Healthcare Services Group Inc (HCSG) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Ralph, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Healthcare Services Group Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers' remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions).

早安.我叫拉爾夫，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。現在，我歡迎大家參加醫療保健服務集團 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。所有線路均已靜音，以防止任何背景噪音。演講者發言後，將進行問答環節。 （操作員說明）。

The matters discussed on today's conference call include forward-looking statements about the business prospects of Healthcare Services Group Inc. For Healthcare Services Group, Inc.'s most recent forward-looking statement notice, please refer to the press release issued this morning, which can be found on our website at www.hcsg.com.

今天電話會議討論的事項包括有關 Healthcare Services Group Inc. 業務前景的前瞻性陳述。有關 Healthcare Services Group, Inc. 最新的前瞻性聲明公告，請參閱今天上午發布的新聞稿，其中可以在我們的網站www .hcsg.com 上找到。

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties and important factors, including those discussed in the risk factors, MD&A and other sections of the annual report on Form 10-K and Healthcare Services Group, Inc.'s other SEC filings, and as indicated in our most recent forward-looking statements notice.

由於各種風險、不確定性和重要因素，包括在10-K 表和Healthcare Services Group, Inc. 年度報告的風險因素、MD&A 以及其他部分中討論的內容，實際結果可能與明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異。的其他 SEC 文件，以及我們最近的前瞻性聲明通知中所示。

Additionally, management will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to U.S. GAAP can be found in this morning's press release. Thank you.

此外，管理階層也將討論某些非公認會計準則財務措施。這些項目與美國公認會計準則的調節可以在今天早上的新聞稿中找到。謝謝。

Ted Wahl, President and CEO, you may begin your conference.

總裁兼執行長 Ted Wahl)，您可以開始會議了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Matt McKee and I appreciate you joining us today. We released our third quarter results this morning and plan on filing our 10-Q by the end of the week.

謝謝大家，大家早安。馬特麥基和我感謝您今天加入我們。我們今天早上發布了第三季業績，並計劃在本週末之前提交 10-Q 報告。

Today, in my opening remarks, I will first discuss our third quarter financial highlights and key accomplishments. Next, I will provide an update on recent client restructuring actions. I'll then share our perspective on the latest industry trends and developments. And then finally, I'll share our fourth quarter and 2024 outlook. I'll then turn the call over to Matt to provide a more detailed discussion on the quarter, including our basis for GAAP to non-GAAP reporting. So with that overview, I'd like to now discuss our third quarter financial highlights and key accomplishments.

今天，在我的開場白中，我將首先討論我們第三季的財務亮點和主要成就。接下來，我將提供近期客戶重整行動的最新情況。然後我將分享我們對最新行業趨勢和發展的看法。最後，我將分享我們對第四季和 2024 年的展望。然後，我會將電話轉給馬特，以提供有關本季度的更詳細的討論，包括我們的 GAAP 到非 GAAP 報告的基礎。因此，在概述之後，我現在想討論我們第三季度的財務亮點和主要成就。

For the 3 months ended September 30, 2023, we reported revenue of $411.4 million and adjusted revenue of $424 million, in line with our expectations of $420 million to $430 million. We reported net loss and diluted loss per share of $5.5 million and $0.07 per share, and adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $12.5 million and $0.17 per share, a 13.9% and 13.3% increase, respectively, over Q3 2022.

截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的三個月，我們報告營收為 4.114 億美元，調整後營收為 4.24 億美元，符合我們 4.2 億至 4.3 億美元的預期。我們報告的淨虧損和攤薄每股虧損分別為550 萬美元和0.07 美元，調整後淨利潤和調整後稀釋每股收益分別為1250 萬美元和0.17 美元，較2022 年第三季度分別增長13.9% 和13.3%。

We reported adjusted EBITDA of $23.3 million, a 10.2% increase over Q3 2022. And we reported cash flow from operations of $2.9 million and adjusted cash flow from operations of $18 million, a 208.9% increase over Q3 2022.

我們報告的調整後EBITDA 為2,330 萬美元，比2022 年第三季成長10.2%。我們報告的營運現金流為290 萬美元，調整後營運現金流為1,800 萬美元，比2022 年第三季成長208.9 %。

We entered the second half of the year with 3 clear priorities and made substantial progress on all 3 during the quarter. The first was continuing to manage adjusted cost of services at 86%, which we did. The second was collecting what we bill, building on the strong momentum that we gained in May and June.

我們進入下半年時有 3 個明確的優先事項，並在本季度在所有 3 個優先事項上取得了實質進展。第一個是繼續將調整後的服務成本控制在 86%，我們做到了。第二個是在我們五月和六月獲得的強勁勢頭的基礎上收集我們的賬單。

In Q3, we delivered our strongest cash collections of the year, collecting over 98% of what we billed, with the modest shortfall primarily related to the timing of new business adds during the quarter.

在第三季度，我們實現了今年最強勁的現金回收，回收了我們帳單的 98% 以上，略有短缺主要與本季新業務增加的時間有關。

The third priority was executing on our organic growth strategy. Adjusted revenue for the quarter was up sequentially. Our sales pipeline is growing. And our recruiting and management development efforts are ramping up as we ready ourselves for growth.

第三個優先事項是執行我們的有機成長策略。該季度調整後營收季增。我們的銷售管道正在成長。隨著我們為成長做好準備，我們的招募和管理發展工作也在增加。

Now moving on to some of the recent client restructuring actions. We had 2 long-term clients initiate restructurings during the quarter. As part of their restructuring actions, these customer groups divested facilities to new operators. We're pleased to report that we've entered into new agreements with those new operators to retain the business and ensure many more years of partnership. As a result, we expect a neutral to positive effect on future revenue and earnings related to these facilities.

現在繼續討論最近的一些客戶重組行動。本季我們有 2 位長期客戶發起重組。作為重組行動的一部分，這些客戶集團將設施剝離給新營運商。我們很高興地報告，我們已與這些新運營商簽訂了新協議，以保留業務並確保多年的合作夥伴關係。因此，我們預計會對與這些設施相關的未來收入和收益產生中性至正面的影響。

These client downsizing actions are in line with the ongoing shift in the sector, from large multistate operators to smaller regional operators. This shift is a very good thing for us for many reasons, not the least of which is diversity of AR risk. I would also add that, notably, Genesis is not one of the restructurings. We continue to be very encouraged by the positive direction of their organization as they work towards their goal of having a leaner, healthier regional footprint, and with our most recent conversations regarding our partnership going forward, both operationally and financially.

這些客戶縮減行動符合該產業從大型跨國業者向小型區域業者的持續轉變。出於多種原因，這種轉變對我們來說是一件非常好的事情，其中​​最重要的是 AR 風險的多樣性。我還要補充一點，值得注意的是，創世紀並不是重組之一。我們繼續對他們的組織的積極方向感到非常鼓舞，因為他們正在努力實現更精簡、更健康的區域足蹟的目標，並且我們最近就我們在營運和財務方面的合作夥伴關係進行了對話。

I'd like to now share our perspective on the latest industry trends and developments. As we look towards 2024, industry fundamentals continue to improve and a stabilizing labor market and select state-based reimbursement increases have contributed to the gradual but steady occupancy recovery. On the regulatory front, on September 1, CMS proposed the minimum staffing rule, which triggered a 60-day comment period that will remain open until November 6, 2023. A final rule is expected mid-2024.

我現在想分享我們對最新行業趨勢和發展的看法。展望 2024 年，產業基本面持續改善，穩定的勞動力市場和部分州的報銷增加有助於入住率逐步但穩定的恢復。在監管方面，CMS於9月1日提出了最低人員配置規則，引發了為期60天的意見徵詢期，該意見徵詢期將持續到2023年11月6日。最終規則預計將於2024年年中出台。

There is a growing list of stakeholders opposed to the rule, including health care industry leaders, trade associations like ACA, MedPAC members, and a bipartisan group of legislators, including 28 senators and counting. The reasons for their opposition include the unfunded nature of the mandate, the one-size-fits-all approach, the apparent disregard for the realities of present and future nursing availability, and the near certainty that, if implemented as proposed, the rule would lead to facility closures and ultimately reduce access to care, particularly in rural areas.

反對該規則的利益相關者越來越多，包括醫療保健行業領導者、ACA 等行業協會、MedPAC 成員以及兩黨立法者團體，其中包括 28 名參議員，而且人數還在增加。他們反對的理由包括該任務沒有資金來源、一刀切的做法、明顯忽視當前和未來護理可用性的現實，以及幾乎可以肯定的是，如果按提議實施，該規則將導致設施關閉並最終減少獲得護理的機會，特別是在農村地區。

In addition to the public comment period, any rule would have to survive an onslaught of litigation, political changes in administration, and at least on some level, be funded. From our perspective, there remains great uncertainty as to whether any final rule would ultimately be implemented, at least a rule that resembles the current proposal.

除了公眾意見徵詢期之外，任何規則都必須經受住訴訟的衝擊、行政管理中的政治變化，並且至少在某種程度上需要資金支持。從我們的角度來看，最終是否會實施任何規則（至少類似於當前提案的規則）仍然存在很大的不確定性。

As far as our outlook for the fourth quarter in 2024, we enter Q4 with 3 clear priorities. The first is continuing to manage adjusted cost of services in line with our target of 86%. The second is collecting what we bill, building on the strong momentum gained in May, June and Q3. We're raising our expectations for second half of 2023 cash flow from operations from $20 million to $30 million to what is now $35 million to $45 million.

就我們對 2024 年第四季的展望而言，我們進入第四季時有 3 個明確的優先事項。首先是繼續管理調整後的服務成本，以實現我們 86% 的目標。第二個是在 5 月、6 月和第三季獲得的強勁勢頭的基礎上收集我們的帳單。我們將 2023 年下半年營運現金流預期從 2,000 萬美元至 3,000 萬美元提高至目前的 3,500 萬美元至 4,500 萬美元。

The third priority is continuing to execute on our organic growth strategy. Our Q4 adjusted revenue estimated range is $420 million to $430 million. We look forward to ending the year on a strong note and expect our positive operating cash collection and new business trends to continue into 2024.

第三個優先事項是繼續執行我們的有機成長策略。我們第四季調整後營收預計範圍為 4.2 億美元至 4.3 億美元。我們期待以強勁的勢頭結束這一年，並預計我們積極的營運現金回收和新業務趨勢將持續到 2024 年。

So with those introductory comments, I'll turn the call over to Matt for a more detailed discussion on the quarter, including our basis for GAAP to non-GAAP reporting.

因此，在這些介紹性評論之後，我將把電話轉給馬特，以便對本季度進行更詳細的討論，包括我們的 GAAP 到非 GAAP 報告的基礎。

Thank you, Ted, and good morning, everyone. For those of you who saw the press release this morning, you might have noticed that we introduced supplemental non-GAAP financial tables. The rationale for the supplemental schedules is to enhance transparency by providing even greater visibility into current business trends to increase period-to-period comparability and will closely align our reporting with how management views the business.

謝謝你，特德，大家早安。對於今天早上看到新聞稿的人來說，您可能已經注意到我們引入了補充的非公認會計原則財務表格。補充時間表的基本原理是透過提供對當前業務趨勢的更大可見性來提高透明度，以提高不同時期的可比性，並使我們的報告與管理層對業務的看法緊密結合。

So with that context, I'd like to now move on to a more detailed discussion of the quarter. Revenue was $411.4 million. Adjusted revenue was $424 million, Housekeeping & Laundry and Dining & Nutrition segment revenues were $190.9 million and $220.5 million, respectively. Adjusted Housekeeping & Laundry and Dining & Nutrition segment revenues were $194.6 million and $229.4 million, respectively. Housekeeping & Laundry and Dining & Nutrition segment margins were 5.4% and 0.9%, respectively. Adjusted Housekeeping & Laundry and Dining & Nutrition segment margins were 7.2% and 4.7%, respectively.

因此，在這種背景下，我現在想繼續對該季度進行更詳細的討論。收入為 4.114 億美元。調整後的收入為 4.24 億美元，家事與洗衣部門以及餐飲與營養部門的收入分別為 1.909 億美元和 2.205 億美元。調整後的家事和洗衣以及餐飲和營養部門的收入分別為 1.946 億美元和 2.294 億美元。家事和洗衣以及餐飲和營養部門的利潤率分別為 5.4% 和 0.9%。調整後的家事和洗衣以及餐飲和營養部門的利潤率分別為 7.2% 和 4.7%。

Cost of services was $377.6 million. Adjusted cost of services was $366.2 million or 86.4%, in line with our target of 86%. And our goal is to continue to manage adjusted cost of services in the 86% range. SG&A was $39.0 million. Adjusted SG&A was $40.3 million or 9.5%, within the company's targeted range of 8.5% to 9.5%. And we expect to continue to manage adjusted SG&A within that targeted range.

服務成本為 3.776 億美元。調整後的服務成本為 3.662 億美元，即 86.4%，與我們 86% 的目標一致。我們的目標是繼續將調整後的服務成本控制在 86% 的範圍內。 SG&A 為 3,900 萬美元。調整後的 SG&A 為 4,030 萬美元，即 9.5%，在公司 8.5% 至 9.5% 的目標範圍內。我們預計將繼續在該目標範圍內管理調整後的銷售及管理費用。

Third quarter cash flow and adjusted cash flow from operations were $2.9 million and $18.0 million, respectively. As Ted mentioned in his opening remarks, we raised our expectations for second half 2023 cash flow from operations from $20 million to $30 million to $35 million to $45 million. DSO for the quarter was 82 days. Adjusted DSO was 79 days, a 4-day improvement over last quarter.

第三季現金流量和調整後的營運現金流量分別為 290 萬美元和 1,800 萬美元。正如 Ted 在開場白中提到的，我們將 2023 年下半年營運現金流預期從 2,000 萬美元至 3,000 萬美元提高到 3,500 萬美元至 4,500 萬美元。本季的 DSO 為 82 天。調整後的 DSO 為 79 天，比上季提高了 4 天。

Also, as part of our adjusted results, we adjust for the impact of the change in payroll accrual. But since it will still be included in our reported cash flow from operations, we would point out that the Q4 payroll accrual is 15 days. That compares to the 7 days that we had in the third quarter of 2023 and 14 days that we had in the fourth quarter of 2022. But again, the payroll accrual only relates to quarter-to-quarter timing.

此外，作為調整結果的一部分，我們也針對應計工資變化的影響進行了調整。但由於它仍將包含在我們報告的營運現金流中，因此我們會指出，第四季度工資應計期間為 15 天。相較之下，2023 年第三季為 7 天，2022 年第四季為 14 天。但同樣，薪資應計僅與季度間時間相關。

So with those opening remarks, we'd now like to open up the call for questions.

有了這些開場白，我們現在開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Sean Dodge from RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Sean Dodge。

Maybe just starting with the impact of the 2 restructurings. Ted, you said some of the facilities were divested but you signed contracts with the new operators. Did either of those new agreements contribute any revenue in the quarter? I guess I'm just looking for a little bit of help squaring, that was the revenue and the adjusted revenue you reported. Should we think about the $424 million of adjusted revenue numbers, is that kind of the jumping-off point into Q4?

也許這只是從兩次重組的影響開始。特德，你說一些設施被剝離，但你與新運營商簽訂了合約。這些新協議是否為本季帶來了任何收入？我想我只是在尋找一點幫助，那就是收入和您報告的調整後收入。我們是否應該考慮一下 4.24 億美元的調整後營收數字，這是第四季的起點嗎？

It is, Sean. And really that -- in terms of the impact on restructuring, there was no -- other than the way it was accounted for as a temporary onetime step down in revenue. In terms of the go-forward, we believe that there's going to be more opportunity because divestiture of facilities was a large part of the restructuring activities of both of these groups. So they provide us new operators and smaller, nimbler organizations to grow within the future. And that's why we expect, going forward, from a revenue and earnings perspective, it to be a neutral to positive event.

是的，肖恩。實際上，就對重組的影響而言，除了將其視為暫時的一次性收入下降之外，沒有其他影響。就未來而言，我們相信將會有更多機會，因為設施剝離是這兩個集團重組活動的很大一部分。因此，它們為我們提供了新的營運商和更小、更靈活的組織，以便在未來發展。這就是為什麼我們預計，從收入和收益的角度來看，這將是一個中性到積極的事件。

Okay. Great. And then, on the guidance for the cash from operations for the second half of the year, the $35 million to $45 million, is that an adjusted number? Or will that be GAAP? And then maybe if you could just walk us through the visibility you have into that, what gives you the confidence to raise that range by, the $15 million...

好的。偉大的。然後，根據下半年營運現金的指導，3500萬至4500萬美元，這是調整後的數字嗎？或者這將是公認會計原則（GAAP）？然後，也許如果您能向我們介紹一下您對此的了解，是什麼讓您有信心將這一範圍提高 1500 萬美元…

To be consistent with how we presented it last quarter and the quarter before in terms of our second half of the year expectations, we're just presenting and sharing a GAAP number. So that's -- our revised range has moved from $20 million to $30 million to $35 million to $45 million.

為了與我們上季和前一季對下半年預期的呈現方式保持一致，我們僅呈現並分享 GAAP 數據。所以，我們的修訂範圍已從 2000 萬美元調整到 3000 萬美元，再調整到 3500 萬美元到 4500 萬美元。

And in terms of our conviction around that number, I think it's a function of what we've talked about before. While the industry is still recovering, it hasn't fully recovered. We talked about, coming into the year, even on the heels of a strong Q4 last year, we expected some fits and starts on the collections front, especially in the beginning of the year, which is why we provided more modest cash flow estimates for the first half of the year.

就我們對這個數字的信念而言，我認為這是我們之前討論過的函數。雖然該行業仍在復甦，但尚未完全復甦。我們談到，進入今年，即使在去年第四季度的強勁表現之後，我們預計系列方面會出現一些間歇性的變化，特別是在今年年初，這就是為什麼我們對今年上半年。

But during the third quarter, and really starting in the second quarter with May and June, we continued that strong momentum, and this quarter collected over 98% of what we billed. And I mentioned it in the opening remarks, but the modest shortfall was really related to some of the startups we had intra-quarter.

但在第三季度，尤其是從 5 月和 6 月的第二季度開始，我們繼續保持強勁的勢頭，本季度收到了超過 98% 的帳單。我在開場白中提到了這一點，但適度的短缺確實與我們在季度內擁有的一些新創公司有關。

So we have positive momentum heading into Q4, and visibility, Sean. Visibility is a big thing in any business, including ours. So I think the signals that Matt and I are trying to send to our investors and all of our stakeholders is we're continuing to gain visibility into our future performance, and that's what gives us conviction.

因此，肖恩，我們在進入第四季度和可見度方面擁有積極的勢頭。可見度對於任何企業（包括我們的企業）來說都是一件大事。因此，我認為馬特和我試圖向我們的投資者和所有利益相關者發出的信號是，我們將繼續了解我們未來的業績，這讓我們充滿信心。

Okay. Great. And congratulations on the progress in the quarter.

好的。偉大的。恭喜本季取得的進展。

No, I appreciate it, Sean.

不，我很感激，肖恩。

Your next question comes from the line of Andy Wittmann from Baird.

您的下一個問題來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的安迪維特曼 (Andy Wittmann)。

Gentlemen, I appreciate you taking the time for my question here. And I guess, Matt, maybe I wanted to just dig into the $21.3 million, the item here in the reconciliation, just to get a little bit more color. It seems like there's 2 factors here. It looks like there's some of the revenue recognition that you talked to in the prior question, but it's also a component that's just, I guess, I'd just call it kind of bad debt write-downs judging from the footnote. Can you just tell me how much of the $ 21.7 million was what would be, I guess, considered a bad debt write-down?

先生們，非常感謝您抽出時間來回答我的問題。我想，馬特，也許我只是想深入研究 2,130 萬美元，也就是調節表中的項目，只是為了獲得更多的色彩。這裡似乎有兩個因素。看起來有一些您在上一個問題中談到的收入確認，但我想，從腳註來看，我只是將其稱為壞帳減記。您能告訴我 2,170 萬美元中的多少（我猜）被視為壞帳減記嗎？

Sean, I think -- and this is Ted speaking. About $12.5 million would have impacted the top line with the balance impacting bad debt. And that's just a function of the way the accounting guidance works. There's still -- there was still a partial ongoing relationship with the smaller much leaner operation that the existing customer is organized. So because they're still an existing customer, that's accounted for as a onetime revenue step down in the quarter.

肖恩，我想──這是特德的發言。約 1,250 萬美元將影響營收，而餘額則影響壞帳。這只是會計指南運作方式的功能。與現有客戶組織的規模較小、較精簡的業務仍存在部分持續的關係。因此，由於他們仍然是現有客戶，因此這被視為本季的一次性收入下降。

And then conversely, the other restructuring has been divested in full to 2 separate operators. And because that's a former customer, that's accounted for as bad debt. So it's just geography in terms of the P&L, but the same impact, noncash, onetime from our perspective. Legacy issue.

相反，另一項重組已全部剝離給兩家獨立的營運商。因為那是以前的客戶，所以被算為壞帳。因此，從損益表來看，這只是地理因素，但從我們的角度來看，同樣的影響是非現金的。遺留問題。

Got it. So then I guess the question is from a process point of view, given that you've got about $9 million of kind of bad debt, is this idea of adjusted revenue that's going to add back some of the bad debt unique to the circumstance of this quarter? Or should we expect that this is a metric that you're going to report on an ongoing basis?

知道了。那麼我想問題是從流程的角度來看，考慮到你有大約 900 萬美元的壞賬，這種調整收入的想法是否會增加一些特有的壞賬這個季度？或者我們應該期望這是您將持續報告的指標？

We would believe it's going to be circumstance-driven. I would expect in most, if not just about -- in most quarters, it would be a 0 in terms of the adjusted revenue. But we at least wanted to introduce that possibility because, again, the accounting rules for revenue are pretty clear. I believe it's ASC 606, that if you're in a negotiation and you're accepting getting paid less than what you had previously billed, and that's with an existing customer that you continue to provide some level of services to, then you're expected to record that adjustment as a reduction to revenue rather than bad debt expense.

我們相信這將是環境驅動的。我預計在大多數（如果不是大約）季度中，調整後的收入將為 0。但我們至少想引入這種可能性，因為收入的會計規則非常明確。我相信這是 ASC 606，如果您在談判中並且您接受的報酬低於您之前收取的費用，並且您繼續向現有客戶提供某種程度的服務，那麼您就預計將調整記錄為收入減少而不是壞帳費用。

So to the extent an incident like that or an action like that happens in the future, we would account for in accordance with the guidance. But otherwise, we wouldn't expect it to be a recurring theme moving forward.

因此，如果將來發生類似的事件或類似的行動，我們將根據指導進行解釋。但除此之外，我們不會期望它成為未來反覆出現的主題。

Okay. That makes sense. And then maybe, Ted, just one other one here, just on the increased cash flow guidance here. Was there -- I mean, we heard your answer before to the prior question about the visibility and the confidence since May, and that all makes sense. Was there an item here collecting on the past maybe bad debt that happened in the quarter or that's expected to happen in the balance of the year that gives you some of this confidence for this increase?

好的。這就說得通了。然後也許，特德，這裡只是另一則，只是關於增加的現金流指引。我的意思是，我們之前聽過您對之前關於自 5 月以來的可見性和信心的問題的回答，這一切都是有道理的。這裡是否有一個項目收集了過去可能發生在本季度的壞賬，或者預計在今年剩餘時間內發生的壞賬，這讓您對這種增長有一些信心？

No. It's really the intra-quarter collections and billings that gives us the confidence. And with that said, we continue to work on our -- with our customers on plans, whether they're in hand, and promissory notes we talked about before as an important tactic in our overall collection strategy, which can add a degree of tailwind to it. But there was nothing specific to this quarter or notable that would have been unusual.

不。真正給我們信心的是季度內的收款和帳單。話雖如此，我們將繼續與客戶一起制定計劃，無論它們是否在手，以及我們之前討論過的期票，作為我們整體收款策略的重要策略，這可以增加一定程度的順風車到它。但本季沒有任何具體或值得注意的異常情況。

It was really large -- it was largely intra-quarter collecting what we bill, and again, a function of our strategy working, the increased payment frequency, the proactive use of promissory notes, and then disciplined in our decision-making, coupled with, and perhaps even more importantly, Andy, the recovering environment.

它確實很大——主要是在季度內收取我們的賬單，而且，這也是我們戰略運作的一個功能，增加的支付頻率，主動使用期票，然後在我們的決策中遵守紀律，再加上，也許更重要的是安迪，正在復原的環境。

Every quarter that goes by, census, occupancy continues to recover and the state-based reimbursement benefits are starting to take hold. October is the first month that the 4% CMS increase would be realized. So you have a confluence of events that I think environmentally make for a stronger -- a strengthening industry.

每個季度，人口普查、入住率都會持續恢復，州政府的報銷福利也開始發揮作用。 10 月是 CMS 實現 4% 成長的第一個月。因此，我認為，在環境方面，一系列事件的匯合可以使產業變得更加強大。

Your next question comes from the line of Ryan Daniels from William Blair.

你的下一個問題來自威廉布萊爾的瑞恩丹尼爾斯。

This is Jack Senft on for Ryan Daniel. In terms of margins, it looks like both the Housekeeping & Laundry and then Dining & Nutrition segment decreased from last quarter on an adjusted basis. Is there anything to call out here that caused this decrease? Was it anything to do with the restructurings or possibly just even attributed to seasonality? Just curious if you can kind of double click on that.

我是瑞恩·丹尼爾的傑克·森夫特。就利潤率而言，經調整後，家事和洗衣以及餐飲和營養部門的利潤率均較上季有所下降。這裡有什麼值得指出的原因導致了這種下降嗎？這是否與重組有關，甚至可能只是季節性因素？只是好奇你是否可以雙擊它。

Yes, more the latter than the former, Jack. There's always going to be some movement month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter, depending on timing of new business adds or exit, management development ramp-ups, operational execution and other considerations that are happening really each and every day as a part of our business within our field-based operations.

是的，後者比前者更多，傑克。每個月、每季總會有一些變動，取決於新業務增加或退出的時間、管理發展的提升、營運執行以及其他每天都在發生的考慮因素。我們現場營運業務的一部分。

Year-to-date, our adjusted segment margins are 8.8% and 5.6%. And we'd expect to track in at around those levels for 2024, again, with a degree of that quarter-to-quarter variability. So overall, we continue to have positive operational trends related to customer experience, system adherence, regulatory compliance and budget discipline, all of which are near-term margin drivers, which is why we remain confident in our overall ability to continue to manage adjusted cost of services in that 86% range that we've targeted.

年初至今，我們調整後的分部利潤率分別為 8.8% 及 5.6%。我們預計 2024 年將再次保持在這些水準附近，並存在一定程度的季度變化。因此，總體而言，我們在客戶體驗、系統遵守、監管合規和預算紀律方面繼續保持積極的營運趨勢，所有這些都是近期利潤驅動因素，這就是為什麼我們對繼續管理調整後成本的整體能力充滿信心我們目標的 86% 範圍內的服務。

Okay. Perfect. And then just a quick follow-up, too. In your prepared remarks, I think you noted that the sales pipeline was ramping up nicely, which obviously correlates really well with you guys entering this growth mode phase. Just curious if you can dive a bit deeper on the sales pipeline, and if you can kind of touch in -- touch on and just like in terms of what you're seeing in terms of demand and as you kind of head into 2024.

好的。完美的。然後也只是快速跟進。在您準備好的發言中，我認為您注意到銷售管道正在良好地成長，這顯然與您們進入這個成長模式階段非常相關。只是好奇你是否可以更深入地了解銷售管道，以及是否可以接觸一下，就像你在進入 2024 年時所看到的需求情況一樣。

Yes. We appreciate that question because, as we've discussed previously, our value proposition continues to resonate more strongly than it ever has even historically. So the demand for the services is absolutely there. And not to suggest that increased demand necessarily yields an increased growth rate, but certainly to have greater demand allows us to be that much more selective in determining with whom we would like to establish new partnerships and in many instances, expand our existing relationships.

是的。我們很重視這個問題，因為正如我們之前討論的那樣，我們的價值主張比以往任何時候都更能引起共鳴。所以對服務的需求是絕對存在的。這並不是說需求的增加必然會帶來成長率的提高，但肯定的是，更大的需求使我們能夠更有選擇性地決定與誰建立新的合作夥伴關係，並在許多情況下擴大我們現有的關係。

So the demand for the services is certainly strong. We've built an organization on both the sales side of our field-based organization and also within our operations to develop the management pipeline such that we have the management capacity to be able to onboard new facilities, all of which are operating at full capacity right now.

因此，對服務的需求肯定是強勁的。我們在現場組織的銷售方面以及我們的營運範圍內建立了一個組織，以開發管理管道，以便我們擁有能夠啟用新設施的管理能力，所有這些設施都在滿載運作現在。

So we -- the demand we do anticipate will turn into new business growth and new business opportunities. So given that, we did talk about our expectation for the second half of the year to demonstrate top line growth sequential relative to the first half of the year, and expect that growth trajectory to continue into 2024 such that we have every expectation that we see year-over-year growth 2024 compared to this year.

因此，我們預期的需求將轉化為新的業務成長和新的商機。因此，考慮到這一點，我們確實談到了對今年下半年的預期，即相對於上半年實現營收連續增長，並預計這種增長軌跡將持續到2024 年，這樣我們就可以看到我們所看到的一切預期與今年相比，2024 年將實現年增。

Your next question comes from the line of Brian Tanquilut from Jefferies. Brian, your line is open.

您的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Brian Tanquilut。布萊恩，你的線路已開通。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Ted Wahl for some final closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我會將電話轉回特德·瓦爾，讓其做最後的總結發言。

Okay. Great. Thank you, Rob. As we look ahead, we remain confident in our ability to control the controllables, realistic about the challenges that remain within our industry and broader economy, and focused on executing on our strategic priorities to drive growth and deliver long-term value to shareholders.

好的。偉大的。謝謝你，羅布。展望未來，我們對控制可控因素的能力仍然充滿信心，對行業和更廣泛的經濟中仍然存在的挑戰持現實態度，並專注於執行我們的戰略重點，以推動成長並為股東創造長期價值。

So on behalf of Matt and all of us at Healthcare Services Group, I wanted to again thank Rob for hosting the call today. And thank you, again, everyone, for joining.

因此，我謹代表馬特和醫療服務集團的所有人，再次感謝羅布主持今天的電話會議。再次感謝大家的加入。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。