Aspen Technology Inc (AZPN) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Q1 2025 Aspen Technology earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Brian Denyeau from ICR.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Aspen Technology 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。（操作員指示）我現在想將會議交給今天的發言人，來自 ICR 的 Brian Denyeau。

Thank you, Josh. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 ending September 30, 2024. With me on the call today are Antonio Pietri, AspenTech's President and CEO; and Dave Baker, AspenTech's CFO.

謝謝你，喬許。大家下午好，感謝您與我們一起討論截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的 2025 財年第一季的財務業績。今天與我一起參加電話會議的是 AspenTech 總裁兼執行長 Antonio Pietri；以及 AspenTech 財務長 Dave Baker。

Please note, we have posted an earnings presentation on our IR website. This includes an explanation regarding the impact of ASC Topic 606 on our financial results. It also includes definitions of annual contract value or ACV, bookings and free cash flow, among other metrics. We ask that investors refer to this presentation in conjunction with today's call.

請注意，我們已在 IR 網站上發布了收益演示。其中包括有關 ASC 主題 606 對我們財務表現影響的解釋。它還包括年度合約價值或 ACV、預訂和自由現金流等指標的定義。我們要求投資者結合今天的電話會議參考本簡報。

Starting on slide 2, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that our remarks today will include forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements.

從投影片 2 開始，我想藉此機會提醒您，我們今天的言論將包括前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述預期的結果有重大差異。

Factors could cause these results to differ materially as set forth in today's press release, and in our annual report on Form 10-K, and other subsequent filings made with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make on this call are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

正如今天的新聞稿、我們的 10-K 表格年度報告以及隨後向 SEC 提交的其他文件中所述，一些因素可能會導致這些結果出現重大差異。我們在本次電話會議中所做的任何前瞻性陳述均基於截至目前的假設，我們不承擔因新資訊或未來事件而更新這些陳述的義務。

During this presentation, we will present both GAAP and certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in today's earnings press release and investor presentation, both of which are available on our Investor Relations website. With that, let me turn the call over to Antonio. Antonio.

在本次示範中，我們將介紹 GAAP 和某些非 GAAP 財務指標。今天的收益新聞稿和投資者介紹中包含了 GAAP 與非 GAAP 衡量標準的調節，兩者均可在我們的投資者關係網站上取得。現在，讓我把電話轉給安東尼奧。安東尼奧.

Thank you, Brian. Hello, and good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss our first-quarter results for fiscal 2025. I'd like to start out by addressing our anticipated acquisition of Open Grid Systems announced after markets today. The acceleration of renewable generation and the push for electrification are driving more assets onto the electric grid, increasing the complexity of utility operations globally.

謝謝你，布萊恩。大家好，大家晚上好。感謝您今天加入我們討論我們 2025 財年第一季的業績。首先，我想談談我們今天在盤後宣布的對 Open Grid Systems 的預期收購。再生能源發電的加速發展和電氣化的推動正在推動更多資產進入電網，從而增加了全球公用事業運營的複雜性。

Around the world, utilities need a single, centralized source of truth for electrical network models to provide accurate and complete real-time visibility of grid assets. By incorporating Open Grid Systems' technology into our digital grid management, or DGM suite, we will be able to offer a comprehensive, fully integrated network model management solution for utilities. This tuck-in acquisition demonstrates AspenTech's commitment to our power and utility customers, as well as our dedication to addressing critical industry challenges.

在世界各地，公用事業公司需要一個單一、集中的電網模型事實來源，以提供準確、完整的電網資產即時可見性。透過將 Open Grid Systems 的技術整合到我們的數位電網管理或 DGM 套件中，我們將能夠為公用事業公司提供全面、完全整合的網路模型管理解決方案。此次收購體現了 AspenTech 對電力和公用事業客戶的承諾，以及我們致力於解決關鍵產業挑戰的決心。

Having worked closely with the Open Grid Systems team over the years, we're excited to welcome them to AspenTech and look forward to continuing our partnership to capture the growth opportunity we see in this important industry. Finally, we expect to close this acquisition before the end of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals.

多年來與開放網格系統團隊密切合作，我們很高興歡迎他們加入 AspenTech，並期待繼續我們的合作夥伴關係，以抓住我們在這個重要行業中看到的成長機會。最後，我們預計在 2024 年底前完成此次收購，但須符合慣例成交條件和批准。

Now, I would like to turn to slide 3 for our quarterly results. Annual contract value, or ACV, was $941 million in Q1, increasing 0.9% quarter over quarter and 9.4% year over year. This was in line with our expectations and what we communicated last quarter due to the timing of renewals and a disproportionate amount of our expected annual attrition occurring in Q1. Overall, we feel good about our execution and the growth we achieved in the quarter as well as our outlook for the remainder of the year.

現在，我想翻到投影片 3，了解我們的季度業績。第一季的年度合約價值（ACV）為 9.41 億美元，季增 0.9%，年增 9.4%。這符合我們的預期以及我們上季度所傳達的內容，因為續約的時間以及我們預期的年度流失發生在第一季的比例不成比例。總體而言，我們對本季的執行和成長以及對今年剩餘時間的展望感到滿意。

Free cash flow was negative $6 million in Q1, modestly below our expectations due to the timing of collections. Dave will address the specific drivers around free cash flow in his remarks.

第一季自由現金流為負 600 萬美元，由於收款時間安排，略低於我們的預期。戴夫將在演講中討論自由現金流的具體驅動因素。

Following are the four key takeaways for the first quarter. First, we achieved these results through strong execution, collaboration, and a continued focus on enhancing our customers' operational excellence. While Q1 is historically our lightest quarter from a growth standpoint, we're excited by the opportunities we see in the pipeline for this year and the foundation we have built through our integration and transformation efforts over the past two years.

以下是第一季的四個關鍵要點。首先，我們透過強而有力的執行力、協作以及持續專注於增強客戶的卓越營運而取得了這些成果。雖然從成長的角度來看，第一季是我們歷史上最輕的季度，但我們對今年的機會以及我們透過過去兩年的整合和轉型努力所建立的基礎感到興奮。

Second, we're encouraged by the continued strength we see across most of our end markets, particularly considering the ongoing macro uncertainty. This strengthened demand is a testament to the mission criticality of our products and solutions across the asset life cycle.

其次，我們對大多數終端市場的持續強勁感到鼓舞，特別是考慮到持續的宏觀不確定性。這種強勁的需求證明了我們的產品和解決方案在整個資產生命週期中的使命關鍵性。

Third, we continue to help our customers push the boundaries of what is possible by introducing new innovative offerings. In Q1, we integrated more industrial AI and sustainability capabilities into our portfolio and launched our new microgrid solution to tap further into the opportunities we are seeing across our end markets.

第三，我們透過推出新的創新產品，持續幫助客戶突破可能的界限。在第一季度，我們將更多工業人工智慧和永續發展能力整合到我們的產品組合中，並推出了新的微電網解決方案，以進一步挖掘我們在終端市場中看到的機會。

Fourth and final, we remain confident in our year 2025 guidance. This includes annual ACV growth of approximately 9% and free cash flow generation of approximately $340 million.

第四，也是最後一點，我們對 2025 年的指導仍充滿信心。其中包括約 9% 的年度 ACV 成長和約 3.4 億美元的自由現金流產生。

Now, turning to slide 4 for a discussion of our suites' performances in the first quarter, starting with our Digital Grid Management suite or DGM, we continue to benefit from robust demand, strong customer relationships, and our ongoing mission-critical grid innovation. We expect the rising demand for electricity, most recently accelerated by data centers and the use of artificial intelligence combined with an increase in grid complexity from the rapid uptake of renewable energy sources to support high levels of investment in this market for the foreseeable future. These tailwinds are driving continued growth in our pipeline in North America and internationally, with the latter also driven by our international sales expansion.

現在，轉向幻燈片4，討論我們的套件在第一季度的表現，從我們的數位網格管理套件或DGM 開始，我們繼續受益於強勁的需求、強大的客戶關係以及我們持續的關鍵任務網格創新。我們預計，資料中心和人工智慧的使用最近加速了電力需求的成長，加上再生能源的快速採用導致電網複雜性的增加，將在可預見的未來支持該市場的高水準投資。這些有利因素正在推動我們在北美和國際通路的持續成長，後者也受到我們國際銷售擴張的推動。

In Q1, for example, we continued our momentum with a leading US utility to implement our newest distributed energy resource management or DERMS functionality into their system to support their community's clean energy goals, as well as the utilities ambitious net-zero agenda. This deal marked a deepening of our partnership with the customer and we remain excited about the possibility of further expansion of the relationship as this customer evaluates our advanced distribution management or ADMS capabilities, among other areas, to further enhance their grid management and operational capabilities going forward.

例如，在第一季度，我們繼續與美國領先的公用事業公司合作，在他們的系統中實施我們最新的分散式能源管理或DERMS 功能，以支持其社區的清潔能源目標以及公用事業公司雄心勃勃的淨零議程。這筆交易標誌著我們與客戶合作夥伴關係的深化，我們對進一步擴大關係的可能性感到興奮，因為該客戶評估了我們先進的配電管理或ADMS 能力等領域，以進一步增強他們的電網管理和營運能力向前。

We also expanded our business with a leading utility in Europe to support the company's new offshore wind transmission network in the North Sea. By utilizing our SCADA and energy management system or EMS product, this customer will be able to better manage and operate the complexity of this large-scale and intermittent renewable energy source, including the conversion of excess electricity into hydrogen as a storage mechanism and the reconversion of the hydrogen back into electricity once electricity demand increases. As the complexity of the European grid continues to grow, we remain well positioned in the region and excited about the growing traction we're experiencing there and the expansion opportunity.

我們還擴大了與歐洲領先公用事業公司的業務，以支援該公司在北海的新離岸風電傳輸網路。透過利用我們的SCADA 和能源管理系統或EMS 產品，該客戶將能夠更好地管理和運營這種大規模、間歇性可再生能源的複雜性，包括將多餘的電力轉化為氫氣作為儲存機制以及再轉化一旦電力需求增加，氫氣就會重新轉化為電力。隨著歐洲電網的複雜性不斷增長，我們在該地區仍然處於有利地位，並對我們在那裡經歷的日益增長的吸引力和擴張機會感到興奮。

Turning to the Subsurface Science and Engineering suite, or SSE, where upstream demand remains solid. We are seeing growing interest in our SSE capabilities and the flexibility of our token model. An increasing number of customers are reassessing their digital tools and evaluating options available to optimize their spend and digital capabilities with new technologies that can improve their subsurface performance and increase the ROI on their investment in this part of their business.

轉向地下科學與工程套件（SSE），其上游需求仍然強勁。我們看到人們對我們的 SSE 功能和代幣模型的靈活性越來越感興趣。越來越多的客戶正在重新評估他們的數位工具，並評估可利用新技術來優化其支出和數位能力的選項，這些新技術可以提高他們的地下性能並提高這部分業務的投資回報率。

In Q1, for example, we displaced a competitor to win a deal with a large South American national oil company that has already successfully deployed Heritage AspenTech tech offerings in other parts of their business. As one of the region's key energy producers, this customer value our ability to support them in driving better outcomes across drilling, geology analysis, and other areas.

例如，在第一季度，我們取代了競爭對手，贏得了與一家大型南美國家石油公司的交易，該公司已經在其業務的其他部分成功部署了 Heritage AspenTech 技術產品。作為該地區的主要能源生產商之一，該客戶非常看重我們支持他們在鑽探、地質分析和其他領域取得更好成果的能力。

Now, turning to slide 5 for our Heritage AspenTech suites, in engineering, we continue to see strong demand from both owner operators and EPCs with both traditional energy and sustainability-related projects supporting our growth. We are seeing this momentum with larger enterprise level accounts as well as with our high-velocity sales or HVS team, which is focused on new logos and start-ups.

現在，轉向幻燈片 5，了解我們的 Heritage AspenTech 套件，在工程方面，我們繼續看到業主營運商和 EPC 的強勁需求，傳統能源和永續發展相關專案都支持我們的成長。我們在較大的企業級客戶以及我們的高速銷售或 HVS 團隊（專注於新商標和新創公司）中看到了這種勢頭。

Our HVS team, in particular, had a solid Q1 with wins across a range of different sustainability use cases and new logos. Importantly, as these projects come online, we will have multiple expansion opportunities across our other suites.

特別是，我們的 HVS 團隊在第一季表現出色，在一系列不同的永續發展用例和新商標中取得了勝利。重要的是，隨著這些項目上線，我們將在其他套件中獲得多種擴展機會。

We also remain focused on driving growth through solution sales, as we outlined at our recent Investor Day. In Q1, we expanded an existing agreement with one of the world's leading industrial groups focused on energy, logistics and infrastructure, among other areas, who has previously only been utilized in single-point products in our engineering suite.

正如我們在最近的投資者日所概述的那樣，我們仍然致力於透過解決方案銷售來推動成長。在第一季度，我們擴大了與專注於能源、物流和基礎設施等領域的世界領先工業集團之一的現有協議，該協議此前僅用於我們工程套件中的單點產品。

After a competitive evaluation of the benefits and value of our concurrent engineering life cycle solution, and based on our close partnership, this customer made the decision to adopt our solution to support their growing carbon capture utilization and storage or CCUS business. This customer now has one of the industry's most comprehensive CCUS offerings and we're excited to continue partnering with them in this business going forward.

在對我們的平行工程生命週期解決方案的優勢和價值進行競爭性評估後，基於我們的密切合作關係，該客戶決定採用我們的解決方案來支援其不斷增長的碳捕獲利用和封存或 CCUS 業務。該客戶現在擁有業界最全面的 CCUS 產品之一，我們很高興在未來繼續與他們在這項業務中合作。

Our Manufacturing and Supply Chain suite, or MSC, has also continued to perform well following a strong second half in fiscal 2024. Overall conditions in the downstream markets remain consistent with what we have seen in recent quarters and customers continue to expand their MSC deployments due to the numerous ways we help generate value across a variety of economic conditions.

我們的製造和供應鏈套件 (MSC) 在 2024 財年下半年表現強勁之後也持續表現良好。下游市場的整體狀況與我們最近幾季所看到的情況保持一致，由於我們幫助在各種經濟條件下創造價值的多種方式，客戶繼續擴大其 MSC 部署。

The chemicals industry continues to work through supply and demand imbalances, with a focus on driving efficiency to meet margin objectives and improving the sustainability of their operations. Additionally, while oil refining profitability has come under pressure as of late, we continue to see these customers invest in digitalization to increase margins and lower their emissions.

化學工業持續努力解決供需失衡問題，重點是提高效率以實現利潤目標並提高營運的可持續性。此外，儘管煉油盈利能力最近面臨壓力，但我們繼續看到這些客戶投資於數位化以提高利潤並降低排放。

I would like to note a couple of salient points from customer meetings that I've attended as I traveled in the quarter. First, our customers remain focused on optimization and financial performance. As an example, in two recent customer implementations, we have identified more than $28 million and $10 million of savings from the deployment of our multiunit dynamic optimization GDOT product.

我想指出我在本季出差時參加的客戶會議中的幾個要點。首先，我們的客戶仍然專注於優化和財務績效。例如，在最近的兩個客戶實施中，我們發現部署多單元動態最佳化 GDOT 產品可節省超過 2,800 萬美元和 1,000 萬美元。

The first example was with one of the largest petrochemical facilities in the Middle East, which contracted us for a large-scale deployment of GDOT to help further optimize their existing operations while the second example was of a smaller scope for a leading refiner in the United States. Both engagements were the outcomes of the strong collaboration and demonstrate our ability to drive significant value for our customers across the range of assets and regions.

第一個例子是中東最大的石化設施之一，該設施與我們簽訂了大規模部署 GDOT 的合同，以幫助進一步優化其現有運營，而第二個例子是美國一家領先煉油廠的較小範圍國家。這兩項合作都是強而有力的合作成果，展現了我們為跨資產和地區的客戶創造巨大價值的能力。

Second, one of our owner-operator customers, with whom we announced a partnership in the last 18 months, is now experiencing clear and impressive outcomes. Over this period, this customer worked with us to outline enhancements to some of our MSC products, to integrate the refining and petrochemical operations in the production of sustainable aviation fuels.

其次，我們在過去 18 個月內宣布與我們的一位業主營運商客戶建立合作夥伴關係，現在正在取得明顯而令人印象深刻的成果。在此期間，該客戶與我們合作，概述了我們的一些 MSC 產品的增強功能，將煉油和石化業務整合到可持續航空燃料的生產中。

After a quick turnaround of these enhancements, this customer has leveraged our technology in their plant optimization processes to realize operating and financial results that exceeded their expectations. This is a clear example of how we contribute to the carbonization strategies through technology innovation.

經過這些增強功能的快速週轉後，該客戶在其工廠優化流程中利用了我們的技術，實現了超越其預期的營運和財務表現。這是我們如何透過技術創新為碳化策略做出貢獻的一個明顯例子。

Third, we're experiencing increasing interest from upstream owner operators to drive operational efficiencies, and to reduce CO2 emissions by leveraging the capabilities and products in our MSC suite. The migration of traditional downstream digitalization capabilities into upstream has been growing steadily in the last two to three years and with the declaration of net-zero carbon objectives to decarbonize this sector, with a noticeable increase in interest over the last six months.

第三，我們發現上游業主營運商越來越有興趣透過利用我們 MSC 套件中的功能和產品來提高營運效率並減少二氧化碳排放。傳統下游數位化能力向上游的遷移在過去兩到三年中一直在穩步增長，並且隨著淨零碳目標的宣布以實現該行業的脫碳，過去六個月的興趣顯著增加。

Finally, the Asset Performance Management suite, or APM, performed well in the quarter, benefiting from the combination of our focused go-to-market strategy and our partnership with Emerson. We won two noteworthy APM deals in the upstream sector in Q1, expanding on our existing business with customers in our Heritage AspenTech business. These wins were supported by the strength of our Aspen Mtell product for asset predictive maintenance, as well as Emerson's strong relationships with the customers and understanding of their equipment reliability pain points.

最後，資產績效管理套件（APM）在本季表現良好，這得益於我們專注的上市策略以及與艾默生的合作關係。第一季度，我們在上游領域贏得了兩筆值得注意的 APM 交易，擴大了我們與 Heritage AspenTech 業務客戶的現有業務。這些勝利得益於我們的 Aspen Mtell 產品在資產預測維護方面的優勢，以及艾默生與客戶的牢固關係以及對客戶設備可靠性痛點的了解。

Now, turning to slide 6 for our product and R&D initiatives, in Q1, we released our aspenONE version 14.5 software update, which includes several important enhancements across our portfolio in industrial AI and sustainability. For example, our OptiPlant product now has additional generative AI capabilities that enable customers to optimize and accelerate equipment placement decision-making in their asset design workflows. This supports a more efficient and automated planning and design process while also helping customers understand the trade-offs between different placement options.

現在，轉向幻燈片 6，了解我們的產品和研發計劃，在第一季度，我們發布了 aspenONE 14.5 版軟體更新，其中包括我們產品組合在工業人工智慧和永續發展方面的多項重要增強功能。例如，我們的 OptiPlant 產品現在具有額外的生成式 AI 功能，使客戶能夠在其資產設計工作流程中優化和加速設備佈局決策。這支援更有效率、自動化的規劃和設計流程，同時也幫助客戶了解不同佈局選項之間的權衡。

We also continue to strengthen the capabilities in our DGM suite, this time with the announced acquisition of Open Grid Systems. This is a buy versus make decision where we have positively deployed the cash we generate to accelerate innovation.

我們也持續強化 DGM 套件的功能，這次宣布收購 Open Grid Systems。這是一個購買與做出的決定，我們積極部署我們產生的現金來加速創新。

Our anticipated acquisition of Open Grid Systems will provide us with a high-performance network model management offering real-time data integration as well as a unified approach to managing network model data architecture and supporting grid applications. The solution will improve overall grid performance through better visualization and analysis. This includes improved navigation and management of an increasingly complex grid model, better planning for grid reliability and renewables integration, and ultimately, a single source of truth for utility model data.

我們預期收購 Open Grid Systems 將為我們提供高效能網路模型管理，提供即時資料整合以及管理網路模型資料架構和支援網格應用程式的統一方法。該解決方案將透過更好的可視化和分析來提高整體電網性能。這包括改進日益複雜的電網模型的導航和管理，更好地規劃電網可靠性和再生能源整合，以及最終實用新型數據的單一真實來源。

The addition of this technology to our utility offerings will allow us to support new regulatory requirements in Europe for this capability, as well as the increasing interest from North American customers, which is focused on ensuring proper management and governance of grid data and modeling, given the increasing complexity of the grid and renewable energy sources coming online.

將這項技術添加到我們的公用事業產品中將使我們能夠支持歐洲對此功能的新監管要求，以及北美客戶日益增長的興趣，其重點是確保電網數據和建模的適當管理和治理，考慮到電網和再生能源的複雜性日益增加。

Finally, I'm excited to highlight customers' positive reaction to the launch of our microgrid management solution in October. In recent years, the rapid adoption of renewable energy sources has meant that the complexity of asset-related electrical networks, or microgrids, has been expanded.

最後，我很高興強調客戶對 10 月推出的微電網管理解決方案的正面反應。近年來，再生能源的快速採用意味著與資產相關的電網或微電網的複雜性不斷擴大。

Our microgrid solution helps to solve this problem by enabling industrial asset owners to manage their microgrids in concert with their active load management and energy storage needs. This launch is a strong proof point of the convergence we're seeing for our innovation between industries and the resulting cross-sell opportunities.

我們的微電網解決方案可協助工業資產所有者根據其主動負載管理和能源儲存需求來管理其微電網，從而幫助解決此問題。這次發布有力地證明了我們所看到的行業間創新和由此產生的交叉銷售機會的融合。

On the slide 7, I would like to take a moment to reiterate some of the key messages we communicated to investors at our Investor Day in September. First, AspenTech is focused on a $14 billion to $15 billion total addressable market within the industrial software category. This TAM represents an important cross-section of asset-intensive industries with a strong demand for software innovation to support their operational excellence goals.

在投影片 7 上，我想花點時間重申我們在 9 月的投資者日向投資者傳達的一些關鍵訊息。首先，AspenTech 專注於工業軟體類別中 140 億至 150 億美元的潛在市場。該 TAM 代表了資產密集型行業的重要組成部分，這些行業對軟體創新有強烈需求，以支持其卓越營運目標。

We believe that the tailwinds of ongoing digitalization, sustainability, the energy transition, and global electrification will remain powerful long-term demand drivers and that all parts of our business will benefit from some or all these drivers in the coming years.

我們相信，持續的數位化、永續發展、能源轉型和全球電氣化的推動力仍將是強大的長期需求驅動力，並且我們業務的所有部分都將在未來幾年受益於部分或全部這些驅動力。

Second, we maintain leading market share in the energy, EPC, and chemicals markets with a strong momentum in the global utilities market. We have a time-tested and proven pathway to grow with customers in this market by leveraging the efficiencies of our token suite licensing model and focus on customer success.

其次，我們在能源、EPC、化學品市場中保持領先的市場份額，在全球公用事業市場勢頭強勁。我們擁有一條經過時間考驗且經過驗證的途徑，透過利用我們代幣套件授權模式的效率並專注於客戶成功，與該市場的客戶一起成長。

Third, we believe these dynamics position us well to deliver healthy growth and margin expansion in the coming years. Over a multiyear period, we believe our focus on disciplined execution and prudent organic investment can support high single-digit to double-digit ACV growth and ACV margin expansion to our target of 45% to 47%.

第三，我們相信這些動態使我們能夠在未來幾年內實現健康成長和利潤率擴張。在多年的時間裡，我們相信，我們對嚴格執行和審慎有機投資的關注可以支持 ACV 實現個位數到兩位數的高成長，並將 ACV 利潤率擴大到我們 45% 到 47% 的目標。

In conclusion, Q1 was a solid start to the year. With more than two years of operating our expanded portfolio, we have a strong foundation in place to meet our objectives going forward. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our fiscal year 2025 guidance, which includes expectations for ACV growth of approximately 9% and free cash flow generation of approximately $340 million. With that, I will now turn the call over to Dave for a discussion of the financials. Dave, over to you.

總之，第一季是今年的好開始。經過兩年多的運營，我們擴大了產品組合，為實現我們的未來目標奠定了堅實的基礎。展望未來，我們對 2025 財年的指導仍充滿信心，其中包括對 ACV 成長約 9% 和自由現金流產生約 3.4 億美元的預期。現在，我將把電話轉給戴夫，討論財務問題。戴夫，交給你了。

Thank you, Antonio, and hello, everyone. Starting on slide 8 to review our Q1 fiscal 2025 results, in Q1 of fiscal 2025, we grew ACV 9.4% year over year and 0.9% quarter over quarter. This outcome was in line with our expectations due to the timing of renewals and a higher concentration of attrition in the quarter relative to our fiscal year.

謝謝你，安東尼奧，大家好。從投影片 8 開始回顧我們 2025 財年第一季的業績，在 2025 財年第一季度，我們的 ACV 年比成長 9.4%，季增 0.9%。這項結果符合我們的預期，因為續約的時間以及相對於我們的財政年度而言，本季的人員流失集中度較高。

Total bookings and revenue were $151 million and $216 million, respectively, in Q1 compared to $212 million and $249 million a year ago. As a reminder, our revenue is recognized under ASC Topic 606, and bookings and revenue are heavily impacted by contract renewal timing. Bookings and revenue results in Q1 were consistent with our expectations for the quarter, in line with the same factors that drove our Q1 ACV outcome.

第一季總預訂量和收入分別為 1.51 億美元和 2.16 億美元，去年同期為 2.12 億美元和 2.49 億美元。提醒一下，我們的收入是根據 ASC 主題 606 確認的，預訂量和收入很大程度上受到合約續約時間的影響。第一季的預訂和收入結果與我們對本季的預期一致，與推動我們第一季 ACV 結果的因素一致。

For profitability, on a non-GAAP basis, we reported operating income of $49 million in Q1, representing a 22.5% non-GAAP operating margin. Non-GAAP net income was $54 million in the quarter or $0.85 per share compared to $75 million or $1.16 per share a year ago. The year-over-year difference in profitability were primarily driven by lower revenue in the quarter.

就獲利能力而言，根據非 GAAP 基準，我們第一季的營業收入為 4,900 萬美元，非 GAAP 營業利潤率為 22.5%。本季非 GAAP 淨利為 5,400 萬美元，即每股 0.85 美元，去年同期為 7,500 萬美元，即每股 1.16 美元。獲利能力較去年同期差異主要是由於本季營收下降所造成的。

Turning to our balance sheet, we ended the first quarter with approximately $221 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt. We also had $195 million available under our revolving credit facility.

談到我們的資產負債表，第一季結束時，我們的現金和現金等價物約為 2.21 億美元，沒有債務。我們的循環信貸額度還提供了 1.95 億美元的可用資金。

On cash flows, cash flow from operations and free cash flow were negative $4 million and negative $6 million, respectively, in Q1 compared to $17 million and $16 million a year ago. As Antonio mentioned, this result was modestly below our expectations, primarily due to the timing of collections from companies in regions where administrative processes tend to be more cumbersome.

現金流方面，第一季營運現金流和自由現金流分別為負 400 萬美元和負 600 萬美元，去年同期為 1,700 萬美元和 1,600 萬美元。正如安東尼奧所提到的，這一結果略低於我們的預期，主要是由於行政流程往往更為繁瑣的地區的公司收款的時間安排。

We have increased our monitoring and collections rigor for companies operating in these geographies and are working in coordination with our sales team to deliver more predictable collections timing going forward. More broadly, the difference between cash flows relative to prior year was driven by payments related to our Q1 workforce reduction and Russia exit.

我們加強了對在這些地區運營的公司的監控和收款嚴格性，並與我們的銷售團隊合作，以提供更可預測的收款時間。更廣泛地說，現金流量與去年相比的差異是由第一季勞動力減少和退出俄羅斯相關的付款造成的。

On capital allocation, we purchased approximately 93,000 shares in Q1 for $20 million under our $100 million share repurchase authorization announced last quarter. Regarding the purchase of Open Grid Systems, this tuck-in acquisition is in line with our capital allocation priorities, as laid out at our recent Investor Day, and will add important grid digitalization capabilities to our DGM suite. It will not have a material impact to our financials in fiscal 2025, and we expect it to be accretive to AspenTech over time.

在資本配置方面，根據上季宣布的 1 億美元股票回購授權，我們在第一季以 2,000 萬美元購買了約 93,000 股股票。關於收購 Open Grid Systems，此次收購符合我們在最近的投資者日上製定的資本配置優先事項，並將為我們的 DGM 套件添加重要的電網數位化功能。它不會對我們 2025 財年的財務產生重大影響，我們預計隨著時間的推移，它將為 AspenTech 帶來增值。

Turning to slide 9, I would like to close with guidance. For the full year of fiscal 2025, we are reiterating our outlook across all metrics. We continue to expect ACV growth of approximately 9% and free cash flow generation of approximately $340 million in fiscal 2025, with underlying free cash flow growth of 15% as detailed in our earnings presentation appendix.

轉向投影片 9，我想以指導結束。對於 2025 財年全年，我們重申了所有指標的展望。我們仍預期 2025 財年 ACV 將成長約 9%，自由現金流量產生約 3.4 億美元，基本自由現金流量成長 15%，詳見我們的收益報告附錄。

Relative to our prior guide, we have increased our GAAP EPS estimate by $0.01 and our non-GAAP EPS estimate by $0.05 to reflect the impact of our share repurchase activity in the first quarter on shares outstanding. For a complete overview of the fiscal year 2025 guidance, please refer to our earnings press release and presentation available on our IR website.

相對於我們先前的指南，我們將 GAAP 每股盈餘預期上調了 0.01 美元，將非 GAAP 每股盈餘預期上調了 0.05 美元，以反映第一季股票回購活動對已發行股票的影響。有關 2025 財年指導的完整概述，請參閱我們的 IR 網站上的收益新聞稿和簡報。

On slide 10, we have included some commentary for investors as they think about linearity for the remainder of the year. First, for ACV, we continue to expect the cadence of ACV growth to be similar to what we have seen historically. I would also note that there is a potential for some variability in the current quarter due to several large deal opportunities in our pipeline.

在投影片 10 中，我們為投資者提供了一些評論，幫助他們考慮今年剩餘時間的線性度。首先，對於 ACV 來說，我們繼續預期 ACV 的成長節奏將與我們歷史上看到的相似。我還想指出，由於我們的管道中有幾個大型交易機會，本季可能會出現一些變化。

Second, for free cash flow, we now expect to generate nearly all of our free cash flow in the second half of fiscal 2025. As a reminder, we typically generate a substantial majority of our cash in the second half of our fiscal year. We expect this to skew larger this year due to the one-time payments for our Russia exit and restructuring activities, the majority of which have occurred in Q1, as well as our expectations for the collections that pushed out of Q1 to come in over the remainder of the fiscal year.

其次，對於自由現金流，我們現在預計將在 2025 財年下半年幾乎產生所有自由現金流。提醒一下，我們通常在財政年度下半年產生大部分現金。我們預計今年這種情況會更大，因為我們的俄羅斯退出和重組活動的一次性付款（其中大部分發生在第一季度），以及我們對從第一季推出的收款將在第二季度收回的預期財政年度剩餘時間。

Third, for revenue, we expect Q2 revenue to be between $290 million and $300 million, and Q4 to be our highest revenue quarter. We also have bookings of $681 million up for renewal in fiscal 2025 with $119 million up for renewal in Q2.

第三，就營收而言，我們預計第二季營收將在 2.9 億美元至 3 億美元之間，第四季將是我們收入最高的季度。我們還有 6.81 億美元的 2025 財年續訂預訂，其中 1.19 億美元的第二季續訂預訂。

In conclusion, we delivered a solid start to fiscal year 2025 and are on track to meet our full-year objectives. Demand remains strong, and we are well positioned to deliver on our growth and profitability objectives through the strength of our innovation, disciplined execution, and exposure to end markets with attractive growth. Thank you and I will hand it back to Antonio for closing remarks.

總之，我們為 2025 財年提供了一個良好的開端，並有望實現全年目標。需求仍然強勁，我們有能力透過我們的創新實力、嚴格的執行力以及對成長有吸引力的終端市場的接觸來實現我們的成長和獲利目標。謝謝您，我會將其交還給安東尼奧以供結束語。

Thanks, Dave. We delivered solid results in Q1 through a strong execution and a focus on helping our customers drive operational excellence across their assets. The strength of our ACV growth in today's uncertain macro environment further underscores the essential nature of our products and solutions as well as our role as a trusted partner.

謝謝，戴夫。透過強有力的執行力和專注於幫助客戶推動其資產的卓越運營，我們在第一季取得了堅實的業績。在當今不確定的宏觀環境中，我們 ACV 的成長勢頭進一步凸顯了我們產品和解決方案的本質以及我們作為值得信賴的合作夥伴的角色。

Looking ahead, we're energized by the wide range of growth opportunities we see across our end markets. We're also excited to welcome the Open Grid Systems team to AspenTech and to further enhance our grid innovation through this new critical technology. With that, we'll open it up to questions. Josh.

展望未來，我們在終端市場看到的廣泛成長機會使我們充滿活力。我們也很高興歡迎開放網格系統團隊加入 AspenTech，並透過這項新的關鍵技術進一步增強我們的網格創新。至此，我們將開放提問。喬許。

(Operator Instructions) Rob Oliver, Baird.

（操作員說明）Rob Oliver，Baird。

Hi, Rob.

嗨，羅布。

(Operator Instructions) Dylan Becker, William Blair.

（操作員說明）迪倫貝克爾、威廉布萊爾。

Hey, Dylan.

嘿，迪倫。

Hey, Antonio. Hey, Dave. Maybe starting off, I don't know if the accounting is obviously very lumpy here. It sounds like expectations continue to kind of trend relative to expectations. But we've talked in the past about kind of the alignment of budgetary cycles between kind of calendar and fiscal years. So I wonder if you can kind of give us a general sense on how customers are thinking about their software budget into year-end and maybe how sentiment is trending given kind of the evolution of some of those macro factors we continue to see play out.

嘿，安東尼奧。嘿，戴夫。也許一開始，我不知道這裡的會計處理是否明顯很混亂。聽起來預期相對於預期繼續呈現某種趨勢。但我們過去討論過日曆和財政年度之間預算週期的一致性。因此，我想知道您是否可以讓我們大致了解客戶如何考慮到年底的軟體預算，以及考慮到我們繼續看到的一些宏觀因素的演變，情緒的趨勢如何。

I mean, Dylan, well, my commentary will be based on observations and thinking about customers. I already think that uncertainty plays a big role in how CEOs think about the future, and that includes budgets, especially calendar '25 that is around the corner.

我的意思是，迪倫，我的評論將基於對客戶的觀察和思考。我已經認為，不確定性在執行長如何看待未來方面發揮著重要作用，其中包括預算，尤其是即將到來的 25 日曆年。

But I do think -- so in that context, I think uncertainty looks -- it will probably decrease as we get to the end of the year here. interest rates looks like they will continue to come down and that certainly creates a more favorable environment for investments. Certainly, we have a big election tomorrow that hopefully we'll know the outcome soon and that will be another uncertainty item that will disappear. And I sense that a better economic conditions then will reign in calendar '25.

但我確實認為 - 因此在這種情況下，我認為不確定性看起來 - 隨著我們到今年年底，它可能會減少。利率看起來將繼續下降，這肯定會為投資創造更有利的環境。當然，我們明天將舉行一場重大選舉，希望我們很快就能知道結果，這將是另一個將消失的不確定性項目。我感覺 25 年會出現更好的經濟狀況。

But -- from our standpoint, looking at our plans that we did and put in place for this fiscal year last June, and then we announced in August to investors, we have assumed that through the first half of calendar '25, the second half of our fiscal year, conditions will remain similar to what we've seen in this first half. Chemicals is still in a downturn, a good demand from the refining sector. Upstream, continued strong demand from utilities and overall business conditions that support the guidance that we've given you, and that's why we're reiterating that guidance.

但是 - 從我們的角度來看，看看我們去年 6 月為本財年制定並實施的計劃，然後我們在 8 月向投資者宣布，我們假設通過 25 日曆年的上半段，下半年在我們在的財政年度中，情況將與我們在上半年看到的情況保持相似。化學品仍處於低迷狀態，煉油業需求良好。在上游，公用事業公司的持續強勁需求和整體業務狀況支持我們為您提供的指導，這就是我們重申該指導的原因。

Okay, that's really helpful. Thanks, Antonio, Maybe touching on kind of the innovation around the microgrid opportunity, interested to kind of get a sense, obviously, now that that's generally available, receptivity given kind of the growing threat environment; and how you think about the opportunity, not only what that unlocks within the core DGM offering, but also into newer end markets for DGM like chemicals, refining, et cetera, kind of the proliferation across the suite, if you will.

好的，這真的很有幫助。謝謝，安東尼奧，也許會談到圍繞微電網機會的創新，顯然，有興趣了解一下，現在微電網已經普遍可用，考慮到日益增長的威脅環境的接受能力；以及您如何看待這個機會，不僅是在核心 DGM 產品中解鎖什麼，而且還包括 DGM 進入較新的終端市場，如化學品、煉油等，如果您願意的話，可以在整個套件中進行擴散。

Yeah. And, in a way, microgrid -- the microgrid solution is a DGM offering, but the fact of the matter is that that solution will go mostly into non-utility customers. It's already used in the mining sector, in transportation around subways, airports as well. But with the formal launch of that solution, then our sales organization will be able to take it whole-heartly into chemicals and refining where we see big opportunities as we -- as I meet with customers and these customers are talking about electrifying certain assets that they own and using renewable energy for that purpose. So this is then where a microgrid solution can play a role and create a lot of value. So we're excited about this because it expands the use of our DGM suite into many other industries.

是的。而且，在某種程度上，微電網——微電網解決方案是 DGM 產品，但事實是該解決方案將主要針對非公用事業客戶。它已經用於採礦業、地鐵和機場周圍的交通。但隨著解決方案的正式推出，我們的銷售組織將能夠全心投入化學品和煉油領域，因為我們看到了巨大的機會——當我與客戶會面時，這些客戶正在談論對某些資產進行電氣化，他們為此目的擁有並使用再生能源。因此，這就是微電網解決方案可以發揮作用並創造大量價值的地方。我們對此感到很興奮，因為它將我們的 DGM 套件的使用擴展到許多其他行業。

Okay, great. Thanks, Antonio.

好的，太好了。謝謝，安東尼奧。

Yeah, thank you.

是的，謝謝。

Jason Celino, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Jason Celino，KeyBanc 資本市場。

Jason.

傑森.

Right, thank you. Maybe first one, kind of sticking to the DGM theme, as we think about push versus pull of where you're expanding, understand that the need to upgrade and manage grid infrastructure is enormous. So when we think about the microgrid expansion and then the Open Grid acquisition, how much of this is coming from suggestions from these power and utility companies, like, where they want to see you expand versus where Aspen thinks the puck is moving? Does that make sense?

對了，謝謝。也許第一個，有點堅持 DGM 主題，當我們考慮要擴展的地方的推與拉時，了解升級和管理網格基礎設施的需求是巨大的。因此，當我們考慮微電網擴張以及開放電網收購時，其中有多少來自這些電力和公用事業公司的建議，例如，他們希望看到你擴張到哪裡，而阿斯彭認為冰球正在移動？這樣有道理嗎？

Yeah, no, totally. And look, innovation is -- it's a all-hands-on-deck game. And you get ideas from everywhere. Customers are a great source of ideas. I believe we have a team in Medina where our DGM business is located; Medina, Minnesota. That also has been very good at projecting where new applications, the need for new applications, especially the DERMS application, which is a newly developed one around distributor energy resource management. Also outage management, it's another application that our team has started to develop ahead of its time.

是的，不，完全如此。你看，創新是──這是一場全員參與的遊戲。你可以從各個地方獲得想法。客戶是創意的重要來源。我相信我們在 DGM 業務所在地麥地那有一個團隊；明尼蘇達州麥地那。它還非常擅長預測新應用程式的位置、新應用程式的需求，特別是 DERMS 應用程序，這是圍繞分銷商能源資源管理新開發的應用程式。還有停電管理，這是我們團隊提前開始開發的另一個應用程式。

But in this case, the need for network model management capabilities was accelerated by regulations introduced in Europe by the European authorities around the electrical grid, and therefore, it made a lot of sense for us to expand our relationship with Open Grid Systems. They are subcontractors to us in one or two projects that we're deploying at the moment in Europe. And therefore, it made a lot of sense that, in this scenario, where now this is an absolute requirement in Europe and there's an increasing interest in North America for this, that we would acquire it. So I think in that case, certainly -- and we were having customers out of Europe, especially, really pushing us and driving us to formalize a relationship in this area.

但在這種情況下，歐洲當局在歐洲推出的有關電網的法規加速了對網路模型管理功能的需求，因此，擴大與 Open Grid Systems 的關係對我們來說非常有意義。他們是我們目前在歐洲部署的一兩個專案的分包商。因此，在這種情況下，這是有意義的，現在這是歐洲的絕對要求，並且北美對此越來越感興趣，我們將獲得它。所以我認為在這種情況下，當然 - 我們有歐洲以外的客戶，特別是，真正推動我們並推動我們在這一領域正式建立關係。

Okay, perfect. And then maybe one for Dave, the implied second quarter revenue guidance looks like it's accelerating nicely. Directionally, what might this mean for 2Q ACV? I know you mentioned several large deal opportunities in the pipeline. Was that a specific comment for second quarter? Thanks.

好的，完美。然後，也許對戴夫來說，隱含的第二季營收指引看起來正在加速成長。從方向上來說，這對 2Q ACV 意味著什麼？我知道您提到了一些正在醞釀中的大型交易機會。這是第二季的具體評論嗎？謝謝。

The ACV, we expect it to be similar to what our historical trends have been. And really, the revenue is really more an indication of just the timing of renewals. As you know, because of ASC Topic 606, it becomes very lumpy. And so we're trying to just give a little bit further guidance on a quarterly basis of revenue due to that accounting.

ACV，我們預期它與我們的歷史趨勢相似。事實上，收入實際上更多地表明了續訂的時間。如您所知，由於 ASC 主題 606，它變得非常不穩定。因此，我們試圖對基於該會計的季度收入提供進一步的指導。

Okay, perfect. Thank you.

好的，完美。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Schappel, Loop Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）Mark Schappel，Loop Capital Markets。

Mark.

標記。

Hey. Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my question here. Antonio, it was nice to hear of the meaningful APM wins in the quarter, especially under the new strategy. I was wondering if you could just review those deals in a little more detail.

嘿。嘿，夥計們。感謝您在這裡提出我的問題。Antonio，很高興聽到本季 APM 取得了有意義的勝利，尤其是在新策略下。我想知道您是否可以更詳細地回顧一下這些交易。

Yeah, I mean, look, these are both customers that are very good Emerson customers, and are also big users of AspenTech's HAT solutions in MSC and engineering. Emerson is in there with their own asset performance management solutions and they see a need for the predictive capabilities that Aspen Mtell brings because they understand the customers' pain points. They bring us to the table. They introduce us and introduce our capabilities.

是的，我的意思是，你看，這些客戶都是艾默生的非常好的客戶，也是 AspenTech 在 MSC 和工程領域的 HAT 解決方案的大用戶。艾默生有自己的資產績效管理解決方案，他們認為需要 Aspen Mtell 帶來的預測功能，​​因為他們了解客戶的痛點。他們把我們帶到了談判桌上。他們介紹我們並介紹我們的能力。

And there's a lot of familiarity between all three parties, Emerson, AspenTech, and the customer. And therefore, it leads to very quick cycle sales deals. So these two happened with a -- certainly a refining customer and an upstream customer. But very happy about this. And I believe that this type of transaction is one that can be repeated in many places between Emerson and AspenTech.

艾默生、AspenTech 和客戶這三方之間都非常熟悉。因此，它會導致非常快速的周期銷售交易。所以這兩件事發生在一個——當然是一個煉油客戶和一個上游客戶身上。但對此非常高興。我相信這種類型的交易可以在艾默生和 AspenTech 之間的許多地方重複進行。

Great, thanks. And then going back to Open Grid, I was just wondering if you could just run through the new capabilities that the company is bringing that you did not already have.

太好了，謝謝。然後回到 Open Grid，我只是想知道您是否可以運行該公司帶來的您尚未擁有的新功能。

Well, we did have some capabilities in that area, but in a way, Open Grid Systems had a much more mature product with more deployments and greater acceptability in the market by customers. So it made a lot of sense that in order for us to accelerate to market, we would buy in this case.

嗯，我們確實在該領域擁有一些能力，但在某種程度上，開放網格系統擁有更成熟的產品，擁有更多的部署，並且在市場上更容易被客戶接受。因此，為了加速進入市場，我們在這種情況下購買是很有意義的。

Look, network model management is about complexity. It used to be that the grid didn't change very much. It would take a long time for a new transmission line or a new distribution network to develop. But as customers -- consumers, especially residential consumers, are putting up solar panels on their houses and those solar panels have become a source of electricity into the grid, you do a flow and a lot of that is happening and is repeating itself hundreds, if not thousands of times a day.

看，網路模型管理涉及複雜性。以前網格沒有太大變化。開發一條新的輸電線路或新的配電網路需要很長時間。但隨著客戶——消費者，尤其是住宅消費者，在他們的房子上安裝太陽能電池板，這些太陽能電池板已經成為電網的電力來源，你做了一個流程，很多事情正在發生，並且正在重複數百次，如果不是每天數千次。

These operators are having a challenge maintaining their grid models and the relationship in the data for their grid. So what this technology does, it allows customers to maintain their grid models in a more automated fashion, allows them to keep up with the changes to their grid models, which eventually is very important as they look to operate the grid and address issues if they were to come up. So we're very excited about this and really looking forward to accelerating this technology to the market with our own sales organization.

這些運營商在維護其網格模型及其網格資料關係方面面臨挑戰。因此，這項技術的作用是，它允許客戶以更自動化的方式維護其網格模型，使他們能夠跟上網格模型的變化，這最終非常重要，因為他們希望操作網格並解決問題，如果他們是要上來的。因此，我們對此感到非常興奮，並非常期待透過我們自己的銷售組織加速這項技術進入市場。

Great, thank you. That's helpful.

太好了，謝謝。這很有幫助。

Thank you, Mark.

謝謝你，馬克。

Rob Oliver, Baird.

羅布·奧利弗，貝爾德。

Hey, Rob.

嘿，羅布。

Great. Hey, guys, good evening. Can you hear me?

偉大的。嘿，夥計們，晚上好。你聽得到我嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

Okay, great. Thank you. So, couple of questions, I guess, first one is on the grid management business. Generally speaking, I know you guys have called out a couple of things, both at the Analyst Day and previously, I think, one is the focus on Europe. And the other is just reminding us that sales cycles in this business are long. I think you said 18 to 24 months, if I remember correctly.

好的，太好了。謝謝。所以，我想有幾個問題，第一個問題是關於網格管理業務的。總的來說，我知道你們在分析師日和之前都提出了幾件事，我認為其中之一是對歐洲的關注。另一個只是提醒我們，這個行業的銷售週期很長。如果我沒記錯的話，我想你說的是 18 到 24 個月。

So I just wanted to get an update from you, Antonio, on just -- as you look at that deal pipeline, whether it's -- how it's playing out relative to your expectations? I know fiscal year '26 is more when Europe would kick in, so how those deals are evolving within the pipe and how the Europe progress is happening. And then, should we expect that Open Grid, which I know is more of a tech tuck-in given it's domiciled in Europe, will help in Europe at all? And then I had a follow-up for Dave.

所以我只是想從你那裡得到最新消息，安東尼奧，當你審視交易管道時，無論是——相對於你的預期，它的進展如何？我知道 26 財年是歐洲啟動的時間，那麼這些交易是如何演變的，以及歐洲的進展是如何發生的。然後，我們是否應該期望開放網格（我知道開放網格更多是一種技術，因為它位於歐洲）將在歐洲有所幫助？然後我對戴夫進行了跟進。

Yeah, no, look, we continue to see the demand in Europe, of course, it's about signing up new customers. And therefore, those are the long sales cycle deals, to your point about fiscal -- so fiscal '25 and '26, we expect to see business in Europe in '25. Look, we're very happy where the pipeline is developing for DGM, especially in Europe. But look, we're also building out our sales team in Asia Pacific now as well and the Middle East.

是的，不，你看，我們繼續看到歐洲的需求，當然，這是為了簽約新客戶。因此，就您對財政的觀點而言，這些是長銷售週期交易 - 因此，在 25 財年和 26 財年，我們預計將在 25 財年在歐洲看到業務。看，我們對 DGM 的管道開發感到非常高興，尤其是在歐洲。但你看，我們現在也在亞太地區和中東建立我們的銷售團隊。

The great thing about Open Grid Systems and that technology is that because it's now a regulatory requirement in Europe. We can go sell it to our existing customers in Europe, but also then present it to our North American customer base, which is huge and large. And therefore, we do expect that we will see an uptick of this technology rapidly over the next couple of years. We'll spend time integrating and branding the technology over the next 9 to 12 months, which is normally what it takes us getting it ready for tokens and the suite. But in the meantime, we'll be working on building pipeline.

開放網格系統和該技術的偉大之處在於它現在已成為歐洲的監管要求。我們可以將其出售給歐洲的現有客戶，然後也可以將其展示給我們龐大的北美客戶群。因此，我們確實預計這項技術將在未來幾年內迅速發展。我們將在接下來的 9 到 12 個月內花時間整合和品牌化該技術，這通常是我們為代幣和套件做好準備所需的時間。但同時，我們將致力於建造管道。

And there's already a significant number of opportunities in the pipeline because, again, European customers are requiring this technology, and it will only enhance our competitive profile in Europe, but in North America and globally as well.

而且已經有大量的機會正在醞釀中，因為歐洲客戶再次需要這項技術，它只會增強我們在歐洲、北美和全球的競爭地位。

That's helpful. I appreciate that. And then Dave, I apologize if this was -- I don't think it was asked, but I got knocked off briefly. And so I just wanted to ask about the timing of collections in the geos, that you called out some of the challenges there. I just wanted to get a sense for -- maybe if you could put a finer point on what those were.

這很有幫助。我很欣賞這一點。然後戴夫，我很抱歉，如果這是——我認為沒有人問過，但我被短暫打斷了。所以我只是想問地理收集的時間，你指出了那裡的一些挑戰。我只是想了解一下——也許你能更詳細地解釋一下這些是什麼。

And I know you've called out -- I mean, you guys have always been a second half-loaded company, but free cash flow is going to be [ all check in ] half. And does that assume proper collection of these collections from these geos? And what -- I think you might have also called out some technology or something, what processes you guys have put in place to alleviate or mitigate this risk?

我知道你們已經大聲疾呼——我的意思是，你們一直是一家半負荷的公司，但自由現金流將[全部簽入]一半。這是否假設從這些地理區域正確收集這些集合？我認為你們可能也提出了一些技術或其他東西，你們採取了哪些流程來減輕或減輕這種風險？

Yes. Sure, Rob. So the -- the first half comparables are really impacted by both the onetime payments that are coming out as well as some of the timing of the collections in Q1. And they were just slower, more due to the administrative procedures of the geos that are coming out of. Not necessarily the big deals that we've talked about, that's really more related to the booking timing.

是的。當然，羅布。因此，上半年的可比較數據確實受到即將推出的一次性付款以及第一季收款時間的影響。而且它們只是速度較慢，更多是由於地理區域的管理程序而產生的。不一定是我們談論的大優惠，這實際上與預訂時間更相關。

But we are fully confident through identifying those earlier and partnering with the sales team, which is really what I've instituted with the collections team. It's a pretty new collections team. So we're maturing together and learning, and we've -- we are going to identify those deals, partner with the sales teams earlier and drive that collection, length of time down a little bit longer is kind of the plan. And we're confident we can do that and hang on to the $340 million -- approximately it's $340 million of free cash flow in the year, Rob.

但透過早期識別並與銷售團隊合作，我們充滿信心，這實際上是我與收藏團隊建立的。這是一個相當新的收藏團隊。因此，我們正在共同成熟和學習，我們將確定這些交易，儘早與銷售團隊合作並推動該系列，計劃的時間長度會更長一些。我們有信心能夠做到這一點，並保住這 3.4 億美元——大約相當於今年 3.4 億美元的自由現金流，羅布。

(Operator Instructions) Clarke Jeffries, Piper Sandler.

（操作員說明）Clarke Jeffries、Piper Sandler。

Just another follow up on Open Grid. It sounds like today, the customer overlap is small, but the opportunity in the future is larger, especially given the regulatory tailwinds. I wanted to ask, is this going to sit on top of the Monarch platform as then it will be something that can be applicable to all sort of utilities index to different modules that you have on that platform? And then second, as a follow-up, you had talked about 4.5% attrition for the full year. Is there any way we can think through how much of that 4% has landed in Q1 versus the balance of the year?

這只是 Open Grid 的另一個後續行動。聽起來，今天的客戶重疊很小，但未來的機會更大，特別是考慮到監管的不利因素。我想問，這是否會建立在 Monarch 平台之上，因為它將適用於該平台上不同模組的各種實用程式索引？其次，作為後續行動，您談到了全年 4.5% 的員工流動率。我們有什麼辦法可以考慮一下這 4% 中的多少是在第一季與今年剩餘時間相比？

Yes. So look, to your first -- to the first part of your question, the answer is yes. The fact is that certainly, the Open Grid System technology will sit on top of the Monarch solution and integrating to some of the other applications, ADMS and DERMS and so on. So yes. With respect to the second part of the question was attrition.

是的。所以看看你的第一個問題——你問題的第一部分，答案是肯定的。事實上，開放式網格系統技術肯定會建立在 Monarch 解決方案之上，並整合到其他一些應用程序，如 ADMS 和 DERMS 等。所以是的。關於問題的第二部分是消耗。

With respect to attrition. Look, we said in our call in August that attrition was to be a little bit of a -- sort of a dumbbell shape. High attrition in Q1 just because of the timing of the renewals and that we had in Q1 and then Q4 and then less attrition in Q2, Q3. We guided you to -- we guided to 4.5% of attrition for the fiscal year. So you can make some assumptions around that.

關於損耗。聽著，我們在八月的電話會議中說過，磨損有點像啞鈴形狀。第一季的高流失率只是因為續訂的時間，而且我們在第一季和第四季都有，然後在第二季和第三季流失較少。我們指導您－我們指導本財年的員工流動率為 4.5%。所以你可以對此做一些假設。

But look, overall we -- and it's a little weird to say this way, but we feel good about how attrition came in, in Q1. I think we did a very good work about HAT attrition. Unfortunately, there were a couple of deals in SSE, SMS renewals that slipped into Q2, that will be now available in Q2 for -- to be done and there will be new growth. But overall, the attrition came in line with what we expected, some puts and takes. And the way we define attrition, it can be -- it's a very rigorous definition.

但是，總的來說，我們——這樣說有點奇怪，但我們對第一季的人員流失感到滿意。我認為我們在 HAT 流失方面做得非常好。不幸的是，上證所有幾項交易、簡訊續訂已滑入第二季度，現在將在第二季度完成，並將出現新的增長。但整體而言，人員流失符合我們的預期，包括一些看跌和拿走。我們定義損耗的方式可以是──這是一個非常嚴格的定義。

But we feel very good about how we're managing this at the moment.

但我們對目前的管理方式感到非常滿意。

Arsenije Matovic, Wolfe Research.

阿謝尼耶‧馬托維奇，沃爾夫研究中心。

Sorry about that. It's Arsenije Matovic on for Josh Tilton. I just wanted to ask about the historical cadence of the growth in ACV. Understanding that Q1 this year had more renewal bookings in last Q1 and now Q2 has lower renewal bookings than last 2Q. How should we be thinking about the growth in ACV for 2Q?

對此感到抱歉。阿塞尼耶·馬托維奇 (Arsenije Matovic) 替補喬什·蒂爾頓 (Josh Tilton)。我只是想問一下蘋果醋增長的歷史節奏。了解今年第一季的續訂預訂量高於上一季的續訂預訂量，而現在第二季的續訂預訂量低於去年第二季。我們該如何看待第二季度 ACV 的成長？

Should we think it should be down versus last 2Q? Just to kind of understand the commentary on the historical cadence, especially given kind of the 2H renewal bookings are much higher versus last year to see how to kind of parse and understand that?

我們是否應該認為它應該比上第二季下降？只是為了了解對歷史節奏的評論，特別是考慮到 2H 續訂預訂量比去年高得多，看看如何解析和理解這一點？

Again, I would expect the ACV to be very similar to our historical. The renewal timings and attrition can be a little bit tricky as well because we have good sight as to what the potential attrition opportunities out there. Not all renewals are going to result in attrition. So just because of attrition is high, doesn't mean our renewals are high as well. So I would expect our ACV to be very similar to what we had in the past.

再次強調，我希望 ACV 與我們的歷史非常相似。更新時間和人員流失也可能有點棘手，因為我們很清楚潛在的人員流失機會。並非所有續約都會導致人員流失。因此，流失率很高，並不代表我們的續訂率也很高。所以我希望我們的 ACV 與我們過去的非常相似。

And I think we have -- we're very confident in the growth that we are expecting in a similar pattern. Antonio, do you want to add to that?

我認為我們對類似模式的成長充滿信心。安東尼奧，你想補充嗎？

Yes. Let me just maybe add some color to Dave's comment. We need to be careful on how we think about attrition and growth when it comes to renewals because the fact of the matter is that we don't see the renewal of an agreement as a driver of growth. The fact is that growth happens through the duration of an agreement and when we renew them, sometimes there's growth, but most times, it's for very little growth or just escalation factor on the agreement. Attrition only happens at renewal time because that's when customers have -- the only opportunity that customers have to reduce their spend with AspenTech or let an agreement expire and not renew it.

是的。讓我為戴夫的評論添加一些色彩。在續約方面，我們需要謹慎對待損耗和成長，因為事實是我們並不認為續約協議是成長的驅動力。事實上，成長是在協議有效期內發生的，當我們續約協議時，有時會出現成長，但大多數時候，成長很少或只是協議的升級因素。流失僅發生在續約時，因為這是客戶必須減少在 AspenTech 的支出或讓協議到期而不續訂的唯一機會。

So the two are not necessarily related, ACV growth and attrition. Attrition is absolutely related to a renewal event. Growth for the most part is not. So I just want to clarify that or let's provide that insight.

所以ACV成長和損耗這兩者沒有必然關聯。流失與更新事件絕對相關。成長在很大程度上不是。所以我只是想澄清這一點，或者讓我們提供這種見解。

Got it. Really helpful. Now I just had a brief high-level follow-up. I guess, on the segment, DGM, SSE -- all the Heritage S and tech businesses, I guess. Is there anything in Q1 that was significantly ahead of your expectations? And just was everything in line? Or was there anything that really stood out to you?

知道了。真的很有幫助。現在我只是進行了簡短的高層跟進。我想，在這個領域，DGM、SSE——所有的 Heritage S 和科技企業，我想。第一季有什麼事情明顯超出您的預期嗎？一切都順利嗎？或者有什麼事情對你來說真的很突出嗎？

No. Look, I mean, frankly, yes, we had the attrition that we had, and we had sort of guided investors to that number. But what I'm excited about is the demand environment. We're seeing customers really leaning in on digitalization, both for performance and sustainability. In an environment where CapEx is more limited, these customers need to make sure that these assets that they have can operate longer, faster, greener and more reliable and that's what we do.

不。聽著，我的意思是，坦白說，是的，我們有我們所經歷的消耗，並且我們已經引導投資者達到這個數字。但令我興奮的是需求環境。我們看到客戶真正傾向於數位化，無論是為了性能還是可持續性。在資本支出更有限的環境中，這些客戶需要確保他們擁有的這些資產能夠運作更長時間、更快、更環保和更可靠，而這就是我們所做的。

So I think the combination of, again, energy transition, digitalization, electrification -- global electrification and sustainability. All of this really is a perfect environment for the company.

因此，我認為能源轉型、數位化、電氣化——全球電氣化和永續性的結合。所有這一切對公司來說確實是一個完美的環境。

I would now like to turn the call back over to Antonio Pietri for any closing remarks.

現在我想將電話轉回安東尼奧·皮特里 (Antonio Pietri)，讓其發表結束語。

All right. Thank you, Josh, and thank you, everyone, for joining the call today. We're going to be attending the Wells Fargo TMT Summit and the NASDAQ London investor conferences in the first and second weeks of December. So please reach out to our Investor Relations team for more information on those events. We look forward to catching up with many of you soon. So thank you, everyone, for joining, and we will see you on the road. Thanks.

好的。謝謝喬什，也謝謝大家今天加入電話會議。我們將參加 12 月第一週和第二週的富國銀行 TMT 高峰會和納斯達克倫敦投資者會議。因此，請聯絡我們的投資者關係團隊，以了解有關這些活動的更多資訊。我們期待很快能與你們中的許多人聯繫。謝謝大家的加入，我們路上見。謝謝。

Thank you. This concludes the conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。