Cushman & Wakefield Ltd (CWK) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Cushman & Wakefield's first-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

美好的一天，歡迎參加戴德梁行 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）

Please note this event is being recorded. And I would now like to turn the conference over to Megan McGrath, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

請注意此事件正在被記錄。現在我想將會議交給投資者關係主管 Megan McGrath。請繼續。

Thank you, and welcome to Cushman & Wakefield's first-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Earlier today, we issued a press release announcing our financial results for the period. This release, along with today's presentation can be found on our Investor Relations website at ir.cushmanwakefield.com.

謝謝，歡迎參加戴德梁行 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿，宣布了本季的財務表現。本新聞稿以及今天的簡報可在我們的投資者關係網站 ir.cushmanwakefield.com 上找到。

Please turn to the page in our presentation labeled cautionary note on forward-looking statements. Today's presentation contains forward looking statements based on our current forecasts and estimates of future events. These statements should be considered estimates only, and actual results may differ materially.

請翻到我們的簡報中標有前瞻性陳述警示說明的頁面。今天的簡報包含基於我們目前的預測和對未來事件的估計的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述僅應被視為估計，實際結果可能存在重大差異。

During today's call, we will refer to non-GAAP financial measures as outlined by SEC guidelines. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures, definitions of non-GAAP financial measures, and other related information are found within the financial tables of our earnings release, and the appendix of today's presentation.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將參考 SEC 指南概述的非公認會計準則財務指標。GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務指標的調整、非 GAAP 財務指標的定義以及其他相關資訊可在我們收益發布的財務表格以及今天簡報的附錄中找到。

Also, please note that throughout the presentation, comparisons and growth rates are to the comparable periods of 2023, and in local currency unless otherwise stated.

另請注意，除非另有說明，否則整個簡報中的比較和成長率均以 2023 年可比時期為基礎，並以當地貨幣表示。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to our CEO, Michelle MacKay.

接下來，我想將電話轉給我們的執行長米歇爾·麥凱 (Michelle MacKay)。

Thank you, Megan. In 2023, we spoke with you frequently about positioning ourselves in a thoughtful way for the recovery. And as you can see from our performance, the actions that we took in support of these words created strong first quarter results.

謝謝你，梅根。2023 年，我們經常與您討論如何為經濟復甦做好深思熟慮的定位。正如您從我們的表現中看到的那樣，我們為支持這些言論而採取的行動創造了強勁的第一季業績。

Since the last time that we spoke, our teams have seized market opportunities, and we continue to strengthen our balance sheet, including our first optional prepayment of debt as well as successfully repricing our 2030 term loan, reducing our annual cash interest costs.

自上次發言以來，我們的團隊抓住了市場機遇，我們繼續強化我們的資產負債表，包括我們首次可選的提前償還債務以及成功地重新定價我們的2030 年定期貸款，從而降低了我們的年度現金利息成本。

We reported another quarter of global leasing growth, and saw meaningful improvements in capital markets. We've had a couple of key wins in our services businesses in the last month alone as we continue to step away from less accretive services transactions. And importantly, we achieved these results while maintaining cost discipline leading to an improvement of more than 100 basis points in adjusted EBITDA margin.

我們報告了全球租賃業又一個季度的成長，並看到資本市場的顯著改善。僅上個月，我們就在服務業務中取得了幾項重大勝利，因為我們繼續遠離增值性較低的服務交易。重要的是，我們在保持成本控制的同時取得了這些成果，導致調整後 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 100 個基點以上。

Looking at the big picture, the year is generally progressing in line with expectations. On our last earnings call, I said that we are expecting a moderate initial reduction in rates sometime later in the year. Our view from the onset has been that the Fed was likely to remain cautious this year and our strategy and budgeting decisions were made in accordance with that view.

整體來看，這一年的進展整體符合預期。在我們上次的財報電話會議上，我表示我們預計利率將在今年稍後的某個時候適度降低。我們從一開始就認為聯準會今年可能會保持謹慎態度，我們的策略和預算決策也是根據這一觀點做出的。

Our outlook and optimism for the recovery are strong and we continue to position our business in a thoughtful way for this next stage in the cycle. Given the recent increase in rate volatility, I'd like to take a couple of minutes to share our thoughts on how we view the relationship between the Fed rate cuts, and our business.

我們對復甦的前景和樂觀態度很強烈，我們將繼續以深思熟慮的方式為週期的下一階段定位我們的業務。鑑於最近利率波動性的增加，我想花幾分鐘時間來分享我們對聯準會降息與我們業務之間關係的看法。

Because overall, we view the Fed rate cuts as an accelerator of certain parts of the business, but not the only avenue for transactional improvement. Our first quarter results provide some insights into these dynamics, illustrating what occurs when there is rate stability, economic optimism, a solid pipeline of deals, and strong teams armed with a clearly defined strategy.

因為整體而言，我們認為聯準會降息是某些業務的加速器，但不是交易改善的唯一途徑。我們第一季的業績提供了這些動態的一些見解，說明了當利率穩定、經濟樂觀、穩定的交易管道以及擁有明確策略的強大團隊時會發生什麼。

We expect that leasing, which is a particular strength of ours, will continue to benefit from global economic resiliency as we move through the cycle. And our diverse platform allows us to capture pockets of strength across regions and asset classes, as we have positioned ourselves to do for the past several quarters.

我們預計，隨著我們經歷週期，租賃作為我們的特殊優勢，將繼續受益於全球經濟的彈性。我們多元化的平台使我們能夠跨地區和跨資產類別獲取優勢，就像我們在過去幾季所做的定位一樣。

During the quarter, we saw continued solid growth in leasing across our global platform, with revenues up 5% for the second quarter in a row. And on the capital markets side of the business, activity in Q1 reflected transactions closing in the early part of the quarter, when there was more optimism over a potential first rate cut from the Fed.

本季度，我們的全球平台租賃業務持續穩健成長，營收連續第二季成長 5%。在資本市場方面，第一季的活動反映了本季初交易的結束，當時人們對聯準會可能首次降息的信心更加樂觀。

Although the recent uptick in rate volatility will most likely cause a pause in transaction volumes in Q2, the improvement that we experienced in Q1 gives us more confidence that global investment sales pipelines are solid, and investors are ready to engage when the time is right.

儘管最近利率波動的加劇很可能會導致第二季度交易量暫停，但我們在第一季經歷的改善讓我們更有信心，全球投資銷售管道穩固，投資者已準備好在時機成熟時參與。

I'm pleased with our first quarter performance, and the way in which our teams continue to execute and find opportunities across our segments and geographies. The clarity that the reset strategy has given management is already paying dividends in a more cohesive and connected approach to the way that we are supporting the company in interacting with our clients.

我對我們第一季的業績以及我們的團隊在各個細分市場和地區繼續執行和尋找機會的方式感到滿意。重置策略為管理層帶來的清晰度已經以一種更具凝聚力和聯繫的方式為我們支持公司與客戶互動的方式帶來了紅利。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Neil.

這樣，我就把電話轉給尼爾。

Thank you, Michelle, and good afternoon, everyone. We were pleased with our first quarter results, which exceeded our expectations and guidance with fee revenue of $1.5 billion, flat with the prior year, and adjusted EBITDA of $78 million, up 29% versus prior year.

謝謝米歇爾，大家下午好。我們對第一季的業績感到滿意，超出了我們的預期和指導，費用收入為 15 億美元，與上年持平，調整後 EBITDA 為 7800 萬美元，比上年增長 29%。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin of 5.2% grew 117 basis points as we benefited from higher leasing revenue as well as the cost savings actions taken during 2023. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter was breakeven, an improvement from the $0.04 loss a year ago.

我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 5.2%，成長了 117 個基點，這得益於租賃收入的增加以及 2023 年採取的成本節約行動。本季調整後每股盈餘達到損益平衡，較去年同期虧損 0.04 美元有所改善。

By segment, fee revenue declined 3% in the Americas; grew 3% in EMEA; and grew 8% in APAC. We saw margin expansion in both the Americas and EMEA due to strong leasing growth and our 2023 cost actions, while margins in APAC contracted slightly due primarily to mix.

以細分市場劃分，美洲的費用收入下降了 3%；歐洲、中東和非洲地區成長 3%；亞太地區成長 8%。由於強勁的租賃成長和我們 2023 年的成本行動，我們在美洲和歐洲、中東和非洲地區的利潤率都出現了成長，而亞太地區的利潤率則因混合因素而略有收縮。

Taking a look at our service lines, effective January 1, we have renamed the property facilities and project management service line to services. This change is in name only, and had no impact on the composition of our service lines, or our historical results.

看看我們的服務項目，從 1 月 1 日起，我們已將物業設施和專案管理服務項目更名為服務。這項變更只是名義上的，對我們的服務線組成或我們的歷史績效沒有影響。

[Beginnings Brokerage], our leasing business, continued to experience stabilizing trends we reported in the fourth quarter, with 5% revenue growth. The growth from Q1 was again global in nature, with Americas leasing up 1%, and new leasing up 30%, and APAC leasing up 10%.

我們的租賃業務 [Beginnings Brokerage] 繼續呈現我們在第四季度報告的穩定趨勢，收入成長了 5%。第一季的成長再次是全球性的，美洲租賃成長 1%，新租賃成長 30%，亞太地區租賃成長 10%。

In the Americas, we saw particular strength in mid-sized office and industrial leasing, which grew in each of our subregions for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2022. In EMEA, we transacted on a large deal in Germany, which accounted for roughly a third of the leasing growth in that region. The remaining growth came from strength in all of our major asset classes with office, industrial, and retail each up over 10% in the quarter.

在美洲，我們看到中型辦公室和工業租賃尤其強勁，自 2022 年第四季以來，我們每個次區域的租賃量均首次出現成長。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，我們在德國進行了一筆大交易，該地區約佔該地區租賃成長的三分之一。剩餘的成長來自於我們所有主要資產類別的實力，其中辦公室、工業和零售業在本季度均增長了 10% 以上。

In APAC, India continues to see healthy growth supported by durable mega trends in global outsourcing and data centers. Our capital markets revenue declined 1%, a meaningful sequential improvement over the 32% year-over-year decline reported in the fourth quarter of last year. America's capital markets revenue was down 7%, while EMEA and APAC revenues were up 12% and 52%, respectively.

在亞太地區，印度在全球外包和資料中心的持久大趨勢的支持下繼續保持健康成長。我們的資本市場收入下降了 1%，與去年第四季 32% 的年減相比，這是一個有意義的環比改善。美國資本市場收入下降 7%，而歐洲、中東和非洲 (EMEA) 和亞太地區收入分別成長 12% 和 52%。

In the Americas, we experienced a pickup in pipeline conversion early in the quarter, particularly in office transactions, as interest rates were relatively stable, and [that as] spreads narrowed. In EMEA, buyer and seller expectations on pricing and values are we aligning, particularly in prime assets in better locations, and in APAC, office and industrial sales was strong, most notably in Australia, we've made some recent growth investments.

在美洲，我們在本季初經歷了管道轉換的回升，特別是在辦公室交易方面，因為利率相對穩定，而且利差收窄。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區，買方和賣方對定價和價值的期望正在協調一致，特別是在更好地段的優質資產，而在亞太地區，辦公大樓和工業銷售強勁，尤其是在澳大利亞，我們最近進行了一些成長投資。

We're encouraged by these results, but acknowledge that the recent increase in interest rate volatility is likely to cause a short-term reversal of trends in the second quarter as the market adjusts. Ultimately, however, our first quarter results provide us increased confidence that transactions will return to the market in greater volume when rate stability is achieved.

我們對這些結果感到鼓舞，但也承認，隨著市場調整，近期利率波動的加劇可能會導致第二季趨勢出現短期逆轉。然而，最終，我們第一季的業績讓我們更有信心，當利率實現穩定時，交易將以更大的數量返回市場。

Turning to services, revenue was down 3%, or flattish prior year, adjusting for the previously discussed contract change. In the Americas, services revenue declined 5%, or 1% excluding contract change. And in EMEA services, revenues declined 9%, as we continued to reposition our service portfolio for profitable growth.

談到服務，根據先前討論的合約變更進行調整後，收入下降了 3%，或與上年持平。在美洲，服務收入下降了 5%，不包括合約變更則下降了 1%。在 EMEA 服務中，隨著我們繼續重新定位服務組合以實現獲利成長，收入下降了 9%。

In APAC, our services business was strong, up 7%, driven by solid growth in project management and facilities management. Overall, we are pleased with the momentum we are seeing in services. We have recently had some notable new business wins, and our new business pipeline is strong.

在亞太地區，受專案管理和設施管理穩健成長的推動，我們的服務業務表現強勁，成長了 7%。總體而言，我們對服務業的勢頭感到滿意。我們最近贏得了一些引人注目的新業務，而且我們的新業務管道很強大。

As we've previously discussed, while our focus on margin and accretive growth is resulting in some near-term revenue headwinds, we expect to see a reacceleration of growth in the second half of this year and a return to at least a mid single-digit growth rate in 2025.

正如我們之前所討論的，雖然我們對利潤率和增值成長的關注導致了一些近期收入逆風，但我們預計今年下半年成長將重新加速，並至少恢復到中期水準2025 年的數位成長率。

Turning to cash flow, free cash flow for the quarter was a use of $136 million. This compared favorably to the first quarter of 2023, where free cash flow was a use of $231 million. A first quarter use of cash is in line with historical working capital trends, including the annual payment of US bonuses, and reflects typical seasonal patterns in our business.

談到現金流，該季度的自由現金流使用了 1.36 億美元。這與 2023 年第一季的自由現金流使用量 2.31 億美元相比相當不錯。第一季的現金使用符合歷史營運資金趨勢，包括美國獎金的年度支付，並反映了我們業務的典型季節性模式。

We continued our progress on strengthening the balance sheet. During the quarter, we repaid $50 million of term loan B due in 2025, reducing the outstanding balance to $143 million. In addition, subsequent to quarter end, we repriced $1 billion of term loan B due 2030, reducing the applicable interest rate by 25 basis points, from one month [term so far] plus 400, to one month [term so far] plus 375. The net impact of these actions is expected to reduce annual cash interest expense by roughly $6 million.

我們在強化資產負債表方面持續取得進展。本季度，我們償還了 2025 年到期的 5,000 萬美元定期貸款 B，將未償餘額減少至 1.43 億美元。此外，在季度末之後，我們對2030 年到期的10 億美元定期貸款B 進行了重新定價，將適用利率降低了25 個基點，從一個月[迄今為止期限]加400 降至一個月[迄今為止期限]加375 。這些行動的淨影響預計將使年度現金利息支出減少約 600 萬美元。

Finally, moving to our outlook, we continue to expect the sustained growth in capital markets is most likely to begin sometime in the second half of this year, contingent upon a more conducive interest rate environment. We expect the leasing market to be relatively stable for the year, and for our services business to grow at a similar rate to 2023.

最後，展望我們的前景，我們仍然預計資本市場的持續成長最有可能在今年下半年的某個時候開始，這取決於更有利的利率環境。我們預計今年租賃市場將相對穩定，我們的服務業務將以與 2023 年類似的速度成長。

On the cost side, we continue to expect cost increases driven by normal inflation and high incentive comp, as we focus on positioning the company for market growth. However, we did expect our cost efficiency initiatives to mostly offset these cost headwinds within the year.

在成本方面，我們繼續預期正常通膨和高激勵補償將推動成本增加，因為我們專注於為公司定位以適應市場成長。然而，我們確實預期我們的成本效率措施將在年內大部分抵銷這些成本阻力。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Michelle.

這樣，我會將電話轉回給米歇爾。

Thanks, Neil. Over the past quarter, we've witnessed an incredible commitment and loyalty to us from our clients, lenders, investors, and our people.

謝謝，尼爾。在過去的季度中，我們見證了客戶、貸方、投資者和我們的員工對我們令人難以置信的承諾和忠誠。

We promise to all of our constituencies that we will continue to push ourselves to evolve at a rapidfire pace, never content, and never settling.

我們向所有支持者承諾，我們將繼續推動自己快速發展，永不滿足，永不安於現狀。

Now I'll turn the call over to the operator for your questions. Operator?

現在我將把電話轉給接線員詢問您的問題。操作員？

Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員說明）

Anthony Paolone, JPMorgan.

安東尼保隆，摩根大通。

Thanks. Good afternoon. First question is just looking at the first quarter margin, I know it's a seasonally slow quarter, and don't want to make too much of it. But as we think about 2024, should we think about that 100 or so basis points of margin expansion as being the right order of magnitude of the businesses as hit the brackets you put around them?

謝謝。午安.第一個問題是看看第一季的利潤率，我知道這是一個季節性緩慢的季度，我不想對此做太多。但當我們考慮 2024 年時，我們是否應該將 100 個左右基點的利潤率擴張視為您括號內的業務的正確數量級？

Certainly, I think the reason we gave guidance on the first quarter was because we did have the cost program that rolled into savings in 2024. So in the first quarter, we had $20 million of savings, which did more than offset the cost increases we saw.

當然，我認為我們在第一季給出指導的原因是我們確實制定了 2024 年節省成本的成本計劃。因此，在第一季度，我們節省了 2000 萬美元，這遠遠抵消了我們看到的成本增加。

So if we look at that margin improvement, it is essentially half driven by those cost savings, and the other half driven by the improvement in the leasing, the flow through of leasing.

因此，如果我們看看利潤率的提高，它基本上一半是由成本節省推動的，另一半是由租賃的改善和租賃流量的推動所推動的。

As we look now, out for the rest of the year, as we said on our full-year outlook, we do expect the remaining cost actions to basically offset inflation and cost increases. So the margin expansion that we will get in the back half of the year is tied primarily to operating leverage.

正如我們現在展望的那樣，對於今年剩餘時間，正如我們在全年展望中所說，我們確實預計剩餘的成本行動基本上將抵消通貨膨脹和成本增加。因此，我們下半年的利潤率擴張主要與營運槓桿有關。

So as you think about the year, think about the growth in leasing, what's happening in capital markets, services, and so that is sort of how to frame that margins for the full year.

因此，當您考慮這一年時，請考慮租賃的成長、資本市場、服務業的情況，等等，這就是如何確定全年的利潤率。

Okay. So the first quarter seemed like it had a bit more than that, and it so, we basically kind of keep that in mind? Is that kind of the take away?

好的。所以第一季似乎比這更多一些，所以我們基本上記住了這一點？這是一種外送嗎？

That's exactly right. Yes. It will all depend on the recovery.

完全正確。是的。這一切都取決於恢復情況。

Okay. And then my second question is just in the services segment.

好的。我的第二個問題是在服務領域。

Yes, I guess, you're still looking for 2% to 3% growth in 2024 for the full year. I'm wondering how much of that is speculative in terms of contracts that you still have yet to win, versus where you put a high degree of visibility, in that you're just waiting for things to commence. And I guess along the same lines since you've been reworking that segment, do you think you'll make more EBITDA in '24 than you did in '23?

是的，我想，您仍然希望 2024 年全年實現 2% 到 3% 的成長。我想知道，就您尚未贏得的合約而言，其中有多少是投機性的，而不是在您高度關注的情況下，您只是在等待事情開始。我想，自從您重新設計該細分市場以來，您認為您在 24 年獲得的 EBITDA 會比 23 年更多嗎？

Hi Tony, it's Michelle. Just to start off with services, I'm really excited about our positioning in services. And as we've said in prior quarters, we're hyper-focused on accretive long-term growth in that business. So as you know, we've been fine-tuning our strategy here, and expect to be back to our long-term growth rate in the mid-single digits in 2025.

嗨托尼，我是米歇爾。首先從服務開始，我對我們在服務領域的定位感到非常興奮。正如我們在前幾個季度所說的，我們高度關注該業務的長期成長成長。如您所知，我們一直在調整我們的策略，預計到 2025 年將恢復到中個位數的長期成長率。

In the GOS business, and just to give you a little color, on where we're winning, what's happening. We're beginning to win business in marquee deals when it's important to the clients that we're balancing being globally scaled, but also having agility.

在 GOS 業務中，只是為了讓您了解我們在哪些方面取得了勝利，以及正在發生什麼。當我們在全球規模和敏捷性之間取得平衡對客戶來說很重要時，我們開始在大型交易中贏得業務。

And we've had a couple of key wins this year. Some of them will play into revenue later in the year, and some of them will play into next year. And then for the smaller clients, to your point around looks more speculative, those can transact more quickly in year.

今年我們取得了幾項關鍵勝利。其中一些將在今年稍後產生收入，另一些將在明年產生。然後，對於較小的客戶，在您看來更具投機性，這些客戶在一年內可以更快地進行交易。

And honestly, those are great deals. Those are critical clients to us, they're higher margin typically, and we treat them the way that the way that we do by bringing in our best practices from the entire Cushman brand to their experience.

老實說，這些都是很棒的交易。這些對我們來說是重要的客戶，他們通常利潤率較高，我們透過將整個戴德梁行品牌的最佳實踐引入他們的經驗來對待他們。

So what we're finding now is there's a real shift, large or small, in the GOS business, in particular, to clients that really want to be given advice on areas such as ESG and workplace solutions. And you've got to be scaled to do it, but you've got to be agile to do it as well.

因此，我們現在發現，GOS 業務確實發生了或大或小的轉變，特別是對於真正希望在 ESG 和工作場所解決方案等領域獲得建議的客戶而言。你必須擴大規模才能做到這一點，但你也必須保持敏捷才能做到這一點。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Michael Griffin, Citi.

邁克爾·格里芬，花旗銀行。

Great, thanks. I wanted to talk first about the leasing business, particularly on office. It seems like from what you're seeing on the ground, there, it's probably a little bit better than the negative headlines we've seen out there.

萬分感謝。我想先談談租賃業務，特別是辦公室。從你在實地看到的情況來看，這可能比我們看到的負面頭條新聞要好一些。

I just want to get some clarity. Are the deals in your pipeline mainly geared toward that kind of Class A trophy products, or was that increase indicative of all quality of office being leased, including B and C commodity products?

我只是想弄清楚一些。您的管道中的交易是否主要針對 A 級獎杯產品，或者這種增長是否表明正在租賃的所有優質辦公大樓（包括 B 級和 C 級商品產品）？

So I would say that in Q4 of last year, it was largely larger leases being cut, and higher-quality buildings. Now we're starting to see a mix in the combination of those same leases, but we're starting to see a mix-in of smaller tenants, still in high quality buildings, however, but smaller leases in the first quarter of this year.

所以我想說，去年第四季度，主要是削減了更大的租約和更高品質的建築。現在我們開始看到這些相同租賃組合的混合，但我們開始看到較小租戶的混合，仍然在高品質的建築中，但今年第一季的租賃規模較小。

Got you. That's helpful. And then maybe just on the cost savings initiatives, I think you still had kind of some of that flowing into the first quarter. You say you're balancing those initiatives relative to other increased costs.

明白你了。這很有幫助。然後，也許只是在成本節約舉措方面，我認為第一季仍有一些資金流入。您說您正在平衡這些措施與其他增加的成本。

But if we think that the capital markets business is going to improve materially in the back half of the year, wouldn't you want to be staffing up, and increasing headcount, kind of in anticipation of that?

但如果我們認為資本市場業務將在今年下半年出現實質改善，您不想為此增加人員配置和人數嗎？

So Michael, you raise a great point, and that's exactly right. All of our -- or primarily, or the majority -- of our cost savings, are run rate savings that were incurred as we rolled out our cost savings program last year. Essentially, we have not announced any new cost savings programs for 2024.

邁克爾，你提出了一個很好的觀點，這是完全正確的。我們所有（或主要或大部分）成本節省都是去年推出成本節省計劃時產生的運行率節省。本質上，我們尚未宣布 2024 年任何新的成本節約計劃。

Of course, we'll remain nimble. We always are looking for ways to become more efficient. But essentially, the $30 million of cost savings that I referred to is primarily the result of the actions we took last year. As we look to the back half of the year, we are very focused on growth, and making sure that we are well-positioned on both on the advisory side, and then also on the services side as we grow that is this in the back half of the year.

當然，我們會保持靈活性。我們一直在尋找提高效率的方法。但本質上，我提到的 3000 萬美元成本節省主要是我們去年採取的行動的結果。展望今年下半年，我們非常關注成長，並確保我們在諮詢方面以及隨著我們的成長在服務方面都處於有利地位，這就是後面的內容半年。

Great. That's it for me. Thanks for the time.

偉大的。對我來說就是這樣。謝謝你的時間。

Thanks, Michael.

謝謝，麥可。

Alex Kramm, UBS.

亞歷克斯·克拉姆，瑞銀集團。

Yes, hey, good evening, everyone. Just quickly, I guess, on the capital markets business, I mean, obviously good stability in the first quarter. Great to see.

是的，嘿，大家晚上好。我想，就資本市場業務而言，第一季的穩定性明顯良好。很高興看到。

But your tone on the second quarter, obviously a little bit more choppy. So given that seasonally, the second quarter is usually better, do you feel like this this year, could look a little bit worse maybe than the first quarter? Again, any visibility specifically on 2Q would be great.

但你在第二節的語氣顯然有點不穩定。因此，考慮到季節性，第二季度通常會更好，您是否覺得今年可能會比第一季更糟？同樣，任何專門針對第二季度的可見度都會很棒。

And then, related to that, you seem as confident as you were a quarter ago about the second half recovery. Obviously a lot of things have changed. So maybe just wanted to make sure I heard that right, or if you do think there's a higher level of uncertainty from year end, if you're reacting to that at all.

然後，與此相關的是，您似乎與一個季度前一樣對下半年的復甦充滿信心。顯然很多事情都改變了。所以也許只是想確保我沒聽錯，或者你是否確實認為年底後存在更高程度的不確定性，如果你對此做出反應。

Sure. I'm very bullish for the recovery, and that point of view hasn't changed. But the current outlook is for some short term pullback in capital markets as the mood of the market has changed significantly in the last couple of weeks. I think we've all witnessed volatility there.

當然。我非常看好經濟復甦，這觀點沒有改變。但由於過去幾週市場情緒發生了顯著變化，目前資本市場的前景是短期回調。我想我們都見證了那裡的波動。

But as you know, that moved to swing to the positive on a couple of key pieces of data, or as the market digests data. But like, let's not lose the plot line here. Calling what happens next quarter might be interesting, but our long term view, which is how we work, and how we think is for a strong market recovery.

但如您所知，隨著幾個關鍵數據的出現，或隨著市場消化數據，情況轉向積極。但是，我們不要失去這裡的劇情主線。預測下個季度會發生什麼可能很有趣，但我們的長期觀點，即我們的工作方式以及我們的想法是為了市場的強勁復甦。

Okay. Fair enough. And then maybe very big picture just since we're here, you obviously, for the last few quarters, have talked about your strategic review and I think you've looked at all of the different kind of businesses.

好的。很公平。然後，也許自從我們來到這裡以來，您顯然已經在過去的幾個季度中談到了您的策略審查，我認為您已經研究了所有不同類型的業務。

So I know that stuff never gets finished, but do you feel like you've essentially completed the the biggest area of focus, and anything new that you can share some of the review, or is that still a still ongoing?

所以我知道事情永遠不會完成，但你是否覺得你基本上已經完成了最大的關注領域，以及你可以分享一些評論的任何新內容，或者仍然在進行中？

No, I think that we're -- to your point -- it's always ongoing. But I think the first quarter performance shows that we're capable of executing on those priorities, and we did what we said we would do, and we're going to continue to do that, and be really intentional and opportunistic with it.

不，我認為我們——就你的觀點而言——它一直在持續。但我認為第一季度的表現表明我們有能力執行這些優先事項，我們做了我們說過要做的事情，我們將繼續這樣做，並且是真正有意和機會主義的。

So just to reiterate, to strengthen the core, we reduced leverage and interest costs by repricing the term loan and paying down some tax and debt. We continue to operate with rigor, even though revenue is flat, we improved margin, and leasing is growing.

因此，重申一下，為了加強核心，我們透過重新定價定期貸款並償還一些稅收和債務來降低槓桿和利息成本。儘管收入持平，我們仍繼續嚴格運營，但利潤率有所提高，租賃業務也在成長。

We're prioritizing better services contracts, and then a couple of references to walking away from less accretive deals. And that's an active way of managing the strategy. And you're going to continue to see us, no matter what the backdrop is here, in terms of the economy, take advantage of every opportunity.

我們優先考慮更好的服務合同，然後提到放棄增值性較差的交易。這是管理策略的一種積極方式。你們將繼續看到我們，無論這裡的經濟背景如何，充分利用每一個機會。

So we're highly activated. I would say we're working differently than we have historically at a pace, unlike what the firm has seen before, with an awareness of exactly where we need to be focused at all times.

所以我們非常活躍。我想說的是，我們的工作節奏與以往不同，與公司以前所看到的不同，我們始終清楚知道我們需要關注的地方。

Okay. Very good. Thank you.

好的。非常好。謝謝。

Ronald Kamdem, Morgan Stanley.

羅納德‧卡姆德姆，摩根士丹利。

Hey. Just two quick ones. So one, starting with the cash flow statement, and I sort of appreciate the comments in the press release. It seems like there's certainly a greater focus on free cash flow.

嘿。就兩個快的。所以，從現金流量表開始，我有點欣賞新聞稿中的評論。看來人們確實更關注自由現金流。

It seems like, you know, cash from operations, you said it was a net use, but it almost seemed like a $100 million delta versus a year ago. So I guess my question is really, can you talk about what drove such a great performance on the cash flow?

看起來，你知道，來自營運的現金，你說這是淨使用，但與一年前相比幾乎增加了 1 億美元。所以我想我的問題是，你能談談是什麼推動了現金流如此出色的表現嗎？

How much is that as one-timers and versus something that's sustainable going forward?

與永續發展的東西相比，一次性的東西多少錢？

Yes. Great question, Ron. Look, we've been extremely focused on free cash flow, and it's starting to really pay off. And we started to see it, as you say, in the results.

是的。好問題，羅恩。看，我們一直非常關注自由現金流，而且它開始真正得到回報。正如你所說，我們開始在結果中看到這一點。

You're absolutely right. This quarter this year versus this quarter a year ago, it was [95 and it goes] better. So great performance, primarily driven by working capital.

你是絕對正確的。今年這個季度與一年前這個季度相比，[95，而且還在繼續]更好。如此出色的業績，主要是由營運資金推動的。

And so, as we look at that performance, I would say probably about 50% of it is timing and 50% of it is real actions that we took. So we were able, for example, in accounts receivable, to reduce our DSO from around 61 days to 59 days, or 58 days, actually.

因此，當我們審視這種表現時，我想說大約 50% 是時機，50% 是我們採取的實際行動。因此，例如，在應收帳款方面，我們能夠將 DSO 從大約 61 天減少到 59 天，實際上是 58 天。

And so we saw three days of improvement in the quarter. And so feel very good about about free cash flow as we look. We have not given full guidance for the year on free cash flow, but certainly feel like the start to the year has been a good one.

因此，我們在本季看到了三天的改善。因此，正如我們所看到的，我們對自由現金流感到非常滿意。我們尚未就今年的自由現金流給出全面的指導，但我們肯定認為今年的開局不錯。

Great. And then my second one was just, I remember we talked about deleveraging and the potential for asset sales, and so forth. Any sort of update there? Is that still a plan? How has that gone? Thanks.

偉大的。然後我的第二個問題是，我記得我們談到了去槓桿化和資產出售的潛力等等。有什麼更新嗎？這仍然是一個計劃嗎？怎麼樣了？謝謝。

Yes, we do. We do have a couple of assets out in the market. That is still the plan. We have identified several smaller assets in the organization to consider for sale, and I would say that in the later half of the year, we'll be able to give you an update on that.

是的，我們願意。我們確實在市場上有一些資產。這仍然是計劃。我們已經確定了該組織中幾項較小的資產考慮出售，我想說，在今年下半年，我們將能夠向您提供最新情況。

Thanks so much.

非常感謝。

Stephen Sheldon, William Blair.

史蒂芬謝爾頓，威廉布萊爾。

Hi, you've got [Pat Mackley] on for Stephen today. Thanks for taking my questions. So first one, I just wanted to dig in on this a little bit more. I know you've talked about it, but even adjusting for the contract reimbursables, it looks like service revenue came in a touch light this quarter.

嗨，今天請[帕特·麥克利]代替史蒂芬。感謝您回答我的問題。所以第一個，我只是想進一步深入探討這一點。我知道您已經談論過這一點，但即使調整了合約可償還費用，本季的服務收入似乎也有所增加。

I mean, can you just talk a bit more about what's driving this repositioning of the platform? If it has to do with asset turnover at all, if you're seeing any competitive pressure, or what exactly is driving that? And then how you might expect the rest of the year to play out, so you can achieve that kind of low single digit growth guidance here so on.

我的意思是，您能多談談是什麼推動了平台的重新定位嗎？如果它與資產週轉率有關，如果您看到任何競爭壓力，或者到底是什麼推動了這種壓力？然後你預計今年剩餘時間會如何發展，這樣你就可以在這裡實現這種低個位數的成長指導，等等。

Sure. But as I think about it there are three things driving it.

當然。但我認為有三件事推動了它。

First of all, remember, we did have that contract change. That accounts for about $25 million in the quarter. So our services overall, instead of being down three, would have been flat for the quarter. Not where we want them to be, but certainly not declining [flatten,] and certainly get sort of the baseline.

首先，請記住，我們確實更改了合約。該季度的營收約為 2500 萬美元。因此，我們的整體服務在本季不會下降三分，而是持平。不是我們想要的位置，但肯定不會下降[扁平化，]並且肯定會達到某種基線。

And the second thing is, as you say, we are looking for accretive growth. This is more self-inflicted pain, this is probably the best way to describe it. We're looking at our contracts. We're looking at our margins. We have found that the services we provide, clients are prepared to pay for.

第二件事是，正如你所說，我們正在尋求增值成長。這更多是自己造成的痛苦，這或許是最好的形容。我們正在查看我們的合約。我們正在關注我們的利潤。我們發現，客戶願意為我們提供的服務付費。

So in certain cases, we've actually worked for contracts, and those clients have actually come back to us and said, actually, we would like for you to work. And so that is us looking at the portfolio and say we really, you know, we believe margins should improve in our service business.

因此，在某些情況下，我們實際上已經簽訂了合同，而那些客戶實際上又回到我們這裡並說，實際上，我們希望您工作。因此，我們在審視投資組合時說，我們真的相信我們的服務業務的利潤率應該會提高。

And we've also seen that in Europe, we saw the services business in Europe was down. That's where we actually took a very hard look at our project management business and said, you know what, the contracts are not making money, and that's a short-term business. So it's much easier to work out more quickly. And we said if it's not making money, we're not going to do that work.

我們也看到，在歐洲，我們看到歐洲的服務業務正在下降。這就是我們實際上非常認真地審視我們的專案管理業務的地方，並說，你知道嗎，合約不賺錢，而且這是一項短期業務。所以更容易更快地運動。我們說過，如果不賺錢，我們就不會做這項工作。

We're going to drive profitable growth, because every bit of growth takes resources, and it's all about capital allocation and reallocation. And then the third thing in services is very focused on our GOS global platform. We did have a couple of contract moves which we've seen the tail end of that early on in this year.

我們將推動獲利成長，因為每一點成長都需要資源，而這都與資本配置和重新配置有關。服務方面的第三件事非常關注我們的 GOS 全球平台。我們確實有一些合約變動，我們在今年年初就看到了這些變動的結束。

But as you look at the pipeline, there, we've seen some very nice [frame], and we've had some nice global wins in that business. So we are very excited about GOS as we look forward.

但當你觀察管道時，我們看到了一些非常好的[框架]，並且我們在該業務中取得了一些不錯的全球勝利。因此，我們對 GOS 感到非常興奮和期待。

Okay, great. Thanks, Neil. And then just more quickly. So you pushed out your debt maturities to 2030 last year. So with this capital structure and liquidity that's looking pretty solid at this point. Can you just share any thoughts on what you feel the best use of that liquidity will be, whether it's leaning more towards debt repayment or M&A in this environment?

好的，太好了。謝謝，尼爾。然後速度更快。所以去年你們將債務到期日延後到了 2030 年。因此，憑藉這種資本結構和流動性，目前看起來相當穩固。您能否分享一下您認為如何最好地利用流動性的想法，無論是更傾向於債務償還還是在這種環境下進行併購？

Sure. I mean, we're very focused on the allocation of capital, but we need to be making decisions, to your point, all the time about deleveraging and growth, and we're going to be doing both, right?

當然。我的意思是，我們非常關注資本配置，但就你的觀點而言，我們需要一直就去槓桿化和成長做出決策，而且我們將同時做這兩件事，對吧？

And that's what you saw us do in the first quarter. I'm not going to share any specifics with you on how we're going to be allocating that capital, but I want you to understand that we're not just having a deleveraging conversation here. We're having a growth conversation here, and making sure that we're investing enough to put ourselves in that best position to take advantage of the recovery.

這就是你在第一季看到的我們所做的。我不會與您分享我們將如何分配資本的任何具體細節，但我希望您明白，我們在這裡不僅僅是進行去槓桿化對話。我們在這裡進行成長對話，並確保我們進行足夠的投資，使自己處於利用復甦的最佳位置。

Understood. Thanks, Michelle. Thanks, Neil.

明白了。謝謝，米歇爾。謝謝，尼爾。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Patrick O'Shaughnessy, Raymond James.

派崔克‧奧肖內西，雷蒙德‧詹姆斯。

Hey, good afternoon. So obviously, rates have moved higher, but I think in concert with that economic growth, it has generally remained resilient, and recession fears, at least for now, seem to have abated. To what extent is an improving growth outlook, driving client behavior and leasing in your services businesses?

嘿，下午好。顯然，利率已經走高，但我認為，與經濟成長一致，利率總體上仍保持彈性，而且至少就目前而言，對經濟衰退的擔憂似乎已經減弱。成長前景的改善在多大程度上推動了您的服務業務中的客戶行為和租賃？

Yes, I think that it's interesting because we're having this conversation, people who are really focused on the Fed cuts conversation. And even though that's obviously important, solid GDP performance is very correlated to leasing decisions, and decisions in our servicing businesses.

是的，我認為這很有趣，因為我們正在進行這次對話，真正關注聯準會的人減少了對話。儘管這顯然很重要，但穩定的 GDP 表現與租賃決策和我們的服務業務決策密切相關。

So if one prong is not firing, meaning if the Fed is not cutting, we do have the solid GDP prong, and what we're looking forward to is over the course of the next year or two, those two firing at the same time. And when they're more connected, you'll start to see much higher growth rates in leasing and capital markets together.

因此，如果一個分支沒有啟動，也就是說如果聯準會沒有降息，我們確實有一個堅實的GDP分支，我​​們期待的是在未來一兩年內，這兩個分支同時啟動。當它們之間的聯繫更加緊密時，您將開始看到租賃和資本市場的成長率更高。

Got it. I appreciate that. And then I want to touch on project management. What's your outlook for that as 2024 progresses? And does improving leasing activity foreshadow improving project management down the road?

知道了。我很感激。然後我想談談專案管理。隨著 2024 年的進展，您對此有何展望？租賃活動的改善是否預示著未來專案管理的改善？

Yes, I think that's exactly right. We certainly will see an improvement there as adhesion starts picking up, and that should be some wind in our sails as we move to the back half of the year.

是的，我認為這是完全正確的。隨著附著力開始增強，我們肯定會看到那裡的改善，當我們進入今年下半年時，這應該會為我們帶來一些動力。

Perfect. Thank you.

完美的。謝謝。

Alex Kramm, UBS.

亞歷克斯·克拉姆，瑞銀集團。

Yes, hey. Hello again. Just a quick follow up on my earlier capital markets question. I mean, I totally hear you on 2Q may be a little bit softer, but then still confident in the recovery. So maybe speak to that and maybe I've missed it. Can you maybe talk about the pipeline a little bit, how that's changed over the last quarter or so? To just get a sense for how the business is building for when we have a better environment? Thanks.

是的，嘿。再一次問好。只是對我之前的資本市場問題的快速跟進。我的意思是，我完全聽說你在第二季可能會稍微軟一些，但仍然對復甦充滿信心。所以也許談談這一點，也許我已經錯過了。您能否談談管道，在上個季度左右發生了怎樣的變化？只是為了了解當我們擁有更好的環境時業務的發展嗎？謝謝。

Yes, I mean, the business continues to build, and I was out in one of our offices this past Friday. The capital markets people are really focused, and there's a lot of volume in here in terms of pipeline. And it's just about decision making. So I would say anything that's been in process is closing.

是的，我的意思是，業務繼續發展，上週五我去了我們的一間辦公室。資本市場人士非常關注，而且在管道方面有大量的交易量。這只是關於決策。所以我想說，任何正在進行的事情都將結束。

I think anything would have been under consideration to start, or transacting, in the last couple of weeks is probably put on hold for a bit. But I just want to reiterate, when I say that there's a pause, that pause could be four weeks long before the market resets, and the tone resets, and people really start to move forward again.

我認為過去幾週內正在考慮開始或進行交易的任何事情可能都會被擱置一段時間。但我只想重申，當我說有一個暫停時，這個暫停可能會長達四個星期，然後市場才會重置，基調也會重置，人們真正開始再次前進。

Okay. Anything in terms of quantitative? Some of your peers sometimes talk about the growth in the pipeline, any of that you can share with us, or not ready to?

好的。有什麼定量的東西嗎？您的一些同行有時會談論管道中的成長，您可以與我們分享其中的任何內容，還是還沒有準備好？

Look, Alex, what I can say is that we expect sequentially the second quarter to be bigger than the first quarter. So that sort of puts almost a floor on all of our businesses we bought in the second quarter. It's still early in the second quarter, so really it's difficult to know exactly where it's going to be. But certainly, as Michelle said, pipelines have been good, and sequentially we feel good.

亞歷克斯，我能說的是，我們預計第二季的業績將連續超過第一季。因此，這幾乎為我們在第二季購買的所有業務奠定了基礎。現在還處於第二季度初期，所以真的很難確切地知道它會發生什麼。但當然，正如米歇爾所說，管道一直很好，因此我們感覺很好。

Fair enough. I'll follow up. Thanks.

很公平。我會跟進。謝謝。

Great. Thanks, Alex.

偉大的。謝謝，亞歷克斯。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Michelle McKay for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回米歇爾·麥凱發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for dialing in today. We look forward to speaking with you all again on our second-quarter earnings call.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝大家今天撥電話。我們期待在第二季財報電話會議上再次與大家交談。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。