Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2018 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to ASGN Incorporated First Quarter 2018 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) And as a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to our host, CFO, Ed Pierce. Please go ahead, sir.

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候，歡迎參加 ASGN Incorporated 2018 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）提醒您，今天的電話會議將被錄音。現在我想把會議交給我們的主持人、財務長 Ed Pierce。先生，請開始。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us today. With me today are Peter Dameris, Chief Executive Officer; Ted Hanson, President; Rand Blazer, President of Apex Systems; and George Wilson, President of ECS.

各位下午好，感謝您今天加入我們。今天與我一同出席的有：執行長 Peter Dameris；總裁 Ted Hanson；Apex Systems 總裁 Rand Blazer；以及 ECS 總裁 George Wilson。

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 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.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，我們的簡報包含前瞻性陳述。雖然我們相信這些陳述是合理的，但其仍受風險與不確定性影響，我們的實際結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異。部分風險與不確定性已在今天的新聞稿及我們向 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 and supplemental materials can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

為方便您查閱，我們的預先準備講稿與補充資料可在我們網站的投資人關係（Investor Relations）專區找到。

Please note that on this call, we'll 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 the non-GAAP measures are included in today's press release.

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在今天的新聞稿中。

I will now turn the call over to Peter Dameris.

現在我將把電話會議交給 Peter Dameris。

Thank you, Ed. Welcome to the ASGN 2018 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. During our call today, I will comment on the markets we serve, our financial highlights, the closing of the ECS Federal acquisition and our name change. Ted and Rand will then discuss the performance of our operating segments in greater detail, before turning the call over to Ed for a detailed review of our first quarter results and our estimates for the second quarter of 2018.

謝謝你，Ed。歡迎參加 ASGN 2018 年第一季財報電話會議。在今天的會議中，我將就我們所服務的市場、財務重點、ECS Federal 收購案的完成以及我們的更名發表評論。接著 Ted 與 Rand 將更深入地討論各營運部門的表現，之後再把電話會議交給 Ed，對第一季業績以及我們對 2018 年第二季的預估進行詳細說明。

On today's call, we will not be discussing the specifics regarding ECS' first quarter performance given the closing of the acquisition occurred post-quarter closed on April 2. However, George Wilson will be available to answer qualitative questions regarding ECS. We will then open the call up for questions.

在今天的電話會議上，由於收購案於 4 月 2 日、亦即季度結束後才完成，我們不會討論 ECS 第一季表現的細節。不過，George Wilson 將可回答關於 ECS 的定性問題。之後我們將開放提問。

Now onto the first quarter results. Across all of our guided metrics, our results for the quarter were at or above the high end of our previously announced financial estimates. Revenues for the quarter were $685.2 million, up 9.4% year-over-year. Our growth rate reflected, among other things, the deepening of many large customer relationships established over the last 5 years and the continuing increase in the rate of adoption of our delivery model.

接下來談第一季結果。在我們所提供指引的所有指標上，本季結果均達到或高於先前公布財務預估的高端。本季營收為 6.852 億美元，年增 9.4%。我們的成長率反映了多項因素，其中包括過去 5 年建立的多個大型客戶關係持續深化，以及我們交付模式採用率持續提升。

This marked the 17th consecutive quarter that our company grew above the IT staffing industry's projected annual growth rate. Our size and service offerings allow us to grow faster than published staffing industry growth rates, and we believe we are well positioned to generate solid above-market revenue growth into the future.

這是我們公司連續第 17 個季度的成長高於 IT 人力派遣產業預估的年度成長率。我們的規模與服務內容使我們能夠以快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，可在未來持續創造穩健的超越市場之營收成長。

During the quarter, we saw a strong revenue growth at Apex Systems and at Creative Circle, and a return to year-over-year growth at Oxford core and our Oxford segment. Customer demand was strong across our local, mid-market and large national accounts.

本季 Apex Systems 與 Creative Circle 的營收成長強勁，Oxford 核心業務與我們的 Oxford 部門也恢復年對年成長。無論是本地、中型市場或大型全國性客戶帳戶，客戶需求皆相當強勁。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $74.8 million, up 15.8% from $64.6 million in the first quarter of '17. Cash generation continues to be at or above our expectations. And since the closing of the Creative Circle acquisition, we have repaid $297 million of our debt through March 31, 2018. Free cash flow and non-GAAP measure was $49.6 million for the quarter, or 7.2% of revenues compared with $37 million, or 5.9% of revenues in the first quarter of '17.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,480 萬美元，較 2017 年第一季的 6,460 萬美元成長 15.8%。現金創造能力持續達到或高於我們的預期。自完成 Creative Circle 收購以來，截至 2018 年 3 月 31 日我們已償還 2.97 億美元債務。本季自由現金流（非 GAAP 指標）為 4,960 萬美元，約占營收 7.2%；相較之下，2017 年第一季為 3,700 萬美元，約占營收 5.9%。

Our leverage ratio was 1.8x trailing 12 month adjusted EBITDA as of March 31, 2018 and increased to approximately 3.67x with the closing of the ECS acquisition. During this second quarter, we expect to pay down approximately $90 million of our debt, which will reduce our leverage ratio to 3.34x by the end of the second quarter of 2018.

截至 2018 年 3 月 31 日，我們的槓桿比率為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 1.8 倍；隨著 ECS 收購案完成，槓桿比率上升至約 3.67 倍。在第二季期間，我們預期將償還約 9,000 萬美元債務，並使槓桿比率於 2018 年第二季末降至 3.34 倍。

With respect to recent production at our Apex and Oxford segments, our weekly assignment revenues, which excluded conversion, billable expenses and direct placement revenues averaged $49.8 million for the last 2 weeks, up 7.1% over the same period in 2017.

就 Apex 與 Oxford 部門近期的產出而言，我們的每週派遣營收（不含轉任、可報銷費用與直接安置營收）在最近 2 週平均為 4,980 萬美元，較 2017 年同期成長 7.1%。

As for ECS, we estimate revenues will range between $150 million and $153 million for the second quarter. 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. We believe that we are well positioned to continue to service our customers IT needs as technology rapidly evolves and is adopted.

至於 ECS，我們估計第二季營收將介於 1.50 億至 1.53 億美元。我們的 IT 業務持續看到客戶端的高需求，部分原因在於客戶更廣泛採用人力增補（staff augmentation）作為外包、離岸與顧問服務的可行替代方案。我們相信，隨著科技快速演進並被採用，我們已具備良好定位，能持續滿足客戶的 IT 需求。

We're also continuing to see signs of 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's services is the only way to avoid the risk of misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Our customers have and are realizing this creating attractive secular growth opportunities for the entire professional staffing industry.

我們也持續看到跡象顯示，圍繞隨需勞動力或零工經濟的持續辯論，正在加速合約用工的使用。透過使用人力派遣產業的服務來將人力資本分割化，是避免將員工誤分類為獨立承包商之風險的唯一方式。我們的客戶已經並且正在意識到這一點，從而為整個專業人力派遣產業創造具吸引力的長期結構性成長機會。

Our new federal IT services and solutions business continues to see new long-term contract awards, robust spending against existing contracts and the forward positive benefits of increased funding and visibility of defense, intelligence and federal civilian agency budgets, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

我們新的聯邦 IT 服務與解決方案業務持續獲得新的長期合約授標、既有合約的支出強勁，並受惠於國防、情報與聯邦民用機構預算增加所帶來的正向效益與更高能見度，特別是在人工智慧與機器學習領域。

As a reminder, we announced the closing of the ECS Federal acquisition on April 2, 2018 and ECS' results are not included in this quarter's consolidated results, but will be included in our consolidated results beginning with Q2, 2018.

提醒各位，我們已於 2018 年 4 月 2 日宣布完成 ECS Federal 收購案；ECS 的業績未納入本季合併結果，但將自 2018 年第二季起納入我們的合併結果。

ECS delivers cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps, IT modernization and advanced science and engineering solutions to the U.S. federal government. This acquisition nearly doubles our addressable end market to $279 billion as we enter the $129 billion government services space and ECS' highly specialized skill offerings strengthen our position as the premier human capital provider and complements our highly technical IT offerings.

ECS 向美國聯邦政府提供資安、雲端、DevOps、IT 現代化以及先進科學與工程解決方案。此項收購使我們可觸及的終端市場規模幾乎倍增至 2,790 億美元，因為我們進入了 1,290 億美元的政府服務領域；同時，ECS 高度專業化的技能服務強化了我們作為首屈一指人力資本供應商的地位，並與我們高度技術性的 IT 服務內容相互補強。

ECS' domain expertise and first-hand experience will position our combined company well to support commercial engagements in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and biometrics.

ECS 的領域專業與第一手經驗，將使我們的合併公司在資安、人工智慧與生物辨識等商業合作案上具備良好支援能力。

Also, as we publicly announced on Monday of this week, we will be hosting an Analyst Investor Day on May 23 in New York City. The meeting will be held at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel and will begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. Our executive management team will present our strategic positioning and long-term growth plans. There will also be a panel discussion on the future of technology, risks and challenges featuring guest speakers. Seating for this event is limited, and if you are interested in attending, please contact ADDO Investor Relations.

此外，如同我們本週一對外公布的消息，我們將於 5 月 23 日在紐約市舉辦分析師暨投資人日（Analyst Investor Day）。會議將在 Lotte New York Palace Hotel 舉行，並於美東時間上午 8:00 開始。我們的高階管理團隊將介紹我們的策略定位與長期成長計畫。另將安排一場關於科技未來、風險與挑戰的座談會，並邀請來賓講者參與。本活動座位有限，如您有意出席，請聯絡 ADDO 投資人關係部門。

Finally, I would like to remind you that we officially changed our name to ASGN Incorporated on April 2, 2018.

最後，我想提醒各位，我們已於 2018 年 4 月 2 日正式更名為 ASGN Incorporated。

I'd like to now turn the call over to Ted Hanson, our President, who will review the operations of the segments and then over to Rand. Ted?

接下來我想把電話會議交給我們的總裁 Ted Hanson，他將回顧各部門的營運情況，之後再交給 Rand。Ted？

Thanks, Peter. We were pleased with our segment results in the quarter with both our Apex and Oxford segments performing better than anticipated. Demand in the end markets we serve, IT, creative digital marketing, engineering and Life Sciences remains steady. Apex Systems, our largest division continue to achieve growth rates above the market growth rate and led the performance of their segment, which Rand will discuss in a few minutes.

謝謝你，Peter。我們對本季各部門的結果感到滿意，Apex 與 Oxford 兩個部門的表現都優於預期。我們所服務的終端市場——IT、創意數位行銷、工程與生命科學——需求仍然穩定。Apex Systems 作為我們最大的事業部，持續達成高於市場成長率的成長表現，並帶動其部門的整體績效；Rand 將在幾分鐘後進一步說明。

Our Oxford segment, which is comprised of Oxford core, CyberCoders, our permanent placement business and Life Sciences Europe, delivered revenues of $146.7 million, which is up 1.8% year-over-year. Revenues increased 1.6% on a sequential basis.

我們的 Oxford 部門（由 Oxford 核心業務、CyberCoders、我們的永久安置業務以及歐洲生命科學業務組成）實現營收 1.467 億美元，年增 1.8%。營收較前一季增加 1.6%。

Oxford core revenues, which account for 74.7% of the segment revenues, were up approximately 1% year-over-year, 1.3% sequentially and exceeded our initial expectations. Growth was led by our European business unit followed by our engineering and Life Sciences service offerings.

Oxford 核心業務營收占該部門營收的 74.7%，年增約 1%，較前一季增 1.3%，並超出我們最初的預期。成長主要由我們的歐洲事業單位帶動，其次為工程與生命科學服務項目。

CyberCoders, which accounts for 96.5% of the segment's permanent placement revenues, had mid-single-digit year-over-year growth, which was in line with our expectations. Momentum throughout the quarter was strong.

CyberCoders 占該部門永久安置營收的 96.5%，年增為中個位數，符合我們的預期。本季整體動能強勁。

Our Life Sciences offerings in Europe, the smallest contributor to total segment revenue, was up year-over-year mid-single digits and exceeded our initial expectations. Demand for our Life Sciences skill sets in the Benelux geographic markets remains steady.

我們在歐洲的生命科學服務（對該部門總營收貢獻最小）年增中個位數，並超出我們最初的預期。Benelux 地區市場對我們生命科學技能組合的需求仍維持穩定。

Gross margin for the segment was 40.3%, down 10 basis points year-over-year due to business mix within the segment.

該部門毛利率為 40.3%，因部門內業務組合影響，較去年同期下降 10 個基點。

Based on the above and better expense management and productivity within the Oxford core unit specifically, the segment's adjusted EBITDA results exceeded our expectations and grew over the first quarter of 2017. Much of the hard work to improve lost EBITDA margin at Oxford core continues to show itself in the latest quarter's results.

基於上述因素，並且特別是在 Oxford 核心單位更佳的費用管理與生產力提升下，該部門調整後 EBITDA 表現超出我們預期，且較 2017 年第一季成長。為改善 Oxford 核心業務流失的 EBITDA 利潤率所投入的大量努力，持續反映在最新一季的結果中。

I will now turn the call over to Rand Blazer.

接下來我把電話會議交給 Rand Blazer。

Great, Ted. Thank you. The Apex segment, which consists, of course, of Apex Systems, Apex Life Sciences and Creative Circle business units, once again reported solid results for the quarter. Revenues for the segment in the first quarter were $538.5 million, up 11.6% year-over-year.

很好，Ted。謝謝你。Apex 部門（當然包括 Apex Systems、Apex Life Sciences 與 Creative Circle 事業單位）本季再次繳出穩健成績。該部門第一季營收為 5.385 億美元，年增 11.6%。

Apex Systems, which accounts for 74.9% of the segment's revenues, led the way with 12.5% year-over-year growth in the first quarter. Our Creative Circle unit's revenues grew high single digits and slightly exceeded our expectations in all performance areas. Our Life Sciences unit, including StratAcuity, achieved double-digit revenue growth in the quarter on an as-reported basis and also exceeded our expectations.

Apex Systems 占該部門營收的 74.9%，第一季以年增 12.5% 領先帶動成長。我們 Creative Circle 單位營收年增高個位數，且在各項績效面向均略高於預期。我們的生命科學單位（包含 StratAcuity）以申報口徑計算，本季營收達雙位數成長，亦超出我們預期。

As we usually do on these calls, I'll provide you a little additional insight into the performance of our principal IT services business unit, which is Apex Systems. Revenues for that unit were propelled by a number of factors, including: growth -- continued growth in our accounts and all industry verticals we service, with double-digit revenue growth in aerospace defense, financial services, consumer and industrial, telecommunications and technology industry accounts; business services and healthcare also exhibited positive single-digit growth year-over-year; double-digit growth was achieved in both our retail, which are brand-centric and smaller accounts and our top accounts with retail accounts growing more than our top accounts in the quarter. Our bookings for SOW type work remained strong, as has been reported in previous quarters and continues to exceed our expectations.

如同我們在這些電話會議中一貫的作法，我將就我們主要的 IT 服務事業單位（即 Apex Systems）的表現提供一些額外洞見。該單位營收受到多項因素推動，包括：成長——我們既有客戶與所服務的所有產業垂直領域持續成長，其中航太國防、金融服務、消費與工業、電信與科技產業客戶的營收均達雙位數成長；商業服務與醫療保健亦呈現年增正向的個位數成長；我們的零售客戶（以品牌為核心且規模較小的客戶）與我們的頂級客戶皆達雙位數成長，且本季零售客戶成長幅度高於頂級客戶。我們的 SOW（工作說明書）類型工作接單量維持強勁，如同前幾季所報告，且持續超出我們預期。

Gross margin for the segment was also higher year-over-year, largely reflecting increased bill rate/pay rate differentials, a higher mix of perm placement revenue and some reduction in payroll tax expenses on a year-over-year basis.

該部門毛利率亦較去年同期提高，主要反映計費費率／支付費率差距擴大、永久安置營收占比提高，以及薪資稅費用較去年同期有所下降。

Our segment's EBITDA contribution also grew and is up on a percent of revenue basis year-over-year. This performance reflects high conversion of gross profit to EBITDA and is driven by continued strong productivity in our sales, delivery and infrastructure teams. Overall, the Apex segment had another very successful quarter.

本部門的 EBITDA 貢獻亦成長，且以營收百分比計較去年同期上升。此表現反映毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的比率高，並由我們銷售、交付與基礎設施團隊持續強勁的生產力所驅動。整體而言，Apex 部門又度過了一個非常成功的季度。

I'll now turn the call over to Ed to discuss ASGN's overall financial results. Ed?

接下來我把電話會議交給 Ed，請他說明 ASGN 的整體財務結果。Ed？

Thanks, Rand. As Peter previously mentioned, revenues for the quarter were up 9.4% year-over-year on a reported basis and up 9.2% after adjusting for year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates and the differences in the number of billable days. Revenues for the quarter included $5.3 million in revenues from StratAcuity, which was acquired in August of last year.

謝謝，Rand。如 Peter 先前提到，本季營收以申報口徑計年增 9.4%；若調整匯率年對年變動以及可計費天數差異後，營收年增 9.2%。本季營收包含 StratAcuity 的 530 萬美元營收；StratAcuity 於去年 8 月完成收購。

Gross margin for the quarter was 31.8%, which was at the high end of our previously announced financial estimates and up 20 basis points year-over-year. The year-over-year expansion in gross margin related to lower state unemployment tax rates in certain states and a slightly higher mix of higher-margin business in certain divisions.

本季毛利率為 31.8%，位於我們先前公布財務預估的高端，且較去年同期提高 20 個基點。毛利率年對年擴張主要與部分州的州失業稅率下降，以及某些事業部較高毛利業務占比略為提高有關。

SG&A expenses were $164.4 million, or 24% of revenues and were in line with our previously announced estimates. SG&A, included $9.8 million of onetime expenses related to the ECS acquisition.

SG&A 費用為 1.644 億美元，占營收 24%，符合我們先前公布的預估。SG&A 包含與 ECS 收購相關的一次性費用 980 萬美元。

Interest expense for the quarter was $6.5 million, down from $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2017. Interest expense for the quarter was comprised of $5.3 million of interest on the credit facility, $0.9 million of amortization of deferred loan cost and $0.3 million of expenses related to the amendment of our credit facility to fund the acquisition of ECS. The year-over-year decrease in interest expense reflected lower debt balances and a lower average interest rate as a result of the amendments to our credit facility in 2017.

本季利息費用為 650 萬美元，低於 2017 年第一季的 850 萬美元。本季利息費用包括：信用融資額度利息 530 萬美元、遞延貸款成本攤銷 90 萬美元，以及為籌措收購 ECS 而修訂信用融資額度所產生的 30 萬美元費用。利息費用年對年下降反映債務餘額降低，以及因 2017 年修訂信用融資額度而使平均利率下降。

Our effective tax rate was 25.3%, which was lower than our previously announced estimate, primarily related to excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, which we do not include in our financial estimates.

我們的有效稅率為 25.3%，低於先前公布的預估，主要與股權基礎薪酬的超額稅務利益有關；該項目我們未納入財務預估中。

Net income for the quarter was $29.1 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, up from $22.4 million or $0.42 per diluted share in the first quarter of last year. Net income for the quarter included $9.8 million or $7.4 million after tax in expenses related to the ECS acquisition. Adjusted net income and non-GAAP measure, which among other things adjusts for amortization of intangible assets and acquisition, integration and strategic planning expenses and credit facility amendment expenses were $44 million or $0.83 per share, up from $32.2 million or $0.61 per share in the first quarter of 2017.

本季淨利為 2,910 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.55 美元，高於去年第一季的 2,240 萬美元或稀釋後每股 0.42 美元。本季淨利包含與 ECS 收購相關的 980 萬美元費用（稅後為 740 萬美元）。調整後淨利（非 GAAP 指標；其中包括對無形資產攤銷、收購／整合／策略規劃費用，以及信用融資額度修訂費用等進行調整）為 4,400 萬美元或每股 0.83 美元，高於 2017 年第一季的 3,220 萬美元或每股 0.61 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $74.8 million. Reconciliations of net income to adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are both non-GAAP measures, are included in today's press release.

本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,480 萬美元。淨利調整至調整後淨利以及調整後 EBITDA 的調節表（皆為非 GAAP 指標）已收錄於今日的新聞稿中。

Cash flows from operating activities were $55.8 million and free cash flow and non-GAAP measure was $49.6 million.

營運活動現金流為 5,580 萬美元；自由現金流（非 GAAP 指標）為 4,960 萬美元。

Before commenting on the overall financial estimates for the second quarter, please note that our financial statement or estimates for the second quarter include estimates for ECS, which accounts for approximately 17.5% of total estimated revenues for the quarter and 17% of our adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter.

在評論第二季整體財務預估之前，請注意：我們第二季的財務報表／預估包含 ECS 的估計數；ECS 約占本季總預估營收的 17.5%，並占第二季調整後 EBITDA 的 17%。

Second, our estimate for interest expense includes a onetime expense of $5.8 million related to the amendment of our credit facility in April to fund the acquisition of ECS. This expense is added back in the determination of adjusted net income.

第二，我們對利息費用的預估包含一筆 580 萬美元的一次性費用，係因 4 月修訂信用融資額度以籌措收購 ECS 所致。該費用在計算調整後淨利時會加回。

Third, please note that stock-based compensation expense is increasing $3.8 million over the first quarter of 2018 due to awards granted to ECS management and employees and the expense of the 2018 performance awards that for accounting purposes were calculated using a stock price of $85.53, which was the closing price on the day the performance targets were approved by the compensation committee.

第三，請注意：由於授予 ECS 管理層與員工的獎酬，以及 2018 年績效獎酬在會計上以 85.53 美元的股價計算（該價格為薪酬委員會核准績效目標當日的收盤價），股權基礎薪酬費用將較 2018 年第一季增加 380 萬美元。

Now moving on to our overall financial estimates for the second quarter of 2018. We're estimating revenues of $860 million to $870 million, net income of $31.1 million to $34.8 million, or $0.59 to $0.66 per diluted share. Adjusted net income of $53.6 million to $57.3 million, or $1.01 or $1.08 per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA of $100 million to $105 million. Adjusted net income does not include the cash tax savings related to the amortization, deduction of goodwill and trademarks. With the acquisition of ECS, the quarterly cash tax savings are now $6.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, up from $4.5 million or $0.09 per diluted share in the first quarter.

現在來看我們對2018年第二季的整體財務預估。我們預估營收為8.60億至8.70億美元，淨利為3,110萬至3,480萬美元，或稀釋後每股0.59至0.66美元。調整後淨利為5,360萬至5,730萬美元，或稀釋後每股1.01至1.08美元；調整後EBITDA為1.00億至1.05億美元。調整後淨利不包含與商譽及商標攤銷扣除相關的現金稅負節省。隨著收購ECS，季度現金稅負節省目前為680萬美元，或稀釋後每股0.13美元，高於第一季的450萬美元或稀釋後每股0.09美元。

As we have previously commented, the acquisition of ECS is accretive to our adjusted net income. We estimate the accretion in the second quarter to be approximately $0.11 to $0.13 per share. On a pro forma basis, which assumes our acquisition of ECS occurred at the beginning of 2017, our consolidated revenues estimates for the second quarter imply year-over-year growth of 7.7% to 9%.

如我們先前所評論，收購ECS對我們的調整後淨利具有增益效果。我們估計第二季的增益約為每股0.11至0.13美元。以備考（pro forma）基礎計算（假設我們在2017年初即完成對ECS的收購），我們對第二季合併營收的預估意味著年增率為7.7%至9%。

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

我現在把電話交回給Peter做一些結語。

Thanks, Ed. We continue to believe our scale, size and breadth of service has us well positioned to take advantage of what we believe are historic secular growth for the IT services industry and dynamic changes in the technology world, as we move more into digital one. While the entire ASGN team is very proud of our performance, we remain focused on continuing to profitably grow our business and increase our rate of growth. We'd like to once again thank our many loyal, dedicated and talented employees, welcome our new partners at ECS, whose efforts have allowed us to progress to where we are today.

謝謝，Ed。我們持續相信，我們的規模、體量與服務廣度，使我們處於有利位置，能夠把握我們認為IT服務產業歷史性的長期結構性成長，以及科技世界的動態變化，因為我們正更深入地走向數位化。雖然整個ASGN團隊都為我們的表現感到非常自豪，但我們仍專注於持續以獲利方式成長業務並提升成長速度。我們也要再次感謝眾多忠誠、敬業且才華洋溢的員工，並歡迎ECS的新夥伴；正是你們的努力讓我們走到今天。

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

我現在開放與會者提問。接線員？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from Edward Caso of Wells Fargo.

（接線員指示）我們的第一個問題來自Wells Fargo的Edward Caso。

Trying to understand the guidance for gross margin for the second quarter, 29.5% to 30%, down sequentially. I understand you had a good quarter in Q1, but is this the effect of rolling ECS in? And can you sort of help us reset our expectations going forward, if that's the case?

我想了解第二季毛利率指引為29.5%到30%，較前一季下滑。我理解你們第一季表現不錯，但這是否是把ECS併入後的影響？如果是的話，你們能否協助我們重新校準對未來的預期？

Yes. So, Ed, I'll start and then I'm going to turn it over to Ed Pierce. But as you know, there are other things that go into cost of services and the federal contractors that aren't in kind of the contingent labor. And so ECS, it's more pertinent to focus on their EBITDA margins, which were quite nice and comparable to ours than really the gross margin. And by -- we're required according to GAAP to include them in our consolidated gross margins, but they are substantially lower than our historic business. So just because of the cost of services inclusion. So you need to really kind of dissect it and look at the old On Assignment versus just consolidated gross margin. Ed Pierce?

是的。Ed，我先回答，然後我會交給Ed Pierce。不過如你所知，服務成本中還包含其他項目，而聯邦承包商的業務也不同於一般的派遣／彈性人力。因此就ECS而言，更應聚焦在他們的EBITDA利潤率；那相當不錯，且與我們相當可比，而不是只看毛利率。依照GAAP，我們必須把他們納入合併毛利率，但由於服務成本的納入，他們的毛利率顯著低於我們歷史業務。因此你需要把它拆開來看，比較原On Assignment的毛利率與合併毛利率。Ed Pierce？

So Ed, let me give you some additional, sort of, data points that probably will help you in terms of, sort of, framing this. But you mentioned the guidance, the guidance we gave for Q2 of 29.5% to 30%. So if you, sort of, bifurcate this and look at the ASGN business, excluding ECS and look at ECS alone, the gross margin for our core business is pretty much what it has been running, maybe slightly better. But that's 32.5% to 32.7%. For ECS, it's going to be somewhere around 18%. And bear in mind, in our prepared remarks, we mentioned that ECS will account for about 17.5% of our total revenues.

Ed，我再補充一些數據點，應該能幫助你更好地框架理解。你提到指引，我們給第二季的指引是29.5%到30%。如果你把它拆分來看，觀察ASGN核心業務（不含ECS）以及單獨的ECS，我們核心業務的毛利率大致維持既有水準，可能略好一些，約為32.5%到32.7%。ECS則大約在18%左右。也請記得，我們在事先準備的講稿中提到，ECS約占我們總營收的17.5%。

My other question is looks -- if I did my math right your organic revenue estimate is about 8% at the midpoint for the second quarter, what would get you to the high end of the range? What would have to go right?

我另一個問題是——如果我算得沒錯，你們第二季的有機營收預估在中位數大約是8%；要達到區間上緣，需要哪些因素推動？哪些事情必須進展順利？

Well, we just continue to see the trends that we saw exiting the first quarter.

嗯，我們只是持續看到第一季結束時所呈現的那些趨勢延續。

And now to the line of Tim McHugh from William Blair.

接下來是William Blair的Tim McHugh。

Maybe, Peter, just can I ask you to elaborate on that and maybe from a step above, I guess, any conclusions you take away from this quarter? I guess, it seems like broadly each of the businesses were just a little bit better, I guess, is that just a statement about the macro? Are there any, I guess, I'd be curious with any insights you drew as you look at the underlying trends this quarter other than just a little bit more favorable macro?

Peter，也許我可以請你再多闡述一下，並從更高一層來看——你從本季得到哪些結論？看起來各個業務大致都只是稍微好一些；這是否只是反映總體環境更有利？我想知道，除了總體環境略為改善之外，你們在觀察本季的底層趨勢時，有沒有得到其他洞見？

Right. So I'll start and then I'll turn it over to Ted. But we did -- as you said, we did see a sequential growth first over fourth, and our estimate pretty much imply incremental growth second over first. So we continue to see good momentum in our business. We see a productive market. We see our service offering continue to be broadly accepted and adopted, and we see that our scale and size benefits us vis-à-vis others. And as it relates to ECS, the guidance, again, implies sequential growth second over first, healthy growth year-over-year and a productive end market, where the contracts that we've already won, we can go forcefully compete to get more than our fair share of business there. And we have a budget, and we're not operating under continuing resolutions, which is a little bit of visibility. Ted, why don't you guide them through more specifics about what we saw in the businesses and specifically the Oxford segment?

好的。我先說，然後交給Ted。我們確實——如你所說——看到第一季相較第四季的季增，而我們的預估也大致意味著第二季相較第一季還會有增量成長。因此我們持續看到業務動能良好。我們看到市場具生產力；我們的服務方案持續被廣泛接受與採用；我們也看到我們的規模與體量相較其他競爭者更具優勢。至於ECS，指引同樣意味著第二季相較第一季的季增、健康的年增，以及一個具生產力的終端市場；在那裡，我們已經贏得的合約讓我們能更有力地競爭，爭取超過我們應得份額的更多業務。此外，我們有預算，也不是在持續決議（continuing resolutions）下運作，這提供了一些能見度。Ted，你不如帶大家更具體地說明我們在各項業務、特別是Oxford部門看到的情況？

Sure. Well, I think, Peter summed it up pretty well in his remarks where he said that we were kind of led by strong growth at Apex and Creative Circle, which just had improving growth rates. On the Oxford side, we're now back to growth, and we weren't at growth levels in the prior quarters and that business in our guidance for the second quarter we help -- hopeful, continuing to march forward. And I think, Peter, hit on the ECS.

當然。我想Peter在他的談話中已總結得很好：我們主要由Apex與Creative Circle的強勁成長所帶動，兩者的成長率都在改善。Oxford方面，我們現在回到成長軌道；前幾季該業務並未達到成長水準，而在我們對第二季的指引中，我們也希望能持續向前推進。我想Peter也提到了ECS。

Okay. And touching on Oxford, I guess, from a margin standpoint, you've made -- it seems like pretty good progress in the last year on showing improvement there. How much room is left, I guess, for Oxford specifically? And I guess, how do we think about excluding ECS to kind of underlying margin expansion opportunity over the next few quarters?

好的。再談Oxford，從利潤率角度來看，你們過去一年似乎在改善方面取得不錯進展。就Oxford而言，還有多少改善空間？另外，若排除ECS，未來幾季我們應如何看待底層的利潤率擴張機會？

I think in the supplemental piece that we put out, you can see in there that we've got increasing productivity at Oxford. And we're not done. It has further to go, but we're going to have to get it from our growth rate instead of just SG&A management, but I think we're on the right track and we just need to stay the course there.

我想在我們發布的補充資料中，你可以看到Oxford的生產力正在提升。我們還沒完成，仍有進一步提升空間，但接下來必須更多來自成長率的提升，而不只是SG&A管理。不過我認為我們方向正確，只需要持續按既定方針推進。

And now to the line of Tobey Sommer from SunTrust.

接下來是SunTrust的Tobey Sommer。

With respect to your staffing consultant headcount and kind of investments, how do you think about that given what you described as a slightly incremental faster growth in 2Q kind of you mapped that out, because this is one area where you have to playing with a little fight in the longer-term horizon than what you guide to us for?

關於你們的人力派遣顧問（staffing consultant）人數以及相關投資，考量到你們所描述的第二季成長略有加速、且你們也做了相應的規劃，你們如何看待這件事？因為這是一個你們必須以較長期視角來操作的領域，而這個視角會比你們提供給我們的指引期間更長一些。

Tobey, we stayed ahead of the curve. So we're starting to get some operating leverage off of some of these previous hires. We have recycled some of the investment dollars at Oxford, and they've been more focused and better impact than we had in Q4 of '16 from those investments. And ECS is hired - their internal hiring is billable staff because they work off of bench model. But they've done significant hiring to meet the needs of the contracts that have been awarded to them that they're working against. So hiring continues. There is no need for surge. You saw what we were able to grow double digits, which is normal hiring because we're getting better productivity and the benefits of having had high levels of recruitment and hiring over the past couple of years.

Tobey，我們一直走在趨勢前面。因此，我們開始從先前的一些招募中取得營運槓桿。我們在 Oxford 回收並重新配置了一部分投資資金，而這些投資的聚焦度更高、影響也更好，優於 2016 年第四季那些投資所帶來的效果。至於 ECS 已完成招募——他們的內部招募主要是可計費人員，因為他們採用 bench（待命）模式運作。但他們為了滿足已得標且正在執行的合約需求，已進行了大量招募。因此招募仍在持續，沒有需要「突擊式」增員。你也看到我們能夠達成雙位數成長，這是正常的招募節奏，因為我們的生產力在提升，也享受到過去幾年高強度招募與聘用所帶來的效益。

Would you expect staffing consultant headcount at Oxford to start to grow from here given the revenue growth? Or are you -- you're still kind of harvesting that improvement in gross profit versus staffing consultant?

鑑於營收成長，你是否預期 Oxford 的派遣顧問人數從現在開始會成長？還是說——你們仍在某種程度上收割（體現）派遣顧問帶來的毛利改善？

No, I think you should see a growth. I think we've come through a cycle, if you will, where we've -- where our headcount shrunk a little bit. Where we've kind of evened out and now we expect in the back 3 quarters of this year for our headcounts to grow.

不，我認為你應該會看到人數成長。我想我們已經走過一個週期——也就是我們的人頭數曾經小幅縮減。現在我們大致已經趨於平穩，並且預期今年後三個季度我們的人頭數會成長。

Tobey, just to add to that, if you go back and look at the prepared remarks for the fourth quarter of '16 and the first quarter of '17, I think we gave you some specifics about how many people we hired and how much revenue we got from those people we hired. So the headcount being down a little bit at Oxford is really not that significant considering how many people we had hired and we were getting virtually no revenue from.

Tobey，補充一下，如果你回頭看 2016 年第四季與 2017 年第一季的事先準備講稿，我想我們提供過一些具體數字，包含我們聘用了多少人，以及從那些新聘人員帶來了多少營收。因此，Oxford 的人頭數小幅下降其實並不那麼重要，考量到我們先前聘了那麼多人，但幾乎沒有從他們身上取得營收。

With respect to the bill rates, some decent growth, I guess, particularly at Oxford, does that represent underlying compensation inflation? Or is this kind of a snapshot of mix in other factors?

關於計費費率（bill rates），我想成長還不錯，尤其是在 Oxford。這是否反映了基礎薪酬的通膨？還是這只是組合（mix）與其他因素的某個截面？

I think, it's more business mix, Tobey, than anything else.

Tobey，我認為這更多是業務組合的因素，而不是其他原因。

Okay. And then with respect to ECS, just to the extent you can comment on what you expect in terms of the pace of the -- of contract awards given the refreshed budget and kind of bulk offers as you look at this quarter and 3Q, what does that contract award environment look like?

好的。那關於 ECS，在你能評論的範圍內，隨著預算更新、以及你們所說的批量（bulk）提供/方案，當你看本季與第三季時，你預期合約授標（contract awards）的節奏會如何？整體授標環境看起來怎麼樣？

Right, we'll answer on a qualitative basis. George, do you want to give a little color on that?

好的，我們會以定性方式回答。George，你要不要補充一些背景說明？

Sure. I mean, I think a lot of the things that we're seeing out there right now with the budget being passed, still some concerned about sequestration. But the numbers that we're forecasting take an account, a pretty nice flow of business opportunities. As Peter mentioned earlier, a lot of the stuff that we've got this year is simply staffing out contracts that we've already been awarded, and that's really our focus and our attention on as we close out this -- move forward on this year.

當然。我是說，我認為我們目前在外面看到的很多情況是：預算已通過，但對於自動減支（sequestration）仍有一些擔憂。不過，我們的預測數字已經把相當不錯的商機流入量納入考量。正如 Peter 先前提到的，我們今年拿到的很多工作，基本上只是為我們已經得標的合約補齊人力配置，而這正是我們在今年收尾、並推進今年計畫時的重點與關注所在。

Okay. Last thing for me. Peter, could you comment on what if any impacts you're seeing in the business from H-1B visa reform executive orders and kind of scrutiny on the business model that have been built and are reliant on that sourced international labor?

好的。我最後一個問題。Peter，你能否評論一下，你們在業務上是否看到 H-1B 簽證改革的行政命令，以及對依賴國際勞動力來源之商業模式的審視，所帶來的任何影響？

Right. Well, we continue to see a benefit, and that there is more focus on the domestic labor. There was -- in a couple of weeks ago, there was a story in The Wall Street Journal, and it's actually working the way it's supposed to. Whereas, these Indian offshore companies that we're bringing in mid-tier, lower-tier skill set people and using up all the H-1B visas, they weren't the top 3 people getting awarded visas this year. The top 3 people getting awarded visas were Apple, Microsoft and Google. And those people are -- their average pay is $110,000, not $60,000. So it's actually working the way it's supposed to, and 99% of our workforce is W-2 domestic labor. So as there's more focus on domestic labor, they're going to the people who have them and we're the other ones that have them. So again we're seeing that. We're seeing business that might have been awarded to those models, offshore models are not getting awarded. Some of the stuff that had previously been awarded is getting worked through and it's not getting repatriated. But we're seeing that on new work when a customer is looking at, do I it internally? Do I do it with the offshore labor? Do I do it with project consulting labor? Or do I do it augmenting my internal staff? They were winning market share against some of the offshore models.

好的。我們持續看到正面效益，也就是市場更聚焦於本土勞動力。幾週前《華爾街日報》有一篇報導，而實際上它正按原本應該運作的方式在運作。過去那些印度離岸公司把中階、低階技能的人帶進來，耗用大量 H-1B 名額，但今年獲得簽證的前三大雇主並不是他們；獲得簽證最多的前三名是 Apple、Microsoft 和 Google。而那些人的平均薪資是 11 萬美元，不是 6 萬美元。所以它確實在按應有方式運作。我們 99% 的員工是 W-2 的本土勞動力。因此，當市場更重視本土勞動力時，客戶會去找擁有這些資源的人，而我們就是擁有這些資源的公司之一。所以我們再次看到這個趨勢。我們也看到一些原本可能會授予那些離岸模式的業務，現在不再授予他們。先前已授予的一些案子正在被消化執行，但並沒有被「回流」回來。不過在新案子上，當客戶在評估：我要內部做？用離岸勞動力做？用專案顧問人力做？或是用人力增補（augmenting）來補強內部團隊？我們正在對一些離岸模式取得市占。

And now to the line of Jeff Silber from BMO.

接下來請 BMO 的 Jeff Silber 發問。

It's Henry Chien on for Jeff. I just had a question on just digging into your delivery model. As you grow and build out your scale, I'm just curious how you're thinking about, if there is any margin benefits that come from that? Or is that mostly from, say, a growth perspective in that you can fill larger projects and larger orders?

我是代 Jeff 的 Henry Chien。我有個問題，想更深入了解你們的交付模式（delivery model）。隨著你們成長並擴大規模，我很好奇你們如何看待是否會因此帶來任何毛利率/利潤率上的好處？或者這主要是從成長角度來看，例如你們能承接更大型的專案與更大的訂單？

Well, we'll save some of that for the Analyst Day. But what I will tell you is that the SOW business, if we're talking about gross margin, tends to have a higher gross margin. If you're looking at EBITDA margins that the federal business and our legacy business or nice double-digit EBITDA margin businesses. The real reason of moving further into the IT solutions business is that's where our customers are taking us. It's not necessarily higher profit gain that's driving us there, it's if we're going to be a valued partner to our customers, we have to help them the way they want to be helped. And so we're seeing customers take more and more responsibility on in-house. But by doing so, that requires them to augment their internal staff. We very much like in the digital creative world, we're seeing and this has been well documented that work is moving away from the ad agencies and going back in-house. That means that the in-house departments need specialized skill to augment for particular campaigns or projects, and they come to us versus the ad agencies. So it's just -- it's a trend that's going to continue. It's the reality of tech cycles getting shorter and disintermediating or disruptive technology being developed quicker and quicker. And how large corporations want to manage their cost and turning human capital more into variable cost versus the fixed cost.

這部分我們會留一些到分析師日再談。不過我可以先告訴你，如果我們談的是毛利率，SOW（Statement of Work，工作說明書）業務通常毛利率較高。如果你看 EBITDA 利潤率，聯邦政府業務以及我們的傳統（legacy）業務，都是不錯的雙位數 EBITDA 利潤率業務。進一步轉向 IT 解決方案業務的真正原因，是客戶正把我們帶往那個方向。推動我們的未必是更高的獲利增量；而是如果我們要成為客戶重視的合作夥伴，就必須以他們希望被協助的方式來協助他們。因此我們看到客戶把越來越多責任轉回內部。但這麼做也意味著他們需要透過增補內部人力來支撐。我們在數位創意領域也非常明顯地看到——而且這已被廣泛記錄——工作正從廣告代理商轉回企業內部。這代表內部部門需要特定的專業技能，來支援特定活動或專案，因此他們會找我們而不是找代理商。這就是——這個趨勢會持續下去。這也是科技週期縮短、去中介化或顛覆性技術越來越快被開發出來的現實，以及大型企業如何管理成本、把人力資本更多轉為變動成本而非固定成本。

Okay. Yes, that's really helpful. And if we think about that model and ECS, is there a different sort of metric or framework that you look at to either forecast or kind of judge performance of the business, whether it's longer projects or number of projects, just kind of curious. I imagine you'll speak to that on the Analyst Day, but just curious right now.

好的，是的，這很有幫助。那如果我們以這個模式來看 ECS，你們是否有不同的指標或框架，用來做預測或評估業務表現？例如是看較長期的專案、或專案數量之類的？我知道你們可能會在分析師日談到，但我現在先好奇問一下。

Yes, let us educate you at the Analyst Day. But as you know that they're working off of a backlog. And so they have projects that have been architected that need to be completed, and it's getting the work performed versus getting a set of needs or orders from a customer and then seeking to fill them in and having start date. So in some ways, there is greater visibility as to what the revenue may be save and except if a customer stall something. But we'll flush that all out for you on the Analyst Day, to just draw the distinctions on how view kind of forecasting and the different segments.

是的，分析師日我們再好好跟你說明。不過如你所知，他們是依據 backlog（在手訂單/積壓訂單）在運作。因此他們有已完成架構設計、需要交付完成的專案，重點是把工作做完；而不是先從客戶那裡取得一組需求或訂單，再去尋找人選填補並等待開工日期。所以在某些方面，對於營收可能會有更高的可視性，除非客戶把某些事情延宕。但我們會在分析師日把這些都完整說清楚，並釐清我們如何看待預測，以及不同事業部門之間的差異。

(Operator Instructions) And now to the line of Mark Marcon from R.W. Baird.

（接線員指示）接下來請 R.W. Baird 的 Mark Marcon 發問。

With regards to Apex, just in terms of the strong growth there. To what extent do you think it was due to the growth on the SOW side? And then on the straight staff augmentation that's done on time and materials basis. Are you seeing a similar level of growth? And if so, is that being driven by an improved demand across the board? Or would you say you're taking share? I suspect it's bit of both, but...

關於 Apex，就其強勁成長而言。您認為在多大程度上是由 SOW 端的成長所帶動？另外，在以工時與材料（time and materials）計價的純人力增補（staff augmentation）方面，您是否也看到類似的成長幅度？如果是，這是因為整體需求改善所驅動？還是您會說你們正在搶占市占？我猜兩者都有一點，但……

Right. Rand, why don't you address that? And we don't break out the growth rates between SOW and staff augmentation, but you can address the relative size qualitatively.

對。Rand，你來回應一下好嗎？我們不會把 SOW 與人力增補之間的成長率拆開揭露，但你可以就相對規模做一些定性說明。

Yes. I think, Mark, we look at the growth and then account, whether it staffing or consultative or value-added services, and the client doesn't differentiate. They're looking for services, and we're providing services that they need. As our consulting business is growing, our value-added service is growing a little faster than staffing, the answer is probably yes in the macro sense, but it's an account-by-account decision based on what the client needs and requirements are. But we're locked on to accounts and try to grow our portfolio of accounts and round that out and make sure we're servicing all the needs that we can value add to the clients in those areas, so.

是的。我想，Mark，我們看成長是以客戶帳戶為單位來看，不論是人力派遣、顧問式服務或加值服務，客戶其實不會去區分。他們在找的是服務，而我們提供他們需要的服務。隨著我們的顧問業務成長，我們的加值服務成長速度比人力派遣稍快，所以從宏觀角度來看答案大概是肯定的；但這是逐一帳戶、依客戶需求與要求所做的決定。不過我們會緊盯各個帳戶，努力擴大並完善我們的帳戶組合，確保在那些領域中盡可能滿足所有需求、為客戶創造價值，所以。

And your -- Rand, your growth is really broad-based, I was just wondering if you could comment as to whether some of that strong growth that you are experiencing is coming as a result, not only just the displacement in terms of some of the offshore and the conversion over to the staff aug model? But within staff aug, do you feel like you're gaining share?

而且你們——Rand，你們的成長其實相當全面，我只是想請你評論一下，你們目前經歷的部分強勁成長是否不僅來自於某些離岸（offshore）業務的替代，以及轉向人力增補模式？但在人力增補內部，你是否覺得你們正在提升市占？

I don't think there is any question we're gaining share in staff aug, and we looked at as Peter related to, we look at it by account. We know how much the account spends and what percent of the account spend we are. And so we know we're growing in the accounts that we're focused on and we know we're growing against our competitors. So obviously, we're taking market share. I think you're right. The markets it is broad-based. As we have said all along, the CIO has 5 resources they can use, organic, consulting, staffing, offshore and offsource, and we are seeing a migration of work from all those different bubbles into the companies that can best stand up and service them. And we happened to be one that's winning in that battle, but we focus on transactional excellence, the account relationship and bringing value to the client and that seems to be working across the board.

我認為毫無疑問，我們在人力增補上正在提升市占。正如 Peter 提到的，我們是以帳戶來看。我們知道該帳戶總共花多少錢，也知道我們占該帳戶支出的百分比。因此我們知道，在我們聚焦的帳戶中我們正在成長，也知道我們相對競爭對手在成長。所以很明顯，我們正在取得市占。我想你說得對，市場是全面性的。正如我們一直以來所說，CIO 有 5 種資源可用：內部自建（organic）、顧問（consulting）、人力派遣（staffing）、離岸（offshore）以及外包（offsource）。我們看到工作正從這些不同的「泡泡」移轉到最能承接並提供服務的公司，而我們剛好是在這場競爭中勝出的其中一家。不過我們聚焦在交易執行卓越、帳戶關係，以及為客戶帶來價值，而這似乎在各方面都奏效。

That's great. And then I was wondering if George could comment a little bit qualitatively in terms of how we should think about acceleration or deceleration in the ECS business? And just how is it -- does it tend to be lumpy in terms of the growth from quarter-to-quarter just as you're fulfilling some of the projects. How should we think about that just in terms of thinking about the guidance for the second quarter? And what that potentially means on a longer basis?

很好。另外我想請 George 從定性角度談談，我們應該如何看待 ECS 業務的加速或減速？以及它——在季度之間的成長是否會比較不均勻（lumpy），因為你們在交付某些專案。就第二季指引而言，我們應該如何理解？以及從更長期的角度，這可能意味著什麼？

George, would you address that on a qualitative basis, please?

George，請你從定性角度回應一下，好嗎？

Yes, absolutely. So the term you used, lumpy, that's probably a really good qualitative term to use on a quarter-over-quarter, quarter-to-quarter, quarter-by-quarter basis, we can have some swings as we close out certain projects and startup other projects, buy materials and things like that and completing certain projects. But we got a pretty good way of doing forecasting. And we think, overall, we are going to give -- continue to perform in the high single-digits growth year-over-year. And we feel comfortable about what we're doing this year in terms of forecast we previously provided.

好的，當然可以。你用的那個詞「lumpy」，用來形容季度對季度、逐季的情況確實很貼切；當我們結束某些專案、啟動其他專案，以及採購材料等、完成特定專案時，確實可能會有一些波動。不過我們有一套相當不錯的預測方法。我們認為整體而言，我們將會——持續維持年對年高個位數的成長表現。我們也對今年的執行感到有信心，並維持先前提供的預測。

Great. So I mean the high single-digits for the year still stands or just basically we've got some project ends and some project starts and that leads to a little bit of lumpiness from quarter-to-quarter?

很好。所以也就是說，全年的高個位數仍然成立？或者基本上是因為有些專案結束、有些專案開始，導致季度之間有些不均勻？

Mark, we've kind of given you some guidance and we're not going to make any further comment on that.

Mark，我們已經給了你一些指引，我們不會再就此做進一步評論。

We gave full year.

我們提供的是全年指引。

We gave you full year guidance, and we are not going to give any additional color to that.

我們已經給了你全年指引，我們不會再提供任何額外的說明或細節。

Okay, just wanted to understand it. That's all.

好的，我只是想弄清楚而已。就這樣。

No, I understand. I appreciate.

不，我理解。我很感謝。

So I mean everybody else is going to ask the same question. So just figured might as well ask it on the call, in that way you can get the message out to everybody. With regards to Creative Circle, you ended up seeing some nice growth there. Is it -- do you think the environment is better or do we think there is account wins that are occurring?

我的意思是，其他人也會問同樣的問題。所以我想不如就在電話會議上問，這樣你們也可以把訊息一次傳達給大家。關於 Creative Circle，你們最後看到不錯的成長。這是——你們認為環境變好了？還是我們認為是因為拿下了一些帳戶？

Well, I'll let Rand address it. But as we've said in previous calls, we -- it's a good business, it's a great end market. We did some things in '16 to improve the long-term sustainable high growth rate, which can cause you to be a little bit internally focused. We're further away from that, and some of the things we've done are now starting to positively impact first pause growth rate. Rand, what would you add?

嗯，我讓 Rand 來回應。不過如同我們在先前的電話會議所說，這——這是一門好生意，終端市場也很棒。我們在 2016 年做了一些事，以提升長期可持續的高成長率，這可能會讓你在內部運作上更為聚焦。我們現在已經走過那段時間，而我們做的一些事情現在開始對第一季的成長率產生正面影響。Rand，你還要補充什麼？

Yes, I don't think, Peter, what you say is correct. We're doing things to make sure we're keeping up or getting ahead of the market. The market is shifting a little bit in shades from creative marketing to digital marketing. And I think we're being pretty good about recognizing that and responding to our client needs. And we're fanned out on probably more accounts than we were in the previous years. So there is a lot of things going on all at once, and I think, all positives.

是的，我不認為——Peter，你說得沒錯。我們正在做一些事情，確保我們能跟上市場，甚至走在市場前面。市場正在有些轉變，從創意行銷逐步轉向數位行銷。我認為我們在辨識這個趨勢並回應客戶需求方面做得相當好。而且我們所覆蓋的帳戶數可能比前幾年更多。所以很多事情同時在發生，我認為都是正面的。

We have no more questions in the queue. Please continue.

目前佇列中沒有更多問題。請繼續。

Well, we appreciate your time and attention and look forward to seeing many of you at the Analyst Day on May 23. Thank you for your attention.

那麼，感謝各位撥冗與關注，也期待在 5 月 23 日的分析師日與各位中的許多人見面。謝謝各位的聆聽。

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 Service. 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 高階主管電話會議服務。您現在可以掛線。