AECOM (ACM) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the AECOM Fourth Quarter 2023 Conference Call. I would like to inform all participants that this call is being recorded at the request of AECOM. This broadcast is the copyrighted property of AECOM. Any rebroadcast of this information in whole or part without the prior written permission of AECOM is prohibited. As a reminder, AECOM is also simulcasting this presentation with slides at the Investors section at www.aecom.com. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，歡迎參加 AECOM 2023 年第四季電話會議。我謹通知所有參與者，本次通話是應 AECOM 的要求進行錄音的。該廣播是 AECOM 的版權財產。未經 AECOM 事先書面許可，禁止全部或部分轉播此資訊。謹此提醒，AECOM 也在 www.aecom.com 的投資者部分同步播放了本簡報和投影片。 （操作員說明）

I would like to turn the call over to Will Gabrielski, Senior Vice President, Finance, Treasury and Investor Relations.

我想將電話轉給財務、財務和投資者關係高級副總裁威爾·加布里埃爾斯基 (Will Gabrielski)。

Thank you, operator. I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement on Page 1 of today's presentation. Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements to the various risks and uncertainties, including those described in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Except as law requires, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

謝謝你，接線生。我想請您注意今天簡報第一頁的安全港聲明。今天的討論包含有關未來業務和財務預期的前瞻性陳述。由於各種風險和不確定性，包括我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告中所述的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與今天的前瞻性聲明中預測的結果有很大差異。除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新前瞻性聲明的義務。

We use certain non-GAAP financial measures in our presentation. The appropriate GAAP reconciliations are incorporated into our materials, which are posted to our website. Growth rates are presented on a year-over-year basis unless otherwise noted. Any references to segment margins or segment adjusted operating margins will reflect the performance for the Americas and International segments. When discussing revenue and revenue growth, we will refer to net service revenue or NSR, which is defined as revenue excluding pass-through revenue. NSR and backlog growth rates are presented on a constant currency basis. Unless otherwise noted, today's discussion of key performance indicators will focus on the continuing and core operations of the company.

我們在演示中使用某些非公認會計準則財務指標。適當的 GAAP 調整已納入我們的資料中，並發佈到我們的網站上。除非另有說明，增長率均按年計算。任何提及分部利潤率或分部調整後營業利潤率的內容均將反映美洲和國際分部的業績。在討論收入和收入成長時，我們將指淨服務收入或NSR，其定義為不包括傳遞收入的收入。 NSR 和積壓成長率以固定匯率計算。除非另有說明，今天對關鍵績效指標的討論將集中於公司的持續和核心業務。

On today's call, Troy Rudd, our Chief Executive Officer, will review our key accomplishments, our strategy and outlook for the business. Lara Poloni, our President, will discuss key operational successes and priorities and Gaurav Kapoor, our Chief Financial Officer, will review our financial performance and outlook in greater detail. We will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

在今天的電話會議上，我們的執行長 Troy Rudd 將回顧我們的主要成就、我們的策略和業務前景。我們的總裁拉拉·波洛尼 (Lara Poloni) 將討論關鍵的營運成功和優先事項，我們的財務長高拉夫·卡普爾 (Gaurav Kapoor) 將更詳細地審查我們的財務業績和前景。我們將以問答環節結束。

With that, I will turn the call over to Troy.

這樣，我就把電話轉給特洛伊。

Thank you, Will, and thank you all for joining us today. I want to begin by thanking our 52,000 professionals who are the most talented in our industry. Through their technical expertise and global collaboration, we have extended our competitive advantage. This includes building a record design backlog that is supported by long-term projects with stable funding sources.

謝謝威爾，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。首先，我要感謝我們行業中最有才華的 52,000 名專業人士。透過他們的技術專長和全球合作，我們擴大了我們的競爭優勢。這包括建立創紀錄的設計積壓，並由具有穩定資金來源的長期項目支持。

I also want to highlight our record safety performance during the year, ensuring the safety of our team is essential. Our total recordable incident rate remains well ahead of industry benchmarks and our internal targets, which is a testament to our culture.

我也想強調我們今年創紀錄的安全表現，確保我們團隊的安全至關重要。我們的總可記錄事故率仍然遠遠領先於行業基準和我們的內部目標，這證明了我們的文化。

Turning to our results. We outperformed on every key financial metric in both the fourth quarter and full year. Organic NSR growth in the design business was 10% in the fourth quarter and 9% for the full year. This was highlighted by the strength of our water, transportation and environment businesses, which are benefiting from strong secular growth trends and organic market share gains.

轉向我們的結果。我們在第四季和全年的每項關鍵財務指標上都表現出色。設計業務的 NSR 有機成長在第四季度為 10%，全年為 9%。我們的水務、運輸和環境業務的實力凸顯了這一點，這些業務受益於強勁的長期成長趨勢和有機市場份額的成長。

Our margins also exceeded guidance and set a new annual high. Our profitability continues to lead our industry, which enhances the value of our record design backlog. As a result, full year adjusted EBITDA and EPS increased by 10% and 12% on a constant currency basis. Both metrics exceeded our initial increased guidance midpoints despite headwinds from the strengthening U.S. dollar.

我們的利潤率也超出了指導，創下了年度新高。我們的獲利能力持續引領產業，這提高了我們創紀錄的設計積壓的價值。因此，以固定匯率計算，全年調整後 EBITDA 和 EPS 分別成長 10% 和 12%。儘管美元走強帶來了阻力，但這兩項指標都超過了我們最初的成長指導中點。

Consistent with our track record of strong cash performance, free cash flow was in the upper half of our guidance range, which enabled the execution of our returns-focused capital allocation policy. This included approximately $475 million allocated to share repurchases and dividends during the year. Based on our strong cash flow profile and the strength of our balance sheet, we also affirmed our capital allocation policy, which is led by investments in high-returning organic growth, followed by share repurchases and dividends.

與我們強勁的現金表現記錄一致，自由現金流處於我們指導範圍的上半部分，這使得我們能夠執行以回報為中心的資本配置政策。其中包括當年分配給股票回購和股利的約 4.75 億美元。基於我們強勁的現金流狀況和資產負債表的實力，我們也確認了我們的資本配置政策，該政策以高回報有機成長投資為主導，其次是股票回購和股利。

Since 2020, we have returned $2 billion to our stockholders. We announced an increase in our share repurchase authorization to $1 billion and an increase to our quarterly dividend by 22%. This marks the second consecutive year of at least 20% increase in our dividend and is consistent with our long-term plan for annual double-digit percentage increases.

自 2020 年以來，我們已向股東返還 20 億美元。我們宣布將股票回購授權增加至 10 億美元，並將季度股利增加 22%。這標誌著我們的股息連續第二年增加至少 20%，並且與我們每年兩位數百分比增長的長期計劃一致。

Please turn to the next slide. Across our results, three key themes were apparent. First, we are winning key pursuits at a record rate. Both total and contracted backlog in the design business reached all-time highs, led by 21% growth in contracted backlog in the Americas design business. In addition, the profile of our wins continues to shift to higher value, longer duration projects and programs for our largest clients, which adds to our visibility. In fact, wins valued at greater than $50 million during the year increased by 70% from just a few years ago, which has the effect of expanding our long-term earnings power.

請翻到下一張投影片。在我們的結果中，三個關鍵主題很明顯。首先，我們正在以創紀錄的速度贏得關鍵追求。設計業務的總積壓訂單和合約積壓訂單均創歷史新高，其中美洲設計業務的合約積壓訂單增加了 21%。此外，我們的勝利繼續轉向為我們最大的客戶提供更高價值、更長持續時間的項目和計劃，這增加了我們的知名度。事實上，今年價值超過 5000 萬美元的勝利比幾年前增加了 70%，這具有擴大我們長期盈利能力的效果。

Second, investments in infrastructure, sustainability and resilience and the energy transition are converging into a powerful cycle that plays to our strengths. Funding from the IIJA is beginning to flow into our markets, and commitments towards achieving ambitious net zero targets are driving our clients' investment decisions.

其次，對基礎設施、永續性和復原力以及能源轉型的投資正在匯聚成一個強大的循環，發揮我們的優勢。 IIJA 的資金開始流入我們的市場，對實現雄心勃勃的淨零目標的承諾正在推動我們客戶的投資決策。

Finally, our competitive advantage is expanding as evidenced by our industry-leading organic design backlog growth, record high win rates and our industry-leading margins. The combination of our technical leadership, collaborative culture and our Day 1 Advisory, Day 2 Program Management and Day 3 Design Capabilities has us positioned as the partner of choice across the full life cycle of our clients' most critical investments.

最後，我們的競爭優勢正在擴大，我們領先業界的有機設計積壓成長、創紀錄的高勝率和領先業界的利潤率就證明了這一點。我們的技術領導、協作文化以及第一天諮詢、第二天專案管理和第三天設計能力的結合使我們成為客戶最關鍵投資整個生命週期的首選合作夥伴。

Against a constantly evolving economic and geopolitical landscape, we are in a leading position to deliver. Nearly 90% of our income is generated in the Americas, the U.K. and Australian markets. These economies are amongst the most resilient in the world and feature record funding commitments in our markets. We have diversified our private sector exposure and the majority of our private sector business is linked to markets and clients that are accelerating their investments. This includes our water and environment practices, where we are primarily delivering for clients' operating budgets and not capital budgets, and where regulatory requirements drive a substantial portion of client spend. This is also true for our facilities business, where 75% of our work in the Americas design business is for public sector clients, where funding is more predictable.

面對不斷變化的經濟和地緣政治格局，我們在交付方面處於領先地位。我們近 90% 的收入來自美洲、英國和澳洲市場。這些經濟體是世界上最具彈性的經濟體之一，並且在我們的市場中做出了創紀錄的融資承諾。我們已經實現了私部門業務的多元化，我們的大部分私部門業務都與加速投資的市場和客戶相關。這包括我們的水和環境實踐，我們主要為客戶的營運預算而不是資本預算提供服務，並且監管要求推動了客戶支出的很大一部分。我們的設施業務也是如此，我們在美洲設計業務中 75% 的工作是為公共部門客戶提供的，這些客戶的資金更加可預測。

Importantly, our exposure to the private U.S. commercial real estate market is less than 3% of total NSR. And while there remains uncertainty around the U.S. federal budgeting process, the impacts of a typical shutdown are immaterial to us, and we estimate that less than 1% of our business would be impacted. Our contracts are well funded and all indications that most of our work will continue through a shutdown. In addition, our state and local clients are benefiting from historically strong tax revenues, accelerating IIJA-related grant activity and direct funding from the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which is funded through a separate and already completed authorization process.

重要的是，我們對美國私人商業房地產市場的曝險不到總 NSR 的 3%。儘管美國聯邦預算流程仍存在不確定性，但典型的停工影響對我們來說並不重要，我們估計只有不到 1% 的業務會受到影響。我們的合約資金充足，所有跡象表明我們的大部分工作將在停工期間繼續進行。此外，我們的州和地方客戶還受益於歷史上強勁的稅收收入、加速 IIJA 相關撥款活動以及聯邦公路信託基金的直接資助，該基金透過單獨且已完成的授權流程提供資金。

Please turn to the next slide. From our position of strength, we're investing in key initiatives to extend our competitive advantage. For example, as digital becomes ubiquitous in our industry over time, our commitment to make investments that enhance our long-term growth, combined with our scale and collaborative culture creates a substantial advantage. Our libraries of data, which represent the collective knowledge and experience of our professionals, enable us to write and deploy script and code that automate elements of the design. Through this, we are substantially reducing the time to complete certain work packages, while further enhancing quality. These productivity gains create time for our professionals to dedicate to even higher value work.

請翻到下一張投影片。憑藉我們的優勢，我們正在投資關鍵舉措以擴大我們的競爭優勢。例如，隨著時間的推移，隨著數位化在我們的行業中變得無處不在，我們對促進長期成長的投資的承諾，加上我們的規模和協作文化，創造了巨大的優勢。我們的資料庫代表了我們專業人員的集體知識和經驗，使我們能夠編寫和部署自動化設計元素的腳本和程式碼。透過這種方式，我們大大減少了完成某些工作包的時間，同時進一步提高了品質。這些生產力的提升為我們的專業人員創造了時間致力於更高價值的工作。

We're also continuing to expand our enterprise capability centers, which is a critical enabler of expanding our capacity and deploying best practices. Hours delivered through these centers increased by 50% for the year and we see substantial opportunity for further increases over time. In addition, we are continuing to grow our world-class program management and advisory expertise, which is highly synergistic with our design leadership. This creates a competitive advantage when pursuing and delivering the most complex projects and programs. We are placing a specific emphasis on growing our energy advisory and digital practices, as our clients are estimated to require $4 trillion per year to achieve global net zero targets and are accelerating digital investments.

我們也繼續擴大我們的企業能力中心，這是擴大我們的能力和部署最佳實踐的關鍵推動因素。今年，透過這些中心提供的服務時間增加了 50%，而且隨著時間的推移，我們看到了進一步增加的巨大機會。此外，我們正在繼續發展我們世界一流的專案管理和諮詢專業知識，這與我們的設計領導力高度協同。這在追求和交付最複雜的專案和計劃時創造了競爭優勢。我們特別重視發展能源諮詢和數位化實踐，因為我們的客戶預計每年需要 4 兆美元來實現全球淨零排放目標，並正在加速數位投資。

Taking into consideration our accomplishments in fiscal 2023, our expanded competitive advantage and accelerating growth in our core markets and geographies, we have initiated strong financial guidance for fiscal 2024. We expect organic NSR growth of between 8% and 10%. We also expect to deliver another year of record profitability, including a 90 basis point increase in the segment adjusted operating margin to 15.6%. This is well ahead of our prior 2024 target and reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and realizing our long-term 17% margin ambition.

考慮到我們在2023 財年取得的成就、我們擴大的競爭優勢以及核心市場和地區的加速增長，我們為2024 財年啟動了強有力的財務指導。我們預計NSR 有機增長在8% 至10% 之間。我們也預計今年將再創紀錄的獲利能力，其中該部門調整後的營業利潤率將成長 90 個基點，達到 15.6%。這遠遠超出了我們先前設定的 2024 年目標，反映了我們對持續改善和實現 17% 的長期利潤率目標的承諾。

At the midpoint, adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase by 13% and adjusted EPS is expected to increase by 20% to $4.35 to $4.55. We also expect another year of strong cash flow, which will enable continued opportunities to allocate capital to growth and shareholder returns. We are exceptionally well positioned for the year ahead and are excited by the continued growth and value creation opportunity at AECOM, which we will discuss in greater detail at our upcoming Investor Day in December.

中期調整後的 EBITDA 預計將成長 13%，調整後的每股盈餘預計將成長 20%，達到 4.35 至 4.55 美元。我們也預計今年將出現強勁的現金流，這將帶來持續的機會，將資本分配給成長和股東回報。我們為未來一年做好了充分準備，並對 AECOM 的持續成長和價值創造機會感到興奮，我們將在即將到來的 12 月投資者日上更詳細地討論這一點。

With that, I will turn the call over to Lara.

這樣，我就把電話轉給勞拉。

Thanks, Troy. Please turn to the next slide. Fiscal 2023 was a milestone year in many respects. Our teams are energized by our record high design win rate in the year and backlog position, which validates the competitive advantage we have built through our technical excellence. Through our strategy, we are ideally suited to deliver as the global infrastructure mega trends accelerate. We are consistently winning our high priority pursuits at a record rate and on 90% of our wins, our technical score is essential to our success.

謝謝，特洛伊。請翻到下一張投影片。 2023 財年在許多方面都是具有里程碑意義的一年。我們的團隊因今年創紀錄的高設計獲勝率和積壓訂單狀況而充滿活力，這驗證了我們透過卓越技術建立的競爭優勢。透過我們的策略，我們非常適合隨著全球基礎設施大趨勢的加速而提供服務。我們始終以創紀錄的速度贏得我們的高優先級追求，在 90% 的勝利中，我們的技術分數對我們的成功至關重要。

In addition, as projects become larger and more complex, clients are increasingly asking for more from their consulting partners and through our world-class program management and advisory capabilities, we are distinguished from our competition. In addition, we continue to maintain leadership positions in the market sectors benefiting from these trends. In water, which represents 26% of our design NSR, investments to address persistent drought, flooding and drinking water scarcity are increasing and play to our strength, as evidenced by our transformational wins throughout the year. We won a resiliency contract to help the city of New York deliver a new conveyance tunnel that will improve the reliability of its water supply. This win drew on our global water sector expertise and experience working on projects of this scale and complexity. Also, we were selected for a large hydroelectric project in Canada that was the result of our leading hydroelectric engineering capabilities. This win is representative of a growing set of similar opportunities across our markets.

此外，隨著專案變得越來越大、越來越複雜，客戶對諮詢合作夥伴的要求越來越高，透過我們世界一流的專案管理和諮詢能力，我們在競爭中脫穎而出。此外，受益於這些趨勢，我們繼續保持在市場領域的領導地位。水資源占我們設計 NSR 的 26%，用於解決持續乾旱、洪水和飲用水短缺問題的投資正在增加，並發揮了我們的優勢，我們全年的轉型勝利就證明了這一點。我們贏得了一份彈性合同，幫助紐約市建造一條新的輸送隧道，以提高供水的可靠性。此次勝利借鑒了我們在全球水務領域的專業知識以及從事此類規模和複雜專案的經驗。此外，我們也被選中參與加拿大的一個大型水力發電項目，這是我們領先的水力發電工程能力的結果。這場勝利代表了我們市場上越來越多的類似機會。

Order trends are equally strong in the international market. For instance, in the U.K., spending across the AMP8 water infrastructure programs is expected to increase by 75% over the next 5 years as compared to the prior 5-year cycle. Our exposure to these clients is expanding just as the total addressable spend is increasing. Coming to transportation, where we hold the #1 rankings in both transit and transportation engineering, our largest state and local clients are projecting double-digit spending growth in fiscal 2024.

國際市場的訂單趨勢同樣強勁。例如，在英國，與先前的 5 年週期相比，未來 5 年 AMP8 水基礎設施項目的支出預計將增加 75%。隨著總可尋址支出的增加，我們對這些客戶的接觸也不斷擴大。在交通運輸方面，我們在交通和運輸工程領域均排名第一，我們最大的州和地方客戶預計 2024 財年的支出將達到兩位數成長。

Large wins such as our selection to be the lead designer for the IIJA funded Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project in the U.S. are beginning to more materially contribute to our results. Similarly, our leadership in transit was affirmed in our selection of 2 substantial Canadian light rail transit projects, building on our global successes in this market over the past few years. These wins further demonstrate the value of combining our design and program management capabilities. And in the environment sector, backlog increased by double digits and included a sizable win to support San Diego Gas & Electric's strategic undergrounding program, reducing wildfire risk by moving overhead power lines underground.

我們被選為 IIJA 資助的美國布倫特斯賓塞大橋走廊計畫的首席設計師等重大勝利開始為我們的成果做出更實質的貢獻。同樣，我們在過去幾年在該市場取得的全球成功的基礎上，選擇了兩個加拿大大型輕軌交通項目，這也證實了我們在交通領域的領導地位。這些勝利進一步證明了我們的設計和專案管理能力相結合的價值。在環境領域，積壓訂單增加了兩位數，其中包括支持聖地牙哥天然氣和電力公司戰略地下工程的重大勝利，透過將架空電線移至地下來降低野火風險。

We were also selected to advise on delivering a carbon-neutral COP28, the leading forum uniting the world on the most ambitious sustainability solutions of our time, which is a reflection of our strong leadership position in the market. In addition, given continued regulatory clarity, PFAS remediation work is gaining momentum, and we've won some of our largest projects to date during the year. This includes our program management win to conduct PFAS investigation and remediation for the U.S. Army National Guard facilities nationwide, where we bring an unrivaled suite of PFAS services and technical expertise to address this critical environmental challenge. These successes reflect the strength of our Think and Act Globally strategy and our competitive advantages as projects increase in size and complexity.

我們也被選中為 COP28 提供建議，這是一個將世界團結起來討論當今時代最雄心勃勃的可持續發展解決方案的領先論壇，這反映了我們在市場上的強大領導地位。此外，鑑於監管持續明確，PFAS 修復工作正在取得勢頭，我們今年贏得了一些迄今為止最大的項目。這包括我們在全國範圍內對美國陸軍國民警衛隊設施進行 PFAS 調查和修復的項目管理勝利，我們提供了一套無與倫比的 PFAS 服務和技術專業知識來應對這一嚴峻的環境挑戰。這些成功反映了我們的全球思考和行動策略的優勢以及隨著專案規模和複雜性的增加我們的競爭優勢。

Technical excellence remains the key distinguishing characteristic of nearly all of our significant wins, and we have several initiatives underway to fortify these strengths. These include continued growth in our technical academies and technical practice groups such as a new expert-led ESG and climate change program. As we look to 2024 and beyond, we are setting the bar in terms of technical advantage, high returning organic growth and profitability, and are confident that through continued disciplined execution of our strategy, we will further extend our advantage.

卓越的技術仍然是我們幾乎所有重大勝利的關鍵顯著特徵，我們正在採取多項舉措來加強這些優勢。其中包括我們的技術學院和技術實踐小組的持續發展，例如由專家主導的新的 ESG 和氣候變遷計劃。展望 2024 年及以後，我們在技術優勢、高回報有機成長和獲利能力方面樹立了標桿，並有信心透過持續嚴格執行我們的策略，我們將進一步擴大我們的優勢。

With that, I will turn the call over to Gaurav.

這樣，我會將電話轉給 Gaurav。

Thanks, Lara. Please turn to the next slide. We exceeded the midpoint of both our initial and increased guidance ranges in 2023 as we continue to build on our track record of delivering on our commitments and generating long-term shareholder value. This performance included 10% organic NSR growth in the design business in the fourth quarter, industry-leading margin performance and continued strong cash flow.

謝謝，拉拉。請翻到下一張投影片。隨著我們繼續兌現承諾和創造長期股東價值的記錄，我們在 2023 年超過了最初和增加的指導範圍的中點。這一業績包括第四季度設計業務 10% 的有機 NSR 成長、業界領先的利潤率表現以及持續強勁的現金流。

As we turn to 2024, we are encouraged by a strong end market backdrop. Building from a record design backlog and 20% growth in our design pipeline, we are poised to deliver another year of strong NSR growth, record margins and 20% adjusted EPS growth at the midpoint of our guidance range. I am also pleased to report that we announced an increase in our share repurchase authorization to $1 billion and a 22% increase in our dividend. These actions reflect our confidence in the long-term cash flow profile of the business and the continued opportunity to enhance value creation through our operating performance. Please turn to the next slide.

展望 2024 年，強勁的終端市場背景令我們深受鼓舞。基於創紀錄的設計積壓和20% 的設計管道成長，我們準備在新的一年實現NSR 的強勁增長、創紀錄的利潤率以及調整後每股收益增長20%（處於我們指導範圍的中點） 。我還很高興地報告，我們宣布將股票回購授權增加至 10 億美元，並將股息增加 22%。這些行動反映了我們對業務的長期現金流狀況以及透過我們的經營績效增強價值創造的持續機會的信心。請翻到下一張投影片。

In the Americas, we delivered 9% NSR growth in the design business in the fourth quarter. We are benefiting from a high win rate along with strong client funding. As a result, we achieved a record design backlog, which was driven by our water, transportation and environment businesses, which all delivered a 1.2x or greater book-to-burn ratio for the year. The adjusted operating margin was 19% in the fourth quarter and reached a record high for the full year. This strength reflects the benefit of our strategy, which is focused on delivering the highest value elements of a project or program and the emphasis we place on return on time and capital. Please turn to the next slide.

在美洲，第四季我們的設計業務 NSR 成長了 9%。我們受益於高勝率和強大的客戶資金。結果，我們在水務、運輸和環境業務的推動下，實現了創紀錄的設計積壓，全年這些業務的預訂燃燒比均達到了 1.2 倍或更高。第四季調整後營業利益率為19%，創下全年歷史新高。這種優勢反映了我們策略的優勢，該策略的重點是提供專案或計劃的最高價值要素，以及我們對時間和資本回報的重視。請翻到下一張投影片。

Turning to the International segment. Fourth quarter and full year NSR increased by 11%, and we delivered on our 10% adjusted operating margin target in the fourth quarter, which increases our conviction towards delivering on our best-in-class margin target over time. Growth was strong across market sectors and included double-digit growth in transportation and strong growth in water. Both sectors are benefiting from increased investment in our largest markets, including the U.K. and Australia. Even with our strong revenue growth in 2023, backlog increased by 20%, which underpins our expectations for continued NSR growth and margin expansion in 2024. Please turn to the next slide.

轉向國際部分。第四季和全年 NSR 成長了 11%，我們在第四季實現了 10% 的調整後營業利潤率目標，這增強了我們隨著時間的推移實現一流利潤率目標的信心。各個市場領域的成長都很強勁，其中包括運輸領域的兩位數成長和水務領域的強勁成長。這兩個行業都受益於我們對英國和澳洲等最大市場的投資增加。儘管我們 2023 年的營收成長強勁，但積壓訂單仍增加了 20%，這支撐了我們對 2024 年 NSR 持續成長和利潤率擴張的預期。請翻到下一張投影片。

We delivered $591 million of free cash flow in the year, which was in the upper half of our guidance range and marks the ninth consecutive year of delivering on our cash flow guidance. This strong performance enabled allocation of approximately $475 million of capital to shareholders through repurchases and dividends. We have now reduced our shares outstanding by 19% since we began repurchasing stock in 2020, and we have increased our dividend by at least 20% in each of the past 2 years.

我們今年實現了 5.91 億美元的自由現金流，處於我們指導範圍的上半部分，也是連續第九年實現我們的現金流指導。這一強勁的業績使我們能夠透過回購和股息向股東分配約 4.75 億美元的資本。自 2020 年開始回購股票以來，我們已將流通股減少了 19%，並且在過去 2 年中每年將股息增加至少 20%。

Our capital allocation policy is centered on generating shareholder value and is supported consistently by strong cash flow that we allocate to highest returning opportunities. Our priorities with our capital have not changed. Our focus is on investing in organic growth, which is primarily through our margins in form of business development, talent and digital innovation. This is followed by repurchases given our confidence in delivering strong long-term earnings growth and then dividends. Our ability to invest in high returning opportunities and create value for our shareholders is also supported by our strong balance sheet.

我們的資本配置政策以創造股東價值為中心，並始終得到強勁現金流的支持，我們將其分配給最高回報的機會。我們的資本優先事項沒有改變。我們的重點是投資於有機成長，這主要是透過業務發展、人才和數位創新形式的利潤來實現。鑑於我們對實現強勁的長期獲利成長和股息的信心，隨後進行了回購。我們投資高回報機會並為股東創造價值的能力也得到了我們強大的資產負債表的支持。

Against a backdrop of rising rates and steepening yield curve, we have created certainty. Approximately 80% of our debt is fixed or capped at highly attractive rates, and we do not have bond maturities until 2027. In 2024, we expect another strong year of cash flow with free cash flow guided at least 100% of adjusted net income, further enabling our growth and efficiency initiatives and continued return of capital to shareholders. Please turn to the next slide.

在利率上升和殖利率曲線陡峭的背景下，我們創造了確定性。我們大約80% 的債務是固定的或以極具吸引力的利率為上限，而且我們要到2027 年才會有債券到期日。2024 年，我們預計現金流又將強勁，自由現金流至少佔調整後淨利潤的100%，進一步促進我們的成長和效率計劃以及持續向股東回報資本。請翻到下一張投影片。

Our 2024 guidance reflects the conviction we have in our strategy, our strong track record of execution, favorable demand drivers in our markets, and our record design backlog coming into the year. We have initiated fiscal 2024 guidance for adjusted EPS growth of 20%, and adjusted EBITDA growth of 13% at the midpoint of the respective ranges. This guidance reflects our expectation for organic NSR growth of 8% to 10% and 90 basis points of margin expansion to 15.6%, which is well in excess of the 15% target we had previously set for fiscal 2024 and keeps us on track towards our long-term 17% margin target.

我們的 2024 年指引反映了我們對策略的信心、我們良好的執行記錄、市場有利的需求驅動因素以及我們今年創紀錄的設計積壓。我們已啟動 2024 財年調整後每股收益成長 20% 的指導，調整後 EBITDA 成長 13%，處於相應範圍的中點。該指引反映了我們對有機NSR 成長8% 至10% 以及利潤率擴張90 個基點至15.6% 的預期，這遠遠超過了我們先前為2024 財年設定的15% 的目標，並使我們能夠朝著我們的目標邁進。長期利潤率目標為 17%。

Approximately 2/3 of the expected margin increases is a result of highly profitable organic growth. The remaining amount reflects the benefit from actions we are taking to accelerate our margin potential, which are primarily focused on the next phase of our real estate transformation, where the payback is expected over the next several years. We have a culture booked on continuous improvement and the actions we are taking to produce a high ROI and compounding benefits to the organization. I also want to note that consistent with our historical phasing of earnings, we expect adjusted EBITDA in the first half of the year to approximate 45% to 48% of our full year earnings. Taken together, we remain confident in further growth in our ability to continue creating substantial value for our stakeholders.

預計利潤成長的約 2/3 是高利潤有機成長的結果。剩餘金額反映了我們為加速利潤潛力而採取的行動所帶來的收益，這些行動主要集中在我們房地產轉型的下一階段，預計在未來幾年內獲得回報。我們有一種注重持續改進的文化，以及我們正在採取的行動來為組織帶來高投資報酬率和複合效益。我還想指出，與我們歷史上的獲利階段一致，我們預計今年上半年調整後的 EBITDA 約為全年獲利的 45% 至 48%。總而言之，我們對進一步增強繼續為利害關係人創造巨大價值的能力充滿信心。

With that, operator, we are ready for questions.

接線員，我們已經準備好回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question today comes from the line of Michael Feniger from Bank of America.

（操作員說明）您今天的第一個問題來自美國銀行的 Michael Feniger。

Just to kick it off, Troy, you're forecasting growth to remain stable to actually slightly accelerate in 2024. Just what gives you that confidence today to see NSR grow to that 8% to 10%? Is that even through the year to start lower and pick up in the second half? Is there anything you want to flag about the moving pieces for us to think about that growth rate staying stable to slightly picking up in 2024?

Troy，首先，您預測成長將保持穩定，並在 2024 年實際上略有加速。今天是什麼讓您有信心看到 NSR 增長到 8% 到 10%？是不是全年都會開始走低下半年回升？關於動態變化，您有什麼想要提醒我們的，以便我們考慮 2024 年增長率保持穩定甚至略有回升嗎？

Yes. Thanks for the question. So I would -- I mean, really our confidence in our growth is attributable to a number of different things. First is, we go through the same process every year that we do when we build up our plan. We start by looking at our backlog. And when you look at our backlog this year, our design business, which represents about 93%, 94% of our business, our contracted backlog is actually up 15% this year. And so that gives us tremendous confidence. And then in our CM business, which represents about 6% of our business, we have about 4 years of work, so it sits in that business. So that's the starting point, it's that just our backlog gives us great confidence that we can continue to grow, frankly, at the same rate we did in the second half of this year.

是的。謝謝你的提問。所以我想——我的意思是，我們對成長的信心實際上歸因於許多不同的因素。首先，我們每年都會經歷與制定計劃時相同的過程。我們首先查看我們的積壓工作。當你看到我們今年的積壓訂單時，我們的設計業務約占我們業務的 93%、94%，今年我們的合約積壓訂單實際上增長了 15%。這給了我們巨大的信心。然後在我們的 CM 業務中，大約占我們業務的 6%，我們有大約 4 年的工作，所以它就在這個業務中。這就是起點，坦白說，我們的積壓工作給了我們很大的信心，我們可以繼續以與今年下半年相同的速度成長。

And then the other important element of this is just the overall markets that we play in. Our longer-term confidence even beyond the year is based on the fact that we are exposed to some long-term investment cycles in infrastructure and sort of resilient to your sustainability. Think about that as sort of things like supply chain shifts or investments in coastal resiliency. And then there's an energy transition. And so that also gives us confidence.

然後，另一個重要因素是我們所參與的整體市場。我們甚至在今年之後的長期信心是基於這樣一個事實，即我們面臨基礎設施方面的一些長期投資週期，並且具有一定的彈性你的可持續性。可以將其視為供應鏈轉移或沿海彈性投資之類的事情。然後是能量轉變。這也給了我們信心。

And then beyond that, 90% of our revenue is actually coming from 4 geographies. It's Canada, the U.S., Australia and the U.K. So all those things taken together give us confidence. And the one thing in the past that had sort of been a headwind to growth was actually the ability to add people fast enough to the business. And I think we've got in a position now where turnover is -- certainly, voluntary turnover is at a much lower rate. And we're adding people to the business that are right that supports that growth. So all of that leads to confidence around our forecast for this next year.

除此之外，我們 90% 的收入實際上來自 4 個地區。是加拿大、美國、澳洲和英國。所以所有這些因素加起來給了我們信心。過去，阻礙成長的一件事實際上是足夠快地為業務增加人員的能力。我認為我們現在的處境是，人員流動率——當然，自願人員流動率要低得多。我們正在為業務中添加合適的人員來支援這種成長。因此，所有這些都讓我們對明年的預測充滿信心。

And just to follow up. There's just a lot of focus right now on how higher rates are weighing on construction, mostly obviously the private side. You touched in your comments about your exposure to commercial real estate. You do have certain exposure to private customer base. Can you just unpack that private side? How much of that do you see is vulnerable to high rates of economic uncertainty? What are you seeing in that portfolio outside of maybe commercial real estate? And just lastly, Troy, like, in 2024, are you forecasting further weakness, stability? What are you kind of seeing in that construction management segment that people kind of focus on? What are you kind of embedding for 2024 there?

只是為了跟進。目前，人們普遍關注利率上漲對建築業造成的影響，尤其是私人方面。您在評論中談到了您對商業房地產的投資。您確實對私人客戶群有一定的接觸。你能解開那個私人部分嗎？您認為其中有多少容易受到經濟不確定性的影響？除了商業房地產之外，您在該投資組合中看到了什麼？最後，特洛伊，在 2024 年，您是否預測會進一步疲軟、穩定？您在人們關注的施工管理領域看到了什麼？ 2024 年你在那裡嵌入了什麼？

Yes. Well, I'm going to take this a number of different ways. So first of all, if I look across the business, overall, our exposure to commercial real estate is less than 3% of the entire business, whether that's construction management or the design business. And frankly, we continue to move towards the broader opportunities that exist in infrastructure. And so the people in our business, again, that have been focusing perhaps on commercial real estate, have the skills to participate in other types of infrastructure, design, program management and even construction management. So again, across the entire business, less than 3% is our exposure to commercial real estate.

是的。好吧，我將採取多種不同的方式來解決這個問題。首先，如果我縱觀整個業務，整體而言，我們對商業房地產的投資不到整個業務的 3%，無論是建築管理還是設計業務。坦白說，我們繼續朝著基礎設施領域存在的更廣泛的機會邁進。因此，我們行業中可能一直專注於商業房地產的人員擁有參與其他類型的基礎設施、設計、專案管理甚至施工管理的技能。因此，在整個業務中，我們對商業房地產的投資比例不到 3%。

But if you sort of take a different cut at the business, our exposure in the business is to about 24% of our revenues from water, 35% from transportation, about, just to say, a little more than 10% is from environment and, frankly, energy. And then the rest is our facilities business and construction management. And within our design business, 70% of that design business is actually public sector focused. So within that, our private sector exposure within facilities is very small. But again, when you look at that, that facility's exposure is spread across a whole number of clients. And again, it's not in the commercial real estate. It's in private sector, in data centers, in transportation, in decarbonization activities. So it's fairly well diversified.

但如果你對業務採取不同的削減方式，我們在該業務中的收入大約有 24% 來自水，35% 來自運輸，大約，只是說，略多於 10% 來自環境和，坦率地說，能量。然後剩下的就是我們的設施業務和施工管理。在我們的設計業務中，70% 的設計業務實際上以公共部門為重點。因此，我們在設施內的私部門風險敞口非常小。但同樣，當你看到這一點時，你會發現該設施的風險分佈在眾多客戶中。再說一遍，這不是商業房地產。它存在於私營部門、資料中心、交通運輸、脫碳活動中。所以它相當多元化。

So again, our confidence is fairly well spread across the business. And last 4 years -- our guidance takes into account our exposures to all of the businesses that we see globally.

再說一次，我們的信心在整個業務中得到了很好的體現。過去四年，我們的指導考慮了我們在全球範圍內看到的所有業務的風險敞口。

And your next question comes from the line of Andy Kaplowitz from Citigroup.

您的下一個問題來自花旗集團的安迪·卡普洛維茨（Andy Kaplowitz）。

I know you probably want to save this for the Investor Day, but since you're growing 90 basis points in margin in FY '24 and 1/3 of that is related to your restructuring cost out. Could we see that kind of impact as we move forward into '25 and '26? So you could see that margin growth after '24 and assuming somewhat similar growth to what you're going to do in '24. Maybe you could hit your 17% longer-term target by FY '26 or earlier? I know you want to keep it long term, but how do we think about that?

我知道您可能想將其保留到投資者日，但由於您在 24 財年的利潤率增長了 90 個基點，其中 1/3 與您的重組成本相關。當我們進入“25”和“26”時，我們能看到這種影響嗎？因此，您可以看到 24 年後的利潤成長，並假設與 24 年的成長有些相似。也許您可以在 26 財年或更早之前實現 17% 的長期目標？我知道您想長期保留它，但我們如何看待這一點？

I'll tell you what, Andy, we're going to give -- we'll give more detail at the Investor Day. So this is a plug for you to show up. But we're focused on actually continuing to expand margins in the business and we set a 17% target. And so that's where we are headed over a longer period of time and the things that we've done this year will contribute to that. But maybe for a little more detail. I'll turn it over to Gaurav.

我會告訴你，安迪，我們將提供什麼 - 我們將在投資者日提供更多細節。所以這是一個供你展示的插件。但我們實際上專注於繼續擴大業務利潤率，並設定了 17% 的目標。這就是我們在較長一段時間內的發展方向，我們今年所做的事情將為此做出貢獻。但也許需要更多細節。我會把它交給高拉夫。

Andy, thanks for that question. Of course, there's plenty of opportunity from here. And I think FY '24 is an example of that, where we added 90 bps of margin well ahead of our own expectations we had coming into the year and the long-term target we had put forth almost 3 years ago to already an industry-leading margin. So that clearly demonstrates the point. With almost 2/3 of that 90 bps increase coming from expansion is from our growth. It clearly indicates that we're operating from a position of strength practically in every facet of the business we operate, from capitalizing on market opportunities, taking market share, including having 80-plus percent win rate on our enterprise critical pursuits and having the best technical professionals delivering solutions for our clients and communities. This is all really important because it's allowing us to have plenty of opportunity to expand on that 17% target. And as Troy mentioned, we'll lay that in more detail during our Investor Day, so look forward to that.

安迪，謝謝你提出這個問題。當然，這裡有很多機會。我認為24 財年就是一個例子，我們增加了90 個基點的利潤率，遠遠超出了我們自己對這一年的預期，以及我們在大約3 年前向已經存在的行業提出的長期目標-領先利潤率。這清楚地表明了這一點。擴張帶來的 90 個基點成長中，近 2/3 來自我們的成長。它清楚地表明，我們在業務的各個方面都處於優勢地位，從利用市場機會、佔領市場份額，包括在我們的企業關鍵目標上擁有 80% 以上的勝率，並擁有最好的技術專業人員為我們的客戶和社區提供解決方案。這一切都非常重要，因為它讓我們有足夠的機會來實現 17% 的目標。正如特洛伊所提到的，我們將在投資者日期間更詳細地介紹這一點，所以敬請期待。

Yes. No, that's helpful, guys. And Troy, maybe just a little more color into your markets. Would you say the biggest drivers of growth are increasing IIJA-related funding? Or is it sort of larger program management jobs as you talked about in places like the Middle East? And have you attempted to disaggregate your markets, for example, how much is the market growing? If they come growing 8% to 10%, are you growing 50% greater than the market? Like how do you think about that? And do you think you could continue to grow your backlog at current rates that you're doing it?

是的。不，這很有幫助，夥計們。特洛伊，也許只是為您的市場增添一點色彩。您是否認為成長的最大推動力是增加 IIJA 相關資金？或者正如您在中東等地談到的那樣，這是一種更大的專案管理工作？您是否嘗試過分解您的市場，例如，市場成長了多少？如果他們的成長率為 8% 到 10%，您的成長率是否比市場高 50%？例如你對此有何看法？您認為您可以繼續以目前的速度增加積壓訂單嗎？

Yes. So first of all, just a little bit of background on our growth. As I said earlier in the call, about 94% of our business is in our design business, and that includes program management, about 6% relates to construction management. And so our backlog in design has been growing rapidly. And I think I used the stat that our contracted backlog is up 50%, and again, our total backlog is up by a similar amount.

是的。首先，我們先簡單介紹一下我們的成長背景。正如我之前在電話中所說，我們大約 94% 的業務是設計業務，其中包括專案管理，大約 6% 涉及施工管理。因此，我們的設計積壓工作一直在快速成長。我想我使用的統計數據顯示，我們的合約積壓訂單增加了 50%，而且我們的總積壓訂單也增加了類似的數量。

And so when we look at that breakdown, we do see the strength across our markets, because we're seeing the pipeline of opportunities grow. I'm not certain that the pipeline of opportunities is necessarily driven by the market, as you point out. I think it's frankly us increasing our exposure to our client spends and that's through program management. So we've been growing program management at disproportionately fast rate, and those projects are actually large and chunky. And so I would say that we are contributing to actually taking more of that client spend as our clients continue to invest. So we're probably doing a combination, too, which is a little market share and actually participate in our growth, which sort of puts us beyond where I would say the industry average would be.

因此，當我們審視這個細分時，我們確實看到了整個市場的實力，因為我們看到機會的管道正在成長。正如您所指出的，我不確定機會的管道一定是由市場驅動的。坦白說，我認為我們透過專案管理增加了對客戶支出的接觸。因此，我們一直在以不成比例的速度發展專案管理，而這些專案實際上又大又粗。因此，我想說，隨著我們的客戶繼續投資，我們正在為實際獲得更多客戶支出做出貢獻。因此，我們可能也在進行合併，即佔據一點市場份額，並實際參與我們的成長，這使我們超出了我所說的行業平均水平。

But, Troy to be clear, you still see good visibility to design backlog continuing to grow from here in '24?

但是，Troy 需要明確的是，您仍然可以看到設計積壓工作在 24 年繼續增長的良好可見性？

Absolutely. Yes. No, we absolutely do. You sort of look at where we are in terms of -- I'll just use the IIJA as an example. And it's one example, because across the world, we have our customer base actually continuing to invest strongly and announce even stronger investments in infrastructure. But on the IIJA, we started to see that come into the business. And so we're seeing that come into funding projects across the business, including design, and we actually see that pace picking up as we go through the next few years. So yes, I don't want to -- if I did, I'm going to give you impression that design is not even growing at just as faster rate. But I think it's our -- again, I think we're accelerating beyond what the market growth is because we are exposed to more of the client spend. And then frankly, we are winning work at a disproportionately high rate.

絕對地。是的。不，我們絕對這樣做。你可以從以下角度來看待我們所處的位置——我僅以 IIJA 為例。這只是一個例子，因為在世界各地，我們的客戶群實際上正在繼續大力投資，並宣布對基礎設施進行更強勁的投資。但在 IIJA 上，我們開始看到這種情況開始出現。因此，我們看到資金進入了整個業務的項目（包括設計），我們實際上看到，隨著未來幾年的發展，這種步伐正在加快。所以，是的，我不想——如果我這樣做，我會給你這樣的印象：設計甚至沒有以同樣更快的速度成長。但我認為這是我們的——再次，我認為我們正在加速超越市場成長，因為我們面臨更多的客戶支出。坦白說，我們贏得工作的比率高得不成比例。

Our capture rate for the entire business has been over 50% for the last 8 quarters. And just by definition, capture rate is for every $1 we bid, we win. And so we're winning, out of every $2, we're winning $1 of work, which is an extraordinary rate and up substantially from where it had been in prior years.

過去 8 個季度我們整個業務的捕獲率超過 50%。根據定義，捕獲率是指我們每出價 1 美元，我們就會獲勝。因此，我們每贏得 2 美元，就能贏得 1 美元的工作，這是一個非凡的比率，並且比前幾年大幅上升。

Your next question comes from the line of Steven Fisher from UBS.

您的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的史蒂文費雪。

Just wanted to follow up on the program management discussion. Troy, how different does your program management pipeline look today versus a year ago?

只是想跟進專案管理討論。 Troy，您今天的專案管理流程與一年前有何不同？

So Steve, our program management pipeline is actually up year-over-year. And again, I don't have the exact stat, but approximately up about 20%. And in fact, that's consistent with our overall pipeline being up 20% compared to the prior year. So sort of think about it this way is, the overall investment spend is going up consistently and program management is just a part of the client spend or part of the client's budget. So we're seeing -- again, we're sort of seeing that similar improvement in our pipeline across the board. And then what is different for us, though, is, we obviously now spend more time in the marketplace focused on and delivering program management, and that is growing at a much faster rate than the rest of our business.

史蒂夫，我們的專案管理管道實際上逐年增加。再說一次，我沒有確切的統計數據，但大約上漲了 20% 左右。事實上，這與我們的整體管道比上一年增長 20% 是一致的。因此，這樣思考一下，整體投資支出持續上升，而專案管理只是客戶支出或客戶預算的一部分。所以我們再次看到，我們的管道全面出現了類似的改進。然而，對我們來說不同的是，我們現在顯然在市場上花了更多時間專注於和提供專案管理，並且其成長速度比我們其他業務快得多。

Okay. That's helpful. And Troy, you mentioned you're trying to grow your energy advisory and digital practices. What would you say your specific ambitions for the energy advisory and digital are for 2024?

好的。這很有幫助。特洛伊，您提到您正在努力發展能源諮詢和數位實踐。您認為 2024 年能源諮詢和數位化的具體目標是什麼？

Well, so digital advisory is a -- it's a little bit different part of our business. So we do have people that can provide what I call digital solutions directly for clients. The people that do that -- we have about 400 people that do it across the business. And that business grew almost 40% this year, and we see it growing at a double-digit pace. So it is a smaller business.

嗯，所以數位諮詢是我們業務的一個有點不同的部分。因此，我們確實有人可以直接為客戶提供我所謂的數位解決方案。從事這項工作的人員－我們整個企業約有 400 名員工從事這項工作。今年該業務成長了近 40%，我們看到它以兩位數的速度成長。所以這是一個規模較小的企業。

But what that means is, as part of our traditional projects, those skills, they actually become part of the traditional projects. And then they improve how we deliver projects or programs and they actually have a margin impact. So I wouldn't focus on -- again, digital consulting is an important growth opportunity for us, but it's not incrementally going to stand out in our results. However, as a result of what we're doing, we are continuing the progress of transforming how we deliver the work and that is contributing to our margins today, not in a way that is meaningful yet, but we see that eventually contributing to our margins in a very meaningful way.

但這意味著，作為我們傳統專案的一部分，這些技能實際上成為了傳統專案的一部分。然後它們改進了我們交付專案或計劃的方式，並且它們實際上對利潤產生了影響。因此，我不會再次關注數位諮詢對我們來說是一個重要的成長機會，但它不會逐漸在我們的業績中脫穎而出。然而，由於我們正在做的事情，我們正在繼續改變我們交付工作的方式，這正在為我們今天的利潤做出貢獻，雖然還不是以一種有意義的方式，但我們看到最終有助於我們以非常有意義的方式獲得利潤。

And in terms of the advisory business, we already do have a reasonably healthy advisory business today, but we see that there's a market opportunity in energy transition. There are certainly a lot of organizations, our customers, private and public, that are setting ambitions, but they need the help to get there, and they need the help not from a traditional management consultant, but from someone that actually brings a real breadth of technical expertise and actually experience in delivery and understanding of the technology that exists today and the technology that will be available in the future to develop a long-term energy transition plan. And obviously, that's all supported by infrastructure development. And so we're in the process of building that group. We already have it up and running and operating, but we would have similar ambitions that we do for program management to see that actually be a very significant business that we would call out in the future.

在諮詢業務方面，我們今天已經擁有相當健康的諮詢業務，但我們看到能源轉型有市場機會。當然，有很多組織，我們的客戶，無論是私人的還是公共的，都在設定雄心壯志，但他們需要幫助才能實現這一目標，他們需要的幫助不是來自傳統的管理顧問，而是來自真正帶來真正廣度的人技術專業知識以及交付和理解現有技術以及未來可用技術的實際經驗，以製定長期能源轉型計劃。顯然，這都是基礎建設發展的支持。所以我們正在建立這個團隊。我們已經將其啟動、運行和運營，但我們也有與專案管理類似的雄心壯志，希望看到這實際上是我們未來會呼籲的一項非常重要的業務。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of Michael Dudas from Vertical Research Partners.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自 Vertical Research Partners 的 Michael Dudas。

Troy, there's been some visible project delays and some uncertainty amongst renewable energy, new energy markets, and maybe even some in the reshoring, though, there's certainly been an enormous amount of investment plans put forth there. Maybe you could share a little bit on like are you seeing any delays or some push out or concerns given some of those announcements? Is the IRA and all the stimulus really going to continue to support that? And what is the, across your practice, exposure for AECOM in the new energy, energy transition? And is that one of the areas that you'll be looking to focus on to win more projects as you move forward?

特洛伊，再生能​​源、新能源市場以及回流方面存在一些明顯的項目延誤和一些不確定性，不過，那裡確實提出了大量的投資計劃。也許您可以分享一些訊息，例如您是否看到任何延遲或一些推遲或考慮到其中一些公告？ IRA 和所有刺激措施真的會繼續支持這一點嗎？在您的實踐中，AECOM 在新能源、能源轉型方面的曝光度如何？這是您在前進過程中將重點關注的領域之一，以贏得更多項目嗎？

Yes, Mike, I'm going to pass that question over to Lara.

是的，麥克，我要把這個問題轉給蘿拉。

Thanks, Mike. Across the world, I mean, we're seeing long-term growth opportunities across all of our core markets, the Americas, U.K. and Australia. And despite some setbacks in part of those geographies, longer term, for example, even in the U.K., we're seeing GBP 40 billion now allocated to rail projects in the North and we're well positioned for some of those current pursuits. We're seeing Dublin Metro. We're seeing the (inaudible) program with significant opportunities, 75% growth over the next 5 years.

謝謝，麥克。我的意思是，在全球範圍內，我們在所有核心市場（美洲、英國和澳洲）都看到了長期成長機會。儘管這些地區的部分地區遇到了一些挫折，但從長遠來看，例如在英國，我們看到現在有 400 億英鎊分配給北方的鐵路項目，而且我們已經為當前的一些目標做好了準備。我們正在看到都柏林地鐵。我們看到該（聽不清楚）計畫蘊藏著巨大的機遇，在未來 5 年內將實現 75% 的成長。

And then as you mentioned, I mean, in the U.S. between the IIJA, IRA, the CHIPS Act, we're now seeing a real ramp-up in infrastructure growth. Canada, substantial ongoing investment in public transport. And also in Australia, we've got an unprecedented rail pipeline of $155 billion worth of projects. And we've had a number of significant wins over the last 12 months and well positioned for the future. And with respect to new energy projects, we don't do any work for developers in that sector at all. So our focus is predominantly on the energy advisory and the pull-through of other sort of design services.

正如你所提到的，我的意思是，在美國，在《IIJA》、《IRA》和《CHIPS 法案》之間，我們現在看到基礎設施成長真正加速。加拿大持續對公共交通進行大量投資。同樣在澳大利亞，我們也擁有價值 1,550 億美元的前所未有的鐵路項目。我們在過去 12 個月中取得了許多重大勝利，並為未來做好了充分準備。至於新能源項目，我們根本不為該領域的開發商做任何工作。因此，我們的重點主要是能源諮詢和其他類型的設計服務。

That's helpful, Lara. And Troy, you mentioned -- or Lara, you might have mentioned PFAS in your prepared remarks. Are you seeing much more acceleration in the opportunities there? Is that an above-market or above-average growth driver for you given, seems like, your technology and execution leadership in that area? Certainly, you're seeing more visibility on announcements from the U.S. government and others to attack this issue.

這很有幫助，勞拉。您提到的 Troy，或 Lara，您可能在準備好的演講中提到了 PFAS。您是否看到那裡的機會加速成長？鑑於您在該領域的技術和執行領導力，這對您來說是高於市場或高於平均的成長動力嗎？當然，您會看到美國政府和其他方面針對此問題發布的公告越來越引人注目。

Yes. Obviously, there are now -- the regulatory environment is providing a significant catalyst for PFAS. And that's not just an opportunity for our remediation business, but significantly for our water business as well. And we're seeing strong growth opportunities across the board for water. PFAS is one of those sectors for which we envisage growth in the water business, because some of those toxic chemicals are present in all elements of the water cycle. So between environment and water and even program management, we're well positioned long term to capitalize on the PFAS opportunities.

是的。顯然，現在的監管環境正在為 PFAS 提供重要的催化劑。這不僅對我們的修復業務來說是一個機會，對我們的水業務來說也意義重大。我們看到水資源全面強勁的成長機會。 PFAS 是我們預計水業務成長的行業之一，因為其中一些有毒化學物質存在於水循環的所有要素中。因此，在環境和水，甚至專案管理方面，我們長期處於有利地位，可以充分利用 PFAS 機會。

And some of the recent wins that we've had may be clean and a number of other very significant federal projects have us well positioned. And as you'll recall, this is not just a new play for us with our technical expertise goes back to 20, 25 years, but ahead of us is a very significant opportunity for sure.

我們最近取得的一些勝利可能是乾淨的，其他一些非常重要的聯邦計畫也讓我們處於有利地位。您可能還記得，這對我們來說不僅僅是一次新的嘗試，因為我們的技術專業知識可以追溯到 20、25 年前，而且擺在我們面前的肯定是一個非常重要的機會。

And we have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to CEO, Troy Rudd, for some final closing remarks.

我們的問答環節已經結束。現在，我將把電話轉回給執行長特洛伊·拉德 (Troy Rudd)，讓其發表最後的結束語。

Thank you, operator. And again, I would just like to thank our teams for their hard work this past year and the tremendous results they've produced, which have created, as I said earlier in the call, certainty and consistency amongst an ever-evolving economic backdrop.

謝謝你，接線生。再次，我要感謝我們的團隊在過去一年中的辛勤工作和所取得的巨大成果，正如我在電話會議中早些時候所說，這些成果在不斷變化的經濟背景下創造了確定性和一致性。

So I thank you all for joining today, and I look forward to providing a more detailed update on our progress and some more information on our long-term guidance at our upcoming Investor Day in December. Thank you.

因此，我感謝大家今天的加入，我期待在即將到來的 12 月投資者日上提供有關我們進展的更詳細的最新信息以及有關我們長期指導的更多信息。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。