Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Maytronics Ltd Fourth and Final Quarter 2023 Results Conference Call. All participants are present in listen-only mode. Following management's formal presentation, instructions will be given for the question-and-answer session. For operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded March 27, 2024. With us online today are Mr. Sharon Goldenberg, CEO, and Mr. Menahem Maymon, CFO. Before I turn the call over to Mr. Sharon Goldenberg, I would like to remind everyone that forward-looking statements for the respective company's business, financial condition, and results of its operations are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated.
Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, product demand pricing, market acceptance, changing economic conditions, risks in product and technology development, and the effect of the company's accounting policies, as well as certain other risk factors which are detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the various securities authorities. Mr. Goldenberg, please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining us. I will start with the fourth quarter in which we succeeded in achieving significant growth of 27% over and above 32% growth in the fourth quarter of 2022. Growth in the quarter was mainly based on sales growth in Europe and North America, reflecting the start of early buy deliveries, encouraging seasonal sales in Australia, expressing a solid increase of 22% in Oceania sales, growth in online sales in North America through ECCXI, whose growth was close to 11%. Traditionally, the fourth quarter has delivered an operating loss owing to the fact that sales in this quarter are relatively low, while it carries cost base that serves the business for the year.
This year, we are very encouraged by the fact that we have reached a critical mass in sales in the fourth quarter, which, taken together with the decline in shipping costs, created an operating lever, and so, for the first time, Maytronics achieved operating break-even in the fourth quarter. To sum up 2023, inventory correction in the distribution channel, like other industries, was significant in the pool industry. This element, combined with the effect of high inflation, high interest rates, and especially short pool season in North America and Europe, had an impact on us in three main ways. The first is that the distribution channel bought less this year, seeking to destock the excess inventory that was created as the world emerged from the pandemic.
Also, the need to cope with high interest rate environments led to the desire for tighter, more conservative working capital management, resulting in more frequent and smaller orders. Moreover, in a year of inventory correction, we experience a stronger competitive environment related to the desire to destock and increase cash flows. In the online and mass market channels in particular, we are witnessing growing competition by the Chinese, with an increase in the number of brands being marketed, a fast-paced product launches, and considerable investment in marketing, mainly digital. This trend is here to stay, and later I will talk about the launch of the new robotic cleaner line under the name Niya, as well as the launch of ECCXI's business in Europe. Both initiatives are part of our updated long-term strategy aiming at maintaining our leadership in the evolving competitive environment.
Now, I want to address the issue of inventory in the distribution channel, which justifiably is a concern for everyone. The challenges and complexities of 2023 led to a decline in the sell-in during the season. As for the sell-out, I will say that consumer spending by pool owners in the industry in general was affected by high inflation and interest rates and was expressed in delaying discretionary purchases and diversion to a lower price point purchases. In principle, it is hard to measure sell-out with absolute accuracy because these sales are made through two major channels. The first one is the professional channel.
Our indications are that there was a slight decline in end-user demand in this channel, which can in part be attributable to the decline in foot traffic and in part to the fact that in the professional channel, the product offering is generally on a higher average price level. We believe that these factors caused a diversion of sales to the online channel. The second channel is online sales of robotic cleaners, and the strongest indication we have is robotic cleaner sales through ECCXI, and those grew at solid double-digit rates in 2023. In summary, we estimate that going into 2024, inventory levels among dealers are relatively low and normalized and reflect reasonable sell-out during the 2023 season, tight build-up at the end of the 2023 season, and during the winter, creating potential for 2024 once the season starts.
Inventory level among distributors going into 2024 are generally lower than they were going into 2023, but we know and feel that some of them would prefer to have less inventory as part of their changed inventory management concept, as I mentioned. Another point to recall is that traditionally, distribution channel demand levels, especially pre-season, are affected by how the previous season evolved, and last year was relatively weak because of the long winter and the short season. We believe that in 2023, Maytronics' online capabilities, including through Backyard, enabled us to outpace market growth. Our assumption is that 2024 will demonstrate growth in the demand for robotic cleaners, and we believe that we have the capabilities to realize these sales across all channels and territories. In the past two years, sales of spare parts have grown strongly, and this category is becoming significant.
The revenue category classified as spare parts grew 30% after growing 62% last year, and these revenues amounted to ILS 131 million in the private pool robot segment. This trend is among the deliverables of the digital transformation and maintaining a relationship with the end user, and we intend to strengthen it in various ways going forward. We ended 2023 with 5.7% growth in total sales, meeting our outlook as we were updated in August, in a highly challenging, difficult year, and we have continued to deliver significantly stronger results compared to our industry peers. In 2023, gross profit rose 10%, and the gross margin improved by 160 basis points.
The increase in ASP, ongoing BOM cost reduction, the decline in shipping rates, and the weakening of the shekel have made a positive contribution to the gross margin but were offset by the impact of lower production quantities in order to align them with inventory levels in the company and in the distribution channel. During the year, we sold more inventory and succeeded in lowering the quantity of finished goods inventory by 33%. The sales mix between production for inventory and production for sales is expected to improve in 2024 and to gradually make a positive contribution to the gross margin. We ended the year with ILS 258 million in operating profit, down 11.8%, and a decrease of 270 basis points in the return on sales.
This trend was largely affected by the full consolidation of ECCXI and by the way 2023 developed, which was different to our early estimates, and many will be talking more about this. Looking at the company's involvement in a longer perspective from 2019, pre-COVID, Maytronics is leading the growing penetration of robotic technology as the selected cleaning method. The company's sales grew 123%, a compound average annual growth of 22%, but despite the high revenue growth, the SAM we are seeing, which reflects sales potential and future growth, has only grown. Regarding trends in the pool market, we estimate that at the end of 2023, the number of pools worldwide reached around 30.6 million. The number of new pools added to the market this year was down 30% compared to 2022, with new above-ground pools seeing a sharper decline, and in Europe, new pool construction has declined by above-average rates.
During 2023, we mentioned in few occasions that in the annual report, we would be introducing a revised market analysis for the electronic cleaners category. This differentiation is only partly the result of a long-term strategic process we undertook this year. I will try to briefly take you through the market analysis. The robotic was traditionally based on similar value propositions in terms of characteristics, capabilities, price ranges, and distribution channels, with several manufacturers operating on the sidelines whose value proposition was built on very basic cleaners. They were characterized by a relatively small sales volume, very little marketing activity, and low consumer awareness, and traditionally, despite the obvious and significant differences, their sales were also included in the general market analysis.
The concept of differentiation between the markets is based on the fundamental value proposition to the pool owner, which is characterized by the features and capabilities of the product, its lifespan, warranty, and service level. Traditionally, the characterization developed and production of these robots are oriented to a product with a lifespan of several years, an extensive warranty, and service. In this framework, over the years, the robotic market delivered high growth, converting other cleaning solutions such as pressure and suction, mainly at the upper end of the suction price range. In recent years, most significantly in 2022 and mainly in 2023, a basic electronic vacuum cleaner segment developed from the robot market. In our view, this is a separate market, mainly in light of the different value proposition offered by such basic electronic vacuum cleaners.
This solution is intended mainly for above-ground pools and is characterized by random cleaning coverage, by the ability to work only in flat-bottomed pools without slopes or steps, and by basic filtration that is partially efficient for removing leaves and large objects only. In addition, the solutions in this segment have a short lifespan, limited quality, and warranty. The value proposition of these cleaners, their extensive presence in online channels, and their low price, combined with significant investment in marketing, have together accelerated a conversion by pool owners from manual cleaning solution, a mid-low-priced suction solution, to these basic electronic vacuum cleaners. Given these differences, the company will refer to them as different cleaning solutions and market segments. This distinction arose from the strategic process and the expanding mid-price value proposition in the robotic market.
Therefore, in the 2024 season, the company will be launching a new brand, Niya, which will be separate from Dolphin and branded with its own unique products, robotic cleaners, and basic electronic vacuum cleaners, a separate brand identity, and a differentiated value proposition to the pool owner, and I will talk about it in more detail later on. In 2023, we retained our high market share in the private pool robot segment, and we estimate that Maytronics holds a share of 51%-56% of the number of robotic cleaners sold this year to consumers. In 2023, penetration of electronic cleaning solutions continued to grow at the expense of other cleaning methods, and we estimate that it has reached 23% of all cleaning solutions compared to 21% last year.
We estimate that this trend will continue considering the overall superior value proposition of electronic cleaners compared to other cleaning methods. I will now let Meni take over for a review of the financial results. Meni, please go ahead.
Thank you, Sharon. Hello, everyone. I will go over the main items in the financial statements and present the main highlights. I will start with the fourth quarter result. The revenues in the quarter were ILS 303 million, up 27%. Traditionally, the fourth quarter delivered an operating loss due to the fact that the sales in this quarter are relatively low. Historically, around 11%-13% of annual sales, while it carries a high-cost basis that serves the business for the year. This fact affects the gross margin in light of fixed production costs and mainly the operating margin considering the fixed operating costs.
In 2023, the fourth quarter accounted for 16% of sales, and this combined with a decline in shipping costs and cost-cutting measures we applied is what made the difference. For the first time, we reached operating break-even compared to an operating loss of ILS 24 million in the fourth quarter last year. Revenues from sales of residential robotic pool cleaners grew strongly and were up 33% in the quarter. The growth was due to the early-buy sales and deliveries in North America, in Europe, strongest seasonal sales in Australia, and the growth in the online channel in ECCXI. Revenues from sales of commercial robotic cleaners were stable in the quarter. Revenues from safety products and other pool products grew 17.5%, reflecting an increase in sales of related pool products by ECCXI in the US and in sales of water treatment products in the subsidiary in Australia.
Gross profit in the fourth quarter passed the first time the ILS 100 million and grew 18.7%, but the gross margin declined by 250 basis points, mainly owing to the negative effects of lower production volumes in light of the company's desire to reduce finished goods inventory. A relatively low gross margin in the launch year of the Liberty product family. These negative effects were offset by ongoing BOM cost reduction, lower shipping rates, and the weaker shekel, which contributed 140 basis points. In summary, in 2023, we delivered ILS 1.89 billion in revenues, representing a 5.7% increase. Sales of private pool robotic cleaners declined by modest 2.2%. The company's sales in public pool segments grew 14.7%. That is mostly attributed to ongoing demand in the segment, mainly in the US, and the company's improved ability to meet the demand for these products.
Revenues from the sale of safety products and other related pool products grew 63% compared to last year. The sales are due to the consolidation, 12 months of ECCXI, and stronger sales of water treatment products in Australia. The gross profit in the full year was up 10%, with a solid improvement of 160 basis points in the gross margin, which rose to 41.8%. The main factors that contributed to the gross margin are higher ASP following the realization of an increase in sell-in prices, incremental margin due to the consolidation of ECCXI, stronger procurement efficiency, and lower raw material costs and shipping rates, a benefit of foreign currency effects that contributed 110 basis points in the full year. These positive effects were offset in part by a decline in production volumes.
From a multi-year perspective, the gross margin this year reflects a return to the levels that were typical of most of the past few years. Regarding the operating expenses, R&D expenses in the fourth quarter were ILS 12.4 million, down 8%. The decline is mainly attributed to the water technology segment. On the yearly level, total R&D costs before capitalization, which reflect the trends better, were down to ILS 85 million compared to ILS 95 million last year, mainly because of the relative decline in water technology development costs. During the year, as we mentioned, we reviewed development activities in the water technologies and the relevant go-to-market strategy. In this context, a decision was made not to move forward with a specific component that was developed as part of the solution.
This led us to record an impairment loss of ILS 10.6 million on an intangible asset, which was classified under the other expenses in the reporting period. I want to point out that this is an impairment loss that relates to a specific asset and not an impairment loss of a cash-generating unit. The intangible asset, which is attributed to the water technology segment in the balance sheet, is ILS 57 million. Selling and marketing expenses in the full year were ILS 332 million, up ILS 94 million. Most of the increase is due to the full consolidation of ECCXI, which contributed an additional ILS 93 million. The rise in exchange rates contributed another ILS 15 million. These were partly offset by lower shipping costs. I remind you that most of ECCXI's selling and marketing expenses are variable and depend on revenue levels.
In the fourth quarter, selling and marketing expenses were down 14% compared to the same quarter last year, mainly due to lower marketing and advertising expenses and the decline in shipping costs in the fourth quarter. G&A expenses in the full year amounted to ILS 144 million, an increase of 7%. Most of the increase is due to the consolidation of ECCXI's results, which contributed a further ILS 7.7 million, plus foreign currency effects in the period, which contributed another ILS 4.8 million, and were offset by lower labor costs in the management departments and a decline in other general expenses. Total operating expenses, excluding the additional expenses arising from ECCXI's consolidation, were ILS 395 million, reflecting a very moderate increase of 1.4%.
The company management is focusing on ongoing OPEX control as we get back on a growth track with the aim of creating an operating leverage that will grow our margin. In the fourth quarter, other income net were about ILS 250,000 that recorded mainly due to grants receivable in respect of the war. On the other hand, there is the impairment loss on the intangible asset, as I mentioned before. The operating margin declined to 13.7% compared to 16.4% of sales last year and mainly reflects the effects of ECCXI consolidation on the consolidated expenses structure. The EBITDA in 2023 amounted to ILS 357 million, a moderate decline of 2% compared to last year. Net finance expenses were ILS 66 million compared to ILS 29 million expenses last year.
The increase is the result of higher interest rates on bank credit in the group, which amounted to ILS 49 million in 2023 compared to ILS 16 million last year. Outstanding bank credit at the end of the year was ILS 110 million, which was ILS 110 million higher compared to the end of 2022. The effective tax rate was 14.8% compared to 13.6% last year, mainly due to a different profit mix in the group company. In the group, cash flow from operating activities were ILS 164 million compared to negative cash flow of ILS 217 million last year. The improvement is mainly the result of a decrease of ILS 67 million in inventory compared to the increase of ILS 360 million in inventory last year. A few highlights regarding the balance sheet.
The inventory balance reflects a moderate decline of ILS 44 million, but in fact, inventory correction efforts led to a decline of 33% in the quantity of finished goods robots compared to December 2022. The decline in inventory balance was offset by currency effects and the resulting impact on inventory value in the subsidiaries. Also, in the fourth quarter, inventories of related pool products at ECCXI rose by ILS 26 million, reflecting early buy sales on which discounts were granted. We are continuing to work on lowering the inventory levels. Regarding the customers, the average customer days in 2023 were 68 days compared to 77 last year. The balance of trade payables was ILS 57 million lower, but the result of a decline in inventory purchases compared to last year, this is the reason for the decline in the suppliers.
Finally, the board of the directors has approved a final dividend of ILS 25 million together with a dividend of ILS 50 million that was paid in September 2023. The company is distributing ILS 75 million in respect of 2023 earnings. That's it then. Sharon, we now take over.
Thanks, Meni. I'll now go into a little more detail about trends in the industry and the territories, the products review, the competition, and our outlook. Unlike our unusual practice, I'll start with Oceania. Sales in the previous quarter reflected weak early buy sales. Fourth quarter sales reflect seasonal summer sales in the territory, and a hot, dry weather that started in October led to an increase of 22% in sales in the quarter.
This strong growth is also the result of replenishment orders, those strong repeat orders by the channel that started flowing in as soon as the season opened. The reason I started with Oceania is that the pattern that evolved there before and during the season provides an indication and reflects our expectations with respect to the distribution chain behavior, also in North America and Europe, for the season of 2024. So to sum up Oceania: the consumer confidence index recovered during the fourth quarter following a decline in inflation and interest rate cuts expectations. Inventory levels in the distribution channel were relatively high going into the season but normalized due to the strong start of the season. The Dolphin brand continues to be very strong in the territory, and the weather in the first quarter has remained favorable with a hot, stable summer.
Overall, these trends are contributing to an ongoing inventory normalization, and we can say that most of the correction is behind us. With that, as I said earlier, distributors and dealers continue to maintain tight conservative working capital management in order not to reach the off-season with high inventory sales. The Australian market continues to be a strong growth driver for the company, with 17% average annual growth since 2019. Now regarding North America: fourth quarter sales in North America were ILS 175 million, up 36% on top of 100% organic growth in Q4 of last year. These results reflect an increase in early buy deliveries, ongoing end-user demand for the Dolphin, and a continuation of the trend that started in the prior quarter of growth in sales of other products through ECCXI.
Looking at the full year, North America sales were ILS 1.1 billion, up 23% compared to 2022. The trend of inventory correction and build-up pattern by the channel, together with a short season, led to a decline in sales in the Pro Channel. On the other hand, the full consolidation of ECCXI, its ongoing growth and overall growth in the online channel, counterbalanced the negative trend in the Pro Channel. Regarding ECCXI: the company grew 6% in 2023 and 11% in the quarter. Robot sales delivered double-digit growth, and sales of other products reflected nice growth, especially in the fourth quarter, reflecting steps taken to leverage its platform. We expanded the product range and the range of manufacturers that work with us, and this segment is a substantial growth driver for us in 2023.
The Chinese competition is increasingly present in this territory, most clearly in the online channel. We see an increase in their digital marketing spend, and we estimate that our use of digital campaigns was highly effective in competing against them and is also leading to greater awareness that supports continuing conversion from other cleaning solutions. Taking a longer perspective, since 2019, pre-COVID, sales in the territory grew 235%, reflecting 35% average annual growth. Our strong presence and capabilities in the online arena led to a healthy growth in sales in this channel in the past four years, and they accounted for a significant part of sales in the territory. We also increased our presence in the pro channel, adding more than 2,500 dealers who work with us, around 800 of them in the sunbelt markets.
We stepped up significantly our joint digital campaigns with Dealer, and all of this contributed to more than 100% revenue growth in the professional channel. In summary, the North American market remains a meaningful growth driver for us across all segments and channels, and we have the right partners and the right team to capitalize on this potential. The European market continues to be more challenging than other territories. In general, the markets in Northern Europe are experiencing a sharper decline in the construction of new pools and consumer spending compared to the markets in Southern Europe, where the trends are significantly more moderate. Europe sales in the quarter were ILS 46.2 million, up 18%, reflecting an increase in early buy deliveries in some markets. 2023 trends indicate softer demand by distributors in Northern Europe and continue to reflect inventory correction.
To sum up the year, Europe sales declined 16% as a result of the inventory correction and conservative build-up by the channels during a short pool season that was impacted by unfavorable weather. As we have said before, in Europe, we are more affected by the decline in new pool construction, which has taken a toll on the demand for our automatic pool covers, alarms, and other pool equipment sold by our German subsidiary. This exposure had a negative effect on our results for the full year, but the trend started to shift in the second half of the year, and we believe this indicates the end of inventory correction in new pool construction segment and the start of build-up. As a territory, Europe consists of markets with different robot penetration levels and different consumer characteristics.
The continent is still affected by inflation, high interest rates, energy prices, and the geopolitical situation, but for us, it has growth potential going forward. Despite the decline in revenues this year, if we look at the picture since 2019, we delivered average annual growth of 9%. As part of implementing our revised strategy, we established ECCXI Europe in the interest of leveraging the company's know-how and strong capabilities in the online arena in this territory as well. Generally, the online channel in Europe is less developed compared to North America, and we view it as a growth driver going forward. Now regarding products: this year, we launched the first robots in the Liberty family.
The Liberty family is a significant contribution for Maytronics' mid to premium offering since these robots offer a cordless, battery-powered value proposition that delivers all the filtration, brushing, and pool coverage capabilities of Maytronics' traditional high-runner robots. We also completed the development and transfer to production of the Poolside Connect solution, an aesthetic integrated product for the pool builder segment that delivers nonstop robot readiness via an induction socket in the pool wall. As we announced several weeks ago, for the 2024 season, we are launching a new robot line and a brand called Niya, a product line we worked on together with our partners in China. In 2024, we will be launching a new robot named Dolphin Skimmi, which delivers a unique robotic solution for cleaning the water surface.
Based on our insights regarding end-user pain points and considering the current solutions in this space, we believe that this solution provides a response to a significant consumer need. The Skimmi skims the pool water surface, collecting floating debris into a built-in filtration chamber. It is powered by a solar panel that charges the robot's batteries, and it works and recharges automatically and continuously without the need for human intervention. We believe that these moves, in addition to revising our development strategy and orientation to a faster product launch pace, will maintain our technological advantage, improve the range of the company's value proposition, and sustain its high positioning. For the commercial pool segment, in 2023, we launched the Wave 90i. This robot broadens the range of solutions and maintains the company's technology advantages in this segment, where Maytronics offers the broadest product range in the industry.
In Australia, we are seeing nice growth in water purification products. In 2023, we performed an in-depth review process of the water technology segment. Following the review, we chose to focus on the development of a product line that combines water sensing and monitoring through a controlled use of ozone disinfection and chlorination in combination with minerals from the Dead Sea. The system is designed for private pools. In the second half of 2024, the first product in this line that integrates capabilities developed by the group will be launched, mainly in Australia. About one year later, in the second half of 2024, a soft launch of a more advanced generation is planned, which will include a broader value proposition, including cloud data processing technology, AI-based technology, and advanced algorithms.
Before I will present the outlook for 2024, I want to share that in the coming days, we will be publishing Maytronics' first ESG report. In the past year, we set a management goal to advance ESG and to incorporate in a formal report all of Maytronics' activities and its perspective in this field, and the report is the outcome of a considerable investment in this important ethical space. In reference to the outlook for 2024 and the revised long-term goals: first, I want to sum up and say that despite the considerable challenges, 2023 is another year of growth, a year in which we achieved the outlook we updated in August. Taking a broad look at the coming years, we believe that the pool market is a growing market with healthy characteristics and positive trends in general and for Maytronics in particular.
The install base has grown significantly, and automation and connectivity trends continue to gain momentum and strongly support the company's value proposition. The SAM, the serviceable addressable market we see ahead, encompasses around 16 million pools in Maytronics' major target markets. This is the huge potential that we are working to realize, and it is the foundation for our growth. The main assumptions at the basis of the outlook for 2024 are as follows: macroeconomic environment: despite the decline in inflation and expectations for interest rate cuts, which naturally are expected to generate tailwinds for the consumer spending, the assumption is that the actual impact of the interest rate cuts expected in 2024 will not be reflected in consumer spending patterns or in build-up patterns in the distribution channel until 2025. A standard pool season in terms of length and start date in the northern hemisphere.
The decline in inventory levels in the distribution channel overall and its level entering into 2024 supports a return to volume growth in sales of residential pool robotic cleaners. We see continued growth in the sales of public pool robotic cleaners. Additional product offering that includes the start of Dolphin Skimmy sales, sales of the robots under the new brand Niya, and expansion of the product range sold by Backyard in North America under the other product segment. The growth outlook for 2024 is based on sales growth from the second quarter onwards, with expectation for a decline in the first quarter sales considering the build-up pattern as I mentioned. In the context of returning to normal market patterns, the weather will be an important factor. As I mentioned, dealer inventory levels are relatively low, and growth momentum will be affected by the length of the pool season.
Weighing all of these parameters, we expect revenue growth of 4%-8% in 2024, maintaining or up to 100 basis point improvement in the gross margin, and EBIT growth that surpasses revenue growth. Now regarding our long-term guidance: in 2023, we undertook a long-term strategic planning process that updated the Maytronics 2025 strategy and is intended to fine-tune the method of addressing market challenges with the goal of maintaining the company's growth and leadership. In this context, we will increase our investment in the development of new technology in the automatic robot cleaner segment and will increase the pace and quality of releasing new products to the market. We will work to broaden direct engagement with end users, and moreover, we will also be furthering a multi-layer plan to address the company's cost structure in which procurement optimization processes will continue as well as the integration of automation.
In the second phase, we will also be seeking to adopt a more focused product design, which includes planning and work processes and the aim of creating a more efficient cost structure. These moves are aimed to lower our direct COGS by 10%-15% within three years. Finally, the company intends to continue to advance M&As and partnerships that will expand its value propositions. In line with that, the long-term goals for 2028 are based on forecasts for a return to double-digit annual growth from 2025 onwards and estimated additional revenue of ILS 400 million from future mergers and acquisitions.
Weighting all of this, the company has set a long-term goal for 2028 and estimates revenue within a range of ILS 3.2 billion-ILS 3.6 billion, of which, as I mentioned, ILS 400 million will be generated by additional M&As while maintaining the gross margin and an EBIT margin of 14%-18%. In closing, I will note that we continue to operate in line of our security situation as a nation. As we said in our last conference call, more than two-thirds of Maytronics employees are seated in Israel, including production workers at the sites in Israel and Dalton and headquarter employees. At the present time, many of our employees have returned from active reserve duty, but relatively speaking, there are still a lot of employees who are intermediately being called up for further service.
As a company, we are giving as much support as possible as we can to our employees whose loved ones were harmed during the war and to those who remain on reserve duty and their families. The call-up of production and head office employees has affected and continues to affect us to a certain extent, but we are coping and finding solutions. I want to emphasize that we are maintaining operating activities according to the work plans as much as possible at all sites, including the production sites. That's it for me. We'll be happy to answer questions.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will begin the question and answer session. If you have a question, please press star one. If you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star two. If you are using speaker equipment, kindly lift the handset before pressing the numbers. Your questions will be polled in the order they are received. Please stand by while we poll for your questions. I repeat, if you have a question, please press star one. There are no questions at this time. Mr. Goldenberg, would you like to make your concluding statement?
Thank you all for joining us today, and we are here to answer any future questions you may have in further discussions. Thank you very much.
Thank you. This concludes the Maytronics Ltd fourth and final quarter 2023 conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may go ahead and disconnect.