Emerald Holding Inc (EEX) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the Emerald Holding Inc second quarter 2024 earnings conference call.

早安，歡迎參加 Emerald Holding Inc 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) Before we begin, let me remind everyone that this call will include certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform act of 1995.

（操作員說明）在我們開始之前，讓我提醒大家，本次電話會議將包括構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述的某些陳述。

This includes remarks about future expectations, beliefs, estimates, plans and prospects.

這包括有關未來期望、信念、估計、計劃和前景的評論。

In particular, the company's statements about projected results for 2024 are forward-looking statements.

特別是，該公司有關 2024 年預計業績的陳述屬於前瞻性陳述。

Such statements are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such statements.

此類陳述受到各種風險、不確定性和其他因素的影響，這些因素可能導致實際結果與此類陳述所顯示或暗示的結果有重大差異。

Such risks and other factors are set forth in the company's most recently filed periodic reports on form 10-K and form 10-Q, and subsequent filings.

此類風險和其他因素在公司最近提交的 10-K 表格和 10-Q 表格定期報告以及後續文件中列出。

The company does not undertake any duty to update such forward looking statements.

本公司不承擔更新此類前瞻性陳述的任何責任。

Additionally, during today's call, management will discuss non-GAAP measures which it believes can be useful in evaluating the company's performance.

此外，在今天的電話會議上，管理層將討論非公認會計原則措施，他們認為這些措施有助於評估公司的表現。

The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with US GAAP.

不應孤立地考慮此附加資訊的呈現，也不應將其視為根據美國公認會計原則準備的結果的替代品。

The reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measure can be found in the company's earnings release.

這些非公認會計準則衡量標準與最具可比性的公認會計準則衡量標準的調節可以在公司的收益報告中找到。

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded and a replay of this call will be available on the Investors section of the company's Web site through 11:59 PM Eastern Time on August 14.

謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中，並且將於東部時間 8 月 14 日晚上 11:59 之前在公司網站的投資者部分提供本次電話會議的重播。

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Herve Sedky, President and Chief Executive Officer.

我現在想將電話轉給總裁兼執行長 Herve Sedky 先生。

Sir, please go ahead.

先生，請繼續。

Thank you, Julie, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝朱莉，大家早安。

It's great to be with all of you today to discuss our second quarter results.

很高興今天與大家一起討論我們第二季的業績。

I'll start with a brief overview or a review of our performance, and then give an overview of our strategy.

我將首先簡要概述或回顧我們的業績，然後概述我們的策略。

David Doft, our CFO, will then provide more detail on our financials.

我們的財務長 David Doft 隨後將提供有關我們財務狀況的更多詳細資訊。

We had a positive performance in what is a seasonally smaller quarter due to the relatively less significant show schedule which, combined with our Q1 performance and expectations for the second half, set us up for another full year of strong revenue and EBITDA growth.

由於展會日程相對不那麼重要，我們在季節性較小的季度中取得了積極的業績，再加上我們第一季度的業績和下半年的預期，為我們又一個全年強勁的收入和EBITDA 增長奠定了基礎。

These trends reflect the exceptional value in ROI we provide our customers for their marketing budgets.

這些趨勢反映了我們為客戶的行銷預算提供的投資報酬率的非凡價值。

For many businesses, trade shows are their number one selling or marketing event of the year.

對許多企業來說，貿易展覽是他們一年中頭號銷售或行銷活動。

Our goal has been to underscore this value proposition and make the ROI more transparent by developing value-added tools and metrics that we believe will deliver an even better trade show experience.

我們的目標是強調這一價值主張，並透過開發增值工具和指標使投資回報率更加透明，我們相信這些工具和指標將提供更好的貿易展覽體驗。

The result is that our customers view our shows as an investment rather than a cost.

結果是我們的客戶將我們的演出視為投資而不是成本。

We plan to continue to maximize value for our customers and shareholders, fostering an intense sense of loyalty.

我們計劃繼續為客戶和股東實現價值最大化，培養強烈的忠誠度。

Our customers' commitment to us is reflected in their continued and consistent desire to return to our shows each year, as well as their increasing engagement in-between event editions throughout the year.

我們的客戶對我們的承諾體現在他們每年持續、一致地渴望重返我們的展會，以及他們在全年活動期間不斷增加的參與。

The evidence is clear.

證據很清楚。

Our trade shows have a profound impact.

我們的貿易展覽具有​​深遠的影響。

At all of our trade shows, we've implemented onsite pre-booking, which means we have been selling exhibitor space into the first-half of 2025 for some time, and just begun selling into H2 2025.

在我們所有的貿易展會上，我們都實施了現場預訂，這意味著我們一直在向 2025 年上半年銷售參展商展位，並剛開始向 2025 年下半年銷售。

Our sales pacing data offers us a highly granular view into exhibitor trends up to a year out, which gives us confidence in our forecasts for 2024, and for continued growth into 2025.

我們的銷售節奏數據使我們能夠對長達一年的參展商趨勢進行高度精細的了解，這讓我們對 2024 年的預測以及 2025 年的持續成長充滿信心。

Looking ahead, we project continued increases in revenue above our industry's historical run rate.

展望未來，我們預期營收將持續成長，高於產業歷史運作率。

Overall, as a reaffirmation of our original guidance indicates, we expect another meaningful step forward in both revenue and profitability this year.

總體而言，正如我們對最初指導意見的重申所表明的那樣，我們預計今年的收入和盈利能力將再向前邁出有意義的一步。

Our longer-term plan is to deliver run rate organic growth in the mid-to-high single digits, combined with growth from acquisitions, to drive double-digit annual revenue growth overall.

我們的長期計劃是實現中高個位數的運行率有機成長，並結合收購帶來的成長，以推動整體年收入成長兩位數。

Our strategy continued to be informed and inspired by the three pillars of our value creation: customer centricity, 365-day engagement, and portfolio optimization.

我們的策略繼續受到價值創造的三大支柱的啟發和啟發：以客戶為中心、365 天參與和產品組合優化。

In customer centricity, we are focused on improving the customer experience and delivering greater value in the form of add-on services, actionable data and insights, and a clear picture of the return on investment customers receive from the marketing dollars they put to work across Emerald's platform.

以客戶為中心，我們專注於改善客戶體驗，並以附加服務、可操作的數據和見解的形式提供更大的價值，以及清楚地了解客戶從他們投入的營銷資金中獲得的投資回報翡翠的平台。

This improves our stickiness with customers, incentivizes them to deploy more marketing dollars with Emerald, and ultimately should help drive higher revenue per customer.

這提高了我們對客戶的黏性，激勵他們在 Emerald 上投入更多行銷資金，最終有助於提高每位客戶的收入。

In the end, we provide a unique experience that is both financially and personally rewarding.

最後，我們提供了一種獨特的體驗，在經濟和個人上都有回報。

Our customers walk away from our trade shows feeling reenergized by their future prospects and inspired by the innovations they discovered.

我們的客戶在離開我們的貿易展時，感到他們的未來前景重新煥發活力，並受到他們發現的創新的啟發。

In 365-day engagement, we are providing multiple entry points to the customer engagement cycle through trade shows, conferences, webinars, media content and commerce.

在 365 天的互動中，我們透過貿易展覽、會議、網路研討會、媒體內容和商務為客戶互動週期提供多個切入點。

This reinforces our brands in their respective markets, increasing their reach and driving down the acquisition cost of attendees to our events.

這增強了我們在各自市場的品牌，擴大了影響力，並降低了我們活動參與者的獲取成本。

This is where we're seeing the most opportunities to scale by leveraging artificial intelligence, where we have numerous tests across our content and marketing teams.

這是我們看到利用人工智慧進行擴展的最多機會的地方，我們在內容和行銷團隊中進行了大量測試。

We're excited about some of the early results and expect to fully implement it in certain areas of the business in 2025.

我們對一些早期成果感到興奮，並期望在 2025 年在某些業務領域全面實施。

For example, by leveraging our proprietary first-party data assets, we can better personalize messages to our readers and prospective attendees.

例如，透過利用我們專有的第一方資料資產，我們可以更好地向讀者和潛在與會者提供個人化訊息。

AI can help scale these personalization efforts quickly and efficiently, which we expect will improve conversion rates in the future.

人工智慧可以幫助快速有效地擴展這些個人化工作，我們預計這將提高未來的轉換率。

And in portfolio optimization, through our acquisitions and new event launches, we have targeted industries with strong, stable growth rates in order to continue to improve Emerald's growth profile overall.

在投資組合優化方面，透過收購和新活動的推出，我們瞄準了成長率強勁、穩定的行業，以繼續改善 Emerald 的整體成長狀況。

We're always evaluating potential attractive acquisition opportunities, and this is an important part of our growth strategy.

我們一直在評估潛在的有吸引力的收購機會，這是我們成長策略的重要組成部分。

Over time, we expect new event launches to contribute one to two percentage points of annual organic revenue growth.

隨著時間的推移，我們預計新活動的推出將為年度有機收入成長貢獻一到兩個百分點。

Through our value-added efforts and investments across our connections, content, and commerce businesses, we're positioning Emerald to be a reliable, free cash flow generator, and earnings compounder with attractive growth characteristics built in.

透過我們在人脈、內容和商務業務方面的增值努力和投資，我們將 Emerald 定位為可靠、自由的現金流發生器和內建有吸引力的成長特徵的收益複合器。

Our modest level of financial leverage, combined with the visibility and expected stability of free cash generation, allows us to have a capital allocation strategy focused on driving per share value to our shareholders, and includes stepped-up return of capital by reinitiating Emerald's common stock dividend that was suspended during the pandemic, as David will elaborate.

我們適度的財務槓桿水平，加上自由現金產生的可見性和預期穩定性，使我們能夠制定專注於為股東帶來每股價值的資本配置策略，包括透過重新啟動 Emerald 普通股來提高資本回報正如大衛將詳細闡述的那樣，在大流行期間暫停了股息。

Also central to our strategy is the belief that the personal experience of our customers is paramount.

我們策略的另一個核心是相信客戶的個人體驗至關重要。

By always putting people first, we ensure our initiatives resonate deeply and create lasting value.

透過始終以人為本，我們確保我們的舉措能夠產生深刻的共鳴並創造持久的價值。

We are confident that we can sustain this trajectory and deliver growth in excess of our industry while enhancing our profitability year after year.

我們相信，我們能夠維持這一發展軌跡，實現超過行業的成長，同時年復一年地提高我們的獲利能力。

And with that, let me turn the call over to David.

接下來，讓我把電話轉給大衛。

Thank you, Herve, and good morning.

謝謝你，埃爾維，早安。

I'll continue with a financial overview of the most recent quarter, and then discuss our dividend initiation and guidance.

我將繼續介紹最近一個季度的財務概況，然後討論我們的股息啟動和指導。

For the second quarter, total revenue was $86 million, compared to $86.5 million in the prior year quarter.

第二季總收入為 8,600 萬美元，而去年同期總收入為 8,650 萬美元。

The very slight decrease was primarily driven by scheduling adjustments, where events staged in different quarters this year versus last year on our show calendar, and several small, unprofitable discontinued events as we look to optimize resource allocation and profitability of the Emerald portfolio.

略有下降的主要原因是日程調整，與去年相比，今年的活動在我們的展會日曆上於不同季度舉行，以及一些小型的、無利可圖的停辦活動，因為我們希望優化Emerald 產品組合的資源分配和獲利能力。

Organic revenue, which takes into account the impact of acquisitions, scheduling adjustments, and discontinued events, was $82.1 million for the second quarter, 2024, an increase of $2.6 million, or 3.3%, versus the prior year period.

考慮到收購、日程調整和停產事件的影響，2024 年第二季的有機收入為 8,210 萬美元，比去年同期增加 260 萬美元，即 3.3%。

As we've discussed, we have a broad portfolio of shows, some of which are experiencing faster growth rates than others as a function of where their industries are in the business cycle, as well as other factors.

正如我們所討論的，我們擁有廣泛的節目組合，其中一些節目的增長率高於其他節目，這取決於其行業在商業週期中的位置以及其他因素。

Therefore, any one quarter's organic growth rate is not necessarily indicative of the growth in the overall portfolio, and we would encourage you to look at our business on a full-year basis.

因此，任何一個季度的有機成長率並不一定代表整體投資組合的成長，我們鼓勵您以全年為基礎來審視我們的業務。

Second quarter adjusted EBITDA, excluding insurance proceeds, grew approximately 4.8% to $15.3 million, compared to $14.6 million for the same quarter last year.

第二季調整後 EBITDA（不含保險收益）成長約 4.8%，達到 1,530 萬美元，去年同期為 1,460 萬美元。

This equates to an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 17.8% for the quarter, given our seasonally lower revenue against a fixed component of our cost base.

鑑於我們的季節性收入相對於成本基礎的固定部分有所下降，這相當於本季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 17.8%。

Second quarter free cash flow was $7.1 million, compared to $4.6 million in the prior year quarter.

第二季自由現金流為 710 萬美元，去年同期為 460 萬美元。

Turning to expenses.

轉向開支。

In the second quarter, SG&A was $39.5 million versus $41.8 million in the prior year quarter.

第二季的銷售、行政管理費用為 3,950 萬美元，去年同期為 4,180 萬美元。

The year-over-year decrease in SG&A is largely due to ongoing efficiency initiatives, as well as the benefit of a $1.7 million increase in re-measurement of estimated contingent consideration for past acquisitions, offset by incremental SG&A from the Hotel Interactive acquisition that closed in January of this year.

SG&A 年減主要是由於持續的效率舉措，以及重新衡量過去收購的估計或有對價增加了 170 萬美元，但被已完成的 Hotel Interactive 收購帶來的增量 SG&A 所抵消今年一月。

Given the number of industries Emerald serves, our guidance has always assumed some variability in quarter-to-quarter organic growth rates.

考慮到 Emerald 服務的行業數量，我們的指導始終假設季度與季度有機成長率有一定的變化。

As we discussed in our last earnings call, while Q1 contributed strong double-digit organic revenue growth, other quarters, including Q2 and Q3, were not expected to reach that level based on the mix of business in each specific period, with Q4 growth expected to re-accelerate, all consistent with the assumptions that underpin our annual guidance.

正如我們在上次財報電話會議中討論的那樣，雖然第一季貢獻了強勁的兩位數有機收入增長，但根據每個特定時期的業務組合，包括第二季度和第三季度在內的其他季度預計不會達到這一水平，預計第四季度將實現成長重新加速，所有這些都符合支撐我們年度指引的假設。

Turning to the balance sheet, we had $193.2 million in cash as of June 30, 2024, versus $186.8 million as of March 31.

轉向資產負債表，截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，我們擁有 1.932 億美元現金，而截至 3 月 31 日，我們擁有 1.868 億美元現金。

As a reminder, in early May, we completed the conversion of our convertible preferred stock, eliminating the preferred dividend and resulting in a simpler, all-common equity structure.

提醒一下，5月初，我們完成了可轉換優先股的轉換，取消了優先股股息，從而實現了更簡單的全普通股股權結構。

Our total liquidity is $303.2 million, including full availability on our $110 million credit facility.

我們的總流動資金為 3.032 億美元，其中包括完全可用的 1.1 億美元信貸額度。

As of June 30, we had net debt of $218 million, leading to a net leverage ratio as defined in our credit agreement of 2.10 times our trailing 12-month consolidated EBITDA, based on the definition in our credit agreement of $104.0 million.

截至 6 月 30 日，我們的淨債務為 2.18 億美元，導致我們信貸協議中定義的淨槓桿率為我們過去 12 個月合併 EBITDA 的 2.10 倍（基於我們信貸協議中 1.04 億美元的定義）。

We believe our balance sheet strength and cashflow generation support our ability to opportunistically invest in and grow our business, as well as optimize the per share value of our stock.

我們相信，我們的資產負債表實力和現金流產生支持我們機會性投資和發展業務以及優化股票每股價值的能力。

On that note, we are pleased to announce that our board of directors has authorized the re-initiation of a regular quarterly dividend at an initial rate of $1.50 per share, which would imply an annualized cash dividend amount of $12 million, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.3% based on yesterday's closing price.

有鑑於此，我們很高興地宣布，我們的董事會已授權重新啟動定期季度股息，初始股息率為每股 1.50 美元，這意味著年化現金股息金額為 1200 萬美元，反映了股息收益率較昨日收盤價上漲1.3%。

Prior to COVID, Emerald was historically a dividend payer, and given our strong cash generation, coupled with our organic and inorganic growth, it is our intention to grow the quarterly dividend over time with a target payout ratio of up to 25% of free cashflow.

在新冠疫情爆發之前，Emerald 歷來是股息支付者，鑑於我們強勁的現金生成能力，加上我們的有機和無機增長，我們打算隨著時間的推移增加季度股息，目標派息率高達自由現金流的25% 。

As Herve said, we believe the visibility and expected stability of the company's free cash generation position positions us to return capital to shareholders on an ongoing basis.

正如埃爾維所說，我們相信公司自由現金生成狀況的可見性和預期穩定性使我們能夠持續向股東返還資本。

This quarter, we added a slide to our earnings presentation deck outlining our capital allocation and financial policy that we've discussed over the past several quarters.

本季度，我們在收益簡報中新增了一張投影片，概述了我們在過去幾季討論過的資本配置和財務政策。

We expect to continue to balance capital allocation between acquisitions, investments in our own business, managing debt leverage below 3.0 times net debt to EBITDA and returns on capital, which includes dividends and opportunities to share buybacks.

我們預計將繼續平衡收購、自有業務投資之間的資本配置，將債務槓桿控制在 EBITDA 淨債務和資本回報率（包括股息和股票回購機會）的 3.0 倍以下。

At quarter-end, we have $23 million remaining on our existing buyback authorization after not buying back any shares in the second quarter.

截至季末，在第二季未回購任何股票後，我們現有的回購授權還剩 2,300 萬美元。

Turning to guidance, we continue to expect that our 2024 performance will be within our full-year guidance in the range of $415 million to $425 million of revenue and $110 million to $115 million of adjusted EBITDA.

談到指導，我們繼續預計 2024 年的業績將在我們的全年指導範圍內，即收入在 4.15 億美元至 4.25 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 在 1.1 億美元至 1.15 億美元之間。

This guidance implies an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 27%.

該指引意味著調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 27%。

2We believe, as our business continues to scale and we leverage the investments we have made, that we have runway to improve this number as we work our way back, over time, to the margins we saw prior to COVID.

2我們相信，隨著我們的業務不斷擴大，並利用我們所做的投資，我們有能力改善這一數字，隨著時間的推移，我們將恢復到新冠疫情之前的利潤水平。

Thank you very much for your time.

非常感謝您抽出時間。

And with that, we'll now open the line for questions.

現在，我們將開放提問熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Barton Crockett, Rosenblatt Securities.

（操作員指示）Barton Crockett，羅森布拉特證券。

(technical difficulty) And thanks for this information.

（技術難度）感謝您提供此資訊。

David, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit more in terms of your quarterly cadence here.

大衛，我想知道你是否可以多談談你的季度節奏。

If you could give us a little bit more detail around what drives the slower growth for the next quarter, and then the speed-up in the fourth quarter, just give us a little -- unpack a little bit more, give us a little bit more sense of what's underneath that?

如果您能為我們提供更多有關驅動下個季度增長放緩以及第四季度增長加速的詳細信息，請給我們提供一點信息，再給我們提供一點信息更了解其下面的內容嗎？

That's one question.

這是一個問題。

And then for either you or for Herve, obviously we're in an interesting kind of broader macro environment.

然後，無論是你還是 Herve，顯然我們正處於一個有趣的更廣泛的宏觀環境中。

You guys have a lot of sense, obviously, from the range of verticals that you deal with in the pre-bookings of what people might be feeling.

顯然，從你們在預訂時處理的垂直領域的範圍來看，你們很了解人們可能的感受。

I was just wondering if you could talk about what you're seeing in terms of pressure points, some industries that are maybe a little bit feeling a little pressure or industries that are still feeling healthy, and just your broad sense of how the macro is impacting your clients.

我只是想知道您是否可以談談您所看到的壓力點，一些可能有點壓力的行業或仍然感覺健康的行業，以及您對宏觀形勢的廣泛認識影響您的客戶。

Why don't I start with that, and then pass it on to David.

我為什麼不從這個開始，然後將其傳遞給大衛。

Barton, thank you very much for the question.

巴頓，非常感謝你的提問。

One of the benefits of the Emerald portfolio is that we, in fact, have this highly diversified portfolio of B2B events, and the event in and of themselves have this leadership in and across a broad range of verticals.

事實上，Emerald 產品組合的好處之一是，我們擁有高度多元化的 B2B 活動組合，而該活動本身在廣泛的垂直領域中具有領導地位。

And so, for us, while clearly there are different parts and different ranges of performance across the industries that they service, David mentioned in his prepared remarks, we are seeing different events at different verticals perform at different rates.

因此，對我們來說，雖然他們所服務的行業顯然有不同的部分和不同的績效範圍，但大衛在他準備好的演講中提到，我們看到不同垂直領域的不同活動以不同的速度執行。

And the example that I'll use is the sectors that are more consumer-oriented haven't recovered as well since the pandemic as some of the other sectors, for sure.

我將使用的例子是，自大流行以來，更以消費者為導向的行業肯定沒有像其他一些行業那樣恢復得那麼好。

The design sector for us is a big sector, and has been growing at double digits, and has been doing extraordinarily well.

對我們來說，設計產業是一個很大的產業，一直以兩位數的速度成長，而且一直表現得非常好。

While some of the consumer-oriented sectors has just not rebounded as nicely.

而一些以消費者為導向的產業卻沒有那麼好反彈。

So another example would be some of the tech marketing spend that got impacted, for instance, last year, while has seen a bounce back, is not fully bounced back.

另一個例子是一些受到影響的技術行銷支出，例如去年，雖然出現了反彈，但並未完全反彈。

So we're definitely seeing different performance in different sectors.

因此，我們肯定會看到不同領域的不同表現。

But on the whole, the beauty of the portfolio is that it's a highly diversified portfolio.

但總的來說，該投資組合的美妙之處在於它是一個高度多元化的投資組合。

And because the events have leadership positions in their respective sectors, that that's what positions Emerald to do well on the whole.

由於這些活動在各自的領域中佔據領先地位，這就是 Emerald 整體上表現出色的原因。

And now I'll turn it over to David to maybe add more to that, and then also to address the second question.

現在我將把它交給大衛，也許他會補充更多內容，然後也解決第二個問題。

Yes, I mean that really leads into your first question around the cadence of the quarter-to-quarter growth rates; it depends which shows are staging when in the calendar year.

是的，我的意思是，這確實引出了您關於季度成長率節奏的第一個問題；這取決於日曆年中哪些節目正在上演。

So when we look at overall performance in our full-year guidance, and as you know we don't guide quarters, is it's because of this mix overall.

因此，當我們查看全年指導中的整體表現時，正如您所知，我們不指導季度，這是因為總體上的這種組合嗎？

And so we're able to reiterate our full-year guidance that we gave at the beginning of the year because of that continued visibility in the performance of the entire portfolio, irrespective of where in the year those events stage.

因此，我們能夠重申我們在年初給出的全年指導，因為整個投資組合的表現持續可見，無論這些事件在一年中的哪個階段發生。

And so, Herve's point is a really good one.

因此，埃爾維的觀點非常好。

There are some sectors that are growing very strong double digits, and there are others that are not.

有些產業的兩位數成長非常強勁，而有些產業則不然。

And the mix is that we fall somewhere in-between as a portfolio.

混合情況是，我們的投資組合介於兩者之間。

And so, it's because of the timing of those shows that we're able to make a statement that 4Q should show reacceleration of organic growth.

因此，正是由於這些節目的時機，我們才能夠做出這樣的聲明：第四季應該會顯示出有機成長的重新加速。

It's not making a macro call on the broader trade show business, it's taking a view of the specific industries we serve within each quarter that drives that performance overall.

它並不是對更廣泛的貿易展覽業務進行宏觀預測，而是考慮我們每季所服務的特定產業，從而推動整體業績。

The other thing I'd add is we -- Herve talked about our three growth pillars, and we've talked about them every call.

我要補充的另一件事是，我們 - Herve 談到了我們的三個成長支柱，我們每次通話都談到了它們。

And one of them is a really important one, it's called portfolio optimization.

其中之一非常重要，稱為投資組合最佳化。

And we use that word, optimization, very specifically because not only are we looking to acquire incremental events and not only looking to launch incremental events, but we're looking to do so within industries that enhance the growth profile of the Emerald portfolio.

我們使用「最佳化」這個詞，非常具體，因為我們不僅希望獲得增量事件，不僅希望啟動增量事件，而且我們希望在增強 Emerald 投資組合成長狀況的行業內這樣做。

We're looking to continue to tilt our portfolio to a better and better place in terms of its mix so that we can continue to drive growth overall for the business.

我們希望繼續將我們的投資組合向更好的方向傾斜，以便我們能夠繼續推動業務的整體成長。

And there's lots of opportunity to do that.

並且有很多機會可以做到這一點。

And we've done a lot in the last few years with some of the work we've done, but there's a lot more that we can do if we're successful in that strategy.

在過去的幾年裡，我們已經做了很多工作，但如果我們在這項策略上取得成功，我們還可以做更多的事情。

And that's why we continue to have a launch machine here in our Accelerator group, that's why we continue to actively look at M&A opportunities because it behooves us to continue to look for more and more opportunity to improve the mix of the business because there's never perfection there.

這就是為什麼我們在加速器組中繼續擁有啟動機器，這就是為什麼我們繼續積極尋找併購機會，因為我們有必要繼續尋找越來越多的機會來改善業務組合，因為完美永遠不會存在。

Okay, all right, thank you for that.

好的，好的，謝謝你。

Now if I could just follow-up, I was wondering if -- certainly that I think the growth trajectories in the back-half are probably influenced by the leading trade shows that you have each of the quarters.

現在，如果我可以跟進的話，我想知道是否——當然，我認為後半段的成長軌跡可能受到每個季度的主要貿易展會的影響。

I was wondering if you could tell us what are the important trade shows in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter.

我想知道您能否告訴我們第三季和第四季有哪些重要的貿易展。

And then if you have any metrics you can use to expand upon what you're seeing in terms of square footage booking or rates paid per booking or number of exhibitors booking, if there's any metrics you can give us to give us a sense of what's undergoing in your outlook here?

然後，如果您有任何指標可以用來擴展您在預訂面積或每次預訂支付的費率或參展商預訂數量方面所看到的情況，如果您可以向我們提供任何指標，讓我們了解什麼是您對這裡的看法有何改變？

So our trade show calendar is on our Web site.

因此，我們的貿易展覽日曆位於我們的網站上。

All of the events are listed there with their dates.

所有事件都列在此處及其日期。

I think it's pretty -- if you take a look I think it's pretty easy to see which shows are where.

我認為它很漂亮——如果你看一下，我認為很容易看出哪些節目在哪裡。

Given the segment reporting, we try not to name individual events on our earnings call, but it's surely there in the data that we publish online for you to see.

鑑於分部報告，我們盡量不在財報電話會議上提及個別事件，但它肯定存在於我們在線上發布的數據中供您查看。

In terms of metrics, we don't publish the exact details of those metrics.

在指標方面，我們不會發布這些指標的確切細節。

I think we have talked quite a bit about our work on the pricing front.

我想我們已經就定價方面的工作談了很多。

And we continue to see strong yield improvements year-over-year, surely mid single-digit or better across the portfolio of the events.

我們繼續看到產量同比強勁增長，在整個活動組合中肯定是中等個位數或更好。

This year, because the tailwind of the post-pandemic world gets smaller and smaller, as we move to two or three years out from the pandemic, the NSF growth is slower than it has been last year.

今年，由於疫情後世界的順風越來越小，距離疫情已經過去兩三年了，NSF的成長速度比去年慢。

But that's as we expected because we're settling back into kind of the normalcy of the trade show business.

但這正如我們預期的那樣，因為我們正在恢復貿易展覽業務的常態。

Okay, all right.

好吧，好吧。

Well, thank you very much.

嗯，非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Allen Klee, Maxim Group.

艾倫克利，馬克西姆集團。

Yes, hi, good morning.

是的，嗨，早安。

I just mentioned there's another company I cover, and I was talking to the CEO the other day.

我剛剛提到我報道過另一家公司，前幾天我正在和執行長交談。

And he was basically telling me the main reason why he is confident in his revenue improvement was two potential customers he signed up from a trade show.

他基本上是在告訴我，他對收入改善充滿信心的主要原因是他從貿易展上簽約的兩個潛在客戶。

So I think it kind of corroborates a lot of what you guys say.

所以我認為這證實了你們所說的很多內容。

So to start off with, I wanted to just follow up on something Barton said, and something that you guys said during your -- describing the quarter.

首先，我想跟進巴頓所說的話，以及你們在描述本季時所說的話。

You mentioned that one of the impacts of the quarter was from scheduling changes of some conferences.

您提到本季的影響之一是一些會議的日程安排發生了變化。

So the question I had is, if some things were moved, like where were they moved to, which quarter or what type of new events would we expect in new quarters that weren't there last time?

所以我的問題是，如果有些東西被移動，例如它們被移動到哪裡，哪個季度或我們會在新的季度中期待上次沒​​有的新事件類型？

So every year there are events that in one year might have been in March, and the next year are in April, or they might have been in June, and they're in July.

所以每年都會有一些事件，一年可能在三月，下一年在四月，或者可能在六月，而它們在七月。

The timing could shift a couple weeks in the calendar, and it shifted in and out of quarters.

時間可能會在日曆中改變幾週，而且會在季度內發生變化。

Or sometimes one day shift the quarter.

或者有時每季有一天輪班。

Or one day, yes, exactly.

或者有一天，是的，正是如此。

So it really has to do with that.

所以這確實與此有關。

So there were a half-a-dozen or so events that moved between quarters this year for the second quarter that -- probably the main one was one of the Overland Expos that we run, which moved from Q2 -- Q3 last year into Q2.

因此，今年第二季度有六項左右的活動在各季度之間轉移，其中主要的可能是我們舉辦的陸上博覽會之一，它從去年的第二季度轉移到了第二季度。

But then there was a number of things that moved out of Q2 that were in Q2 last year.

但去年第二季的一些事情已經從第二季轉移出去了。

Some of our hosted buyer events, some of the smaller type events, but in aggregate, it all adds up.

我們舉辦了一些買家活動，一些規模較小的活動，但總的來說，這一切都加起來了。

So in our reconciliation of organic growth, you could see the dollar impact of those shows in each of the quarters, whether it impacted the base from last year or it impacted this year based on the movement.

因此，在我們對有機成長的調節中，您可以看到這些節目對每季的美元影響，無論是影響去年的基數還是根據變動影響今年。

So you can make those calculations.

所以你可以進行這些計算。

Thank you.

謝謝。

In the past, you said that one of the opportunities that you've had was growing your international.

過去，您說過您擁有的機會之一是發展國際業務。

Can you talk about what you're doing there and how you think about that now?

您能談談您在那裡所做的事情以及您現在的想法嗎？

Yes, of course.

是的當然。

So what we have done over the course of the last 18 months is really invested in creating an international sales division.

因此，我們在過去 18 個月中所做的實際上是投資於創建國際銷售部門。

And we've resourced that by putting a head of and resourced it with a number of sales leaders underneath that are geographically-focused.

我們透過在其下設立了一個負責人並配備了一些以地域為中心的銷售領導者來配置資源。

So we have leadership that is assigned to different territories around the world while they're US based.

因此，我們的領導層被分配到世界各地的不同地區，而他們的總部設在美國。

They own different territories and work with different representatives, whether they're agents or counselor offices or government representatives around the world to do a couple of things.

他們擁有不同的領土，並與不同的代表合作，無論他們是世界各地的特工、顧問辦公室還是政府代表，來做一些事情。

One, sign agents so that these agents can help put feet on the streets and bring businesses, imports businesses into the US, help us really drive international business into the US, but also allow us to tap funds, some governments, international government sponsorship funds that some governments have to encourage their companies to really grow and to access the US market.

一、簽約代理商，讓這些代理商可以幫助我們走上街頭，把企業、進口企業引進美國，幫助我們真正帶動國際業務進入美國，同時也讓我們能夠籌集到資金，一些政府、國際政府的贊助資金一些政府必須鼓勵其公司真正發展並進入美國市場。

And so, this new group is in fact helping access these funds and attract these companies to the US.

因此，這個新組織實際上正在幫助獲得這些資金並吸引這些公司來到美國。

So while it's a fairly new group for us, they've had some good success in the short time that we've had them up and running.

因此，雖然這對我們來說是一個相當新的團隊，但他們在我們組建和運行的短時間內就取得了一些良好的成功。

And that team is about half a dozen strong now.

那支隊伍現在大約有六人左右。

And yes, we're very pleased.

是的，我們非常高興。

It's an area where Emerald was underweight relative to peers, and we're looking forward to continuing to strengthen that.

與同行相比，翡翠在這個領域的權重偏低，我們期待繼續加強這一領域。

Great, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

In your remarks, you guys talked about some testing you're doing with AI and to better personalize and improve some of the metrics.

在你們的發言中，你們談到了你們正在使用人工智慧進行的一些測試，以及如何更好地個性化和改進一些指標。

Could you just go into that a little bit more?

能再詳細討論一下嗎？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yes, of course.

是的當然。

So we have a number of tests, and like I'm sure many, if not all companies, are testing different ways to leverage technology.

因此，我們進行了許多測試，我相信很多（如果不是全部）公司都在測試利用技術的不同方法。

So we're leveraging off-the-shelf technology, AI technology.

因此，我們正在利用現成的技術，即人工智慧技術。

And in order for us to really be more effective and efficient, and it's largely around, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, around our content business and marketing.

為了讓我們真正變得更加有效和高效，正如我在開場白中提到的那樣，這很大程度上是圍繞著我們的內容業務和行銷。

So it's really how do we write copy more effectively and efficiently?

那我們要如何才能更有效地撰寫文案呢？

How do we allow this copy to be more personalized?

我們如何讓這個副本更加個人化？

And the whole concept is to be more effective and efficient so that we can personalize the messaging so that we can attract more people to attend our events in a more efficient and effective way.

整個概念是更加有效和高效，以便我們可以個性化訊息傳遞，以便我們能夠以更有效率和有效的方式吸引更多人參加我們的活動。

That's, in a nutshell, what we're trying to do.

簡而言之，這就是我們正在努力做的事情。

So that's one example.

這就是一個例子。

One example.

舉一個例子。

There's a number of other areas.

還有許多其他領域。

Some areas we've not been successful in finding use cases as when you test, not everything works.

在某些領域，我們未能成功找到用例，就像您在測試時發現的那樣，並非一切都有效。

But, and there are a few areas where there is some real opportunity, and this is one of them.

但是，有一些領域存在一些真正的機會，這就是其中之一。

And when you talk about the promise of our proprietary data that we generate here at Emerald, one of the benefits is we can better attract leads for our customers.

當您談論我們在 Emerald 產生的專有數據的承諾時，好處之一是我們可以更好地為客戶吸引潛在客戶。

But the other benefit is we could better attract leads for Emerald, and that's what this is about, which has some nice long-term implications for us.

但另一個好處是我們可以更好地為 Emerald 吸引潛在客戶，這就是我們的目的，這對我們有一些良好的長期影響。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Just last quarter, you talked about your acquisition of Hotel.

就在上個季度，您談到了對酒店的收購。

And I was just wondering if you could give an update on how that looks, Hotel Interactive, and just a reminder of when they're having their events.

我只是想知道互動酒店您是否可以提供有關其外觀的最新信息，並提醒他們何時舉辦活動。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And what they're called, the names of their events.

以及它們的名稱、事件的名稱。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Sure.

當然。

So Hotel Interactive is a series of events that are called hosted buyer events.

Hotel Interactive 是一系列被稱為「買家託管活動」的活動。

We've talked about these from time-to-time.

我們不時談論過這些。

They're smaller events where we invite a small group of in-market executives that have budget authority, buying authority, to a resort location for a couple of days.

這些活動規模較小，我們會邀請一小群擁有預算權、購買權的市場主管到度假勝地待幾天。

We pay for them to come.

我們付錢讓他們來。

That's why it's called hosted buyer, because we host them.

這就是為什麼它被稱為託管買家，因為我們託管他們。

And it's funded by sponsors who want to get in front of them with their products and services.

它是由那些希望透過他們的產品和服務在他們面前展示的贊助商資助的。

And so, we build a conference schedule that's of interest to the attendees to learn best practices, to hear from their peers on case studies.

因此，我們制定了一個會議日程，讓與會者有興趣學習最佳實踐，並聽取同行的案例研究。

And then, in exchange for us paying for them to come to this conference, they have to do a number of short meetings with suppliers to learn about their products and services.

然後，作為我們支付他們參加這次會議的費用的交換條件，他們必須與供應商進行多次簡短的會議，以了解他們的產品和服務。

And the reality is it's amongst the highest ROI products that we offer.

事實上，它是我們提供的投資報酬率最高的產品之一。

Our sponsors love these because it is in-market buyers that we're bringing in.

我們的贊助商喜歡這些，因為我們引進的是有市場的買家。

It's part of the vetting process that we go through in recruiting attendees to the event.

這是我們招募活動參與者時所經歷的審查過程的一部分。

And so, it's a very high return on their investment.

因此，他們的投資報酬率非常高。

We have phenomenal NPS scores at these events.

我們在這些活動中獲得了驚人的 NPS 分數。

And Emerald already runs a bunch of events like this through a business that was acquired in 2018 called CPMG, Connected Point Marketing Group.

Emerald 已經透過 2018 年收購的一家名為 CPMG（Connected Point Marketing Group）的企業舉辦了一系列此類活動。

And it's gone so well for us that we were looking to expand our footprint in this area.

這對我們來說進展順利，我們希望擴大我們在這一領域的足跡。

And so, we acquired Hotel Interactive.

因此，我們收購了互動酒店。

They run about 15 events a year that are evenly spread throughout the year.

他們每年舉辦約 15 場活動，這些活動均勻分佈在全年。

Most of them under the BITAC, B-I-T-A-C brand name, and a lot of hospitality-related and design-related type events, which as Herve mentioned, has been a really strong organic growth category for us.

其中大多數都以 BITAC、B-I-T-A-C 品牌名稱進行，還有許多與酒店相關和設計相關的類型活動，正如 Herve 所提到的，這對我們來說是一個非常強大的有機成長類別。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Any updates in the commerce area?

商務領域有什麼更新嗎？

The commerce area continues to progress per our strategy.

商業領域繼續按照我們的策略取得進展。

The underlying subscription software business at Elastic continues to perform well, continues to drive its product roadmap that's leading to a strong pipeline extension into new industries.

Elastic 的基礎訂閱軟體業務繼續表現良好，並繼續推動其產品路線圖，從而將管道有力地擴展到新行業。

As we've mentioned before, we've broken into the kitchen and bath category that we're very excited about.

正如我們之前提到的，我們已經進入了令我們非常興奮的廚房和浴室類別。

And we think increases the growth opportunity for that sector in the coming quarters.

我們認為未來幾季該產業的成長機會將會增加。

So we're very excited about that.

所以我們對此感到非常興奮。

The other side of commerce is the Bulletin platform.

商業的另一面是公告平台。

This week is actually a big week for them because Bulletin first brand that it integrated into was New York Now.

這週對他們來說實際上是重要的一周，因為 Bulletin 整合的第一個品牌是 New York Now。

And the New York Now event is going on as we speak.

就在我們說話的時候，「New York Now」活動正在進行中。

And Herve and I were there on Monday and there was tremendous amount of activity around the incubator section, which was driven by a lot of the original brands from Bulletin, but also has a kind of a demo area for buyers and vendors of the platform to continue to drive traction of that.

Herve 和我星期一在那裡，孵化器部分有大量的活動，這是由 Bulletin 的許多原創品牌推動的，但也有一個演示區，供平台的買家和供應商使用繼續推動這一趨勢。

But for this show, it is integrated into the event website.

但對於這個節目，它被整合到活動網站中。

So the site is commerce enabled for approved buyers and transactions are taking place and it's been an exciting week for us.

因此，該網站已為批准的買家啟用了商務功能，並且交易正在進行中，這對我們來說是令人興奮的一周。

That's great.

那太棒了。

My last question would be just, how do you think about the pipeline or opportunity for new trade shows that in your accelerator that you create yourself and then also on the M&A side?

我的最後一個問題是，您如何看待您自己創建的加速器以及併購方面的新貿易展的管道或機會？

Both have some good strong pipeline.

兩者都有一些良好而強大的管道。

We, as you know, on the accelerator side, we have a very disciplined process that we use with a three gate review process.

如您所知，在加速器方面，我們有一個非常嚴格的流程，我們使用三個審核流程。

And we have a number of candidates that are going through.

我們有一些候選人正在通過。

I'm looking it up as we speak here.

當我們在這裡說話時，我正在尋找它。

I think it's about a dozen different concepts that are going through the different gates for an accelerator in gate one.

我認為大約有十幾個不同的概念正在通過不同的大門，成為第一道加速器。

I think, yeah, it's about 12 to 15 different ideas that are in the very initial phases of review.

我認為，是的，大約有 12 到 15 個不同的想法正處於審查的最初階段。

And there are three or four in the more advanced phases.

更高級的階段還有三、四個。

That means that they've gone through the initial vetting and now in more advanced research and going through the next steps of putting budgets together and formal business cases and final approvals to launch.

這意味著他們已經完成了最初的審查，現在正在進行更高級的研究，並完成下一步的預算摘要、正式的業務案例和最終批准啟動。

And so, those hopefully you'll be hearing more about in the short term.

因此，希望您在短期內能聽到更多有關這些內容的資訊。

As it relates to M&A, we have a good strong pipeline.

就併購而言，我們擁有強大的通路。

I would say they're a mix of small to midsize assets.

我想說它們是中小型資產的組合。

And it's a growing pipeline.

而且這是一個不斷成長的管道。

And we continue to pursue those aggressively and hope to announce transactions as we've committed because M&A is an important part of our portfolio optimization strategy, as David mentioned.

我們將繼續積極追求這些目標，並希望按照我們的承諾宣布交易，因為正如大衛所提到的，併購是我們投資組合優化策略的重要組成部分。

We want to continue to diversify the portfolio and we'll continue to do that through both launching and acquiring events.

我們希望繼續實現投資組合多元化，並將繼續透過推出和收購活動來實現這一目標。

Okay, great.

好的，太好了。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Congrats on the quarter, initiating a dividend, reiterating your guidance.

恭喜本季度，開始派發股息，重申您的指導。

So it seems I like what I'm hearing.

所以看來我喜歡我所聽到的。

Thank you so much.

太感謝了。

Thanks, Allen.

謝謝，艾倫。

Thank you very much, Allen.

非常感謝你，艾倫。

And there are no further questions at this time.

目前沒有其他問題。

I will turn the call back over to Herve for closing remarks.

我將把電話轉回給埃爾夫，讓他發表結束語。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

In closing, over the last few years, as many of you know, we've continued to optimize performance of the business, upgrading our go-to-market capabilities, driving best practices throughout the organization, optimizing the mix of the portfolio, as we've mentioned.

最後，正如你們許多人所知，在過去的幾年裡，我們不斷優化業務績效，升級我們的進入市場能力，在整個組織內推動最佳實踐，優化產品組合組合，我們已經提到過。

And I believe that this has positioned us very well for sustained growth for the foreseeable future.

我相信這使我們能夠在可預見的未來實現持續成長。

I want to thank you all for your participation today and look forward to talking to you on the next call.

我要感謝大家今天的參與，並期待在下次電話會議上與你們交談。

Have a great day.

祝你有美好的一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連線。

Thank you.

謝謝。