CGI Inc (GIB) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to CGI's Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Conference Call.

早安，女士們，先生們。歡迎參加 CGI 2024 財年第二季電話會議。

I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Kevin Linder, SVP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Mr. Linder.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係資深副總裁 Kevin Linder 先生。請繼續，林德先生。

Thank you, Joelle, and good morning.

謝謝你，喬爾，早安。

With me to discuss CGI's second quarter fiscal 2024 results are George Schindler, our President and CEO; and Steve Perron, Executive Vice President and CFO. This call is being broadcast on cgi.com and recorded live at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.

與我一起討論 CGI 2024 財年第二季業績的是我們的總裁兼執行長 George Schindler；以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Steve Perron。本次電話會議在 cgi.com 上播出，並於東部時間 2024 年 5 月 1 日星期三上午 9:00 進行現場錄製。

Supplemental slides as well as the press release we issued earlier this morning are available for download along with our Q2 MD&A, financial statements and accompanying notes, all of which have been filed with both SEDAR plus and EDGAR.

我們今天早上早些時候發布的補充幻燈片和新聞稿以及我們的第二季度 MD&A、財務報表和隨附說明均可下載，所有這些都已通過 SEDAR plus 和 EDGAR 歸檔。

Please note that some statements made on the call may be forward-looking. Actual events or results may differ materially from those expressed or implied and CGI disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The complete safe harbor statement is available in both our MD&A and press release as well as on cgi.com. We recommend our investors read it in its entirety.

請注意，電話會議中所做的一些陳述可能具有前瞻性。實際事件或結果可能與明示或暗示的事件或結果有重大差異，CGI 不承擔任何更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的意圖或義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。完整的安全港聲明可在我們的 MD&A 和新聞稿以及 cgi.com 上找到。我們建議投資人閱讀全文。

We are reporting our financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. As always, we will also discuss non-GAAP performance measures, which should be viewed as supplemental. The MD&A contains definitions of each one used in our reporting. All of the dollar figures expressed on this call are Canadian, unless otherwise noted.

我們根據國際財務報告準則（IFRS）報告我們的財務表現。與往常一樣，我們還將討論非公認會計準則績效指標，這應被視為補充。 MD&A 包含我們報告中使用的每一項的定義。除非另有說明，本次電話會議中所使用的所有美元數字均為加幣數字。

I'll now turn it over to Steve to review our Q2 financials, and then George will comment on our business and market outlook. Steve?

我現在將把它交給史蒂夫來審查我們第二季度的財務狀況，然後喬治將對我們的業務和市場前景發表評論。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to share with you the results of our second quarter of fiscal 2024. In Q2, we delivered $3.7 billion of revenue, up 0.7% year-over-year or stable when excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The strongest CGI segments were U.K. and Australia at 5.1% constant currency growth. Asia Pacific at 5%, Northwest and Central East Europe with 4.2%, and U.S. commercial and state government at 4.1%.

謝謝你，凱文，大家早安。我很高興與您分享我們 2024 財年第二季度的業績。最強勁的 CGI 細分市場是英國和澳大利亞，貨幣恆定成長率為 5.1%。亞太地區為 5%，西北歐和中東歐為 4.2%，美國商業和州政府為 4.1%。

From an industry perspective, we had the highest growth in government with 5.7% constant currency growth while we continue to experience softness in industries more sensitive to interest rates, particularly in the banking subsectors. In addition, the majority of our geographies were negatively impacted by 1 less billable day in the quarter. IP as a percentage of total revenue was 22% in the quarter. Our IP continues to resonate with clients with vast majority contracted as longer-term recurring engagements with over 60% delivered as Software as a Service.

從行業角度來看，政府部門的成長率最高，貨幣恆定增長率為 5.7%，而對利率更敏感的行業，尤其是銀行業子行業，繼續經歷疲軟。此外，我們的大多數地區都受到本季計費日減少 1 個的負面影響。本季 IP 佔總營收的百分比為 22%。我們的智慧財產權繼續引起客戶的共鳴，絕大多數客戶簽訂了長期定期合同，其中超過 60% 作為軟體即服務交付。

Our overall bookings in the quarter were $3.8 billion for a book-to-bill ratio of 100% and 113% on a trailing 12-month basis. Booking ratios for the quarter were led by Finland, Poland and Baltics at 127%. Western and Southern Europe at 115% and U.K. and Australia at 109%. Global backlog reached $26.8 billion or 1.9x revenue, helping to support our overall business resilience.

我們本季的整體預訂量為 38 億美元，預訂出貨比為 100%，過去 12 個月的預訂出貨比為 113%。本季的預訂率領先芬蘭、波蘭和波羅的海國家，達到 127%。西歐和南歐為 115%，英國和澳洲為 109%。全球積壓訂單達到 268 億美元，即營收的 1.9 倍，有助於支持我們的整體業務彈性。

Turning to profitability. We continue to manage with discipline despite the current macro environment, delivering solid year-over-year improvements. Earnings before income taxes were $577 million for a margin of 15.4%, up 20 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted EBIT in the quarter was $628 million, up $28 million year-over-year. This represents a margin of 16.8%, up 60 basis points year-over-year. Mainly as a result of a larger proportion of IP-based revenues and benefits being realized from our previously announced cost optimization program. This program which was primarily focused on SG&A has now concluded as planned. We delivered strong margin geographically as follows: Asia Pacific at 31%, North America at 17% and Europe at 14%.

轉向盈利能力。儘管面臨當前的宏觀環境，我們仍持續嚴格管理，實現了逐年穩健的改進。所得稅前利潤為 5.77 億美元，利潤率為 15.4%，年增 20 個基點。該季度調整後息稅前利潤為 6.28 億美元，年增 2,800 萬美元。這意味著利潤率為 16.8%，年成長 60 個基點。主要是因為我們先前宣布的成本優化計劃實現了更大比例的基於 IP 的收入和收益。該計劃主要關注銷售、管理和行政費用 (SG&A)，現已按計劃結束。我們在以下地區實現了強勁的利潤率：亞太地區為 31%，北美為 17%，歐洲為 14%。

Our effective tax rate in the quarter was 26.1%, and we expect our tax rate for future quarters to be in the range of 25% to 26.5%.

我們本季的有效稅率為 26.1%，我們預計未來幾季的稅率將在 25% 至 26.5% 的範圍內。

Net earnings were $427 million for a margin of 11.4%, up 10 basis points year-over-year. Diluted EPS was $1.83, representing an increase of 4% year-over-year when compared to $1.76 in Q2 last year. When excluding specific items, net earnings improved to $459 million, up $24 million when compared to Q2 last year or a margin of 12.3%, up 60 basis points. Specific items for the quarter were mainly expenses associated with the cost optimization program. On the same basis, diluted EPS was $1.97, an accretion of 8.2% when compared to Q2 last year. In the quarter, cash provided by operating activities was $502 million, up 7% year-over-year, representing 13.4% of total revenue.

淨利潤為 4.27 億美元，利潤率為 11.4%，年增 10 個基點。稀釋後每股收益為 1.83 美元，較去年第二季的 1.76 美元成長 4%。剔除特定項目後，淨利潤增至 4.59 億美元，較去年第二季增加 2,400 萬美元，利潤率為 12.3%，成長 60 個基點。本季的具體項目主要是與成本優化計劃相關的費用。在同一基礎上，稀釋後每股收益為 1.97 美元，較去年第二季成長 8.2%。本季經營活動提供的現金為5.02億美元，年增7%，佔總營收的13.4%。

On a trailing 12-month basis, cash provided by operating activities was $2.1 billion, also up 7% year-over-year, representing 14.6% of total revenue. DSO was 40 days in the quarter, 5 days better than our target, mainly due to quality delivery and our mix of business. As a reminder, Q2 generally produces the lowest DSO each year due to a higher volume of IP maintenance payments from clients.

過去 12 個月，經營活動提供的現金為 21 億美元，年增 7%，佔總營收的 14.6%。本季的 DSO 為 40 天，比我們的目標好 5 天，這主要歸功於高品質的交付和我們的業務組合。提醒一下，由於客戶支付的 IP 維護費用較高，第二季通常每年產生的 DSO 最低。

In Q2, we used our cash to invest $103 million into our business, including NII and invest $260 million to buy back our stock. In the quarter, we continued to deliver a strong return on invested capital at 15.9%, up 30 basis points year-over-year, demonstrating our proficiency and discipline on deployment of capital.

第二季度，我們用現金向我們的業務（包括 NII）投資了 1.03 億美元，並投資 2.6 億美元回購我們的股票。本季度，我們繼續實現 15.9% 的強勁投資資本回報率，年增 30 個基點，展現了我們在資本部署方面的熟練程度和紀律。

Looking ahead, with $2.8 billion of cash readily available and access to more, if needed, our capital allocation priorities are: First, investing in our business; second, pursuing and closing accretive acquisitions by leveraging CGI's strong balance sheet evidenced by a leverage ratio of 1.1x and a net debt to capitalization ratio of 16.4%.

展望未來，我們擁有 28 億美元的可用現金，並且在需要時可以獲得更多現金，我們的資本配置優先事項是：首先，投資我們的業務；其次，利用 CGI 強勁的資產負債表進行並完成加值收購，槓桿比率為 1.1 倍，淨負債與資本比率為 16.4%。

Finally, as appropriate, cash will be used to repurchase our stock and/or paying down our debt. Now I will turn the call over to George to further discuss the insights on the quarter and outlook for our business and markets. George?

最後，在適當的情況下，現金將用於回購我們的股票和/或償還我們的債務。現在我將把電話轉給喬治，進一步討論對本季的見解以及我們業務和市場的前景。喬治？

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，大家早安。

In the second quarter, our team again embodied CGI's discipline and agility by prioritizing actions for delivering shareholder value and partnering with clients to position CGI for profitable growth opportunities. With continued strong profitability and cash generation, our financial strength reflects CGI's resilience and capacity to invest in our Build and Buy growth strategy. Our team's disciplined management practices contributed to our strong balance sheet even as macroeconomic uncertainty continued to impact some of the industries where our clients operate.

第二季度，我們的團隊再次體現了 CGI 的紀律和敏捷性，優先考慮提供股東價值的行動，並與客戶合作，為 CGI 創造獲利成長機會。憑藉持續強勁的獲利能力和現金產生能力，我們的財務實力反映了 CGI 的彈性和投資於我們的「建立和購買」成長策略的能力。即使宏觀經濟不確定性繼續影響我們客戶所在的一些行業，我們團隊嚴格的管理實踐仍為我們強勁的資產負債表做出了貢獻。

Margin improved as we grew the mix of recurring revenue with IP revenue up 6.5% in constant currency, and managed services revenue up 2.1% on the same basis. As planned, actions completed through the cost optimization program also contributed to margin expansion. Utilization was up year-over-year as we continue to align talent to those industries that are growing, such as government, transportation and utilities. Delivery quality remained high and client satisfaction again increased across every dimension we measure.

隨著我們的經常性收入組合不斷擴大，利潤率有所改善，其中 IP 收入按固定匯率計算增長了 6.5%，託管服務收入在同一基礎上增長了 2.1%。按照計劃，透過成本優化計劃完成的行動也有助於擴大利潤率。隨著我們繼續將人才分配到政府、交通和公用事業等不斷增長的行業，利用率逐年上升。交付品質仍然很高，客戶滿意度在我們衡量的各個方面都再次提高。

Clients continue to partner with us to address their most complex enterprise and ecosystem-wide digitization initiatives. This operational excellence also led to deeper employee engagement as a proportion of employees, who are shareholders rose to 87%, further expanding our culture of ownership, which is a differentiator for client partnerships and CGI talent attraction and retention.

客戶繼續與我們合作，解決他們最複雜的企業和生態系統範圍的數位化計劃。這種卓越的營運也提高了員工敬業度，股東員工比例上升至 87%，進一步擴大了我們的主人翁文化，這是客戶合作夥伴關係以及吸引和留住 CGI 人才的差異化因素。

In Q2, the diversity of new client awards affirmed CGI's positioning as the go-to partner for driving outcomes. Large project awards contributed to the higher proportion of SI&C bookings in the quarter. We also saw increasing demand for our emblematic business and strategic IT consulting offerings, including CGI's framework for responsible use of AI as well as change management and CIO advisory services. Client demand for managed services remains robust, in line with the buying trends we have seen over the past year.

第二季度，新客戶獎項的多樣性肯定了 CGI 作為推動成果的首選合作夥伴的地位。大型專案獎勵推動了本季 SI&C 預訂比例的提高。我們也看到對我們標誌性業務和策略 IT 諮詢產品的需求不斷增長，包括 CGI 負責任地使用人工智慧的框架以及變革管理和 CIO 諮詢服務。客戶對託管服務的需求仍然強勁，與我們過去一年看到的購買趨勢一致。

Importantly, on a trailing 12-month basis, the managed services bookings were up $1.6 billion compared to the same period a year ago for a 21% increase. We do see clients continue to exercise caution in their spending on IT services, which is most acute in the banking and manufacturing subsectors. However, this cautionary approach is not diminishing clients' interest across every industry to explore with CGI, the opportunities for cost efficiencies through managed services and for ROI-led system integration project.

重要的是，在過去 12 個月的基礎上，託管服務預訂量與去年同期相比增加了 16 億美元，增幅為 21%。我們確實看到客戶在 IT 服務支出方面繼續保持謹慎態度，這在銀行和製造業子行業中最為嚴重。然而，這種謹慎的做法並沒有削弱各行業客戶探索 CGI、透過託管服務實現成本效率的機會以及以 ROI 為主導的系統整合專案的興趣。

We also see an industry-wide trend related to timing of decisions, notably in delays for large engagements with enterprise clients. We remain well positioned as the partner of choice to help clients achieve the tangible and trusted business outcomes they seek. [Example of awards] in the quarter included LocalTapiola, one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in Finland, extended their strategic managed services partnership with CGI for 5 years in an agreement valued at $284 million.

我們也看到了與決策時間相關的全行業趨勢，特別是與企業客戶的大型合作的延遲。我們仍然處於首選合作夥伴的地位，幫助客戶實現他們所尋求的實際且值得信賴的業務成果。本季的[獎項範例]包括芬蘭最大的保險和金融服務公司之一 LocalTapiola 透過價值 2.84 億美元的協議將其與 CGI 的策略管理服務合作夥伴關係延長了 5 年。

CGI will apply new technologies, including AI and automation to help drive operational efficiencies across their enterprise. The digital department of the U.K. government cabinet office, appointed CGI as a strategic digital transformation delivery partner in an agreement valued at $162 million. As part of this new partnership, CGI will provide a range of consulting, data and digital services to help the government innovate and drive value from digitization. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs renewed its 10-year agreement for CGI to deliver visa services across 9 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

CGI 將應用人工智慧和自動化等新技術，有助於提高整個企業的營運效率。英國政府內閣辦公室數位部門在一份價值 1.62 億美元的協議中指定 CGI 為戰略數位轉型交付合作夥伴。作為這項新合作關係的一部分，CGI 將提供一系列諮詢、數據和數位服務，幫助政府創新並推動數位化價值。美國國務院領事事務局與 CGI 續簽了為期 10 年的協議，為亞太地區 9 個國家提供簽證服務。

Under the $75 million award, we will continue to leverage CGI Atlas360, our AI-powered customer relationship management and business process IP to help the bureau efficiently facilitate visa applications.

根據這筆 7,500 萬美元的獎金，我們將繼續利用 CGI Atlas360、我們的人工智慧驅動的客戶關係管理和業務流程 IP 來幫助該局有效地促進簽證申請。

And the city of New York expanded its partnership with CGI in a 5-year base plus 2 option year agreement to maintain the city's parking violation system, which runs on CGI's Advantage Collections IP platform. Under this contract, CGI will partner with the city's Department of Finance to administer the adjudication, payment and collection processes for summons violations issued by the city. Through the use of the CGI platform, the city expects to collect nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.

紐約市擴大了與 CGI 的合作夥伴關係，簽訂了一份為期 5 年的基礎協議和 2 個選項年協議，以維護該市的停車違規系統，該系統在 CGI 的 Advantage Collections IP 平台上運行。根據該合同，CGI 將與該市財政部合作，管理該市發出的違規傳票的裁決、付款和收款流程。透過使用 CGI 平台，該市預計每年將獲得近 10 億美元的收入。

Looking ahead now to the demand environment. Client budgets indicate continued investments in digitization over the next year, according to CGI's most recent proprietary research. When we ask clients about their budget plans, more than 70% indicated they intend to sustain or increase their IT budgets. CGI's pipeline over the next year validates this finding as the value of new opportunities grew by nearly 30% on a year-over-year basis. This overarching finding as part of the preliminary insights we have identified based on more than 1,800 discussions with current and prospective clients. More than 80% of our discussions were with C-level business and IT executives and organizations located in every geography in which we operate.

現在展望需求環境。根據 CGI 最新的專有研究，客戶預算表明明年將繼續投資數位化。當我們詢問客戶的預算計劃時，超過 70% 的客戶表示他們打算維持或增加 IT 預算。 CGI 明年的管道驗證了這一發現，因為新機會的價值同比增長了近 30%。這一總體發現是我們根據與當前和潛在客戶的 1,800 多次討論得出的初步見解的一部分。我們超過 80% 的討論是與我們營運所在每個地區的 C 級業務和 IT 高管以及組織進行的。

These annual Voice of Our Clients discussions were initiated during the second quarter as part of our strategic planning process and concluded just a few weeks ago. There are 3 preliminary findings that we see shaping client demand over the next 12 months. These findings underscore the tight alignment between CGI's current investment priorities and those of our clients. First, clients across industries have indicated their intent to rebalance their business priorities, from primarily cost savings to a renewed focus and also driving revenue growth. Second, executives noted that the alignment gap between business and IT within their organizations has largely been eliminated. And digital leaders in every industry have significantly widened the gap with their peers in realizing the benefits of digitization.

這些年度客戶之聲討論是在第二季度啟動的，作為我們策略規劃流程的一部分，並於幾週前結束。我們認為有 3 項初步調查結果將影響未來 12 個月的客戶需求。這些調查結果強調了 CGI 目前的投資重點與我們客戶的投資重點之間的緊密結合。首先，各行業的客戶都表示有意重新平衡業務重點，從主要節省成本轉向重新專注並推動收入成長。其次，高階主管指出，組織內業務和 IT 之間的一致性差距已基本消除。每個行業的數位化領導者在實現數位化優勢方面都顯著拉大了與同行的差距。

Relating to the first finding, business executives globally cited driving revenue growth as their top priority for the next year. This is closely followed by the need to drive innovation and introduce new products and services. Both of these priorities are [new and top 5] this year. While these top business priorities are growth-oriented, business and IT executives maintain their focus on modernization, optimization, cost control, each of which ranked within the top 5 priorities across most industry sectors. This resurgence in growth as a client priority, along with continued focus on efficiencies is well aligned to CGI's end-to-end services and solutions portfolio. We expect this dual-focused client agenda to drive an expansion of new opportunities for both SI&C and holistic managed services over the coming year.

關於第一個發現，全球企業主管將推動收入成長作為明年的首要任務。緊隨其後的是推動創新和推出新產品和服務的需要。這兩個優先事項都是今年的[新的且排名前 5 的]。雖然這些首要業務優先事項是以成長為導向的，但業務和IT 高管仍將重點放在現代化、優化和成本控制上，其中每一項都位列大多數行業部門的前5 個優先事項之內。這種將成長復甦作為客戶優先事項以及對效率的持續關注與 CGI 的端到端服務和解決方案組合非常一致。我們預計，這項雙重重點的客戶議程將在來年推動 SI&C 和整體管理服務的新機會的擴展。

Moving to the second preliminary finding of our client interviews. Business and IT are now tightly aligned as client executives noted that the alignment gap has effectively been eliminated. Over the past 6 years of research, this is the first time there's been such a steep increase in the alignment ratings, indicating a new shared agenda between business and IT teams. We believe the primary driver for this finding is the combination of business efficiency focus and the promising potential of digital technologies, including AI and cloud. For CGI, this alignment is expected to generate larger value engagements as business and IT address enterprise transformations to integrate technology and operations. We see early signs of larger value opportunities within our pipeline as the average deal size increased significantly for enterprise clients as compared to this time last year.

接下來是我們客戶訪談的第二個初步發現。業務和 IT 現在緊密結合，客戶高層指出，這種結合差距已有效消除。在過去 6 年的研究中，這是第一次一致性評級出現如此急劇的成長，顯示業務和 IT 團隊之間出現了新的共享議程。我們認為，這項發現的主要驅動力是對業務效率的關注與包括人工智慧和雲端在內的數位技術的廣泛潛力相結合。對於 CGI 而言，隨著業務和 IT 解決企業轉型以整合技術和運營，這種一致性預計將產生更大的價值。我們看到了我們管道中更大價值機會的早期跡象，因為企業客戶的平均交易規模與去年同期相比顯著增加。

And lastly, digital leaders are increasingly realizing the benefits of digitization and widening the gap compared to those organizations in the earlier stages. This enables digital leaders to accelerate investments in driving revenue growth. Our findings show these digital leaders are more successful in expanding their data strategies, modernizing legacy systems and applications, driving agility into their business models through a higher reliance on managed services and implementing advanced technologies, including generative AI.

最後，數位化領導者越來越意識到數位化的好處，並與早期階段的組織相比擴大了差距。這使得數位化領導者能夠加速投資以推動收入成長。我們的研究結果表明，這些數位領導者在擴展資料策略、實現遺留系統和應用程式現代化、透過更加依賴託管服務和實施包括生成式人工智慧在內的先進技術來提高業務模型的敏捷性方面更加成功。

For digital leaders, this will drive increasing demand for all CGI services as they reinvest savings garnered from their modernization and optimization initiatives into new capital spending to drive future growth. And for those organizations in their earlier stages of their digitization, the expanding gap and producing ROI will continue to generate new demand for CGI's end-to-end services with a stronger emphasis on transformative managed services, and the full suite of our IP business solutions.

對於數位化領導者來說，這將推動對所有 CGI 服務的需求不斷增長，因為他們將從現代化和優化計劃中節省下來的資金再投資到新的資本支出中，以推動未來的成長。對於那些處於數位化早期階段的組織來說，不斷擴大的差距和產生的投資回報率將繼續產生對CGI 端到端服務的新需求，並更加強調變革性託管服務以及我們的全套IP 業務解決方案。

These 3 preliminary findings are connected by the continuing critical role of technology and digital acceleration. Again, this year, nearly 3/4 of our clients cited digital acceleration as the most impactful macro trend for their organization, with CEOs rating the impact the highest. Not surprisingly, the rise in client interest for AI and GenAI solutions amplifies the importance of digitization across all aspects of society. CGI continues to progress our AI investments, focusing first on talent development and hiring, which is already enabling us to enhance our end-to-end service offerings and strengthen our operations.

這三項初步發現與技術和數位加速的持續關鍵作用連結在一起。今年，近 3/4 的客戶再次將數位化加速視為對其組織最具影響力的宏觀趨勢，執行長們對此影響的評價最高。毫不奇怪，客戶對人工智慧和 GenAI 解決方案興趣的成長增強了數位化在社會各個方面的重要性。 CGI 繼續推動我們的人工智慧投資，首先專注於人才開發和招聘，這已經使我們能夠增強我們的端到端服務產品並加強我們的營運。

For example, we are improving the quality and speed of service delivery and software development for our clients through the use of GenAI, embedding AI across our IP portfolio and leveraging GenAI for more efficient development and maintenance of our 150-plus business solutions. Leveraging GenAI to enhance our bid and proposal capacity and experimenting and applying GenAI to optimize internal processes and transactions, including in our procurement, risk and HR functions.

例如，我們正在透過使用 GenAI 來提高客戶服務交付和軟體開發的品質和速度，將人工智慧嵌入到我們的 IP 產品組合中，並利用 GenAI 更有效地開發和維護我們的 150 多個業務解決方案。利用 GenAI 增強我們的投標和建議能力，並嘗試和應用 GenAI 來優化內部流程和交易，包括我們的採購、風險和人力資源職能。

In Q2, our bookings at integrated AI technologies were again over $200 million, including wins with a large U.S. financial and mortgage institution to create a cohesive GenAI strategy to drive portfolio-wide technical capabilities. A global car manufacturer to design and create data and AI platforms and products. Multiple European space industry clients to leverage real-time AI to improve data transmission rates in lunar and deep space missions. And a multinational telecommunications company to deliver AI-powered solutions for cost savings and improve customer satisfaction.

第二季度，我們對整合 AI 技術的預訂再次超過 2 億美元，其中包括與美國一家大型金融和抵押貸款機構合作，創建了一個有凝聚力的 GenAI 策略，以推動整個投資組合的技術能力。一家設計和創建數據和人工智慧平台及產品的全球汽車製造商。多個歐洲航太工業客戶利用即時人工智慧來提高月球和深空任務的資料傳輸率。與跨國電信公司合作，提供人工智慧驅動的解決方案，以節省成本並提高客戶滿意度。

Notably, bookings in the quarter, utilizing our global alliance partnerships are up double digit on a year-over-year basis. Our client interview findings highlight the overall implementation of GenAI remains in the early and experimental stages, but it is ubiquitous with nearly 80% of clients stating that they are actively exploring AI technologies. In line with this demand, CGI's active engagements that incorporate AI continue to increase across all lines of service.

值得注意的是，利用我們的全球聯盟合作夥伴關係，本季的預訂量比去年同期成長了兩位數。我們的客戶訪談結果表明，GenAI 的整體實施仍處於早期和實驗階段，但它無所不在，近 80% 的客戶表示他們正在積極探索人工智慧技術。為了滿足這項需求，CGI 在所有服務領域不斷增加與人工智慧結合的積極參與。

Turning to the buy side of a profitable growth strategy. We continue to prioritize investments in M&A to deepen our resilience and serve as a catalyst for future organic growth. We are in active dialogue with merger targets at each stage of our pipeline. We remain committed to merging with like-minded companies that are complementary to our geographic footprint, client base and end-to-end portfolio capabilities.

轉向獲利成長策略的買方。我們繼續優先考慮併購投資，以增強我們的韌性，並成為未來有機成長的催化劑。我們正在與管道的每個階段的合併目標進行積極對話。我們仍然致力於與志同道合的公司合併，這些公司與我們的地理足跡、客戶群和端到端投資組合能力互補。

Our strategy remains focused on a range of merger opportunities for metro market to transformational. As always, we will be disciplined to make sure that all mergers create value for each stakeholder. Our operational strength, stability and financial capacity will enable us to move quickly with discipline on the right opportunities.

我們的策略仍然專注於地鐵市場轉型的一系列合併機會。一如既往，我們將嚴格遵守紀律，確保所有合併為每個利害關係人創造價值。我們的營運實力、穩定性和財務能力將使我們能夠在正確的機會上快速、嚴格地採取行動。

In closing, now more than ever, CGI's culture, capabilities and commitment to deliver tangible and trusted business outcomes are highly valued by clients as they navigate the current market environment. We are well positioned to remain a partner and expert of choice for clients and empowering environment for our consultants and professionals and engaged ethical and responsible corporate citizen and investment of choice for our share.

最後，當客戶在當前的市場環境中駕馭時，比以往任何時候都更加重視 CGI 的文化、能力以及交付切實且值得信賴的業務成果的承諾。我們有能力繼續成為客戶的首選合作夥伴和專家，為我們的顧問和專業人員提供有利的環境，並成為有道德和負責任的企業公民，並為我們的份額選擇投資。

Given our operational strength, resilient model, talented team and the alignment of our priorities with those of our clients, we remain committed to driving shareholder value through the disciplined execution of our strategy.

鑑於我們的營運實力、彈性模式、才華橫溢的團隊以及我們的優先事項與客戶優先事項的一致性，我們仍然致力於透過嚴格執行我們的策略來推動股東價值。

Thank you for your interest and support. Let's go to the questions now, Kevin?

感謝您的關注與支持。我們現在開始提問吧，凱文？

Thanks, George. Joelle, we can now poll for questions.

謝謝，喬治。 Joelle，我們現在可以投票提問。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Richard Tse with National Bank Financial.

（操作員指示）您的第一個問題來自國民銀行金融公司的理查德·謝（Richard Tse）。

George, I was just wondering if you could maybe talk about the extent of kind of expectations for a second half pick up that are predicated on sort of rates coming down across the board. Like you had -- did a great setup in terms of the opportunity down the road. I'm just kind of curious to see shorter term, what's sort of really driving that pickup here?

喬治，我只是想知道你是否可以談談下半年回升的預期程度，這種預期是基於利率全面下降的。就像你一樣——在未來的機會方面做了很好的準備。我只是好奇從短期來看，到底是什麼推動了皮卡的發展？

Yes. No, it's a great question. I don't have necessarily the clarity that I'd like to have on that. The green shoots are increasing in most industries and geographies for new project work. but they're just not uniform or consistent right now. So the short term, it really is still overall managed services and IP demand is what's generating the opportunities. But as I mentioned, it's still offset by some cautionary spending in SI&C and overall slow procurement decision-making, so -- and even project start-ups. So it's just not -- it's not uniform yet, and we don't have that clarity and visibility.

是的。不，這是一個很好的問題。我對此並不一定有我想要的清晰度。在大多數行業和地區，新專案工作的萌芽正在增加。但現在它們並不統一或一致。因此，短期來看，其實仍是整體託管服務，而 IP 需求才是創造機會的因素。但正如我所提到的，它仍然被 SI&C 的一些謹慎支出和整體採購決策緩慢所抵消，甚至專案啟動也是如此。所以它還不是統一的，我們還沒有那麼清晰和可見性。

Okay. Fair enough. You've done obviously a very good job at taking margins up over the course of the past few years. And has your business changed in the way the mix of service delivery, meaning sort of on a geographic basis or more customers willing to sort of offshore to get more attractive pricing like, or is it pretty much the same as it was a year or 2 years ago?

好的。很公平。過去幾年裡，你們在提高利潤率方面顯然做得非常好。您的業務是否在服務交付組合方面發生了變化，這意味著在地理上發生了變化，或者更多的客戶願意離岸以獲得更具吸引力的價格，或者與一兩年前的情況幾乎相同幾年前？

No, I would say that we've seen an ongoing trend to moving more our work. What I would still say is the global delivery model. So it's not just offshore, but certainly offshore, and you've seen that consistently grow faster than the rest of our business. Again, in this quarter, showing that growth. But also the nearshore centers, which continue to pick up specifically in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and even in Latin America. So it really is a combination of factors. So we always had a global delivery, but I think it's even more powerful now and the way we deliver our solutions. And of course, automation continues to play a role and will continue to evolve as we drive more technologies into the delivery that we do for our clients.

不，我想說的是，我們已經看到了一種持續的趨勢，即轉移更多的工作。我仍然要說的是全球交付模式。因此，它不僅是離岸業務，而且肯定是離岸業務，而且您已經看到，它的成長速度始終快於我們其他業務。在本季度再次顯示出這種增長。近岸中心也持續成長，特別是在東歐、南歐甚至拉丁美洲。所以這確實是多種因素的結合。所以我們一直都有全球交付，但我認為現在它以及我們交付解決方案的方式更加強大。當然，隨著我們將更多技術引入為客戶提供的服務中，自動化將繼續發揮作用並將繼續發展。

Okay. And just 1 quick last one for me. Can you talk about sort of staffing levels here as we look ahead to next year and maybe the degree of wage inflation, how it may have moderated here recently?

好的。對我來說，只有 1 個快速的最後一個。當我們展望明年時，您能談談這裡的人員配置水平，也許還有薪資通膨的程度，最近它是如何緩和的嗎？

Yes. Well, I mean, wage inflation has certainly moderated in most countries in which we operate. And we have a couple of different levers that we use. One is what we just discussed around global delivery, and rotating some of our work and then rotating our people to the higher end work that we can get the additional wage rates in various locations. We also have our intellectual property that we can leverage. And so that allows us not to be so linear to people and salaries. And so we've got a couple of ways to manage that as we continue to build out the company. So it's -- that doesn't factor in, in a big way, as I look at the next year.

是的。嗯，我的意思是，在我們開展業務的大多數國家，薪資通膨肯定已經放緩。我們使用了幾種不同的槓桿。一是我們剛才討論的全球交付，輪換我們的一些工作，然後將我們的人員輪換到更高端的工作，這樣我們就可以在不同的地點獲得額外的工資率。我們也擁有可以利用的智慧財產權。因此，這使我們能夠不那麼與人員和工資呈線性關係。因此，在我們繼續發展公司的過程中，我們有幾種方法來管理這一點。所以，當我展望明年時，這在很大程度上並不重要。

Your next question comes from Daniel Chan with TD Cowen.

您的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Daniel Chan。

George, the U.S. Federal bookings came in a little bit weaker again, I think, for the second quarter rolling out. I think the expectation was that for it to accelerate as we get closer to the elections. Any color on that?

喬治，我認為，第二季的美國聯邦預訂再次有點疲軟。我認為隨著選舉的臨近，人們的期望是它會加速。那上面有什麼顏色嗎？

Yes. Here's what I would say. I went back, I looked at this and cyclically a light booking quarter for us, just due to the federal government procurement cycle in the U.S. There are many more RFPs in this quarter, and we have a large number of outstanding RFPs out there and then the award in the second half. Maybe they shift that to more awards in Q3. That's certainly something that we're looking at. But I'll just remind you, our trailing 12-month book-to-bill in U.S. Federal is at 136%.

是的。這就是我要說的。我回去了，我看了這個，週期性地，我們的預訂季度很輕，只是由於美國聯邦政府的採購週期。也許他們會在第三季將其轉移到更多獎項。這當然是我們正在關注的事情。但我只想提醒您，美國聯邦過去 12 個月的訂單出貨率為 136%。

So yes, it was 72% in the quarter. But I think our average in this quarter is usually between 70% and 80%, and we're right in that place. So yes, the election isn't necessarily having the effect that I thought it might have. It will have an effect as we move through the year and get closer. And one of the phenomenon that we're seeing is that there are a lot more bridges for longer periods of time, just given the concern about how that election cycle and the stability might occur. So a lot of our outstanding RFPs right now are -- were less sole source bridge awards. They just haven't happened yet. So that -- we'll look for that in the second half of the year.

是的，本季為 72%。但我認為我們本季的平均水平通常在 70% 到 80% 之間，我們就處於這個位置。所以，是的，這次選舉並不一定會產生我認為可能產生的效果。隨著這一年的臨近，它將會產生影響。我們看到的現象之一是，考慮到選舉週期和穩定性可能如何發生，在更長的時間內有更多的橋樑。因此，我們現在許多優秀的 RFP 不再是唯一的來源橋樑獎項。他們只是還沒有發生。因此，我們將在今年下半年尋找這一點。

That make sense. Maybe a question on the margin side of things. Obviously, the margin strength you mentioned from a higher mix of IP. Just wondering if there's anything else to call out there and whether you think the margin profile, this is the run rate going forward or if there's more to go?

有道理。也許是關於事物邊緣方面的問題。顯然，你提到的利潤強度來自更高的智慧財產權組合。只是想知道是否還有其他需要注意的地方，以及您是否認為利潤狀況是未來的運行率，還是還有更多需要改進？

Yes. So here's what I'd say. It's a combination of the improved IP business mix, but also the cost optimization. That's what's driving some of this margin. Some of that will stick because of the cost optimization and certainly has that payback. But some of that's going to be offset by continued investments in AI, business development and the growing mix of SI&C. So as we move, as things pick up, you're going to see that change a little bit.

是的。這就是我要說的。它是IP業務組合改進和成本最佳化的結合。這就是部分利潤的推動因素。由於成本優化，其中一些將會持續下去，並且肯定會有回報。但其中一些將被人工智慧、業務開發和不斷增長的 SI&C 組合的持續投資所抵消。因此，隨著我們的行動，隨著事情的好轉，你會看到情況發生了一些變化。

We're still committed to the incremental margin expansion, but we had a nice uptick in this current quarter, just given what's going on. So some of that's sustainable, and then we'll continue to expand. But some of that we're going to give up for the right reasons on investing in AI business development, and what we believe will be a return of the SI&C here. And you heard that some of that Voice of the Client insights I shared.

我們仍然致力於增量利潤擴張，但考慮到正在發生的事情，我們在本季度取得了不錯的成長。所以其中一些是可持續的，然後我們將繼續擴張。但出於正確的原因，我們將放棄其中一些投資於人工智慧業務開發的投資，我們相信這將是 SI&C 的回報。您也聽到了一些我分享的客戶之聲的見解。

One more, if I may. You mentioned that the sales cycles remain a little bit longer than expected. Just wonder if you can reconcile that with one of the findings in your recent client survey saying that there's good alignment between business and IT. You would assume that when there's good alignment, you would get these projects approved faster. What do you think is causing that slight disconnect.

如果可以的話，再來一張。您提到銷售週期仍然比預期長一些。只是想知道您是否可以將這一點與您最近的客戶調查中的一項調查結果一致，即業務和 IT 之間存在良好的一致性。您可能會認為，如果有良好的協調，您會更快地獲得這些項目的批准。您認為是什麼導致了這種輕微的脫節。

It's a good question. I kind of highlighted that. The finding historically has led us to believe that they're bigger deals. So business, typically, they do shorter ROI deals. IT tends to do big modernization, but it's more focused on technology. And as you said, not always 100% aligned. But when they get aligned, it drives bigger ROI, quite frankly, less price-sensitive, more outcome-focused deals. But it's at the highest levels.

這是一個好問題。我強調了這一點。從歷史上看，這項發現讓我們相信它們是更大的交易。因此，企業通常會進行投資報酬率較短的交易。 IT 傾向於進行大規模現代化，但它更注重技術。正如你所說，並不總是 100% 一致。但當它們保持一致時，它會帶來更大的投資回報率，坦白說，對價格不那麼敏感，更注重結果的交易。但這是最高水平。

So it's transformative. It affects everybody. We've been -- I've personally been championing some of these through the process, and there's a lot of different stakeholders within the organization to get aligned. So even though business and IT agree, you still have to get the individuals and the sign-off because it's going to hit more departments across the organization. So the more complex deals, just by their nature, take longer. And so that's what we're seeing. And again, this is the fresh information. So it's more about the go forward than where we've been.

所以它是變革性的。它影響著每個人。我個人一直在整個過程中支持其中的一些，組織內有很多不同的利害關係人需要保持一致。因此，即使業務部門和 IT 部門達成一致，您仍然需要獲得個人的認可並簽字，因為這會影響整個組織的更多部門。因此，更複雜的交易，就其本質而言，需要更長的時間。這就是我們所看到的。再說一遍，這是最新資訊。因此，更重要的是未來的發展，而不是我們已經取得的成就。

Your next question comes from Paul Treiber with RBC Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 RBC 資本市場的 Paul Treiber。

Just in regards to AI and GenAI, it does seem like everyone is evaluating it at this point. Do you believe that there may be a pause related to other initiatives, just that companies are trying to evaluate AI relative to those other initiatives?

就AI和GenAI而言，現在似乎每個人都在評估它。您是否認為其他舉措可能會暫停，只是公司正在嘗試相對於其他舉措來評估人工智慧？

It's a great question. I'm not sure if that's exactly what I see. What I do see is given kind of where we've been economically, everybody has been a little more focused on the cost cutting and saving. And so I think most organizations are taking advantage of that current backdrop to do that investigative work. And so I don't think they're necessarily related one for one. But I do agree with you that evaluation will drive. We see that as a catalyst for driving the next wave of digital spending. And when I say digital spending, it's not just discrete AI spending, it's the next wave of digitization.

這是一個很好的問題。我不確定這是否正是我所看到的。我所看到的是，考慮到我們的經濟狀況，每個人都更加關注成本削減和節省。因此，我認為大多數組織都在利用目前的背景來進行調查工作。所以我認為它們不一定是一一相關的。但我確實同意你的觀點，即評估會推動。我們認為這是推動下一波數位支出的催化劑。當我說數位支出時，它不僅僅是離散的人工智慧支出，它是下一波數位化。

Most of the CEOs that I speak with, COOs I speak with and heads of lines of business, they all talk about -- they think of this as just the next iteration of what technology can bring to them. And so they're viewing it pretty -- in a pretty holistic way, not just as the discrete services. I think that's also why you don't see just as big spending indiscriminately on the AI. I think they're really thinking about that as the next wave of where they're going with digital.

與我交談過的大多數執行長、營運長以及業務線負責人，他們都在談論——他們認為這只是技術可以為他們帶來的下一個迭代。因此，他們以非常全面的方式看待它，而不僅僅是離散的服務。我認為這也是為什麼你不會看到在人工智慧上不加區別地投入大量資金。我認為他們確實正在考慮將其作為下一波數位化浪潮。

That's helpful. Still regarding AI, you called out a number of internal use cases, where do you see or what magnitude of potential efficiencies do you see AI driving over time?

這很有幫助。還是關於人工智慧，您列舉了一些內部用例，您認為隨著時間的推移，人工智慧在哪些方面會帶來多大的潛在效率？

Yes. Well, definitely, it will drive some over time. Right now, it's really still discrete. So holistically, you're not seeing a lot yet dropping to the bottom line. But the reason you go through this work is to actually get to that point. So that's why I highlighted some of those areas. Right now, it's less about cost and just more about effectiveness and efficiency. So if you think about the bid generation element I spoke to. It's really about getting better quality of bids out there. So leveraging all of our information and making that available so that the individuals can spend their time really crafting that and customizing that for the individual client opportunity.

是的。嗯，毫無疑問，隨著時間的推移，它會帶來一些影響。現在，它確實仍然是離散的。因此，從整體上看，您還沒有看到太多尚未跌至底線的情況。但你完成這項工作的原因是為了真正達到這一點。這就是為什麼我強調其中一些領域。現在，成本不再那麼重要，而更多的是有效性和效率。因此，如果您考慮一下我談到的出價生成元素。這實際上是為了獲得更好的投標品質。因此，利用我們所有的資訊並提供這些信息，以便個人可以花時間真正製作並針對個人客戶機會進行客製化。

So it's more about that than it is right now about cost savings. I think over time, you're going to see some of that. And by the way, this is what we see a lot of our clients looking at. They're really now looking at this as more about the business impact to this, not just from a cost savings, but from an opportunity perspective of driving the business forward. So that's what we see right now.

因此，現在更重要的是節省成本。我想隨著時間的推移，你會看到其中的一些。順便說一句，這就是我們看到很多客戶所關注的。他們現在實際上更多地將此視為對此的業務影響，不僅僅是從節省成本的角度，而是從推動業務向前發展的機會角度。這就是我們現在所看到的。

And then 1 last one for me. Just in terms of the M&A environment, there's news around several companies for sale. And it spreads across the quality and the valuation spectrum. What's your thoughts in terms of leaning one way or the other in terms of -- or deviating from your historical to lean more either towards quality or more towards lower valuations?

然後是我的最後一個。僅就併購環境而言，就有多家公司被出售的消息。它涵蓋了品質和估值範圍。您對傾向於一種或另一種方式有什麼想法——或者偏離您的歷史，更傾向於質量或更傾向於較低的估值？

Yes. Well, at the end of the day, we're resolute in making sure that we're going to drive the EPS accretion and do that in a definitive way throughout the process. So I've mentioned this before, it's why areas like the gross margins, the rate equation versus the salary equation become very important.

是的。好吧，歸根結底，我們決心確保我們將推動每股收益的成長，並在整個過程中以明確的方式做到這一點。所以我之前已經提到過這一點，這就是為什麼毛利率、費率方程式與工資方程式等領域變得非常重要。

You can do a lot on the SG&A side, you can't do as much on the gross margin side. So -- and that then -- that runs the gamut then, right? Because you can have companies that are stronger and companies that aren't that are in that manner. But we do see and assess all the market deals on an ongoing basis, and we'll act when there's something that makes sense for us and our shareholders.

你可以在SG&A方面做很多事情，但在毛利率方面卻做不了那麼多。那麼——然後——那就涵蓋了所有的範圍，對吧？因為你可以擁有更強大的公司，也可以擁有不那麼強大的公司。但我們確實會持續觀察和評估所有市場交易，當出現對我們和股東有意義的事情時，我們會採取行動。

Your next question comes from Robert Young with Canaccord Genuity.

您的下一個問題來自 Canaccord Genuity 的 Robert Young。

Just a couple of questions around utilization. The head count dropped year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. Just trying to understand the dynamic, is there a shift towards low cost where you're hiring? Or is it -- are you just -- is there more attrition, or hiring is not offsetting the attrition? And then how is that dynamic impacting your utilization? I think you said utilization had improved.

只是關於利用率的幾個問題。員工人數較去年同期和較上季均有所下降。只是想了解一下動態，您招募的地方是否有向低成本轉變的趨勢？或者是——你只是——是否有更多的人員流失，或者招聘並沒有抵消人員流失？那麼這種動態如何影響您的使用率呢？我想你說利用率有提高。

Yes. Utilization is actually up. A big part of that drop is us getting ahead of it on the cost optimization. As you're probably aware, 2/3 of that cost optimization was focused on SG&A. That's why you can see that even though you see the drop in the people, you don't see a drop in the revenue, at least we're staying consistent with the revenue. And then I think in general, we're not as linear because of some of that IP. And so you see the IP growing faster and not being dependent necessarily on the people.

是的。利用率實際上上升了。這一下降的很大一部分原因是我們在成本優化方面領先於它。您可能知道，2/3 的成本優化集中在 SG&A。這就是為什麼你可以看到，即使你看到人數下降，你也沒有看到收入下降，至少我們與收入一致。然後我認為總的來說，由於某些 IP，我們的線性度並不高。所以你會看到智慧財產權成長得更快，而且不一定依賴人。

Having said that, yes, we are seeing some of that shift to global delivery. Interestingly enough, that actually to get the same revenue, you actually have a higher head count when you're using global delivery. So that's not really what's going on at the current point in time. But utilization is up, and that's what you see ultimately in the margin despite the deceleration on the revenue.

話雖如此，是的，我們看到其中一些轉向全球交付。有趣的是，實際上，為了獲得相同的收入，當您使用全球交付時，您實際上擁有更多的員工數量。所以這並不是當前實際發生的情況。但利用率上升了，這就是你最終在利潤中看到的，儘管收入減速。

Is it fair to say that there's more benefit to come from utilization just as some of these -- you don't have as many new employees coming in, maybe maturing the consultants you have today?

公平地說，就像其中一些那樣，利用利用率可以帶來更多好處——您沒有那麼多新員工進來，也許可以使您今天擁有的顧問變得成熟？

I don't necessarily see that. I think we've got a great team. We continue to train and reskill our talent. We're doing a lot around the AI reskilling talent. We're bringing new talent in all the time, including through some of the outsourcing deals. Over 100 new employees joined us through several outsourcing agreements this quarter. And attrition is under control and is down on a year-over-year basis, and it's right in the range that we would expect. So other than cost optimization, that's -- I think we're managing it very well.

我不一定這麼看。我認為我們有一支很棒的團隊。我們繼續培訓和重新培訓我們的人才。我們圍繞著人工智慧人才再培訓做了許多工作。我們一直在引進新人才，包括透過一些外包交易。本季有 100 多名新員工透過多項外包協議加入我們。人員流失受到控制，逐年下降，正好在我們預期的範圍內。因此，除了成本優化之外，我認為我們管理得很好。

Okay. And just last one for me is, I think, you said that large project awards were bigger-than-normal contribution to SI&C bookings? And what is that -- what exactly does that mean? Is that a long-term composition change, or maybe just unpack that and then I'll pass the line.

好的。我認為最後一個問題是，您說過大型專案獎項對 SI&C 預訂的貢獻高於正常水平？那是什麼──這到底意味著什麼？這是一個長期的構圖變化嗎？

Yes. It's more just a phenomenon in the quarter, and I mentioned it because it did drive kind of a change. When you look at our managed services bookings were down versus what I'm talking about in the pipeline and the sentiment. And it just was a function of some higher concentration of SI&C bookings that were large, essentially, what I would call recurring T&M project renewals.

是的。這只是本季的一種現象，我提到它是因為它確實推動了某種變化。當你看到我們的託管服務預訂量與我所說的管道和情緒相比有所下降時。這只是 SI&C 預訂的集中度較高的函數，這些預訂量很大，本質上就是我所說的經常性 T&M 專案續約。

So they show up in the SI&C, but they're really large project T&M recurring revenue. And then we had some timing delays on several larger managed services deals that I mentioned. So I think it's more of a phenomenon just a quarter. It's why we always look at bookings on a trailing 12-month basis why I highlighted the strong trailing 12-month bookings in managed services is just a function of where we are right now.

因此，它們出現在 SI&C 中，但它們確實是大型專案 T&M 經常性收入。然後，我提到的幾項較大的託管服務交易出現了一些時間延遲。所以我認為這只是四分之一的現象。這就是為什麼我們總是以過去 12 個月為基礎查看預訂量，為什麼我強調託管服務中強勁的過去 12 個月預訂量只是我們目前狀況的一個函數。

Your next question comes from Jerome Dubreuil with Desjardin.

您的下一個問題來自 Desjardin 的 Jerome Dubreuil。

Trying to reconcile what we are hearing from some other companies in the ecosystem. We heard from Microsoft just last week that they are boosting their Azure CapEx as a result of strong demand not exactly what we're seeing in IT services. Do you think there's a chance that maybe enterprises are directing a bigger portion of their budget through maybe the data center cloud power that you might not benefit as much from right now, but that may eventually come back to boost demand?

試圖協調我們從生態系統中其他一些公司聽到的情況。上週我們從微軟獲悉，由於強勁的需求，他們正在提高 Azure 資本支出，這與我們在 IT 服務中看到的情況不一樣。您是否認為企業有可能將更大一部分預算用於資料中心雲端能力，您現在可能無法從中受益，但最終可能會回升以提振需求？

I think it's a good question. I do think that some of what we see our clients doing is preparing for the future. And so they're back to setting up their data strategies, their architectures, and ultimately, their infrastructure to allow for that next wave of digital spending. So maybe in this case, we're on the tail end of that. I think you saw that even on the slowdown on the other direction. So I think that's what we're seeing. So time will tell. Like I said, we're not seeing anything uniform or consistent yet. But I think that's -- it matches some of the sentiment you hear from -- you heard from me on our Voice of the Clients' feedback that we just [echoed].

我認為這是一個好問題。我確實認為我們看到客戶所做的一些事情是為未來做準備。因此，他們重新開始建立數據策略、架構，並最終建立基礎設施，以適應下一波數位支出。所以也許在這種情況下，我們正處於最後階段。我認為即使在另一個方向放緩的情況下你也看到了這一點。所以我認為這就是我們所看到的。所以時間會證明一切。就像我說的，我們還沒有看到任何統一或一致的東西。但我認為這與您聽到的一些觀點相符——您從我那裡聽到了我們剛剛[回應]的客戶之聲反饋。

Great. Second question for me. You provided at the beginning of the year guidance in terms of double-digit EPS growth, not that consensus is there right now, but can we agree that double-digit EPS growth would be at the higher end of your updated expectations?

偉大的。我的第二個問題。您在今年年初提供了兩位數每股收益成長的指導，目前尚未達成共識，但我們是否可以同意兩位數每股收益成長將位於您最新預期的較高端？

Yes. Well, obviously, we don't give guidance, but double-digit EPS accretion does remain a target for us. We do have the tailwind on the cost optimization, improved business mix. But I think what we're looking for is some return to improvement in the market conditions, which would then allow us to see that -- be able to reach that.

是的。顯然，我們不會給出指導，但兩位數的每股盈餘成長確實仍然是我們的目標。我們確實在成本優化和業務組合改善方面處於有利地位。但我認為我們正在尋求的是市場狀況有所改善，這將使我們能夠看到這一點 - 能夠實現這一目標。

Great. And then last for me, maybe one for Steve. Can you remind us of the CAD-USD impact in terms of your reporting. Obviously offsets because of the costs that are in USD as well. But maybe a bit of a tailwind in the coming quarters with the weaker Canadian currency?

偉大的。最後一個是我的，也許是史蒂夫的。您能否在報告中提醒我們加幣兌美元的影響？由於成本也以美元計算，因此顯然會抵消。但隨著加拿大貨幣走弱，未來幾季可能會出現一些順風車嗎？

Yes, in the next quarter because if you look at it last quarter, in fact, the U.S. dollar versus the previous year, it was not positive. But currently, yes, with the current exchange rate, you would see a positive sign coming from the FX in Q3.

是的，在下個季度，因為如果你看看上個季度，事實上，美元與前一年相比，情況並不樂觀。但目前，是的，按照當前的匯率，您會在第三季度看到外匯出現積極的跡象。

Your next question comes from Thanos Moschopoulos with BMO Capital Markets.

您的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Thanos Moschopoulos。

George, you referenced the growth in IP, maybe just to clarify what's driving that? Is a lot of that weighted to government given where we are in the cycle, or is it from some other sectors as well?

喬治，您提到了智慧財產權的成長，也許只是為了澄清推動這一成長的因素是什麼？考慮到我們所處的周期，其中很大一部分是由政府承擔的，還是也來自其他一些部門？

Yes, Thanos, you hit that one right. There certainly is -- highest growth was in government, both in North America, but increasingly in Europe. We had some nice growth in Europe as well, both in the bookings and the revenue, operations focused. That's where a lot of our IP plays. So HR, payroll, secure data, document handling, data intelligence solutions. We also had some growth in banking as well, Trade360, Wealth360. So -- but I think really more focused on those operational systems, just given where we are. So that's what's continuing to generate the growth.

是的，薩諾斯，你說對了。當然，成長最快的是政府部門，無論是在北美，還是在歐洲，成長速度越來越快。我們在歐洲也取得了一些不錯的成長，無論是預訂量還是收入，以及營運方面。這就是我們許多智慧財產權的發揮作用的地方。因此，人力資源、薪資、安全資料、文件處理、資料智慧解決方案。我們在銀行業、Trade360、Wealth360 方面也取得了一些成長。所以，但我認為，考慮到我們所處的位置，我們實際上更關注那些作業系統。這就是持續推動成長的因素。

Great. And it seems like your R&D investments on IP is up a good amount year-over-year. Is a lot of that focused on AI or other areas of investments as well?

偉大的。你們對智慧財產權的研發投資似乎逐年增加了許多。其中許多投資是否也集中在人工智慧或其他領域？

Yes. Well, we actually had a 30-plus percent increase in the CGI funded investments to enable IP within our AI. So everything from momentum to the customer advance and other elements. And again, just to remind you, some of that is just a reallocation, reprioritization of the spend as we go through that. But yes, AI is -- will continue to be a driver, as I mentioned.

是的。事實上，我們的 CGI 資助投資增加了 30% 以上，以在我們的人工智慧中實現智慧財產權。因此，從勢頭到客戶進步和其他要素，一切都是如此。再次提醒您，其中一些只是在我們經歷這一過程時重新分配、重新確定支出的優先順序。但是，是的，正如我所提到的，人工智慧將繼續成為驅動因素。

Your next question comes from Divya Goyal with Scotiabank.

您的下一個問題來自豐業銀行的 Divya Goyal。

I actually wanted to get a little bit more color on this H2 optimization. I know when -- at the time of the last quarter, we were talking about it. It looked like there could be more upside coming out of H2. But considering where the rate environment is right now, do you think it's fair to build in any sizable optimization whatsoever, or should we expect a flattish growth for this -- remaining quarters ahead?

我實際上想在 H2 優化上獲得更多色彩。我知道什麼時候——在上個季度的時候，我們正在談論它。看起來 H2 可能會帶來更多好處。但考慮到目前的利率環境，您認為進行任何大規模的優化是否公平，或者我們應該預期未來幾季的成長持平？

Yes. Well, as you know, Divya, we don't give guidance, but just, again, what I see, I just don't see the clarity right now. The pipeline looks strong. The interest is there. We're getting in front of our clients, which is extremely important, but -- and there are green shoots. It's just they're not very consistent, even across industries or geographies. So right now, I can't really call that. Maybe it shifts to the second half of the calendar year versus our fiscal year, I don't know. But that's what I see right now. I'm just sharing. That's why I share the metrics that we have, where the pipeline is, where the bookings are. And then, of course, what we're hearing on the Voice of the Client, so -- which is positive on a go-forward basis. I just don't know when some of that's going to show up.

是的。好吧，正如你所知，Divya，我們不提供指導，但是，再說一次，我所看到的，我現在還沒有看到清晰的情況。管道看起來很強大。興趣就在那裡。我們正在向客戶展示這一點，這非常重要，但是——並且已經出現了萌芽。只是它們並不是非常一致，即使是跨行業或跨地區也是如此。所以現在我還不能這麼稱呼。我不知道，也許它會轉移到日曆年的下半年，而不是我們的財政年度。但這就是我現在所看到的。我只是分享。這就是為什麼我分享我們擁有的指標、管道在哪裡、預訂在哪裡。然後，當然，我們在客戶之聲中聽到的內容，因此，這在未來的基礎上是積極的。我只是不知道其中一些什麼時候會出現。

Yes. No, that's a fair comment. And I wanted to get a little bit -- I know you talked about the margin sustainability, and you gave some commentary here on margins. What is a fair run rate for margins now that the cost optimization program is predominantly behind us.

是的。不，這是一個公平的評論。我想了解一點——我知道您談到了利潤率的可持續性，並且您在這裡對利潤率進行了一些評論。既然成本優化計劃已經基本結束，那麼合理的利潤率是多少。

Steve?

史蒂夫？

Look, from -- it's a good question. But ultimately, as George mentioned, yes, we will have an uptick in the margin with the cost optimization, probably not to the level that you saw this quarter because as George mentioned, we continue to invest. We want to invest in AI. We want to train our folks. And so we are spending at the right place to continue to ultimately grow the EPS. That's the ultimate goal, but something like 20 bps would make sense.

看，來自——這是一個好問題。但最終，正如喬治所提到的，是的，隨著成本優化，我們的利潤率將會上升，可能不會達到您本季看到的水平，因為正如喬治所提到的，我們繼續投資。我們想投資人工智慧。我們想培訓我們的員工。因此，我們在正確的地方進行支出，以繼續最終增加每股收益。這是最終目標，但 20 bps 之類的值是有意義的。

Yes, no. That's helpful. One question on the BFSI weakness. So George, you did mention that the BFSI segment saw some weakness. We have been hearing commentary from some of the global banks indicating increased investments in IT, are you seeing that show up in your bookings given the stronger SI&C bookings? Are you seeing more momentum on the AI side, or is it broadly digital core modernization where you see more of that spend coming out?

是的，不是。這很有幫助。關於 BFSI 弱點的一個問題。喬治，您確實提到 BFSI 部門出現了一些弱點。我們已經聽到一些全球銀行的評論表明 IT 投資有所增加，鑑於 SI&C 預訂強勁，您是否看到這一點出現在您的預訂中？您是否看到人工智慧方面有更多的動力，或者是廣泛的數位核心現代化，您看到更多的支出出現？

We're still seeing a lot more in the digital and general modernization projects. That's what we're seeing. Again, we're seeing some elements of kind of some of that spending, but it's still early days. And so I'd say more it's on the modernization. I think people are still setting up for what that next wave of digital spending is going to be.

我們仍然在數位和一般現代化項目中看到更多。這就是我們所看到的。同樣，我們看到了其中一些支出的一些因素，但現在還處於早期階段。所以我想說更多的是現代化。我認為人們仍在為下一波數位支出做好準備。

That's helpful. And my very last question here is considering where the stock price is today as compared to where it was a few weeks ago. Do you think there are any plans to expedite the share buyback.

這很有幫助。我的最後一個問題是考慮今天的股價與幾週前的價格相比。您認為是否有加速股票回購的計畫？

Yes. Well, as we've always discussed, our capital allocation priorities don't change. So investing in the business is number one; accretive acquisitions is number two. But to the extent that we have the capital available, and I believe we do, [Steve], yes, we would be looking to return that through share buybacks. And we don't base it primarily on price because we're basing on where we're going as a company. But certainly, we'll be -- you should expect us to continue to be aggressive on all fronts.

是的。嗯，正如我們一直討論的那樣，我們的資本配置優先事項不會改變。因此，投資業務是第一位的；增值性收購位居第二。但就我們擁有的可用資本而言，我相信我們有，[史蒂夫]，是的，我們將尋求透過股票回購來回報。我們主要不是基於價格，因為我們基於我們作為一家公司的發展方向。但當然，我們會——你應該期望我們繼續在各個方面積極進取。

Your next question comes from Stephanie Price with CIBC.

您的下一個問題來自 CIBC 的 Stephanie Price。

I was wondering if you could comment on bookings converting into revenue. I think you made a comment to an earlier question, just talking about slow project start-ups. What are you seeing in terms of that managed services pipeline converting over?

我想知道您是否可以對預訂轉化為收入發表評論。我認為您對先前的問題發表了評論，只是談論了專案啟動緩慢的問題。您對託管服務管道的轉換有何看法？

Yes. Well, we are seeing a lot of decent growth. If you look at some of the geographies and some of the industries where we're seeing growth a lot of that is now being driven by the managed services. It's just being offset by some of that slower SI&C spending. And as that returns, I think it's going to be an accelerator because we are starting to see good growth on the managed services side.

是的。嗯，我們看到了很多不錯的成長。如果你看看我們看到成長的一些地區和一些行業，其中很大一部分現在是由託管服務推動的。它只是被 SI&C 支出放緩所抵消。隨著這種回報，我認為它將成為一個加速器，因為我們開始看到託管服務的良好成長。

Okay. Great. And then just in terms of IP revenue, there was a comment that 60% of IP is now SaaS-based. If you could talk a little bit about the evolution of those IP solutions. I know a lot of them might have been considered mature or you've had them for a long time, interesting that they are not SaaS-based.

好的。偉大的。然後就 IP 收入而言，有評論稱現在 60% 的 IP 是基於 SaaS 的。您能談談這些 IP 解決方案的演進嗎？我知道其中許多可能被認為是成熟的，或者您已經擁有它們很長時間了，有趣的是它們不是基於 SaaS 的。

Yes, yes. No, I think there's a bit of a resurgence from both the -- introducing some of the new technologies, including AI into some of these operational intellectual property elements and then offering them as a Software-as-a-Service has given some of them a new life. And we've also spent some time combining some of our independent IPs and then offering that as a Software-as-a-Service that has increased opportunity and demand for the IP. So -- and we've been pretty rigorous of going through an architecture review and continuing to invest only in those IPs that we think do have that feature. And you're seeing the results of it these last several quarters.

是的是的。不，我認為，引入一些新技術，包括人工智慧到一些可操作的智慧財產權元素中，然後將它們作為軟體即服務提供給其中一些人，這兩者都出現了一些復甦。我們也花了一些時間組合一些獨立的 IP，然後將其作為軟體即服務提供，從而增加了對 IP 的機會和需求。因此，我們一直非常嚴格地進行架構審查，並繼續只投資於我們認為具有該功能的 IP。您正在看到過去幾個季度的結果。

Your next question comes from Suthan Sukumar with Stifel.

您的下一個問題來自 Suthan Sukumar 和 Stifel。

First question I have is, I guess, on your partner ecosystem. I've been seeing more headlines in recent [peers] about partnerships. Just kind of curious on what role your partner ecosystem has been having on your business and in terms of driving client relationships and growth overall?

我想我的第一個問題是關於您的合作夥伴生態系統。我最近在[同行]中看到了更多關於合作夥伴關係的頭條新聞。只是好奇您的合作夥伴生態系統在您的業務以及推動客戶關係和整體成長方面發揮了什麼作用？

Yes. No, it's a good question. They're an important element and increasingly important element in the ecosystem and certainly for CGI. It's why we elevated that whole process several years ago, and that continues to pay dividends. You saw that the bookings from that network is up double digit in the quarter and will continue to play an important role. And we have a unique position with some of those partners in that we do have those 150-plus intellectual property solutions, which are attractive. They're synergistic, working together on those.

是的。不，這是一個好問題。它們是生態系中的重要元素，而且越來越重要，對 CGI 來說也是如此。這就是為什麼我們幾年前就提升了整個流程，並且持續帶來紅利。您看到該網路的預訂量在本季度增長了兩位數，並將繼續發揮重要作用。我們與其中一些合作夥伴擁有獨特的地位，因為我們確實擁有 150 多個智慧財產權解決方案，這些解決方案很有吸引力。他們具有協同作用，在這些方面共同努力。

So they're not generic announcements. They're very specific opportunities. Having said that, you've seen that we've made some of those announcements in the past, you'll expect to see more of those types of partnerships because I think they are an important part of the ecosystem. Now having said that, it's -- we'll continue to be agnostic and work with our clients and what the right solution is for them.

所以它們不是通用公告。它們是非常具體的機會。話雖如此，您已經看到我們過去發布了一些公告，您會期望看到更多此類合作夥伴關係，因為我認為它們是生態系統的重要組成部分。話雖如此，我們將繼續保持不可知論，與我們的客戶合作，找出適合他們的解決方案。

Great. Next question, I guess, is just more on capital allocation optionality. Just in terms of returning cash back to shareholders beyond the NCIB, would a dividend ever be an option you would consider longer term?

偉大的。我想，下一個問題更多的是關於資本配置的選擇性。就向 NCIB 以外的股東返還現金而言，股息是否會成為您長期考慮的選擇？

Well, given where we are and what I just shared with you with the Voice of the Clients, the AI as a catalyst for growth, the opportunity that continues to be out there (inaudible) position. That's not the #1 place that we would go to drive the accretion we believe shareholders are looking for. So that's -- and that's -- we review it regularly with the Board. That's the current thinking of the Board, but that were -- if that were to change, we'd share it, but not right now.

好吧，考慮到我們所處的位置以及我剛剛透過客戶之聲與您分享的內容，人工智慧作為成長的催化劑，機會繼續存在（聽不清楚）的位置。這不是我們認為股東正在尋找的推動成長的第一地點。所以，我們定期與董事會一起審查它。這是董事會目前的想法，但如果情況發生變化，我們會分享它，但不是現在。

Okay. Great. And just 1 quick one for me. Given your ambitions around growing your IP business and also M&A as a growth driver, is there potential for pure play -- for deals around pure-play, IP and software?

好的。偉大的。對我來說只有 1 個快速的。鑑於您致力於發展 IP 業務以及將併購作為成長動力，是否有可能進行純業務——圍繞純業務、IP 和軟體進行交易？

Yes. What we have found when we look at pure software. I don't -- we evaluate them often. The issue is that they don't necessarily have the relationships with the clients that we're looking for. When we're looking at M&A, we're looking to complement and expand the relationships we have with clients. So we can sell through the full suite of CGI services. And a lot of the pure-play software just don't have that. Now there are some firms that are closer to that. We're looking at how to make that happen. And -- but in general, you don't see that. Same thing on pure AI firms. There's a -- you've got to sift through a lot of firms that are masquerading as AI firms, but they're not really -- at the end of the day, they're not really AI firms. And that's the issue with software firms. Do they have the relationship with the clients.

是的。當我們研究純軟體時我們發現了什麼。我不——我們經常評估它們。問題是他們不一定與我們正在尋找的客戶有關係。當我們考慮併購時，我們希望補充和擴大我們與客戶的關係。因此我們可以透過全套 CGI 服務進行銷售。而很多純粹的軟體就是不具備這一點。現在有一些公司更接近這一點。我們正在研究如何實現這一目標。而且——但總的來說，你看不到這一點。純人工智慧公司也是如此。有一個 - 你必須篩選很多偽裝成人工智慧公司的公司，但它們並不是真正的 - 歸根結底，它們不是真正的人工智慧公司。這就是軟體公司的問題。他們與客戶有關係嗎？

Your next question comes from Jason Kupferberg with Bank of America.

您的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Jason Kupferberg。

This is Tyler DuPont on for Jason. I know we're sort of running up on time. So try to be quick here. I know this has sort of been asked before as well, but to put a slightly different spin on it, based on my back of the envelope math, it looks like SI&C revs declined for the first time in quite a few quarters of strong growth. I know you commented on green shoots that you're seeing, but when we think about sort of an inflection positive, are you seeing that more as a 3Q phenomenon or 4Q? Or just any trends there worth considering as we look through 2024.

我是泰勒杜邦 (Tyler DuPont) 替傑森 (Jason) 發言。我知道我們已經準時了。所以在這裡盡量快點。我知道以前也有人問過這個問題，但根據我的粗略計算，SI&C 轉速似乎在幾個季度的強勁增長中首次下降。我知道您對所看到的復甦做出了評論，但是當我們考慮某種積極的拐點時，您是否更多地將其視為第三季度現像或第四季度現象？或是我們展望 2024 年時值得考慮的任何趨勢。

Yes. And that's what I tried to explain. It's difficult to predict. I'm not going to predict. We don't give guidance. That's why I shared with you the data points that I have. And what we're really just focused on is staying in front of our clients with the value propositions that will help them now and in the future. So -- but I don't really have an answer there.

是的。這就是我試圖解釋的。很難預測。我不會預測。我們不提供指導。這就是為什麼我與你們分享我所擁有的數據點。我們真正關注的是向客戶提供對他們現在和未來有幫助的價值主張。所以——但我真的沒有答案。

Understandable. That makes sense. I appreciate the color there. And just as a follow-up, it looks like as we're continuing to see sort of an increase in larger and longer duration deal wins, can you just maybe balance the difference between what you're seeing from the TPV growth side and the ACV growth side as we look at CGI as a whole? How should we anticipate these trends to evolve and sort of any disconnect, how long should that last between those 2 growth rates? Any sort of trends that are worth calling out?

可以理解。這就說得通了。我很欣賞那裡的顏色。作為後續行動，看起來隨著我們繼續看到規模更大、持續時間更長的交易勝利有所增加，您能否平衡一下您從 TPV 增長方面看到的情況與實際情況之間的差異？我們從整體上看待CGI 時，ACV 的成長方面如何？我們應該如何預測這些趨勢的演變，並消除任何脫節，這兩種成長率之間應該持續多久？有哪些趨勢值得關注？

Yes. Well, it's interesting. I guess maybe what I come back to is what I shared with you from the Voice of the Client that there's a more of a dual-focused agenda that's coming into shape. So both the cost savings and the growth drivers. And so I think you're going to see that normalize back to something that you're going to have the stronger SI&C growth for point projects, but also those larger transformative managed services deals. So that's what I would say that, that data point would point to.

是的。嗯，這很有趣。我想也許我會回到我在客戶之聲中與您分享的內容，即有一個更多的雙重重點議程正在形成。因此，既節省了成本，又增加了成長動力。因此，我認為您將看到這種情況恢復正常，即點專案的 SI&C 成長將更加強勁，而那些更大的變革性託管服務交易也會出現成長。這就是我想說的，該數據點所指向的。

(Operator Instructions) Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to management.

（操作員指示）女士們、先生們，目前沒有其他問題。我現在將把電話轉給管理階層。

Thank you, Joelle, and thanks, everyone, for participating. As a reminder, replay of the call will be available either via our webcast or by dialing 1 (888) 660-6264 and using the passcode 43710. As well, a podcast of this call will be available for download within a few hours. Follow-up questions can be directed to me at 1 (905) 973-8363. Thanks again, everyone, and looking forward to speaking soon.

謝謝喬爾，也謝謝大家的參與。謹此提醒，您可以透過我們的網路廣播或撥打 1 (888) 660-6264 並使用密碼 43710 重播本次通話。如有後續問題，請致電 1 (905) 973-8363 與我聯絡。再次感謝大家，並期待盡快發言。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與，並請您斷開線路。