AECOM (ACM) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the AECOM fourth-quarter 2024 conference call.

早上好，歡迎參加 AECOM 2024 年第四季電話會議。

I would like to inform all participants that this call is being recorded at the request of AECOM.

我謹通知所有參與者，本次通話是應 AECOM 的要求進行錄音的。

This broadcast is the copyrighted property of AECOM.

該廣播是 AECOM 的版權財產。

Any rebroadcast of this information in whole or part without the prior written permission of AECOM is prohibited.

未經 AECOM 事先書面許可，禁止全部或部分轉播此資訊。

As a reminder, AECOM is also simulcasting this presentation with slides at the Investors section at www.aecom.com. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session.

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。隨後，我們將進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

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

我現在想將電話轉給財務、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.

謝謝你，接線生。

I would like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement on page 1 of today's presentation.

我想請您注意今天簡報第一頁的安全港聲明。

Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations.

今天的討論包含有關未來業務和財務預期的前瞻性陳述。

Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the SEC.

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，實際結果可能與今天的前瞻性聲明中預測的結果有顯著差異。

Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

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.

我們在演示中使用某些非公認會計準則財務指標。

The appropriate GAAP reconciliations are incorporated into our materials and are posted to our website.

適當的 GAAP 調節表已納入我們的資料中並發佈到我們的網站上。

Growth rates are presented on a year-over-year basis unless otherwise noted.

除非另有說明，增長率均按年計算。

Any references to segment margins or segment adjusted operating margins will reflect the performance for the Americas and International segments.

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。

When discussing revenue and revenue growth, we will refer to net service revenue or NSR, which is defined as revenue excluding pass-through revenues.

在討論收入和收入成長時，我們將指淨服務收入或NSR，其定義為不包括轉嫁收入的收入。

NSR growth rates are presented on a constant currency basis unless otherwise noted.

除非另有說明，NSR 成長率以固定匯率計算。

Today's remarks will focus on continuing operations.

今天的演講將重點放在持續經營業務上。

On today's call, Troy Rudd, our Chief Executive Officer, will review our key accomplishments, our strategy and our outlook for the business.

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、我們的策略和我們的業務前景。

Lara Poloni, our President, will discuss key operational successes and priorities; and Gaurav Kapoor, our Chief Financial and Operations Officer, will review our financial performance and outlook in greater detail.

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；我們的財務和營運長 Gaurav Kapoor 將更詳細地審查我們的財務表現和前景。

We will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

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。

Troy?

特洛伊？

Thank you, Will, and thank you all for joining us today.

謝謝威爾，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。

I want to begin by thanking our professionals across the globe for their unwavering commitment to our purpose of delivering a better world.

首先，我要感謝全球各地的專業人士對我們建立更美好世界這一目標的堅定承諾。

The value that we bring to our clients and communities every day is a testament to the collective strengths of our organization.

我們每天為客戶和社區帶來的價值證明了我們組織的集體優勢。

I would also like to thank our professionals for supporting our teams and communities impacted by both Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeastern United States.

我還要感謝我們的專業人士為我們的團隊和受美國東南部颶風海倫和米爾頓影響的社區提供支持。

All of our employees remain safe, and the safety is a core value at AECOM.

我們所有員工都保持安全，安全是 AECOM 的核心價值。

We take great pride in our best-in-class safety record, which is well above our peers.

我們對我們一流的安全記錄感到非常自豪，該記錄遠高於我們的同行。

Before discussing our financials, I want to comment on the US election.

在討論我們的財務狀況之前，我想先評論一下美國大選。

First and foremost, the election creates certainty.

首先，選舉創造了確定性。

Infrastructure investment is a bipartisan priority and we do not foresee this changing.

基礎設施投資是兩黨的優先事項，我們預期這種情況不會改變。

The incoming Trump administration is focused on a strong US economy, which is built on a foundation of world-class infrastructure.

即將上任的川普政府的重點是建立在世界一流基礎設施基礎上的強大的美國經濟。

While specific initiatives and objectives may shift with 70% of our workforce fungible across market sectors, we are in a great position to capitalize on the investments in the US economy.

雖然具體措施和目標可能會發生變化，因為我們 70% 的勞動力可以在各個市場領域進行互換，但我們處於充分利用美國經濟投資的有利位置。

Specific to our US federal exposure, I want to highlight the following.

針對我們在美國聯邦的風險，我想強調以下幾點。

The US federal client represents 9% of our revenue.

美國聯邦客戶占我們收入的 9%。

Within that, nearly all of our work is for funded multiyear, mission-critical and essential infrastructure projects.

其中，我們幾乎所有的工作都是針對多年期、關鍵任務和重要基礎設施項目的資助。

The EPA and USAID combined represent less than 50 basis points of our enterprise revenue.

EPA 和 USAID 合計占我們企業收入的比例不到 50 個基點。

And similarly, the Inflation Reduction Act accounts for less than 1% of our revenue.

同樣，《通貨膨脹削減法案》占我們收入的比例還不到 1%。

On the other side of the equation, we see several growth opportunities emerging from the new administration's priorities.

另一方面，我們看到新政府的優先事項中出現了一些成長機會。

For example, deregulation.

例如，放鬆管制。

Prudent deregulation is a positive for our clients and our business.

審慎的放鬆管制對我們的客戶和我們的業務都是正面的。

This includes permitting reform, which is one of the greatest bottlenecks to infrastructure investment and simplification would increase the volume of project opportunities.

這包括許可改革，這是基礎設施投資的最大瓶頸之一，而簡化將增加專案機會的數量。

With respect to the IIJA, 95% of the IIJA funding is secure and not at risk, and with only one-third of the money allocated to date, plenty of runway remains.

就 IIJA 而言，95% 的 IIJA 資金是安全的且沒有風險，而且迄今為止只分配了三分之一的資金，還有大量資金可供使用。

A reduction in government staffing would increase demand for advisory, technical and program management services to support infrastructure investment.

政府人員編制的減少將增加對支援基礎設施投資的諮詢、技術和專案管理服務的需求。

Lastly, voters demonstrated continued support for infrastructure funding in the November elections, including $41 billion of state and local transportation specific ballot measures as well as $20 billion of bonds in California, that include sizable investments in water.

最後，選​​民在 11 月的選舉中表現出對基礎設施資金的持續支持，包括 410 億美元的州和地方交通專項投票措施以及 200 億美元的加州債券，其中包括對水的大量投資。

Taken together, we expect the next several years to bring new growth opportunities for which we are well suited to deliver on.

總而言之，我們預計未來幾年將帶來新的成長機會，我們非常適合抓住這些機會。

Turning to our fiscal 2024 financial results and key accomplishments.

轉向我們 2024 財年的財務表現和主要成就。

First, our financial performance was strong on all fronts and included records for net service revenue, margins, earnings and cash flow.

首先，我們的財務表現在各方面都表現強勁，包括淨服務收入、利潤率、收益和現金流量創紀錄。

We also exceeded the midpoints of our previously increased adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA guidance with 22% and 14% growth, respectively.

我們也超過了先前調整後每股盈餘和調整後 EBITDA 指引值的中點，分別成長了 22% 和 14%。

This was driven by 140 basis points of EBITDA margin expansion in the fourth quarter and record free cash flow enabled the return of approximately $560 million to shareholders through repurchases and dividend payments.

這是由第四季度 EBITDA 利潤率擴張 140 個基點以及創紀錄的自由現金流推動的，透過回購和股息支付為股東帶來了約 5.6 億美元的回報。

Second, we are winning what matters and extending our visibility.

其次，我們正在贏得重要的勝利並擴大我們的知名度。

We had a 1.2 times book-to-burn ratio in the design business in the fourth quarter with strength in both segments and we ended the year with a record backlog.

第四季度，我們設計業務的預訂與銷毀比率為 1.2 倍，這兩個領域均表現強勁，年底我們的積壓訂單創歷史新高。

In fact, our enterprise-wide book-to-burn ratio has been at 1 or greater in each of the last 16 quarters, which speaks to our competitive advantage and the strength of our end markets.

事實上，在過去 16 個季度中，我們整個企業的帳面銷毀比率都在 1 或更高，這說明了我們的競爭優勢和終端市場的實力。

Our pipeline achieved a new high and increased by 10%.

我們的管道再創新高，成長了10%。

Our win rate remains at a record high at 50% and is notably even higher on larger pursuits where our competitive advantages are greatest.

我們的勝率維持在 50% 的歷史新高，尤其是在我們競爭優勢最大的更大目標上，勝率甚至更高。

And we are winning recompetes at a 90%-plus pace in our largest markets.

我們在最大的市場中以超過 90% 的速度贏得重新競爭。

Third, we gained organic revenue market share.

第三，我們獲得了有機收入市場份額。

For the first time in our history, we achieved the number one ranking by Engineering News-Record in the water design market.

我們史上首次在《工程新聞紀錄》的水設計市場排名中名列第一。

This is consistent with our goal of doubling our water practice over the next five years, and we are now number one in every key market sector.

這與我們在未來五年內將水務實踐增加一倍的目標是一致的，我們現在在每個關鍵市場領域都排名第一。

I also want to highlight that Global Program Management took another big step forward moving to the number two ranking, which is on track to be number one this year following 20% growth in fiscal 2024.

我還想強調的是，全球專案管理又向第二名邁出了一大步，繼 2024 財年實現 20% 的成長之後，今年有望躍居第一。

Fourth, we executed on a returns-focused capital allocation policy.

第四，執行以回報為中心的資本配置政策。

This includes record investments in organic growth initiatives, continued growth in our dividend and $450 million of share repurchases during the year.

這包括對有機成長計畫的創紀錄投資、股息的持續成長以及年內 4.5 億美元的股票回購。

Today, we also announced that the Board of Directors approved an increase in our repurchase authorization to $1 billion and an 18% increase in our quarterly dividend.

今天，我們也宣布董事會批准將回購授權增加至 10 億美元，並將季度股利增加 18%。

Our dividend has increased by an average of 20% annually over the last three years, and the indicative dividend yield is now at the top of our direct peer group.

過去三年，我們的股息平均每年增長 20%，指示性股息收益率目前在我們的直接同業中名列前茅。

We remain committed to double-digit annual growth in the per share value of our dividend for the long term.

從長遠來看，我們仍然致力於每股股息價值實現兩位數的年度成長。

Finally, we are investing in new high-margin growth businesses that leverage existing strengths.

最後，我們正在投資利用現有優勢的新的高利潤成長業務。

For instance, the water and environment advisory business, which draws on the technical leadership of our number one ranked water and environment practices, furthers our vision of becoming the global leader in infrastructure advisory services.

例如，水和環境諮詢業務利用了我們排名第一的水和環境實踐的技術領先地位，進一步推動了我們成為基礎設施諮詢服務全球領導者的願景。

We expect this business to double within three years from $200 million of NSR today and will become our next $1 billion platform, similar to what we've already accomplished with program management.

我們預計這項業務將在三年內從目前 2 億美元的 NSR 翻一番，並將成為我們下一個 10 億美元的平台，類似於我們在專案管理方面已經取得的成就。

Importantly, this growth will be at higher margins, which further underpins our confidence in not only delivering on our 17% long-term margin target but exceeding it.

重要的是，這種成長將帶來更高的利潤率，這進一步增強了我們對實現甚至超過 17% 長期利潤率目標的信心。

As we look to 2025 and beyond, the secular growth drivers of our business are firmly intact.

展望 2025 年及以後，我們業務的長期成長動力將完好無損。

The need for infrastructure investment has never been greater.

對基礎設施投資的需求從未如此之大。

For instance, more than 46,000 bridges are considered structurally deficient in the US, and the average bridge is more than 40 years old.

例如，美國有超過 46,000 座橋樑被認為有結構缺陷，平均橋樑壽命超過 40 年。

The IIJA created a competitive grant program with the goal of improving bridge safety and reliability.

IIJA 制定了一項競爭性撥款計劃，旨在提高橋樑的安全性和可靠性。

And larger projects such as the Brent Spence bridge, on which AECOM is a lead designer received more than $1 billion of large federal bridge grants and will continue on for several more years.

AECOM 擔任首席設計師的 Brent Spence 大橋等大型項目獲得了超過 10 億美元的大型聯邦橋樑撥款，並將持續數年。

Funding for transit, highway, rail and aviation infrastructure is also increasing, which is driving the record backlog and double-digit pipeline growth we are seeing in the Americas.

交通、公路、鐵路和航空基礎設施的資金也在增加，這推動了我們在美洲看到的創紀錄的積壓和兩位數的管道增長。

Around the world, Urbanization is transforming infrastructure demand.

在世界各地，城市化正在改變基礎設施需求。

Nearly 70% of the world's population is expected to live in cities by 2050, which has created enormous investment demand for safe, reliable drinking water and for building modern transportation systems while minimizing environmental impacts.

預計到 2050 年，全球近 70% 的人口將居住在城市，這對安全、可靠的飲用水和建造現代交通系統創造了巨大的投資需求，同時最大限度地減少對環境的影響。

Additionally, energy demand for electrification and data centers to support AI creates several growth opportunities where we are poised to capitalize, from permitting to air quality to energy storage and grid modernization.

此外，支援人工智慧的電氣化和資料中心的能源需求創造了多種成長機會，我們準備充分利用這些機會，從許可到空氣質量，再到能源儲存和電網現代化。

To give you a sense of how this has directly benefited us, our transmission and distribution backlog has increased 5 times compared to just a few years ago.

為了讓您了解這給我們帶來的直接好處，我們的輸配電積壓訂單與幾年前相比增加了 5 倍。

Our role as a design partner on the UK's Great Grid project as the program manager, on San Diego Gas & Electric's undergrounding investment, and as the advisory partner for a major transmission grid build-out in Australia demonstrate the depth of our expertise and the strength of our brand in the market.

我們作為英國大電網項目的設計合作夥伴、聖地亞哥天然氣和電力公司地下投資的項目經理以及作為澳大利亞主要輸電網建設的諮詢合作夥伴的角色證明了我們專業知識的深度和實力我們的品牌在市場上的知名度。

Turning to 2025.

轉向 2025 年。

Our backlog, pipeline, and continued high win rates underpin our conviction in another record year for the business.

我們的積壓訂單、管道和持續的高贏率鞏固了我們對業務再創紀錄的一年的信念。

This includes expectations for 5% to 8% NSR growth and adjusted EBITDA and EPS of $1.19 billion and $5.10 at their respective midpoints.

其中包括對 NSR 成長 5% 至 8% 的預期，以及調整後的 EBITDA 和 EPS 分別為 11.9 億美元和 5.10 美元的中點。

I could not be prouder of what we accomplished over the last several years.

我對我們過去幾年所取得的成就感到非常自豪。

Through our strategy and focus on winning what matters, we've created and are expanding our competitive advantage.

透過我們的策略和專注於贏得重要勝利，我們已經創造並正在擴大我們的競爭優勢。

As we look to 2025 and beyond, the ceiling for what's possible has never been higher.

展望 2025 年及以後，可能性的上限從未如此之高。

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

這樣，我就把電話轉給勞拉。

Thanks, Troy.

謝謝，特洛伊。

I'm incredibly proud of our team's accomplishments in fiscal 2024.

我對我們團隊在 2024 財年所取得的成就感到無比自豪。

Our consistently strong performance reflects the realization of the key elements of our strategy.

我們持續強勁的業績反映了我們策略關鍵要素的實現。

Let me provide a few examples.

讓我舉幾個例子。

First is our focus on only the highest growth and best returning markets and clients.

首先，我們只專注於成長最快、回報最好的市場和客戶。

Today, our top four geographies of the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, and Australia, account for approximately 90% of our profits and our win rate remains at an all-time high.

如今，我們的四大地區（美國、加拿大、英國、愛爾蘭和澳洲）約占我們利潤的 90%，我們的勝率仍維持在歷史最高水準。

Second, AECOM is the most desirable place to work in our industry.

其次，AECOM 是我們行業中最理想的工作場所。

We are the number one ranked firm by ENR across all of our major end markets, which matters to both clients and recruits.

我們是 ENR 在所有主要終端市場排名第一的公司，這對客戶和新員工都很重要。

We consistently win the key roles on the most iconic and exciting projects, which creates a tremendous career opportunity for our professionals.

我們始終在最具標誌性和令人興奮的項目中贏得關鍵角色，這為我們的專業人士創造了巨大的職業機會。

And we offer the best leadership and technical development training in our industry.

我們提供業界最好的領導力和技術開發培訓。

In fact, more than 10% of our workforce is enrolled in leadership development training at any given time and the return on these investments is evident in the reduction in voluntary attrition rates amongst participants.

事實上，我們超過 10% 的員工在任何特定時間都參加了領導力發展培訓，這些投資的回報在參與者自願離職率的降低中顯而易見。

Finally, we formed the new water and environment advisory business.

最後，我們成立了新的水和環境諮詢業務。

This business will blend strategic advice with our technical and domain expertise to unlock new solutions for our clients in some of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the world.

該業務將把策略建議與我們的技術和領域專業知識相結合，為世界上一些最大和成長最快的市場的客戶提供新的解決方案。

The most critical element of any organically led initiative is appointing the right leader.

任何有機領導的舉措中最關鍵的要素是任命合適的領導者。

And in September, we announced Jill Hudkins was joining AECOM to lead this business.

9 月，我們宣布 Jill Hudkins 將加入 AECOM 領導這項業務。

Jill brings a wealth of experience, expertise and market credibility to AECOM and has a proven track record of leading similar value-creating initiatives throughout her career.

Jill 為 AECOM 帶來了豐富的經驗、專業知識和市場信譽，並在整個職業生涯中領導類似的價值創造計劃方面擁有良好的記錄。

As Troy detailed, we expect this business to grow rapidly, similar to the trajectory we delivered with program management, which increased from only a few hundred million dollars three years ago to approximately $1.3 billion in FY24.

正如 Troy 詳細介紹的那樣，我們預計該業務將快速成長，類似於我們透過專案管理實現的軌跡，該業務從三年前的幾億美元增加到 2024 財年的約 13 億美元。

A great example of the opportunity is in digital water, which is a $70 billion opportunity through 2030.

數位水務就是一個很好的例子，到 2030 年，這個機會將達到 700 億美元。

In the US alone, there are 500 municipal water utilities serving populations of over 500,000 people and each requires substantial digital investments to modernize operations, embed predictive analytics and cybersecurity and drive process efficiencies.

光是在美國，就有 500 家市政供水公司為超過 50 萬人口提供服務，每家都需要大量數位投資來實現營運現代化、嵌入預測分析和網路安全並提高流程效率。

Similarly, in the UK, AMP8 is set to substantially increase regulated water utility investment over the next five years, including a deeper emphasis on digital water investments.

同樣，在英國，AMP8 將在未來五年內大幅增加受監管的水務公司投資，包括更加重視數位水務投資。

To date, we have won 100% of the frameworks in which we had an incumbent position, and we've also secured 60% of new frameworks consistent with our focus on gaining market share within the AMP program.

迄今為止，我們已經贏得了 100% 的現有框架，並且還獲得了 60% 的新框架，這與我們在 AMP 計劃中獲得市場份額的重點一致。

Expanding our advisory services is a key element of our strategy to more deeply engage with our clients and provide services from conception of the project through execution.

擴大我們的諮詢服務是我們與客戶更深入地接觸並提供從專案構思到執行的服務的策略的關鍵要素。

Importantly, we lead with our scientific and technical excellence which places us in a competitively advantaged position as compared to traditional advisory firms.

重要的是，我們憑藉卓越的科學和技術處於領先地位，這使我們與傳統顧問公司相比處於競爭優勢地位。

As a result, the energy inside of the organization as we build our advisory capabilities is palpable.

因此，當我們建立諮商能力時，組織內部的活力是顯而易見的。

With that, I'll turn it over to Gaurav.

有了這個，我會把它交給高拉夫。

Thanks, Lara.

謝謝，拉拉。

Echoing both Troy and Lara's comments, we have built a strategy and culture that results in consistently strong performance, which is evident in both our strong 2024 results and in our guidance for double-digit adjusted EPS growth in 2025.

與Troy 和Lara 的評論相呼應，我們建立了一種策略和文化，能夠帶來持續強勁的業績，這一點在我們2024 年強勁的業績和2025 年兩位數調整後每股收益增長的指導中得到了明顯體現。

I want to highlight three metrics that underpin our continued value creation.

我想強調支撐我們持續創造價值的三個指標。

The first is margins where we continue to lead our industry.

首先是我們繼續領先產業的利潤率。

We exited the year with a 16.7% adjusted EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter, up 140 basis points from the prior year.

今年第四季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 16.7%，比上年增長 140 個基點。

For the full year, the adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 100 basis points to 16%,reflecting continued execution on key margin expansion initiatives.

全年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率成長了 100 個基點，達到 16%，反映出關鍵利潤擴張措施的持續執行。

Importantly, this margin expansion is what funds the record level of high-value organic investments we have made and are continuing to make, which are expensed through the income statement.

重要的是，這種利潤率的擴張為我們已經進行和繼續進行的高價值有機投資創紀錄水平提供了資金，這些投資透過損益表支出。

The second is EPS growth.

第二是每股收益成長。

We delivered 26% adjusted EPS growth in the fourth quarter and 22% for the full year.

我們第四季調整後每股盈餘成長 26%，全年成長 22%。

Our EPS has compounded at 21% rate since 2020, which directly correlates to shareholder value creation.

自 2020 年以來，我們的每股盈餘複合成長率為 21%，這與股東價值創造直接相關。

Finally, free cash flow, which exceeded $700 million for the first time in our history.

最後是自由現金流，在我們的歷史上首次超過 7 億美元。

Notably, free cash flow represented 10% of our net services revenue, which is a great representation of high quality of our earnings.

值得注意的是，自由現金流占我們服務淨收入的 10%，這很​​好地反映了我們收入的高品質。

Turning to other highlights from our results, for the year, we delivered record net service revenue, including 8% organic growth in the design business, which is a historically strong growth rate.

轉向我們業績中的其他亮點，今年我們實現了創紀錄的淨服務收入，其中設計業務有機增長 8%，這是歷史上強勁的增長率。

Results could have been even better, if not for two impacts in the fourth quarter.

如果不是第四季的兩次影響，結果可能會更好。

First, Hurricane Helene resulted in several loss dates in a few of our larger markets.

首先，颶風海倫導致我們的一些較大市場的幾個日期損失。

We expect a similar impact from Hurricane Milton in the first quarter, but this is incorporated in our strong guidance for fiscal 2025.

我們預計米爾頓颶風將在第一季產生類似的影響，但這已納入我們對 2025 財年的強有力指導中。

Second, we made the decision to not proceed with an already awarded construction management project where the owner wanted to change the commercial risk profile.

其次，我們決定不再繼續進行已授予的施工管理項目，因為業主希望改變商業風險狀況。

We will always prioritize appropriate risk management even if it means sacrificing some of the revenue in the near term.

我們將始終優先考慮適當的風險管理，即使這意味著在短期內犧牲一些收入。

Despite this, the competitive edge of our platform was evident in our overperformance versus guidance for margins, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS and cash flow.

儘管如此，我們平台的競爭優勢在我們的利潤率、調整後 EBITDA、調整後每股收益和現金流方面的表現優於指引方面表現得很明顯。

I also want to comment on the new Water and Environment Advisory business.

我還想對新的水和環境諮詢業務發表評論。

I'm sure you're asking yourselves how much investment will be required and what is the payback?

我相信您一定會問自己需要多少投資以及回報是什麼？

Unlike M&A, which has a high upfront cost and risk, the cost here is much smaller with focus on hiring the right leader and teams to organically grow the business.

與前期成本和風險較高的併購不同，這裡的成本要小得多，重點是聘請合適的領導者和團隊來有機發展業務。

As we've proven, we deliver more than 40% incremental return on capital on our organic growth investments.

正如我們所證明的那樣，我們的有機成長投資帶來了超過 40% 的增量資本回報。

Also, unlike M&A, the cost of our growth runs through our margins and is already reflected in our expectation for another year of record margins in fiscal 2025 and continued expansion beyond that.

此外，與併購不同的是，我們的成長成本貫穿我們的利潤率，並且已經反映在我們對 2025 財年利潤率再次創紀錄的一年以及在此之後繼續擴張的預期中。

Turning to our segment results, beginning in the Americas, net service revenue in the design business increased 9% for the fourth quarter and included strong contributions across all key end markets.

轉向我們的分部業績，從美洲開始，第四季度設計業務的淨服務收入增長了 9%，並且包括所有關鍵終端市場的強勁貢獻。

Key funding drivers, including the IIJA, are still ramping up and state and local clients continue to have strong budget outlooks and historically high reserves, which adds to our confidence.

包括 IIJA 在內的主要資金驅動因素仍在增加，州和地方客戶繼續擁有強勁的預算前景和歷史高位的儲備，這增強了我們的信心。

The design book to burn in the fourth quarter was 1.2, and we are confident that the backlog will continue to increase based on our strong pipeline.

第四季要燒掉的設計書是1.2，我們有信心基於我們強大的管道，積壓訂單將繼續增加。

The adjusted operating margin in the Americas achieved a new annual high at 18.8%, including 19.6% in the fourth quarter.

美洲調整後營業利益率創下年度新高，達18.8%，其中第四季為19.6%。

We continue to deliver on initiatives that increase margins and return on capital and are confident in our margin expansion in 2025 and beyond.

我們持續實施提高利潤率和資本回報率的舉措，並對 2025 年及以後的利潤率擴張充滿信心。

Turning to the International segment, net service revenue increased by 6% for the year.

至於國際業務，今年淨服務收入成長了 6%。

This was materially consistent with our expectations.

這與我們的預期基本一致。

We had a 1.2 book-to-burn ratio in the fourth quarter and backlog remains at an all-time high.

第四季我們的預訂銷毀率為 1.2，積壓訂單仍處於歷史最高水準。

We delivered a 12.6% adjusted operating margin in the quarter, which increased 260 basis points from the prior year and is at an all-time high.

本季調整後營業利益率為 12.6%，較上年增加 260 個基點，創歷史新高。

We continue to benefit from our focus on our highest growth and lowest risk end markets and clients and ongoing continuous improvement initiatives.

我們繼續受益於我們對最高成長和最低風險的終端市場和客戶的關注以及持續不斷的改進舉措。

Across our markets, trends are strong.

在我們的市場中，趨勢很強勁。

The autumn budget in the UK released in late October provides key funding for infrastructure, including GBP100 billion for energy, transport, healthcare, and housing CapEx and GBP70 billion for growth industries such as green hydrogen and Gigafactories.

英國10月底發布的秋季預算為基礎設施提供了關鍵資金，其中包括1000億英鎊用於能源、交通、醫療保健和住房資本支出，以及700億英鎊用於綠色氫能和超級工廠等增長型產業。

Additionally, AMP8 spending is set to accelerate and our wins to date position us to gain market share.

此外，AMP8 支出將會加速，迄今為止我們取得的勝利使我們能夠獲得市場份額。

In Australia, our backlog increased by 26%, driven by larger water and T&D wins.

在澳大利亞，由於水務和 T&D 勝利的增加，我們的積壓訂單增加了 26%。

And in the Middle East, we continue to win large scopes of work, including another nine-figure win in the fourth quarter and other opportunities in the UAE are picking up.

在中東，我們繼續贏得大量工作，包括第四季度的另一場九位數的勝利，以及阿聯酋的其他機會正在增加。

Turning to cash flow and capital allocation, we delivered record free cash flow exceeding $700 million for the first time and increasing 20% from the prior year.

在現金流和資本配置方面，我們的自由現金流首次超過 7 億美元，創歷史新高，比前一年增長 20%。

Free cash flow per share increased even more at 23%, further demonstrating the value of our capital allocation policy to shareholders.

每股自由現金流成長更多，達到 23%，進一步證明了我們資本配置政策對股東的價值。

As I noted earlier, free cash flow conversion was 115%.

正如我之前指出的，自由現金流轉換率為 115%。

And as I noted, we achieved a new milestone with a 10% free cash flow margin on net service revenue.

正如我所指出的，我們實現了一個新的里程碑，淨服務收入的自由現金流利潤率為 10%。

As a result of our strong cash flow, we repurchased $325 million of stock in the fourth quarter and approximately $450 million for the full year.

由於現金流強勁，我們在第四季度回購了 3.25 億美元的股票，全年回購了約 4.5 億美元的股票。

We also paid $115 million of dividends during the year, and we completed an acquisition of an environment permitting practice focused on federal land, which is rapidly growing opportunity under the incoming Trump administration.

我們還在這一年支付了 1.15 億美元的股息，並完成了對一家專注於聯邦土地的環境許可業務的收購，這在即將上任的川普政府的領導下正在迅速增長。

We are affirming our returns-focused capital allocation priorities.

我們確認以回報為中心的資本配置優先事項。

This includes the increase of our repurchase authorization to $1 billion and the 18% increase to our quarterly dividend beginning with our January 2025 payment.

這包括將我們的回購授權增加到 10 億美元，以及從 2025 年 1 月支付開始，我們的季度股息增加 18%。

Our balance sheet is strong with net leverage of 0.8, which supports our ability to remain opportunistic in how we deploy capital.

我們的資產負債表穩健，淨槓桿比率為 0.8，這支持我們在資本配置方式上維持機會主義的能力。

I want to provide an update on our discontinued operations.

我想提供有關我們已停止運營的最新資訊。

Since our last quarterly call in August, Shimmick successfully resolved two legacy project disputes resulting in gross cash infusion of approximately $130 million.

自 8 月我們上一次季度電話會議以來，Shimmick 成功解決了兩個遺留項目糾紛，總共注入了約 1.3 億美元的現金。

This infusion of cash enhances their visibility and reduces the risk profile.

這種現金注入提高了他們的知名度並降低了風險狀況。

Turning to our guidance, we expect net service revenue growth of 5% to 8% in 2025, supported by our 1.2 book-to-burn ratio in the design business in the fourth quarter and a record backlog and pipeline.

談到我們的指導，我們預計 2025 年淨服務收入將增長 5% 至 8%，這得益於我們第四季度設計業務 1.2 的預訂銷毀比以及創紀錄的積壓和管道。

We expect revenue phasing to follow a normal seasonal pattern, which means we expect NSR growth will accelerate as the year progresses.

我們預計收入階段將遵循正常的季節性模式，這意味著我們預計 NSR 的成長將隨著時間的推移而加速。

We expect 30 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion to 16.3%.

我們預計調整後 EBITDA 利潤率將擴大 30 個基點至 16.3%。

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase by 9% at the midpoint to $1.19 billion and adjusted EPS to increase 13% at the midpoint to $5.10.

調整後的 EBITDA 預計將成長 9%，達到 11.9 億美元，調整後的每股盈餘將成長 13%，達到 5.10 美元。

With that, operator, we're ready for questions.

接線員，我們已經準備好回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Andy Wittmann, Baird.

（操作員說明）Andy Wittmann，Baird。

Okay.

好的。

I just wanted to ask kind of a clarification here.

我只是想在這裡要求澄清。

I was looking at your adjusted EBITDA guidance and the reconciliation for that.

我正在查看你們調整後的 EBITDA 指導及其調節表。

And I noticed that after spending $100 million on restructuring and transaction costs in '24, which was kind of a big number, there was nothing listed in 2025.

我注意到，在 24 年花費了 1 億美元用於重組和交易成本（這是一個很大的數字）之後，2025 年沒有列出任何內容。

I was just wondering if that's just because you don't know what it is, or if you expect that your earnings will be devoid of these kinds of one-time charges?

我只是想知道這是否只是因為您不知道它是什麼，或者您期望您的收入不會包含此類一次性費用？

Andy, thanks for the question.

安迪，謝謝你的提問。

You know what, I'm going to turn that over to Gaur, but I'm also acknowledging that is a good observation.

你知道嗎，我會把它交給高爾，但我也承認這是一個很好的觀察。

Yeah.

是的。

Good morning, Andy.

早安，安迪。

Thanks for the question.

謝謝你的提問。

So your assumption that FY25, we do not contemplate any restructuring, as we've said before.

因此，正如我們之前所說，您假設 25 財年我們不會考慮任何重組。

There were some significant restructuring programs that we have to right size as we were exiting countries and being very focused on the six geographies that have the best growth fundamentals.

由於我們正在退出國家，並且非常關注具有最佳成長基本面的六個地區，因此我們必須調整一些重大重組計劃的規模。

We have completed through it.

我們已經完成了它。

There's no new contemplated restructuring.

沒有新的重組計劃。

So our FY25 results and beyond should be clean.

因此，我們 25 財年及以後的業績應該是乾淨的。

Got it.

知道了。

Okay.

好的。

That's good to hear.

很高興聽到這個消息。

Kind of a similar question, maybe another one for you, Gaur, but just to understand because I just noticed that you're doing something a little bit different.

有點類似的問題，也許對你來說是另一個問題，Gaur，但只是為了理解，因為我剛剛注意到你正在做一些有點不同的事情。

So again, here in the adjusted EBITDA, you guys are calculating the margins at 16.7%, but that's not the number that people would immediately calculate from the income statement.

再說一遍，在調整後的 EBITDA 中，你們計算的利潤率為 16.7%，但這並不是人們會立即從損益表中計算出的數字。

So can you talk about what's the difference between the 16.7% and the 16.0% is that most of us are calculating what that is and why you're doing that?

那麼你能談談 16.7% 和 16.0% 之間的差異是什麼嗎？

And maybe if you could just maybe take that same concept and apply it towards the guidance.

也許您可以採用相同的概念並將其應用到指南中。

When I look at the adjusted EBITDA dollar guidance and look at the implied margins, it doesn't back into the organic growth rates that you're talking about.

當我查看調整後的 EBITDA 美元指導並查看隱含利潤率時，它並沒有回到您所說的有機成長率。

And so I think maybe all of this has to do with the same thing and you could clarify that for all of us.

所以我認為也許所有這些都與同一件事有關，你可以為我們所有人澄清這一點。

No, absolutely.

不，絕對是。

Not a problem at all, Andy.

根本不是問題，安迪。

So specific to adjusted EBITDA that we're guiding to, and we started that midway through last year as well, there was feedback from our shareholders, prospective shareholders that they wanted a margin target that was comparative inclusive of all costs of the enterprise.

具體到我們所指導的調整後 EBITDA，我們也在去年年中開始實施，我們的股東、潛在股東回饋說，他們希望制定一個相對包含企業所有成本的利潤率目標。

And as you know, adjusted operating income that we provided for segments did not include corporate costs that we were incurring.

如您所知，我們為各部門提供的調整後營業收入不包括我們產生的企業成本。

So that is now reconciled within adjusted EBITDA.

因此，現在已在調整後的 EBITDA 中進行了調整。

Further, the denominator in adjusted EBITDA has net services revenue for all consolidated JVs, but our EBITDA that we report, it is attributable EBITDA only.

此外，調整後 EBITDA 的分母是所有合併合資企業的淨服務收入，但我們報告的 EBITDA 僅是可歸屬 EBITDA。

So it excludes NCI.

所以它排除了 NCI。

We add that back.

我們把它加回來。

What we have also included is we've included a margin reconciliation bridge in the release that we provided for you and for investors.

我們還包括在為您和投資者提供的版本中包含保證金調節橋。

That walks through the separate steps I just articulated.

這將貫穿我剛才闡述的各個步驟。

And for us, it's all about simplicity as we go forward with clean results that one can compare easily for us.

對我們來說，一切都與簡單性有關，因為我們不斷取得清晰的結果，以便我們可以輕鬆地進行比較。

Got it.

知道了。

Okay.

好的。

I thought the quarter was pretty straightforward.

我認為這個季度非常簡單。

So just those definitional questions for me.

對我來說，這些只是定義性問題。

Have a good day.

祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you all.

謝謝大家。

Sangita Jain, KeyBanc.

桑吉塔‧賈恩 (Sangita Jain)，KeyBanc。

Yeah, good morning.

是的，早安。

Thanks for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

I just had a couple on the international segment.

我剛剛在國際航班上遇到了一些。

Is there anything in particular that you would call out on the international backlog strength in 4Q, maybe a sizable project or a specific geography where you may have seen more strength?

關於第四季度的國際積壓實力，您有什麼特別需要指出的嗎？

Thanks for the question, and I'm going to pass it over to Lara.

謝謝你的提問，我會把它轉給勞拉。

Thank you, Sangita, for the question.

謝謝桑吉塔的提問。

We closed another strong year for international.

我們為國際市場又迎來了強勁的一年。

We're seeing continued strength the most amongst all of those key end markets for us, whether it's UK, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, where the growth is going to continue to be lead for us in terms of the long-term megatrends in infrastructure and energy.

我們看到，在所有這些關鍵終端市場中，無論是英國、澳洲、紐西蘭或中東，我們都看到了持續的強勁成長，就長期大趨勢而言，這些市場的成長將繼續引領我們在基礎設施和能源方面。

We've got renewed optimism in the UK where now we've got clarity in terms of the autumn budget, which creates certainty for the next wave of infrastructure investment.

英國的樂觀情緒重新燃起，秋季預算變得清晰，這為下一波基礎設施投資創造了確定性。

And importantly, we can capitalize on that through our long-term positioning with the frameworks, whether they're for transportation or water or energy.

重要的是，我們可以透過我們對框架的長期定位來利用這一點，無論是交通、水還是能源。

So we've got a very strong position there.

所以我們在那裡擁有非常強大的地位。

And importantly, we've got coverage of most of those frameworks, including in AMP8, where we've now won 100% of the recompetes where we were the incumbent and 60% of the new framework.

重要的是，我們已經涵蓋了大部分框架，包括在 AMP8 中，我們現在贏得了 100% 的重新競爭（我們是現任框架）和 60% 的新框架。

And importantly, those frameworks, we're going to continue to define the value of those over the next few months.

重要的是，我們將在接下來的幾個月中繼續定義這些框架的價值。

And so then currently not included in our backlog.

所以目前沒有包含在我們的積壓工作中。

But equally, we have strength in terms of our KSA market where we grew 15% fiscal year, and we continue to see long-term opportunities there for infrastructure and also the 2030 initiatives around the FIFA World Cup and also the other initiatives there.

但同樣，我們在沙烏地阿拉伯市場方面也有實力，該市場本財年增長了 15%，我們繼續看到基礎設施方面的長期機會，以及圍繞 FIFA 世界盃的 2030 年舉措以及那裡的其他舉措。

And then also Australia and New Zealand, there's a long-term trend there that we're seeing in terms of $120 billion of long-term infrastructure investment as well.

然後是澳洲和紐西蘭，我們也看到了 1200 億美元的長期基礎設施投資的長期趨勢。

So continued strength across all of the key infrastructure segments in our international business.

因此，我們國際業務中所有關鍵基礎設施領域的持續實力。

Great.

偉大的。

That's helpful, Lara.

這很有幫助，勞拉。

So if I can just stay on international and ask you a question on margin expansion.

因此，我是否可以留在國際市場並向您詢問有關利潤擴張的問題。

You only turned double-digit margins in international just a year ago, and now you're over 12.5%.

僅僅一年前，你們的國際利潤率才達到兩位數，而現在你們的利潤率已經超過 12.5%。

Should we expect the same pace of improvement in fiscal '25?

我們是否應該期待 25 財年同樣的改善速度？

Or should we moderate expectations somewhat as we go into '25.

或者，當我們進入 25 世紀時，我們是否應該稍微降低期望。

Morning, Sangita.

早上好，桑吉塔。

This is Gaurav.

這是高拉夫。

I'll take that question.

我來回答這個問題。

When it comes to margin, we are the North Star industry, and we will continue to be the North Star industry in terms of art of possible.

就利潤率而言，我們是北極星產業，就可能性藝術而言，我們將繼續成為北極星產業。

And as we have made investments in prior years, including FY24, what we've realized the ceiling of that art is possible, it continues to increase for both segments.

由於我們在前幾年（包括 2024 財年）進行了投資，我們已經意識到該藝術的上限是可能的，因此這兩個領域的投資都在繼續增加。

Because we have made and continue to make investments in high-growth, high-margin platforms similar to the advisory services we have now launched in Q4, investing in efficiently delivering our services and -- to your point, international has led the way on that margin expansion.

因為我們已經並將繼續對高成長、高利潤的平台進行投資，類似於我們在第四季度推出的諮詢服務，投資於有效提供我們的服務——就您而言，國際在這方面處於領先地位利潤擴張。

We provided guidance.

我們提供了指導。

We expect on the top end of our long-term algorithm range, 30 bps is what we expect will be the enterprise increase for margin expansion.

我們預計，在長期演算法範圍的上限，我們預計企業利潤率擴張將增加 30 個基點。

And we do expect international will lead that way.

我們確實預期國際將引領這一趨勢。

One thing I do want to note is the investments that we have made and will continue to make.

我確實想指出的一件事是我們已經進行並將繼續進行的投資。

These are record investments again in FY25 that we're contemplating.

我們正在考慮的 25 財年投資將再次創下紀錄。

They go through our income statement.

他們檢視我們的損益表。

And it allows us the confidence as we sit here to say not only are we going to be able to deliver our FY25, continue to lead our industry in margins, but exit FY27 at 17% for the enterprise, and beyond that, we are now pretty confident again, that ceiling, it is 17%-plus with all the significant initiatives and investments we're making.

當我們坐在這裡時，這讓我們有信心說，我們不僅能夠實現25 財年的目標，繼續在利潤率方面領先我們的行業，而且還能以17% 的企業利潤退出27 財年，除此之外，我們現在再次非常有信心，這個上限是 17% 以上，考慮到我們正在採取的所有重大舉措和投資。

Thank you so much, Gaurav.

非常感謝你，高拉夫。

Andy Kaplowitz, Citigroup.

安迪‧卡普洛維茨，花旗集團。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

This is Natalia Bak on behalf of Andy Kaplowitz.

我是納塔利婭·巴克（Natalia Bak），代表安迪·卡普洛維茨（Andy Kaplowitz）。

First question I'd like to ask, in the 5% to 8% organic NSR growth for ‘25, do both segments grow in the range or does the Americas grow faster?

我想問的第一個問題是，在25年5%到8%的有機NSR成長中，兩個細分市場都在這個範圍內成長還是美洲成長得更快？

And if you could also update us if you've seen any improvement in the pauses you've had in the Middle East.

如果您發現中東的暫停情況有任何改善，也可以告訴我們最新情況。

Sure, morning.

當然，早上。

I'll take the first part, and Lara will respond to your question on Middle East.

我先講第一部分，勞拉將回答你關於中東的問題。

The NSR organic growth that we were contemplating for FY25, it's 5% to 8%, which is consistent, again, with our long-term algorithm we articulated during our Investor Day.

我們預計 25 財年的 NSR 有機成長為 5% 至 8%，這再次與我們在投資者日期間闡述的長期演算法一致。

We do expect, as you've seen in the second half of the year, Americas will be the organic growth leader between the two segments for NSR growth and expectations on international will be it’ll start off slower during the year.

我們確實預計，正如您在今年下半年所看到的那樣，美洲將成為 NSR 成長的兩個細分市場之間的有機成長領先者，並且對國際市場的預期將在今年開始放緩。

Because, as Lara articulated in her opening comments and in response to one of the questions, their funding is now coming back online in some of our key international markets, and we expect that to ramp up into the second half.

因為，正如勞拉在開場白和回答其中一個問題時所闡明的那樣，他們的資金現在正在我們的一些主要國際市場上重新上線，我們預計這一情況將在下半年有所增加。

Yeah.

是的。

And if I can just add, specifically on the Middle East.

我可以補充一下，特別是在中東問題上。

We didn't see a slowdown at all in Q4.

我們在第四季度沒有看到任何放緩。

In fact, our business grew in Q4, it grew in the year.

事實上，我們的業務在第四季度有所成長，這一年也有所成長。

And then some of the larger segments like the Saudi Arabia business, we won another nine-figure major program in Q4, giving us additional long-term visibility.

然後，在沙烏地阿拉伯業務等一些較大的細分市場，我們在第四季度贏得了另一個九位數的重大項目，為我們提供了額外的長期知名度。

And as I said earlier, we've got confidence in terms of some of the longer-term programs that are going to continue for us.

正如我之前所說，我們對我們將繼續實施的一些長期計劃充滿信心。

So we are the leading consultant in the region.

因此，我們是該地區領先的顧問。

And we have broad coverage across many of the key programs that cover infrastructure and major projects as well.

我們廣泛涵蓋許多關鍵計劃，包括基礎設施和重大項目。

That's helpful.

這很有幫助。

And then maybe a question focusing on margins.

然後可能是一個關注利潤的問題。

Just on margins.

只是在邊緣。

So you did 100 bps of margin expansion '24.

所以你在 24 年進行了 100 個基點的利潤擴張。

And I think annually, you've averaged about 80 bps, a little over 80 bps of margin expansion for like the past few years and with still reasonably good growth in '25.

我認為每年平均約 80 個基點，在過去幾年中，利潤率擴張略高於 80 個基點，並且 25 年的成長仍然相當不錯。

Why would you only average 30 bps of margin expansion in '25?

為什麼 25 年的利潤率平均只會成長 30 個基點？

And what's holding you back from more margin expansion?

是什麼阻礙了您進一步擴大利潤率？

So it's a great question.

所以這是一個很好的問題。

I would not describe it as being held back for margin expansion.

我不會將其描述為因利潤擴張而受到阻礙。

We've said this a number of times over the last few years is that we're continuing to invest heavily in the business.

過去幾年我們多次說過，我們將繼續大力投資這項業務。

And in each of the last four years, we've invested more in the business than we've had in the prior year.

在過去四年中，我們在業務上的投資每年都比前一年多。

And as we move forward, we're going to continue to invest in the business.

隨著我們的前進，我們將繼續投資這項業務。

And again, there's pretty significant returns from that, which is obviously higher margins in the future and a growing business.

再說一次，這會帶來相當可觀的回報，這顯然是未來更高的利潤和不斷增長的業務。

I'll just give you kind of a highlight of where we've invested.

我只是向您重點介紹我們的投資領域。

First of all, we've invested in our workforce, we've invested in recruiting extraordinary professionals to the organization, and most importantly, investing in leadership and technical development of our workforce.

首先，我們投資於我們的員工隊伍，我們投資於為組織招募傑出的專業人員，最重要的是，投資於我們員工隊伍的領導力和技術發展。

Secondly, we are investing in transforming the way that we deliver our work, deliver it now and actually deliver it very differently in the future, and we think that we'll have very significant margin benefit to us as we go forward.

其次，我們正在投資改變我們交付工作的方式，現在的交付方式和未來的交付方式實際上會大不相同，而且我們認為，隨著我們的前進，我們將獲得非常顯著的利潤收益。

And then we're looking to expand our business.

然後我們正在尋求擴大我們的業務。

We have said that design and engineering or our knowledge of science is the base of our business, and we've looked to expand this.

我們說過，設計和工程或我們的科學知識是我們業務的基礎，我們一直在尋求擴展這一點。

Our vision is to actually have 50% of the business in engineering and design, and have our rest of our business, so the other 50% performing advisory and program management work in the future.

我們的願景是實際上擁有 50% 的業務從事工程和設計，並擁有我們的其餘業務，因此另外 50% 的業務在未來從事諮詢和專案管理工作。

We've made a significant investment in program management -- in the last three years, we've grown that business so it represents about $1.3 billion of NSR this past year, and we see double-digit growth for that business.

我們在專案管理方面進行了大量投資——在過去三年中，我們不斷發展該業務，因此去年 NSR 的價值約為 13 億美元，而且我們預計該業務將實現兩位數的成長。

And now, we're making an investment in growing that advisory business which Lara referenced in our comments that we're going to look to double that business and make that our next $1 billion platform.

現在，我們正在投資發展諮詢業務，Lara 在我們的評論中提到，我們將尋求將該業務擴大一倍，並將其打造成我們的下一個 10 億美元平台。

So it's -- again, it's not that our margins are not going as growing as fast as they have.

所以，再說一次，這並不是說我們的利潤沒有像現在那樣快速成長。

It's that we're being very thoughtful in terms of investing in the future of the business.

我們在投資企業未來方面非常深思熟慮。

Our margins will go well beyond the 17% target.

我們的利潤率將遠遠超出 17% 的目標。

All right.

好的。

Helpful.

有幫助。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Feniger, Bank of America.

麥可費尼格，美國銀行。

Hi, guys.

嗨，大家好。

Thanks for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

Just Troy, I am curious on the bigger picture here as we turn over to a new administration.

特洛伊，我對我們移交給新政府時的大局感到好奇。

There are some concerns out there around federal funding and budgets could be under tighter scrutiny.

人們擔心聯邦資金和預算可能會受到更嚴格的審查。

Are you starting to hear any of those concerns from your customers that are on the public side?

您是否開始從公共客戶那裡聽到這些擔憂？

Does it hold back some of the pipeline?

它會阻礙一些管道嗎？

I know it's early days, Troy, but just would love to get a sense of what you're hearing, risks or tailwinds as we're kind of heading into this new administration?

我知道現在還為時過早，特洛伊，但我很想了解一下您所聽到的情況，風險或順風，因為我們即將進入新政府？

Yeah.

是的。

So at the moment, we're not hearing anything directly from our clients.

所以目前，我們沒有直接從客戶那裡聽到任何消息。

I think that the sort of the thoughts around the impact of election are actually just sort of coming from the election process itself.

我認為圍繞選舉影響的這種想法實際上只是來自選舉過程本身。

And so we don't have any insight into the agenda of our clients, our federal clients than what exists today.

因此，我們對我們的客戶、我們的聯邦客戶的議程沒有比今天更深入的了解。

But what -- based on what we do know is we know a couple of things.

但根據我們所知道的情況，我們知道一些事情。

One is that the federal election does create certainty that over a period of time, we're going to understand what the new investment agenda is going to be for the federal government.

一是聯邦選舉確實創造了確定性，即在一段時間內，我們將了解聯邦政府的新投資議程是什麼。

And from my perspective, the fact is we have a very agile business.

從我的角度來看，事實是我們的業務非常敏捷。

We made reference to this, that about 70% of our workforce is fungible across our markets.

我們提到這一點，我們大約 70% 的勞動力在我們的市場上是可以互換的。

The other thing that we do know is that there needs to be a continued investment in infrastructure.

我們確實知道的另一件事是需要持續投資基礎設施。

And the majority of that investment while supported by federal funding that predominantly comes from our state and local clients or municipal clients or city clients and private clients.

大部分投資均得到聯邦資金的支持，這些資金主要來自我們的州和地方客戶或市政客戶或城市客戶和私人客戶。

And that represents more than 90% of our work.

這代表了我們 90% 以上的工作。

So when we sort of look forward, we do have a great degree of certainty on what the priorities of the government in the US and the governments of the US and our private clients are going to have on their agenda.

因此，當我們展望未來時，我們確實非常確定美國政府、美國政府和我們的私人客戶的議程上的優先事項。

And we believe that based on what we know about the -- also the election agenda of the new administration is that they're going to need to invest in infrastructure because if you're going to strengthen the manufacturing base, in the United States, you're going to have to invest in aviation, ports, rail, roads, and all the supporting infrastructure for those that net increased manufacturing base or manufacturing investment.

我們相信，根據我們對新政府的選舉議程的了解，他們將需要投資基礎設施，因為如果你要加強美國的製造基地，你將不得不投資航空、港口、鐵路、公路以及所有支持性基礎設施，以增加製造基地或製造業投資。

And then the other thing that we know is if there is permitting reform, there is an awful lot of money that is going to be spent on infrastructure in the next two years.

我們知道的另一件事是，如果進行允許的改革，未來兩年將在基礎設施上花費大量資金。

And if there's permitting reform that's meaningful in the next few years, we see that as actually improving the returns on that investment and accelerating in investment infrastructure.

如果未來幾年允許進行有意義的改革，我們認為這實際上會提高投資回報並加速投資基礎設施。

So I think there's an environment of some uncertainty I think when we look forward, just kind of given the focus of our clients and the focus of -- on the need for infrastructure, we feel very good about the future.

因此，我認為，當我們展望未來時，存在一些不確定性的環境，只要考慮到我們客戶的關注點以及對基礎設施需求的關注，我們對未來感覺非常好。

Helpful, Troy.

有幫助，特洛伊。

Thank you for the answer.

謝謝你的回答。

And just on 2025, it sounds like there were some things that were holding back to NSR growth in Q4.

就在 2025 年，似乎有些因素阻礙了第四季度 NSR 的成長。

And there's a mention of acceleration of that NSR growth in the second half in '25.

有人提到 25 年下半年 NSR 成長加速。

So just curious on the first half or second half.

所以只是對上半場或下半場感到好奇。

And to get that acceleration in the second half, does it require certain recompete wins or a bigger pickup in the pipeline that we're seeing now?

為了在下半場獲得加速，是否需要一定的重新比賽勝利或我們現在看到的更大的回升？

Or do you kind of have visibility on that second-half acceleration?

或者你對下半年的加速有什麼了解嗎？

Thank you?

謝謝你？

Yes.

是的。

The simple answer is we have good visibility on the second-half acceleration.

簡單的答案是我們對下半年的加速有很好的了解。

And that's driven by kind of the work that has been awarded that we're going to contract on.

這是由我們將要承包的已授予的工作類型所驅動的。

And even as Lara pointed out, with some of the -- as a result of election, some of the changing agendas that, that work has been coming to market and has been awarded through frameworks and that gives us confidence in the second half of the year that will take the work out of those frameworks.

正如拉拉（Lara）指出的那樣，隨著選舉的結果，一些不斷變化的議程，這項工作已經進入市場，並通過框架獲得批准，這讓我們對下半年充滿信心。框架中解放出來。

And then in terms of just what's happened in the first six weeks of this quarter, we've had continued success, which also gives us confidence in terms of the-- confidence in the year but also confidence in the growth in NSR in the second half of the year.

就本季前六週發生的情況而言，我們取得了持續的成功，這也給了我們信心——對今年的信心，以及對第二季度 NSR 增長的信心半年。

Great.

偉大的。

If I could just sneak one more in, Gaur, just the 10% of NSR to free cash flow, is that -- in your view, is that sustainable?

Gaur，如果我可以再偷偷添加一個，將 NSR 的 10% 用於自由現金流，在您看來，這是可持續的嗎？

Can you actually expand that in '25, '26, '27?

你真的能在 25 年、26 年、27 年擴展它嗎？

Just curious on how to think about that free cash flow conversion of NSR going forward?

只是好奇如何思考 NSR 未來的自由現金流轉換？

Sure.

當然。

Not a problem, Mike, and thank you for acknowledging that fantastic accomplishment for the enterprise of 10% to NSR growth.

沒問題，麥克，感謝您認可企業 NSR 成長 10% 的出色成就。

We have 35,000 to 50,000 projects that are ongoing at any point in time.

我們隨時都有 35,000 到 50,000 個專案正在進行中。

So it's very hard to be precise to say that's the number we're going to land on.

所以很難準確地說這就是我們要達到的數字。

What -- more importantly, what has driven these great results is cash conversion is embedded in the culture and DNA of how our professionals operate.

更重要的是，推動這些偉大成果的原因是現金轉換植根於我們專業人員的運作方式的文化和 DNA 中。

It's one of the core tenets.

這是核心原則之一。

And that provides us the confidence to your point, that 10% conversion, it is achievable, especially as we move forward, continued margin expansion even on industry-leading margins that we delivered, expectations that our investments will pay dividends, leading us to unheard of levels of margin at 17% and 17%-plus.

這讓我們對你的觀點充滿信心，即10% 的轉換率是可以實現的，特別是當我們向前邁進時，即使我們實現了行業領先的利潤率，利潤率仍持續擴張，我們的投資將帶來股息的預期，使我們達到了前所未有的水平保證金水準為 17% 和 17% 以上。

All those things bode exceptionally well for great cash conversion at a very high rate.

所有這些都預示著現金轉換率非常高。

And that will be our focus year in, year out to have the best cash results, including to continue to deliver on that 10% conversion rate.

這將是我們年復一年的重點，以實現最佳現金業績，包括繼續實現 10% 的轉換率。

Steven Fisher, UBS.

史蒂文費雪，瑞銀。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Good morning.

早安.

I just wanted to follow-up on the growth rate in the pipeline that you have.

我只是想跟進你們管道中的增長率。

I thought I heard you mention 10%.

我想我聽到你提到了10%。

But just if you could kind of remind us what's the growth rate you're seeing in the pipeline of the larger pursuits.

但請您提醒我們，您在更大的追求中看到的成長率是多少。

I think it was 20% last quarter, but maybe that was just program management.

我認為上個季度是 20%，但這也許只是專案管理的原因。

I'm not sure if you're differentiating between kind of large pursuits in general and program management pursuits.

我不確定您是否區分一般的大型追求和專案管理追求。

So just trying to clarify a little bit on the pipeline growth rate?

那麼只是想澄清一下管道成長率嗎？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sure.

當然。

Hey, Steven, this is Gaur.

嘿，史蒂文，這是高爾。

I'll take that question.

我來回答這個問題。

You're right.

你說得對。

In your recollection.

在你的記憶裡。

Our pipeline year-over-year, which was very robust when you compare it this time last year, it's up 10% again in all our end markets.

與去年同期相比，我們的通路非常強勁，在我們所有的終端市場再次成長了 10%。

And it gives us a lot of confidence, especially when you look at the book-to-burn in our design business of 1.2 as we exited the year.

這給了我們很大的信心，尤其是當你看到我們 1.2 設計業務在今年結束時的情況時。

But as importantly, 50%-plus win rates overall that we've been capturing for multiple years in a row.

但同樣重要的是，我們連續多年保持了 50% 以上的整體勝率。

And when you look at our larger pursuits, not only is the pipeline more abundant with those larger pursuits coming in at higher velocity throughout the year.

當你看到我們更大的追求時，不僅管道更加豐富，而且這些更大的追求全年以更高的速度出現。

But our win rate is greater than that when it comes to win rates greater than the 50%-plus on the larger pursuits greater than $25 million and including program management where it seems to be we've almost been clearing the deck as those opportunities have come up over the last few years.

但我們的勝率高於 2500 萬美元以上的更大追求的勝率超過 50% 以上，其中包括專案管理，因為這些機會已經讓我們幾乎已經掃清了障礙。

So it gives us a lot of confidence as we march into FY25.

因此，當我們邁入 2025 財年時，這給了我們很大的信心。

Okay, that's helpful.

好的，這很有幫助。

And then maybe a question around sort of private sector versus public sector and short-term interest rate policy is still a little bit an open question and also the outlook for long-term rates as well.

然後，也許圍繞私營部門與公共部門以及短期利率政策的問題仍然是一個懸而未決的問題，長期利率的前景也是如此。

So how do you see the influence there on the private sector and when you think about your business for the next couple of years, how do you see private sector versus public sector from here?

那麼，您如何看待那裡對私營部門的影響？

So Steve, we actually have optimism, obviously, around both.

史蒂夫，顯然，我們實際上對這兩個問題都持樂觀態度。

There's a -- again, there's a need for in -- there's clearly a need for infrastructure that's going to support the expansion in the economy and it's going to support the agenda of things like addressing the concerns around resiliency and sustainability of infrastructure, certainly as you've seen the impact of kind of climate events.

再次強調，顯然需要基礎設施來支持經濟擴張，並將支持解決有關基礎設施彈性和永續性問題的議程，當然，您已經看到了各種氣候事件的影響。

So we have the optimism around governments and we see it in our pipeline.

因此，我們對政府抱持樂觀態度，我們也看到了這一點。

But we also see that within our private customer base.

但我們也在我們的私人客戶群中看到了這一點。

And simple places to look for that as you really look at sort of the insatiable need for energy.

當你真正專注於對能源的永不滿足的需求時，可以在簡單的地方尋找這一點。

And that need is -- it really exemplifies the significant amount of investments being made by our private clients.

這種需求確實反映了我們的私人客戶正在進行的大量投資。

And so when we sort of look across it, we have optimism around that entire pipeline.

因此，當我們審視它時，我們對整個管道持樂觀態度。

The thing that we're hopeful of is that with permitting reform, it will increase the returns for our private clients and in fact, our private clients will have an even larger appetite to invest in the infrastructure they need to support their growth ambitions.

我們希望的是，透過允許改革，它將增加我們私人客戶的回報，事實上，我們的私人客戶將有更大的興趣投資他們所需的基礎設施，以支持他們的成長雄心。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Actually, just a follow-up there.

實際上，這只是一個後續行動。

I did want to ask you since you talked about the permitting reform, where you see it having the biggest impact on your business.

自從您談到許可改革以來，我確實想問您，您認為它對您的業務影響最大。

Is that exactly where you see it on the private sector side?

這正是您在私部門所看到的嗎？

No.

不。

I mean, the answer is we see it across the entire portfolio of work that we do.

我的意思是，答案是我們在我們所做的整個工作組合中都看到了這一點。

When you sort of look at whether it's private or publicly funded infrastructure projects, the permitting process can take anywhere from three to six years.

當你看到它是私人還是公共資助的基礎設施項目時，許可過程可能需要三到六年的時間。

That's sort of a statistical industry average.

這是統計行業的平均值。

But even beyond that, when you start to look at all of the work that has to get done to take something from design and all the way through construction, there is a significant amount of sort of government regulatory review that goes on in that process.

但除此之外，當你開始審視從設計到施工整個過程中必須完成的所有工作時，你會發現在這個過程中還會進行大量的政府監管審查。

So we actually see that as an opportunity as well for simplifying the process.

因此，我們實際上認為這也是簡化流程的一個機會。

So it's permitting, but it also extends right into the delivery of the project.

所以這是允許的，但它也延伸到專案的交付。

And so it's a really significant opportunity.

所以這是一個非常重要的機會。

Perfect.

完美的。

Thanks a lot.

多謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Dudas, Vertical Research.

邁克爾·杜達斯，垂直研究。

Good morning gentlemen, Lara.

早安，先生們，蘿拉。

In your -- the new water and environment advisory business that you've created and looking to grow, is that going to be mostly driven by your current account base and you're just adding or getting more involved in from beginning to end type services or is there opportunities away from your existing clients?

在您創建並希望發展的新水和環境諮詢業務中，這將主要由您當前的客戶群驅動，而您只是添加或更多地參與從頭到尾的類型服務或您現有的客戶是否還有機會？

I'm sure it's both, but where the program management can be much more impactful, especially with some of your non-US government clients as you're looking to grow that program management business.

我確信兩者都是，但是專案管理可以產生更大的影響力，特別是對於一些非美國政府客戶，因為您正在尋求發展專案管理業務。

Yeah.

是的。

Thanks for the question, Mike.

謝謝你的提問，麥克。

And we've got a lot of excitement about this new business and our new leader, Jill Hudkins is off to a flying start.

我們對這項新業務感到非常興奮，我們的新領導者吉爾·哈德金斯 (Jill Hudkins) 有了一個良好的開端。

It's only been six weeks, but there's been such positivity internally and externally in terms of this new business for us and the aspiration that we have.

雖然只有六週時間，但我們的新業務以及我們的願望在內部和外部都表現出了積極的態度。

Look, to answer your question, it's both.

聽著，回答你的問題，兩者都是。

And we obviously have very strong coverage across many municipal water clients.

顯然，我們對許多市政供水客戶都有很強的覆蓋範圍。

It's -- there's possibilities in the federal segment where we're also sort of the leading player, but obviously, opportunities in the private sector.

在聯邦部門有機會，我們也是領先者，但顯然，私營部門也有機會。

So if we look at the core markets, there's certainly opportunities to take more market share in the municipal space, where there are -- in the US alone, for example, there are 500 municipal water utilities serving populations of over 0.5 million people, and each of them require substantial digital investment to modernize their operations.

因此，如果我們專注於核心市場，肯定有機會在市政領域佔據更多市場份額，例如，僅在美國，就有 500 家市政供水公司為超過 50 萬人提供服務，並且他們每個人都需要大量的數字投資來實現營運現代化。

So all of these existing clients have challenges in terms of water supply optimization.

因此，所有這些現有客戶在供水優化方面都面臨挑戰。

So the time is right for this new business and the fact that there are existing clients and there's opportunities to take more market share with many other clients in the municipal space augurs well for us.

因此，開展這項新業務的時機恰到好處，而且現有客戶以及有機會與市政領域的許多其他客戶一起獲得更多市場份額，這對我們來說是個好兆頭。

And also in the UK, I mean, just the anticipation around the wave of work that's coming with the AMP8 program.

我的意思是，在英國，人們對 AMP8 計畫帶來的工作浪潮充滿期待。

I mentioned earlier our positioning at the moment, our win rate in terms of those very important frameworks.

我之前提到過我們目前的定位，以及我們在那些非常重要的框架上的勝率。

Again, these clients will benefit directly from this new business that we've established.

同樣，這些客戶將直接從我們建立的這項新業務中受益。

So we're poised to really capitalize on the timing of standing up this new advisory opportunity, and we're super excited about it.

因此，我們準備好真正利用這個新的諮詢機會，我們對此感到非常興奮。

Excellent.

出色的。

Thank you, Lara.

謝謝你，拉拉。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Kevin Wilson, Truist Securities.

凱文威爾遜，Truist 證券公司。

Hey, good morning.

嘿，早安。

Thanks for the time.

謝謝你的時間。

Following up on the water and environment advisory business, I think you spoke to the sort of lower level of investment required.

繼水和環境諮詢業務之後，我認為您談到了所需的較低投資水平。

But I'm wondering, understanding at the higher margin area, can you speak to sort of the level of business development spending or reinvestment in the business that you're expecting and how that potentially maybe weighs on margins in the shorter term?

但我想知道，在利潤率較高的領域，您能否談談您期望的業務開發支出或再投資水平，以及這在短期內可能對利潤率造成的影響？

Yeah.

是的。

Kevin, this is Gaur.

凱文，這是高爾。

I'll take that question.

我來回答這個問題。

In terms of lower level of investment, that comment is just a comparative to if we were to do a very expensive M&A, which it would be in this type of space.

就較低的投資水平而言，該評論只是與我們在此類領域進行非常昂貴的併購進行比較。

We've proven our track record, including program management that we're able to make very smart investments through our P&L by attracting great market resources and professionals to drive this organically, right?

我們已經證明了我們的業績記錄，包括專案管理，我們能夠透過吸引大量的市場資源和專業人士來有機地推動這一目標，透過我們的損益表進行非常明智的投資，對吧？

If you look at our program management business, 4.5, 5 years ago, that was less than 3% of our overall NSR, and it's now almost 15% of our overall NSR based on the organic investments.

如果你看看我們的專案管理業務，5 年前的 4.5，這還不到我們整體 NSR 的 3%，而現在基於有機投資，它幾乎占我們整體 NSR 的 15%。

So not to say that they're low investments, but comparatively the investments we make are organic and drive very high ROI, in fact, close to 40%-plus.

所以並不是說它們的投資很低，但相對而言，我們所做的投資是有機的，並且帶來非常高的投資報酬率，事實上，接近 40% 以上。

And when we look at what is the specific investments, it's all included in our guidance because it's all going through our income statement.

當我們查看具體投資是什麼時，它們都包含在我們的指導中，因為它們都包含在我們的損益表中。

We don't break out individually what an investment costs.

我們不會單獨列出投資成本。

But this, again, is what we build on and gives us confidence to continue to be the industry leader and continue to separate ourselves in margin delivery.

但這又是我們的基礎，讓我們有信心繼續成為行業領導者，並繼續在保證金交付方面脫穎而出。

A few years ago, nobody thought 13% was possible.

幾年前，沒有人認為 13% 是可能的。

Two years ago, nobody thought 15% was possible.

兩年前，沒有人認為 15% 是可能的。

We're going to deliver 17% and continue to march forward from that 17%-plus.

我們將實現 17%，並在 17% 以上的基礎上繼續前進。

Thanks, that's helpful.

謝謝，這很有幫助。

And then my second question, I'm wondering if you could speak to if you see consolidation opportunity in the space among infrastructure services, potential services firms.

然後是我的第二個問題，我想知道如果您看到基礎設施服務和潛在服務公司之間存在整合機會，您是否可以談談。

And if so, why?

如果是這樣，為什麼？

Are there scale benefits?

有規模效益嗎？

What would be the biggest risks to something like that being your opinion?

您認為這樣的事情最大的風險是什麼？

And sort of related to that, to what extent do you think M&A or portfolio optimization from peers is creating opportunities for AECOM to gain share as peers can maybe be distracted.

與此相關的是，您認為同行的併購或投資組合優化在多大程度上為 AECOM 創造了獲得份額的機會，因為同行可能會分心。

Thanks.

謝謝。

So yes, it's difficult to talk about what other people's ambitions are, but I can talk about our own.

所以，是的，很難談論別人的抱負是什麼，但我可以談論我們自己的抱負。

And so first of all, the way we think about this is if you're going to do M&A, is there a need to do it?

首先，我們思考這個問題的方式是，如果你要進行併購，是否有必要這麼做？

And so first of all, if you're already number one in all of the marketplaces that you serve, is there a need to do acquisitions to kind of grow, again, grow your capability.

因此，首先，如果您已經在您所服務的所有市場中排名第一，是否需要進行收購來增強您的能力。

We don't think so.

我們不這麼認為。

We do believe that you do need scale to invest in the future of this business.

我們確實相信您確實需要規模來投資該業務的未來。

There are some trends-- I wouldn't even say there are some trends.

有一些趨勢——我什至不會說有一些趨勢。

There are investments that we're making and investments that need to be made in the industry to keep up with us.

為了跟上我們的步伐，我們正在進行一些投資，也需要在這個行業進行一些投資。

The fact is, is that we are going to transform the way that we deliver work.

事實是，我們將改變我們交付工作的方式。

And that could lead you to the question.

這可能會引出你的問題。

Does it really make sense to do an acquisition to acquire more people in a business-- in a business where, in fact, in the long term, you're going to need less people to deliver the same amount of work?

在一家企業中進行收購以獲取更多員工真的有意義嗎？

So we look at this and say, we're focused on growing the business organically transforming the way that we're going to deliver work in the future and extend our vision of actually expanding how we serve our clients by growing advisory and by continuing to grow program management.

因此，我們著眼於這一點並表示，我們的重點是有機地發展業務，改變我們未來交付工作的方式，並擴展我們的願景，即透過增加諮詢服務和繼續發展計劃管理。

So organic investments is where we think it's important to be focused.

因此，我們認為重點關注有機投資。

Now, the other issue is when you look at making an acquisition in today's market, the prices are very expensive.

現在，另一個問題是，當你考慮在當今市場進行收購時，價格非常昂貴。

And so it just -- again, just in terms of the return model, it doesn't make any sense to do that, especially when we're actually deploying capital and compounding our existing earnings so that we're delivering at least in the last three years, we're delivering compound EPS growth in excess of 20%.

因此，再次強調，就回報模型而言，這樣做沒有任何意義，特別是當我們實際部署資本並複合現有收益，以便我們至少在過去三年，我們的每股收益複合增長率超過 20%。

And so, that's where we see the greatest opportunity to deploy capital.

因此，這就是我們看到部署資本的最佳機會的地方。

Is there going to be an opportunity for others in the industry?

業內其他人是否有機會？

Possibly, but that's not where we're focused.

有可能，但這不是我們關注的重點。

And we also view that the scarcest resource that we have in the business is actually management time.

我們也認為，我們在業務中擁有的最稀缺資源實際上是管理時間。

And our management time is dedicated to what I just described.

我們的管理時間專門用於我剛剛描述的內容。

If we were to do, participate in a large acquisition, it would absolutely detract from how management is spending their time to continue to create a competitive advantage.

如果我們參與大型收購，這絕對會影響管理層花時間繼續創造競爭優勢的方式。

So that's our focus.

這就是我們的重點。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis & Company.

亞當·塔爾希默，湯普森·戴維斯公司。

Hey.

嘿。

Good morning, guys.

早安，夥計們。

Nice quarter.

不錯的季度。

Did you guys see any caution in the US in the months leading up to the election from public or private sector clients?

在美國大選前的幾個月裡，你們是否看到公共或私部門客戶的任何謹慎態度？

I'm just curious if that was the case, are you seeing any signs of improvement there?

我只是好奇如果是這樣的話，你有看到任何改善的跡象嗎？

We really didn't see any signs from our clients, whether they were private or whether they were public sector clients.

我們確實沒有看到客戶的任何跡象，無論他們是私人客戶還是公共部門客戶。

One of the things we did observe, though, as we said this, is that when you're focused on larger project awards, and we've been focused on that and winning a lot of larger project awards is that the process to bid and the process to award and the process to contract takes a little bit longer.

不過，正如我們所說，我們確實觀察到的一件事是，當你專注於更大的項目獎項時，我們一直專注於這一點並贏得了很多更大的項目獎項，那就是投標和投標的過程授予過程和合約過程需要更長的時間。

So we didn't see anything unusual, but that was really what we saw in our business as a result of our focus on kind of what we describe as winning the things that matter, the larger iconic or larger programs.

所以我們沒有看到任何不尋常的事情，但這確實是我們在我們的業務中看到的，因為我們專注於我們所說的贏得重要的事情，更大的標誌性或更大的項目。

Okay.

好的。

Interesting, thanks.

有趣，謝謝。

And then I wanted to ask on the construction management issue that you called out.

然後我想問你提到的施工管理問題。

Curious if that was a one-off issue or is that a reflection of the state of the industry as a whole?

好奇這是一個一次性問題還是反映了整個產業的狀況？

Hey, Adam.

嘿，亞當。

This is Gaur.

這是高爾。

I'll take that question.

我來回答這個問題。

That was a one-off issue.

那是一個一次性的問題。

We haven't experienced that ever.

我們還沒有經歷過這樣的事情。

And as I said in my comments, my prepared remarks, any time there's a situation where a client will try to push onerous risk on to us, we will walk away.

正如我在評論中所說的那樣，我準備好的評論中，每當出現客戶試圖將繁重的風險推給我們的情況時，我們都會走開。

We have no interest in taking onerous risk.

我們沒有興趣承擔巨大的風險。

And the great thing is, at any given point in time, again, something I alluded to earlier, we have 35,000 to 50,000 projects ongoing and not one project is ever material.

最棒的是，在任何給定的時間點，我之前提到過，我們有 35,000 到 50,000 個項目正在進行，但沒有一個項目是實質性的。

So we will continue to employ our risk management and continue to deliver organic growth.

因此，我們將繼續採用風險管理並繼續實現有機成長。

And as importantly, Troy mentioned in his comment to Kevin, 21% EPS compounded CAGR over a five-year period.

同樣重要的是，特洛伊在對凱文的評論中提到，五年期間每股盈餘複合年增長率為 21%。

And I'm just-- I want to just add to Gaur's comment, I think it's not necessarily the project itself.

我只是——我想補充高爾的評論，我認為這不一定是項目本身。

But I think it's also important to recognize that it's-- this is something built into the culture of the organization is we're going to continue to make, again, really thoughtful decisions about how we manage the risk in our business and we manage the risk around projects.

但我認為認識到這一點也很重要——這是組織文化的一部分，我們將繼續就如何管理業務風險和管理風險做出深思熟慮的決定。

And that when we are uncomfortable with that, we're willing to, again, not chase revenue, not chase revenue growth where sometimes that would be to your detriment in the long term.

當我們對此感到不舒服時，我們願意再次不追逐收入，不追逐收入成長，長遠來看，有時這會對您不利。

So again, that's a really important part of what's become our culture.

再說一遍，這是我們文化中非常重要的一部分。

And then just real quickly, staying on that theme, could you actually make a case to the opposite, that the Construction Management business is about to get better for the next couple of years?

然後，很快地，繼續這個主題，你真的能提出相反的理由，即建築管理業務在未來幾年將會變得更好嗎？

I have no doubt that it's getting better for the next couple of years.

我毫不懷疑未來幾年情況會變得更好。

And the reason is we've won a pretty significant amount of work over the course of the last few quarters, and we have good visibility into the future.

原因是我們在過去幾個季度中贏得了相當多的工作，我們對未來有很好的預見性。

But in construction management, when you win projects, there's typically a start-up phase and that startup phase can take anywhere from nine months to a year.

但在施工管理中，當您贏得專案時，通常會有一個啟動階段，該啟動階段可能需要九個月到一年的時間。

We think about it as preconstruction.

我們將其視為施工前的工作。

And during that phase, they are smaller projects, they're sort of on a time and materials basis.

在那個階段，它們是較小的項目，它們是在時間和材料的基礎上進行的。

They don't have significant margins in them.

他們沒有很大的利潤空間。

But you then get to the point where you move from that preconstruction phase to award and then all of a sudden, your backlog expands and you have great projects that show up that you deliver for the next four or five years.

但隨後你會從施工前階段轉向授予階段，然後突然之間，你的積壓工作會擴大，並且你會出現一些偉大的項目，這些項目將在未來四五年內交付。

And so that business has had some fairly significant wins.

因此，該業務取得了一些相當重大的勝利。

We're in that preconstruction phase.

我們正處於施工前階段。

And so it gives the impression perhaps that the backlog isn't as strong as we believe it to be, but it will become visible in a short period of time.

因此，它給人的印像也許是，積壓的情況並不像我們想像的那麼嚴重，但它會在短時間內變得明顯。

Good color.

顏色好。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And that will conclude our question-and-answer session.

我們的問答環節就到此結束。

I'll turn the call back over to Troy Rudd, CEO, for closing remarks.

我將把電話轉回給執行長特洛伊·拉德 (Troy Rudd)，讓其結束語。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Again, thank you, everyone, for joining the call today.

再次感謝大家今天加入電話會議。

And I want to close by just thanking all of the people at AECOM for the very significant contributions and effort that they exerted during the course of this year.

最後，我想感謝 AECOM 的所有人在今年做出的重大貢獻和努力。

And what they're doing as we already start entering into this new fiscal year.

當我們已經開始進入這個新的財政年度時，他們正在做什麼。

Again, I thank you all.

我再次感謝大家。

And thanks again, and we'll talk to you next quarter.

再次感謝，我們將在下個季度與您交談。

Thank you, all, for joining today's call.

感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連線。