Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2016 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the First Quarter 2016 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session and instructions will be given at that time. (Operator instructions.)

各位女士、先生，感謝您耐心等候。歡迎參加2016年第一季財報電話會議。此刻，所有與會者皆處於僅收聽模式。稍後我們將進行問答環節，屆時會提供相關指示。（接線員指示。）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ed Pierce. Please go ahead sir.

我現在想將會議交給Ed Pierce。先生，請開始。

Thank you. Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. Before we get started, I'd like to remind everyone that our presentation contains forward-looking statements, representing our current judgment of what the future holds. Although we believe these statements are reasonable, they are subject to risk and uncertainties and our actual results could differ materially from those statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in today's press release and in our SEC filings. We do not assume the obligation to update statements made on this call.

謝謝。各位下午好，感謝今天加入我們。在開始之前，我想提醒各位，我們的簡報包含前瞻性陳述，代表我們目前對未來情勢的判斷。雖然我們相信這些陳述是合理的，但其仍受風險與不確定性影響，實際結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。其中部分風險與不確定性已在今日新聞稿及我們向SEC提交的文件中說明。我們不承擔更新本次電話會議中所作陳述的義務。

Please note that on this call we'll be making reference to pro forma information. Pro forma data assume the acquisition of Creative Circle and a small European Life Sciences business occurred at the beginning of 2015. For your convenience our prepared remarks can be found in the Investor Relations section of our Web site.

請注意，本次電話會議中我們將提及備考（pro forma）資訊。備考數據假設Creative Circle以及一項小型歐洲生命科學業務的收購於2015年初即已完成。為方便各位，我們的事先準備講稿可在本公司網站的投資人關係（Investor Relations）專區查閱。

I will now turn the call over to Peter Dameris, our CEO and President, who will provide an overview of our results for the quarter. Peter?

我現在把電話會議交給我們的執行長兼總裁Peter Dameris，他將概述本季業績。Peter？

Thank you Ed. Good afternoon everyone, I would like to welcome you to the On Assignment 2016 First Quarter conference call. With Ed and me today are Rand Blazer, President of Apex Systems, Mike McGowan, COO of On Assignment and President of Oxford Global Resources and Ted Hanson, Executive Vice President of On Assignment.

謝謝你，Ed。各位下午好，歡迎參加On Assignment 2016年第一季電話會議。今天與我和Ed一同出席的還有：Apex Systems總裁Rand Blazer、On Assignment營運長（COO）兼Oxford Global Resources總裁Mike McGowan，以及On Assignment執行副總裁Ted Hanson。

During our call today I will give a review of the markets we serve and our operational highlights followed by a discussion of the performance of our operating segments by Rand and Mike. I will then turn the call over to Ed for a more detailed review and discussion of our first quarter results and our estimates for the second quarter of 2016. We will then open the call up for questions.

在今天的電話會議中，我將先回顧我們所服務的市場與營運重點，接著由Rand與Mike討論各營運部門的表現。之後我會把電話交給Ed，請他更詳細地回顧並討論我們第一季的業績，以及對2016年第二季的估計。接著我們將開放提問。

Now on to our first quarter results. Our results for the quarter exceeded the high end of our previously announced financial estimates for revenues, gross profit, earnings and adjusted EBITDA. Revenues for the quarter were $582 million, up 35.3% year-over-year on a reported basis and up 17.7% on a pro forma basis. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth. Our growth rate reflected, among other things, the contribution from our hiring surge of sales and recruiting consultants that began in the second half of 2014 and higher over productivity.

接下來談第一季業績。本季在營收、毛利、獲利與調整後EBITDA方面的表現，均超越我們先前公布之財務預估區間的上緣。本季營收為5.82億美元，以申報口徑（reported basis）計年增35.3%，以備考口徑（pro forma basis）計年增17.7%。這是連續第四季營收成長加速。我們的成長率反映了多項因素，其中包括自2014年下半年開始大幅增聘業務與招募顧問所帶來的貢獻，以及更高的整體生產力。

Virtually all of our divisions contributed to our strong first quarter performance. Our size and service offerings enable us to grow faster than the published staffing industry growth rate of 6% and we believe that we are well positioned to generate solid above market revenue growth rates in the future. Revenue growth came from both our local, mid-market and large national accounts reflecting strong customer demand. We believe based on current performance that this solid growth will continue. Our IT business continues to see high demand from our customers, driven in part by a greater adoption of staff augmentation as a viable alternative to outsourcing, off-shoring and consulting. With respect to recent production our weekly assignment revenues, which exclude conversion, billable expenses and direct placement revenues averaged $44 million for the last two weeks, up 18.1% over the same period in 2015.

幾乎我們所有事業部門都對第一季的強勁表現有所貢獻。我們的規模與服務內容使我們能以高於人力派遣產業公布之6%成長率的速度成長；我們相信未來也具備條件持續創造高於市場的穩健營收成長。營收成長同時來自本地、中型市場與大型全國性客戶，反映出客戶需求強勁。基於目前的表現，我們相信這股穩健成長將會延續。我們的IT業務持續看到客戶端的高度需求，部分原因是客戶更廣泛採用人力增補（staff augmentation）作為外包、離岸（off-shoring）與顧問服務的可行替代方案。就近期產出而言，我們最近兩週的每週派遣（assignment）營收（不含轉換、可計費費用與直接安置營收）平均為4,400萬美元，較2015年同期成長18.1%。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $62.4 million or 10.7% of revenues, up from $38.7 million or 9% of revenues in the first quarter of 2015 on an as reported basis. As a reminder, our gross and adjusted EBITDA margins are lower in the first quarter of every year due to payroll tax resets. Integration and cash generation related to our acquisitions continues to be at or above our expectation.

本季調整後EBITDA為6,240萬美元，占營收10.7%；相較之下，2015年第一季以申報口徑計為3,870萬美元，占營收9%。提醒各位，我們的毛利率與調整後EBITDA利潤率在每年第一季通常較低，原因是薪資稅（payroll tax）在年初重置。與收購相關的整合與現金創造能力持續達到或高於我們的預期。

Since the closing of the Creative Circle acquisition we have repaid $134 million of our debt, our current leverage ratio is 2.80 times trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. We estimate our leverage ratio to be approximately 2.65 times by the end of the second quarter of 2016. We continue to see signs of the ongoing debate regarding the on-demand workforce or gig economy is accelerating the usage of contract labor. Rationalization of human capital by using a staffing industry services is truly the only way to avoid the risk of misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Our customers have and are realizing this and that is why we believe the secular growth opportunities for the entire professional staffing industry are so attractive.

自Creative Circle收購案完成以來，我們已償還1.34億美元的債務；目前槓桿比率為過去12個月調整後EBITDA的2.80倍。我們估計到2016年第二季末，槓桿比率約為2.65倍。我們持續看到跡象顯示，圍繞隨需勞動力（on-demand workforce）或零工經濟（gig economy）的持續辯論，正在加速合約勞動力的使用。透過使用人力派遣產業服務來進行人力資本的合理化，確實是避免將員工誤分類為獨立承包商之風險的唯一方式。我們的客戶已經並且正在意識到這一點，因此我們認為整個專業人力派遣產業的結構性成長機會非常具吸引力。

We also believe that we are well positioned to service our customers needs as technology rapidly evolves and is adopted. While we are sensitive to and conscious of the fears of an economic slowdown in the U.S., to date, we have not seen a significant change in our customers normal purchasing behavior for our contract assignment services. We continue to see solid demand from the end markets we serve and continue to benefit from improved productivity of the additional headcount that we added during our hiring surge in the second half of 2014 and 2015. Those productivity levels are in line with our expectation.

我們也相信，隨著科技快速演進並被採用，我們具備良好條件來滿足客戶需求。雖然我們對美國經濟放緩的疑慮保持敏感並有所警覺，但截至目前，我們尚未看到客戶在採購我們合約派遣服務方面的正常購買行為出現顯著變化。我們持續看到所服務終端市場的穩健需求，並持續受惠於2014年下半年及2015年增聘人力所帶來的生產力提升。這些生產力水準符合我們的預期。

I will now turn the call over to Rand Blazer, president of Apex Systems who will review the operations of his segment. Rand?

我現在把電話交給Apex Systems總裁Rand Blazer，他將回顧其事業部門的營運狀況。Rand？

Thank you Peter. The Apex segment which consists of the Apex Systems, Lab Support, the Creative Circle business units reported strong results for the quarter. Revenues for the segment were $433.2 million, up 20.8% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. Revenues from Apex Systems, which accounts for 73.6% of the segments revenues were up 21.5% year-over-year. This performance reflects among other things, higher demand in our end-markets and continue to improve contribution from our field sales teams. Lab Support's revenue growth was also strong with growth rates higher than the previous four quarters, Creative Circle which was acquired, as you all know, in June of 2015 reported revenues above our expectations. This unit continues to perform well with year-over-year pro forma growth rate for the quarter at a high rate.

謝謝你，Peter。Apex事業部門由Apex Systems、Lab Support以及Creative Circle等業務單位組成，本季表現強勁。該部門本季營收為4.332億美元，以備考口徑計年增20.8%。其中Apex Systems占該部門營收的73.6%，其營收年增21.5%。此一表現反映了多項因素，包括終端市場需求更高，以及我們前線業務團隊的貢獻持續改善。Lab Support的營收成長同樣強勁，成長率高於前四季；如各位所知於2015年6月收購的Creative Circle，本季營收也高於我們的預期。該單位持續表現良好，本季備考口徑的年增率維持在高水準。

Our gross margin for the segment was 29.1% which was slightly lower than our expectations and estimates. Increased growth from Apex's top accounts, which revenue typically carries a lower gross margin, was the biggest contributor to the short-fall. Our segments contributions in terms of EBITDA continued with strong performance and increased conversion of gross profit to EBITDA on a year-over-year basis.

該部門本季毛利率為29.1%，略低於我們的預期與估計。Apex最大客戶（top accounts）帶來的成長增加，而這類營收通常具有較低的毛利率，是造成差距的最大因素。就EBITDA而言，我們該部門的貢獻仍維持強勁表現，且毛利轉換為EBITDA的比率較去年同期提升。

With respect to Apex Systems, the IT staffing division, revenue growth was propelled by a number of factors including the following; double digit Q1 revenue growth on year-over-year basis in all of our accounts and all seven industry verticals we serviced. Number two, growth in our top accounts led the way with continued revenue acceleration. Third, Apex local branch or mid-market business contributed with high single digit growth rates in Q1 and lastly, our sales force productivity also grew nicely in the quarter which I referenced before supporting both our revenue performance and the productivity needed to drive our conversion rates. Our Lab Support and Creative Circle units are seeing continued good opportunities for growth as well with the market for Creative Marketing remain solid. Overall, the divisions that make up Apex Systems each had a strong performance in the quarter. With that I'll turn it over to Mike McGowan to discuss Oxford Segment results.

就 Apex Systems（IT 人才派遣事業部）而言，營收成長受到多項因素推動，包括：我們所服務的所有客戶帳戶以及七個產業垂直領域，在第一季皆呈現年對年雙位數的營收成長。第二，我們前幾大客戶的成長持續領先，帶動營收加速成長。第三，Apex 的在地分公司或中型市場業務於第一季貢獻了高個位數的成長率；最後，我們的銷售團隊生產力在本季也有不錯的提升，我先前提到過，這同時支撐了我們的營收表現，以及推動轉換率所需的生產力。我們的 Lab Support 與 Creative Circle 單位同樣持續看到良好的成長機會，Creative Marketing 市場仍然穩健。整體而言，構成 Apex Systems 的各事業部在本季皆有強勁表現。接下來我把電話交給 Mike McGowan，請他說明 Oxford 部門的業績。

Thanks Rand. The Oxford Segment includes Oxford, CyberCoders, our perm placement business and Life Sciences Europe. The segment had revenues of $148.9 million for the first quarter of 2016, up 11% year-over-year. Gross margin for the quarter was 41.4% down 20 basis points year-over-year primarily due to our business mix. Oxford's revenue for the first quarter was $114 million which comprises 76.6% of the segments revenues which were up 10.4% year-over-year. Oxford's gross margin for the period was 32.3% slightly higher than the 32.1% reported in the first quarter of 2015.

謝謝，Rand。Oxford 部門包含 Oxford、CyberCoders、我們的永久職缺媒合（perm placement）業務，以及 Life Sciences Europe。該部門 2016 年第一季營收為 1.489 億美元，年對年成長 11%。本季毛利率為 41.4%，年對年下降 20 個基點，主要是因為我們的業務組合所致。Oxford 第一季營收為 1.14 億美元，占該部門營收的 76.6%，年對年成長 10.4%。Oxford 期間毛利率為 32.3%，略高於 2015 年第一季所報告的 32.1%。

Oxford has had continued consolidated year-over-year growth throughout 2015 and into 2016 primarily driven by growth in our larger key accounts, continued sharp focus on assigning consultants within our targeted skill disciplines, increased demand for EMR implementations, upgrades and optimization projects and ongoing demand for coding and consulting services.

Oxford 在 2015 年全年並延續至 2016 年，持續維持合併口徑的年對年成長，主要由我們較大型的關鍵客戶成長所帶動；同時我們持續高度聚焦於在目標技能領域配置顧問、EMR 導入／升級／最佳化專案需求增加，以及對編碼與顧問服務的持續需求。

Our segments permanent placement revenues, virtually all from CyberCoders, were $21.5 million up 9.1% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. While our growth rate was above published industry growth rates for the quarter, it was lower than previous quarters. We believe that the slower growth, which we started seeing at the beginning of the year, is related to uncertainties surrounding the health of the U.S. and global economy and customers having less urgency in filling their permanent employee needs. We do believe, however, that we will grow our permanent placement revenues at or above industry growth rates for the rest of 2016. Moreover, we will continue to invest in new technology, it will more efficiently identify and match relevant candidates to our open job orders.

我們部門的永久職缺媒合營收（幾乎全部來自 CyberCoders）為 2,150 萬美元，按擬制（pro forma）基礎計算年對年成長 9.1%。雖然我們本季成長率高於已公布的產業成長率，但低於前幾季。我們認為，年初開始看到的成長放緩，與美國及全球經濟健康狀況的不確定性有關，客戶在補足永久員工需求方面的急迫性降低。不過，我們仍相信在 2016 年剩餘期間，我們的永久職缺媒合營收將以等同或高於產業成長率的速度成長。此外，我們將持續投資新技術，使其能更有效率地辨識並配對合適候選人至我們的職缺需求。

Our European revenues grew $25.2 million in the first quarter, up 21.2% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. The segments consolidated revenue growth was the result of varying degrees of year-over-year growth in all of our disciplines and all of our business units. Finally, throughout the first quarter and into the second quarter, we have made investments in head count to focus on the high-end digital needs of our clients.

我們歐洲地區第一季營收為 2,520 萬美元，按擬制（pro forma）基礎計算年對年成長 21.2%。該部門合併營收成長，來自我們所有專業領域與所有事業單位在年對年比較下不同程度的成長。最後，在第一季期間並延續至第二季，我們已在員額方面進行投資，以聚焦於客戶對高階數位需求的服務。

I'll now turn the call over to Ed Pierce. Ed?

我現在把電話交給 Ed Pierce。Ed？

Thank you Mike. Before I begin, before I review our financial results for the quarter, please note that we have revised certain of the supplemental information tables in our earnings release. As you can see, we added pro forma and constant currency data by segment. Because of the immaterial effect on the quarter of the year-over-year fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, we will not be making any further references to constant currency on this call.

謝謝你，Mike。在我開始、在我回顧本季財務結果之前，請注意我們已修訂盈餘新聞稿中的部分補充資訊表。如各位所見，我們按部門新增了擬制（pro forma）與固定匯率（constant currency）資料。由於外匯匯率年對年波動對本季影響不重大，我們在本次電話會議中將不再進一步提及固定匯率。

As Peter mentioned earlier, our financial results for the quarter were above the high end of our previously announced estimates, our pro forma revenue growth for the quarter was 17.7% excluding the contribution from the two businesses acquired in the second quarter of last year, revenues were up 16.9% year-over-year. Our assignment revenues were $549.6 million, up 18.1% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. The year-over-year growth rate for the quarter was over four percentage points higher than the preceding quarter.

如 Peter 先前提到，我們本季財務結果高於先前公布預估區間的上緣；本季擬制（pro forma）營收成長為 17.7%，若排除去年第二季收購的兩項業務貢獻，營收年對年成長 16.9%。我們的派遣（assignment）營收為 5.496 億美元，按擬制（pro forma）基礎計算年對年成長 18.1%。本季年對年成長率較前一季高出超過 4 個百分點。

The higher growth rate in part benefited from one additional billing day during the quarter and then easier prior year comparison is Q1 of last year was the lowest growth rate quarter of 2015.

較高的成長率部分受惠於本季多出一天可計費日（billing day），此外也因為比較基期較容易：去年第一季是 2015 年成長率最低的一季。

Our permanent placement revenues were $32.5 million, up 11.3% year-over-year on a pro forma basis which was significantly lower than the preceding quarters. The lower growth rate reflects the market conditions that Mike discussed earlier as well as an easier year-over-year comparison for Q4 of last year. Our gross margin for the quarter was 32.3% which was slightly below our previously announced financial estimates. The slight compression in margin was primarily mixed driven as Apex System reported higher than expected revenue growth and there was a lower mix of permanent placement revenues. As we have stated before, Apex Systems has a lower gross margin than certain of our other units but a higher conversion of gross profit into adjusted EBITDA due to a scale in operating efficiency.

我們的永久職缺媒合營收為 3,250 萬美元，按擬制（pro forma）基礎計算年對年成長 11.3%，顯著低於前幾季。較低的成長率反映了 Mike 先前討論的市場狀況，以及去年第四季較容易的年對年比較基期。本季毛利率為 32.3%，略低於我們先前公布的財務預估。毛利率些微壓縮主要由組合因素所致：Apex Systems 的營收成長高於預期，且永久職缺媒合營收占比降低。如我們先前所述，Apex Systems 的毛利率低於我們其他部分單位，但由於營運效率的規模效益，其將毛利轉換為調整後 EBITDA 的比率較高。

SG&A expenses were $139.9 million or 24% of revenues. Our adjusted SG&A expenses, which exclude the $2.3 million in acquisition, integration and strategic planning expenses, which we do not include in our financial estimates, and non-cash expenses of $12.2 million were $125.3 million or 21.5% of revenues. Our adjusted SG&A expenses were $1.8 million or 1.5% above the high end of our previously announced estimates for SG&A expenses which was primarily due to commissions on higher than estimated gross profit, higher bonus accruals and investments in some new digital practice areas.

SG&A 費用為 1.399 億美元，占營收 24%。我們的調整後 SG&A 費用（排除 230 萬美元的收購、整合與策略規劃費用——我們未將其納入財務預估——以及 1,220 萬美元的非現金費用）為 1.253 億美元，占營收 21.5%。調整後 SG&A 費用較我們先前公布的 SG&A 費用預估區間上緣高出 180 萬美元（或 1.5%），主要因為毛利高於預估所帶來的佣金增加、獎金提列較高，以及對部分新的數位實務領域的投資。

The adjusted SG&A expense margin of 21.5% for the quarter was 1.1 percentage points lower than Q1 of last year as a result of improved operating efficiencies. This year-over-year improvement was achieved despite the incremental cost of the hiring surge in the second half of 2015 of $1 million to $1.5 million, higher incentive bonus accruals as operating performance in the current quarter was in-line with, or above, our incentive targets whereas operating performance in Q1 of last year was generally below our target and the cost of investments in new practice areas.

本季調整後 SG&A 費用率 21.5%，較去年第一季低 1.1 個百分點，係因營運效率提升所致。儘管如此仍能達成年對年改善，原因在於：2015 年下半年大幅增聘所帶來的新增成本約 100 萬至 150 萬美元、較高的激勵獎金提列（因本季營運表現符合或高於我們的激勵目標，而去年第一季營運表現通常低於目標），以及對新實務領域投資的成本。

Non-cash SG&A expenses were in line with our previously announced estimates regarding the $2.3 million in acquisition integration and strategic planning expenses; virtually all related to the integration of certain operating units onto Oxford's front and back office systems. Most of this work has been completed and beginning next quarter we expect to see lower integration costs. Adjusted income from continuing operations for the quarter was $35.4 million or $0.66 per share. The calculation of adjusted earnings per diluted share is set forth in our press release.

非現金 SG&A 費用符合我們先前公布的預估；其中 230 萬美元的收購整合與策略規劃費用幾乎全部與將部分營運單位整合至 Oxford 的前台與後台系統相關。此項工作大多已完成，預期自下季起整合成本將降低。本季持續營業單位的調整後淨利為 3,540 萬美元，或每股 0.66 美元。調整後稀釋每股盈餘的計算方式已載於我們的新聞稿。

Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, also defined in our press release was $62.4 million or 10.7% of revenues. Cash flows from operating activities were $37.3 million and capital expenditures were $7.3 million. During the quarter we paid down $33 million of our long-term debt.

調整後 EBITDA（非 GAAP 指標；定義亦載於我們的新聞稿）為 6,240 萬美元，占營收 10.7%。營業活動現金流量為 3,730 萬美元，資本支出為 730 萬美元。本季我們償還了 3,300 萬美元的長期負債。

Now turning to the financial estimates for the second quarter of 2016, we're estimating revenues of $592 to $602 million. Adjusted income per diluted share of $0.76 to $0.79 and adjusted EBITDA of $71 to $74 million. These estimates do not include any acquisition integration or strategic planning costs. Our revenue estimates imply pro forma year-over-year growth of approximately 12% which is about two times higher than the published industry growth rate.

現在轉到2016年第二季的財務預估，我們預估營收為5.92億至6.02億美元。調整後稀釋每股盈餘為0.76至0.79美元，調整後EBITDA為7,100萬至7,400萬美元。這些預估不包含任何併購整合或策略規劃成本。我們的營收預估意味著備考口徑的年增率約為12%，約為已公布產業成長率的兩倍。

I will now turn the call back over to Peter for some closing remarks. Peter?

我現在把電話交回給Peter做一些結語。Peter？

Thank you Ed. We continue to believe our scale, size and breadth of services has us well positioned to take advantage of what we believe will be a historic secular growth for the staffing industry and dynamic changes in the technology world as it moves more into the digital one.

謝謝你，Ed。我們仍然相信，我們的規模、體量以及服務廣度，使我們處於有利位置，能夠把握我們認為將是人力派遣產業歷史性的長期結構性成長，以及科技世界在邁向更數位化過程中的動態變化。

While the entire On Assignment team is very proud of our performance, we remain focused on continuing to profitably grow our business and increase our rate of growth. I'd like to once again thank our many loyal, dedicated and talented employees whose efforts have allowed us to progress to where we are today. I would like to now open the call up to participants for questions. Operator?

雖然整個On Assignment團隊都為我們的表現感到非常自豪，但我們仍專注於持續以獲利方式成長業務並提升成長率。我想再次感謝我們眾多忠誠、敬業且才華洋溢的員工，他們的努力讓我們走到今天。我現在開放讓與會者提問。接線員？

(Operator instructions.) One moment please for our first question. We'll go to the line of Tobey Sommer with SunTrust. Please go ahead.

(接線員指示。) 請稍候，我們將進行第一個問題。我們接通SunTrust的Tobey Sommer專線。請發問。

Hi, this is actually Kwan Kim on for Tobey. Thanks for taking my questions. First off, what are the trends that you're seeing in your larger accounts? I guess, what drove the higher growth for Oxford and Apex?

嗨，其實我是代Tobey提問的Kwan Kim。謝謝讓我提問。首先，你們在較大型客戶帳戶看到的趨勢是什麼？我想問，是什麼帶動Oxford和Apex較高的成長？

You know, it's what we said in our prepared remarks that we're well positioned within the accounts because of our size and breadth of services that many other competitors just can't respond to. We've worked with a lot of these customers for long-term and this particular period they were active in executing against their technology needs and shifting IT service spend between the different deployment models of outsourcing, off-shoring, staff augmentation, internal execution and project consulting. So it was a productive market for us to compete in.

你知道的，正如我們在事先準備的發言中所說，我們因為規模與服務廣度，在這些客戶帳戶中具備很好的定位，許多其他競爭對手根本無法回應。我們與許多客戶長期合作，而在這段期間，他們積極執行其科技需求，並在不同的部署模式之間調整IT服務支出，包括外包、離岸外包、人力增補、內部執行以及專案顧問服務。因此，對我們而言這是一個很有利、可以競爭的市場。

Okay, and what is the constant currency organic growth rate implied in guidance?

好的，那指引所隱含的固定匯率有機成長率是多少？

It's about the same as what it is currently and there was no material affect as we mentioned earlier as it relates to the year-over-year change and so Q2 pretty much implies the same thing.

大致與目前相同，而且如我們先前提到的，就年對年變化而言沒有重大影響，因此第二季基本上也隱含相同的情況。

Got it and could you talk about the trends you're seeing in bill rates across your competitive landscape?

了解了。你能談談在你們的競爭環境中，計費單價（bill rates）的趨勢嗎？

Yeah, they're consistent with what we were seeing in the first quarter, so there's stability.

可以，與我們在第一季看到的情況一致，所以是穩定的。

Next we'll go to the line of Kevin McVeigh with Macquarie, please go ahead.

接下來我們接通Macquarie的Kevin McVeigh專線，請發問。

Great, thanks so much. Hey, just a tremendous, tremendous job. Hey Peter, can you just help us understand a little bit the success you folks are having sourcing candidates because I almost feel like with IT where it is, we're in a candidate recession and off of that, have you had to shift some of the sales folks into sourcing or just given the numbers that you show outpace in the industry. I just want to understand that a little bit more. And just again, tremendous, tremendous job.

太好了，非常感謝。嘿，真的做得非常、非常出色。Peter，你能否幫我們更了解一下你們在招募候選人方面的成功？因為我幾乎覺得以目前IT的狀況，我們正處於「候選人衰退」；延伸這點，你們是否不得不把部分業務人員轉去做招募，或是考量你們呈現的數字顯示你們的表現超越產業？我只是想更了解這一點。再次強調，真的做得非常、非常好。

Yeah, I mean Kevin, each company has their own business model and strengths and weaknesses. What I would tell you is the tightness of the marketplace really hasn't changed significantly in the last couple of quarters. We really do benefit with regard to our scale and size and years of servicing some of our larger customers. We really don't compete head-to-head on a regular basis with some of the other companies that have reported. I mean, we are taking market share from some of the large diversified commercial staffing companies when you compare our growth rate and that of other companies to their IT staffing growth rates.

是的，我是說Kevin，每家公司都有各自的商業模式，以及優勢與劣勢。我想告訴你的是，市場的緊俏程度在過去幾個季度並沒有顯著改變。我們確實受益於我們的規模、體量，以及多年來服務部分大型客戶的經驗。我們其實不會經常與一些已公布業績的其他公司正面交鋒。也就是說，當你比較我們的成長率與其他公司的成長率、以及他們的IT派遣成長率時，我們確實正在從一些大型、多元化的商用派遣公司手中取得市占。

And we do turn the rheostats. I mean, sometimes we focus more on recruitment than we do sales but all in all, it hasn't been a quantum shift because there's some new dynamic in the marketplace. I would tell you that the marketplace, at least for our business model and for our customers has been pretty consistent with what we saw the last two quarters. As far as demand, supply, tightness, if we've seen anything I think on a permanent placement basis that the candidate has gotten a little pickier and is willing to wait a little bit longer to accept a position.

而且我們確實會調整「旋鈕」。我是說，有時我們會把重心放在招募而不是銷售，但整體而言，這並不是因為市場出現某種新動態而產生的劇烈轉變。我會說，至少就我們的商業模式與客戶而言，市場表現與我們過去兩個季度看到的相當一致。就需求、供給、緊俏程度而言；如果說我們看到任何變化，我想是在永久派遣（perm）方面，候選人變得稍微更挑剔，且願意多等一段時間才接受職位。

That's helpful and then just in terms of sales force investment, is it fair to say that about two-thirds of those folks are at kind of where you'd want them to be from a productivity perspective or are we pretty much through that at this point?

這很有幫助。那再就銷售團隊投資而言，是否可以說大約三分之二的人員在生產力表現上已達到你們希望的水準，還是說我們目前基本上已經度過那個階段了？

No, I mean we're still gaining productivity. I don't have that number in front of me; whether it's 50% or two-thirds, but we're not at full contribution and productivity and we continue to add people. We've added a number of people to really have a focused effort in some of the higher end early adoption skillsets for Oxford and those people just hit the ground in the last 45 days.

不，我是說我們仍在提升生產力。我手邊沒有那個數字；是50%或三分之二，但我們還沒有達到完全的貢獻與生產力，我們也持續增聘人員。我們增聘了一些人員，專注於Oxford較高端、早期採用（early adoption）的技能組合，而這些人是在過去45天內才剛到位、開始投入。

Got it, congrats again, nice job.

了解了，再次恭喜，做得很好。

George Tong with Piper Jaffray. Please go ahead.

接下來是Piper Jaffray的George Tong。請發問。

Hi, thanks. In both your Apex and Oxford segments, can you discuss whether you're seeing elongating sales cycles and whether you're seeing evidence that the candidate supply dynamic is, in any way, constraining your growth?

嗨，謝謝。在Apex與Oxford兩個部門中，你們能否談談是否看到銷售週期拉長，以及是否看到任何證據顯示候選人供給的動態在某種程度上限制了你們的成長？

For our business, for our customers, no. The only place that we've told you that we've seen any sort of elongation is on the perm side.

就我們的業務、就我們的客戶而言，沒有。我們唯一告訴過你們看到任何拉長的地方是在永久派遣（perm）那一端。

Great.

很好。

On the contract side, no.

在合約派遣（contract）那一端，沒有。

That's helpful. Within Creative Circle, can you walk through how much of the growth in the quarter was driven by new store growth versus same-store growth and provide us with an update on cross-selling efforts?

這很有幫助。在Creative Circle方面，你能否說明本季成長有多少是由新據點成長帶動、多少是由同店成長帶動，並提供交叉銷售（cross-selling）工作的最新進展？

Yeah, so the vast majority was same-store sales. We are opening two to three offices this year but it will be deminimis compared to their total revenue. And, you know, we continue to thoughtfully plan and design how we want to help customers from creation to monetization. So, it's business as usual, it's the strength of their existing customer relationships that's driven their 20% growth.

好的，絕大多數來自同店銷售。我們今年會開設兩到三個辦公室，但相較於他們的總營收將是微不足道（de minimis）。而且，你知道的，我們持續審慎規劃與設計我們希望如何協助客戶從創意到變現。所以一切如常，推動其20%成長的是他們既有客戶關係的強勁表現。

Got it. And then lastly, a large part of growth in Apex this quarter came from top accounts which carry a lower gross margin. Can you discuss how you expect top accounts to contribute to growth going forward and if outsized growth there could cause EBITDA margin pressure acknowledging the higher flow through from gross margin to EBITDA.

了解了。最後，本季Apex的成長有很大一部分來自主要客戶帳戶，而這些帳戶的毛利率較低。你能否談談你預期主要客戶帳戶未來對成長的貢獻，以及若該處出現超常成長，是否可能對EBITDA利潤率造成壓力（考量毛利率到EBITDA較高的流入比例）？

Yeah, no, I mean Rand, you can follow-up but first of all, top accounts are very, very important to us. They're deep relationships that we've had multiple years of experience and credibility with and as we said in our prepared remarks, even though the margin may be less, the EBITDA margin is not. We have great leverage and operating efficiency so we're generating comparable EBITDA margins on that than we are on our midmarket business because of the efficiencies we have on how we service those accounts. And, Rand, do you want to add anything?

對，沒有，我的意思是，Rand，你可以再追問，但首先，頂級客戶對我們非常、非常重要。這些是我們多年來建立的深厚關係，累積了經驗與可信度；而且如同我們在事先準備的發言中所說，即使毛利率可能較低，EBITDA 利潤率並不會較低。我們具備很好的營運槓桿與作業效率，因此在這些客戶上所產生的 EBITDA 利潤率，與我們中型市場業務相當，因為我們在服務這些客戶的方式上有效率優勢。Rand，你要補充什麼嗎？

No, I think that's it. We trade off a little bit of gross margin, but we know we can productively implement the greater volume of business that they give us which converts to EBITDA so it actually if you look at our performance, our EBITDA goes up and has been trending up around conversion and percent of revenue. So what you said, Peter, is right.

不，我想就這些。我們在毛利率上會稍微做一些取捨，但我們知道可以有效率地導入他們帶來的更大業務量，並轉化為 EBITDA；所以實際上如果你看我們的表現，我們的 EBITDA 會上升，而且在轉換率與營收占比方面一直呈上升趨勢。所以你說的沒錯，Peter。

Great, thank you.

很好，謝謝。

We'll go to the line of Gary with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

我們接下來請 RBC Capital Markets 的 Gary 上線。請說。

Hey, it's Gary Bisbee, how you doing guys? I -- and I guess I'll add my congratulations too, it's great to see someone defy the malaise of the staffing rule, hopefully you'll get credit for it (inaudible). Let me just ask one more question about the large accounts. You know, obviously it sounds like things have gotten better. Can you help us understand some of the drivers of that? I mean, how much of it, practically speaking, is just you had it easy come because this was a pretty poor quarter a year ago relative to, you know, over the last few quarters having gained momentum and in particular what are you seeing from bank customers and energy and a few of the places, struggles, you know, at some point. Is it broad, is it new areas picking up or is it sort of all of the above? Thank you.

嗨，我是 Gary Bisbee，你們好嗎？我——我想我也要補上一句恭喜，很高興看到有人能逆轉人力派遣行業的低迷，希望你們能因此獲得肯定（聽不清）。我再問一個關於大型客戶的問題。你知道，顯然聽起來情況變好了。你們能幫我們理解背後的一些驅動因素嗎？我的意思是，實務上有多少只是因為比較基期容易——因為去年同期相對而言是個很差的季度；而相較於過去幾季你們動能提升，尤其是你們從銀行客戶、能源等一些曾經在某個時間點面臨壓力的領域，看到了什麼？這是全面性的嗎？是新的領域在回升，還是以上皆是？謝謝。

I mean, Gary, what I would share with you is we've had four consecutive quarters of accelerating growth. We try to give you as much information so that our investors can make a long-term investment. There was a temporary ebb in the first and second quarter of 2015 but these aren't little customers that have 50 internal employees. These are Fortune 400 companies that may have some financial challenges because of regulation or fines but they have a technology plan that has to be executed and it may move around quarter to quarter but in the long-term they're spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars annually with us. So, collectively it's large accounts.

我的意思是，Gary，我想跟你分享的是，我們已經連續四個季度呈現加速成長。我們盡量提供更多資訊，讓投資人能做長期投資判斷。2015 年第一、第二季確實有一段短暫的回落，但這些不是只有 50 名內部員工的小客戶。這些是《財富》400 大公司，可能因監管或罰款而面臨一些財務挑戰，但他們必須執行科技計畫；支出可能在季度間移動，但長期來看，他們每年在我們這裡花費數億、數億美元。所以整體而言，是大型客戶帶動。

So it's not -- I wouldn't say there's anything that, for the industry itself has been a huge shift to the positive side, it's just a little more back to normality and spending and people executing against their plans for technology and new product development. Rand, do you want to add?

所以——我不會說整個產業本身有什麼非常明顯的正向巨變；只是比較回到常態，支出回復，大家按計畫執行科技與新產品開發。Rand，你要補充嗎？

No, no, I think that's good. There's lots of work to be done in companies and in all of our industries and we've broadened the number of accounts we service over the year and we always do that year in and year out plus deeper penetration in the accounts that we have serviced, as Peter said, for a long time. So it starts with the fact that, just like Peter said, they have project needs and IT needs and, you know, they're spending on that ebbs and flows and we're there to capture it and right now we're in the capturing phase.

不，不，我覺得這樣很好。各家公司、以及我們所涵蓋的所有產業，都還有很多工作要做；而且我們這一年擴大了我們服務的客戶數量，我們每年都會這麼做；同時也更深入滲透我們長期服務的既有客戶，如 Peter 所說。所以起點在於——就像 Peter 說的——他們有專案需求與 IT 需求；他們在這方面的支出有起有落，而我們就在那裡去承接；而現在我們正處於承接的階段。

Okay and then can you provide us an example or context around the comment that Peter, you made, and I've heard from you in the past that your scale and breadth of offerings is helping you, you know, gain share or grow more quickly than some others in the market. Is that just the concept of getting on the preferred list and then being able to drive volumes at big accounts or are there other practical ways if that's really driving you to outperform?

好的，那你能否針對 Peter 你提到、而且我過去也聽你說過的評論，提供一個例子或背景：你們的規模與產品/服務廣度正在幫助你們提升市占或比市場其他人更快成長。這只是指進入優先供應商名單，然後在大型客戶那裡帶動量能的概念嗎？還是還有其他更實際的方式，讓這件事真的推動你們表現優於同業？

I mean, Gary, when there -- when you have large spend programs at major Fortune 400 companies and they come out with requests for proposals there's only a handful of companies that really have the scale, the breadth and the size to credibly respond to it and post winning credibly service it. And so Bill and Ted's Excellent Staffing Firm cannot bid on something that's going to have a thousand placements over a year.

我的意思是，Gary，當大型《財富》400 大公司有高額支出計畫並發出 RFP（提案徵求）時，真正有足夠規模、廣度與體量，能夠可信地回應、並在得標後可信地交付服務的公司，其實只有少數幾家。所以「Bill 和 Ted 的超棒派遣公司」不可能去投標那種一年要安排一千個派遣/安置名額的案子。

And so we've seen business driven to the larger players who have multi-years of experience in servicing large accounts playing to our benefit. And as you see whether it was the Navy shipyard or whether you see cyber breaches at certain consumer stores and things like that, people worry about who touches their data and who enters their premise. So, then again, size and sophistication and risk management matters and because of our size, we spend more time and money on things like that then a little $150 million staffing company does and that's what's driving our competiveness in those major accounts.

因此我們看到業務更集中到具規模的大型業者身上，而我們多年服務大型客戶的經驗正好對我們有利。而且你也看到，不論是海軍船塢事件，或是某些零售通路發生資安外洩之類的事情，人們會擔心誰會接觸他們的資料、誰會進入他們的場域。所以再一次，規模、成熟度與風險管理很重要；因為我們的規模，我們在這些事情上投入的時間與金錢，比一家年營收 1.5 億美元的小型人力派遣公司多得多，而這正是推動我們在這些大型客戶中競爭力的因素。

Yep, fair enough. And then just one last one from me, any other thoughts on, you know, just the balance sheet and at what levels you'd look to do something else. Obviously you're bringing the levers down very quickly.

是的，合理。那我最後一個問題，你們對資產負債表還有其他想法嗎？在什麼水準下你們會考慮做其他事情？顯然你們正在非常快速地降低槓桿。

Yeah, I mean we're very pleased with our cash generation and, you know, we've had the privilege of leveraging three times to about 3.8 times and rapidly delevering and we have good credibility with our credit rating agencies, our banks and with our investors that they know what we're going to do with our excess cash. And, we kind of gave guidance unless there was an extraordinary deal that we try to demonstrate how quickly we can deleverage and get to about 2.5 times and then we would reconsider. So, we gave you a forecast of where we think we're going to be at the end of the second quarter so we're rapidly getting to the point where we'll be considering alternative uses for our free cash flow. It's not that we don't feel comfortable levering up, it's just that we made a commitment and we want to demonstrate how rapidly we can delever because we will be back on the market someday to lever up to acquire something.

是的，我們對現金創造能力非常滿意；你知道，我們曾有機會把槓桿拉到約 3 倍到 3.8 倍，並且快速去槓桿。我們在信評機構、銀行以及投資人之間都有良好的可信度，他們知道我們會如何運用多餘現金。而且我們也大致給過指引：除非有非常特殊的交易，否則我們會先展現我們能多快去槓桿，把槓桿降到約 2.5 倍，之後再重新評估。所以我們也提供了我們預期第二季末會到達的水準；我們正快速接近那個點，屆時我們會考慮自由現金流的其他用途。並不是我們不願意再加槓桿，而是我們做出了承諾，也希望展現我們去槓桿的速度，因為未來某一天我們還會回到市場上，透過加槓桿來進行併購。

I guess I was just --

我想我只是——

-- to be consistent.

——為了保持一致。

No, I guess I was thinking more from the perspective of the stocks been weak, it's absurdly cheap given your performance and if you pause on the delevering potentially to think about buying stock, this report doesn't get it moving meaningfully in the other direction but I appreciate the commentary, yeah.

不，我想我更多是從這個角度：股價一直偏弱，以你們的表現來看估值便宜得離譜；如果你們在去槓桿上稍微暫停一下，轉而考慮回購股票——這份報告並沒有讓股價明顯往另一個方向走，但我理解你們的評論，謝謝。

We love our stock, we will do it, we will return capital efficiently to our shareholders and we're in value creation for more than just 30 days. So we're excited about the flexibility that we have.

我們很喜歡我們的股票，我們會做的；我們會以有效率的方式把資本回饋給股東，而且我們做價值創造不只看 30 天。所以我們對我們所擁有的彈性很興奮。

Fair enough, thanks.

了解，謝謝。

Operator?

接線員？

We'll go to the line of Sara with Bank of America. Please go ahead.

我們接下來請美國銀行的 Sara 上線。請說。

Hi, it's Sara Gubins. It looks like growth accelerated during the quarter and into the first two weeks of this quarter, is that fair? And also I want to just check if I'm comparing the right things, does the 12% pro forma growth guidance for the second quarter that you mentioned compare to the 18% that you've seen in the last two weeks?

嗨，我是 Sara Gubins。看起來本季期間以及本季前兩週的成長都有加速，這樣說公平嗎？另外我也想確認一下我比較的項目是否正確：您提到第二季 12% 的備考（pro forma）成長指引，是拿來對比您在過去兩週看到的 18% 嗎？

I don't understand what you mean by compare?

我不太明白你說的「對比」是什麼意思？

No it does not because it does not include perm for the two weeks --

不，不是，因為那不包含那兩週的永久職缺（perm）——

The 18% does not include perm but the 12% does?

18% 不包含 perm，但 12% 包含嗎？

Yes.

是的。

Got it. So, could you just help us understand the conservatism in the -- whether or not there's conservatism in the guidance baked in versus what you saw in the last couple of weeks?

了解。那麼，你能否幫我們理解一下指引中的保守程度——也就是相較於你們過去幾週看到的情況，指引裡是否已經內含保守假設？

You know I would just repeat the comment in made on the first quarter conference call Sara, which is if we can do better then we'll report it but what good does it do to get over your skis in this market? We got taken down 8% today because of an inaccurate read-through of the trends in our business versus the trends in another very good business and it happened a week ago because of a commercial staffing business. So, we're focused on delivering the best results we can and giving you numbers that are 100% faster growth than the industry and you all figure out how you want to value it.

Sara，我只能重申我在第一季法說會上的評論：如果我們能做得更好，我們就會把結果報出來；但在這個市場裡，過度樂觀、把自己逼得太緊，究竟有什麼好處？今天我們股價跌了 8%，原因是市場把我們業務趨勢錯誤地拿去對照另一家非常好的公司；一週前也因為一家商業人力派遣公司發生過類似情況。所以我們專注於交出我們能做到的最佳成果，並給你們比產業快 100% 的成長數字，至於你們要怎麼估值，就由你們自己決定。

Okay, and then turning to perm, in your prepared remarks you mentioned that CyberCoders revenue growth of 9% saw some slowing because of hesitancy around the health of the economy but you're not seeing that in temp and so first I'm curious about why you think that is and then second, could you talk to us about how perm has been trending in April and what you're assuming for perm trends in the guidance?

好的，接著談到 perm，在你們的準備稿中提到 CyberCoders 營收成長 9%，因為對經濟健康狀況的猶豫而有些放緩，但你們在 temp 方面沒有看到這種情況。所以第一，我好奇你們認為原因是什麼；第二，你能談談 perm 在 4 月的走勢，以及你們在指引中對 perm 趨勢的假設嗎？

Yeah, so a couple of things. The drivers for utilization of staff aug are much different than the drivers of permanent placement. And the whole rationalization of human capital and turning a fixed cost into a variable cost. And on the perm side beyond the obvious that we had a very, very strong 2015 and the growth rates were hard year-over-year, that -- whether it's a trend, we don't know yet, but it is growing slower than it did last year. But it's less -- our total perm and conversion fees are like 5.9% of total revenue. So, it's -- you know, we're watching it but we're not prepared to claim that there's been a permanent slow down. There has been a change in the mindset of the candidates and a little less kind of velocity in the execution from the customer.

好的，有幾點。人力增補（staff aug）的使用驅動因素，和永久派遣（permanent placement）的驅動因素差異很大。整體上是人力資本的合理化，把固定成本轉成變動成本。而在 perm 端，除了很明顯的是我們 2015 年非常、非常強勁，導致年對年成長率的比較基期很硬之外——這是不是一個趨勢我們還不確定，但它的成長確實比去年慢。不過它的占比更小——我們的 perm 與轉換費用合計約占總營收 5.9%。所以我們會觀察，但還沒準備宣稱出現永久性的放緩。候選人的心態確實有些改變，客戶端在執行上的節奏也稍微沒那麼快。

Great. And then in the guidance, what are you expecting for perm? Are you assuming a greater slowdown?

很好。那在指引裡，你們對 perm 的預期是什麼？你們是否假設會有更大的放緩？

We don't break that out.

我們不會把那個拆分揭露。

Okay. Great, well thank you very much and also thank you for putting the prepared remarks up in advance, that's incredibly helpful.

好的。非常好，謝謝你們。另外也謝謝你們提前把準備稿放上去，真的非常有幫助。

Yeah, my Texas twang doesn't get transcribed well.

是啊，我的德州腔不太好被逐字轉錄。

We'll go to the line of Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

接下來請 BMO Capital Markets 的 Jeff Silber 提問。請說。

Thanks so much and let me echo the sentiment about having the prepared remarks, it really helps a lot. Peter, you had mentioned the fact that you didn't want to get out over your skis and I do understand that, but maybe we can step back and compare where you are now to where you were three months ago. What really drove the sizable upside surprise in the quarter?

非常感謝，也讓我呼應一下關於提供準備稿的感受，真的幫助很大。Peter，你提到不想「衝過頭」，我理解；但也許我們可以退一步，把你們現在的狀況和三個月前相比。本季出現顯著超預期的主要驅動因素是什麼？

Well, it was just continued execution on the part of some of our teams with some major accounts. We worked very hard last year on some new accounts and once we won them and started servicing them we were getting a good share of the business that was available there.

嗯，主要就是我們一些團隊在幾個大型客戶上的持續執行力。去年我們在一些新客戶上非常努力；一旦我們拿下並開始服務後，就能在那裡可取得的業務中拿到不錯的份額。

The people that we've hired over the past year are gaining productivity. Oxford had a particularly strong quarter in healthcare IT and ERP so it was just -- it was a healthy market and good execution.

我們過去一年招募的人員生產力正在提升。Oxford 在醫療保健 IT 與 ERP 方面本季特別強勁，所以就是——市場健康，加上執行到位。

Okay, fair enough. I know you broke out the Creative Circle revenues in the quarter and forgive me even though I loved your prepared remarks, did you state what the Creative Circle business grew on a pro forma basis?

好的，合理。我知道你們在本季把 Creative Circle 的營收拆出來說明了，請原諒我——雖然我很喜歡你們的準備稿——你們有提到 Creative Circle 業務在備考（pro forma）基礎上的成長是多少嗎？

I did verbally but we didn't in the prepared remarks. It was about 20%.

我口頭有提，但準備稿裡沒有寫。大約是 20%。

20% and are you seeing faster growth in that business because of the election cycles or something going on specifically in that vertical?

20%，那你們是否看到該業務因為選舉週期之類的因素而成長更快，或是那個垂直領域有什麼特別的事情在發生？

No, it's just -- it's a good marketplace, there's real value add. We do not do a lot in the political cycle and they're the largest in the industry and they're getting their fair share of capture business.

沒有，就是——市場環境不錯，而且確實有實質的加值。我們在政治選舉週期的業務並不多；他們是產業中規模最大的，也拿到了他們應得的業務捕獲份額。

Okay, great. Appreciate the color, thanks so much.

好的，很好。謝謝你提供的補充說明，感謝。

Edward Caso with Wells Fargo. Your line is open.

接下來是 Wells Fargo 的 Edward Caso。你的線路已開通。

Hi, just maybe that sort of segue from the last comment. In your history Peter, what happens around presidential cycles? Do you see your business pause at all either before or after elections?

嗨，延續上一個評論做個轉折。Peter，以你的經驗，在總統選舉週期前後通常會發生什麼？你會看到你們的業務在選前或選後有任何停頓嗎？

You know Ed, I'm embarrassed to tell you, I really haven't thought about that or reflected. I guess thinking on my feet, you know, I don't think it really affects the spend cycle. I guess people think that one particular candidate is going to lower the boom on tax credits or amortization then people may want to accelerate spend and get things completed. I think people probably spend more time surfing the Internet and seeing a story about what someone said but all in all, if I was to draw something from it, I think if someone was fearful that a benefit or a privilege was going to be taken away, they would try to execute before it's getting taken away.

Ed，我有點不好意思說，我其實沒有特別想過或回顧這件事。如果臨場想一下，我覺得它不太會影響支出週期。我想如果大家認為某位候選人會對稅額抵減或攤銷「下重手」，那人們可能會想加速支出、把事情提前完成。我想大家可能花更多時間在網路上看某人說了什麼的新聞；但總體而言，如果要我歸納，我認為如果有人擔心某項利益或特權會被取消，他們會試著在被取消之前先把事情做完。

But we really haven't factored that into the guidance that we gave you.

但我們確實沒有把這點納入我們給你們的指引假設。

My other question is assuming it's a calendar year client, they generally finish up their budgets early in the year and then start to ramp as the March quarter moves along and if they're nervous about the economy sometimes they ramp slower. Are you seeing -- what are you seeing this year say relative to the last few years as far as the embracing of the budget, the clients budget?

我另一個問題是：假設客戶是以曆年為會計年度，他們通常在年初就把預算定案，然後隨著 3 月季度的推進開始拉升；如果他們對經濟感到緊張，有時拉升會比較慢。你們今年看到的情況——相較於過去幾年——在預算的採用、客戶預算的落實方面，是什麼樣子？

Yeah, I mean that's why in our prepared remark that we said that we haven't seen any significant change into our customers normal purchasing behavior.

是的，我的意思是，這也就是為什麼我們在準備稿裡說，我們沒有看到客戶正常採購行為出現任何顯著變化。

Right, thank you. Congrats.

好的，謝謝。恭喜。

Yep.

謝謝。

We'll go to the line of Mark Marcon with R.W. Baird. Please go ahead.

接下來請 R.W. Baird 的 Mark Marcon 提問。請說。

Hello, I'll add my congratulations and also my appreciation of the prepared remarks and providing that in advance. I wish every company in the industry did that.

你好，我也要表達恭喜，並且感謝你們提前提供準備稿。我希望產業裡每家公司都能這麼做。

With regards to Creative Circle, can you talk a little bit about the gross margins that you're seeing there? How are they comparing relative to a year ago, how do you think they're going to unfold?

關於 Creative Circle，你能稍微談談你們在那邊看到的毛利率嗎？相較於一年前表現如何？你認為接下來會如何發展？

Yeah, they're good. They're stable. As we made comments several times Mark, when we did our underwriting work one of the takeaways or conclusions that we came to was that we thought the margin for the next couple of years would be stable. Now, on a reported basis, as you know, they get 5%, 6% of their revenue from perm and then the rest is contract and the contract margin is good and it's been stable.

是的，表現不錯。很穩定。如同我之前多次提到的，Mark，當我們做承銷評估（underwriting）工作時，其中一個重點結論是，我們認為未來幾年的毛利率會保持穩定。另外，就已揭露的口徑而言，如你所知，他們有 5%、6% 的營收來自永久職（perm），其餘是合約派遣（contract），而合約的毛利率不錯且一直很穩定。

If there was to be -- we haven't seen a big falloff there in particular but if you were to see a big falloff in perm then the reported gross margin for Creative would go down just because of mix but we're not seeing pressure on the contract assignment gross margin.

如果出現——我們並沒有特別看到那邊有明顯下滑——但如果你真的看到永久職（perm）大幅下滑，那 Creative 的已揭露毛利率會因為組合（mix）因素而下降；不過我們沒有看到合約派遣毛利率有壓力。

Great, and can you talk a little bit about, you know, the prospects for cross-selling with Apex and Oxford and how -- now that it's been part of the portfolio for a while, you know, what sort of cooperation you're seeing between the different groups?

很好，那你能稍微談談與 Apex 和 Oxford 的交叉銷售前景嗎？以及——現在它已經納入投資組合一段時間了——你看到不同團隊之間有哪些合作？

It's good. I mean, I -- we prefer not to go into it in detail right now but when you're growing as fast as we're growing right now, we're -- we've got some low hanging fruit that we're not picking because we're just trying to keep up with our own internal growth. But we are spending time. You've heard me use the phrase creation demonetization. Apex is known more for heavy tech in Oxford for heavy technology, Creative is known more for the creative user experience and customers need to be able to do it all. So we're trying to stand in front of the customer and say no one can provide that suite of service like we can.

很好。我的意思是——我們目前比較不想深入細節，但當我們現在成長速度這麼快時，我們——有一些唾手可得的機會（low hanging fruit）還沒去摘，因為我們只是努力跟上自身的內生成長。但我們確實有投入時間。你們聽過我用「創造去貨幣化（creation demonetization）」這個說法。Apex 更以重度科技（heavy tech）著稱，Oxford 也是偏重度科技；Creative 則更以創意與使用者體驗著稱，而客戶需要能夠把這些都做到。所以我們試著站在客戶面前說：沒有人能像我們一樣提供這樣一整套服務。

Great, and then with regards to Apex, just in terms of the Apex Systems, when we take a look at that growth with some of the larger accounts, appreciating that some of those larger accounts have other large players that they also work with and that may also have a large breadth of services. Do you feel like you were gaining share relative to some of those other ones for the specific accounts that you ended up gaining some incremental work on?

很好，接著關於 Apex，就 Apex Systems 而言，當我們看它在一些大型客戶的成長時，考量到其中一些大型客戶也會與其他大型業者合作，而那些業者可能也有很廣的服務範圍。你是否覺得，在你們最終拿到一些額外工作量的那些特定客戶上，你們相對於其他業者正在提升市占？

I mean it's account by account by I would make this generic comment. There are three other companies that have reported and their IT North American growth rates were substantially lower than ours. So if we're in the same accounts then I assume we're getting a little bigger share of the spend than they are.

我的意思是要看每個客戶，但我可以做一個概括性的評論。另外三家公司已經公布了業績，而它們在北美 IT 的成長率明顯低於我們。所以如果我們在相同的客戶裡，那我推測我們拿到的支出占比（share of spend）會比他們更高一些。

I mean, some of them, you know, are very different in terms of a company that reported yesterday, it's a great company, but it plays in a completely different space.

我的意思是，其中有些公司——你知道——在定位上差異很大；例如昨天公布的那家公司，是一家很棒的公司，但它所處的領域完全不同。

We really do not compete with them.

我們其實不跟他們競爭。

Right, so when we think about the companies that are comparable to you, both public and private, do you feel like you're gaining more relative to those true comps?

了解，所以當我們想到與你們可比的公司（comps），不論上市或私營，你覺得你們相對於那些真正的可比同業正在取得更多份額嗎？

No, I would say that, and Rand I'll let you pick up, but the two that are maybe closest comps to Apex are both private.

不，我會說——Rand 我讓你接著說——但與 Apex 最接近的兩個可比對象可能都是私營公司。

Right.

了解。

I think one of them is growing comparable to us, the other one is probably less than us but better than what you see from some of the broad-line staffing firms. Rand, do you want to add anything?

我認為其中一家成長速度與我們相當，另一家可能比我們慢一些，但仍優於你在一些綜合型人力派遣公司（broad-line staffing firms）看到的表現。Rand，你要補充什麼嗎？

No, I agree. I would say if you look at the -- in the earnings release, you'll see the concentration of our top ten customers for Apex. It's come down over the course of a year or so, it's been going through the growth spurt which implies that we're gaining new accounts, we're growing in more accounts and I think there's no question we're taking some market share in some of the accounts that we're in. But -- and customers are also spending. In some sectors of the economy, customers are spending more on IT because that's a path to helping get more efficient as businesses. So I think all are contributing to the growth that we're seeing now.

沒有，我同意。我會說，如果你看——在新聞稿（earnings release）裡，你會看到 Apex 前十大客戶的集中度。在過去一年左右它已經下降了；它正經歷一波成長衝刺，這表示我們正在拿到新客戶、在更多客戶中成長，而且我認為毫無疑問，我們在一些既有客戶中正在取得部分市占。但是——客戶本身也在增加支出。在經濟的某些產業，客戶在 IT 上花得更多，因為那是協助企業提升效率的一條路徑。所以我認為這些因素都在共同推動我們目前看到的成長。

Great, and then with regards to -- just to go back to Sara's question just with regards to fully appreciate, no need getting over your skis but did you see acceleration of the quarter unfolded? I know April was up but as the quarter unfolded, and outside of perm just on the core staffing, did it seem like it was pretty stable in terms of the month-to-month trends or was there any discernable pattern?

很好，接著關於——回到 Sara 的問題，為了更完整理解，也不需要過度推測，但你們有看到本季隨著時間推進而加速嗎？我知道 4 月是成長的，但隨著季度展開，撇除永久職（perm），就核心派遣業務而言，月對月趨勢看起來是否相當穩定，還是有任何可辨識的模式？

Yes, I mean we -- remember the comment we made Mark, I think it was to your specific question on the first quarter, I mean this -- we knew what our business was doing when we did the fourth quarter conference call and gave the first quarter guidance.

是的，我是說我們——記得我們對你說的那個評論嗎，Mark，我想那是針對你對第一季的具體問題；我的意思是——我們在做第四季法說並給出第一季指引時，就已經知道我們的業務當時在做什麼。

Got it. And so then when we just take a look at the guidance that you've provided and, again, no sense getting over skis fully appreciate that. There's also the factor of there are the comps do get more difficult by month as the year unfolds.

了解。那麼當我們看你們提供的指引時，再次強調，不需要過度推測、完全理解。另外還有一個因素是：隨著年度推進，各月份的比較基期（comps）會變得更具挑戰。

That's correct.

沒錯。

Is that part of the reason for the -- I mean, if we were just looking at mathematically, would that be another factor just to say, okay, we're --

這是否也是——我的意思是，如果我們純粹從數學上看，這會不會也是另一個因素，用來說明：好，我們——

Yeah, that's a very good observation and that is correct. I think Apex by itself grew about 280 basis points faster in the second of 2015 than the first of 2015.

是的，這是個非常好的觀察，而且確實如此。我想 Apex 單獨來看，2015 年下半年（第二半）比 2015 年上半年（第一半）大約快了 280 個基點的成長。

Okay, great. Thank you.

好的，很好。謝謝。

Tim McHugh with Williams Blair. Please go ahead.

Williams Blair 的 Tim McHugh。請開始。

Ah yes, thanks guys. Just a few -- I guess on the sales force I think you talked about adding some people in Oxford and obviously you added a lot in two chunks over the last two years. When you look at how they're ramping up productivity and the yield, I guess, you're getting from it, what's the perspective at this point on needing to add another big chunk or are we at a point where we'll kind of grow gradually or how are you thinking about kind of sales force additions, I recognize probably more o as you get to later in the year but what's the latest thinking there?

啊，是的，謝謝各位。我有幾個問題——我想先談銷售團隊，你們提到在 Oxford 增加了一些人員，而且顯然過去兩年你們分兩次大幅增員。當你們看他們的生產力爬坡（ramping up）以及你們從中獲得的產出（yield）時，目前對於是否需要再增加一大批人員的看法是什麼？還是我們已經到了會比較逐步成長的階段？你們如何看待銷售團隊的增員？我知道可能要到今年稍晚才會更明朗，但目前最新的想法是什麼？

Consistent with what we've said in the past which was that we think normal kind of 6% growth in our headcount allows us to grow attractive growth rate and if the hiring we're doing now is not so much "a surge" as it is tactical and strategic to try to get an early sizable position and some attractive skillsets that others aren't servicing.

這與我們過去所說的一致：我們認為人力編制（headcount）正常約 6% 的成長，就能讓我們達到具吸引力的成長率；而我們現在的招募與其說是「一波激增（a surge）」，不如說是戰術性與策略性的安排，目的是儘早在一些具吸引力、且其他人尚未充分服務的技能領域取得可觀的布局。

Okay, and you talked about large accounts and I apologize if I missed it, but financial services vertical, I guess, what are you seeing there and given the kind of capital markets volatility I think people are cautious but I know you've got easier comps that have been seen improving gross so, talk about it more?

好的，另外你提到大型客戶，若我漏聽了先道歉；金融服務垂直領域（financial services vertical）方面，你們看到什麼情況？考量到資本市場波動，我想大家都比較謹慎，但我知道你們的比較基期較容易，而且似乎看到毛利改善，所以請再多談一些？

Rand?

Rand？

Well, Tim you're asking where we've seen financial services growing double digit year-over-year on a quarter basis and it's accelerated from the last couple of quarters. So, we're gaining more accounts and we're also getting more penetration to some of the accounts we have, is that the question you're asking or are you asking --

嗯，Tim，你是在問我們在哪些地方看到金融服務以季度為基礎、年增率達到兩位數成長，而且相較於前幾季還在加速。所以，我們正在取得更多客戶，同時也在我們既有的一些客戶中提高滲透率；你問的是這個嗎？還是你是在問——

Yeah, well I was looking for color I guess why. I mean, are you not sensing any sensitivity to spending? Is it just some sort of project activity that you're picking up or market share gains?

對，我想我是在找一些脈絡，為什麼會這樣。我的意思是，你們沒有感受到支出方面的任何敏感性嗎？這只是你們正在承接到某種專案活動，還是市占率提升？

Well I think historically national institutions have spent a healthy percent of revenues on IT and I think in the past couple of years it's been a little lower than like a normal 4% of revenues and so they're probably migrating back up to the 4% of revenues or slightly higher, number one, and number two, because they always have IT projects to do whether it's supporting their customer base or consolidation of activities, they also have to grind out efficiency. So, collapsing and combining centers or building a center of excellence in certain technologies are all things they have to do and when they do that, that's opportunity for us. So I think that's kind of what's going on in that market.

嗯，我認為從歷史來看，全國性機構一直會把營收中相當健康的比例投入 IT；而我認為過去這幾年，這個比例比正常的「營收 4%」略低一些，所以他們可能正在回升到營收的 4% 或略高一些，這是第一點。第二點是，因為他們總是有 IT 專案要做，不論是支援其客戶基礎或整併各項活動，他們也必須持續推動效率提升。所以，縮減並合併中心，或是在特定技術上建立卓越中心，都是他們必須做的事；而當他們做這些事時，對我們而言就是機會。所以我認為那個市場大概就是這樣的情況。

Okay. And then on Oxford Healthcare IT, you talked about it was strong this quarter. That can be lumpy, I guess, so I mean does it feel like you've hit a better growth curve or is this -- is there any sense of that that's kind of project nature or that it's still hard to predict?

了解。接著談 Oxford Healthcare IT，你提到本季表現強勁。我想那可能會有波動，所以我的意思是，你們覺得已經進入更好的成長曲線了嗎？還是——有沒有感覺這比較偏專案性質，或仍然很難預測？

Mike do you want to go first?

Mike，你要先說嗎？

Yeah, again Tim, as Peter said, we had a very good quarter and we're very optimistic for the next quarter as well but you are right, it is lumpy, if you will, in terms of trying to forecast what's coming. Our pipeline looks good but in terms of what's really going to close is a big question mark. But, overall we still see growth in that area. Some of the coding stuff has flattened out a little bit because of the ICD 10 issues but overall, you know, we still see growth in that area.

好，再次說明，Tim，正如 Peter 所說，我們本季表現非常好，對下一季也同樣非常樂觀；但你說得對，就預測未來而言，它確實會有些波動。我們的案源管道看起來不錯，但哪些案子真的會成交仍是很大的問號。不過整體而言，我們仍看到該領域在成長。由於 ICD 10 的問題，一些編碼相關的業務稍微趨於平坦，但整體來說，我們仍看到那個領域在成長。

And Tim, I just don't think it's going to be as lumpy as it was at the end of 2014 because we're not facing, you know, the end of meaningful use. So, we're going to have the constant common issues of implementation fatigue or budget constraint but we're not going to have a use it or lose it stimulus dollar, you know, sunsetting. So, that caused a lot of early spend and then kind of freezing towards the end because people didn't have enough time to start projects and get to meaningful use.

Tim，我只是認為它不會像 2014 年底那樣波動，因為我們不會面臨所謂「有意義使用」（meaningful use）的結束。所以，我們仍會遇到一些持續且常見的問題，例如導入疲乏或預算限制，但不會再有那種「不用就失去」的刺激資金逐步退場。因此，當時造成了前期大量支出，然後到後期又有點凍結，因為大家沒有足夠時間啟動專案並達到 meaningful use。

So now it's more steady state and normal lumpiness attributable to internal aspects of the person who's doing the implementation, the company that's doing the implementation.

所以現在更像是穩態運行，波動程度也更正常，主要來自於執行導入的人員內部因素，以及負責導入的公司本身的因素。

Great, thanks.

很好，謝謝。

We'll go to the line of Randy Reece. Please go ahead.

我們接 Randy Reece 的提問。請說。

If you were to compare your IT staffing mix by vertical markets with your read on the market as a whole, do you have industry verticals where you have under penetrated and have the potential to gain share?

如果把你們依垂直市場配置的 IT 人力派遣組合，與你們對整體市場的判讀做比較，你們是否有一些產業垂直領域目前滲透不足、但有機會提升市占？

It's a good question. Where we think we have a [pole] position that has helped us but also hurt us at times Randy is in the financial services market because you've heard me state at industry events that the financial service industry is the earliest adopter, the biggest spender on technology. So, in good times and also in bad times we feel very good about having that [pole] position in the financial services world.

這是個好問題。Randy，我們認為我們有一個「領先位置」（[pole] position），它幫助了我們，但有時也會傷到我們；那就是金融服務市場，因為你也聽過我在產業活動上提到，金融服務業是最早採用、也是在科技上花費最多的產業。所以，不論景氣好或不好，我們都很慶幸在金融服務領域擁有那個「領先位置」。

We are not as big as I think we would like to be based on the experience of -- Rand used to run the government services for SAP and has deep experience in some of the federal government work and we think there's going to be more and more of that work coming down the pipeline. So we think that's an area where we're not as competitive as maybe somebody else. We do think we're very competitive in the technology world and then on kind of the manufacturing and consumer products, we hold our own but I don't think we have a [pole] position.

就我們的規模而言，我們在政府服務方面還沒有大到我們希望的程度；Rand 以前負責 SAP 的政府服務，對一些聯邦政府專案有很深的經驗，而我們認為未來會有越來越多這類工作進入案源管道。所以我們認為那是我們相較於其他人可能沒那麼具競爭力的領域。我們確實認為在科技領域我們非常有競爭力；至於製造業與消費性產品，我們表現不差，但我不認為我們有「領先位置」。

Rand do you want to -- Mike, do you all want to add anything to that?

Rand，你要——Mike，你們要補充什麼嗎？

No, I agree with you Peter; consumer, industrial and government are places where we can get more penetration. I think when you take Oxford and Apex's healthcare business units you put a lot of emphasis into that in the last two or three years so we're pretty strong there now but that strength gets more business. So -- and I think Peter's right, national institutions we have a very strong penetration but there's other sectors. If financial services businesses, the businesses, the vendors that support the banks, they're all opportunities for us so there's plenty of markets still to go after.

沒有，我同意你，Peter；消費、工業與政府領域是我們可以提高滲透率的地方。我認為把 Oxford 和 Apex 的醫療保健事業單位納入後，我們在過去兩三年對那塊投入了很多重點，所以現在我們在那裡相當強，而這種強勢也會帶來更多業務。所以——我也認為 Peter 說得對，我們在全國性機構的滲透率非常高，但還有其他產業。如果是金融服務的周邊業者，也就是支援銀行的企業與供應商，對我們而言都是機會，所以仍有很多市場可以去爭取。

And on the Oxford side Randy, as you know, it's, again, we're more skill or discipline placed but there's -- as Rand just said even from sectors if you will, describing it the same way, we still certainly have opportunities to go after.

另外在 Oxford 這邊，Randy，如你所知，我們同樣更偏向以技能或專業領域來配置；但——正如 Rand 剛才所說，即使從產業別角度來看、用同樣方式描述，我們當然仍有機會可以去爭取。

All right and another question regarding direct hire and conversion fees, is there an implied assumption for how that revenue stream is going to behave in the second quarter?

好的，另一個問題是關於直接聘僱與轉任費（conversion fees），對於第二季這條收入來源的表現，你們是否有隱含的假設？

I think it's lower growth and that's a conservative position on our part. This might be a one quarter, two quarter phenomenon but I just think we can provide a good value proposition for our investors without having to try to defend a higher growth rate because we're just not seeing that right now. And some of it is the comps are difficult and some of it is just what we're seeing with regard to behavior from the candidates and the customers.

我認為是較低的成長，而這是我們採取的保守立場。這可能只是單季、或兩季的現象，但我只是認為，我們不需要去捍衛更高的成長率，也能為投資人提供良好的價值主張，因為我們目前確實沒有看到那樣的成長。其中一部分原因是比較基期（comps）較難，另一部分則是我們在候選人與客戶行為方面所觀察到的情況。

Would you expect the amount of direct hire conversion fee revenue in the second quarter to be comparable with the first quarter or slightly, moderately, higher?

你是否預期第二季的直接聘僱轉任費收入金額，會與第一季相當，或是略高、或中度提高？

We didn't break that out Randy, it's going to be a non-event as it relates to revenue. It would have more of an impact on GDP and EBITDA but it's just a non-event on revenue.

Randy，我們沒有把那個拆開揭露；就營收而言，它不會構成事件。它對毛利（GDP）與 EBITDA 的影響會更大，但在營收上就是不構成事件。

All right, thank you very much.

好的，非常感謝。

There are no additional questions at this time.

目前沒有其他問題。

Well, thank you for your attention and we appreciate it and we look forward to reporting our second quarter results. Thank you.

好的，感謝各位的關注，我們非常感激，也期待向各位報告我們第二季的業績結果。謝謝。

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference Service. You may now disconnect.

各位女士先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與，並使用 AT&T 高階主管電話會議服務。您現在可以掛線。