Everforth, Inc. (EFOR) 2018 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the ASGN Fourth Quarter Earnings 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 ASGN 第四季財報電話會議。(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 Jason Terry, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給投資人關係部的 Jason Terry。請開始。

Thank you, operator. 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; George Wilson, President of ECS; and Ed Pierce, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝，接線員。各位下午好，感謝今天與會。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；ECS 總裁 George Wilson；以及財務長 Ed Pierce。

Before we get started, I would 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. For your convenience, our prepared remarks and supplemental materials can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，我們的簡報包含前瞻性陳述。雖然我們認為這些陳述是合理的，但其仍受風險與不確定性影響，實際結果可能與這些陳述存在重大差異。其中部分風險與不確定性已在今日新聞稿及我們向 SEC 提交的文件中說明。我們不承擔更新本次電話會議中所作陳述的義務。為方便起見，我們的事先準備講稿與補充資料可在公司網站的投資人關係專區查閱。

Please note that on this call, we will be referencing certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and free cash flow. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures are included in today's press release.

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、調整後淨利與自由現金流。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. Peter?

現在我將把電話會議交給 Peter Dameris。Peter？

Thank you, Jason. During our call today, I will comment on the markets we serve and our financial highlights. Ted, Rand and George 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 fourth quarter results and our estimates for the first quarter of 2019.

謝謝你，Jason。在今天的電話會議中，我將就我們所服務的市場以及財務重點進行說明。接著 Ted、Rand 與 George 將更詳細地討論各營運部門的表現，之後再把電話會議交給 Ed，對第四季業績以及我們對 2019 年第一季的預估進行詳細檢視。

Now on to the fourth quarter results. Revenues for the quarter were $929.7 million, up 36.9% year-over-year on a reported basis or 11.8% on a pro forma basis. Our growth rate for the fourth quarter was not only higher than the third quarter, it was the fastest quarterly year-over-year growth rate for any quarter in 2018. Our strong performance is indicative of the overall strength of the U.S. economy and labor markets and the health of the federal market.

接下來談第四季業績。本季營收為 9.297 億美元，按申報口徑年增 36.9%，按備考口徑年增 11.8%。第四季的成長率不僅高於第三季，也是 2018 年任何一季中最快的單季年增成長率。我們的強勁表現反映了美國整體經濟與勞動市場的強勢，以及聯邦市場的健康狀況。

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.

我們的 IT 業務持續看到客戶需求旺盛，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，我們具備良好定位以持續滿足客戶的 IT 需求。

Our size and service offerings allowed us to grow faster than the published IT services industry growth rates, and we believe that we are well positioned to generate solid above-market revenue growth in the future.

我們的規模與服務組合使我們的成長速度快於已公布的 IT 服務產業成長率；我們相信，未來我們具備良好定位以創造穩健、優於市場的營收成長。

During the quarter, we saw strong double-digit revenue growth at Apex Systems, strong performance from Creative Circle and continued year-over-year growth at Oxford Core and our Oxford segment. Our Federal IT services and solutions business, ECS, grew revenues at roughly twice the projected annual growth rate of its peer group for 2018. ECS has grown above its peer group's organic growth rate in each of the last 3 quarters, following the acquisition by ASGN. Customer demand was strong across our federal, local, mid-market and large national accounts.

本季我們看到 Apex Systems 的營收呈現強勁的雙位數成長，Creative Circle 表現亮眼，Oxford Core 與我們的 Oxford 部門也持續年增。我們的聯邦 IT 服務與解決方案業務 ECS，其營收成長約為 2018 年同業群預估年度成長率的兩倍。自 ASGN 收購後，ECS 在過去 3 個季度中每一季的有機成長率皆高於同業群。我們在聯邦、地方、中型市場以及大型全國性客戶方面的需求皆相當強勁。

Adjusted EBITDA was up 31.5% year-over-year to $109 million and cash generation continues to be at or above our expectations. Our adjusted EBITDA margin was slightly below the midpoint of our guidance due to $7.1 million in software sales under one of ECS' government contracts, which carries a lower gross margin, and higher-than-expected flow of revenues from certain of Apex's larger customers, which also carry a lower gross margin.

調整後 EBITDA 年增 31.5% 至 1.09 億美元，現金創造能力持續達到或高於我們的預期。由於 ECS 某項政府合約下 710 萬美元的軟體銷售（其毛利率較低），以及 Apex 部分大型客戶的營收流入高於預期（同樣具有較低毛利率），使得我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率略低於指引區間的中點。

Free cash flow was $57.3 million and our leverage ratio was 2.69x trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA at the end of the quarter. For the full year, we paid down $286 million in debt, including $276 million since the closing of the ECS acquisition. Despite normal quarterly seasonality and the payment of the cash for the DHA acquisition and the annual cash bonuses in the first quarter, the company anticipates that its leverage ratio at the end of the first quarter will be 2.65x, down from 2.69x at the end of the fourth quarter.

自由現金流為 5,730 萬美元，且本季末的槓桿比率為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 2.69 倍。全年我們償還了 2.86 億美元的債務，其中 2.76 億美元是在完成 ECS 收購後償還。儘管第一季存在正常的季度季節性因素，以及支付 DHA 收購的現金對價與年度現金獎金，公司預期第一季末的槓桿比率將為 2.65 倍，低於第四季末的 2.69 倍。

As we look ahead to the remainder of 2019, we anticipate our leverage ratio will be below 2x by the end of the year, assuming no further acquisitions.

展望 2019 年剩餘期間，在不進行進一步收購的前提下，我們預期年底槓桿比率將低於 2 倍。

With respect to recent production at our Apex and Oxford segments, our weekly assignment revenues, which exclude conversion, billable expenses and direct placement revenues, averaged $48.8 million for the last 2 weeks of the quarter, up 11.2% over the same period in 2017. Our 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 civil agency budgets, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

就 Apex 與 Oxford 部門近期的產能而言，我們的每週派遣營收（不含轉任、可計費費用與直接安置營收）在本季最後兩週平均為 4,880 萬美元，較 2017 年同期成長 11.2%。我們的聯邦 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、情報與聯邦民事機構預算資金增加與能見度提升所帶來的正向前瞻效益，尤其是在人工智慧與機器學習領域。

During the quarter, ECS secured $196.6 million in new awards. George will speak in more detail regarding these recent awards.

本季 ECS 取得 1.966 億美元的新授標。George 將就這些近期授標進行更詳細的說明。

On January 28, we announced the acquisition of DHA for our ECS segment. DHA is a provider of mobility, cybersecurity, cloud and IT services to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other federal customers. DHA's services are delivered primarily through prime, full and open contracts. Its performance reputation in delivering technical support will strengthen ECS' rapidly growing presence across cybersecurity and other operational domains in the national security intelligence community.

1 月 28 日，我們宣布為 ECS 部門收購 DHA。DHA 為美國聯邦調查局（FBI）及其他聯邦客戶提供行動化、資安、雲端與 IT 服務。DHA 的服務主要透過主承包（prime）、全面且公開（full and open）的合約提供。其在提供技術支援方面的績效口碑，將強化 ECS 在國家安全情報社群中於資安及其他作業領域快速成長的布局。

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

現在我想把電話會議交給 Ted Hanson，由他回顧各部門的營運。Ted？

Thank you, Peter. For the fourth quarter, all 3 segments contributed to ASGN's growth. The Apex segment, which Rand will review in a few moments, grew 13.1% year-over-year, and the Oxford Segment grew 4.8% from the fourth quarter of last year. The Apex and Oxford markets we serve in IT, digital/creative marketing, life sciences and engineering all remained stable and productive during and exiting the quarter.

謝謝你，Peter。在第四季，三個部門皆對 ASGN 的成長有所貢獻。Apex 部門（Rand 稍後將進一步說明）年增 13.1%，Oxford 部門較去年第四季成長 4.8%。我們在 IT、數位／創意行銷、生命科學與工程等領域所服務的 Apex 與 Oxford 市場，在本季期間及季末之後皆維持穩定且具生產力。

Secular changes remain in our favor with regards to how our customers are evolving their approach to supporting business needs and getting projects completed. While our staffing services continue to grow, and we take share with greater than market growth rate, our value-added service offerings or consultative work are growing at a much faster pace.

就客戶如何演進其支援業務需求與完成專案的方式而言，長期結構性變化仍對我們有利。在我們的人力派遣服務持續成長、且以高於市場的成長率取得市占的同時，我們的加值型服務或顧問式工作正以更快的速度成長。

The Oxford Segment is comprised of Oxford Core, CyberCoders, our permanent placement business, and Life Sciences Europe. For the fourth quarter of 2018, Oxford Segment revenues were $151.2 million, up 4.8% year-over-year or 5.5% on a constant currency basis. For the full 2018 year, the Oxford Segment generated $606.5 million in revenues and was up 3% year-over-year, with all units positively contributing to growth. Oxford Core revenues, which account for approximately 75.5% of the segment revenues, were up approximately 5.6% year-over-year or 6.1% on a constant currency basis and in line with our expectations.

Oxford 部門由 Oxford Core、CyberCoders、我們的永久派遣（Permanent Placement）業務，以及 Life Sciences Europe 組成。2018 年第四季，Oxford 部門營收為 1.512 億美元，年增 4.8%，若以固定匯率基礎則年增 5.5%。2018 全年，Oxford 部門創造 6.065 億美元營收，年增 3%，各單位皆對成長做出正向貢獻。Oxford Core 營收約占該部門營收的 75.5%，年增約 5.6%，若以固定匯率基礎則年增 6.1%，並符合我們的預期。

CyberCoders, our permanent placement service offering, which accounts for 97.4% of the segment's permanent placement revenues, had 4.1% growth year-over-year, meeting our initial expectations. Gross margin for the segment was 40.7%, coming in slightly ahead of initial expectations for the quarter, but down 110 basis points year-over-year due in large part to business mix within the segment.

CyberCoders 為我們的永久派遣服務項目，約占該部門永久派遣營收的 97.4%，年增 4.1%，符合我們最初的預期。該部門毛利率為 40.7%，本季略優於最初預期，但因部門內業務組合影響，較去年同期下降 110 個基點。

As we typically do, let me give some color to the progress in Oxford Core. In 2018, Oxford Core returned to a position of year-over-year growth, ending the year with the highest quarterly year-over-year growth rate. Q4 showed varying degrees of performance in each of our 4 disciplines in the U.S. and Europe, with strong growth in our domestic IT and engineering offerings, along with strong growth in our European business. It is a longer road to truly institutionalize our sales strategy and build upon the productivity we have created over the last few quarters. However, we are pleased with the progress we have shown during the course of 2018, and our results provide us confidence that our actions will lead to continued growth, increased productivity and consistently improving bottom line results.

如同我們一貫作法，讓我補充一些 Oxford Core 進展的背景說明。2018 年，Oxford Core 重回年對年成長軌道，並以全年最高的單季年對年成長率作結。第四季在我們於美國與歐洲的 4 個專業領域中呈現不同程度的表現，其中國內 IT 與工程服務表現強勁，同時歐洲業務也有強勁成長。要真正將我們的銷售策略制度化，並在過去幾季所建立的生產力基礎上持續提升，仍是一條較長的路。然而，我們對 2018 年期間所展現的進展感到滿意，而我們的成果也讓我們有信心，相信我們的行動將帶來持續成長、更高生產力，以及持續改善的獲利表現。

In 2019, the results of our Life Sciences Europe division, the smallest division within the Oxford Segment and ASGN, will be incorporated within the overall Oxford Core results, and we will continue to provide commentary on the performance of that business unit, both in the United States and in Europe.

2019 年起，我們 Life Sciences Europe 事業部（Oxford 部門及 ASGN 中規模最小的事業部）的業績將併入 Oxford Core 的整體結果中；我們也將持續就該業務單位在美國與歐洲的表現提供評論。

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

接下來我把電話會議交給 Rand Blazer。Rand？

All right. Well, thank you, Ted. The Apex Segment, which consists of Apex Systems, Apex Life Sciences and Creative Circle business units, again reported solid results for the quarter and finished a very strong year. Revenues for this segment in the fourth quarter were $604.6 million, up 13.1% year-over-year. Revenue for the year was $2.3 billion, up 12.9% for the full year versus 2017.

好的。謝謝你，Ted。Apex 部門由 Apex Systems、Apex Life Sciences 與 Creative Circle 等業務單位組成，本季再次繳出穩健成果，並以非常強勁的表現結束全年。該部門第四季營收為 6.046 億美元，年增 13.1%。全年營收為 23 億美元，較 2017 年全年成長 12.9%。

Apex Systems, which consists of 76.2% of the segment's revenues in the quarter, continued to lead the way with 14% year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter and ended the year with 13.8% growth over 2017.

Apex Systems 於本季占該部門營收的 76.2%，第四季營收年增 14% 持續領先，全年較 2017 年成長 13.8%。

Our Creative Circle unit posted solid year-over-year revenue growth for the fourth quarter at 9.8%. And our Life Sciences unit was up 10.9%. Gross margin for the segment was slightly up year-over-year, reflecting stable pricing in our end markets.

我們的 Creative Circle 單位第四季營收年增 9.8%，表現穩健。Life Sciences 單位則年增 10.9%。該部門毛利率較去年同期略有提升，反映我們終端市場的定價維持穩定。

Our segment's EBITDA also grew double digits in the fourth quarter, and once again, outpaced top line growth, both in the quarter and on a full year basis. Our EBITDA performance and conversion of gross profit to EBITDA was driven by revenue growth and continued strong productivity of our sales, delivery and infrastructure teams.

本部門 EBITDA 在第四季亦呈雙位數成長，且再次在本季與全年層面皆超越營收（top line）成長。我們的 EBITDA 表現，以及毛利轉換為 EBITDA 的能力，主要受營收成長與銷售、交付及基礎設施團隊持續強勁的生產力所帶動。

To give a little more color, Apex Systems' revenue growth and performance was broadly driven by the following factors: Apex achieved double-digit revenue growth in 4 of the 7 industry verticals we service, including financial services, health care, consumer industrial and technology industry accounts. Of the remaining 3 industry verticals, aerospace and defense and telecommunications accounts grew mid-single digits, while business service accounts exhibited low single-digit growth year-over-year.

為了提供更多背景，Apex Systems 的營收成長與表現主要由以下因素廣泛驅動：我們服務的 7 個產業垂直領域中，有 4 個達成雙位數營收成長，包括金融服務、醫療保健、消費與工業，以及科技產業客戶。其餘 3 個產業垂直領域中，航太與國防以及電信客戶呈現中個位數成長，而商業服務客戶則呈現低個位數的年對年成長。

Growth was achieved in both our top accounts and retail or brand-centric accounts, with top accounts and retail accounts growing double digits. Growth in our consultative-type work remained strong in the quarter and continues to outpace our expectations and our overall revenue growth rate. Finally, as mentioned, our field and back-office operations exhibited exceptional productivity during the quarter, while supporting Apex Systems' EBITDA performance.

我們在主要客戶與零售或品牌導向客戶兩方面皆取得成長，且主要客戶與零售客戶均呈雙位數成長。本季我們的顧問式（consultative-type）工作成長仍然強勁，並持續超出我們的預期以及整體營收成長率。最後，如前所述，我們的前線與後勤營運在本季展現卓越生產力，同時也支撐了 Apex Systems 的 EBITDA 表現。

Creative Circle's revenue grew just shy of double digits in the quarter on an as-reported basis, with growth being driven by Creative Circle's top accounts program and digital marketing skill sets. With this latest quarter's performance, the Creative Circle unit continues to exceed our expectations for overall profitability.

Creative Circle 的營收以申報口徑（as-reported basis）計算，本季成長接近雙位數；成長主要由 Creative Circle 的主要客戶計畫以及數位行銷技能組合所帶動。在本季最新表現帶動下，Creative Circle 單位的整體獲利能力持續超出我們的預期。

Our Life Sciences business revenue growth was also up, again driven by strength in our Life Sciences top accounts and in our clinical skill set. Over the past year, we have worked hard to move Apex Systems and Apex Life Sciences units closer together. These units share the same back office, many same top accounts, and today, have common field leadership. These past actions have allowed us to achieve certain synergies in our business and strengthen client service as we have built critical mass in our sales and delivery teams and provided our client accounts a full capability across both IT and Life Sciences skill sets. Because of the success of these past actions, beginning in Q1 of 2019, the performance of our Apex Systems and Apex Life Sciences units will be reported as one singular unit, Apex Systems. We will still provide visibility of our Life Sciences performance as the 8th industry within Apex Systems.

我們的 Life Sciences 業務營收成長同樣上升，主要再次受 Life Sciences 主要客戶以及臨床技能組合的強勁表現所帶動。過去一年，我們努力讓 Apex Systems 與 Apex Life Sciences 兩個單位更緊密整合。這些單位共用相同的後勤部門、許多相同的主要客戶，而目前也擁有共同的前線領導團隊。上述作為使我們在業務上達成一定的協同效益，並在我們於銷售與交付團隊建立關鍵規模的同時，強化客戶服務，為客戶提供涵蓋 IT 與 Life Sciences 兩種技能組合的完整能力。基於上述作為的成功，自 2019 年第一季起，我們的 Apex Systems 與 Apex Life Sciences 單位之業績將合併為單一單位「Apex Systems」進行揭露。我們仍將以 Apex Systems 內的第 8 個產業別，提供 Life Sciences 表現的能見度。

In conclusion, the Apex Segment continues to outpace the performance of the overall IT staffing and services industry, and yet another solid quarter, wrapping up a successful 2018.

總結而言，Apex 部門持續超越整體 IT 人力派遣與服務產業的表現，並以又一個穩健季度為 2018 年的成功畫下句點。

George, I'll turn the call over to you.

George，我把電話會議交給你。

Thank you, Rand. ECS had really strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2018, both from a financial and operational standpoint. ECS reported revenues of $173.9 million, an increase of 14% year-over-year and 6% sequentially against the third quarter of 2018. This growth continues to be ahead of the industry average for peer companies operating in the federal technology space.

謝謝你，Rand。ECS 在 2018 年第四季無論在財務或營運層面都表現非常強勁。ECS 營收為 1.739 億美元，年增 14%，且較 2018 年第三季季增 6%。此成長幅度持續領先於在聯邦科技領域營運的同業平均水準。

We have seen continued strong demand for services and solutions in areas of cybersecurity, cloud, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, key business areas for ECS. Also, we see continued increasing customer interest in IT modernization. These are areas where ECS is well positioned to support our clients with deep customer knowledge, required IT skills, relevant technology partnerships and the needed contract vehicles.

我們持續看到在資安、雲端、人工智慧與數位轉型等服務與解決方案領域的強勁需求，這些都是 ECS 的關鍵業務領域。此外，我們也看到客戶對 IT 現代化的興趣持續升溫。在這些領域，ECS 具備良好定位，可憑藉深厚的客戶知識、所需的 IT 技能、相關的技術合作夥伴關係，以及必要的合約載具（contract vehicles）來支援客戶。

In the fourth quarter, we received a total of $196.6 million in contract awards for a 1.1 book-to-bill during a seasonally slow quarter. New awards included cybersecurity work supporting the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations, cloud managed services for a commercial client, cloud and software development solutions for the U.S. Marine Corps and digital modernization efforts for the Defense Health Agency.

在第四季，儘管該季屬於季節性淡季，我們仍獲得合計1.966億美元的合約授標，訂單出貨比（book-to-bill）為1.1。新授標案包括：為美國聯邦調查局提供支援的資安工作、為一位商業客戶提供雲端託管服務、為美國海軍陸戰隊提供雲端與軟體開發解決方案，以及為國防健康署推動數位現代化工作。

Subsequent to year-end, we secured a yet-to-be-announced large cyber award and are looking forward to an even larger book-to-bill ratio in the first quarter of 2019. We see continued strong proposal activity and have a significant backlog of proposals submitted and awaiting award.

在年終之後，我們取得了一項尚未公布的大型資安授標案，並期待在2019年第一季達到更高的訂單出貨比。我們看到提案活動持續強勁，且有大量已提交並等待授標的提案存量。

At year-end, ECS had $1.4 billion in total contract backlog, which equates to a healthy coverage ratio of 2.3x our trailing 12-month revenues. During the fourth quarter, ECS continued to strengthen its technical skills and business partnerships with commercial providers in cloud, cyber, risk management and artificial intelligence.

截至年終，ECS的合約積壓總額為14億美元，相當於我們過去12個月營收的2.3倍，覆蓋比率健康。在第四季，ECS持續強化其在雲端、資安、風險管理與人工智慧等領域的技術能力，並深化與商業供應商的業務夥伴關係。

From a profitability standpoint, ECS' adjusted EBITDA grew 3.5% compared to the last quarter of 2017.

就獲利能力而言，ECS的調整後EBITDA較2017年第四季成長3.5%。

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

接下來我把電話交給Ed Pierce，請他說明ASGN的整體財務結果。Ed？

Yes. Thanks, George. As Peter mentioned, revenues for the quarter were up 11.8% year-over-year on a pro forma basis and exceeded our previously announced estimates by $14.7 million or 1.6%. The favorable variance was mainly related to higher revenues from large accounts at Apex and higher revenues at ECS, which included $7.1 million in software sales that had been expected to occur in the first quarter of 2019. The combined effects of changes in foreign exchange rates and differences in billable days did not have a significant impact on our year-over-year growth rate.

是的。謝謝你，George。如Peter所提，本季營收以擬制（pro forma）基礎計算年增11.8%，並較我們先前公布的預估高出1,470萬美元（或1.6%）。這項有利差異主要來自Apex大型客戶的較高營收，以及ECS較高的營收，其中包含原本預期在2019年第一季發生的710萬美元軟體銷售。匯率變動與可計費天數差異的綜合影響，對我們的年增成長率並無顯著影響。

Gross margin for the quarter of 29.2% was slightly lower than our previously announced estimates. The variance was mainly the result of a higher mix of revenues from Apex and ECS, which have a lower margin than our Oxford Segment and a higher mix of revenues from large volume, low-margin accounts at Apex.

本季毛利率為29.2%，略低於我們先前公布的預估。差異主要是因為來自Apex與ECS的營收占比提高（其毛利率低於我們的Oxford事業部），以及Apex大型量體、低毛利客戶的營收占比提高。

SG&A expenses for the quarter were higher than our previously announced estimates, mainly because of the acquisition and integration expenses of $1.8 million, which we do not include in our guidance estimates.

本季SG&A費用高於我們先前公布的預估，主要因為有180萬美元的併購與整合費用，而我們的財測預估不包含此項費用。

Amortization of intangibles was $13.8 million, up year-over-year as a result of the acquisition of ECS and $4.8 million lower than our guidance estimates. Now the favorable variance related to a change in the estimated useful life of ECS' backlog intangible assets, which now more closely matches the estimated cash flows of the underlying funded contract awards.

無形資產攤銷為1,380萬美元，因收購ECS而較去年同期增加，且較我們的財測預估低480萬美元。這項有利差異與ECS合約積壓（backlog）無形資產估計耐用年限的變更有關；新的年限估計更貼近其底層已獲資金支持之合約授標所預期的現金流。

As mentioned in today's release, we have finalized the purchase accounting for ECS, and there were no significant changes in asset values from their initial determination. As part of this finalization, we revised the contract backlog estimate as of the acquisition date and recalculated the book-to-bill ratios for the second and third quarters of 2018, and these revisions are included in today's press release.

如今日新聞稿所述，我們已完成ECS的購買會計（purchase accounting），資產價值相較初始認定並無重大變動。在完成此作業的過程中，我們修訂了收購日的合約積壓估計，並重新計算2018年第二季與第三季的訂單出貨比；這些修訂已納入今日新聞稿。

Interest expense for the quarter was $14.2 million compared with $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. Interest expense for the quarter was comprised of $12.7 million of interest on the credit facility and $1.5 million of amortization of deferred loan costs. Sequentially, interest expense was down approximately $0.4 million due to lower average outstanding borrowings, partially offset by a 22 basis point increase in the average interest rate. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 23.7% compared with our guidance estimates of 26%. The lower rate reflected, among other things, excess tax benefits of stock-based compensation, which we do not include in our guidance estimates, and lower estimated book-to-tax differences for the full year.

本季利息費用為1,420萬美元，相較2017年第四季的600萬美元。本季利息費用包含：信用融資額度的利息1,270萬美元，以及遞延貸款成本攤銷150萬美元。與前一季相比，利息費用約下降40萬美元，主因為平均未償借款餘額較低，但部分被平均利率上升22個基點所抵銷。本季有效稅率為23.7%，相較我們財測預估的26%。較低的稅率反映了（其中包括）股權基礎給付的超額稅務利益（我們的財測預估不包含此項），以及全年預估帳稅差異較低。

Our provision for income taxes for the fourth quarter of 2017 included a one-time noncash benefit of $31.4 million related to the remeasurement of our net deferred income tax liabilities as a result of income tax reform. This one-time adjustment was the reason net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 exceeded that of the current quarter.

我們在2017年第四季的所得稅費用中，包含一筆一次性、非現金的3,140萬美元利益，係因所得稅改革導致我們淨遞延所得稅負債重新衡量所致。這項一次性調整是2017年第四季淨利高於本季的原因。

Net income and adjusted net income were both above our guidance estimates, but below the fourth quarter of last year because of the one-time tax benefit of $31.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $109 million, up 31.5% year-over-year on a reported basis.

淨利與調整後淨利均高於我們的財測預估，但因去年第四季有3,140萬美元的一次性稅務利益，因此仍低於去年第四季。本季調整後EBITDA為1.09億美元，以報表基礎計算年增31.5%。

Cash flows from operating activities were $63.9 million and free cash flow was $57.3 million or 6.2% of revenues. During the quarter, we repaid $55 million of our long-term debt. Accounts receivable day sales outstanding were 60.1, or 2.6 days more than the end of the preceding quarter. Each day is approximately $10 million. The increase in DSOs was mainly related to the government shutdown and have since returned to more normal levels.

營運活動現金流為6,390萬美元，自由現金流為5,730萬美元，約占營收的6.2%。本季我們償還了5,500萬美元的長期負債。應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）為60.1天，較前一季季末增加2.6天。每增加一天約相當於1,000萬美元。DSO上升主要與政府停擺有關，之後已回到較正常的水準。

For the first quarter of 2019, revenues are estimated to range from $916.6 million to $926.6 million, which includes approximately $11 million in revenues from DHA. Excluding DHA, our estimates imply year-over-year pro forma growth of 8.5% to 9.7% on 1 fewer billable day. On the same billable day and constant currency basis, our estimated revenue growth rate ranges from 10.6% to 11.8%.

2019年第一季營收預估介於9.166億至9.266億美元之間，其中包含約1,100萬美元來自DHA的營收。若排除DHA，我們的預估意味著在可計費天數少1天的情況下，擬制年增成長為8.5%至9.7%。在相同可計費天數且以固定匯率基礎計算下，我們預估的營收成長率介於10.6%至11.8%。

Our sequential growth rate reflects normal seasonal spending patterns of our commercial and government customers, such as lower spending in the first quarter on software and hardware sales to our government customers, ramp-up of spending following the completion and release of our customers' IT budgets at the beginning of each fiscal year, and the effects of $7.1 million in software sales that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2018 which had been expected to occur in the first quarter of 2019. As Peter mentioned earlier, demand and momentum going into 2019 is strong as demonstrated by the year-over-year growth rate over the last 2 weeks of 11.2%.

我們的季增成長率反映商業與政府客戶正常的季節性支出型態，例如：第一季政府客戶在軟體與硬體銷售上的支出較低、每個會計年度初客戶IT預算完成並公布後支出逐步拉升，以及2018年第四季發生的710萬美元軟體銷售（原預期於2019年第一季發生）的影響。如Peter先前提到，進入2019年的需求與動能強勁，過去兩週的年增成長率達11.2%即為明證。

Net income is estimated to range from $35.8 million to $39.5 million, adjusted net income from $48.8 million to $52.5 million and adjusted EBITDA from $96.3 million to $101.3 million. Our adjusted net income estimates do not include the quarterly cash tax savings of $7 million related to the amortization deduction for goodwill and trademarks.

淨利預估介於3,580萬至3,950萬美元，調整後淨利介於4,880萬至5,250萬美元，調整後EBITDA介於9,630萬至1.013億美元。我們的調整後淨利預估不包含每季約700萬美元、與商譽及商標攤銷扣除相關的現金稅節省。

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

接下來我把電話交回給Peter，請他做一些結語。Peter？

Thank you, Ed. As our quarterly results continue to prove out, our scale, size and breadth of services has us well positioned to benefit during a period of historic secular growth for the services industry. Without a doubt, the world of work is changing. Accelerating digital transformations coupled with favorable labor and immigration legislation and an improving and stable U.S. governmental market are all market forces occurring in our space. We are optimistic that ASGN is well situated to continue experiencing strong results into the foreseeable future. The entire ASGN team is pleased with our fourth quarter performance and our results for 2018 as a whole. We entered 2019 with a healthy tailwind in all of our segments and are optimistic that we will drive continued performance in the first quarter.

謝謝你，Ed。正如我們的季度業績持續證明的那樣，我們的規模、體量以及服務廣度，使我們在服務業出現歷史性長期結構性成長的時期，處於有利位置以受惠。毫無疑問，工作的世界正在改變。加速的數位轉型、配合有利的勞動與移民立法，以及改善且穩定的美國政府市場，都是在我們領域中發生的市場力量。我們樂觀認為，ASGN 已處於良好位置，將在可預見的未來持續展現強勁成果。整個 ASGN 團隊對我們第四季的表現以及 2018 年全年的成果感到滿意。我們以各業務部門皆具備良好順風的態勢進入 2019 年，並樂觀認為我們將在第一季推動持續的表現。

As we stated before, our focus remains on growing the business profitably, along with maintaining our healthy rate of growth. To conclude our prepared remarks, I want to take a moment to acknowledge and congratulate our many loyal, dedicated and talented employees, whose efforts have enabled ASGN to progress to where we are today.

如同我們先前所述，我們的重點仍是以獲利的方式成長業務，同時維持健康的成長率。在結束我們事先準備的發言之前，我想花點時間肯定並祝賀我們眾多忠誠、敬業且才華洋溢的員工；正是他們的努力，使 ASGN 得以發展到今天的地步。

Thank you for your time. I would like to now open the call up to participants for questions. Operator?

感謝各位撥冗。我現在想開放電話會議，請與會者提問。接線員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from the line of Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets.

(接線員指示) 我們的第一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 Jeff Silber。

In looking at your supplemental materials, you provided a lot of information. I specifically was focusing on the change in your staffing consultants. I think it went up about 10% in Apex, but went down slightly in Oxford. Is there anything to read into that? And I'm just curious what your plans are for the 2 different divisions regarding internal headcount for 2019.

在查看你們的補充資料時，你們提供了很多資訊。我特別關注的是你們派遣顧問（staffing consultants）的人數變化。我認為 Apex 大約增加了 10%，但 Oxford 略有下降。這當中有什麼需要解讀的嗎？另外我也想了解，你們對 2019 年兩個不同事業部在內部人力編制方面的規劃是什麼。

Yes, thanks. I think on a normal basis, we always say that we're going to invest in headcount, and it's likely just a little bit less than the rate of growth in the business. If you see in any 1 quarter that maybe we have a headcount fall like in Oxford, it may be seasonal around a little bit of turnover in the fourth quarter. It take us a little while to attract talent at the end of the year, but our goal there is to continue to invest. I don't think our plans have changed at all there.

好的，謝謝。我想一般而言，我們一直都說會投資於人力編制，而增員速度很可能會略低於業務成長率。如果你看到某一季人數有所下降，例如 Oxford，那可能是季節性因素，與第四季的一些人員流動有關。年底吸引人才需要一點時間，但我們的目標仍是持續投資。我不認為我們在這方面的計畫有任何改變。

Okay. Fair enough. In the prepared remarks, you alluded to the government shutdown and just talking about the increase in DSOs. Was there any other impact on your business in the quarter? Should we expect any kind of collateral damage, so to speak, for the rest of the year?

好的。合理。在事先準備的發言中，你們提到政府關門，並談到 DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）的增加。該季度對你們的業務還有其他影響嗎？我們是否應該預期今年其餘時間會有任何所謂的連帶損害？

Yes. So as it relates to the government shutdown, really very little impact on revenues in the fourth quarter, and I think we estimated a couple of million for the first quarter. Now with that said, there has been a slowdown in approval of newly completed work or resolution of protest. But that's just a deferral. It's not a loss of opportunity or business.

是的。就政府關門而言，第四季對營收的影響其實非常小，而我們估計第一季大約影響數百萬美元。不過話說回來，新完成工作的核准或抗議（protest）案件的裁決確實有所放緩。但那只是延後。並不是機會或業務的流失。

Okay. My final question, I'm sorry. Just dealing with your M&A strategy. I guess, the last couple of larger acquisitions has been focusing on the government contract area. Is that where your focus is going to be going forward in terms of M&A?

好的。抱歉，我最後一個問題。關於你們的併購（M&A）策略。我想，最近幾筆較大型的收購都聚焦在政府合約領域。未來你們在併購方面的重點也會放在那裡嗎？

No. Jeff, it's wherever we see the best opportunity strategically and as far as ease of integration. As you saw from Apex, we just have a juggernaut there that grew 2.5x to 3x of the industry, and it's better to deploy SG&A versus buying something. To the extent that we found something interesting that enhances the services that we can offer our clients at Apex, we do it. And the government space, we've told you previously that our goal is to get to $1 billion in revenue for that segment. And we think that provides them with different credentials and credibility, and the ease of integration, it's a little bit different on the government space than it is in the commercial space. And there are some real opportunities to add to our delivery capabilities. So the last couple of deals, one was a platform, ECS, and then the second was DHA, to add to capabilities. But we're looking across the universe of the services that our customers need, and can we build it organically quick enough or do we need to buy a company to deliver it to our customers.

不會。Jeff，我們會把重點放在我們在策略上看到最佳機會、以及整合難易度（ease of integration）最合適的地方。如同你從 Apex 看到的，我們在那裡有一個強大的成長引擎，成長速度是產業的 2.5 倍到 3 倍；相較於收購某家公司，把 SG&A（銷售、一般及行政費用）投入部署更好。如果我們找到能強化 Apex 為客戶提供之服務的有趣標的，我們就會去做。至於政府領域，我們先前也告訴過你，我們的目標是讓該事業部門的營收達到 10 億美元。我們認為這能帶來不同的資質與可信度；而且在政府領域的整合難易度，與商業領域略有不同。同時也有一些真正的機會可以提升我們的交付能力。因此最近幾筆交易，一筆是作為平台的 ECS，第二筆是 DHA，用來補強能力。但我們會放眼客戶所需的各類服務：我們能否以有機方式夠快建立？或是需要收購一家公司，才能把服務交付給客戶。

And next, we'll go to the line of Gary Bisbee with Bank of America.

接下來，我們將轉到美國銀行（Bank of America）的 Gary Bisbee。

I guess, first question, on the software sale within ECS, can you just help us understand, should we think of that as more onetime? Or is this something that happens on a recurring basis with some of these, it's just a little more episodic in nature? And are you willing to say, just the last part of that, how much that actually impacted the gross margin? So in other words, ex that was the gross margin about how it had been trending for the segment earlier in the year?

我想先問第一個問題，關於 ECS 內的軟體銷售，你能否協助我們理解：我們應該把它視為一次性（one-time）嗎？還是說，這類情況會在某些業務中以經常性方式發生，只是本質上比較偏向間歇性（episodic）？另外你是否願意說明，最後一點，這對毛利率實際造成了多大影響？換句話說，若排除該因素，該事業部門的毛利率是否大致與年初的趨勢一致？

Yes. So I'll go first, and then I'll ask George to add some color. But one, these software licenses and hardware are instrumental and necessary for us to deliver the solution to our governmental customer. So no way should you construe that we're in the business of selling independently software and hardware. This is -- we can't deliver the solution, our artificial intelligence, machine learning without the software and the equipment they may reside on. There is some seasonality, Gary, to how that hardware, software spend occurs against these contracts, typically more in the fourth than you would see in the third or second. We can't -- we're not breaking out what the impact is to the gross margin. I would just tell you that gross margins on a line item basis within ECS are relatively stable. It just has to do to the impact as you're alluding to of how much software, hardware sale flow through a quarter versus another quarter. George, would you like to add something to that?

是的。我先回答，然後請 George 再補充一些說明。第一，這些軟體授權與硬體，對我們向政府客戶交付解決方案而言是關鍵且必要的。所以你絕不應該把它解讀為我們在獨立銷售軟體與硬體的業務。這是——如果沒有軟體與其可能運行其上的設備，我們就無法交付我們的解決方案、人工智慧與機器學習。Gary，這些合約下的硬體、軟體支出發生時點具有一些季節性，通常第四季會比第三季或第二季更多。我們無法——我們不會拆分揭露其對毛利率的影響。我只能告訴你，在 ECS 內按單一項目來看，毛利率相對穩定。你所暗示的影響，主要取決於某一季相較於另一季，有多少軟體、硬體銷售在該季入帳。George，你要補充一下嗎？

Yes. Thanks, Peter. The only thing I'd emphasize is the seasonality of it in hitting in Q4 as opposed to what we normally thought was going to hit in Q1. And the gross margins, just minor impact, but I don't think we provide the details on those kind of things. But as Peter said, it's part of our solutions set, it is continuing a part of our business. Moving forward, we'll expect some more of this, but Q4 has been a lot heavier than Q1 in every year in terms of getting the licenses and such to deliver our solutions.

好的。謝謝你，Peter。我唯一想強調的是其季節性：它在第四季入帳，而不是我們原本以為會在第一季入帳。至於毛利率，影響只是些微，但我不認為我們會提供這類細節。不過如 Peter 所說，這是我們解決方案組合的一部分，也會持續是我們業務的一部分。展望未來，我們預期還會有更多這類情況，但就每一年而言，為了交付我們的解決方案而取得授權等項目，第四季一向比第一季重得多。

Great. And then just a follow-up. For the business overall, just -- how, if at all, are you seeing tighter labor markets impact your ability to source talent, number one? And number two, your ability to charge for it in terms of higher bill rates? Any change in the last few months in how you think about either of those factors?

很好。接著再追問一下。就整體業務而言——如果有的話——您如何看待勞動市場趨緊對您招募人才能力的影響，第一點？第二點，對於以更高計費率來收費的能力有何影響？在過去幾個月裡，您對這兩個因素的看法有任何改變嗎？

Well, I'm going to give the qualitative response, and then I'll let Rand speak to it a little bit. But I mean, we had the fastest quarterly growth rate of '18 in the fourth despite the unemployment rate continuing to be at historic low levels. So our teams, between their effort, the tools, their brand and the opportunities that we can show a consultant versus someone else have a very attractive recruiting profile. And George and Ted, what would you add to that -- excuse me, Rand and Ted, what would you add to that? Rand?

嗯，我先給一個質性的回應，然後再讓Rand稍微補充一下。不過我的意思是，儘管失業率持續處於歷史低位，我們在第四季仍達成了2018年最快的季度成長率。因此，我們的團隊憑藉他們的努力、工具、品牌，以及我們能向顧問展示的機會（相較於其他人）具備非常有吸引力的招募條件。George和Ted，你們要補充什麼——不好意思，Rand和Ted，你們要補充什麼？Rand？

Well, I'll start. I'll start. And in the supplemental material or the press release Ed gave out, he does give average bill rates. And for Apex, you'll see as you went through Q3 and Q4 2018, our bill rates have increased. So is the labor market tight? Yes. It's been tight though in the IT world for a long time. You have to really work to make sure you're building your portfolio of resources to deliver to clients. Are we seeing some increase in bill rates? Yes, particularly in certain skill sets.

好，我先開始。我先說。在Ed提供的補充資料或新聞稿中，他確實提供了平均計費率。以Apex來看，當你回顧2018年第三季與第四季，我們的計費率是有上升的。所以勞動市場緊嗎？是的。不過在IT領域，這種緊俏已經持續很久了。你必須非常努力，確保你在建立可交付給客戶的資源組合。我們是否看到計費率有所提高？是的，特別是在某些技能組合上。

Great. And then just one last one, on the continued outstanding growth at Apex. You've talked about a lot of factors that have driven that, but is there anything you can call out today as particular important over the last few quarters? Or is it just continue to be the various factors you discussed last year at the Investor Day?

很好。最後再問一題，關於Apex持續亮眼的成長。你們談到很多推動成長的因素，但今天能否點出在過去幾季中特別重要的任何一項？還是說，仍然就是你們去年在投資人日所討論的各項因素持續發揮作用？

Well, I do believe it's the relationships we've created, our size, our credibility. If you're asking was there like a one-time spend, a large project award that wouldn't occur again, this is pretty steady-state business, if that's what you're getting at. Rand, anything else?

嗯，我確實相信是我們建立的關係、我們的規模以及我們的可信度。如果你問的是是否有像一次性的支出、或某個不會再發生的大型專案得標——如果你是這個意思的話——這是一個相當穩態的業務。Rand，還有其他要補充的嗎？

No. I agree, Peter. It's just steady state. And Gary, we said all along, when you're investing at the Apex side of the business, you're investing in a portfolio of accounts which continues to grow and deepen. So that growth and deepening of those account relationships make us a stronger business.

沒有。我同意，Peter。就是穩態。而且Gary，我們一直都說，當你在Apex這一端投資時，你是在投資一個持續成長並加深的客戶組合。因此，這些客戶關係的成長與深化讓我們成為更強的企業。

Next, we'll go to the line of Ed Caso with Wells Fargo.

接下來我們轉到Wells Fargo的Ed Caso這條線。

It's Rick Eskelsen on for Ed. I wonder if we could just drive a little deeper into the ECS business. Even when you pull out the impact of the past there, the growth has been very strong there. So wondering if you can just provide a little more detail on why you think you are able to outgrow the market by a pretty considerable amount so far?

我是代替Ed上線的Rick Eskelsen。我想我們是否可以再更深入談談ECS業務。即使把過去的影響因素剔除，那邊的成長仍然非常強勁。所以想請教你們，能否提供更多細節，說明為什麼你們認為自己迄今能以相當可觀的幅度超越市場成長？

Well, George, you go first and then I'll follow.

好，George你先說，然後我再補充。

Yes. Thanks for the question. We believe we've got the right customers sets, the right capabilities in this market. It's something we've been building here at ECS for the last 10 years, and we feel good about our positioning. Like I said in my statements, we seem to see the interest, a very heavy interest in cyber, cloud and digital modernization. And we've got the capabilities, the customer relationships as well as the contract vehicles to go accomplish the missions for the customers. We're not a super large company. We'll probably have some more customer intimate relationships than sometimes some of the much larger ones. So that might give us a little bit of an advantage. But like I just said a second ago, it's our customer relationships, our ability to have the capabilities to solve their problems and have the contract vehicles to respond to them.

好的。謝謝你的問題。我們相信在這個市場上，我們擁有正確的客戶組合與正確的能力。這是我們在ECS過去10年一直在打造的，我們對自身的定位感到很有信心。就像我在發言中提到的，我們看到市場對資安、雲端與數位現代化有非常強烈的興趣。而我們具備相關能力、客戶關係，以及合約載具（contract vehicles），可以去完成客戶的任務。我們不是一家超大型公司。相較於一些規模更大的公司，我們可能能與客戶建立更緊密的關係。所以這可能讓我們有一點優勢。但如我剛才所說，關鍵在於我們的客戶關係、我們解決其問題的能力，以及我們用以回應需求的合約載具。

Yes. So Rick, I think our revenue stream is a little more homogeneous than just the broader industry. As you know, we're not trying to be a multi-multibillion dollar government services contractor. We're trying to be a large IT solutions services provider to the government. So a lot of our skills and practices may be growing faster than some of the other things, like mission support or language translation or passport renewal, outsource contracts that others in that umbrella category of government services might do. And just to reiterate what George said, when you really go on our website, you see the contract vehicles that we are -- we are on as a prime. We really do have the right licenses to compete for large pieces of business, and there has been a good flow. We've been successful over the last couple of years and winning some nice pieces of business.

是的。所以Rick，我認為我們的營收來源相較於更廣泛的產業來說更為同質。如你所知，我們並不是要成為一家多個數百億美元規模的政府服務承包商。我們的目標是成為政府端大型的IT解決方案服務供應商。因此，我們很多技能與實務領域的成長速度，可能會比其他一些項目更快，例如任務支援、語言翻譯、護照更新、外包合約等——這些是其他在「政府服務」這個大類別底下可能會做的事情。再重申George所說的，當你真的去看我們的網站，你會看到我們作為主承包商（prime）所承接的合約載具。我們確實具備正確的資格與許可，能競標大型業務，而且案源流入也相當不錯。過去幾年我們表現成功，贏得了一些不錯的案子。

That make sense. I guess if I could just follow up on the leverage profile as well. I think what you guys have said at the time of the acquisition was you expected to exit this year around 2.5x, and now you are at about 2x. Just can you talk a little bit about sort of the faster than expecting delevering and the opportunities for other things -- more acquisitions like DNA, any share repurchase, stuff like that.

了解。我想再追問一下槓桿水準的輪廓。我記得你們在收購時曾說預期今年年底大約會在2.5倍左右，而現在大約在2倍。能否談談去槓桿速度快於預期的原因，以及在其他用途上的機會——例如更多像DNA那樣的收購、任何庫藏股回購之類的？

Well, it's a combination of better conversion of EBITDA and free cash flow and a little faster growth of EBITDA. And as we always say, our shareholders, our shareholders' capital competes for what's the most attractive long-term return, whether it's share repurchase, rapid deleveraging or acquisitions. And in the first quarter, it was to do a little acquisition, and we evaluate it every quarter, what's best.

嗯，這是EBITDA與自由現金流轉換率更好，以及EBITDA成長稍微更快的綜合結果。而且我們一向都說，我們股東的資本會去競爭最具吸引力的長期報酬來源，不論是股票回購、加速去槓桿，或是收購。而在第一季，我們選擇做一點收購；我們每一季都會評估什麼是最好的選項。

Next, we'll go to the line of Tim McHugh with William Blair.

接下來我們轉到William Blair的Tim McHugh這條線。

First, I guess, 2 questions on ECS. First off, it's the comment about, I guess, EBITDA grew 3.5%, I realize probably a lower margin on that product sale. But is there an increase, I guess, why would generally the EBITDA would be growing a little slower than I thought the underlying revenue? In fact, if I look at the customer breakout there, it feels like DoD and Intelligence, in particular, is driving a substantial part of the growth, and maybe federal and civilian a little slower. Does that just reflect budget, government budget trends? Or is there something you're seeing more so at one trend in terms of market share gains and customer wins that's driving it?

首先，我想有兩個關於ECS的問題。第一，關於你們提到的——我想——EBITDA成長了3.5%，我理解可能是因為產品銷售的毛利率較低。但為什麼一般來說EBITDA的成長會比我原先預期的、相對於底層營收的成長還要慢一些？事實上，如果我看你們的客戶拆分，感覺國防部（DoD）與情報單位特別在推動相當大一部分的成長，而聯邦與民用部門可能慢一些。這只是反映政府預算的趨勢嗎？還是你們看到在某一端有更明顯的趨勢，例如市占提升與客戶得標，正在推動這個結果？

Well, our focus really is to be a valued trusted partner to the intelligence and Department of Defense and stay away from some of the civil and civilian agencies. And as you note from our prepared remarks, because our work is deemed essential, the only real big impact we had in our portfolio of business in the first quarter from the shutdown was at the EPA. And so the other stuff was deemed essential and carried on. George, do you want to give a little more color to the components that affected the reported number of the adjusted EBITDA growth?

嗯，我們的重點確實是成為情報單位與國防部值得信賴、具價值的合作夥伴，並且避開部分民事與一般文職機構。如同你從我們事先準備的發言中所注意到的，由於我們的工作被認定為必要服務，第一季在我們業務組合中，政府停擺帶來的唯一真正重大影響是在環保署（EPA）。因此，其它業務都被認定為必要並持續進行。George，你要不要再補充一些細節，說明哪些組成因素影響了調整後 EBITDA 成長的公告數字？

Yes, sure. And I'll have to say the same thing that Peter said. We really do focus on mission-critical customers, which happen to be in defense, in the intelligence and law enforcement. And there are some federal civilian organizations that are also very focused on mission-critical, Department of Homeland Security is another example. And that, again, seems to be married up very well with not just our capabilities, but also our business model in terms of going to the much higher end and trying to solve the most difficult problems. And in those areas are where we're really growing quite a bit, particularly in the AI, ML and software integration areas.

好的，當然。我也得重複 Peter 說的同樣一句話。我們確實專注於任務關鍵型客戶，而這些客戶主要在國防、情報以及執法領域。另外也有一些聯邦文職組織同樣非常聚焦於任務關鍵，例如國土安全部就是另一個例子。而這再次證明，這不僅與我們的能力相當契合，也與我們的商業模式相當契合——也就是往更高端市場走，並嘗試解決最困難的問題。而在這些領域，我們的成長確實相當顯著，尤其是在 AI、ML 與軟體整合方面。

Okay. Great. And then, I guess, just following up on Oxford, I guess. You're seeing, I guess, I know there's some timing around sales force, but there's also a comment in the prepared remarks about continuously margin improvement. I guess, just more broadly, if we step back, where are you at with kind of productivity levels on Oxford and end margins on Oxford relative to what you consider the ultimate goal or the kind of -- the ideal kind of levels for that business?

好的。很好。接著，我想再追問一下 Oxford。我知道銷售團隊的配置可能有一些時點因素，但你們在事先準備的發言中也提到持續的毛利率改善。更宏觀地退一步看，Oxford 目前的人均生產力水準與最終毛利率，相較於你們認為的終極目標或該業務理想水準，現在大概處於什麼位置？

Well, I guess, Tim, we're kind of monitoring that as we go. I think you can see in our gross margin at Oxford that as we create bigger, more meaningful customer relationships that we're having to get that sometimes at a different price. Also, some of it is around business mix, which units are growing the most and what is the margin profile of that unit. But I think, ultimately, not only do we want to sustain best-in-class growth rates above the market, but we also want to find higher levels of productivity from our field staff and from our back-office costs. And so I think we're midstream on that. That's not changing overnight, but certainly growth is going to begin to help that more, where in the past, we haven't really -- when we weren't growing, we weren't really getting the help there. So I think those are all -- we evaluate those as we go, but certainly we'd love to get better productivity statistics out of our team as we go forward.

嗯，我想 Tim，我們會在推進過程中持續監控。我認為你可以從 Oxford 的毛利率看到，當我們建立更大、更具意義的客戶關係時，有時必須以不同的價格取得這些關係。另外一部分也與業務組合有關，也就是哪些單位成長最快，以及該單位的毛利率結構。但我認為，最終我們不僅希望維持高於市場、同級最佳的成長率，也希望在前線人員與後勤成本上找到更高的生產力水準。因此我認為我們目前正處於推進中的階段。這不會一夕之間改變，但成長確實會開始帶來更多助益；過去在我們沒有成長時，這方面其實幫助不大。所以我認為這些都是——我們會邊走邊評估，但我們當然希望未來能從團隊得到更好的生產力指標。

Next, we go to the line of Mark Marcon with R.W. Baird.

接下來我們請 R.W. Baird 的 Mark Marcon 提問。

I was just wondering if we could talk a little bit more about Apex with regards to increasing the mix of statement of work and consulting light engagements and how we should think about that with regards to the margin profile. And also, if you could just give us a little more color in terms of the growth that you're seeing there and who you are replacing?

我想請教是否能再多談一些 Apex：關於提高工作說明書（SOW）與輕量型顧問專案的比重，以及我們應如何從毛利率結構的角度來看待這件事。另外，能否也請你們再補充一些細節，說明你們在那邊看到的成長情況，以及你們正在取代哪些競爭對手？

Ed?

Ed？

Well, the growth rate in our consulting business is growing, I'd say, twice what it is in our staffing business, Mark, so that gives you some sense. The margins are healthier. We don't give out that detail, but they're definitely healthier than staffing, because you're taking more risk and providing more value to the client in the work. The key is to control the risk so it doesn't erode your margin, and yet still deliver more value than you would by just providing staffing support.

好的，Mark，我們顧問業務的成長率大概是人力派遣業務的兩倍，這可以讓你有個概念。毛利率也更健康。我們不會提供那麼細的拆分，但它們確實比派遣更健康，因為你承擔了更多風險，並在工作中為客戶提供更多價值。關鍵在於控制風險，避免侵蝕毛利率，同時仍能交付比單純提供人力支援更高的價值。

Should that translate into higher gross margins on a year-over-year basis for -- I mean, as that is growing at twice the rate within the Apex unit? Obviously, there's multiple components within that unit. And so we don't see all of it. But just wondering how we should think about that.

那這是否應該會反映為年對年更高的毛利率——我的意思是，當 Apex 單位內這部分以兩倍速度成長時？顯然該單位內有多個組成部分。所以我們看不到全部。只是想了解我們應該如何思考這件事。

Well, Mark, we always promise you our goal is to have stable gross margins and expanding EBITDA margins. We didn't have that in the quarter for the reasons we told you. But as you point out, there are various components, whether it's permanent placement and conversion fee contribution, whether it's SOW, whether it's just pure assignment, a contract assignment gross margin. They vary. And there's more pressure on staffing contract gross margin than there is on others. So it ebbs and flows, but we've been able manage that portfolio of business so that we have a relatively stable to, at times, expanding gross margin. And I think you should consider that. For modeling purposes, we're not predicting a dramatic erosion because we have some tools we can use to adjust if we find ourselves in a difficult pricing environment on the staff aug business.

Mark，我們一向對你們承諾的目標是：毛利率保持穩定、EBITDA 利潤率擴張。本季我們沒有做到，原因我們也已經說明。但如你所指出，確實有不同組成因素：不論是永久派遣與轉任費（conversion fee）的貢獻、SOW、或是純粹的派遣案（assignment）、合約派遣的毛利率等。它們各不相同。而人力派遣合約的毛利率承受的壓力，比其他項目更大。因此會有起伏，但我們一直能管理這個業務組合，使毛利率相對穩定，並在某些時候擴張。我認為你應該以此作為考量。就建模而言，我們不預期會出現劇烈侵蝕，因為若在人力增補（staff aug）業務遇到艱困的定價環境，我們有一些工具可以用來調整。

Great. And then with regards to further integrating the Life Sciences within Apex, are there any implications that we should we think about, either from a profitability perspective, growth rate perspective, SG&A leverage perspective? How should we think about that?

很好。另外，關於將 Life Sciences 進一步整合進 Apex，是否有任何我們應該考量的影響——不論是獲利能力、成長率、或 SG&A 槓桿（費用率改善）的角度？我們應該如何看待？

Yes. So a couple of thoughts. One, I don't think there are -- on accounting basis, you're going to see us coming out with the one-time write-offs or things like that for closure of this or that. So I don't think, for modeling purposes, you'll get a bunch of onetime announced, we're stopping this or that, that causes us to recognize a loss. As it relates to the reported numbers now that they are going to be embedded in Apex, it's going to -- the Life Sciences business was growing fast -- slower, excuse me, slower than Apex. So if you -- but it's so much smaller than Apex. It's not going to have a big number, but it could mute things a little bit, and you shouldn't automatically correlate that to it's a -- in our IT business, it could just be a blend of business. And the margin on the Life Sciences business was slightly lower than Apex's business. So that could, on a reported basis, cause things to look a little different. So it's incumbent upon us, which we'll try to do, to tell you if there's anything that's reported -- that's affecting the reported numbers. But just want to reiterate, whether in reality things play out this way or not, we're not guiding to compressing gross margins. A quarter here or there may get reported where it looks down 10 or 20 bps, but that's more because of mix of business than we're seeing an erosion. So Apex, stable gross margins. Apex reported with Life Sciences could feel compressed a little bit, but that's just mixture. That has nothing to do with pricing power at Apex. Did that answer your question?

是的。我有幾點想法。第一，我不認為——在會計層面，你會看到我們因為關閉這個或那個而出現一次性沖銷之類的項目。所以就建模而言，我不認為你會看到一堆一次性公告，例如我們停止某項業務而導致認列損失。至於現在 Life Sciences 的公告數字將被納入 Apex 之後，Life Sciences 業務原本成長很快——更正，是比 Apex 慢。所以如果你——但它的規模又比 Apex 小很多。因此它不會造成很大的數字影響，但可能會稍微鈍化一些表現，你不應該自動把這解讀為我們 IT 業務出了問題；它可能只是業務組合的混合效果。而 Life Sciences 業務的毛利率也略低於 Apex 的業務。因此在公告口徑上，可能會讓某些數字看起來有些不同。所以我們有責任——我們也會努力做到——如果有任何影響公告數字的因素，我們會告訴你。但我想重申：不論實際情況是否如此發展，我們並未指引毛利率會被壓縮。某一季或另一季可能會公告出來看似下降 10 或 20 個基點（bps），但那更多是因為業務組合，而不是我們看到毛利率被侵蝕。所以 Apex：毛利率穩定。Apex 與 Life Sciences 合併公告後，可能會感覺毛利率略有壓縮，但那只是混合效果。這與 Apex 的定價能力無關。這樣有回答你的問題嗎？

I think so. Although, I mean, I'm not sure how -- I mean, we're blending both together anyway. So why would that impact the gross margins?

我想是的。不過，我是說，我不確定——我是說，反正我們本來就把兩者融合在一起了。那為什麼會影響毛利率呢？

Well...

嗯……

Peter, can I comment?

Peter，我可以補充一下嗎？

Yes. One thought. Yes, you're right. I mean, we give you the segment. But when we look at it deconstructed, I told you the reality that the margins move around because of the margin profile on those 2 lines of businesses and the perm contribution, et cetera. Go ahead, Rand.

可以。我有個想法。是的，你說得對。我是說，我們會提供給你分部資訊。但當我們把它拆開來看時，我跟你說過實際情況是，因為那兩條業務線的毛利結構、永久性（perm）貢獻等等，毛利率會有所波動。Rand，你繼續。

Mark, I was just going to point you to a few numbers that we've kind of come out with and if you've been charting us over the quarters. First of all, Apex margin improved in a quarter over a year ago in that quarter. Life Sciences margin held very steady. The growth rate for the Life Sciences business, if you look at the last 4 quarters, is crescendoing up. So this is really all about serving clients and having critical mass to be close proximity to the client and the wherewithal to deliver the skills needed, whether they're clinical, Life Sciences or IT skills. So I think you see it in our numbers. If you looked at it quarter to quarter to quarter, what we're getting is better client service, better flow of business, better response to that business and very consistent gross margins and now improved growth rates in our Life Sciences business.

Mark，我只是想提醒你幾個我們公布過的數字，如果你一直在按季度追蹤我們的表現。首先，Apex 的毛利率相較於去年同期那一季有所改善。Life Sciences 的毛利率則維持得非常穩定。如果你看過去 4 個季度，Life Sciences 業務的成長率正在逐步走高。所以這其實都是關於服務客戶，以及具備足夠規模，能在地理上貼近客戶，並具備交付所需技能的能力，不論是臨床、生命科學或 IT 技能。所以我想你可以從我們的數字看得出來。如果你逐季來看，我們得到的是更好的客戶服務、更順暢的業務流、更好的業務回應，以及非常一致的毛利率，而現在我們的 Life Sciences 業務成長率也有所提升。

Yes, it all sounds positive. I was just trying to figure out if there might be some more SG&A leverage just as you integrate things a little bit more together.

是的，聽起來都很正面。我只是想確認一下，隨著你們把事情更進一步整合在一起，是否可能在 SG&A 上有更多槓桿效益。

The SG&A has been going on now for really a couple of years. So as I said in my comments, we integrated that 2 years ago. They're on common platform, common systems, common applicant tracking. So that's pretty much already shared, which made this transition really smooth and almost noneventful.

SG&A 的整合其實已經進行了好幾年。所以就像我在評論裡說的，我們兩年前就完成整合了。他們使用共同的平台、共同的系統、共同的應徵者追蹤系統。所以這些基本上早就共享了，這也讓這次轉換非常順利，幾乎沒有什麼波折。

And we've recycled some of that savings into investment and headcount. So it's not like we're bringing it all to the bottom line. Some of it is offsetting some of the top line -- top, the growth in our headcount.

而且我們也把其中一部分節省下來的費用再投入到投資與人力編制上。所以並不是全部都直接反映到最終獲利。其中一部分用來抵消我們人力編制成長所帶來的上端——也就是營收端的成長。

Headcount, right.

人力編制，對。

And then on to Creative Circle, that continues to perform really well. What are you hearing from clients? How should we think about some of the early discussions about budgets and how they are thinking about things beyond this quarter and what they're seeing?

接著談 Creative Circle，它持續表現得非常好。你們從客戶那邊聽到什麼？我們該如何看待一些關於預算的早期討論，以及他們對本季之後的規劃與所見所聞？

Rand?

Rand？

Well, I'm not sure how to answer that, Mark. I mean, even as good as we are, we don't have a crystal ball on the IT spend in our customer base always. For our bigger accounts, we do, which is really what's happened with Creative Circle. We've added to it, which has always been a very strong business. We've added to it a top accounts program, so we're working with more of the bigger guys in their programs where we do get a little bit more visibility in what they're thinking and what they're doing around creative marketing. So I think it's a good broadening of the portfolio of accounts we have in that business. And the more and more we do that, the more we become more stable and more consistent in our performance.

嗯，我不太確定該怎麼回答，Mark。我是說，即便我們做得再好，我們也不可能總是對客戶群的 IT 支出有水晶球般的預測能力。但對於我們較大的客戶，我們確實比較有掌握，而這也正是 Creative Circle 發生的情況。我們在這個一直很強的業務上持續加碼。我們也新增了一個重點客戶（top accounts）計畫，因此我們與更多大型客戶合作，參與他們的專案，在創意行銷方面，我們能更清楚看到他們的想法與作法。所以我認為這是擴大我們在該業務中客戶組合的一個很好的方式。而我們做得越多，我們的表現就會越穩定、越一致。

Okay. Great. And then on DHA, it generated about $50 million in revenue in 2018. Is that growth rate consistent with what you're seeing across ECS in terms of what we should expect over the coming year? And how will that end up impacting the EBITDA margins and the gross margins for that line?

好的。很好。接著談 DHA，它在 2018 年創造了約 5,000 萬美元的營收。這個成長率是否與你們在 ECS 看到的情況一致，也就是我們對未來一年應有的預期？而這最終會如何影響該業務線的 EBITDA 利潤率與毛利率？

Yes. So we told you when we announced the transaction, $50 million in kind of trailing, our 12/31/18 revenue and about a 20% top line growth rate, which is higher than ECS, it's a smaller piece of business. And their EBITDA margin, we gave you a range of 8% to 9% for DHA, and that's a little bit less than ECS, and that's because their gross margin is a little bit less than ECS. And we think -- George, you can address it, that we can positively impact that over a term of time. George?

是的。所以我們在宣布交易時就跟你說過，DHA 在 2018/12/31 的過去 12 個月（trailing）營收大約是 5,000 萬美元，且營收年增率約 20%，這高於 ECS，因為它是較小的一塊業務。至於 EBITDA 利潤率，我們給過你 DHA 約 8% 到 9% 的區間，這比 ECS 略低，原因是他們的毛利率也比 ECS 略低。而我們認為——George，你可以說明一下——我們可以在一段時間內對此帶來正向改善。George？

Yes. Sure, Peter. Yes, it's a great company, it's got great customer relationships. We looked at their contract mix. Their contract mix is time and materials, fixed price, and we do believe that we can walk that margin up a little bit.

是的。當然，Peter。是的，這是一家很棒的公司，客戶關係也非常好。我們看過他們的合約組合。他們的合約組合包含按工時與材料（time and materials）、固定價格（fixed price），我們確實相信可以把毛利率再往上提升一些。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll go to the line of Tobey Sommer with SunTrust.

（接線員指示）接下來我們轉到 SunTrust 的 Tobey Sommer。

Peter, in your prepared remarks, you mentioned some favorable legislation. Could you talk to us about what legislation you're pointing to? What effects have been felt in the market and/or maybe you expect to feel in the market on a prospective basis?

Peter，在你準備好的發言中，你提到一些有利的法規。你能談談你指的是哪些法規嗎？市場上已經感受到哪些影響，和／或你預期未來可能會感受到哪些影響？

Well, it's not necessarily anything that's happened in the last 30, 60 days. But as you know, the focus on H-1B visa and appropriately applying the existing immigration laws to make sure that we're bringing in people on prevailing wages, there's tighter compliance with that, which means people are not doing a wage arbitrage with offshore labor versus domestic labor as easily and domestic laborers being used more. The whole shared resource, gig economy, people continuing to try to turn human capital into a variable cost versus a fixed cost, ensuring a resource to get 100% productivity. And there is, with the tax law changes last year, the government has to continue to find revenues. And the biggest source of lost revenue for the government is misclassification of employees. So state and federal agencies are more vigilant about making sure that employee status is accurate. So if somebody wants to share a resource, the truly, the legal way to do it, is through us or a company like ours or a consulting shop, where we're the W-2 employer of record and paying those required taxes into the governments versus trying to find someone off the Internet to work as a 1099. And that has driven business our way as well. And I firmly believe that will continue.

嗯，這不一定是過去 30、60 天內才發生的事。但如你所知，對 H-1B 簽證的關注，以及更妥善地適用既有移民法，確保我們引進的人是以通行薪資（prevailing wages）聘用，對此的合規要求更嚴格，這表示相較於國內勞動力，企業不再那麼容易透過離岸勞動力進行薪資套利，而國內勞動力的使用也增加了。整體共享資源、零工經濟（gig economy）的趨勢，人們持續嘗試把人力資本從固定成本轉為變動成本，以確保資源能達到 100% 生產力。此外，隨著去年稅法變更，政府必須持續尋找稅收來源。而政府最大的稅收流失來源，就是員工錯誤分類（misclassification of employees）。因此州與聯邦機構更警覺，確保員工身分分類正確。所以如果有人想共享資源，真正合法的方式，是透過我們或像我們這樣的公司或顧問公司，由我們作為 W-2 的名義雇主（employer of record），並依法向政府繳納必要稅款，而不是試圖在網路上找人以 1099 的方式工作。這也把業務帶向我們。而我堅信這種趨勢會持續下去。

Are you experiencing that change -- or that impact more your statement of work business or staffing? Is it -- is this on the edge that you get in a couple basis points faster growth or is it percentage points?

您是否正在經歷那項變化——或者那項影響更多是落在您的工作說明書（SOW）業務或人力派遣上？這是否屬於邊際上的影響，也就是讓您快個幾個基點的成長，還是以百分點計的影響？

Well, I can't quantify that at this point for you. And I don't know -- we have the data. I'll see if it's appropriate to give it on an ongoing basis. But no, I mean, look, it depends on the sophistication of the customer, the buyer. It also depends on the type of work. Is it creative? Is it digital? Is it IT? And so all these things are having an impact. Whether it's immigration, whether it's wage hour compliance, those are all having an impact of, one, domestic labor, and two, using a resource where someone is paying taxes.

嗯，我目前還無法為您量化。而且我也不確定——我們有數據。我會看看是否適合以持續性的方式對外提供。但不，我是說，你看，這取決於客戶、買方的成熟度。也取決於工作的類型。是創意類嗎？是數位類嗎？是 IT 嗎？所以這些因素都在產生影響。不論是移民政策，或是工資工時合規，這些都在影響：第一，國內勞動力；第二，使用一種資源配置——也就是有人在繳稅的資源。

Great. In terms of the government business, I was wondering what your perspective is on more product and solutions in that area to build an even higher margin business because you're active and you're in a services business that is above-industry margin. Kind of the only way to keep going from there might be a bigger proportion of products and solutions.

很好。就政府業務而言，我想請教您對於在該領域增加更多產品與解決方案、以打造更高毛利業務的看法，因為您很活躍，而且您所處的服務業務毛利率高於產業平均。從那裡要再持續提升的方式，可能就是提高產品與解決方案的占比。

Yes. So I'll go first, but if you're trying to draw comparison to what CACI recently did, which was a wonderful company, where they're actually building and selling a proprietary product, I really don't think that's where we're going to be. We're going to remain a service provider. I think it's a big market that's not going away. We do have to buy software which enables the solutions that we may develop and/or operate for the customer. But us building a proprietary radar or missile defense and then selling that as a product to the army, that's not what we're really going. And I think you'd be surprised if we ever announced it. George, do you want to add?

是的。我先回答；但如果您是想拿 CACI 最近做的事情來做比較——那是一家很棒的公司，他們實際上是在打造並銷售自有的專有產品——我真的不認為那會是我們要走的方向。我們會維持作為服務提供者。我認為這是一個不會消失的大市場。我們確實需要採購軟體，來支援我們可能為客戶開發及／或營運的解決方案。但我們去打造一套專有雷達或飛彈防禦系統，然後把它當作產品賣給陸軍——那並不是我們真正要走的路。而且如果我們哪天真的宣布那樣做，我想您會很驚訝。George，你要補充嗎？

Yes, I mean, the biggest emphasis is that we are moving a little bit higher end into -- and with that comes higher-end margins, typically, in some of our software solutions which also include a hardware component of them. So as Peter said, we're not going to go and invest and deliver a production line of new vehicles or something like that. But we are going to be delivering some pretty complex solutions that include both hardware and software. And as our hope for that, also driving more capabilities, more technical capabilities as well as a little bit higher margins.

是的，我是說，最大的重點在於，我們正把重心稍微往更高端的領域移動——而這通常也會帶來更高端的毛利率——在我們的一些軟體解決方案中，這些解決方案也包含其中的硬體組件。所以如 Peter 所說，我們不會去投資並交付一條新車輛之類的生產線。但我們會交付一些相當複雜的解決方案，這些解決方案同時包含硬體與軟體。而我們也希望藉此推動更多能力、更強的技術能力，同時也帶來略高一些的毛利率。

And if I could add two final questions, can you give us a little color on the change in the backlog at ECS? And then could you describe to us any -- where you are in kind of cross-selling in bringing the different businesses together to market and whether that's a significant opportunity over time?

如果我可以再補兩個最後的問題，您能否多提供一些關於 ECS 在手訂單（backlog）變化的說明？另外，您能否描述一下——您目前在交叉銷售、把不同業務整合起來共同對外行銷方面的進展，以及這是否會在時間推移下成為一個重大的機會？

George, won't you address the cross-selling kind of the rules of engagement and process that you and Apex are trying to do together. And then Ed, can you address the backlog?

George，你能否談談你和 Apex 一起推動的交叉銷售——包括合作規則與流程？然後 Ed，你能否談談在手訂單？

Yes, I guess, backlog first. It's been pretty simple. I mean, we've continued to maintain a very healthy backlog as we continue to win new contracts and also expand on our existing contracts. And as I mentioned in my earlier comments, we're looking like we're going to have a very strong Q1 in terms of a book-to-bill. So we really feel comfortable about that. As far as the cross-selling, we took a little while to get integrated with ASGN and get to know Oxford and Apex. And we're moving forward with the opportunities to cross-sell, both from what was the obvious in terms of Apex providing additional resources on contracts, particularly in the high-end and harder-to-fill positions. But we're also working together to move forward and provide some of our higher-end solutions in cyber and cloud delivery to some of their commercial customers.

好的，我想先談在手訂單。其實很簡單。我的意思是，隨著我們持續贏得新合約、並且擴大既有合約的範圍，我們一直維持非常健康的在手訂單。而且如我先前的評論所提到的，就接單出貨比（book-to-bill）而言，我們看起來第一季會非常強勁。所以我們對此真的感到很放心。至於交叉銷售，我們花了一點時間與 ASGN 完成整合，並且熟悉 Oxford 和 Apex。我們正在推進交叉銷售的機會，既包括顯而易見的部分——也就是 Apex 在合約上提供額外資源，特別是在高端、且較難補足的職缺。但我們也在合作推進，將我們在資安與雲端交付方面的一些高端解決方案，提供給他們的一些商業客戶。

Thank you. And speakers, currently, there are no questions in queue.

謝謝。各位講者，目前沒有排隊等候的提問。

All right. Well, we appreciate your time and attention. And we look forward to speaking to you again on our first quarter quarterly conference call. Thank you for your time today.

好的。我們感謝各位撥冗與關注。我們期待在第一季的季度電話會議上再次與各位交流。感謝各位今天的時間。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. That does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive TeleConference. You may now disconnect.

謝謝各位女士、先生。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與，並使用 AT&T Executive TeleConference。您現在可以掛線。