Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2016 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the On Assignment second quarter 2016 earnings call. (Operator Instructions)

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候並歡迎參加 On Assignment 2016 年第二季財報電話會議。(接線員指示)

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

現在我想將會議交給財務長 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 risks 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，但仍可能受到風險與不確定性影響，實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。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。

For your convenience, our prepared remarks can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

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。

Please note that on this call we will be referencing certain non-GAAP measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today's press release. We will also be referencing pro forma data, which assume the acquisitions of Creative Circle and a small European Life Sciences business occurred at the beginning of 2014.

請注意，在本次電話會議中，我們將引用若干非 GAAP 指標，例如調整後 EBITDA 與調整後淨利。這些非 GAAP 指標旨在補充可比較的 GAAP 指標。GAAP 與非 GAAP 指標之間的調節表已包含於今日新聞稿中。我們也將引用備考（pro forma）數據，其假設 Creative Circle 以及一項小型歐洲生命科學業務的收購於 2014 年初即已完成。

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?

接下來我將把電話會議交給我們的執行長兼總裁 Peter Dameris，他將概述本季的業績表現。Peter？

Thank you, Edward. Good afternoon. I would like to welcome everyone to the On Assignment 2016 second quarter earnings 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，Edward。各位下午好。歡迎各位參加 On Assignment 2016 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與 Ed 和我一同出席的還有：Apex Systems 總裁 Rand Blazer、On Assignment 營運長兼 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 second quarter results and our estimates for the third 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。之後我會把電話會議交給 Ed，請他更詳細地回顧並討論第二季業績，以及我們對 2016 年第三季的預估。接著我們將開放提問。

Now onto the second quarter. 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 $608.1 million, up 13.7% on a pro forma basis. This marked the tenth consecutive quarter that our Company grew above the IT staffing industry's projected annual growth rate since January 1, 2013.

現在進入第二季。本季我們的營收、毛利、獲利與調整後 EBITDA 均超越先前公布財務預估區間的上緣。本季營收為 6.081 億美元，以備考基礎計算年增 13.7%。自 2013 年 1 月 1 日以來，這是我們公司連續第十個季度的成長高於 IT 人力派遣產業預估的年度成長率。

Our growth rate reflected, among other things, the contributions from our hiring surge of sales and recruiting consultants that began in the second half of 2014, the deepening of many new larger customers that we established over the last three years, and higher overall productivity. Virtually all of our divisions contributed to our strong second quarter performance. Our size and service offerings enables 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 into the future.

我們的成長率反映了多項因素，包括自 2014 年下半年開始的銷售與招募顧問大幅增聘所帶來的貢獻、過去三年我們建立的許多新大型客戶關係持續深化，以及整體生產力提升。幾乎所有事業部門都對我們強勁的第二季表現有所貢獻。我們的規模與服務組合使我們能以高於人力派遣產業公布的 6% 成長率更快成長；我們相信公司具備良好定位，可在未來持續創造穩健、優於市場的營收成長。

Revenue growth came from both local, mid-market and large national accounts reflecting strong customer demand. We believe, based on current operating performance that this solid growth should continue. Our IT business continues to see high demand from its customers, driven in part by greater adoption of staff augmentation as a viable alternative to outsourcing, offshoring and consulting. Wage inflation is manageable, but within certain of our large financial services customers, we are seeing some price sensitivity.

營收成長同時來自本地、中型市場以及全國性大型客戶，反映出客戶需求強勁。我們相信，基於目前的營運表現，這樣的穩健成長應可延續。我們的 IT 業務持續看到客戶需求維持高檔，部分原因是客戶更廣泛採用人力增補（staff augmentation）作為外包、離岸（offshoring）與顧問服務的可行替代方案。薪資通膨仍在可控範圍內，但在我們部分大型金融服務客戶中，我們看到一些價格敏感度。

As you may know, the financial services industry has been trying to contain costs due to their own internal profit challenges. However, due to existing supply/demand imbalance in IT candidates, we firmly believe our customers, as they have always done, will adjust their pricing expectations to meet the realities of the current labor market.

如各位所知，金融服務業因其自身內部獲利挑戰，一直試圖控制成本。然而，由於 IT 候選人才供需失衡仍在，我們堅信客戶將一如既往，調整其價格預期以符合當前勞動市場的現實。

With respect to recent production, our weekly assignment revenues, which excludes conversion, billable expenses, and direct placement revenues averaged $42.6 million for the last two weeks, up 8.5% over the same period in 2015.

就近期產出而言，我們最近兩週的每週派遣（assignment）營收（不含轉任、可報銷費用與直接安置營收）平均為 4,260 萬美元，較 2015 年同期成長 8.5%。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $74.1 million or 12.2% of revenues, up from $56.0 million or 11.5% of revenues in the second quarter of 2015 on an as reported basis. Integration, coordination and cash generation related to our acquisitions continues to be at or above our expectations. Since the closing of the Creative Circle acquisition in June of 2015, we have repaid $166.0 million of our debt. At June 30, 2016, our leverage ratio was 2.55 times trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA. We estimate our leverage ratio to be approximately 2.4 times by the end of the third quarter of 2016.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,410 萬美元，占營收 12.2%；相較於 2015 年第二季按申報口徑為 5,600 萬美元、占營收 11.5%。與收購相關的整合、協同與現金創造持續達到或優於我們的預期。自 2015 年 6 月完成 Creative Circle 收購案以來，我們已償還 1.660 億美元的債務。截至 2016 年 6 月 30 日，我們的槓桿比率為過去十二個月調整後 EBITDA 的 2.55 倍。我們估計到 2016 年第三季末，我們的槓桿比率約為 2.4 倍。

As you all will recall, we announced on June 13, 2016 that our Board of Directors authorized a new $150 million share repurchase program. From June 14 to July 26, we have purchased approximately 215,000 shares at an average price of $37.32. We intend to continue to execute our share repurchase program based on share price and market conditions. We continue to see signs that the ongoing debate regarding the on demand workforce or gig-economy is accelerating the usage of contract labor.

各位應該還記得，我們於 2016 年 6 月 13 日宣布董事會核准新的 1.5 億美元庫藏股回購計畫。自 6 月 14 日至 7 月 26 日，我們已以平均價格 37.32 美元回購約 215,000 股。我們打算依股價與市場狀況持續執行庫藏股回購計畫。我們持續看到跡象顯示，關於隨需勞動力（on demand workforce）或零工經濟（gig-economy）的持續辯論，正在加速合約用工的使用。

Fractionalization of human capital by using the staffing industry?s services is 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. We also believe that we are well positioned to service our customers' IT needs as technology rapidly evolves and is adopted.

透過使用人力派遣產業的服務來進行人力資本的分割配置（fractionalization），是避免將員工錯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。我們也相信，隨著科技快速演進並被採用，我們具備良好定位以滿足客戶的 IT 需求。

We continue to be sensitive to and conscious of the fears of an economic slowdown in the United States. To date, we have not seen a significant change in our customers? normal purchasing behavior for contract assignment services. We continue to see solid demand from the end markets we serve and continue to benefit from the improved productivity of the additional headcount that we added during our hiring surge in the second half of 2014 and 2015 and the deepening of our relationships with several new larger customers.

我們持續對美國經濟可能放緩的擔憂保持敏感並加以關注。截至目前，我們尚未看到客戶在合約派遣服務的正常採購行為上出現顯著變化。我們持續看到所服務終端市場的需求穩健，並持續受惠於 2014 年下半年與 2015 年增聘人力所帶來的生產力提升，以及與數個新大型客戶關係的深化。

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

接下來我將把電話會議交給 Apex Systems 總裁 Rand Blazer，請他回顧其部門的營運狀況。Rand？

Great. Thanks, Peter. The Apex Segment, which consists of the Apex Systems, Lab Support and Creative Circle business units, reported strong results for the quarter. Revenues for the segment were $453.7 million, up 16.5% year-over-year on a pro forma basis.

好的。謝謝你，Peter。Apex 部門由 Apex Systems、Lab Support 與 Creative Circle 事業單位組成，本季繳出強勁成果。該部門本季營收為 4.537 億美元，以備考基礎計算年增 16.5%。

Revenues from Apex Systems, which accounts for 74% of the segment's revenues, were up 18.3% year-over-year. This performance reflects, among other things, as Peter said, higher demand in our end markets and continued improved contribution from our field sales teams. Lab Support's revenue growth was below our expectations with a single digit growth rate over Q2 2015. Creative Circle reported revenue growth that just slightly outpaced the growth rate for the segment. This unit continues to perform well, with a year-over-year pro forma growth rate in the high teens.

Apex Systems 的營收（占該事業部營收的 74%）年增 18.3%。如 Peter 所說，這項表現反映了多項因素，其中包括我們終端市場需求提高，以及我們外勤銷售團隊持續改善的貢獻。Lab Support 的營收成長低於我們的預期，較 2015 年第二季僅呈現個位數成長率。Creative Circle 的營收成長僅略高於該事業部的成長率。該單位持續表現良好，按備考基礎計算的年增成長率落在高十幾%的水準。

Our gross margin for the Segment was 30.5%. While top account growth remains strong, growth from local branch mid-market accounts, which typically carries a higher gross margin, increased its growth rate in the quarter over the previous quarter. This slight shift in revenue mix contributed to our gross margin improvement. Our segment's contribution in terms of EBITDA continued to be strong with EBITDA growing at a faster rate than revenues thereby increasing our conversion of gross profit to EBITDA on a year-over-year basis.

該事業部的毛利率為 30.5%。雖然主要客戶的成長仍然強勁，但來自地方分公司中型市場客戶（通常具有較高毛利率）的成長，在本季相較前一季提高了成長速度。營收組合的這項小幅變化，促成了我們毛利率的改善。就 EBITDA 而言，本事業部的貢獻仍然強勁，EBITDA 的成長速度快於營收，因而在年比基礎上提高了我們將毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的轉換率。

A little more detail on Ape Systems. Revenue growth was propelled by a number of factors including double digit year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 in six out of the seven industry verticals we service and a high single digit growth rate in the remaining industry vertical. Growth in our top accounts led the way with continued strong revenue growth. Apex local branch and mid-market business grew double digits in Q2. And finally, our field productivity continued to strengthen in the quarter supporting our revenue performance and very strong conversion rates.

再補充一些關於 Ape Systems 的細節。營收成長由多項因素推動，包括我們所服務的七個產業垂直領域中有六個在第二季呈現兩位數年增營收成長，剩餘的一個產業垂直領域則為高個位數成長率。主要客戶的成長領先，營收持續強勁成長。Apex 的地方分公司與中型市場業務在第二季也呈現兩位數成長。最後，我們的外勤生產力在本季持續增強，支撐了我們的營收表現以及非常強勁的轉換率。

Overall, the Segment had a strong quarter with quarterly revenue continuing its double digit growth on a year-over-year basis, with each of its business units contributing strong conversion of gross profit to EBITDA.

整體而言，本事業部本季表現強勁，季度營收在年比基礎上持續維持兩位數成長，且各業務單位皆對毛利轉換為 EBITDA 展現強勁的轉換能力。

With that, I'll turn it over to Mike McGowan.

接下來我把時間交給 Mike McGowan。

Thanks, Rand. The Oxford Segment includes Oxford, CyberCoders, our perm placement business, and Life Sciences Europe.

謝謝，Rand。Oxford 事業部包含 Oxford、CyberCoders、我們的永久派遣（perm placement）業務，以及 Life Sciences Europe。

The segment had revenues of $154.4 million for the second quarter of 2016, up 6.3% year-over-year on a pro forma basis and 3.7% sequentially. Gross margin for the quarter was 41.4%, down 20 basis points year-over-year primarily due to overall business mix.

該事業部 2016 年第二季營收為 1.544 億美元，按備考基礎計算年增 6.3%，並較前一季成長 3.7%。本季毛利率為 41.4%，年減 20 個基點，主要由整體業務組合所致。

The Oxford business unit?s revenues for the second quarter, which accounts for 77.1% of the segment's revenues, were $119 million, up 8.4% year-over-year and sequentially up 4.4%. Oxford's gross margin for the quarter was 32.7%, 100 basis points higher than the reported results for the second quarter of 2015.

Oxford 業務單位第二季營收（占該事業部營收的 77.1%）為 1.19 億美元，年增 8.4%，且較前一季成長 4.4%。Oxford 本季毛利率為 32.7%，較 2015 年第二季的已報告結果高出 100 個基點。

The Oxford business unit has had consolidated year-over-year growth throughout 2015 and through the second quarter of 2016. In the second quarter, we saw strong sequential growth in the majority of our skill disciplines. This improvement was driven by growth in our key accounts; continued sharp focus on assigning consultants within our targeted skill disciplines; and increased demand for EMR implementations, upgrades and optimization projects.

Oxford 業務單位在 2015 年全年以及 2016 年第二季之前，皆呈現合併口徑的年比成長。在第二季，我們在多數技能領域看到強勁的季比成長。這項改善由以下因素帶動：關鍵客戶的成長；持續高度聚焦於在我們鎖定的技能領域配置顧問；以及對 EMR 導入、升級與最佳化專案的需求增加。

Our segment's permanent placement revenues declined 3.2% year-over-year to $21.4 million and was driven partially by decreased demand from our West Coast technology clients, specifically those early stage companies, lengthening in the time our clients are taking to make hiring decisions, and a very tight candidate pool. In addition, our clients also had less urgency in filling their permanent employee needs. While we have seen year-over-year growth in our non-tech clients, our overall growth has slowed.

本事業部的永久派遣營收年減 3.2% 至 2,140 萬美元，部分原因包括西岸科技客戶（特別是早期階段公司）需求下降、客戶做出招募決策所需時間拉長，以及候選人供給非常吃緊。此外，我們的客戶在填補永久員工需求方面的急迫性也降低。雖然我們在非科技客戶方面看到年比成長，但整體成長已放緩。

The segment?s Life Sciences revenues were $11.6 million for the second quarter of 2016, up 7.4% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. Revenues were also up 4.1% sequentially over the first quarter of 2016.

該事業部的生命科學營收在 2016 年第二季為 1,160 萬美元，按備考基礎計算年增 7.4%。營收亦較 2016 年第一季季增 4.1%。

I will now turn the call over to Ed Pierce. Eddie?

我現在把電話會議交給 Ed Pierce。Eddie？

Thanks, Mike. Revenues and adjusted EBITDA for the quarter were above the high end of our previously-announced financial estimates. Net income was also above the high end after adjusting for the $1.5 million in acquisition and integration expenses, which consistent with past practice, we do not include in our financial estimates.

謝謝，Mike。本季營收與調整後 EBITDA 高於我們先前公布的財務預估區間上緣。在調整 150 萬美元的併購與整合費用後，淨利也高於上緣；依照過往慣例，我們不將該等費用納入財務預估。

Our pro forma revenue growth rate for the quarter was 13.7%, which was more than double the industry growth rate. Assignment revenues were $574.4 million, up 14.4% year-over-year on a pro forma basis and permanent placement revenues were $33.7 million, up 3% year-over-year on a pro forma basis. The year-over-year fluctuations in foreign exchange rates have an immaterial effect on the revenue growth rate for the quarter.

本季按備考基礎計算的營收年增率為 13.7%，超過產業成長率的兩倍。派遣（Assignment）營收為 5.744 億美元，按備考基礎計算年增 14.4%；永久派遣營收為 3,370 萬美元，按備考基礎計算年增 3%。外匯匯率的年比波動對本季營收成長率的影響不具重大性。

Gross margin for the quarter was 33.2%, which was in-line with our previously-announced estimates, but down 40 basis points year-over-year on a pro forma basis, primarily because of a lower mix of permanent placement revenues and higher growth of our high-volume, lower-margin accounts.

本季毛利率為 33.2%，與我們先前公布的預估一致，但按備考基礎計算年減 40 個基點，主要因永久派遣營收占比降低，以及我們高量、低毛利客戶的成長較快。

SG&A expenses were $141.4 million, or 23.2% of revenues. After adjusting for the $1.5 million in acquisition and integration expenses, SG&A expenses were slightly above our previously announced estimates. The acquisition and integration expenses primarily related to the integration of certain operating units onto Oxford's front and back office systems. We believe that, for the most part, this integration will be completed by the end of the year. In addition to the integration expenses, SG&A included approximately $0.6 million in expenses related to the rationalization of operations in Europe, including early lease terminations and employee severance and to a foreign exchange loss on indebtedness related to the purchase of LabResource.

SG&A 費用為 1.414 億美元，占營收 23.2%。在調整 150 萬美元的併購與整合費用後，SG&A 費用略高於我們先前公布的預估。併購與整合費用主要與將部分營運單位整合至 Oxford 的前台與後台系統相關。我們認為，整體而言，該整合將於年底前完成。除整合費用外，SG&A 亦包含約 60 萬美元的費用，與歐洲營運合理化相關（包括提前終止租約與員工資遣），以及與收購 LabResource 相關之負債所產生的外匯損失。

Net income for the quarter was $26.0 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, up from $14.3 million, or $0.27 per diluted share in the second quarter last year. Adjusted net income, a non-GAAP measure, was $43 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, up from $32.3 million, or $0.61 per diluted share in the second quarter of last year. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, was $74.1 million, or 12.2% of revenues, up from $56 million in the second quarter of last year. The reconciliations of net income to adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are included in today's press release.

本季淨利為 2,600 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.48 美元，高於去年第二季的 1,430 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.27 美元。調整後淨利（非 GAAP 指標）為 4,300 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.80 美元，高於去年第二季的 3,230 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.61 美元。調整後 EBITDA（非 GAAP 指標）為 7,410 萬美元，占營收 12.2%，高於去年第二季的 5,600 萬美元。淨利與調整後淨利及調整後 EBITDA 的調節表已包含於今日的新聞稿中。

Cash flows from operating activities were $61.1 million and capital expenditures were $6.6 million. During the quarter, we paid down $32 million of our long-term debt and paid the Creative Circle acquisition earn out of $15.8 million.

營運活動現金流為 6,110 萬美元，資本支出為 660 萬美元。本季我們償還 3,200 萬美元的長期負債，並支付 Creative Circle 併購的或有對價（earn-out）1,580 萬美元。

Now turning to our financial estimates for the third quarter of 2016, we are estimating revenues of $618 million to $628 million, net income of $28.7 million to $30.5 million, or $0.53 to $0.56 per diluted share; adjusted net income per diluted share, also a non-GAAP measure of $0.83 to $0.86, adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure of $77 million to $80 million. These estimates do not include any acquisition or integration costs.

接著談 2016 年第三季的財務預估：我們預估營收為 6.18 億至 6.28 億美元，淨利為 2,870 萬至 3,050 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.53 至 0.56 美元；稀釋後每股調整後淨利（亦為非 GAAP 指標）為 0.83 至 0.86 美元；調整後 EBITDA（非 GAAP 指標）為 7,700 萬至 8,000 萬美元。上述預估不包含任何併購或整合成本。

As we noted in today's press release, our revenue estimates imply year-over-year growth of approximately 8% to 10%, which is two to four percentage points higher than the published industry growth rate for the year. The growth rate for the quarter reflects a more difficult comparable as the year-over-year growth rate for Q3 2015 was 4.7 percentage points higher than the growth rate for Q2 of last year.

如同我們在今日的新聞稿中所提到的，我們的營收預估意味著年增約 8% 至 10%，比今年已公布的產業成長率高出約 2 到 4 個百分點。本季的成長率反映了較為艱難的比較基期，因為 2015 年第三季的年增率比去年第二季的成長率高出 4.7 個百分點。

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，請他做一些結語。Peter？

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

謝謝。我們相信，憑藉我們的規模、體量以及服務廣度，我們已處於有利位置，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。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，並提升我們的成長速度。

I would 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?

我想再次感謝我們眾多忠誠、敬業且才華洋溢的員工，正是他們的努力讓我們走到今天。我現在想開放讓與會者提問。接線生？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Tobey Sommer with SunTrust. Go ahead, please.

(接線生指示) 我們的第一個問題來自 SunTrust 的 Tobey Sommer。請開始。

Thank you. I had a question for you, Peter, about your own internal plans to hire sales consultants. (Inaudible) some adjustment because of the Creative Circle acquisition a little more than a year ago. You're up about 14% year-over-year. You're growing faster than the industry. Do you kind of have to sustain growth in sales consultants above the industry rate of revenue growth to feel comfortable that you can sustain that superior rate of growth?

謝謝。Peter，我有個問題想請教你，關於你們內部自行規劃招募業務顧問的計畫。(聽不清楚) 因為一年多前收購 Creative Circle 而做了一些調整。你們年增約 14%。你們的成長速度快於產業。為了讓你們有信心能維持這種優於同業的成長率，你們是否必須讓業務顧問的人數成長長期高於產業營收成長率？

Not at all, Tobey. We're doing it because we have the luxury of being able to expand our EBITDA margin and grow, and we're just planning for the future. We have made an investment this year over budget in our digital practices that we think will serve us well in the forward year. And we continue to add personnel in all the divisions except really I guess the contingent permanent placement, because we see demand out there and as you know, our business model is to serve large customers. And it takes a while to create that relationship and then it takes a lot of servicing in order to deepen that relationship.

完全不需要，Tobey。我們這麼做是因為我們有餘裕在擴大 EBITDA 利潤率的同時成長，而我們只是為未來做規劃。今年我們在數位業務實務（digital practices）上做了超出預算的投資，我們認為這將在未來一年對我們很有幫助。此外，除了臨時轉正職安置（contingent permanent placement）之外，我們持續在各事業部增補人員，因為我們看到市場需求；而如你所知，我們的商業模式是服務大型客戶。建立這種關係需要時間，而要深化這種關係也需要大量的服務投入。

So this is all forward planning and has nothing to do with our ability to grow at the rates we are right now. So because it's actually a slower -- we're actually hiring at a slower rate than we did in 2015.

因此這完全是前瞻性的規劃，與我們目前以這些速度成長的能力無關。而且事實上——我們目前的招募速度比 2015 年更慢。

Was that all, Mr. Sommer?

Sommer 先生，以上就這些嗎？

Yes, based on the normal customer behavior that you described, do you anticipate still hiring here in the back half of the year?

是的，基於你所描述的客戶一般行為，你是否預期在今年下半年仍會持續招募？

Right, what I meant to communicate is we're sticking to our plans. We've actually increased our hiring plans in a targeted fashion for the digital space. And if anything, we're a little more conservative with regard to incremental hiring and the contingent search division.

是的，我想表達的是我們會按計畫進行。我們其實已針對數位領域以更有目標的方式提高了招募計畫。如果說有什麼不同，我們對於額外增聘人力以及臨時搜尋（contingent search）事業部方面會稍微更保守一些。

What are you hearing from customers in the small lab business where historically they have kind of long lead time movements and can have some visibility into economic sensitivity? Thank you.

在小型實驗室業務方面，你從客戶那邊聽到什麼？該領域歷來具有較長的前置期變動，並且可能對經濟敏感度有一定能見度。謝謝。

Well, my final comment on that is the small, medium enterprise as defined by customers who have less than 100 internal employees, which we don't do a lot of work with, unless it's venture capital backed life sciences business, they're not as sophisticated. They don't have as deep of pockets. They don't have the same capitalization and they probably turn off the quickest. I think one of the reasons that our first and second quarter was faster than maybe others is because of our customer mix being different than others.

嗯，我對此最後的評論是：所謂中小企業（SME），以客戶內部員工少於 100 人來定義；我們其實不太常與這類客戶合作，除非是由創投支持的生命科學公司。這些客戶相對不那麼成熟。他們資金不如人充裕。他們的資本實力也不同，而且他們可能是最先縮手的一群。我認為我們第一季與第二季的成長可能比其他公司更快的原因之一，是因為我們的客戶組合與其他人不同。

They're both great customer bases but our customers have the luxury at times to focus on product development that will serve them well into the future and not in a particular quarter or calendar year. And that's what we're working on right now is servicing our customer's needs for the future versus real time activity to get a particular function completed for 2016.

兩者都是很好的客群，但我們的客戶有時有餘裕把重心放在能在未來帶來效益的產品開發上，而不是只著眼於某一季或某一個會計年度。而我們目前正在做的，就是滿足客戶面向未來的需求，而不是為了 2016 年即時完成某項特定功能的活動。

What do you hope to achieve with the integration of strategic planning that you cited as an expense in the quarter, and activity that's probably going to wrap up this year?

你希望透過你提到、在本季列為費用的策略規劃整合來達成什麼目標？而這項活動大概會在今年結束。

Right, well, as you know, we have moved a lot of kind of service back office activities out of California into Beverly, Massachusetts and Richmond, Virginia. And consolidating the number of front office systems, we're really down to kind of 2.5. And we're also moving -- making California more of a classic parent company activity, risk management treasury, legal, finance and accounting, SEC reporting, strategy and M&A, and all field activity being housed at Apex and Oxford.

好的，如你所知，我們已將許多服務性的後勤（back office）作業從加州移到麻薩諸塞州的 Beverly 以及維吉尼亞州的 Richmond。在整併前台系統的數量方面，我們實際上已降到大約 2.5 套。同時我們也在推動——讓加州更偏向典型的母公司職能：風險管理、財務（treasury）、法務、財務與會計、SEC 申報、策略與併購（M&A）；而所有前線作業則由 Apex 與 Oxford 承擔。

And so that's some of the work. Some of it is the acquired businesses consolidating their systems and then on the strategy part of it is building the practice areas and products for the future.

因此這是其中一部分工作。另一部分是被收購的事業整合其系統；而在策略面，則是打造面向未來的專業領域（practice areas）與產品。

Just two more questions from me along that -- the way you ended that answer, products for the future. Historically, you?ve I think done an interesting job, particularly in the Oxford business, of establishing kind of new lines of business. Without asking you to reveal what those may be, do you see such opportunities now and are there things in the works?

我還有兩個問題，延續你剛才回答的最後部分：面向未來的產品。過去我認為你們做得很有意思，特別是在 Oxford 業務上，建立了某些新的業務線。不要求你揭露那些可能是什麼，你現在是否仍看到這類機會？是否已有一些事情在進行中？

I don't think I'm letting the cat out of the bag, but I'll just give you a big generic one. I think the biggest spend that's viewed almost non-discretionary is corporations trying to move to a digital world and creating a digital business model versus their prior models, and trying to monetize their data or create revenues from monitoring activity of a product they may have developed.

我想我不算洩漏機密，但我給你一個很概括的例子。我認為目前最大、幾乎被視為非可選擇性（non-discretionary）的支出，是企業試圖轉向數位世界，建立數位商業模式以取代過去的模式，並嘗試將其數據變現，或從他們可能已開發的產品之監測活動中創造營收。

So we're trying to focus more on the technologies that are being developed and deployed go-forward versus some of the early adoption technologies of 2000 that are now in later stage adoption.

因此，我們正嘗試把重心更多放在未來將被開發與部署的技術上，而不是放在 2000 年左右的早期採用技術——那些技術如今已進入較後期的採用階段。

Thank you. Last question from me. The Creative Circle earn out, was that at a level that was as expected when you originally consummated the deal or any variance compared to how you thought about a year or more ago?

謝謝。我最後一個問題。Creative Circle 的或有對價（earn-out），其水準是否符合你們當初完成交易時的預期？與你們一年前或更早的看法相比，有沒有任何差異？

Variance is not significant to what we originally -- it's public information. There were two components. One was revenue and one was EBITDA. They maxed out on the EBITDA number and on the revenue number, they got into it a little bit.

差異不大，與我們最初的——這是公開資訊。它有兩個組成部分。一個是營收，另一個是 EBITDA。他們在 EBITDA 指標上達到上限；在營收指標上，則有達到一部分。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

So it was as we expected.

所以結果如我們所預期。

Appreciate it.

感謝。

Thank you. Our next question will come from Gary Bisbee with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

謝謝。下一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Gary Bisbee。請開始。

I guess any other color on the perm business slowing? I mean obviously, we're hearing that from anybody increased uncertainty slows down that whole process. But do you have any sense from clients that is it temporary what's causing the slowdown? Is there particular areas that are doing better or worse and just how you're thinking about that. Thank you.

我想問，關於正職安置（perm）業務放緩，還有沒有其他補充說明？我的意思是，很明顯地，我們從各方都聽到：不確定性上升會讓整個流程放慢。但你是否從客戶那邊感覺到，造成放緩的因素是暫時性的嗎？是否有特定領域表現較好或較差？以及你們如何看待這件事。謝謝。

Gary, really, I'd like to kind of relate the comments to our specific performance versus a read through for the industry. But our contingent source business, which is really a wonderful division, they work with some hard charging startup technology companies on the West Coast. They -- and those companies typically have a smaller base and have funding restrictions at times. And they?ve lengthened their decision making process.

Gary，說真的，我想把這些評論與我們自身的具體表現連結起來，而不是用來推讀整個產業。但我們的或有來源（contingent source）業務，確實是一個很棒的部門，他們與西岸一些衝刺力道很強的新創科技公司合作。他們——而那些公司通常規模基礎較小，且有時會受到資金限制。而且他們已經拉長了決策流程。

So some of our growth challenges in contingent search relate to our customer mix, our geographic coverage versus the overall health. Because as you can expect, small companies control their headcount early and more aggressively than a larger company may. But those are comments that relate to our business and I just don't know how that's impacting other companies.

因此，我們在或有搜尋（contingent search）上的一些成長挑戰，與我們的客戶組合、我們的地理覆蓋範圍相對於整體景氣健康度有關。因為如你所料，小型公司在早期會比大型公司更早、也更積極地控管人力編制。但這些評論是針對我們自身業務，我也不確定這對其他公司造成了什麼影響。

In general, what I would tell you when you look at the type of growth rates that we posted for the contract side is that there's still a lot of money being spent on IT services and the shift between internal execution versus external execution comes into play. And people -- the size of customers and their confidence in their own profits and capitalization drive behavior.

整體而言，當你看我們在合約端所呈現的成長率時，我會告訴你，IT 服務仍有大量資金在投入，而內部執行與外部執行之間的轉移就會發揮作用。而且人們——客戶的規模，以及他們對自身獲利與資本實力的信心，會驅動其行為。

Any color on how that business performed month to month during the quarter and maybe how it's looking in July? Has that been a --

能否補充一些細節，說明該業務在本季各月份的表現，以及 7 月看起來如何？那是否一直是——

It was pretty choppy, to be honest with you. I mean it -- I would tell you that our sense is June and July kind of look the same and stable. May was one of the tougher months. But it's hard to read through that that's a trend.

老實說，波動相當大。我的意思是——我會說我們的感覺是 6 月和 7 月看起來差不多，而且相對穩定。5 月是比較艱難的月份之一。但很難就此判斷那是一個趨勢。

Okay. Fair enough. You called out the price sensitivity of large financial customers. I guess beyond that component of it, I think the story had been that you'd seen some improvement off of the challenges a year or so ago in that customer base. Are they still actively doing new jobs and have engagements ongoing, you're just seeing a push back on price? Or has there been some impact on actually the (inaudible).

好的。可以理解。你提到大型金融客戶對價格很敏感。我想除了這個因素之外，先前的說法是你們在那個客戶群上，相較一年前左右的挑戰已有所改善。他們是否仍在積極開出新職缺並持續進行專案合作，只是對價格有所反彈？還是實際上對（聽不清）也有一些影響？

Demand has been good. Demand has been rational and healthy.

需求一直不錯。需求是理性且健康的。

Okay. And then just lastly, any more color you could give on the SG&A comment. What are exactly are you doing at Oxford? It's just you're integrating your own back office systems? Was that basically the comment?

好的。最後，關於你對 SG&A 的評論，能否再多給一些細節。你們在 Oxford 具體是在做什麼？只是整合你們自己的後勤（back office）系統嗎？基本上是這個意思嗎？

That's right, HR programs, front office systems, travel and housing departments, because you know, Gary, we've divested some things. We've acquired some things. We've moved some divisions into different segments and it's just associated with that, and also positioning the Calabasas office as kind of the classic parent public company and no servicing occurring out of California anymore, and being done in Richmond and in Beverly.

沒錯，人資（HR）方案、前台系統、差旅與住宿部門，因為你知道，Gary，我們已經處分了一些業務。我們也收購了一些業務。我們把一些事業部移到不同的事業區隔裡，這些都是相關的整合工作；同時也把 Calabasas 辦公室定位成典型的母公司上市公司總部，而加州不再進行任何服務作業，改由 Richmond 與 Beverly 來執行。

Great. One last one actually. The buyback, the share count guidance is up from this quarter and yet, it sounds like you did -- started to do a reasonable amount of buybacks early in the second quarter. Is that just the normal ebb and flow of incentive comp coming into the diluted share count? Or why would that not be (inaudible)? Thank you.

很好。其實最後再問一個。回購方面，你們對股數的指引比本季更高，但聽起來你們在第二季初就——開始做了相當程度的回購。那只是激勵性薪酬在稀釋股數中正常的起伏變動嗎？還是為什麼那不會是（聽不清）？謝謝。

(Inaudible).

（聽不清）。

Okay, all right. fair enough. Thanks.

好的，好吧。可以理解。謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question is from Sara Gubins with Bank of America. Go ahead please.

謝謝。下一個問題來自美國銀行（Bank of America）的 Sara Gubins。請說。

Quarter-to-date you talked about running at 8.5%. I know we're still very early in the quarter but the guidance is 8% to 10%. So I'm wondering if there's any expectation of anything one time in the first couple of weeks, or what gives you the confidence that we might be towards the higher end of that revenue growth range?

你提到本季迄今的成長率約為 8.5%。我知道現在仍是本季非常早期，但指引是 8% 到 10%。所以我想問，前幾週是否有任何一次性因素的預期，或是什麼讓你有信心我們可能會落在營收成長區間的較高端？

Sara, the only kind of rational comment I can make to that honestly is the second quarter is always difficult to give you that data point because the Fourth of July holiday falls into it and people take early time off or time for (inaudible) submitted, or payroll process gets into the third week of the month versus the second. So we just gave you kind of like on like, a full week and a holiday week year-over-year. And, you know, how the holiday -- what day of the week the holiday falls on and how many people like to make it a four day weekend versus a three day weekend moves things around right and left.

Sara，老實說我唯一能做的較理性的說明是：第二季總是很難用那個數據點來判讀，因為其中包含 7 月 4 日國慶假期，人們會提早休假，或為了（聽不清）而請假，或薪資處理流程會落到當月第三週而不是第二週。所以我們給你的比較有點像是：今年與去年相比，一個完整週加上一個假期週的對比。而且你知道，假期落在星期幾，以及有多少人喜歡把它變成四天連假而不是三天連假，都會讓數字左右移動。

Okay. And then could you give us some color on how your trends progressed during the second quarter. You talked a bit about perm but on the temporary staffing side.

好的。那你能否補充一下你們在第二季期間的趨勢如何演進？你談了一些永久職（perm），但我想問的是臨時派遣（temporary staffing）這一塊。

Well, we don't give that data out but when I can tell you is it was pretty stable growth.

嗯，我們不會對外提供那個數據，但我能告訴你的是，成長相當穩定。

Okay. And then going back to your comment about seeing some pricing pressure from financial services clients, how is that playing out for you from a practical perspective? Is there work that you're not taking as a result? Is it pressuring your margins? Are you able to pass that back at all to the workers? Operationally what should we see there?

好的。再回到你提到金融服務客戶有一些定價壓力的評論，從實務角度來看，這對你們是如何呈現的？是否因此有些案子你們不接了？是否在壓縮你們的利潤率？你們能否把這些壓力回傳到員工端？在營運上我們應該看到什麼？

Mostly, it affects Rand's business and I'll let him speak first and then I'll follow-up. Rand?

主要是影響 Rand 的業務，我先讓他回答，之後我再補充。Rand？

Well, Sara, listen, Apex grew financial services client base very strong double-digit, again, in quarter two and we gave the segment gross margin numbers, they really were pretty stable year-over-year. So Peter's right that we recognize that banks are having earnings issues and looking to cut costs wherever they can. I think it's something that will unfold as time goes on, but the answer is we're a partner and we're going to support and we make tradeoffs sometimes for more business in order to give up a little bit of margin. It depends. And then we can still convert if we have a different way of delivering the service.

Sara，你聽我說，Apex 的金融服務客戶基礎在第二季再次以非常強勁的雙位數成長，我們也提供了該事業群的毛利率數字，年對年其實相當穩定。所以 Peter 說得對，我們確實注意到銀行正面臨獲利問題，並希望在各方面削減成本。我認為這會隨時間推進而逐步顯現，但答案是：我們是合作夥伴，我們會支持客戶；有時我們會做取捨，為了爭取更多業務而讓出一點毛利。視情況而定。而且如果我們有不同的服務交付方式，我們仍然可以轉化（成交/落地）。

So I wouldn't overplay it too much I think we're saying we recognize it's there and maybe it's in some banks more than others, but did I answer your question, I think? Peter, maybe you want to jump in.

所以我不會把它解讀得太嚴重；我想我們的意思是我們知道這個情況存在，可能在某些銀行比其他銀行更明顯。不過我應該有回答到你的問題吧？Peter，你也許想補充一下。

Yes, I would just add that the numbers reflect that it wasn't dramatic. We brought it up because the financial service industry is a big component but there has been more pressure there to pass along certain statutory expenses or wage expectations. But it's manageable. Some of it has to do with timing of renewal of rate cards. Some of it has to do with the realization that things have changed as it relates to wage expectations or statutory expenses.

是的，我只想補充，從數字來看並不劇烈。我們提出來是因為金融服務產業是一個很大的組成部分，但在那裡，將某些法定費用或薪資預期轉嫁出去的壓力確實更大。但這是可控的。其中一部分與費率表（rate cards）續約的時點有關。另一部分則與大家意識到，關於薪資預期或法定費用，情況已經有所改變有關。

But as we said in our prepared remarks, our clients in that industry vertical have always been thoughtful and come to the right conclusion over time.

但正如我們在事先準備的講稿中所說，該產業垂直領域的客戶一向很審慎，並且隨著時間推移會做出正確的結論。

Okay, great. Thanks very much.

好的，很好。非常感謝。

Thank you. We'll go next to George Tong with Piper Jaffray. Please go ahead.

謝謝。接下來是 Piper Jaffray 的 George Tong。請說。

Can you comment on how you see growth in the Apex and Oxford segments evolving going forward in light of any anticipated changes in either supply or demand? And if you see any industry trends that benefit one segment more than the other?

你能否評論一下，在預期供給或需求可能出現任何變化的情況下，你如何看待未來 Apex 與 Oxford 兩個事業區隔的成長演變？以及你是否看到任何產業趨勢，會讓其中一個區隔比另一個更受益？

George, the only comments that we would make about growth rates going forward are as follows. One, we have published what we think are reasonable growth rates to get to $3 billion in revenue in 2018 and that's published. And then we generically say that at a minimum, irrespective of what the economic is, we would hope that we could grow at least 200 to 300 basis points faster than the industry published growth rate. This quarter, we grew much faster than 200 to 300 basis points.

George，關於未來的成長率，我們唯一想補充的評論如下。第一，我們已公布我們認為合理的成長率，用以在2018年達到30億美元營收，且已對外發布。接著我們概括地說，至少在最低限度下，不論經濟情況如何，我們希望能比產業公布的成長率快至少200到300個基點。本季我們的成長遠高於200到300個基點。

But that's kind of our internal expectation.

但那大致就是我們內部的預期。

Got it. And in terms of just industry trends in IT and marketing, any trends that you see benefiting one segment more than the other?

了解。那就IT與行銷的產業趨勢而言，你們是否看到任何趨勢對某一個事業部門的助益大於另一個？

No. We see ae big focus on digital spend and monetization of proprietary data. And so we continue to focus in those areas. We've seen a good renewal of energy in optimizing embedded or rather implemented electronic medical record systems. And so there's always evolving technology, the need to create new products, mobile products so that your services are competitive with the reality of where technology is today.

沒有。我們看到市場非常聚焦於數位支出，以及專有數據的變現。因此我們持續專注在這些領域。我們也看到在最佳化嵌入式、或更確切地說已導入的電子病歷（EMR）系統方面，重新燃起了不少動能。因此科技總是在演進，必須打造新產品、行動產品，讓你的服務能與當今科技現況保持競爭力。

Got it. That's helpful. You mentioned increased spending on integrating systems in Oxford. Can you elaborate on any additional puts and takes around SG&A expense ticking higher in 3Q?

了解。這很有幫助。你提到在Oxford整合系統的支出增加。你能否進一步說明，第三季SG&A費用走高還有哪些其他的增減因素？

Guys, I guess I don't mean to shut the conversation off but we're not using that as an excuse about our revenue performance or our profit performance. We're just telling you what we're doing with your money. And so -- and this is ongoing stuff that we think we have to do to create a monolithic organization that will enhance productivity and make sure we have the right tools in our people's hands.

各位，我想我不是要中止這個討論，但我們並沒有把這當作我們營收表現或獲利表現的藉口。我們只是告訴你們我們如何使用你們的資金。因此——而且這是我們認為必須持續進行的工作，目的是打造一個一體化的組織，以提升生產力，並確保我們的人手上有正確的工具。

But this is -- if it was significant, we would call it out. But on the margin, it's -- it may move the EBITDA margin a little bit. But our guidance for the third quarter is -- for EBITDA -- is driven by what our expectations for permanent placement contribution, what our expectations are for investments in digital and our spend on the strategy acquisition integration is not in the guidance. So it doesn't matter really other than on a cash usage basis.

但這件事——如果它很重大，我們會特別提出來說明。不過就邊際影響而言——它可能會讓EBITDA利潤率稍微變動一點。但我們對第三季的指引——就EBITDA而言——是由我們對永久派遣（perm placement）貢獻的預期、對數位投資的預期所驅動；而我們在Strategy收購整合上的支出並未納入指引。所以除了現金使用的角度之外，其實沒有太大影響。

Got it. Makes sense. And then lastly, on gross margins, your third quarter guidance points to a contraction there. Is this contraction happening more in the Apex segment or Oxford segment?

了解。有道理。最後，關於毛利率，你們第三季指引顯示毛利率會收縮。這個收縮主要發生在Apex部門還是Oxford部門？

We're not going to comment by segment but the year-over-year compression in the gross margin relates to the same as what it was in Q2 and that is a lower mix of perm revenues. It's that simple.

我們不會按部門評論，但毛利率年對年下滑的原因與第二季相同，也就是永久派遣營收占比降低。就這麼簡單。

Got it. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Mark Marcon with RW Baird. Please go ahead.

謝謝。下一個問題來自RW Baird的Mark Marcon。請開始提問。

Really nice job on the Apex side and looks like Creative Circle continues to grow at a really rapid rate. Was wondering can you talk just a little bit more about on the Apex side, are you seeing -- which verticals are you seeing acceleration out of? Really appreciate the comment around financial services, but where are the verticals that you're seeing accelerating growth or trends that would suggest things could potentially even pick up?

Apex這邊做得非常好，而且看起來Creative Circle仍以非常快的速度成長。想請你再多談一點Apex這邊：你們看到哪些垂直領域在加速？很感謝你提到金融服務，但你們看到哪些垂直領域的成長正在加速，或有哪些趨勢顯示未來可能還會進一步回升？

So Mark, I would answer it that in our prepared remarks, we said six of our seven vertical grew double-digits.

Mark，我會這樣回答：在我們事先準備的講稿中，我們提到七個垂直領域中有六個呈現雙位數成長。

I saw that.

我有看到。

I'd prefer to leave it at that. What I will tell you is I really think the difference is the size of customer matters in this type of economic environment.

我比較希望就先說到這裡。但我可以告訴你，我真的認為在這種經濟環境下，客戶規模的大小很重要。

Do you want to elaborate on that?

你願意再多說明一下嗎？

Yes, when you're working with Fortune 400 companies, they have dedicated budgets that unless there's a true economic catastrophe, they don't -- they work to deploy and spend. Whereas if you're working with a franchiser of 15 muffler shops that has 75 people and they're trying to get something done, they may say cut external labor. So it's a different mindset based on the size and the sophistication of the customer.

是的，當你服務的是《財富》400大公司時，他們有專門的預算，除非出現真正的經濟災難，否則他們不會——他們會努力去部署並花掉這些預算。但如果你服務的是一家擁有15間排氣管維修店、總共75名員工的加盟主，他們想完成某件事時，可能就會說要削減外部人力。因此，基於客戶的規模與成熟度不同，思維模式也不同。

I appreciate that. And it also sounds like within those customers you continue to gain share.

我理解。而且聽起來你們在這些客戶之中也持續提升市占。

Yes.

是的。

Okay, great. And then with regards to the lab business, can you just talk about your expectations there in terms of how -- there was a slowdown this past quarter. Do you expect that to continue? How should we think about it?

好，很好。接著關於實驗室業務，你能談談你們對那邊的預期嗎——上季有放緩。你們預期這種情況會持續嗎？我們該如何看待？

I'll go first and then I'll ask Ted to add to what I offer. The business is doing well. It's growing probably 200 basis points faster than the industry projected growth rate for the first six months of the year. With that said, the reason we aligned it with Apex is that Apex does a very good job with large customers and as you know from covering the Company for many years, (inaudible) support is the gold label and they used to work primarily on a retail onesie, twosie basis with their customers. And as you get larger, you really need to be able to have larger chunks of revenue coming from bigger customers.

我先說，然後我會請Ted補充我所提供的內容。這項業務表現良好。今年前六個月，它的成長率大概比產業預估成長率快200個基點。話雖如此，我們之所以把它與Apex對齊，是因為Apex在大型客戶方面做得非常好；而且如你多年來追蹤公司所知，（聽不清）支援是金字招牌，他們過去主要以零售式、零零散散的一單兩單方式服務客戶。但當你規模變大時，你確實需要能從更大的客戶取得更大塊的營收。

And we're doing a good job of creating those big large accounts but it takes some time to change that mindset. Ted, would you add to that?

我們在建立這些大型關鍵客戶方面做得不錯，但要改變那種思維需要一些時間。Ted，你要補充嗎？

Yes, I think what you said there at the end is right, Peter, and I think although we're adopting a large customer go to market strategy, we're in the beginning stages of it. So our account portfolio needs to get broader and deeper. And as that happens, we'll have more insulation to any one customer being up or down, or any one industry being up or down. So that's a progress that's building over time. This quarter, we got caught by a couple customers that weren't spending the way they were.

是的，我認為你最後那段說得對，Peter。我也認為，雖然我們正在採用以大型客戶為主的市場進入策略，但目前仍處於初期階段。因此，我們的客戶組合需要更廣、更深。隨著這件事發生，我們對於單一客戶的起伏、或單一產業的景氣起伏，就會有更好的緩衝。所以這是一個會隨時間逐步建立的進展。本季我們受到幾個客戶影響，他們的支出不像之前那樣。

I don't think we see it's a reflection on anything in the economy. There's still plenty of opportunity out there and the market feels good, and we just need to continue to build out our large camp program so that it's a sustainable part of our growth engine very quarter.

我不認為這反映了經濟面的任何問題。市場上仍有很多機會，市場感覺也不錯；我們只需要持續擴大我們的大型客戶計畫，讓它成為我們每一季成長引擎中可持續的一部分。

Great, and then with regards to Creative Circle, that seems like one of the most promising growth opportunities. Can you just talk a little bit more about the investments that you're making there and how you envision that particular area shaping up over the next two, three years? Just take it a little bit longer.

很好。接著關於Creative Circle，那看起來是最有前景的成長機會之一。你能否多談一點你們在那邊所做的投資，以及你們如何看待該領域在未來兩到三年的發展？請把時間拉長一點來談。

Well, it has -- according to staffing industry analysts, it has the highest projected end market growth rate. If you look at others, whether it's ad agency projections on advertising spend or Gartner, digital and creative have a very good glide path forward even in this economic environment. The majority of our efforts on the creative side have been to open organic greenfield new offices, which we're trying to do two to three a year. We've opened two so far this year. And continue to add to their world class and internal workforce.

嗯，根據人力派遣產業分析師的看法，它擁有最高的終端市場預估成長率。如果你看其他資料，不論是廣告代理商對廣告支出的預測，或是Gartner的觀點，數位與創意領域即使在這樣的經濟環境下，未來的成長軌跡仍相當不錯。我們在創意端的大部分努力，是開設有機成長的綠地新辦公室（greenfield new offices），我們希望每年開兩到三個。今年到目前為止我們已開了兩個。並持續擴充他們世界級的內部人力團隊。

And so that's what we're really doing. A lot of the incremental hiring above budget that I was making reference to is on the Oxford and Apex side to try to build a higher end technology based digital skill sets.

所以我們主要就是在做這些事。我先前提到超出預算的增量招募，其中很大一部分是在Oxford與Apex端，目的是建立更高階、以科技為基礎的數位技能組合。

And so it sounds like there's ever so slight deceleration there this quarter but it sounds like the current growth rate from everything that you're seeing there seems like it should be sustainable, no?

所以聽起來本季那邊的成長動能有非常輕微的放緩，但就你目前看到的一切來看，現行的成長率似乎應該是可持續的，對嗎？

When we bought it and we were reporting 20% plus top line growth, we said that wouldn't last forever. I will tell you it was 16.6% revenue growth organically year-over-year, which is still very, very good. There was a little bit of a soft pocket in a couple of major metropolitan locations but that had more to do with client spend than anything else and it has nothing to do with demand or execution.

我們買下它的時候，我們在揭露的是營收年增20%以上，我們當時就說那不會永遠持續。我可以告訴你，按有機口徑計算，營收年增16.6%，這仍然非常、非常好。在幾個主要都會區地點出現了一點點短暫疲弱，但那更多是與客戶支出有關，而不是其他因素，且與需求或執行無關。

Okay, great. And then with regards to the new offices that you've opened, can you talk a little bit about what you're seeing there just in terms of how quickly one of those new offices can ramp up and what they can generate?

好的，很好。接著關於你們新開的辦公室，你能否談談你們看到的情況，尤其是就一個新辦公室能多快拉升（ramp up），以及它們能帶來多少產出？

So if history is any good reference point, historically Creative Circle gets their new offices back up to break even profitability in a shorter timeframe than we see in other practices and it's typically about eight to nine months.

如果歷史可以作為參考點，過去Creative Circle的新辦公室達到損益兩平的時間，比我們在其他業務線看到的更短，通常大約是八到九個月。

Great. Thank you. I'll jump back in the queue.

很好。謝謝。我回到隊列後面。

Thank you. And our next question will come from Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets. Go ahead, please.

謝謝。下一個問題來自BMO Capital Markets的Jeff Silber。請說。

Thank you so much. Just to kind of frame the conversation, can you just give us some color of your exposure to the different major industry verticals? You mentioned some of the issues going on in financial services. I'm just wondering what that is the percentage of total revenues and also some of the other major verticals as well. Thanks.

非常感謝。為了讓討論更有脈絡，你能否就你們在不同主要產業垂直領域的曝險提供一些說明？你提到金融服務業的一些問題。我想了解那占總營收的百分比是多少，以及其他主要垂直領域的情況。謝謝。

Jeff, we try to be as transparent as possible, but I don't think we've been giving -- we used to give percentages for, remember, Life Support, but I think we've stopped that and we just don't do it by industry verticals. I can tell you kind of -- Rand, why don't you walk him through qualitatively not quantitatively? They know that financial services is the largest percentage of your customer base. Can you rank kind of two, three, four after that?

Jeff，我們盡量保持最大透明度，但我不認為我們一直有提供——我們以前會提供百分比，你還記得Life Support，但我想我們已經停止那樣做了，而且我們現在不按產業垂直領域提供。我可以用大概的方式告訴你——Rand，你何不以質化而非量化的方式帶他過一遍？他們知道金融服務是你們客戶基礎中占比最大的。你能把接下來第二、第三、第四大大概排一下嗎？

Yes, I think we've said publicly in previous quarters that financial services is certainly number one and then it's a (inaudible) of them that are all kind of packed in together between healthcare, consumer institutional. Government was down a little bit but on its way back as we've reported in the last couple quarters. Telecommunications, they were all about equal size. The smallest ones for us are business services vertical, and the technology vertical although the technology vertical is still a double-digit percent of our business.

是的，我想我們在前幾季的公開說法中提過，金融服務確實是第一，然後（聽不清）有幾個領域都差不多擠在一起，包括醫療保健、消費、機構類。政府業務稍微下滑了一點，但正如我們在過去幾季所報告的，正在回升。電信——它們的規模都大致相當。對我們來說最小的是商業服務垂直領域，以及科技垂直領域，儘管科技垂直領域仍占我們業務的兩位數百分比。

That's helpful. And is it somewhat similar in terms of the rank order in Oxford as well?

這很有幫助。那在Oxford那邊，排名順序也大致相似嗎？

Mike, you want to try to give a qualitative estimation?

Mike，你想試著給一個質化的估計嗎？

Jeff, we really don't look at it that way from an industry standpoint. As an example, we do very little in the financial services sector. We really focus on the skills. So we rank more towards the skill level versus actual industry. But I will tell you that we're not -- we don't have a single industry more than 25% if you will across all of our skill levels.

Jeff，我們其實不太從產業角度那樣看。例如，我們在金融服務領域做得很少。我們真正聚焦的是技能。所以我們更偏向按技能層級來看，而不是實際產業。但我可以告訴你的是，若以我們所有技能層級的整體來看，我們沒有任何單一產業占比超過25%。

Okay, great. That's helpful. And Peter, you said something along the lines of the size of the customer matters and again, just to kind of frame the conversation, can you give us a rough estimate between your business between large customers, middle market smaller customers, any way that you guys look at it would be helpful.

好的，很好。這很有幫助。另外，Peter，你提到客戶規模很重要；同樣為了讓討論更有脈絡，你能否就你們業務在大型客戶、中型市場、小型客戶之間的大致占比給個粗略估計？你們怎麼看都行，會很有幫助。

My guess is it's kind of 80/20.

我猜大概是80/20。

80% large, 20% small, mid-market.

80%大型，20%小型與中型市場。

Right.

對。

Okay, great. Right. One more numbers questions. I think you normally give out the bill pay spread. I don't think I saw that this quarter. Is that something we can get?

好的，很好。對。再問一個數字問題。我想你們通常會提供bill pay spread（開票與支付價差）。我這季好像沒看到。這個可以提供嗎？

No, because it's not meaningful on a consolidated basis. You almost have to look at it by segment.

不行，因為在合併口徑下沒有意義。你幾乎必須按事業部來看。

Okay. Fair enough. We'll just take out of our (inaudible). Appreciate the color.

好的。可以理解。那我們就從我們的（聽不清）把它拿掉。感謝補充說明。

There really hasn't been any significant change.

其實並沒有任何顯著變化。

Okay. Thanks so much.

好的。非常感謝。

Thank you. Our next question comes from Edward Caso with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

謝謝。下一個問題來自Wells Fargo的Edward Caso。請說。

I'd like to go back to the financial leverage. I think in the past you've talked about you wanted to get back to 2.5 times to fulfill the commitments to your lenders. You're within spitting distance of that now. Can you prioritize for us how you want to deploy your money? Internal, I know you've already done some share repurchase but could you ramp that up and how active are you in looking at other M&A opportunities?

我想回到財務槓桿的問題。我記得過去你們談過，希望回到2.5倍以履行對放款銀行的承諾。你們現在已經非常接近了。你能否幫我們排一下你們資金運用的優先順序？內部方面，我知道你們已經做了一些庫藏股回購，但你們會加大力度嗎？另外，你們在尋找其他併購機會方面有多積極？

We're looking at a lot of things but it takes a long time to develop confidence that strategically, operationally, and culturally you found a good fit. So there's no guarantee that we'll close something in the next 90 days. On a valuation basis, right now, I'm not complaining. I'm just stating the obvious. Private valuations are a little bit higher than the public valuations. So the best company we can buy right now is On Assignment.

我們在看很多事情，但要建立信心、確認在策略、營運與文化上都找到合適的契合點，需要很長時間。所以我們不保證未來90天內一定會完成一筆交易。就估值而言，現在我不是在抱怨。我只是陳述顯而易見的事實。私募市場的估值略高於公開市場的估值。所以我們現在能買到的最好的公司就是On Assignment。

Can you talk about your interest level? I know you have some mostly non-IT in Europe. You're sort of your interest level in finally going into Europe and chasing IT work?

你能談談你們的興趣程度嗎？我知道你們在歐洲有一些主要是非IT的業務。你們對於最終進入歐洲、去承接IT業務的興趣程度如何？

Ed, on our deployment model, which is contract labor, it's a very tough market and the margins are not particularly attractive. Europe is thrashing right now. We had stated in our April 14 analyst day that after our yearlong strategic review, because of the fragmentation of the US market and our penetration in that fragmented market that we found domestic expansion more interesting than international.

Ed，就我們的投放模式而言，也就是合約勞務，這是一個非常艱難的市場，而且利潤率並不特別吸引人。歐洲目前正劇烈動盪。我們在4月14日的分析師日曾表示，在我們進行為期一年的策略檢討之後，基於美國市場的高度分散，以及我們在這個分散市場中的滲透率，我們認為國內擴張比國際擴張更有吸引力。

Final question. You mentioned that you're seeing a slowdown in permanent placement work in Silicon Valley. Is that a sign of a slowing digital wave or just a sign of a maturing digital wave?

最後一個問題。你提到你們看到矽谷的永久派遣（正職媒合）業務在放緩。這是數位浪潮正在放緩的訊號，還是只是數位浪潮正在成熟的訊號？

Well, first of all, the reference was to the West Coast. Some of it is Northern California, some of it is in the LA Basin with some of the start social media companies or biotech for that matter in the San Diego area. So again, my comments I want to try to reinforce that I'm trying to relate specific to our performance and not the market. I don't think it reflects anything more than kind of the early stage, young, small startup company and maybe focus on capitalization a little bit more and uncertainty. And secondarily, some of the permanent placement we're doing into customers that may have 100 employees versus 10,000 employees and they may be more cautious.

嗯，首先，我指的是西岸。其中一部分在北加州，一部分在洛杉磯盆地，涉及一些新創社群媒體公司；就此而言，在聖地牙哥地區也有一些生技公司。所以再次強調，我的評論是想盡量聚焦在我們自身的表現，而不是整體市場。我不認為這反映了除了早期、年輕、小型新創公司可能更重視資本化（資金籌措）以及不確定性之外的任何事情。其次，我們做的一些永久派遣是導入到可能只有100名員工、而不是1萬名員工的客戶，他們可能會更為謹慎。

But again, I want to caution you that those are comments related to our business and not the market.

不過我再次提醒各位，這些評論是針對我們的業務，而不是針對市場。

Thank you. We now have a question from Tim McHugh with William Blair and Company. Go ahead please.

謝謝。我們現在有 William Blair and Company 的 Tim McHugh 的提問。請說。

You mentioned, you brought up CyberCoders. I think you were referring to them when you said a few metropolitan areas had a little bit softer demand. I guess can you elaborate on what you saw with certain client types?

你提到、也帶到了 CyberCoders。我想你在說有幾個都會區需求稍微疲軟時，指的就是他們。能否請你更詳細說明你在某些客戶類型上觀察到的情況？

That was actually Creative Circle, Tim. And it had to do -- one large customer was in the midst of integrating a $40 billion acquisition. And as you know, Creative is not on the systems integration side of the house. So they took a pause. I don't know if it relates to they had promised a certain level of synergy savings from the acquisition. So maybe they were stalling some spend on other areas. That's a pure guess. But it just had to do with a couple of offices that shaved what we expected to be kind of two to three percentage points faster growth.

Tim，那其實是 Creative Circle。而且原因是——有一個大型客戶正處於整合一筆 400 億美元收購案的過程中。如你所知，Creative 並不在系統整合那一端。所以他們暫停了一下。我不確定是否與他們承諾該收購案要達到某個程度的協同節省有關。所以也許他們在其他領域的支出有所延後。這純粹是猜測。但這只是與幾個辦公室有關，讓原本我們預期會快約 2 到 3 個百分點的成長被削弱了。

Okay. And are you seeing more competition at all as you expand into new markets and so forth and others during I guess probably replicate the success they've had?

了解。那你們在拓展到新市場等方面，是否看到更多競爭？以及其他人是否在某種程度上複製他們的成功？

No more than we see in -- historically in all of our businesses. But we're the leader in that space and there's plenty of business and again, size and reputation matters. So our biggest competition in that space is not from the fellow competitors. It's from what I call the black market because the creative side, not so much the digital side, but the creative side still -- some of the customers are smaller and they're willing to tap the freelance market, what I call the black market, and run the risk of using independent contractors.

沒有比我們——歷來在所有業務中看到的更多。但我們是該領域的領導者，市場機會也很充足，而且再說一次，規模與聲譽很重要。所以我們在那個領域最大的競爭，並不是來自同業競爭者。而是我所說的黑市，因為創意端——不是數位端那麼明顯，但創意端仍然——有些客戶規模較小，他們願意去使用自由接案市場，我稱之為黑市，並承擔使用獨立承包商的風險。

And what about Oxford, the healthcare (inaudible). It seems like it was a strong area. I guess it's had some volatility in the past. Do you feel confident that that's I guess sustainably kind of on a better footing? How do you look at that part of Oxford?

那 Oxford 呢，醫療保健（聽不清）。看起來那是一個表現強勁的領域。我想它過去曾有些波動。你是否有信心它在可持續性上已經站上更穩健的基礎？你如何看待 Oxford 的那一塊？

I'll go first and then I'll let Mike add to my comments. First of all, the difference now versus 2014 is there's no stimulus act that's driving behavior before a certain date. And the work we're really doing is not so much first time initial implementation versus optimization. So it feels a lot more rational and steady. When we were doing the first wave of it, we knew that there was a surge and we took advantage of it to build our practice. Mike?

我先說，然後再讓 Mike 補充。首先，現在相較於 2014 年的差異在於，已經沒有刺激法案在某個期限前驅動行為。而我們真正做的工作，與其說是第一次的初始導入，不如說是優化。所以感覺更理性、更穩定。當我們在做第一波時，我們知道會有一波激增，我們也利用那個機會建立了我們的業務實務。Mike？

Yes, the only thing I'd add to that is besides just the normal optimization, as you said, Peter, we're doing a lot of redos if you will, clients that may be switching vendors, switching software packaging, et cetera or doing further work on what they may already have implemented. So other than that, it's continuing to do well and we expect that to continue for the foreseeable future.

是的，我唯一要補充的是，除了你說的正常優化之外，Peter，我們也在做很多「重做」的案子：例如客戶可能在更換供應商、更換軟體套件等等，或是在他們已經導入的系統上做進一步的工作。除此之外，表現仍持續良好，我們也預期在可預見的未來會持續如此。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thank you. And we have a question from Randy Reece with Avondale Partners. Go ahead please.

謝謝。接下來是 Avondale Partners 的 Randy Reece 的提問。請說。

How much of Creative Circles growth over the last couple of years came from branch expansion versus same-store sales growth?

Creative Circle 過去幾年的成長，有多少來自分點擴張，相對於同店銷售成長？

It's a great question. I can't give you a definitive, but what I would tell you is they have, probably, Randy opened up 10 offices over the last three years. And, but what we look at is -- of course, the growth rate in the new offices is going to be substantially larger, but when you're growing -- all our major offices are still growing high teens, double digits. So the first offices as you would imagine, were in the larger Metropolitan areas than these ? like we opened up Boston and in San Diego, but we opened up, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York, D.C. decades ago -- so a decade ago.

這是個很好的問題。我無法給你一個確切數字，但我可以告訴你，Randy，他們在過去三年大概開了 10 個辦公室。不過我們看的方式是——當然，新辦公室的成長率會顯著更高，但在你成長的同時——我們所有主要辦公室仍然維持高十幾％、雙位數的成長。所以最早的辦公室如你所想，是在較大的都會區，像是我們在波士頓和聖地牙哥開點，但我們在波士頓、芝加哥、費城、舊金山、紐約、華盛頓特區等地，早在數十年前——也就是十年前就已經開了。

So I'll try to get you a little more information on that. But what I can tell you is the new office contribution is on a percentage of total revenue. It's still small and we think that's a good growth area, as they get more mature in the marketplace longer that they can't get to a larger and larger critical mass.

所以我會試著再提供你更多相關資訊。但我可以告訴你，新辦公室的貢獻以總營收占比來看仍然不大，我們認為這是一個很好的成長領域，因為它們在市場上越成熟、經營時間越長，就越能達到更大、更大的臨界規模。

That was my subsequent question, is how much do you expect branch expansion to augment the same-store growth rate over the next couple of years?

那是我接下來的問題：你預期未來幾年分點擴張會在多大程度上，增強同店成長率？

Well, I will tell you , when we did the underwriting to do the deal, Randy, one of our theses is that we proved up was sustaining this kind of high teens 20% growth rate was a little more believable or realistic than having penetrated all 51 major metropolitan areas and just trying to continue to grow double digits in those markets because Greenfield expansion is a little bit easier at times, geographic expansions at times could be a little bit easier than just taking market share in a well-established existing local market.

嗯，我可以告訴你，Randy，當我們在承作這筆交易的評估時，我們其中一個論點——也就是我們驗證過的——是：要維持這種高十幾％到 20% 的成長率，相較於已經滲透所有 51 個主要都會區、然後只靠在那些市場持續維持雙位數成長，會更可信或更現實一些；因為綠地擴張有時更容易，地理擴張有時可能比在一個既有且成熟的在地市場中搶市占更容易。

So we believe that they can be for -- we think, we've -? with what we've opened since we acquired them, we still think there is like 11 to 13 additional markets that we could open up. And we believe that that will be a big forward contributor to our ability to continue to grow at attractive rates.

所以我們相信他們可以——我們認為，我們在收購後已經開出的據點之後，仍然還有大約 11 到 13 個額外市場可以開拓。

We're halfway through the year now. What do we know about first half of 2016 results that will affect comparisons in the first half of next year? Was there anything unusually good or maybe a weak spot that could rebound?

我們現在已經過了半年。我們對 2016 年上半年結果有哪些了解，會影響到明年上半年的比較基期？是否有任何特別好、或可能偏弱而有機會反彈的地方？

Yes, so a couple of things that, one there wasn't really any large project work that's running off. Two, the perm was much lower in the first half of 2016 and as the economy picks up and small and medium-sized businesses have more courage, then you would assume we'd have a favorable comp in 2017 on the contingent search business. Wage and contractor expenses have been a little bit harder to pass along, but we think that will emolliate and that we'll have an easier time of it as time goes forward, and we renew some of our rate cards. So those would be the three takeaways.

是的，有幾點：第一，上半年其實沒有任何大型專案型工作在結束（run off）。第二，2016 年上半年的永久職（perm）明顯較低；隨著景氣回升、中小企業更有信心，你會假設我們在 2017 年的或有搜尋（contingent search）業務上會有較有利的比較基期。薪資與承包商成本較難轉嫁出去，但我們認為這會逐步緩解，隨著時間推進、以及我們更新部分費率表（rate cards），我們會更容易處理。以上是三個重點。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. We have a follow-up from Tobey Sommer with SunTrust. Please go ahead. Mr. Sommer, is your phone on mute?

謝謝。我們有 SunTrust 的 Tobey Sommer 的追問。請說。Sommer 先生，你的電話有靜音嗎？

Thanks very much, sorry about that. Could you give us an update on the Statement of Work business and how that trend is developing? It's been a while since I've got an update on that? Thank you.

非常感謝，不好意思。你能否就工作說明書（Statement of Work）業務提供最新進展，以及這個趨勢目前如何發展？我有一段時間沒有收到這方面的更新了。謝謝。

So Toby, we'll give you a qualitative update.

所以 Toby，我們會給你一個定性的更新。

Sure.

好的。

Because we don't break it out. We think it's going very well. It's grown sizably and we think it's an important differentiator of us versus others and that's why certain companies just can't play in the large customer base because they're just putting butts in seats, whereas we're doing ?- we're actually having to do more than just that.

因為我們沒有把它單獨拆分揭露。我們認為進展非常順利。規模成長顯著，我們也認為這是我們相較於其他人的重要差異化因素；這也是為什麼某些公司無法在大型客戶群中競爭，因為他們只是把人塞到位子上，而我們做的——我們實際上必須做的不僅僅是那樣。

So it's an important practice. We have the privilege of having Rand who as you know was instrumental in building BearingPoint and having a lot of people who deeply know about project consulting and solutions determination. And so, we're building that out thoughtfully, not taking risk, we call it consulting life, but definitely moving the way our customers want us to move.

所以這是一項重要的做法。我們很榮幸有 Rand 加入，如各位所知，他在打造 BearingPoint 的過程中扮演了關鍵角色，並且身邊也有許多對專案顧問服務與解決方案制定非常熟悉的人才。因此，我們正審慎地把這一塊建構起來，不去承擔風險；我們稱之為顧問式生命週期（consulting life），但也確實在朝客戶希望我們前進的方向推進。

Thank you. And the cash -? free cash flow generation in the quarter was very strong, at least by my math almost $1 a share or more. Was there anything unusual, or is that just kind of free cash flow conversion that the business generates from cash from ops?

謝謝。那現金——？本季自由現金流的產生非常強勁，至少按我的計算，幾乎每股 1 美元或更多。這裡面有什麼不尋常之處嗎？還是說這就是公司由營運現金所帶來的自由現金流轉換？

I think there was a benefit this quarter which you typically don't see in a growth quarter, I mean, obviously it was a growth quarter, where we had actually cash flow being generated from sort of change in our operating assets and liabilities. Because typically you think, you're going to be investing when you have a growth, and we actually generated cash this quarter. These kinds of things happen from time to time, don't read too much into it, but it clearly was a strong growth quarter from a cash standpoint.

我認為本季有一個好處，而這通常在成長季度不太會看到；我的意思是，顯然這是一個成長季度，但我們實際上從營運資產與負債的變動中產生了現金流。因為一般來說你會認為在成長時會需要投入資金，而我們本季反而產生了現金。這類情況偶爾會發生，不要過度解讀，但從現金的角度來看，這確實是一個非常強勁的成長季度。

But I think, Tobey, for the year of 2016, just back of the envelope, we're thinking what Eddie, $120 million, $130 million a year?

不過我想，Tobey，就 2016 年全年來看，粗略估算，我們認為是什麼，Eddie，每年 1.2 億到 1.3 億美元？

Yes, we're on track.

是的，我們進度符合預期。

We're on track for it.

我們正朝那個目標前進。

And we've kind of commented on that in the past that this was a -- it was a tremendous growth quarter.

而且我們過去也曾提到，這是一個——這是一個非常亮眼的成長季度。

And some of the things --

而其中一些事情——

Generation quarter --

現金產生的季度——

Tobey, some of the things we told you about moving servicing out of Calabasas into Richmond and Beverly, it takes some time to settle that stuff down. And now we're getting better collections as they fully get their hands around the additional servicing that those back office groups are doing.

Tobey，我們之前跟你提過把服務作業從 Calabasas 移到 Richmond 和 Beverly，這些事情需要一些時間才能穩定下來。而現在，隨著那些後勤團隊完全掌握他們所承接的額外服務作業，我們的收款狀況也在改善。

Yes, and to be a little more specific, as to what Peter is referring to. We did see maybe less than two days, but we saw let's say a two day improvement in our DSOs accounts receivable DSOs sequentially.

是的，為了更具體一點，關於 Peter 所指的部分。我們確實看到應收帳款 DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）在連續季度比較下改善了大概兩天（可能不到兩天，但就算兩天）。

Perfect. Thank you very much to you all.

太好了。非常感謝各位。

Thank you. And we also have a follow up from Mark Marcon with RW Baird. Go ahead please.

謝謝。我們也有來自 RW Baird 的 Mark Marcon 的追問。請說。

Two questions. One, one competitor who doesn't occupy a space that's very similar to yours noted how tough it is in terms of recruiting developers. Can you just talk a little bit about that just with regards to what you're seeing in terms of ability to fill orders. And I imagine that your position with some of the larger more prestigious companies probably aids in terms of filling open development positions. But I was wondering if you could comment there in terms of what you're seeing and to what extent is it a constraint in terms of growth?

兩個問題。第一，有一家競爭對手（雖然所處領域與你們不完全相同）提到招募開發人員有多困難。你能否就你們在填補需求（填單）能力方面所看到的情況談一下？我想你們與一些更大型、更具聲望的公司合作的定位，可能有助於填補開發職缺。但我想請你評論一下：你們看到的情況如何？以及這在多大程度上會成為成長的限制？

A tight labor market, we're seeing that constraint affect us more on the contingent search side than the contract side, Mark. And if you look at -- if you go company by company, we just do a lot more of that, we just don't do as much support work as others. So we're more comfortable and familiar with recruiting the hiring skill sets.

勞動市場緊俏，我們看到這個限制對我們的影響，在 Mark，你知道的，更多是在「永久職位招募」（contingent search）這一端，而不是在合約派遣（contract）這一端。而如果你去看——如果你逐家公司去看，我們做這類型的業務更多；我們不像其他人那樣做那麼多支援性工作。因此我們在招募與聘用所需的技能組合方面更熟悉、也更有把握。

Great. And then, Peter, you've been very vocal about working with agencies such as yours in terms of promoting compliance. Can you ? is that resonating with some of the clients that you've been speaking with or that Rand's been speaking with or that Mike's been speaking with in terms of actually seeing a change in client behavior along that front?

很好。第二個問題，Peter，你一直很積極倡議與像你們這樣的機構合作以推動合規。這個訊息是否在你、Rand 或 Mike 與客戶的對話中產生共鳴？也就是說，在那方面是否真的看到客戶行為有所改變？

Absolutely. I mean, we won that battle on the IT side. If you go into any relevant organization and try to comment using a resource that you found on the Internet, HR label is going to just shut you down. They're going to say, we're not going to take the risk of misclassification, penalty, back taxes or the risk of personal security.

絕對有。我的意思是，我們在 IT 端已經贏下那場戰役了。如果你走進任何相關組織，試圖主張使用你在網路上找到的資源，HR 基本上會直接把你擋下來。他們會說，我們不會承擔錯誤分類（misclassification）的風險、罰款、補繳稅款，或個人安全方面的風險。

Now, when you're dealing with a company that's got 25 employees, they may look the other way. So we're quite vocal about it, we're vocal about it with smaller companies, we're vocal about it with startups, we're vocal about it on the Creative side. But there is not a data, it doesn't go by that there's not new regulatory obligations on paid time off, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave. And so it's all driving to our benefit and you can get the same -- look, this is kind of a very, very stark statement. You can get the same productivity, the same benefit of using just-in-time resources by using a W-2 employee through a staffing agency and doing it the right way versus pulling somebody off of the Internet and doing it the wrong way. And the only reason you pull them off the internet is you don't want to pay the government employment taxes.

現在，當你面對的是一家只有 25 名員工的公司，他們可能會睜一隻眼閉一隻眼。所以我們在這方面非常直言不諱：我們對小公司直言不諱、對新創直言不諱、在創意（Creative）端也同樣直言不諱。而且幾乎沒有哪一天不會出現新的法規義務，像是帶薪休假、病假、產假、陪產假。因此這一切都在推動對我們有利的方向；你也可以得到同樣——你看，這是一個非常、非常直白的說法。你可以透過人力派遣公司使用 W-2 員工，以正確的方式做到「即時」資源配置，獲得同樣的生產力與同樣的效益；相較之下，從網路上隨便找人、用錯的方式做。而你之所以從網路上找人，唯一原因就是你不想繳政府的雇用稅。

So we're on the right side of this argument. We pay Workers' Comp, we pay State Unemployment Insurance, we pay FICA, we pay 401(k) contributions, we pay health benefit. And long-term sophisticated organizations are going to do business in the right way.

所以在這個論點上，我們站在正確的一方。我們支付勞工補償保險（Workers' Comp）、州失業保險（State Unemployment Insurance）、FICA（聯邦保險捐）、401(k) 提撥、健康福利。而長期來看，成熟且專業的組織會以正確的方式來做生意。

I appreciate that. So, it sounds like there is lots of room in terms -- on the Creative side to get that point of view across?

我理解。所以聽起來在創意端，要把這個觀點傳達出去，還有很大的空間？

Well what we said is when we -- if you look at the data that Staffing Industry Analysts report on the Creative marketplace, they says it's about a $2.5 billion end market. If you look at the research that we had done by a couple of strategy firms, household name strategy firms, we estimate that $8 billion a year is spent on non-full-time labor in the Creative world. And that other $5.5 billion is going through the black market.

嗯，我們的意思是——如果你看 Staffing Industry Analysts 對創意市場的數據，他們說這大約是一個 25 億美元的終端市場。如果你看我們委託幾家策略顧問公司（知名策略顧問公司）所做的研究，我們估計創意領域每年在非全職勞動力上的支出約為 80 億美元。而另外那 55 億美元是透過黑市在運作。

It's, a great opportunity.

這是一個很大的機會。

And that's because you know a small 20-person agency may go find a freelancer, graphic designer, or user experience person that they may have worked with another agency that's now on their own and just work as an independent contractor, but WPP, McCann Erickson is not going to do that, Walgreens or GE is not going to do that. So it just really is driven by the sophistication of the customer versus anything else.

這是因為你知道，一家 20 人的小型代理商可能會去找一位自由接案者——平面設計師或使用者體驗（UX）人員——他可能以前在另一家代理商工作，現在自己出來接案，然後就以獨立承包商的方式合作；但 WPP、McCann Erickson 不會這麼做，Walgreens 或 GE 也不會這麼做。所以這真的主要取決於客戶的成熟度，而不是其他因素。

Great. I appreciate the comments. Thanks.

很好。感謝你的評論。謝謝。

Thank you. And we have no further questions in the queue.

謝謝。目前隊列中沒有其他問題了。

Well we appreciate your time and look forward to reporting our results for the for the rest of the year. Thank you.

我們感謝各位撥冗，也期待在今年剩餘時間向各位報告我們的業績。謝謝。

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

謝謝。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 Executive Teleconference。您現在可以掛線。