Cross Country Healthcare Inc (CCRN) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Cross Country Healthcare's earnings conference call for the second quarter 2024. Please be advised that this call is being recorded and a replay of this webcast will be available on the company's website. Details for accessing the audio replay can be found in the company's earnings release issued this afternoon. At the conclusion of the prepared remarks, I will open the lines for questions.

大家下午好。歡迎參加 Cross Country Healthcare 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。請注意，本次通話正在錄音，並且該網路廣播的重播將在公司網站上提供。有關訪問音頻重播的詳細信息，請參閱該公司今天下午發布的財報。在準備好的發言結束後，我將開始提問。

I would now like to turn the call over to Josh Vogel, Cross Country Healthcare's Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you, and please go ahead, sir.

我現在想將電話轉給 Cross Country Healthcare 投資者關係副總裁 Josh Vogel。謝謝您，請繼續，先生。

Thank you and good afternoon, everyone. I'm joined today by our President and Chief Executive Officer, John Martins; as well as Bill Burns, our Chief Financial Officer; and Marc Krug, Group President of Delivery. Today's call will include a discussion of our financial results for the second quarter of 2024 as well as our outlook for the third quarter. A copy of our earnings press release is available on our website at crosscountry.com.

謝謝大家，大家下午好。今天我們的總裁兼執行長約翰馬丁斯 (John Martins) 也加入了我的行列。以及我們的財務長 Bill Burns； Marc Krug，交付集團總裁。今天的電話會議將討論我們 2024 年第二季的財務表現以及第三季的前景。我們的獲利新聞稿副本可在我們的網站 crosscountry.com 上取得。

Please note that certain statements made on this call may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the company's beliefs based upon information currently available to it. As noted in our press release, forward-looking statements can vary materially from actual results and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those contained in the company's 2023 annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as in other filings with the SEC. The company does not intend to update guidance or any of its forward-looking statements prior to the next earnings release.

請注意，本次電話會議中所做的某些陳述可能構成前瞻性陳述。這些陳述反映了公司基於當前可獲得的資訊的信念。正如我們在新聞稿中指出的，前瞻性陳述可能與實際結果有重大差異，並受到已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，包括公司2023 年年度報告10-K 表格和季度報告中包含的因素10-Q 以及向 SEC 提交的其他文件中。該公司不打算在下一次收益發布之前更新指導或任何前瞻性聲明。

Additionally, we reference non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA or adjusted earnings per share. Such non-GAAP financial measures are provided as additional information and should not be considered substitutes for or superior to those calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. More information related to these non-GAAP financial measures is contained in our press release. Also during this call, we may refer to pro forma when normalized numbers pertain to our most recent acquisitions as though the results were included or excluded from the periods presented.

此外，我們也參考了非公認會計準則財務指標，例如調整後的 EBITDA 或調整後的每股盈餘。此類非公認會計原則財務指標作為附加資訊提供，不應被視為替代或優於根據美國計算的財務指標。公認會計準則。與這些非公認會計準則財務指標相關的更多資訊包含在我們的新聞稿中。此外，在本次電話會議中，當標準化數據與我們最近的收購相關時，我們可能會參考預期數據，就好像結果包含在或排除在所呈現的期間一樣。

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, John Martins.

現在，我想將電話轉給我們的執行長約翰馬丁斯。

Thanks, Josh, and thank you, everyone, for joining us this afternoon.

謝謝喬什，也謝謝大家今天下午加入我們。

As you can see in today's press release, our second quarter 2024 revenue and adjusted EBITDA were near the high end of our guidance ranges, reflecting our continued ability to execute in what remains a challenging environment for core Nurse and Allied. Specific to travel, we have started to see some positive signs in the market. After troughing at the end of the first quarter, travel demand has been steadily rising in the last couple of months and today, it is up more than 20% relative to the start of the second quarter.

正如您在今天的新聞稿中所看到的，我們2024 年第二季度的收入和調整後的EBITDA 接近我們指導範圍的高端，反映出我們在核心Nurse 和Allied 仍然充滿挑戰的環境中持續執行的能力。具體到旅遊業，我們已經開始在市場上看到一些正面的跡象。在第一季末觸底後，旅行需求在過去幾個月穩步上升，目前較第二季初增長了 20% 以上。

This increase in orders has been fueled in part by a bounce-back in the market as well as the impact from recent MSP wins that are starting to ramp. As a result, we are also starting to see weekly production improve and though that will have a minimal impact on our third quarter, we believe that we are nearing an inflection point to begin re-growing our professionals on assignment as we enter the fourth quarter.

訂單增加的部分原因是市場反彈以及最近 MSP 勝利開始增加的影響。因此，我們也開始看到每週的產量有所改善，儘管這對我們第三季度的影響很小，但我們相信，隨著進入第四季度，我們正接近一個拐點，開始重新培養我們的專業人員。

With our sales pipeline remaining robust, we anticipate sequential revenue growth in the fourth quarter. We also continue to see strong momentum across the rest of our portfolio, notably in Locums, Education and Homecare, coupled with our strong balance sheet. I believe that Cross Country is very well positioned for long-term sustained, profitable growth. Bill will get into the numbers in a few minutes.

由於我們的銷售管道保持強勁，我們預計第四季度營收將持續成長。我們也繼續看到我們其他投資組合的強勁勢頭，特別是在 Locums、教育和家庭護理領域，以及我們強勁的資產負債表。我相信 Cross Country 已經做好了長期持續獲利成長的準備。比爾將在幾分鐘內了解這些數字。

But I'd like to take a moment to comment on our second quarter results. Travel revenue was on track with expectations for both rates and values. And as expected, our actual average bill rates declined modestly as we continue to blend down towards current market rates on open orders.

但我想花點時間評論一下我們第二季的業績。旅遊收入符合價格和價值的預期。正如預期的那樣，隨著我們繼續降低未結訂單的當前市場利率，我們的實際平均帳單利率略有下降。

Similar to the recent increase in demand, we've also seen a modest improvement in our open order rates. From a bill pay spread perspective, we remain in a very competitive environment for talent. And though open order rates are up slightly, lodging subsidies and insurance costs are continuing to pressure our margins. Regardless, we will remain competitive on both bill rates and pay rates to preserve our market share and ensure our clients have clinicians at the bedside.

與最近需求的成長類似，我們的未結訂單率也略有改善。從帳單支付的角度來看，我們仍然處於人才競爭非常激烈的環境中。儘管未結訂單率略有上升，但住宿補貼和保險成本繼續對我們的利潤構成壓力。無論如何，我們將在帳單費率和支付費率方面保持競爭力，以保持我們的市場份額，並確保我們的客戶有臨床醫生在床邊。

Turning to physician staffing. We once again delivered a strong top line, reporting a record $48 million in revenue for a single quarter, which was up 7% over the prior year and 3% sequentially. Contribution income also increased both year-over-year and sequentially, reflecting the improved mix and proactive cost management. Our Homecare business was up double digits year-over-year and mid-single digits sequentially, driven in part by recent wins and program implementations that we've highlighted on prior calls.

轉向醫生人員配置。我們再次實現了強勁的營收，單季營收達到創紀錄的 4,800 萬美元，比上年成長 7%，比上一季成長 3%。貢獻收入也同比和環比增長，反映了結構的改善和積極的成本管理。我們的家庭護理業務同比增長兩位數，連續增長中個位數，部分原因是我們在之前的電話會議中強調的最近的勝利和計劃實施。

Since acquiring the business in 2021, we have doubled the number of PACE programs nationwide, while more than tripling the number of locations we serve. And as a result, we will continue to make investments in this business.

自 2021 年收購該業務以來，我們已將全國範圍內的 PACE 項目數量增加了一倍，同時我們服務的地點數量增加了兩倍多。因此，我們將繼續對該業務進行投資。

Lastly, our Education business continued to perform well, in line with expectations. Revenue was up modestly year-over-year in the second quarter, though down sequentially due to the start of the summer vacation in June. We continue to believe this business can sustain organic growth as we expand our client base and geographical footprint.

最後，我們的教育業務持續表現良好，符合預期。第二季營收年增，但由於 6 月暑假開始而較上季下降。我們仍然相信，隨著我們擴大客戶群和地理覆蓋範圍，這項業務可以維持有機成長。

Shifting gears, I want to give an update on our cost actions. As noted on our last call, we are focused on remaining competitive while being mindful of preserving shareholder value and profitability. Accordingly, over the last 18 months, we have been proactively adjusting our cost structure to align with the demand environment.

換個話題，我想介紹一下我們成本行動的最新情況。正如我們在上次電話會議中所指出的，我們專注於保持競爭力，同時注意維護股東價值和獲利能力。因此，在過去 18 個月中，我們一直在積極調整成本結構，以適應需求環境。

In 2024, we've reduced our U.S. headcount by more than 20%, with a portion of these reductions made possible by expanding our operations in India. Today, we believe we have the right level of capacity in place to fuel organic growth as market conditions improve. So we've been very focused on driving costs out of the business.

到 2024 年，我們將美國員工人數減少了 20% 以上，其中一部分是透過擴大在印度的業務來實現的。如今，我們相信，隨著市場狀況的改善，我們擁有適當的能力來推動有機成長。因此，我們一直非常注重降低業務成本。

We continue to invest heavily in technology. The most impactful of these investments remains our client-facing Workforce Solutions platform, Intellify. Whether clients are managing their labor through VMS, MSP or multiple programs across their enterprises, we're navigating per diem shifts, coordinating internal flow pools, arranging locum tenens placements, Intellify is streamlining their processes, saving them time and resources.

我們繼續大力投資科技。這些投資中最具影響力的仍然是我們面向客戶的勞動力解決方案平台 Intelify。無論客戶是透過 VMS、MSP 或跨企業的多個計劃來管理勞動力，我們都在引導每日輪班、協調內部流動池、安排臨時工安置，Intelify 正在簡化他們的流程，節省他們的時間和資源。

As I'd like to say, we have never done investing in technology, and this is certainly the case with Intellify. We are focused on continually enhancing the platform with the latest features and functionality, including AI and predictive analytics. And we are collaborating with our clients to tailor solutions to meet their specific needs, showcasing the flexibility and agility that this technology brings to them.

我想說的是，我們從來沒有做過技術方面的投資，Intelify 更是如此。我們致力於不斷增強平台的最新特性和功能，包括人工智慧和預測分析。我們正在與客戶合作客製化解決方案以滿足他們的特定需求，以展示技術為他們帶來的靈活性和敏捷性。

Since its launch nearly two years ago, Intellify has gained critical mass and wide adoption. We now have more than 40 clients across 500 facilities with more than 5,500 active users. Intellify also continues to fuel our pipeline with opportunities in various stages of the sales cycle. I'm pleased to announce that we have two new awards in contracting with a combined estimated annual spend under management of $70 million. While both programs will utilize Intellify, it's worth noting that one is a VMS program and the other is an MSP, which is reflective of the more balanced demand environment we see in the market today.

自近兩年前推出以來，Intelify 已經獲得了足夠的關注和廣泛的採用。目前，我們在 500 個設施中擁有 40 多個客戶，活躍用戶超過 5,500 名。Intelify 也繼續在銷售週期的各個階段為我們的管道提供機會。我很高興地宣布，我們獲得了兩項新的合約合同，預計每年管理支出總計達 7000 萬美元。雖然這兩個計劃都將使用 Intelify，但值得注意的是，一個是 VMS 計劃，另一個是 MSP，這反映了我們當今市場上看到的更平衡的需求環境。

I'm also excited to announce that we have our first SaaS-based subscription with a third-party who is utilizing our Intellify technology for the delivery of their services. Additionally, I'm happy with the speed of execution and implementation from the team on all of our current programs in flight that we have highlighted last quarter.

我還很高興地宣布，我們與第三方簽訂了第一個基於 SaaS 的訂閱，該第三方正在利用我們的 Intelify 技術來提供服務。此外，我對團隊執行和實施我們上季度強調的所有當前專案的速度感到滿意。

Now, turning to our outlook. Given that the travel demand backdrop that persisted through much of the second quarter as well as the normal seasonal impact in our education business from the summer break, we anticipate that third quarter revenue will be between $305 million and $315 million, with adjusted EBITDA coming in at $10 million to $13 million.

現在，轉向我們的展望。考慮到第二季大部分時間持續的旅行需求背景以及暑假以來我們教育業務的正常季節性影響，我們預計第三季營收將在 3.05 億美元至 3.15 億美元之間，調整後的 EBITDA 為1000萬至1300萬美元。

While our goal remains to achieve a high single-digit adjusted EBITDA margin, we still expect mid-single digits in the near-term while ensuring we have sufficient capacity in place to grow once the travel market inflects.

雖然我們的目標仍然是實現高個位數的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率，但我們仍然預計短期內將實現中個位數的利潤率，同時確保我們有足夠的能力在旅遊市場發生變化時實現成長。

We believe we can expand our market share by leveraging client and candidate-facing technologies as well as our expertise in delivering high-quality clinical and non-clinical professions. We also envision a strong runway of growth for our other lines of business, notably, Locums, Homecare and Education.

我們相信，我們可以透過利用面向客戶和候選人的技術以及我們在提供高品質臨床和非臨床專業方面的專業知識來擴大我們的市場份額。我們也預計我們的其他業務將實現強勁成長，特別是 Locums、家庭護理和教育。

And of course, we are focused on putting our strong balance sheet to work. We have a comprehensive capital allocation strategy that emphasizes the balanced approach, including investing in key areas for growth, particularly in technology as well as executing share repurchases.

當然，我們專注於讓我們強大的資產負債表發揮作用。我們有一個全面的資本配置策略，強調平衡的方法，包括投資於關鍵成長領域，特別是技術以及執行股票回購。

We bought back almost 1 million shares in the second quarter, bringing the total to 5 million shares repurchased since August of 2022. Additionally, we are actively exploring M&A opportunities that will help to further diversify our business, complement existing lines of business and augment our technological capabilities, all of which can enhance our value proposition and improve our margin profile.

我們在第二季回購了近 100 萬股股票，使 2022 年 8 月以來回購的股票總數達到 500 萬股。此外，我們正在積極探索併購機會，這將有助於進一步實現業務多元化、補充現有業務線並增強我們的技術能力，所有這些都可以增強我們的價值主張並改善我們的利潤狀況。

In closing, I am encouraged by the recent trends in travel, and I believe that the market is nearing an inflection. Coupled with the impact from recent wins and the momentum in many of our other lines of business, we have a solid foundation in place for long-term growth and improved profitability. None of this is possible without our dedicated employees. I would like to thank all of you for your hard work.

最後，我對最近的旅遊趨勢感到鼓舞，我相信市場正接近拐點。加上最近勝利的影響以及我們許多其他業務線的勢頭，我們為長期增長和提高盈利能力奠定了堅實的基礎。如果沒有我們敬業的員工，這一切都是不可能的。我要感謝大家的辛勤工作。

Last quarter, we won several Most Loved Workplace awards, and it humbles me that we have such a deep pool of talent that has made Cross Country their employer destination of choice. I also want to thank all of our healthcare professionals for your continued hard work and contributions, as well as our shareholders for believing the company.

上個季度，我們贏得了許多「最受喜愛的工作場所」獎項，令我感到謙卑的是，我們擁有如此深厚的人才庫，使 Cross Country 成為他們首選的雇主目的地。我還要感謝我們所有的醫療保健專業人員的持續辛勤工作和貢獻，以及我們的股東對公司的信任。

With that, let me turn the call over to Bill.

接下來，讓我把電話轉給比爾。

Thanks, John, and good afternoon, everyone.

謝謝約翰，大家下午好。

As highlighted in our press release, performance for the second quarter was in line with expectations, with revenue and adjusted EBITDA near the high end of our guidance ranges. Consolidated revenue for the second quarter of $340 million was down 10% sequentially and 37% over the prior year, driven primarily by declines in travel and local assignments in large acute care settings. I'll get into more details on the segments in just a few minutes.

正如我們在新聞稿中所強調的那樣，第二季的業績符合預期，收入和調整後的 EBITDA 接近我們指引範圍的高端。第二季綜合收入為 3.4 億美元，比上一季下降 10%，比上年同期下降 37%，這主要是由於大型急診機構的差旅和本地任務減少所致。我將在幾分鐘內詳細介紹這些部分。

Gross profit for the quarter was $71 million, which represented a gross margin of 20.8%. Gross margin was up 40 basis points sequentially due primarily to the impact from the annual payroll tax reset at the start of the year.

該季度毛利為 7,100 萬美元，毛利率為 20.8%。毛利率較上季成長 40 個基點，主要是由於年初年度薪資稅重置的影響。

Gross margin was down 200 basis points over the prior year, due principally to higher lodging subsidies on travel assignments as well as certain versions such as health insurance, workers' comp and professional liability. Specific to the bill pay spread, it's worth noting that overall pay rates continue to decline faster than bill rates, but the cost of housing and benefits continue to mask that trend.

毛利率較前一年下降 200 個基點，主要是因為出差住宿補貼以及健康保險、工人補償和專業責任等某些版本的增加。具體到帳單支付差額，值得注意的是，整體工資率的下降速度繼續快於帳單利率的下降，但住房和福利成本繼續掩蓋了這一趨勢。

Moving down the income statement. Selling, general and administrative expense was $60 million, down 5% sequentially and 24% over the prior year. The majority of the decrease relates to lower salary and benefit costs associated with reductions in headcount.

將損益表向下移動。銷售、一般和管理費用為 6,000 萬美元，比上一季下降 5%，比上年下降 24%。減少的大部分與人員減少相關的工資和福利成本降低有關。

Over the last 18 months, we've been proactively managing our costs in order to align with the broader market while preserving capacity and funding investments in parts of the business where we are seeing opportunities for organic growth. By leveraging our enterprise capacity metrics and by off-shoring certain operational and middle-office processes, we have scaled down our U.S. headcount by more than 20% since the start of the year.

在過去 18 個月中，我們一直在積極管理成本，以便與更廣泛的市場保持一致，同時保留產能並為我們看到有機成長機會的部分業務投資提供資金。透過利用我們的企業容量指標以及將某些營運和中台流程外包，自今年年初以來，我們已將美國員工人數減少了 20% 以上。

As a percent of revenue, SG&A was 18% for the quarter and on an adjusted basis, excluding the ERP implementation costs and stock-based compensation, SG&A was roughly 17%. With the first phase of our ERP now live, we have started the second phase of this multiyear initiative to replace multiple middle office systems for payroll and billing. We expect this next phase will take us into the middle of 2025 to complete. Also within operating expenses, we reported a bad debt expense of $19 million, reflecting the impact of a bankruptcy reported by a single MSP client.

本季的 SG&A 佔營收的百分比為 18%，在調整後（不包括 ERP 實施成本和股票薪酬），SG&A 約為 17%。隨著 ERP 第一階段的上線，我們已經開始了這項多年計畫的第二階段，以取代多個用於工資和計費的中台系統。我們預計下一階段將在 2025 年中期完成。同樣在營運費用中，我們報告了 1,900 萬美元的壞帳費用，反映了單一 MSP 客戶報告的破產的影響。

Given the unusual and distortive impact from such a bankruptcy, we have excluded the charge pertaining to this client from our adjusted EBITDA. As discussed on previous calls, there is no significant impact on operations from this client as the majority of the business have been wound down in the prior year. Excluding the bad debt charge and our other normal add-backs, adjusted EBITDA was $14 million for the quarter, near the high end of our guidance range and representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.2%.

鑑於此類破產帶來的不尋常和扭曲性影響，我們已將與該客戶相關的費用從調整後的 EBITDA 中排除。正如先前電話會議中所討論的，該客戶的營運並未受到重大影響，因為大部分業務已在上一年縮減。不包括壞帳費用和我們其他正常的回加，本季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,400 萬美元，接近我們指導範圍的上限，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 4.2%。

Interest expense was $600,000 related primarily to the carrying costs for our ABL and fees related to our outstanding letters of credit. As a result of our strong collections, we ended the quarter once again with no debt outstanding. Given our significant cash position at the end of the quarter, we will likely report net interest income for the third quarter, depending on our capital allocation decisions. I'll go into more detail in a few minutes.

利息支出為 600,000 美元，主要與我們的 ABL 持有成本以及與未償還信用證相關的費用有關。由於我們的收款能力強勁，本季結束時我們再次沒有未償還債務。鑑於我們在季度末擁有大量現金頭寸，我們可能會報告第三季的淨利息收入，具體取決於我們的資本配置決策。幾分鐘後我將詳細介紹。

And finally, on the income statement, we reported an income tax benefit of $3.5 million. This net tax benefit was driven primarily by the bad debt charge I mentioned a moment ago and was partly offset by a higher effective tax rate.

最後，在損益表中，我們報告了 350 萬美元的所得稅優惠。這種淨稅優惠主要是由我剛才提到的壞帳費用推動的，並被較高的有效稅率部分抵銷。

Our overall effective tax rate is impacted by permanent differences such as the non-deductible portion of meals and incidentals as well as reserves for certain -- uncertain tax positions relative to our pretax income. Our overall performance resulted in adjusted earnings per share of $0.10 towards the lower end of the range, primarily as a result of the higher tax rate.

我們的整體有效稅率受到永久性差異的影響，例如膳食和雜費的不可扣除部分以及相對於我們稅前收入的某些不確定稅收狀況的準備金。我們的整體業績導致調整後每股收益為 0.10 美元，接近範圍的下限，這主要是由於稅率較高。

Turning to the segments. Nurse and Allied reported revenue of $292 million, down 12% sequentially and 41% from the prior year. Our largest business, Travel Nurse and Allied was down 16% sequentially and 48% from the prior year, driven primarily by a decline in billable hours and to a lesser extent, the normalization in bill rates.

轉向細分市場。Nurse and Allied 報告營收為 2.92 億美元，比上一季下降 12%，比上年下降 41%。我們最大的業務 Travel Nurse and Allied 比上一季下降 16%，比上年下降 48%，這主要是由於計費時間的減少以及在較小程度上由於賬單費率正常化所致。

As John noted, our travel orders have risen over the last several months and is up another 8% just since the start of the third quarter. With an improving demand outlook, we're also starting to see a modest increase in open order rates in specialties such as MedSurg, ICU and respiratory. Should these trends continue, we would anticipate them having a more meaningful impact on our fourth quarter results.

正如約翰所指出的那樣，我們的旅行訂單在過去幾個月中有所增加，並且自第三季初以來又增加了 8%。隨著需求前景的改善，我們也開始看到醫療外科、重症監護室和呼吸系統等專業的未完成訂單率略有上升。如果這些趨勢持續下去，我們預期它們會對我們第四季的業績產生更有意義的影響。

Similar to travel, our local or per diem business has also been impacted by softer demand for contingent clinical labor with revenue down approximately 2% sequentially. Also with the Nurse and Allied, our Homecare Staffing was up 6% sequentially and 12% over the prior year. Fueled by a number of recent PACE program wins, we believe this business is poised for continued organic growth.

與旅行類似，我們的本地或每日津貼業務也受到臨時臨床勞動力需求疲軟的影響，營收季減約 2%。此外，我們的家庭照護人員配備護理師和專職人員，比上一年增加 6%，比前一年增加 12%。在近期多項 PACE 計劃勝利的推動下，我們相信該業務有望持續有機成長。

Education was up 4% from the prior year, but down 10% sequentially due to the timing of school breaks. Finally, Physician Staffing reported a record $48 million in revenue, which was up 7% over the prior year and 3% sequentially. Billable days were up 2%, both sequentially and over the prior year with price and favorable mix accounting for the rest of the increases.

教育程度較前一年增長 4%，但由於學校放假時間而較上年增長 10%。最後，Physician Staffing 報告收入達到創紀錄的 4,800 萬美元，比上年增長 7%，比上一季增長 3%。計費天數環比和上年均增長了 2%，其餘增長是由價格和優惠組合推動的。

Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $70 million in cash and no outstanding debt. With the health of our balance sheet and strong cash flow, we remain well-positioned to make further investments in technology and accretive acquisitions as well as to continue repurchasing shares under our $100 million share repurchase plan.

轉向資產負債表。本季結束時，我們擁有 7,000 萬美元現金，沒有未償債務。憑藉我們健康的資產負債表和強勁的現金流，我們仍然處於有利地位，可以進一步投資技術和增值收購，並根據我們的 1 億美元股票回購計劃繼續回購股票。

From a cash flow perspective, we generated $82 million in cash from operations in the second quarter, fueled by strong collections from clients. Days sales outstanding was 56 days, representing an 18-day sequential improvement and 12 days since the start of the year.

從現金流的角度來看，在客戶強勁收款的推動下，我們第二季的營運產生了 8,200 萬美元的現金。應收帳款天數為 56 天，較上季改善 18 天，自年初以來改善了 12 天。

Cash used in investing activities was $3 million, primarily reflecting the continued technology investments to expand functionality of features for Intellify as well as the build-out and deployment of our new ERP system. As a result of the strong cash quarter, we opted to buy more shares of our stock, repurchasing nearly 1 million shares or roughly 3% of the outstanding shares for approximately $15 million under both our 10b-18 and 10b5-1 trading plans.

投資活動使用的現金為 300 萬美元，主要反映了擴展 Intelify 功能以及新 ERP 系統的建置和部署的持續技術投資。由於現金季度強勁，我們選擇購買更多股票，根據我們的 10b-18 和 10b5-1 交易計劃，以約 1500 萬美元的價格回購近 100 萬股或約 3% 的已發行股票。

With no debt and $70 million in cash, I expect we will continue to repurchase some amount of shares throughout the remainder of the year, but we'll be preserving a decent amount of cash to fund strategic investments. This brings me to our outlook for the third quarter. We're guiding to revenue of between $305 million and $315 million, representing a sequential decline of 7% to 10%, driven predominantly by the expected decline in the number of travels on assignment.

由於沒有債務和 7000 萬美元現金，我預計我們將在今年剩餘時間內繼續回購一定數量的股票，但我們將保留相當數量的現金來為戰略投資提供資金。這讓我想到了我們對第三季的展望。我們預計收入將在 3.05 億美元至 3.15 億美元之間，環比下降 7% 至 10%，這主要是由於外派旅行次數的預期下降所致。

Let me just pause on that for a second. Though the number of travels will be down sequentially, I think it's important to note that the number of travelers is expected to remain fairly steady throughout the quarter, indicating that we are seeing some stability. With the recent rise in orders and commensurate improvement in production, we may see the number of travelers start to grow late in the third quarter, or early in the fourth.

讓我暫停一下。儘管旅行數量將連續下降，但我認為值得注意的是，預計整個季度的旅行數量將保持相當穩定，這表明我們看到了一些穩定性。隨著近期訂單的增加和生產的相應改善，我們可能會看到旅客數量在第三季末或第四季初開始成長。

With the sequential decline in revenue lowering the gross profit, we're guiding to an adjusted EBITDA range of between $10 million and $13 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 3% and 4%. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be between $0.08 and $0.12, based on an average share count of approximately 33.5 million shares.

隨著收入的連續下降降低了毛利，我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 範圍在 1000 萬美元至 1300 萬美元之間，即調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率在 3% 至 4% 之間。根據約 3,350 萬股的平均股數，調整後每股盈餘預計在 0.08 美元至 0.12 美元之間。

Also assumed in this guidance is a gross margin of 21%, interest income of $250,000, depreciation and amortization expense of $5 million, stock-based compensation expense of $2 million, and a tax provision of between $1 million and $2 million.

本指南也假設毛利率為 21%，利息收入為 25 萬美元，折舊和攤提費用為 500 萬美元，股票補償費用為 200 萬美元，稅金撥備為 100 萬美元至 200 萬美元。

And that concludes our prepared remarks, and we'd now like to open the lines for questions. Operator?

我們準備好的發言就到此結束，現在我們開始提問。操作員？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Kevin Fischbeck with Bank of America. Your line is open.

謝謝。（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自美國銀行的 Kevin Fischbeck。您的線路已開通。

I guess I just want to get a little more color on the volume outlook. I guess we've obviously had a difficult time getting visibility into where those numbers were going to trend a couple quarters out. I guess last quarter, you were thinking that these two volumes were in the back half, but now it's kind of pushed to Q4. I mean, when you think about that visibility, is there anything anecdotally you can put on top of, I guess, I understand the math, but kind of think Q3 should be stable, and stable should be the beginning towards going up. But like is there anything you can say anecdotally around demand, or initial view and early order for Q4 that kind of gives you a little more comfort about potential growth?

我想我只是想對銷量前景有更多的了解。我想我們顯然很難了解這些數字在幾個季度後的趨勢。我想上個季度，你以為這兩卷是在後半部分，但現在它有點被推到了第四季度。我的意思是，當你考慮這種可見性時，有什麼軼事可以放在上面，我想，我理解數學，但有點認為第三季度應該穩定，而穩定應該是上升的開始。但是，關於需求，或第四季度的初步看法和早期訂單，您是否可以說一些軼事，讓您對潛在成長感到更加放心？

Hi, Kevin. This is John. I'll start, and then Bill will give a follow-up from my response. But when we start with demand, as we said in our prepared remarks, we've seen demand steadily increase over the last couple months, where we saw from the start of the second quarter up 20%. But what's important to note is that it's over a broad spectrum of specialties and disciplines. It's not just one or two disciplines.

嗨，凱文。這是約翰。我先開始，然後比爾將對我的回覆進行跟進。但當我們從需求開始時，正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，我們看到需求在過去幾個月中穩步增長，從第二季度初開始增長了 20%。但值得注意的是，它涉及廣泛的專業和學科。這不僅僅是一兩個學科。

And the other thing I think that's very encouraging is that the demand increase is not being driven by winter needs. The winter needs, and that would be defined as orders now that we're getting for October starts, we're not seeing that. There's zero winter needs in this increase. And we would still anticipate to see those winter needs coming in later. And we've been speaking over the last several weeks, to our clients and other hospital leaders.

我認為非常令人鼓舞的另一件事是需求增加並不是由冬季需求所驅動的。冬季需求，這將被定義為現在我們收到的十月開始的訂單，我們沒有看到這一點。此次增量中冬季需求為零。我們仍然預計稍後會看到這些冬季需求。過去幾週我們一直在與我們的客戶和其他醫院領導者進行交談。

In fact, I spoke with a CEO of a large hospital system last week, and they're all seeing increase in census. They're all seeing increase in higher acuity, which is very much in line with what the publicly traded hospitals have reported, over the past couple weeks. And then, if we also look at the macro level, and we look at BLS JOLTS data report that came out yesterday, that showed a openings to hire ratio of 2.1, which of course we've talked about before, which is historically pre-COVID was 1.5.

事實上，我上週與一家大型醫院系統的執行長進行了交談，他們都看到了人口普查的增加。他們都看到了更高的敏銳度的增加，這與過去幾週上市醫院的報告非常一致。然後，如果我們也看一下宏觀層面，我們看看昨天發布的 BLS JOLTS 數據報告，顯示職位空缺與僱用比率為 2.1，當然我們之前已經討論過，這在歷史上是預先確定的。為1.5。

So you're talking two job openings per hire, one hire. It's just continuing to show that the systemic supply and demand imbalance is out there. And then lastly, I'll leave you this for a hand that we're built. If you start looking just across country what we're doing and why we're optimistic as an organization, the first half wins that we had, and we started to implement, they're now all being starting to ramp up. They're implemented.

所以你說的是每個僱員有兩個職位空缺，一個僱員。它只是繼續表明系統性供需失衡的存在。最後，我將把這個留給我們打造的牌局。如果你開始看看我們在全國範圍內所做的事情以及為什麼我們作為一個組織感到樂觀，我們上半場取得了勝利，並且我們開始實施，他們現在都開始加速。它們已實施。

And we're starting to increase our capture rate. We still have more ramp in the back half of the year to increase that capture rate, from wins in the first and second quarter that we implemented. And then announcing the two wins we announced today, those will start implementing and then have a potential fourth quarter impact as we start ramping those up.

我們開始提高捕獲率。從我們實施的第一季和第二季的勝利來看，我們在今年下半年仍然有更多的提升來提高捕獲率。然後宣布我們今天宣布的兩場勝利，這些勝利將開始實施，然後當我們開始加強時，可能會對第四季度產生影響。

And so with that is, why we're really optimistic about why we believe demand - will be sustainable and starting increasing, because of the macro level, because of what we're seeing in the market, and of course because of the wins that we've had. And as we ramp up those wins, we'll start seeing demand increase for those new accounts. Bill?

因此，我們對為什麼我們相信需求將是可持續的並開始成長感到非常樂觀，因為宏觀層面，因為我們在市場上看到的情況，當然也因為我們所取得的勝利我們有過。隨著我們增加這些勝利，我們將開始看到這些新帳戶的需求增加。帳單？

Yes. Hi, Kevin. So I guess I'll just give a couple of points. I mean, besides the fact that demand has been improving for the last couple of months now, and bill rates also are improving modestly, nothing - not off to the races, but travel is a business we have the best lens on. And when we look at our traveler on assignment count across the quarter, it's very, very stable month-to-month-to-month across the third quarter.

是的。嗨，凱文。所以我想我只會給幾點。我的意思是，除了過去幾個月需求一直在改善、賬單費率也略有改善這一事實之外，沒有什麼——不是去參加比賽，但旅行是我們最關注的一項業務。當我們查看整個季度的出差旅行者數量時，會發現第三季每個月的出差人數都非常穩定。

So what we had been seeing up until this point was, Q1 and Q2 were sequential declines throughout the quarter exiting at a low point. Now, as we come into July, we see that the travelers on assignment are forecasted through the balance of this quarter, and we're already a month into the quarter. So we kind of have a good lens on, where August should be. And then September, really, we're starting to lock those orders now.

因此，到目前為止我們所看到的是，第一季和第二季在整個季度中連續下降，並在低點退出。現在，進入 7 月，我們看到外派旅客是透過本季的剩餘時間進行預測的，而我們已經進入該季度一個月了。所以我們對八月應該在的地方有一個很好的鏡頭。然後到了九月，我們現在就開始鎖定這些訂單。

So, I think that's one thing, is that the travelers on assignment is steady. The bill rates in the backdrop are improving a little bit, which is helping. And then, I'd say one other point is when I look at the weekly production, and this is really down in the weeds, but when you look at our weekly production, if I strip out the 4th of July, which is a short week for us.

所以，我認為這是一回事，執行任務的旅行者是穩定的。在此背景下，帳單利率略有改善，這很有幫助。然後，我想說的另一點是，當我查看每週的產量時，這確實很糟糕，但是當您查看我們的每週產量時，如果我去掉 7 月 4 日，這是一個很短的時間對我們來說一週。

Our actual weekly average production is up about 3%, relative to the second quarter production. So, we're coming in at a good clip. I don't - it's early. It's just a few weeks, but at least it's starting to indicate that the market backdrop is improving and production is following. If that continues, that's why we say I think, the sequential improvement we would really expect is more going into the fourth quarter.

相對於第二季的產量，我們的實際周平均產量增加了約 3%。所以，我們進展順利。我不——現在還早。雖然才幾週時間，但至少開始顯示市場背景正在改善，生產也在跟進。如果這種情況繼續下去，這就是為什麼我們說我認為，我們真正期望的連續改善會在第四季度出現更多。

But there's still an opportunity to affect the third quarter. We're not certainly giving up on it, but I just want to be clear. I think that the opportunity really is more towards the back end in the fourth quarter.

但仍有機會影響第三季。我們當然不會放棄它，但我只是想澄清一下。我認為機會確實更多是在第四季的後端。

Okay. No, that's all very helpful. I guess one thing that makes it difficult from the outside, to tell exactly what's going on is that, you and your peer don't really disclose kind of the same contract growth versus kind of new contract wins, or the impact of losses. So it's hard to tell how much of the decline was maybe lost share, and how much of this improvement might be new contract wins. If you stripped out things that kind of looked at a same client basis, how would those trends look? Is that still coming down, or is that actually going up, or how should we think about same-store, if you will?

好的。不，這一切都非常有幫助。我想從外部很難準確地判斷發生了什麼的一件事是，你和你的同行並沒有真正披露相同的合約成長與新合約贏得的情況，或者損失的影響。因此，很難判斷下降的部分有多少可能是份額的損失，以及這種改善有多少可能是新合約的贏得。如果你剔除那些針對相同客戶基礎的東西，這些趨勢會是什麼樣子？是仍在下降，還是實際上在上升，或者如果您願意的話，我們應該如何考慮同店？

Yes, Kevin, it's Bill again. So I mean, I don't think we've made any secrets about it. We had attrition earlier in 2023, and as we exited last year, we were on a much better trajectory. We do have an internal metric we look at for net contract value, which is the net effect of wins, losses, and expansions. And for the last couple of quarters, we've had positive net contract value.

是的，凱文，又是比爾。所以我的意思是，我不認為我們對此有任何秘密。我們在 2023 年初就出現了人員流失，去年退出後，我們的發展軌跡要好得多。我們確實有一個衡量合約淨值的內部指標，即獲利、虧損和擴張的淨效應。在過去的幾個季度中，我們的合約淨價值為正。

So we're adding more to the stable, to our pipeline, and to our portfolio, excuse me, of opportunities that we can staff. That's probably the biggest thing I can tell you. The retention and renewal rates are pretty strong at this point. I would say it's really about continuing to win new business.

因此，對不起，我們正在為我們的穩定性、我們的管道和我們的投資組合中添加更多我們可以僱用的機會。這可能是我能告訴你的最重要的事。目前，保留率和續約率相當高。我想說這實際上是為了繼續贏得新業務。

Yes, I'd just add, this is John. Kevin, the reason we haven't really disclosed those numbers is, we became volumes from hospitals going down and bill rates going down. It's hard to say what the baseline was. So they're kind of meaningless where the number was. And so as Bill said, we've now tracked over the last several quarters and having that positive rate. So in the future, we can see ourselves tracking that more and publishing that for you.

是的，我只是補充一下，這是約翰。凱文，我們沒有真正披露這些數字的原因是，醫院數量下降，帳單費率下降。很難說基線是什麼。所以這些數字在哪裡毫無意義。正如比爾所說，我們現在已經追蹤了過去幾個季度的情況並獲得了正值。因此，在未來，我們可以看到我們自己更多地跟踪並為您發布。

Yes, and then just a little more color on the MSP business, or the vendor neutral business. So we have between $600 million and $700 million spent on a management on an annualized basis. Our capture rate for the quarter was just under 70%, which was down a tick from the first quarter. And that was largely due to the ramp of our large vendor neutral program that we called out.

是的，然後再對 MSP 業務或供應商中立業務進行更多的介紹。因此，我們每年在管理階層上的支出為 6 億至 7 億美元。我們本季的捕獲率略低於 70%，比第一季略有下降。這很大程度上是由於我們呼籲的大型供應商中立計劃的推進。

If I take them out, the capture rate actually moved up a couple of hundred basis points. So, we were increasingly doing better with our own programs, but we also have this opportunity across that vendor neutral program. So that's another thing that just gives us a little bit of comfort, as we look to the back half.

如果我把它們去掉，捕獲率實際上會上升幾百個基點。因此，我們自己的計劃越來越做得更好，但我們在供應商中立的計劃中也有這個機會。所以當我們看後半部分時，這是另一件事給我們帶來了一點安慰。

All right, great. Thank you.

好吧，太好了。謝謝。

Thank you. Next we will hear from Trevor Romeo with William Blair. You may proceed.

謝謝。接下來我們將聽取特雷弗·羅密歐和威廉·布萊爾的演講。您可以繼續。

Good afternoon. Thanks so much for taking the questions. First one, just definitely encouraging to finally hear about an uptick in demand in some of the numbers. I'm just kind of wondering when you speak to the client base, what is the general consensus on why you're starting to see an increase in demand? I know, I think, John, you just mentioned the growing census volumes as one thing. But generally, does it feel like the hospitals are now comfortable with the mix of permanent travel staff, where they are? Are you seeing less CFO and finance organization involvement in the staffing decisions? And does it kind of feel like, is it the start of a new post pandemic equilibrium, in your view?

午安.非常感謝您提出問題。首先，最終聽到某些數字的需求上升絕對令人鼓舞。我只是想知道當您與客戶群交談時，對於為什麼您開始看到需求增加的普遍共識是什麼？我知道，我想，約翰，你剛剛提到了不斷增長的人口普查量是一件事。但總的來說，醫院現在對長期旅行工作人員的組合感到滿意嗎？您是否發現財務長和財務組織對人員配置決策的參與較少？在您看來，這是不是一種新的後疫情平衡的開始？

Hi, Trevor, it's John. Yes, you actually answered the question for me. Thank you. But yes, it does feel that. Talking to our clients and talking to other healthcare leaders out there, what we're hearing is that they're comfortable with the labor they have. And some of them who are using a lot of labor, they're comfortable, because they're having a hard time finding. They're looking their own core staff and they need to keep beds open.

嗨，特雷弗，我是約翰。是的，你實際上回答了我的問題。謝謝。但是，是的，確實有這種感覺。透過與我們的客戶以及其他醫療保健領導者交談，我們聽到的是他們對自己的勞動力感到滿意。其中一些使用大量勞動力的人，他們很舒服，因為他們很難找到。他們正在尋找自己的核心員工，並且需要保持床位開放。

And we've become a very valuable resource for them. Other ones have already settled down, and they've figured out the right number. And I would say almost every client we speak to feels very comfortable with the amount of contingency labor they're using. And I would also point out that while bill rates, we're starting to see that stabilization, there's still overall maybe coming a little bit down.

我們已經成為他們非常寶貴的資源。其他人已經安定下來，他們已經計算了正確的數字。我想說，幾乎每位與我們交談過的客戶都對他們使用的緊急勞動力數量感到非常滿意。我還想指出，雖然帳單利率開始穩定，但總體而言可能仍會略有下降。

But we're really starting to see a stabilization. But within those orders and in those specialties, we're actually seeing some specialties starting to increase bill rates, because there is still, again, as I mentioned earlier, this supply and demand imbalance that's out there. So overall, I think hospitals seem to be, from what we're hearing, very comfortable with where they're at. It's definitely census driven. There's higher acuity.

但我們確實開始看到穩定。但在這些訂單和這些專業產品中，我們實際上看到一些專業產品開始提高帳單費率，因為正如我之前提到的，仍然存在這種供需失衡。總的來說，我認為，據我們所知，醫院似乎對自己所處的位置感到非常滿意。這絕對是人口普查驅動的。敏銳度更高。

And it's not just, because of one issue. A lot of this, and we've talked about this for the last 18 months after COVID, but a lot of this was all the deferred healthcare that happened. And now, we're actually seeing increases in heart disease. We're seeing an increase in diabetes, hypertension.

這不僅僅是因為一個問題。有很多這樣的事情，我們在新冠肺炎疫情發生後的過去 18 個月裡一直在討論這個問題，但其中許多都是發生的推遲的醫療保健。現在，我們實際上看到心臟病的增加。我們看到糖尿病和高血壓的人數增加。

And all these lead to other issues with people's health. And that's really what seems to be driving this. And so, there's not a date where this goes away, but this probably is a prolonged issue that will go on for some time.

所有這些都會導致人們健康的其他問題。這似乎才是真正的推動因素。因此，這種情況還沒有消失的日期，但這可能是個長期的問題，會持續一段時間。

Great. Okay. And then I think, John, you'd said the recent demand increase, I think, has not been driven by winter needs orders. But I was just curious, because I think this is kind of the time where you start getting some of those indications. Have you received any indications of clients at this point on their winter needs, how much they will need, I guess, and expectations on how you think that might play out this year?

偉大的。好的。然後我想，約翰，你說過最近的需求成長，我認為，不是由冬季需求訂單推動的。但我只是很好奇，因為我認為這是你開始得到一些跡象的時候。您是否收到客戶關於冬季需求的任何指示？

First part of the question is yes, that is correct. This uptick has no winter needs included in it. And clients are waiting a little bit longer than normal is what we're hearing to give us those needs. They're waiting, holding the cards a little closer to the vest until we get there. So I would anticipate, we're going to get the winter needs probably closer to September than normal in the past where we'd see it in July and August.

問題的第一部分是肯定的，這是正確的。這種上升不包括冬季需求。我們聽到客戶的等待時間比平常長一些，才能滿足我們的需求。他們正在等待，把卡片拿得離背心更近一點，直到我們到達那裡。因此，我預計，冬季需求可能會比過去在七月和八月看到的情況更接近九月。

Okay. Great. Thank you. I'll leave it there.

好的。偉大的。謝謝。我會把它留在那裡。

Our next question will come from Brian Tanquilut with Jefferies. Your line is open.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Jefferies 的 Brian Tanquilut。您的線路已開通。

Hi, good afternoon, guys. Maybe just curious, any comments you can share first on this segment, operating margin for nurse and allied, and how we should be thinking about that. It sounds like there's optimism into Q4. So just your view on the cadence for potential improvement in that margin level as we look into Q3 and Q4?

嗨，大家下午好。也許只是好奇，您可以首先分享關於此部分的任何評論，護士和相關人員的營業利潤率，以及我們應該如何考慮這一點。聽起來第四季前景樂觀。那麼，當我們研究第三季和第四季時，您對利潤水準潛在改善的節奏有何看法？

Yes, Brian, it's Bill again. I guess what I'd say is, starting with the bill pay spreads, we've had some improvement in the bill pay spreads for specific to travel. But it's been kind of muted, as John mentioned, by the, I'll call it the housing or the lodging subsidy portion of it, because those costs haven't gone down with inflation, et cetera.

是的，布萊恩，又是比爾。我想我想說的是，從帳單支付利差開始，我們在特定於旅行的帳單支付利差方面有了一些改善。但正如約翰所提到的那樣，它有點沉默，我稱之為住房或住宿補貼部分，因為這些成本並沒有隨著通貨膨脹等因素而下降。

So those elements of the compensation package remain elevated relative to the bill rate. So, we're not getting the overall gross margin improvement we'd like to see out of the bill pay spreads. Now as bill rates start to tick up a little bit, perhaps there's an opportunity there. But I think the bigger levers for us, really around margin will be continuing to drive the mix of our business with new Intellify clients coming aboard.

因此，補償方案的這些內容相對於帳單費率仍然較高。因此，我們並沒有從帳單支付利差中獲得我們希望看到的整體毛利率改善。現在，隨著帳單利率開始略有上升，也許存在機會。但我認為，對我們來說，更大的槓桿，實際上是圍繞利潤率，將繼續推動我們的業務與新的 Intelify 客戶的結合。

That certainly helps, not just because of the efficiencies of staffing direct clients that are, where you've got either exclusivity or certainly at least, you know, a crack to be able to pipeline for their orders. You also have the fees from the subcontractor portion. So it helps the overall margin mix. And then you have to think about the rest of the mix of business. Multiple lines of business operate with higher margins than travel today.

這當然是有幫助的，不僅僅是因為為直接客戶配備人員的效率很高，在這些客戶中，你要么擁有排他性，要么至少，你知道，有能力為他們的訂單輸送管道。您還需要支付分包商部分的費用。因此它有助於整體利潤組合。然後你必須考慮其餘的業務組合。如今，多種業務的利潤率都高於旅遊業。

So our home care does, our education business does, our search RPO business does. They're on a good trajectory, those lines. So I think as we enter the fourth quarter, schools come back off their summer break. That's their next chance for them to see another organic jump in their revenue run rate, as they start a new school year. So, I think we'll come into the fourth quarter with a pretty good clip there.

所以我們的家庭護理、我們的教育業務、我們的搜尋 RPO 業務都是如此。它們正處於良好的軌道上，這些線路。所以我認為，當我們進入第四季時，學校將結束暑假。這是他們在新學年開始時看到收入運行率再次有機增長的下一個機會。所以，我認為我們將在第四季度取得相當不錯的剪輯。

They were already exiting at, some of the highest levels that we've seen for that business. So I think coming into the new school year will be another opportunity. Beyond that, it's really about continuing to drive all of our efficiencies as we can. And I'll just make one quick comment on the margins, with regards to the burdens. So I mentioned healthcare workers comp. Let me just pause on that for a second.

他們已經以我們所見過的該業務的最高水平退出了。所以我認為進入新學年將是另一個機會。除此之外，這其實是為了繼續盡可能地提高我們的效率。我只想就負擔問題做一個簡短的評論。所以我提到了醫護人員補償。讓我暫停一下。

So workers' comp for us, it isn't like we've had a major uptick in claims or workers' comp cases. There's some timing elements to it when cases settle, but it's also an actuarial driven model. So sometimes there's some charges that come through you just you're dealing with. So I think that was what we saw in the second quarter. The health comment, though, I think is an interesting dynamic.

因此，對我們來說，工人賠償案件的索賠或工人賠償案件並沒有大幅增加。案件和解時有一些時間因素，但它也是一個精算驅動的模型。因此，有時您正在處理一些指控。所以我認為這就是我們在第二季度看到的情況。不過，我認為健康評論是一個有趣的動態。

And as the headcount has been declining, what our benefits carry on for the month after the person, as long as they are at the start of the month, their benefits carry forward. So what we've seen a little bit of is, that the healthcare cost, as we've had fewer people, a declining number of people on assignment, the healthcare cost relative to the actual people working has been a little bit elevated.

由於員工人數一直在減少，我們的福利會延續到該人之後的下個月，只要他們在月初，他們的福利就會延續下去。所以我們看到的是，醫療保健成本，因為我們的人數減少了，執行任務的人數減少了，相對於實際工作人員的醫療保健成本有所上升。

So, I think that we'll see that start to normalize, as we move into the back half as well. So that may not be as big of a drag as we go into the next year. That doesn't mean healthcare costs aren't rising. They certainly are, our specialty prescriptions and the like are a big driver of it. But for us right now, it seems to be the number of claims that we're seeing relative - to the total expense we expect.

所以，我認為隨著我們進入後半區，我們會看到這種情況開始正常化。因此，這可能不會像明年那樣對我們造成那麼大的拖累。這並不意味著醫療費用沒有上漲。當然是，我們的專業處方等是其重要驅動力。但現在對我們來說，這似乎是我們所看到的索賠數量與我們預期的總費用的相對關係。

Now that makes a lot of sense. And then maybe, John, as we're starting to see seemingly the stabilization of bill rates, right? How are you thinking about where the premium for temp versus permanent placements will end up? Or is it the right spot where we are right now? Because obviously that has narrowed versus pre-COVID levels. So just curious what your thoughts are on that?

現在這很有意義。約翰，也許我們開始看到帳單利率似乎趨於穩定，對嗎？您如何看待臨時職位與永久職位的溢價最終會如何？或者我們現在所處的位置是正確的嗎？因為顯然與新冠疫情爆發前的水平相比，這一數字已經縮小。所以只是好奇你對此有何想法？

Yes, I think, Brian, we are in a challenging market with margins. And so I think we're probably in this spot where it is right now. And adding a little color to the bill's margin statements is really what I think what's going to happen in this industry. And you're seeing what we're doing across country is this becomes an SG&A game where margins are going to be hard to crack.

是的，我認為，布萊恩，我們正處於一個充滿挑戰的市場，利潤率也很高。所以我認為我們可能正處於現在的境地。我認為這個行業將會發生的事情就是為該法案的保證金報表增添一點色彩。你會看到我們在全國範圍內所做的事情是，這變成了一場SG&A遊戲，利潤率將很難突破。

I think we have, you're looking at every, nickel, dime and quarter on the margin side to improve. And you're going to get that. But really, I think you're going to see the margins and where the margin, even a margin is going to improve is, as we get that SG&A down, because that's the new model of what the industry is heading towards. And so, when we move, as we've increased and really expanded our operations in India, to lower some of our costs there.

我認為我們已經在利潤方面提高了每一分錢、一毛錢和四分之一的利潤。你會明白的。但實際上，我認為你會看到利潤率以及利潤率，甚至利潤率會提高，因為我們降低了銷售管理費用，因為這是行業正在走向的新模式。因此，當我們搬遷時，隨著我們增加並真正擴大了在印度的業務，以降低我們在那裡的一些成本。

As we start utilizing more of our technology with AI and creative analytics, not only for our clients within Intellify, our clinicians with experience, but also internally within our organizations for our team members, that's where this game is going to be won and lost.

隨著我們開始更多地利用人工智慧和創意分析技術，不僅對於 Intellify 內部的客戶、經驗豐富的臨床醫生，而且對於我們組織內部的團隊成員，這就是這場遊戲的勝負所在。

Got it. Okay. Sounds good. Thank you, guys.

知道了。好的。聽起來不錯。謝謝你們，夥計們。

Our next question will come from A.J. Rice with UBS. Please go ahead.

我們的下一個問題將來自 A.J.賴斯與瑞銀。請繼續。

Hi, thanks for the question. I wanted to just go back, make sure I'm getting the right takeaway. So the rate was down about 5% sequentially. I know you had guided for it to be low, single-digit coming out of the first quarter. And admittedly, it seems to be improving versus before, but it seems like there was a little bit of variance. Is that a mix, either the types of nurses you're providing to hospitals, or is home health and education picking up on a relative percentage? Is that impacting it? What was the main variance there and how much of those other aspects impacting your rate?

你好，謝謝你的提問。我想回去，確保我得到了正確的外賣。因此，該比率比上一季下降了約 5%。我知道您已將第一季的業績預測定為低個位數。誠然，與以前相比，情況似乎有所改善，但似乎存在一些差異。這是一個混合體，要么是您向醫院提供的護士類型，要么是家庭健康和教育的相對百分比上升？這樣有影響嗎？主要差異是什麼？

Hi, A.J., this is Bill. I think there's a lot to that question. So I think when you look at the revenue per FTE per day, certainly there's a mixed element where education, home care in particular, growing nicely, it has a lower overall average bill rate, but that would be with regards to the KPI we publish. When we talk in the prepared remarks about the bill rates, I think the bill rates are tracking very closely to what we've expected.

嗨，A.J.，我是比爾。我認為這個問題有很多內容。因此，我認為，當您查看每天每個 FTE 的收入時，肯定存在一個混合因素，其中教育、特別是家庭護理增長良好，其總體平均賬單費率較低，但這與我們發布的 KPI 有關。當我們在準備好的評論中談論帳單利率時，我認為帳單利率非常接近我們的預期。

I'd say if there really wasn't a big surprise, it's not as though anything significant changed in the marketplace for us. So if there's anything more significant there, I'd say it's probably an element of mixed across between allied and nursing, because they do have slightly different bill rates.

我想說的是，如果真的沒有什麼大驚喜的話，市場對我們來說並沒有任何重大變化。因此，如果有什麼更重要的事情，我想說這可能是聯合和護理之間的混合因素，因為他們的帳單費率確實略有不同。

Okay. And then in the FTEs, just again to be precise about it, you were down about 7.8%. I think coming out of the first quarter, you said low double-digit decline. Where was that in placements, travelers to hospitals? Was it that the home health and the education was so strong that that's why there was a variance? How much sort of broke out between the different segments?

好的。然後，在 FTE 中，準確地說，下降了約 7.8%。我認為從第一季開始，你說的是低兩位數的下降。去醫院的旅行者在哪裡？是因為家庭健康和教育程度太高，所以才會出現差異？不同細分市場之間有多少爆發？

I mean, I guess we'd have to go down one-by-one-by-one, but there wasn't a real, I wouldn't say there wasn't a big surprise for the quarter across any of the lines of business. I do think home care performed a little bit stronger, so that's a piece of it as well. But on the travel side, I think we exited right in line with where we thought we were going to be. So there really wasn't a big surprise to the numbers. Anything else would really have been caused by mix.

我的意思是，我想我們必須一一下降，但沒有真正的，我不會說本季在任何方面都沒有大驚喜的業務。我確實認為居家照護表現稍強一些，所以這也是其中的一部分。但在旅行方面，我認為我們的退出與我們預期的方向一致。所以這些數字確實並不令人意外。其他任何事情實際上都是由混合引起的。

And then just a final question. Some of the discussion we've had over the last six months or so has been about the competitive landscape, and that there could be some shakeout of especially some of the smaller competitors that have grabbed share in the marketplace. How much is your feeling a little bit better about the outlook, any change in the competitive landscape? Are you seeing any meaningful change in terms of pressure either on bill pays rate, your availability of nurses, whatever that would be impacted by changing competitive landscape in any way?

然後是最後一個問題。我們在過去六個月左右的時間裡進行的一些討論是關於競爭格局的，特別是一些在市場上搶佔份額的較小競爭對手可能會受到一些衝擊。您對前景有多少感覺好一點，競爭格局有什麼改變嗎？您是否看到帳單支付率、護理人員可用性等方面的壓力發生了任何有意義的變化，無論競爭格局的變化會以何種方式影響這些變化？

Hi, A.J., this is John. Yes, look, this is a tremendously competitive market right now. A lot of new entrants came in over the last, through COVID and probably a little before COVID, but many companies started putting out their shingle during COVID. And I think those smaller companies are going to have a struggle. If you're not, if you don't have MSPs or VMSs and you are not being able to control some of your orders and be able to increase capture share, because you're utilizing third-parties.

嗨，A.J.，我是約翰。是的，你看，現在這是一個競爭非常激烈的市場。許多新進業者是在新冠疫情期間，甚至可能在新冠疫情之前不久進入的，但許多公司在新冠疫情期間就開始推出自己的招牌。我認為那些小公司將會陷入困境。如果您沒有，如果您沒有 MSP 或 VMS，並且您無法控制某些訂單並無法增加捕獲份額，因為您正在使用第三方。

I think we're going to see a lot of the midsize and small size companies be challenged in this market and continue to be challenged in this market as margins, as we said earlier, as margins are constrained.

我認為我們將看到許多中小型公司在這個市場中受到挑戰，並且在這個市場中繼續受到利潤率的挑戰，正如我們之前所說，因為利潤率受到限制。

Okay. It sounds like that's still in process as opposed to something you've seen a meaningful change in the last six months or so?

好的。聽起來這似乎仍在進行中，而不是您在過去六個月左右看到的有意義的變化？

Still in process. I think companies are still trying to hang on, but I think you can only hang on for so long.

仍在處理中。我認為公司仍在努力堅持下去，但我認為你只能堅持這麼久。

Okay. All right. Thanks a lot.

好的。好的。多謝。

Our next question will come from Bill Sutherland with The Benchmark Company. Your line is open.

我們的下一個問題將來自 The Benchmark Company 的 Bill Sutherland。您的線路已開通。

Hi, guys. I'm just thinking about the fact that the health systems are mostly saying that they're happy, with where they've gotten their ratio of contract labor to full time. And so if that ratio, I mean, is mostly where it should be, then is market growth going to be primarily in terms of those travelers primarily? Is that mostly going to be market share, taking share primarily, I suppose, through your MSP expansion?

嗨，大家好。我只是在想這樣一個事實：衛生系統大多表示他們對合約工與全職工的比例感到滿意。因此，我的意思是，如果這個比率基本上處於應有的水平，那麼市場成長是否將主要取決於這些旅行者？我想，這主要是市場份額，主要是透過 MSP 擴張來獲取份額嗎？

Yes, I think a good portion of that is going to be gaining market share, winning MSPs, winning more VMS deals, increasing our capture as we're winning those deals and ramping them up. And I don't know when, if I had that crystal ball, when the market expands again. You're definitely reading it the right way as we're talking to clients saying they're happy and content with where the number of - temporary commissions they have on assignment are.

是的，我認為其中很大一部分將是獲得市場份額、贏得 MSP、贏得更多 VMS 交易、在我們贏得這些交易並擴大這些交易時增加我們的捕獲量。如果我有水晶球的話，我不知道什麼時候市場會再擴張。您肯定以正確的方式閱讀它，因為我們與客戶交談時說他們對他們所獲得的臨時佣金數量感到高興和滿意。

That may be good for now, but the dynamic may change in six months right or three months. And part of that goes to the whole BLS JOLTS data where we're seeing two openings for everyone hire. While the hospitals I was talking about earlier have done a tremendous job of hiring new core staff, attrition still seems to be not favoring them as nurses are still leaving and there's this discrepancy.

目前這可能是好事，但六個月或三個月後情況可能會改變。其中一部分涉及整個 BLS JOLTS 數據，我們發現每個人都有兩個職缺。雖然我之前談到的醫院在招募新的核心員工方面做了巨大的工作，但人員流失似乎仍然不利於他們，因為護理人員仍在離開，而且有這種差異。

So there is a chance for the market to grow, but I don't think any of us want to plant a flag, and say this is the date that the market is going to start growing. So to your earlier assertion, yes, as we grow and we see ourselves increase our share of the market, it's going to be by outperforming our competitors, winning more MSPs, having higher capture rates, winning VMSs, increasing the capture rates there, and probably a little bit of market share going up.

因此，市場有機會成長，但我認為我們中沒有人想插上一面旗幟，說這是市場將開始成長的日期。因此，根據您之前的說法，是的，隨著我們的成長，我們看到自己增加了市場份額，這將是透過超越我們的競爭對手、贏得更多MSP、擁有更高的捕獲率、贏得VMS 、提高那裡的捕獲率，以及市場佔有率可能會上升。

Okay.

好的。

And I'm sorry, and a little bit of the market growing, but I don't want to plant a flag of saying the date - in the next two months or a month when we see the marketing starting to expand, but I think for certain over the next year we'll start seeing the market expand just when you start seeing that happen. The faster, and obviously, just to go on, the faster it happens, obviously the faster we'll increase our, then we can start increasing the expectations of our growth as that happens.

很抱歉，市場有一點增長，但我不想樹立一個標明日期的旗幟 - 在接下來的兩個月或一個月內，當我們看到營銷開始擴大時，但我認為可以肯定的是，在明年，當你開始看到這種情況發生時，我們就會開始看到市場擴張。越快，顯然，只是繼續下去，它發生得越快，顯然我們增加的速度就越快，然後我們就可以開始增加對成長的期望。

You've read stories in the industry press about how hospitals will kind of figure out how to manage flexible, you know, add flexibility to their own workforce. Is that really in line with the reality, or is that just a few isolated cases?

您已經在行業媒體上讀到有關醫院如何設法管理靈活的故事，您知道，為自己的員工隊伍增加靈活性。這是否真的符合實際情況，還是只是個別案例？

I think there are some hospitals that have done a terrific, tremendous job of being able to utilize their own resources to add flex pools. And we recognize that across country that this is an opportunity for hospitals to do it, but many hospitals don't have the knowledge or capabilities, and certainly not the technology. If you go into most hospitals around the country, many, many of them have some type of internal resource pool or float pool.

我認為有些醫院在利用自己的資源來增加彈性池方面做得非常出色。我們認識到，在全國範圍內，這是醫院這樣做的機會，但許多醫院沒有知識或能力，當然也沒有技術。如果你走進全國大多數醫院，你會發現很多很多醫院都有某種類型的內部資源池或浮動池。

And most of them manage it on Excel spreadsheets, and that's the reality of what's happening. And so when we built Intellify, we actually built Intellify with an internal resource pool or float pool technology that allows hospitals, for us to go into hospitals, and we have experts that have run large resource pools at hospitals across country, could help bring this technology and these learnings from their past experiences to hospitals to teach them.

他們中的大多數人都在 Excel 電子表格上進行管理，這就是正在發生的現實。因此，當我們建立Intellify 時，我們實際上使用內部資源池或浮動池技術建立了Intellify，該技術允許醫院，讓我們進入醫院，並且我們擁有在全國各地的醫院運行大型資源池的專家，可以幫助實現這一點將他們過去的技術和經驗教訓傳授給醫院。

So there is an opportunity for hospitals to increase their utilization of their core staff and hire their own local float pool staff, to increase their productivity, but I would say it's really right now, it's not widespread in a good programs with utilization. I think certain hospitals do it very, very well, but I think a lot of hospitals could benefit from using our expertise, and our technology to create some optimization within their staffing.

因此，醫院有機會提高核心員工的利用率，並僱用自己的當地浮池員工，以提高生產力，但我想說，現在確實如此，在良好的利用率計劃中，這種情況並不普遍。我認為某些醫院做得非常非常好，但我認為許多醫院可以從利用我們的專業知識和技術來優化其人員配置中受益。

Okay. And then, I just wanted to get one clarification on how you're thinking about how the fourth quarter could be shaping up, and you eliminate - you're not factoring in winter orders. Is that the main driver for the seasonal pickup in the travel and allied in the fourth quarter? And so, that would be - I don't know how to think about it. Would that be incremental if the winter orders are sort of picking up?

好的。然後，我只是想澄清一下您如何看待第四季度的情況，並且您消除了 - 您沒有考慮冬季訂單。這是第四季旅遊業季節性回升的主要推手嗎？所以，那就是——我不知道如何思考它。如果冬季訂單增加，這會增加嗎？

Yes, that's how we think about it. We're not building in any anticipation of winter orders. While we are anticipating that we will get orders in September as we're modeling it, we're anticipating - especially as we saw last year. We anticipated we'd receive winter orders last year, and we waited from July all the way to September, October, November, December, January, and never realized those orders. So, as we modeled it out this year, we are not modeling in those winter needs, but we're anticipating them, and that would be on top of what we're modeling.

是的，我們就是這麼想的。我們不會在任何冬季訂單預期的情況下進行建設。雖然我們預計我們將在 9 月收到訂單，因為我們正在建模，但我們預計 - 特別是正如我們去年所看到的那樣。去年我們預計會收到冬季訂單，從7月一直等到9月、10月、11月、12月、1月，一直沒有收到訂單。因此，當我們今年進行建模時，我們並不是針對那些冬季需求進行建模，而是對它們進行預測，這將是我們建模的基礎。

Okay. Thanks, guys.

好的。謝謝，夥計們。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

Next, we will hear from Tobey Sommer with Truist. You may proceed.

接下來，我們將聆聽 Tobey Sommer 與 Truist 的對話。您可以繼續。

Thank you. I wanted to ask another bill rate question. If you look at your recent week's sales production and the bill rates associated with those in travel nursing, how does that compare to the average bill rate of your travelers on assignment? Thanks.

謝謝。我想問另一個帳單費率問題。如果您查看最近一周的銷售產量以及與旅遊護理相關的帳單費率，那麼與您執行任務的旅客的平均帳單費率相比如何？謝謝。

Hi, Tobey. It's Bill. Well, I guess what I'd say is it's starting to move in the right direction, right? It's low single-digits. The average bill rate on open orders, the average bill rate on locked orders, and what we're seeing from overall production is starting to move up just a little bit.

嗨，托比。是比爾。好吧，我想我想說的是它開始朝著正確的方向發展，對嗎？這是低個位數。未結訂單的平均帳單費率、鎖定訂單的平均帳單費率以及我們從整體生產中看到的情況都開始略有上升。

It's low single-digit percentage improvements, but it's still moving in the right direction. So, it's not declining as we're looking at this point from a production standpoint relative to what our average bill rate is.

雖然只有個位數的百分比改進，但仍然朝著正確的方向前進。因此，它並沒有下降，因為我們從生產的角度來看相對於我們的平均帳單利率的觀點。

And when you say improving low single-digits, I presume that's sort of on some sequential comparison or something compared to a few months ago, or something like that?

當你說提高低個位數時，我認為這是某種連續比較或與幾個月前相比的東西，或類似的東西？

Yes, I apologize. I should have been more clear. The third like - if I look at third quarter production relative to second quarter production, we're up about 2% on what we're seeing so far coming into this quarter. And open order rates are really following a very similar track. In fact, open order rates today, believe it or not, on the same.

是的，我道歉。我應該說得更清楚。第三個例子是——如果我看一下第三季的產量相對於第二季的產量，我們比本季迄今看到的產量增加了約 2%。未平倉訂單率確實遵循非常相似的軌跡。事實上，不管你信不信，今天的未平倉訂單價格是一樣的。

If I look at a basket of orders, just MedSurg and ICU as an example, open order rates are actually up closer to 4% over the prior year. But again, a lot goes into that, but the point is the backdrop is improving. That's the important point.

如果我看一籃子訂單，僅以 MedSurg 和 ICU 為例，未完成訂單率實際上比前一年增長了接近 4%。但同樣，這涉及很多內容，但重點是背景正在改善。這就是重點。

Right. And at this point in a given month, how much of the travel nurses are renewals versus sort of recent - the product of recent sales production? And I know that varies month-to-month, but in approximate terms, can you tell us what a split looks like there?

正確的。在給定月份的這個時候，有多少旅行護理師是續訂的，而不是最近的——最近銷售生產的產品？我知道每個月都有所不同，但大致而言，您能告訴我們那裡的分裂是什麼樣的嗎？

Sorry, Tobey, could you repeat that question? I apologize.

抱歉，托比，你能重複這個問題嗎？我道歉。

Yes. What proportion of your travelers on assignment have been renewed from a previous assignment? Oh, I see - that's probably a good question for Marc. So how often do our travelers renew? What percentage of renewal rates do we typically see from an assignment rolling quarter?

是的。您執行任務的旅行者中，有多少比例是從先前的任務中續簽的？哦，我明白了——這對馬克來說可能是個好問題。那麼我們的旅行者多久續訂一次？我們通常會看到任務滾動季度的續約率是多少？

In terms of how many assignments are they completing?

他們完成了多少作業？

Yes. I know there hasn't been a material change in our renewal rates quarter-over-quarter, but it's historically been about the two-thirds?

是的。我知道我們的續訂率季度環比沒有發生重大變化，但歷史上大約是三分之二？

Yes, you're right. We don't give the exact number out, but it's in that range?

是的，你說得對。我們沒有給出確切的數字，但它在這個範圍內？

And it doesn't really, it hasn't really changed that much. If there's probably like two-thirds is a good way to describe it, Tobey, and then it probably bounces on three to four points down or three to four points up from that midpoint. And it's been a very tight range. And it's interesting. It's been a tight range from COVID to even post-COVID and pre-COVID. It's been in that probably eight-point swing.

事實並非如此，它並沒有真正改變那麼多。如果用三分之二來描述它是一個好方法，托比，那麼它可能會從中點向下三到四個點或向上三到四個點反彈。這是一個非常狹窄的範圍。這很有趣。從新冠疫情到新冠疫情之後和新冠疫情之前，範圍很窄。大概就是八分的波動。

Okay. I'm trying to square how long it'll take for renewal rates, which tend to blend down from whenever those nurses started their sort of travel stints, and where weekly sales production rates are today. When you think of it in those terms, are nurses renewing? Can that continue to cause some overall bill rate declines? Or do you think that effect is approaching the end for you?

好的。我正在嘗試計算續訂率需要多長時間，續訂率往往會從護士開始出差時開始下降，以及今天的每週銷售生產力。當你從這些角度思考時，護理師會更新嗎？這會繼續導致整體帳單利率下降嗎？還是你認為這種效應對你來說已經接近尾聲了嗎？

I think we're nearing the end. I think bill rates on assignments that renew, we're not seeing continued step down in those rates. So I think it's largely baked in. I know where you're going with the question. You're right that the portfolio continues to blend down to an open order rate, but we're nearing that. We're nearing the bottom. I mean, plus or minus a point or two. It's not wildly going to be a rate-driven story, as we look at third and fourth quarter right now.

我想我們已經接近尾聲了。我認為續訂任務的帳單費率，我們沒有看到這些費率繼續下降。所以我認為它很大程度上已經被烘焙了。我知道你問這個問題的目的。你說得對，投資組合繼續降低到未平倉訂單率，但我們正在接近這一點。我們已經接近底部了。我的意思是，加或減一兩點。正如我們現在看到的第三和第四季一樣，這不會是一個由利率驅動的故事。

Thanks. That's helpful. We're going with the difference is coins, not a lot of bills. I got it. And the winter orders, how do you think about that? It's been so long since we've had anything seasonal that could be called normal. If your memory goes back far enough to refresh us on what that could look like or used to look like, that would be helpful?

謝謝。這很有幫助。我們要區別的是硬幣，而不是很多紙幣。我得到了它。還有冬季訂單，您對此有何看法？我們已經很久沒有吃過任何可以稱之為正常的季節性食物了。如果你的記憶可以回溯到夠遠的時候，讓我們重新了解它可能會是什麼樣子或曾經是什麼樣子，那會有幫助嗎？

Sure. And again, I think you're right. We have to definitely go back to the recesses of our minds to remember what that looked like. Typically, we would have seen, again, depending, I'll just give it for the industry-wide perspective. You would have seen a 20% to 30% increase in orders coming in June, July, and more of call it July, August, September for starts between October and January. And those would have been the winter needs.

當然。再說一次，我認為你是對的。我們一定要回到我們心靈深處來記住那是什麼樣子。通常情況下，我們會再次看到，根據情況，我只會從整個行業的角度給出它。您會發現 6 月和 7 月的訂單增加了 20% 到 30%，更多的人將 10 月到 1 月之間的訂單稱為 7 月、8 月和 9 月。這些都是冬天的需要。

And that historically was pretty much for over a decade where you saw that happen. And you're right. Last year, as I mentioned earlier, we never saw those orders come through. And that's why we're really not modeling those winter needs into where we're seeing we're going to be in the fourth quarter. But there could be upside on that if it comes through.

從歷史上看，這種情況已經發生了十多年。你是對的。去年，正如我之前提到的，我們從未看到這些訂單得到落實。這就是為什麼我們確實沒有將這些冬季需求建模為我們預期的第四季的情況。但如果它成功的話，可能會有好處。

Thanks. Last one from me. You talked about some client wins and Intellify, et cetera. Several quarters ago, you had lost some business. Is the effect of that market share loss out of the P&L or are there lingering renewals of travelers that you're still sort of generating revenue and EBITDA from?

謝謝。我的最後一張。您談到了一些客戶獲勝和 Intelify 等。幾個季度前，您失去了一些業務。市佔率損失是否會影響損益表，或是否有持續存在的旅客續約，而您仍可從中產生收入和 EBITDA？

I guess, Tobey, it's Bill. I'd say it's mostly out. I mean, from accounts that have traded over, if we're still continuing to support them, the level of support is kind of stabilized at this point. So, I don't think there's a lot of headwinds faced from client retention.

我猜，托比，是比爾。我想說大部分都已經出來了。我的意思是，從已經交易的帳戶來看，如果我們仍然繼續支持他們，那麼此時的支援水準已經趨於穩定。因此，我認為保留客戶不會面臨太多阻力。

Yes, this is John. Tobey, what I'd say is on the programs where we chose not to participate if we lost it, those are all clean and they're gone. There are programs that we may have lost that - we wanted to participate in. Those ones are participating at the level that we're happy with. So there's no other things to be able to come out of the numbers at this point.

是的，這是約翰。托比，我想說的是，如果我們輸了，我們就選擇不參加那些項目，這些項目都是乾淨的，都消失了。有些項目我們可能已經失​​去了——我們想參與。這些人的參與程度是我們滿意的。因此，目前無法從這些數字中得出其他資訊。

Terrific. Thank you for your help.

了不起。感謝您的協助。

Our next question will come from Constantine Davides with JMP. Your line is open.

我們的下一個問題將來自 JMP 的 Constantine Davides。您的線路已開通。

All right. Thanks. So really nice cash flow improvement this quarter. Just wondering if you can give us a sense for where cash flow did shake out this year. Last year, you had some outsized working capital improvements. And then this year, you have the drag associated with that one client. Just if you can kind of help us understand where you're thinking on the cash flow front, if there's any other sort of puts and takes to think about?

好的。謝謝。本季現金流改善非常好。只是想知道您能否讓我們了解今年現金流的變化。去年，你們的營運資金得到了一些大幅改善。然後今年，你會遇到與那位客戶相關的阻力。您是否可以幫助我們了解您在現金流方面的想法，是否還有其他類型的看跌期權和看跌期權需要考慮？

Hi, Constantine. No, appreciate that. And look, at the end of the day, we did a great job this quarter bringing our DSO back in line. The impact from the bankruptcy of that client, as we called out last quarter, was between four and five days. So we reported 56 days. So even if you said excluding that, you would have been calling it 60. At the end of the day, we're getting very close to where I think the normalized DSO for this business will be.

嗨，康斯坦丁。不，很欣賞這一點。看看，歸根結底，我們本季做得很好，使我們的 DSO 恢復正常了。正如我們上季所說，該客戶破產的影響持續四到五天。所以我們報告了 56 天。因此，即使您說要排除這一點，您也會將其稱為 60。最終，我們已經非常接近我認為該業務的標準化 DSO 的水平了。

I don't think there's a significant opportunity for much further improvement, maybe a little bit. But I'd say it's more about converting EBITDA to cash flow at this point. So as we look to this quarter coming and the quarter after, it'll be closer to our normal conversion rates, right? So you have your reported EBITDA, you have your other costs that come out of it.

我認為沒有進一步改進的重大機會，也許還有一點點。但我想說，此時更多的是將 EBITDA 轉換為現金流。因此，當我們展望本季和下一個季度時，它會更接近我們的正常轉換率，對吧？因此，您有報告的 EBITDA，還有由此產生的其他成本。

Interesting to note that interest won't be a drag this quarter coming up. We'll actually be a little bit of a good guy for the first time, because we will be holding onto a sizable portion of the cash.

有趣的是，利息不會成為本季的拖累。實際上，我們將第一次成為一個好人，因為我們將持有相當大一部分現金。

Got it. Thanks. And then I guess related question, John, just if you're a little bit more confident that we're nearing an inflection point, does that make you more comfortable in terms of deploying capital towards M&A? And I guess, you know, a follow-up to that is, do you see the need, to scale up the coordinators in allied business? Or is there more of a preference towards some of your specialty sub-verticals, be it something like education or home care or maybe additional locums opportunities? Thanks.

知道了。謝謝。然後我想相關的問題，約翰，如果你對我們正在接近拐點更有信心一點，這是否會讓你在部署資本進行併購方面更加放心？我想，你知道，後續行動是，你是否認為有必要擴大聯盟業務的協調員規模？還是對您的某些專業子垂直領域有更多的偏好，無論是教育、家庭護理還是其他代理機會？謝謝。

Sure. So what I'd say is, look, we have a balanced approach when it comes to our capital allocation strategy. We're continuing to repurchase shares. We talked about in Q2, almost 1 million shares repurchased. And we'll continue to look to repurchase shares as well moving forward. We're also deploying capital investments into our technology. I mentioned earlier, look, we want to create efficiencies throughout our whole organization.

當然。所以我想說的是，看，我們在資本配置策略方面採取了平衡的方法。我們將繼續回購股票。我們談到第二季回購了近 100 萬股股票。我們將繼續尋求回購股票並繼續前進。我們也對我們的技術進行資本投資。我之前提到過，我們希望提高整個組織的效率。

And that starts with Intellify as we're delivering our candidates, to our hospitals and other clients. It also goes into our experience app and continuing to invest in that as well, to create the efficiencies to get clinicians faster to the hospital at a lower cost, as well as all our internal technologies. And finally, we continue with a really disciplined approach on our M&A.

這從 Intelify 開始，因為我們正在向醫院和其他客戶提供候選人。它也進入我們的體驗應用程序，並繼續對此進行投資，以提高效率，讓臨床醫生以更低的成本更快地到達醫院，以及我們所有的內部技術。最後，我們繼續在併購方面採取非常嚴格的方法。

While the last 12 months has been really slow in deals in the industry that are coming in, we're out there aggressively looking. And we have, as you noted, a great balance sheet, a good amount of cash on hand. And we're really well positioned to look out there and pick up those deals when they come through. And the deals we're looking at, we look more towards our diversifying the portfolio of the organization.

雖然過去 12 個月該行業的交易進展緩慢，但我們仍在積極尋找。正如您所指出的，我們擁有良好的資產負債表和大量現金。我們確實處於有利位置，可以在這些交易達成時進行觀察並接手。我們正在考慮的交易，我們更著眼於使組織的投資組合多樣化。

Looking towards the allied locums, which we've done tremendous, our last acquisition of locums has done really well for us, looking at the education space. And also technologies that can improve how we deliver clinicians, or how we improve how we can have more impact and help hospitals achieve their goals of retaining clinicians and optimizing the workforce.

展望聯盟代理，我們已經做了巨大的工作，我們上次收購代理對我們來說非常好，看看教育領域。還有一些技術可以改善我們提供臨床醫生的方式，或者我們如何改善我們如何產生更大的影響並幫助醫院實現留住臨床醫生和優化勞動力的目標。

Thank you. And our last question will come from Kevin Steinke with Barrington Research. Please go ahead.

謝謝。我們的最後一個問題將來自巴林頓研究公司的凱文·斯坦克。請繼續。

Thank you. So with the demand picture and travel improving, and you also mentioned bill rates improving modestly, do you think there's an opportunity over the next several quarters for some incremental gross margin improvement? Or do you think this constrained environment is more structural? And as you referenced, the adjusted EBITDA margin improvement is really just going to, all have to come from the SG&A side?

謝謝。因此，隨著需求情況和旅行的改善，並且您還提到帳單費率略有改善，您認為未來幾季毛利率是否有機會出現增量改善？還是你認為這種受限環境更具結構性？正如您所提到的，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率改善真的只是要全部來自 SG&A 方面嗎？

Hi, Kevin. Thanks for the question. It's Bill again. As I mentioned a little while ago, I think bill pay spread, is going to be hard to come by, right? I think that we're competitive market on both sides. And sure, we're happy that the bill rates improved a little bit. I think that will give you some leverage as, if you think of it, the MNIL subsidies don't necessarily flex with the bill rate.

嗨，凱文。謝謝你的提問。又是比爾。正如我剛才提到的，我認為帳單支付差額將很難實現，對嗎？我認為我們雙方都是競爭市場。當然，我們很高興帳單費率有所改善。我認為這會給你一些槓桿作用，因為如果你想到這一點，MNIL 補貼不一定會隨著帳單利率而變化。

So as the bill rate improves, you'll get a little bit of an uplift if those dollars just even remain flat. So there's a little opportunity there, but the majority of the gross margin improvement for the business will come from mix, will come from other operational efficiencies and from the mix of clients that are utilizing and Intellify.

因此，隨著帳單利率的提高，即使這些美元保持不變，你也會得到一點提升。因此，那裡有一些機會，但該業務的大部分毛利率改善將來自組合，將來自其他營運效率以及使用 Intellify 的客戶組合。

Okay. Understood. And you've referenced in the last couple quarters here about insurance costs, pressuring the gross margin. Is that something that's completely out of your control? Or is there something you could do to manage that with your providers or, in terms of rates, or policy or anything like that?

好的。明白了。您在過去幾季中提到了保險成本，這給毛利率帶來了壓力。這是完全無法控制的事情嗎？或者您可以採取哪些措施來與您的提供者一起管理此問題，或在費率、政策或類似方面進行管理？

Well, some of it's experience driven, and some of it is your premiums that you're going to space each year. So we do come into a renewal cycle as we go through the third quarter. I'm not going to hazard a guess as to how the rates will look on the renewals for premiums, but specific to health, I mentioned a little while ago that that is one that is somewhat, it seems to be experience driven.

嗯，其中一些是經驗驅動的，還有一些是您每年要投入的保費。因此，當我們進入第三季時，我們確實進入了更新周期。我不會冒險猜測保費續訂的費率如何，但具體到健康方面，我不久前提到過，這似乎是經驗驅動的。

And as you're kind of declining on a number of personnel basis, and that's also applies to our corporate employee basis. John mentioned we're down 20% since the start of the year. It's probably nearly double that since our peak, probably 18 months ago. And so, you have a phenomenon where folks carry their benefits for a period of time post-employment.

由於您在人員數量上有所下降，這也適用於我們公司員工的情況。約翰提到，自今年年初以來，我們的業績下降了 20%。自 18 個月前的高峰以來，這一數字可能幾乎翻了一番。因此，出現了一種現象，人們在就業後的一段時間內仍保留其福利。

And you're still having those claims come through, until they either secure their next assignment, or their new benefits kick in. So, I think we're seeing a little bit of an excessive amount of health insurance costs relative to that, but it's also continuing rising healthcare costs in the country as a driver. So we take what we, you know, we do what we can to take appropriate actions. But as I said, we've got the renewals coming up in the third quarter. We'll know more as we go into the fourth quarter of what that looks like.

而且您仍然需要滿足這些要求，直到他們獲得下一個任務，或者他們的新福利開始生效。因此，我認為我們看到相對於此的醫療保險費用有點過高，但它也是該國醫療保健費用持續上漲的推動因素。因此，我們會盡我們所能採取適當的行動。但正如我所說，我們將在第三季進行續約。當我們進入第四季度時，我們會了解更多情況。

Okay. Thanks for taking the questions.

好的。感謝您提出問題。

My pleasure.

我的榮幸。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude the Q&A period. I'll now turn it back over to John Martins for closing remarks.

女士們先生們，問答環節到此結束。現在我將把它轉回給約翰馬丁斯做總結發言。

Thank you, operator. In closing, I'd like to thank everyone for participating in today's call. And we look forward to updating you on the progress of the company on the next call.

謝謝你，接線生。最後，我要感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我們期待在下次電話會議上向您通報公司的最新進展。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。