Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2017 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Second Quarter 2017 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候，歡迎參加 2017 年第二季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 提醒您，本次會議將被錄音。

I would now like to turn the conference over to our host, Mr. Ed Pierce. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給我們的主持人 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. Although, we believe these statements are reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, and our actual results could differ materially from those statements. Certain of the 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。儘管我們相信這些陳述是合理的，但它們仍受風險與不確定性影響，我們的實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。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. 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 GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today's press release.

為方便您參考，我們的事先準備講稿可在本公司網站的投資人關係專區找到。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。

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

現在我將把電話會議交給我們的執行長 Peter Dameris，他將概述本季業績。Peter？

Thank you, Ed. I would like to welcome everyone to the On Assignment 2017 second quarter earnings conference call. With me today -- with Ed and me today are Ted Hanson, President of On Assignment and Rand Blazer, President of Apex Systems.

謝謝你，Ed。我想歡迎各位參加 On Assignment 2017 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我同在的——與 Ed 和我同在的有 On Assignment 總裁 Ted Hanson，以及 Apex Systems 總裁 Rand Blazer。

During our call today, I will give a review of the markets we serve and our financial highlights, followed by a discussion of the performance of our operating segments by Ted and Rand. 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 2017. We'll then open the call up for questions.

在今天的電話會議中，我將回顧我們所服務的市場與財務重點，接著由 Ted 與 Rand 討論各營運部門的表現。之後我會把電話會議交給 Ed，對我們第二季業績以及 2017 年第三季的預估進行更詳細的回顧與討論。接著我們將開放提問。

Now on to the second quarter results. Our results for the second quarter exceeded the high end of our previously announced financial estimates for adjusted EBITDA and earnings per share, and we were within the range of estimates for revenues and gross margins. Revenues for the quarter were $653.3 million, up 7.4% year-over-year, or 7.6% on a same billable day basis. This marked the 14th consecutive quarter that our company grew above the IT staffing industry's projected annual growth rate.

接下來談第二季業績。我們第二季的結果在調整後 EBITDA 與每股盈餘方面，超出先前公布財務預估區間的上緣；營收與毛利率則落在預估區間內。本季營收為 6.533 億美元，年增 7.4%，若以相同可計費天數基礎則年增 7.6%。這是我們公司連續第 14 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 continued deepening of many large new customer relationships that we've established over the last 4 years, the continuing increase in the rate of adoption of our delivery model and an improvement of the operating performance of Oxford and CyberCoders.

我們的成長率反映了多項因素，其中包括：過去 4 年我們建立的許多大型新客戶關係持續深化、我們交付模式的採用率持續提升，以及 Oxford 與 CyberCoders 的營運表現改善。

This quarter's revenues had an adverse effect from foreign currency exchange, which have impacted revenues by $723,000, compared with a $370,000 year-over-year benefit from foreign currency exchange in the second quarter of last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $80.5 million or 12.3% of revenues compared to $74.1 million or 12.2% of revenues in the second quarter of 2016.

本季營收受到外匯匯率的不利影響，匯率變動使營收減少 72.3 萬美元；相較之下，去年第二季外匯匯率對營收帶來 37.0 萬美元的年對年正面效益。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 8,050 萬美元，占營收 12.3%；2016 年第二季為 7,410 萬美元，占營收 12.2%。

Cash generation continues to be at or above our expectations. Financial performance in the quarter was driven by strong revenue growth at Apex, Creative Circle and CyberCoders. Revenue growth came from our local, mid-market and large national accounts, reflecting strong customer demand. Our size and service offerings allowed us to grow faster than the published staffing industry growth rates, and we believe that we are well-positioned to generate solid above-market revenue growth in the future.

現金創造能力持續達到或高於我們的預期。本季財務表現主要由 Apex、Creative Circle 與 CyberCoders 的強勁營收成長所帶動。營收成長來自我們的在地、中型市場與大型全國性客戶，反映出強勁的客戶需求。我們的規模與服務組合使我們能以高於已公布的人力派遣產業成長率的速度成長；我們相信，公司已具備良好定位，未來可持續創造穩健、優於市場的營收成長。

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, off-shoring and consulting. Wage inflation continues to be manageable.

我們的 IT 業務持續看到客戶端的高度需求，部分原因在於客戶更廣泛採用人力增補（staff augmentation），作為外包、離岸外包與顧問服務的可行替代方案。薪資通膨仍在可控範圍內。

With respect to recent production, our weekly assignment revenues, which excludes conversion, billable expenses and direct placement revenues, averaged $48.8 million for the last 2 weeks, up 14.6% over the same period of 2016. Since the closing of the Creative Circle acquisition on June 5, 2015, we have repaid $281 million of our debt. Our leverage ratio was 2.04x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA as of June 30, 2017.

就近期產出而言，我們的每週派遣營收（不含轉換、可計費費用與直接媒合營收）在最近 2 週平均為 4,880 萬美元，較 2016 年同期成長 14.6%。自 2015 年 6 月 5 日完成 Creative Circle 收購案交割以來，我們已償還 2.81 億美元的債務。截至 2017 年 6 月 30 日，我們的槓桿比率為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 2.04 倍。

During the quarter, we repaid $38 million of our debt. We estimate our leverage ratio to be approximately 1.91x by the end of the third quarter of 2017. As you will recall, we announced on June 13, 2016, that our Board of Directors authorized a new $150 million share repurchase program. Since inception, we have repurchased approximately 1.4 million shares at an average price of $39.07. During the second quarter, we did not repurchase any shares. We do intend to continue to execute our share repurchase program based on share price and market conditions.

本季我們償還了 3,800 萬美元的債務。我們估計至 2017 年第三季末，我們的槓桿比率約為 1.91 倍。各位應該記得，我們於 2016 年 6 月 13 日宣布董事會核准一項新的 1.5 億美元庫藏股回購計畫。自計畫啟動以來，我們已以平均每股 39.07 美元回購約 140 萬股。第二季期間，我們未回購任何股份。我們確實打算依股價與市場狀況持續執行股份回購計畫。

We continue to see signs that the ongoing debate regarding the on-demand workforce or gig-economy is accelerating the usage of contract labor. Fractionalization of human capital by using the staffing industry services is the only way to avoid the risk of misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

我們持續看到跡象顯示，關於隨需勞動力或零工經濟（gig-economy）的持續辯論，正在加速契約勞動的使用。透過使用人力派遣產業的服務來進行人力資本的分割化，是避免將員工錯誤分類為獨立承包商之風險的唯一方式。

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're well-positioned to service our customers' IT needs as technology rapidly evolves and is adopted.

我們的客戶已經並且正在意識到這一點，因此我們相信，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。

Throughout this year, we continue to benefit from the ongoing debate regarding H-1B Visa reform and further adoption of our development and deployment model i.e., staff augmentation. Recently signed executive orders have only further solidified the trend towards adoption of our model versus off-shoring. Our industry association has had several meetings with congressmen and senators' offices and staff and proposed legislation continues to favor the provisioning of domestic IT labor.

在今年期間，我們持續受惠於關於 H-1B 簽證改革的持續辯論，以及我們的開發與部署模式（即人力增補，staff augmentation）的進一步採用。近期簽署的行政命令更進一步鞏固了相較於離岸外包，市場轉向採用我們模式的趨勢。我們的產業協會已與多位眾議員與參議員的辦公室及幕僚進行多次會議，而持續提出的立法也傾向於提供國內 IT 勞動力。

I would like to now turn the call over to Ted, who will review the operations of the segments and then over to Rand. Ted?

現在我想把電話會議交給 Ted，他將回顧各部門的營運，之後再交給 Rand。Ted？

Thanks, Peter. Revenues from our Apex and Oxford segments grew collectively 7.4% year-over-year. The Apex segment had another strong quarter of double-digit growth driven by both Apex Systems, our largest division, and Creative Circle, each of which grew low double digits. Creative Circle was below our growth expectations for the quarter and Apex Systems was in line with our expectations for the quarter.

謝謝，Peter。我們 Apex 與 Oxford 部門的營收合計年增 7.4%。Apex 部門在本季再度呈現強勁的雙位數成長，成長動能來自 Apex Systems（我們最大的事業部）與 Creative Circle，兩者皆呈現低雙位數成長。Creative Circle 本季成長低於我們的預期，而 Apex Systems 本季則符合我們的預期。

Rand will discuss in greater detail operating trends in each of those business units in his comments. Our Oxford segment was slightly down year-over-year, but up sequentially and above our expectations for the second quarter. The better-than-expected growth in the second quarter was driven by better performance at our core Oxford IT business and continued recovery in growth at CyberCoders.

Rand 將在他的評論中更詳細地討論上述各業務單位的營運趨勢。我們的 Oxford 部門年對年略有下滑，但較前一季成長，且第二季表現高於我們的預期。第二季優於預期的成長，主要來自我們核心 Oxford IT 業務表現更佳，以及 CyberCoders 的成長持續復甦。

We were pleased to see that all divisions grew sequentially over the first quarter of 2017. Exiting the quarter, Apex Systems, Apex Life Sciences and CyberCoders continued to grow, and the Creative Circle division showed slowing growth and is behind our internal expectations for the second half of the year.

我們很高興看到，2017 年第一季之後，各事業部在第二季皆呈現季對季成長。在季度末，Apex Systems、Apex Life Sciences 與 CyberCoders 持續成長，而 Creative Circle 事業部的成長趨緩，且落後於我們對下半年內部的預期。

Now on to the Oxford segment results. The Oxford segment is comprised of Oxford core, CyberCoders, our permanent placement business, and Life Sciences Europe. For the second quarter of 2017, Oxford segment revenues were $150.9 million, down 2.3% year-over-year or down 1.8% on a constant currency basis. Revenues increased 4.8% for the segment on a sequential basis.

接下來談 Oxford 部門的結果。Oxford 部門由 Oxford 核心業務、CyberCoders、我們的永久派遣（permanent placement）業務，以及歐洲生命科學業務所組成。2017 年第二季，Oxford 部門營收為 1.509 億美元，年對年下降 2.3%，若以固定匯率計則下降 1.8%。該部門營收季對季成長 4.8%。

Oxford core revenues, which accounted for 74.9% of the segment revenues were down 5.1% year-over-year. The decline in revenue is attributable to the successful completion of 2 large projects in the second quarter of last year, which we have mentioned on this call in prior quarters. Despite the difficulty in growing over these significant projects on a year-over-year basis, Oxford core revenues are growing sequentially.

Oxford 核心業務營收占該部門營收的 74.9%，年對年下降 5.1%。營收下滑主要歸因於去年第二季成功完成兩個大型專案；我們在前幾季的電話會議中也曾提及。儘管在年對年比較上要超越這些重大專案的基期具有挑戰，Oxford 核心業務營收仍呈現季對季成長。

Adjusting for these projects, we experienced flat revenues year-over-year in IT and Life Sciences, and our Software/Hardware and Engineering disciplines are in line with or above market growth rates. We continue our hard work in this unit to improve growth rates and profitability levels, which I will address in a few moments.

若排除這些專案影響，我們在 IT 與生命科學領域的營收年對年持平，而我們的軟體/硬體與工程領域則與市場成長率一致或高於市場成長率。我們持續在此單位努力提升成長率與獲利水準，我將在稍後幾分鐘內說明。

CyberCoders, our permanent placement service offering, which accounts for 97% of the segment's perm placement revenues, was up 9.7% year-over-year and up 10.3% sequentially as we saw momentum build throughout the quarter.

CyberCoders（我們的永久派遣服務），占該部門永久派遣營收的 97%，年對年成長 9.7%，季對季成長 10.3%，因為我們看到動能在整個季度逐步累積。

For CyberCoders, the trend and momentum we discussed with you in the first quarter continues, and we're seeing an increase in both opportunity flow and an improvement in the time to fill cycle. Our Life Sciences offerings in Europe, the smallest contributor to total segment revenue, were slightly up year-over-year and sequentially.

就 CyberCoders 而言，我們在第一季與各位討論的趨勢與動能仍在延續，我們看到機會流量增加，且補缺（time to fill）週期有所改善。我們在歐洲的生命科學服務（對該部門總營收貢獻最小）年對年與季對季皆略有成長。

Gross margin for the segment was 41.6%, up 20 basis points year-over-year, which was slightly ahead of our expectations. Improvement in gross margin was primarily driven by higher contribution of revenue from CyberCoders. This segment's adjusted EBITDA results exceeded both our expectations and the prior year as well as coming in significantly above the first quarter of 2017.

該部門毛利率為 41.6%，年對年提升 20 個基點，略高於我們的預期。毛利率改善主要由 CyberCoders 營收占比提高所帶動。該部門調整後 EBITDA 表現不僅超出我們的預期與去年同期，也顯著高於 2017 年第一季。

As we discussed last quarter, we continue to take actions we believe will better position Oxford Core with our customers as well as improve our return on invested SG&A. Oxford's differentiation in the market has always been its ability to deliver high-end, hard-to-find talent to its customers in multiple skill disciplines via their recruiting-driven model.

如同我們上季所討論的，我們持續採取行動，期望能讓 Oxford Core 在客戶端的定位更佳，同時提升我們在銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）上的投資報酬。Oxford 在市場上的差異化一直在於：透過其以招募為驅動的模式，能在多種技能領域為客戶提供高階且難以尋得的人才。

We continue to believe that while this will remain a core tenet of our business, we're striving to leverage this best-in-class recruiting capability with a more progressive, account-focused sales strategy. Much of the hard work related to cost-containment is in place and, while we have seen some of the impact of this in the quarter, we believe that the benefit will be more visible in future quarters.

我們仍相信這將持續是我們業務的核心原則，但我們也致力於以更具前瞻性、以客戶為中心的銷售策略，來發揮這項一流的招募能力。與成本控管相關的大部分艱鉅工作已到位；雖然我們在本季已看到部分影響，但我們相信其效益將在未來幾季更為明顯。

This has allowed us to put more focus now on our go-to-market approach and the supporting sales strategy. The repositioning and organizational alignment behind a more progressive sales approach are pointed at achieving higher future growth rates. Our core competency of provisioning a critical high-end resource for our customers in the midst of an important project to support their business remains steady.

這也讓我們現在能更專注於市場進入（go-to-market）方式及其配套的銷售策略。透過重新定位與組織調整，以更具前瞻性的銷售方式為核心，目標是達成更高的未來成長率。我們的核心能力是在客戶執行重要專案期間，為其提供關鍵的高階資源以支援其業務，這點仍然穩健。

Furthermore, we believe that building deeper and more sustainable long-term customer relationships, we can offer more than just one resource and still remain committed to our business model and be more important and valued by each customer. The real benefit of these changes will be experienced further out than the near-term benefit of smarter SG&A investments.

此外，我們相信透過建立更深且更可持續的長期客戶關係，我們能提供的不僅是一位資源，同時仍能堅守我們的商業模式，並在每位客戶心中變得更重要、更有價值。這些變革的真正效益，將在更長的時間跨度中體現，而非僅是短期更聰明的 SG&A 投資所帶來的效益。

I will now turn the call over to Rand Blazer. Rand?

我現在把電話會議交給 Rand Blazer。Rand？

Yes. Thanks, Ted. Thank you. The Apex segment, which consists of Apex Systems, Apex Life Sciences and Creative Circle business units, as has been mentioned, again reported solid results for the quarter. Revenues for the segment were $502.5 million, up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis.

是的。謝謝，Ted。謝謝。如先前所提，Apex 部門由 Apex Systems、Apex Life Sciences 與 Creative Circle 等業務單位組成，本季再次繳出穩健的成績。該部門營收為 5.025 億美元，年對年成長 10.7%。

Apex Systems and Creative Circle, which combined account for 92.4% of the segment's revenues, each reported double-digit revenue growth, while our Life Sciences unit was flat in Q2, again, on a year-over-year basis.

Apex Systems 與 Creative Circle 合計占該部門營收的 92.4%，兩者皆呈現雙位數營收成長；而我們的 Life Sciences 單位在第二季年對年持平。

Gross margin for the segment was 29.9%, which was 60 basis points lower than Q2 of 2016. This fall off was due to 2 factors: Number one, the lower mix of perm placement revenues across the segment; and two, continued increase in top account growth for Apex Systems and Apex Life Sciences, whereby, these accounts generally carry a lower gross margin.

該部門毛利率為 29.9%，較 2016 年第二季低 60 個基點。此下滑有兩個原因：第一，整個部門永久派遣營收占比下降；第二，Apex Systems 與 Apex Life Sciences 的主要客戶（top account）成長持續增加，而這些客戶通常具有較低的毛利率。

Pricing for the quarter remained stable in our end markets. Our segment's EBITDA contribution continues to reflect very high conversion of gross profit to EBITDA driven by incremental improvement in the productivity of not only our sales and delivery, but also our infrastructure teams.

本季在我們的終端市場中，定價維持穩定。本部門的 EBITDA 貢獻仍反映出毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的比率非常高，這主要來自於銷售與交付團隊以及基礎設施團隊生產力的持續增量改善。

As we usually do on these calls, we give you insights with respect to the factors driving Apex Systems, our IT staffing division and its revenue growth. Apex Systems' revenue growth was the highest in our segment and was propelled by a number of factors, including: Continued growth in our accounts in 4 of the 7 industry verticals we service, with double-digit revenue growth in aerospace, defense, healthcare, consumer industrial and financial services industry accounts. Business services, telecommunications and technology industry accounts also exhibited positive growth year-over-year.

如同我們在這類電話會議中通常會做的，我們將就推動 Apex Systems（我們的 IT 人力派遣事業部）及其營收成長的因素，提供各位一些洞見。Apex Systems 的營收成長為本部門最高，並由多項因素推動，包括：我們所服務的 7 個產業垂直領域中，有 4 個領域的客戶持續成長；其中航太、國防、醫療保健、消費性工業與金融服務產業客戶的營收皆呈現雙位數成長。商業服務、電信與科技產業客戶年對年也呈現正成長。

Top accounts continue to lead the way with double-digit year-over-year growth, while retail accounts showed only slight growth. Our bookings for SOW type work were also strong in the quarter and exceeded our expectations. And finally, as mentioned, field productivity continued strong in the quarter supporting Apex Systems revenue and divisional EBITDA performance.

主要客戶持續以雙位數的年對年成長領先，而零售客戶僅呈現小幅成長。本季我們在工作說明書（SOW）類型業務的接單（bookings）也很強勁，並超出我們的預期。最後，如前所述，前線生產力在本季持續強勁，支撐了 Apex Systems 的營收與事業部 EBITDA 表現。

Now turning to the other units of our segment. Creative Circle grew revenue at double-digit levels in the quarter, but posted lower results in perm placement versus our expectations, and we have seen some up and down in the job order flow for Assignment revenue in the quarter impacting the overall revenue performance, particularly in June.

接著談本部門的其他單位。Creative Circle 本季營收以雙位數成長，但其永久派遣的表現低於我們的預期；同時，我們也看到本季在派遣（Assignment）營收的職缺訂單流量上有些起伏，影響整體營收表現，尤其是在 6 月。

Notwithstanding, we're not seeing changes in the end market or in the skill needs of our clients. Meantime, our Life Sciences business was flat in revenue growth for the quarter, with flat being an improvement from the revenue -- negative revenue trend we had seen in the past 2 quarters.

儘管如此，我們並未看到終端市場或客戶技能需求出現變化。同時，我們的生命科學業務本季營收成長持平；相較於過去兩季所見的營收——負營收趨勢，持平已是改善。

Overall, as I said, the Apex segment had another solid quarter with double-digit revenue growth and with each of its business units contributing solid conversion of gross profit to EBITDA.

整體而言，如我所說，Apex 部門本季再度交出穩健表現，營收呈現兩位數成長，且其各業務單位皆對毛利轉換為 EBITDA 做出穩健貢獻。

Now, I'll turn the call back over to Ed to talk about overall financial results of On Assignment. Ed?

現在，我把電話交回給 Ed，請他談談 On Assignment 的整體財務結果。Ed？

Thanks, Rand. As mentioned earlier, our revenue growth rate for the quarter was 7.4%, which was in line with our previously announced estimates and approximately 50% higher than the most recent published IT staffing industry growth rate for 2017 of 5%.

謝謝，Rand。如先前提到，我們本季營收成長率為 7.4%，符合我們先前公布的預估，且約比 2017 年最近一次公布的 IT 人力派遣產業成長率 5% 高出約 50%。

Adjusting for the year-over-year differences in billable days and foreign exchange rates, our revenue growth was approximately 7.6%. Our Apex segment, which accounted for 76.9% of consolidated revenues, grew 10.7% year-over-year. Apex Systems and Creative Circle, the 2 largest divisions in this segment, both reported double-digit revenue growth in the quarter. Apex Systems, which accounted for 57.5% of consolidated revenues, grew 11.9% and Creative Circle, which accounted for 13.5% of consolidated revenues, grew 10.9%.

若調整年對年可計費天數與外匯匯率差異，我們的營收成長約為 7.6%。我們的 Apex 部門占合併營收的 76.9%，年對年成長 10.7%。該部門中最大的兩個事業部 Apex Systems 與 Creative Circle，本季皆呈現兩位數營收成長。Apex Systems 占合併營收的 57.5%，成長 11.9%；Creative Circle 占合併營收的 13.5%，成長 10.9%。

The growth rate for Apex Systems was in line with our estimates for the quarter and Creative Circle's growth rate was below our estimates as a result of lower-than-expected growth in the last month of the quarter. Apex Life Sciences, which accounts for 5.9% of consolidated revenues, was flat year-over-year.

Apex Systems 的成長率符合我們對本季的預估；而 Creative Circle 的成長率低於我們的預估，原因是本季最後一個月的成長低於預期。Apex Life Sciences 占合併營收的 5.9%，年對年持平。

Our Oxford segment, which accounted for 23.1% of revenues, was down 2.3% year-over-year, mainly related to lower revenues from 2 large projects that were largely completed in 2016. If we exclude revenues from those projects, revenues for the segment were up slightly year-over-year. Assignment revenues for the quarter were $620 million, up 8% year-over-year and permanent placement revenues were $33.3 million, down 1.4% year-over-year.

我們的 Oxford 部門占營收的 23.1%，年對年下滑 2.3%，主要與兩個大型專案的營收下降有關，這些專案在 2016 年大致已完成。若排除這些專案的營收，該部門營收年對年略有成長。本季派遣（Assignment）營收為 6.20 億美元，年對年成長 8%；永久派遣（permanent placement）營收為 3,330 萬美元，年對年下滑 1.4%。

Although down year-over-year, permanent placement revenues were up 4% sequentially. And for the third quarter of 2017, we're estimating both sequential and year-over-year growth. CyberCoders, which accounts for approximately 65% of our consolidated permanent placement revenues, grew 4.7% year-over-year.

儘管年對年下滑，永久派遣營收較前一季成長 4%。而對於 2017 年第三季，我們預估將同時呈現季增與年增。CyberCoders 約占我們合併永久派遣營收的 65%，年對年成長 4.7%。

Gross margin for the quarter was 32.6%, which was in line with our previously announced financial estimates, but down 60 basis points year-over-year. This decline was primarily due to a lower mix of permanent placement revenues, which was 5.1% of revenues in the current quarter compared with 5.6% in the second quarter last year. And a 30 basis point compression in Assignment gross margins, partially due to higher mix of revenues from Apex Systems, which Rand referenced earlier.

本季毛利率為 32.6%，符合我們先前公布的財務預估，但年對年下降 60 個基點。此下滑主要因永久派遣營收占比降低所致；本季永久派遣占營收 5.1%，而去年第二季為 5.6%。此外，派遣（Assignment）毛利率壓縮 30 個基點，部分原因是 Apex Systems 的營收占比提高，正如 Rand 先前所提。

SG&A expenses were $145.2 million or 22.2% of revenues and were approximately $3 million below our previously announced estimates. This favorable variance was primarily due to lower front office compensation expense, as average staffing consultant headcount for the quarter was approximately 7% below our forecasted levels. And to a lesser extent, favorable variances in back office expenses, which included a foreign exchange gain on an intercompany loan, lower healthcare expenses and vendor rebates.

SG&A 費用為 1.452 億美元，占營收 22.2%，較我們先前公布的預估低約 300 萬美元。這項有利差異主要來自前台（front office）薪酬費用較低，因本季平均派遣顧問人數約較我們預測水準低 7%。此外，後台（back office）費用亦有較小幅度的有利差異，其中包括公司間貸款的外匯收益、較低的醫療保健費用以及供應商回饋。

Based on our current hiring and turnover estimates, our average headcount levels should be more in line with our targets for the second half of the year.

根據我們目前的招募與離職率預估，我們的平均人力水準在下半年應會更貼近目標。

Interest expense for the quarter totaled $6.1 million, down from $8 million in the second quarter last year. Interest expense for the quarter was comprised of $5.3 million interest on the credit facility and $0.8 million of amortization of deferred loan costs.

本季利息費用合計 610 萬美元，低於去年第二季的 800 萬美元。本季利息費用包含：信貸額度（credit facility）利息 530 萬美元，以及遞延貸款成本攤銷 80 萬美元。

Our effective tax rate was 37.8%, which included excess tax benefits of $0.5 million related to equity-based compensation. These excess tax benefits were not included in our financial estimates and reflect the tax effect of differences between book and tax expense or between book expense and the related tax deduction for equity-based compensation.

我們的有效稅率為 37.8%，其中包含與股權基礎薪酬相關的超額稅務利益 50 萬美元。這些超額稅務利益未納入我們的財務預估，反映了帳面與稅務費用之間的差異，或帳面費用與股權基礎薪酬相關稅務扣抵之間差異所產生的稅務影響。

Net income for the quarter was $33.1 million or $0.62 per diluted share, up from $26 million or $0.48 per diluted share in the second quarter of last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $80.5 million. Cash flows from operating activities were $39.8 million and free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, was $33.4 million. During the quarter, we repaid $38 million on our long-term debt.

本季淨利為 3,310 萬美元，稀釋後每股盈餘 0.62 美元；去年第二季為 2,600 萬美元，稀釋後每股盈餘 0.48 美元。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 8,050 萬美元。營運活動現金流為 3,980 萬美元；自由現金流（非 GAAP 指標）為 3,340 萬美元。本季我們償還長期負債 3,800 萬美元。

Now turning to our financial estimates for the third quarter of 2017, we're estimating revenues of $660 million to $670 million, net income of $31.4 million to $33.3 million or $0.59 to $0.62 per share and adjusted EBITDA of $79 million to $82 million. These estimates do not include acquisition strategy or integration expenses or excess tax benefits related to equity-based compensation.

接著談 2017 年第三季的財務預估：我們預估營收為 6.60 億至 6.70 億美元，淨利為 3,140 萬至 3,330 萬美元（每股 0.59 至 0.62 美元），調整後 EBITDA 為 7,900 萬至 8,200 萬美元。上述預估未包含併購策略或整合費用，以及與股權基礎薪酬相關的超額稅務利益。

Our revenue estimates assume billable days of 62.6 for the third quarter, which is one-half of a day fewer than the third quarter of 2016. On a same "Billable Days" basis, our implied year-over-year revenue growth rate for the third quarter ranges from 5.7% to 7.3%. Our estimates also assume a lower growth rate at Creative Circle in the second quarter 2017. Although Creative Circle grew above 10% in the second quarter, its growth rate dropped to mid-single digits in the last month of the second quarter, which we believe may continue through most of the third quarter.

我們的營收預估假設第三季可計費天數為 62.6 天，較 2016 年第三季少半天。在相同「可計費天數」基礎下，我們推算第三季年對年營收成長率介於 5.7% 至 7.3%。我們的預估亦假設 Creative Circle 在 2017 年第二季的成長率較低。雖然 Creative Circle 在第二季成長超過 10%，但其成長率在第二季最後一個月降至中個位數，我們認為此情況可能會延續至第三季的大部分時間。

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 continue 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 to a digital one.

謝謝。我們仍然相信，憑藉我們的規模、體量與服務廣度，我們已處於有利位置，可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，以及科技世界在走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. We 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.

雖然整個 On Assignment 團隊都為我們的表現深感自豪，我們仍專注於持續以獲利方式成長業務，並提升成長速度。我們也要再次感謝眾多忠誠、敬業且才華洋溢的員工，他們的努力讓我們得以一路走到今天。

I would like to now open the call up to participants for questions. Operator?

我現在開放與會者提問。接線員？

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from Gary Bisbee of RBC Capital Markets.

(接線員指示) 第一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Gary Bisbee。

This is actually Jay Hanna on for Gary today. I was hoping you could give a little more detail on guidance in Q3. More specifically, what are your expectations out of Oxford and Apex in the quarter?

今天由 Jay Hanna 代替 Gary 提問。我希望您能就第三季（Q3）的財測指引提供更多細節。更具體來說，您對 Oxford 和 Apex 在本季的表現有何預期？

Well, look, what I will do is try to qualitatively speak to it. We're not going to give -- we gave you more granular detail than we normally do. We feel relatively good about the economy and the market and our positioning. We saw an anomaly in June in Creative Circle. We saw that same kind of anomaly in June of 2016. But rather than budgeting it or forecasting it as an anomaly, we just kind of straight-lined it.

好，我會嘗試用定性的方式來說明。我們不會提供——我們已經給了比平常更細的資訊。我們對經濟、市場以及我們的定位感覺相對樂觀。我們在 6 月於 Creative Circle 看到一個異常。我們在 2016 年 6 月也看到過同樣類型的異常。但我們沒有把它當作異常來編列預算或預測，而是大致以直線方式外推。

The rest of the business, Apex, I think, you should assume continued strong growth. And with Oxford, a continued work on growing over loss of 2 projects and enhancing their operational performance and profitability -- and accelerated growth at CyberCoders.

至於其他業務，Apex 我認為你應該假設會持續強勁成長。而 Oxford 方面，會持續努力在彌補流失的 2 個專案、提升其營運表現與獲利能力——同時 CyberCoders 也會加速成長。

Great. And then you mentioned that headcount would be picking up again next quarter. Should we expect that to continue into the fourth quarter? Just trying to get a feel for cadence from here.

很好。另外你提到下季人頭數會再度回升。我們是否應預期這個趨勢會延續到第四季？只是想掌握接下來的節奏。

Yes. I mean, we didn't do anything different than we normally do. We didn't intentionally pulled back on hiring or allow voluntary attrition to pick up. But as you know, there is some seasonality with graduations.

是的。我的意思是，我們並沒有做任何不同於以往的事。我們沒有刻意放緩招募，或放任自願離職率上升。但如你所知，畢業季會帶來一些季節性影響。

There is -- the labor markets are tight, on-boarding is taking some time. But there is no change in our mindset. This was just kind of what happens in a tight labor market. But we intend to, as we said at the beginning of the year, to kind of have a traditional budgeted internal headcount growth and we're not pulling back from that.

另外——勞動市場很緊，入職（on-boarding）需要一些時間。但我們的想法沒有改變。這只是緊俏勞動市場下會發生的情況。但我們打算如同年初所說，維持傳統、按預算規劃的內部人力成長，我們不會因此退縮。

Our next question comes from Edward Caso with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自 Wells Fargo 的 Edward Caso。

Can you talk a little bit about what's happened at CyberCoders? What have you changed in the model? And as far as overall permanent placement, is 5.1% something we should think about as sort of a bottom here as far as a percent contribution?

你能談談 CyberCoders 發生了什麼嗎？你們在模式上做了哪些改變？另外就整體永久派遣（permanent placement）而言，5.1% 是否可視為貢獻占比的某種底部水準？

Well, I'll go first and then have Ted respond specifically to what we've done. We did talk about it in the previous calls. But the 5.1% as a bottom, that may be a good rule-of-thumb, assuming that contract assignment revenues are growing on the 7% to 10%. If we had a huge spike in the contract revenue growing, even if perm is growing double digits, it would be skewed on a mix basis.

我先回答，然後請 Ted 具體說明我們做了什麼。我們在前幾次電話會議也談過。至於 5.1% 是否為底部——在約聘派遣（contract assignment）營收以 7% 到 10% 成長的前提下，這可能是一個不錯的經驗法則。如果約聘營收成長出現大幅跳升，即使正職（perm）也以兩位數成長，從組合（mix）角度看占比仍會被稀釋。

But as we predicted in our fourth quarter conference call and in the first quarter, we see better trends in the CyberCoder division because of the steps that Ted's going to talk to you about right now. Started in the first, it continued in the second, and it continued exiting the second. Ted?

但正如我們在第四季法說以及第一季所預測的，由於 Ted 接下來要談的那些措施，我們看到 CyberCoder 事業部的趨勢更好。第一季開始、第二季延續，且在第二季末仍持續改善。Ted？

So Ed, I mean, I think from a -- how we find our opportunities in CyberCoders, we've bridged out and instead of just relying on electronic means, we've also put in place a more traditional sales approach to go along with that electronic capability. I think that's been one thing that's definitely helped our order flow there.

Ed，我想就——我們在 CyberCoders 如何尋找商機而言，我們做了延伸；不再只依賴電子化方式，也導入較傳統的銷售方法，與既有的電子化能力相輔相成。我認為這確實幫助了那邊的訂單流入（order flow）。

Second thing is, although we're predominantly an IT skill-set based business in CyberCoders, there are other related professional skill-sets that we can also have some success with, and we've seen that. So I think it's a broadening of the sales function and also a focus on a few skill-sets that are more than just IT.

第二點是，雖然 CyberCoders 主要是以 IT 技能組合為主的業務，但也有其他相關的專業技能領域我們同樣能取得成功，而我們也確實看到了。所以我認為這是銷售職能的擴大，同時也聚焦在一些不僅限於 IT 的技能領域。

Great. And how should we interpret the lack of share repurchase this quarter? Were you looking at potential acquisitions and boxed out from the market? Or did you view your stock as less attractive from an accretion perspective?

很好。那這一季沒有進行庫藏股回購，我們應該如何解讀？你們是在看潛在併購，因此被市場條件限制住了？還是你們認為從增益（accretion）的角度看，你們的股票吸引力變低了？

Say that one more time, please.

請再說一次，好嗎？

I'm trying to understand why you didn't do share repurchase in the quarter?

我想了解為什麼你們這一季沒有做股票回購？

Well, we're balancing use of it for acquisitions, for stock repurchases. All I can tell you is we're committed to returning capital to shareholders and not just rapid de-leveraging.

嗯，我們在併購與股票回購之間平衡資金用途。我能告訴你的是，我們致力於回饋股東資本，而不只是快速去槓桿（de-leveraging）。

Our next question comes from Jeff Silber of BMO Capital Markets.

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

Throughout your remarks, you alluded to some of the weaknesses at Creative Circle. Can we get a little bit more color in terms of what's going on there?

在你們的發言中，你們提到 Creative Circle 有一些疲弱之處。能否再多提供一些背景，說明那邊到底發生了什麼？

Yes, I'll go first and then turn it over to Rand. Again, I want to frame it. It grew double digits. It grew very healthy in April and May. We saw a softness in June, which is not much different than the softness we saw in June of 2016. And for guidance purposes, we decide to go ahead and use the June number for extrapolation of our estimates for third quarter. Rand had some specific comments in his prepared remarks, but, Rand, would you add to that please?

好的，我先回答，然後交給 Rand。我再框架一下：它仍是兩位數成長。4 月和 5 月成長非常健康。我們在 6 月看到一些轉弱，這與我們在 2016 年 6 月看到的轉弱並沒有太大不同。而就指引（guidance）而言，我們決定直接用 6 月的數字來外推第三季的估計。Rand 在事先準備的講稿中有一些具體評論，但 Rand，你能再補充一下嗎？

No, I think you said it. And I would say, we saw more softness in the perm placement in June than Assignment revenue, but Assignment revenue was a little off as well. And I think it's -- from our point of view, it's just stay steady, stay focused on the core accounts. And as Peter said, we hit a little speed bump last year, this time. Let's just keep going and we'll work through it. We came back very strongly in the third quarter last year. Let's see what happens.

不，我想你已經說到了。我會補充的是：我們在 6 月看到正職媒合（perm placement）的轉弱幅度比派遣營收（Assignment revenue）更大，但派遣營收也稍微偏弱。而我認為——從我們的角度，就是保持穩定、專注於核心客戶。如 Peter 所說，我們去年這個時候也遇到一點小顛簸。我們就繼續往前走，會把它處理過去。去年第三季我們反彈得很強。看看這次會如何。

Jeff, we don't want to make too much of this, but at the same time, it's better for us to call it out. And if it's a similar trend as '16, then it's not an issue. But if it's different, then you know about it on the front end and you know what our guidance incorporates.

Jeff，我們不想把這件事過度解讀，但同時，對我們來說把它點出來比較好。如果它跟 2016 年的趨勢相似，那就不是問題。但如果不同，那你就能在一開始就知道，也會知道我們的指引已納入哪些假設。

I do appreciate the details, thank you. Can we shift over to Oxford for a second? Just looking at billing rate trends, they've been kind of flat to down on a year-over-year basis for the past few quarters. Is it a skill mix? Is it more of an issue from there? Or are you seeing billing rate pressure specifically in that unit?

我很感謝這些細節，謝謝。我們能把話題轉到 Oxford 一下嗎？就帳單費率（billing rate）趨勢來看，過去幾季在年對年基礎上大致持平到下滑。這是技能組合（skill mix）的問題嗎？還是那邊有其他更偏結構性的因素？或者你們是否在該單位特別感受到帳單費率的壓力？

Ted?

Ted？

I don't think we're seeing -- we're always dealing with bill rate pressure, But I don't think we're seeing more or less than at this time last year or over the previous quarters. The projects that we mentioned were high margin, high bill rate projects. And so the mix of that going away with our current business has changed the bill rate dynamic a little bit. But I would say from a customer standpoint, it's fairly steady. We certainly face bill rate pressure all the time, but no more or less than we've seen in prior quarters.

我不認為我們看到——我們一直都在面對帳單費率的壓力，但我不認為我們現在看到的情況比去年同期或前幾個季度更多或更少。我們提到的那些專案是高毛利、高帳單費率的專案。因此，這些專案退出後與我們目前業務的組合變化，讓帳單費率的動態稍微改變了一些。但我會說，從客戶的角度來看，情況相當穩定。我們當然一直都面臨帳單費率壓力，但並不比先前幾個季度看到的更多或更少。

Great. And then Just one final 1. On the acquisition market, and I know that's a part of your growth story, but you guys -- you put up organic growth numbers that are much stronger than anybody else. But I'm just curious given where we are. Are you seeing more properties available for sale? Are you seeing more competition for those properties? If you can just provide a little color that'll be great.

很好。最後還有一個問題。關於併購市場，我知道那是你們成長故事的一部分，但你們——你們的有機成長數字比其他任何人都強很多。但我只是好奇，以目前的情況來看。你們是否看到有更多標的可供出售？你們是否看到對這些標的的競爭更激烈？如果你能提供一些補充說明就太好了。

Well, we're trying to do proprietary deals. Although there were market checks, both Apex and Creative Circle were proprietary. There weren't formal auctions, but there were market checks. We are working on some stuff that we're trying to do on a proprietary basis, one.

嗯，我們正嘗試做專有交易。雖然有做市場測試，但Apex和Creative Circle都是專有交易。沒有正式拍賣，但有做市場測試。我們正在推進一些事情，嘗試以專有方式來做，這是第一點。

Two, the market is pretty active, I would tell you. The success that private equity has had in the human capital space and their relative ease in exiting has given them a fair amount of courage. I mean, you saw recently Carlyle made a significant investment, [Lennar Dream] made a significant investment about a year ago in major dollars.

第二點，我會告訴你，市場相當活躍。私募股權在人力資本領域的成功，以及他們相對容易退出的情況，讓他們有相當大的信心。我的意思是，你最近也看到凱雷（Carlyle）做了一筆重大投資，[Lennar Dream]大約一年前也投入了相當可觀的資金。

And we're seeing the middle market guys trying to buy smaller companies. But I would tell you, in many ways, it's not much different than what we've seen the last 2 years. And we're just picking our spots, Jeff.

而我們也看到中型市場的玩家在嘗試收購較小的公司。但我會說，在很多方面，這跟我們過去兩年看到的情況差不多。我們只是挑選合適的時機與標的，Jeff。

Our next question comes from Tobey Sommer of SunTrust.

下一個問題來自SunTrust的Tobey Sommer。

If I could start with a follow-up on Creative Circle. Was there a discernible difference in demand at corporate clients as opposed to agency clients in June or...?

我想先就Creative Circle追問一下。在6月，企業客戶相較於代理商客戶的需求，是否有任何可辨識的差異，或是……？

Rand, do you want to address that?

Rand，你要回應這個問題嗎？

Yes. I think it's too early to tell that there is any discernible trend, Tobey. But I would say, corporate clients are probably more on the upside and agency clients more on a pause.

是的。我認為現在要判斷是否有任何可辨識的趨勢還太早了，Tobey。但我會說，企業客戶可能偏向上行，而代理商客戶則比較像是在暫停。

And Tobey, I would just tell you the normal seasonality is the agency businesses is typically a little bit less strong demand in the summer months because they have, typically a lot of the agencies take Fridays off, et cetera. And nothing's changed there.

另外，Tobey，我只想告訴你，一般的季節性是：代理商業務在夏季月份的需求通常會稍微弱一些，因為他們——通常很多代理商週五會休假等等。而這方面沒有任何改變。

Okay. And then I missed the number, but I was hoping you could repeat the average weekly revenue in the growth rate?

好的。另外我錯過了那個數字，我希望你能重複一下平均每週營收的成長率？

Yes. I'm glad that you asked that. It's a big number. It's 14.8%. And what I want to point out to you is -- or is it 14.6%? Excuse me. What I want to point out to you, Tobey, is, 4th of July fell on different days this year. And last year, it was a Monday and this year it was a Tuesday. So maybe it had less of an impact in '17 as it did '16. But that's the raw data for you, 14.6%.

好的。很高興你問到這個。這是一個很大的數字。是14.8%。我想提醒你的是——或者是14.6%？抱歉。我想提醒你，Tobey，是因為今年的7月4日落在不同的星期。去年是星期一，今年是星期二。所以它在2017年的影響可能比2016年小一些。但這就是原始數據，14.6%。

So that's 14.6% perhaps influenced by the timing of holidays against a revenue guidance range growth of a little under 6 to little over 7?

所以這個14.6%可能受到假期時點影響，而你們的營收指引區間成長大約是略低於6%到略高於7%？

Right. It doesn't make much sense, except if you take into consideration: One, we are -- the 4th of July falling on different dates and how the hours got billed and collected; and two, that we kind of assumed that Creative comes in basically the way it did in the month of June.

對。這看起來不太合理，除非你把兩點納入考量：第一，我們——7月4日落在不同日期，以及工時如何計費與收款；第二，我們基本上假設Creative在7月的表現大致會跟6月差不多。

Okay. And you kind of touched on this, but I wanted to -- in the absence of acquisitions, should we expect a relatively balanced approach between deleveraging and share repurchase?

好的。你剛才有稍微提到，但我想問——在沒有併購的情況下，我們是否應該預期在去槓桿與股票回購之間採取相對均衡的做法？

Yes. I think that's a fair statement. I mean, we gave you guidance that we're going to be now under 1.91. In a perfect world, we'd like to be at 2.5. So I think that's a fair statement.

是的。我認為這樣說很合理。我的意思是，我們給了你們指引，表示我們現在會低於1.91。在理想情況下，我們希望在2.5。所以我認為這樣說是合理的。

Okay. And the -- when I look at the kind of the puts and takes as far as overall margin and profitability. If -- CyberCoders is getting a little bit better, but Creative Circle on the perm side is slowing down a bit. Do we look like we're just kind of in a flat margin trajectory for a little bit of time until we -- until maybe there's a break or a change in growth one way or the other, at the other business units?

好的。另外——當我看整體毛利率與獲利能力的各種拉動因素。如果——CyberCoders正在變得好一些，但Creative Circle在永久職（perm）這一塊放緩了一點。我們是否看起來會在一段時間內大致維持平坦的毛利率走勢，直到——直到其他事業單位的成長出現某種突破或改變、朝某個方向發展？

I'm going to answer it in a convoluted way. First of all, 12.3% is pretty damn good. And that's pretty good considering that perm was 5.1% and Oxford still about 200 to 300 basis points below what their historical EBITDA margin is.

我會用比較繞的方式回答。首先，12.3%已經相當、相當不錯了。而且考量到永久職（perm）是5.1%，以及Oxford仍比其歷史EBITDA利潤率低約200到300個基點，這樣的表現已經很好了。

So with CyberCoders getting better, Oxford on a healing path, we think that what's going on at Creative, especially in perm, is an anomaly. We think that the margins are strong and continue to be strong. There shouldn't be more downward pressure. Now, if perm is a less percentage contributor and CyberCoders grows slow, then -- excuse me, CyberCoders and Creative grow slow, then 12.3% might look good.

所以，隨著CyberCoders變得更好、Oxford走在復原的路徑上，我們認為Creative發生的情況，特別是在永久職（perm）方面，是一個異常狀況。我們認為利潤率很強，而且會持續強勁。不應該有更多下行壓力。不過，如果永久職（perm）的占比變小，而CyberCoders成長放緩——抱歉，如果CyberCoders和Creative成長放緩，那麼12.3%看起來可能就會顯得不錯。

Okay. And as you've started to transition Oxford in recent quarters and reallocate your investments, where would you say the segment is in terms of that process? And then being able to reap the rewards of the pivot?

好的。另外，隨著你們在最近幾個季度開始轉型Oxford並重新配置投資，你會說這個事業部在這個過程中處於什麼階段？以及何時能夠收穫這次轉向的成果？

Well, we don't want to call a bottom. But what we could tell you is we broke it into kind of 2 phases. And we think Phase 1 is pretty much implemented. Ted, why don't you walk him through the rest of that?

嗯，我們不想說已經觸底。但我們可以告訴你，我們把它大致分成兩個階段。而我們認為第一階段幾乎已經落實。Ted，你來帶他把剩下的部分說明一下，好嗎？

Yes. It's a fair way to look at it. And really, while Phase 1 was a lot about do we have our dollars invested in the right place and can we be smarter about that and improve our profitability? How do we get it to -- how do we get to larger growth rates? How do we build longer, more deep customer relationships in the longer path? And so we're on the front end of that.

是的。這是一個合理的看法。而且坦白說，第一階段很大一部分是在於：我們的資金是否投在正確的地方？我們能否更聰明地配置並提升獲利能力？我們要如何——我們要如何達到更高的成長率？我們要如何在更長的路徑上建立更長期、更深入的客戶關係？所以我們正處於那個的前端。

I think that we have a -- if you look at our customers that we have a great account portfolio. We need to work on how do we bring all of our services to each one of those customers, so that, instead of just getting a single resource from us here or there, we avail ourselves to serve more of their needs.

我認為我們——如果你看我們的客戶，我們擁有很棒的客戶帳戶組合。我們需要努力的是：如何把我們所有的服務帶給每一位客戶，讓他們不只是偶爾從我們這裡取得單一資源，而是讓我們能夠服務他們更多的需求。

So we don't look to do that in a way that may erode our bill rate or our margins, but we know that we're not taking advantage of all the share that we could get at these customers the way we're positioned right now.

因此我們不會以可能侵蝕我們的計費單價或毛利率的方式來做，但我們知道，以我們目前的定位，我們並沒有充分把握在這些客戶身上本來可以取得的全部份額。

Okay. Last question from me is kind of a bigger picture one, Peter. What does H-1B Visa attention and/or reform potentially mean for the industry's rate of growth?

好的。我最後一個問題是比較宏觀的，Peter。H-1B 簽證的關注度和／或改革，可能對產業的成長速度意味著什麼？

Well, that's going to be part of my explanation or response. What I would tell you is, the IT services industry and the migration of our company from pure staff augmentation to Statement of Work is probably the single largest opportunity we have.

嗯，這會是我說明或回應的一部分。我想告訴你的是，IT 服務產業，以及我們公司從純人力派遣（staff augmentation）轉型到工作說明書（Statement of Work, SOW），可能是我們最大的單一機會。

Because the work we've done as an executive team with external resources, consulting firms and conversations, they and we have had with our customers show, that our customers really like the quality of our consultants, more or so than even some of the high -- the high top-label consulting firms. But they want more than just the resource.

因為我們管理團隊與外部資源、顧問公司所做的工作，以及他們和我們與客戶的對話顯示，我們的客戶非常喜歡我們顧問的品質，甚至在某些方面勝過一些頂級——頂尖品牌的顧問公司。但他們想要的不只是單一資源。

They would love some more project management and maybe as a team effort where the customer does their architecture, they do a portion of the project management, and we take on defined scope of the responsibility. So we see that as a huge opportunity for faster growth and a bigger total spend.

他們希望有更多的專案管理，或許以團隊合作的方式：客戶負責架構設計，他們負責一部分專案管理，而我們承擔明確範圍的責任。因此我們認為這是更快成長與更高總支出的巨大機會。

We estimate it at, Tobey, at over $100 billion market, SOW. And whereas a lot of the industry estimates for staff aug alone, just putting a resource to work, and that's the end of their responsibility, is about a $30 billion market.

Tobey，我們估計 SOW 的市場規模超過 1,000 億美元。而產業對單純人力派遣的估計——也就是只把一個資源派上工，責任到此為止——大約是 300 億美元的市場。

As it relates to H-1B Visa, I can tell you, I've been a participant in some meetings on the Hill. I think it's pretty clear that the administration and the House and the Senate are focused on H-1B Visa reform. And they're focusing on it for the right reasons.

至於 H-1B 簽證，我可以告訴你，我曾參與過一些在國會山莊的會議。我認為很明顯，政府行政部門以及眾議院和參議院都聚焦在 H-1B 簽證改革。而且他們聚焦的理由是正確的。

They want the visas to be available for the best and the brightest to stimulate innovation. And if visas are available on a merit basis versus a lottery basis. If visas are available for someone making $100,000 versus $71,000 dollars, you're going to be bringing in people who are doing -- discovering the next drug or writing the next algorithm for a search engine versus people that are doing help desk administration.

他們希望簽證能提供給最優秀、最傑出的人才，以刺激創新。如果簽證是以能力（merit）而不是以抽籤（lottery）方式核發。如果簽證是提供給年薪 10 萬美元而不是 7.1 萬美元的人，你引進的將是正在——研發下一個新藥或撰寫下一個搜尋引擎演算法的人，而不是做服務台（help desk）管理的人。

And so the reform, I believe, will occur for the right reasons. I do not believe it will deter innovation and it will allow 85,000 really talented skilled people to come in versus legacy type people doing lower end skill-sets. And that -- anything that focuses on domestic labor is good for IT services firms like ours in the industry.

因此我相信改革會基於正確的理由而發生。我不認為它會抑制創新，反而會讓 85,000 名真正有才華、有技能的人進來，而不是讓傳統類型、做較低端技能的人進來。而且——任何把焦點放在本國勞動力的政策，對我們這類 IT 服務公司以及整個產業都是好事。

And the next question comes from Tim McHugh with William Blair & Company.

下一個問題來自 William Blair & Company 的 Tim McHugh。

Just to ask a little bit more about, I guess, July. Does it look any different for Creative Circle?

我想再多問一點，應該是關於 7 月。Creative Circle 的情況看起來有什麼不同嗎？

It was pretty much in line with June.

基本上與 6 月差不多。

Okay. So the 14.6% is more reflective of Apex and some of the other businesses improving. Is that fair?

好的。所以 14.6% 更能反映 Apex 以及其他一些業務的改善。這樣理解合理嗎？

That's fair.

合理。

Okay. And is there any connection between the comment about staffing levels being lower-than-expected and the slowdown in Creative Circle?

好的。那麼，關於人員編制水準低於預期的評論，和 Creative Circle 的放緩之間有任何關聯嗎？

We specifically addressed that. No, we have not changed our footing or our mindset with regard to internal hiring.

我們已經特別回應過這點。沒有，我們在內部招募方面並沒有改變我們的立足點或思維。

And the next question comes from Mark Marcon from R.W. Baird.

下一個問題來自 R.W. Baird 的 Mark Marcon。

Just going back to Creative Circle. How would you advise us to think about the growth rate beyond this current quarter? It has been a good secular growth market, not sure why it would change too dramatically, but wondering how you're thinking about it?

再回到 Creative Circle。你會建議我們如何看待本季之後的成長率？這一直是個具長期趨勢（secular growth）的成長市場，不確定為什麼會有太劇烈的變化，但想了解你們怎麼看？

Yes. So Mark, we gave you guidance one quarter out. We don't -- we do not think this is a continuing trend. We have not lost any revenue production people. And we just -- we forecasted conservatively. If it turns out to be longer lasting than the month of June and July, then we'd discuss it on the next call.

是的。所以 Mark，我們提供的是往後一季的指引。我們——我們不認為這會是持續性的趨勢。我們沒有流失任何創造營收的人員。而且我們——我們的預測採取了保守作法。如果結果顯示它比 6 月和 7 月更持久，那我們會在下一次電話會議上再討論。

But we still passionately believe this is a great end market, that we have a dominant position and it should be a double-digit grower. And it always has been, even in the second quarter of '17.

但我們仍然非常堅信這是一個很棒的終端市場，我們擁有主導地位，而且它應該是雙位數成長。而且一直都是，即使在 2017 年第二季也是如此。

That's what I was getting at, just what you said about the double-digit grower. And then with regards to just the headcount additions, are you primarily going to focus on Apex as it relates to...?

這正是我想問的，就是你剛才提到的雙位數成長。另外，關於人頭數增加，你們主要會把重點放在 Apex 嗎，與……相關？

No, I would tell you it's going to be Creative, Apex, CyberCoders, Oxford in certain markets. But we did, as Ted said, realign some of the SG&A we spent in '16, more appropriately in '17. And if you look at the supplemental financial tables, it'll show you where headcounts are. But it's across the board, it's not just in 1 division.

不，我會告訴你，會是 Creative、Apex、CyberCoders、以及 Oxford 在某些市場。但正如 Ted 所說，我們確實把 2016 年的部分 SG&A 支出重新調整，使其在 2017 年更為適切。如果你看補充財務表格，會顯示各處的人頭數。但這是全面性的，不只是在單一事業部。

Okay. And just going back to Apex, terrific performance there. Can you talk a little bit more about Statement of Work as a percentage of the core Apex Systems revenue and how that's ramping? And how does that impact profitability longer term?

好的。再回到 Apex，那邊表現非常出色。你能否多談談工作說明書（Statement of Work, SOW）占 Apex Systems 核心營收的比例，以及它的爬坡情況？以及長期來看，這對獲利能力有何影響？

Yes, so I'll let Rand speak to it. But first of all, we're not prepared to break that out. We can give you some comments on a qualitative basis. But we're not prepared to start reporting that -- on that as a line of business. But Rand, why don't you give him some qualitative comments about profitability, opportunity size, et cetera?

好的，所以我會讓 Rand 來說明。但首先，我們還沒準備好把那部分拆分揭露。我們可以在質性層面給你一些評論。但我們還沒準備好開始把它——作為一條業務線來揭露。不過 Rand，你何不就獲利能力、機會規模等等，給他一些質性的看法？

I would say that the growth rate of our consulting business is a faster growth rate than our staffing business. I would say, it's a double digit part of our business now within Apex Systems. And the gross margins typically are healthier. And so generally if you have efficient management of it below gross margin, which we do, it can be more profitable.

我會說，我們顧問業務的成長率比我們的人力派遣業務成長得更快。我會說，在 Apex Systems 內部，這現在已經是我們業務中雙位數占比的一部分。而且毛利率通常更健康。因此，一般而言，如果你能在毛利以下有效管理（我們確實做得到），它就可能更具獲利性。

Great. And then with regards to just what you mentioned in terms of the larger clients relative to the smaller clients. What sort of order trend are you seeing out of the SMB clients right now on the Apex Systems side?

很好。接著，關於你剛才提到的大型客戶相對於小型客戶。就 Apex Systems 這邊而言，你們目前在 SMB 客戶那裡看到的訂單趨勢是什麼樣子？

Well, let me address -- this is a good platform for me. Small and medium businesses -- remember our definition of a small business -- a small customer is not that they have 50 internal employees. It's we do a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year of revenue with them.

嗯，讓我先回應一下——這對我來說是個很好的切入點。中小企業——請記得我們對小型企業的定義——小型客戶不是指他們內部只有 50 名員工。而是指我們一年從他們那裡取得的營收只有幾十萬美元。

So, whereas, we're so different than Robert Half. They are a wonderful company. But they typically, their targeted customer has less than 50 internal employees. A small customer for us may have 1,500 employees, but they're only doing $100,000 a year of business with us. So that's why we just hardly ever compete with Robert Half. And they're not really ever invited to bid on the work that we're bidding on at the major customers. Rand, what would you add to that?

所以，這也是為什麼我們和 Robert Half 非常不同。他們是一家很棒的公司。但他們通常鎖定的客戶是內部員工少於 50 人。而對我們來說的小型客戶，可能有 1,500 名員工，但他們一年只跟我們做 10 萬美元的生意。所以這就是為什麼我們幾乎從不和 Robert Half 競爭。而且在我們針對主要客戶投標的那些工作上，他們也幾乎不會被邀請來投標。Rand，你會補充什麼？

Yes, I mean, it's everything you said, Peter. But look, I think generally, we're growing in our bigger accounts, in these what we call mid-market accounts, some of which are bigger accounts, as Peter suggests. But we didn't see quite sustained growth, but it ebbs and flows.

是的，我的意思是，你說的都對，Peter。但你看，我認為整體而言，我們在更大的客戶上、在我們所謂的中型市場客戶上正在成長，其中有些其實是更大的客戶，如 Peter 所說。但我們沒有看到非常持續的成長，而是有起有落。

I hate to use that word again, but some quarters it's up, some quarters it's down. We're so busy right now, I mean, knock on wood and all things the same, but it's a matter of deploying a resource, keeping the focus, staying on it, but they're both good markets and we have to stay on both.

我不想再用那個詞，但有些季度是上升，有些季度是下降。我們現在非常忙，我是說，敲敲木頭、希望一切維持不變，但這取決於資源的部署、保持專注、持續跟進；不過兩邊都是好市場，我們必須兩邊都兼顧。

(Operator Instructions) And the next question does come from Rob Crystal from Goldman Sachs Asset.

(接線員指示) 下一個問題來自高盛資產管理的 Rob Crystal。

I was just curious, Peter, if you could elaborate maybe on the M&A funnel. Is it very full, somewhat modest, just maybe give us a sense of the opportunity set?

我只是好奇，Peter，你是否可以多談一點併購（M&A）案源漏斗的情況。它是非常充實、還算適中，還是——能否讓我們了解一下機會集合的大致狀況？

Yes. So we've been working on some things. And there are some things that are live. I wouldn't say they're particularly sizable. There were 2 things that we were working on that ultimately we passed on because of issues related to their performance against projections. But we'd still -- we're working on a couple of things right now. Like I said, none of them of real significant size at this point.

可以。所以我們一直在推進一些事情。而且有一些案子正在進行中。我不會說它們特別大。我們之前在看兩個案子，但最終因為它們的表現未達預測等相關問題而放棄了。不過我們仍然——目前還在推進幾個案子。如我所說，到目前為止，沒有任何一個是非常顯著規模的。

We have a follow-up question from Tobey Sommer with SunTrust.

我們有一個追問，來自 SunTrust 的 Tobey Sommer。

Peter, one more big picture question for you. In terms of a classification of employees, potentially, I guess, misclassification of employees. Could you talk about that as a driver? And what it could mean for growth going forward and maybe more attention is paid to that by various agencies at a federal level?

Peter，再問一個更宏觀的問題。關於員工分類，可能——我想是員工錯誤分類（misclassification）。你能談談這是否是一個驅動因素嗎？以及如果聯邦層級的各個機構對此投入更多關注，未來對成長可能意味著什麼？

Yes. So, again, some of the conversations that we've had, and people on behalf of the association have had with people in authority at the administration. I don't think it's as clear that -- about what's going to happen there with regard to labor law reform or greater enforcement as there is on the Visa reform.

是的。所以，再次說明，我們曾經進行過一些對話，協會也代表業界與政府行政部門中有權人士進行過一些對話。我認為，關於勞動法改革或更強力執法在那邊會如何發展，並不像簽證改革那樣明確。

What I can tell you is, we have a very strong set of laws, state, local, and federally that make it quite punitive for misclassifying. And there is a fair amount of awareness of the risks and burdens by sophisticated buyers of trying to have someone as an independent contractor versus a W-2 employee. And I think that that continues as people adopt our model more and more.

我可以告訴你的是，我們在州、地方以及聯邦層級都有一套非常強而有力的法律，對錯誤分類的懲罰相當嚴厲。而且，成熟的買方對於把某人當作獨立承包商而不是 W-2 員工所帶來的風險與負擔，有相當程度的認知。我認為，隨著越來越多人採用我們的模式，這種情況會持續下去。

I think what you will see the association really pushing for is, not so much laws changed, but just more thoughtful education and enforcement of the existing laws, which benefits the government because the single largest source of incremental revenue for the Federal government is not raising taxes. It's eliminating the misclassification of employees.

我認為你會看到協會真正推動的，與其說是修改法律，不如說是對既有法律進行更周全的教育與執行；這對政府有利，因為聯邦政府最大的新增收入來源並不是提高稅率。而是消除員工錯誤分類。

And it does have bipartisan support because there is the -- where is the social contract preserved when someone is an independent contractor? Who is contributing to state Unemployment Insurance, FICA, Workers Comp Benefits, and Social Security? And the last thing the government wants is everybody to work on an independent contractor basis, and then no one's funding these entitlement programs. And 20 years down the road Social Security is less funded than it already is.

而且這確實有跨黨派支持，因為——當某人是獨立承包商時，社會契約要如何被維持？誰來繳納州失業保險、FICA（聯邦保險捐）、勞工補償福利以及社會安全金？而政府最不希望看到的是，所有人都以獨立承包商的方式工作，結果沒有人為這些社會福利計畫提供資金。然後 20 年後，社會安全金的資金比現在更不足。

So as you see today, it's very hard to get healthcare reform passed, trying to change tax laws and employee status, I would -- I think it'd be virtually impossible. So I think, if anything, you're just going to see the existing laws with greater enforcement, which I think net -- is a net positive for the staffing industry because we want customers to be able to have flexibility.

所以就像你今天看到的，醫療改革都很難通過；要去改稅法和員工身分，我會——我認為幾乎不可能。因此我認為，如果真有什麼變化，你只會看到對既有法律更強力的執法；我認為整體而言——這對人力派遣產業是淨正面，因為我們希望客戶能夠保有彈性。

We want customers to be able to enhance their employee productivity by sharing a resource. Just do it legally with a W-2 employee versus an independent contractor.

我們希望客戶能夠透過共享資源來提升員工生產力。只是要合法地做——用 W-2 員工，而不是獨立承包商。

There are no further questions in queue at this time. Please continue.

目前佇列中沒有其他問題。請繼續。

We thank you for your attention and look forward to following up on our third quarter conference call. Thank you, everyone.

感謝各位的關注，我們期待在第三季電話會議上再與各位後續交流。謝謝大家。

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

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