue, what we are saying, we have provided the guidance for Q3. And at this time, we are seeing Q4 to be flattish to Q3. So that gives you almost the entire year.

Speaker 3

We are expecting industrial business to be a slight growth, flattish to slide up year over year. It's a pretty strong comp for the last year for what Industrial did. At this time, the cargo business in industrial is doing very well, and we expect it to continue to do well. But there is softness in industrial outside of cargo. So with all of those puts and takes combined, we expect industrial to be a growth area for us, but very slightly for full year 'twenty four compared to fiscal 'twenty three, and we expect Medical to be down.

Speaker 2

And the caution from, I

Speaker 4

guess, is your OEM customers, right, that you're referring to?

Speaker 3

That is true.

Speaker 4

Is that and I guess you're kind of down the chain line, but does that start from the hospital? Because my understanding of hospitals are actually doing okay. They're doing pretty fine. I mean, their volumes have been good post COVID and I think concerns about hospitals, finances are probably overblown, even though I know interest rates are a lot higher and that doesn't help them. But as far as I understand, capital spending hospitals has been doing okay.

Speaker 4

So are your customers cautious because there's too much inventory still? Is there any kind of common theme that's driving this caution?

Speaker 2

Sorry, it's all of the above. And the conversation starts with, hey, we have what we need and we just need to adjust our stocks and stocking levels. Can we slow this down? Can we can you push out? And then if you dig into, well, why do you have so much inventory?

Speaker 2

Well, we had expected a different trajectory for and of orders. And then the COVID buying behavior post COVID where people were worried about their factories were clogged and supply chain issues. So it's kind of a myriad of things that have come together causing some amount of destocking and inventory adjustments. And clearly, what they had in mind when they bought the components didn't match up with all the way with their current quarter production needs. So it's several of those.

Speaker 2

It's hard to reconcile. See, most of our customers ship from backlog. It's not that so they the hospitals, health is that's a good thing. I mean, we're glad that procedure volumes are there and growing because that's going to drive in replacement of these modalities in our tubes. That is not necessarily that doesn't correlate with directly with hospitals accepting shipments of large systems, which require then other work on the side of the hospital, civil works, construction and things like that.

Speaker 2

So variety of reasons why their shipments are have slowed for certain customers.

Speaker 6

All right. I guess

Operator

Thank you. At this time, I would like to turn the call back over to Chris Burfield for closing comments.

Speaker 1

Thank you for your questions today and for your continued support of Verix. The webcast and supplemental slide presentation will be archived on our website. A replay of this quarterly conference call will be available through May 16 and can be accessed at veriximaging.com/investorrelations. Thank you and have a great night.

Operator

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation and have a great day.

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