Houlihan Lokey Inc (HLI) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Houlihan Lokey's Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference call is being recorded today, May 8, 2024.

美好的一天，女士們先生們。感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加 Houlihan Lokey 的第四季和 2024 財年財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，本次電話會議於今天（2024 年 5 月 8 日）錄製。

I will now turn the call over to the company. Please go ahead.

我現在將把電話轉給公司。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and hello, everyone. By now, everyone should have access to our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 earnings release, which can be found on the Houlihan Lokey website at www.hl.com in the Investor Relations section.

謝謝接線員，大家好。到目前為止，每個人都應該可以訪問我們第四季度和 2024 財年的收益發布，該發布可以在 Houlihan Lokey 網站 www.hl.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

Before we begin our formal remarks, we need to remind everyone that the discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by use of words such as will, expect, anticipate, should or other similar phrases are not guarantees of future performance. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. And therefore, you should exercise caution when interpreting and relying on them.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我們需要提醒大家，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述通常透過使用「將」、「期望」、「預期」、「應該」或其他類似短語等詞語來識別，並不能保證未來的績效。這些陳述面臨許多風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期有重大差異。因此，在解釋和依賴它們時應謹慎行事。

We refer all of you to our recent SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. We encourage investors to review our regulatory filings, including the Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2024, when it is filed with the SEC.

我們建議大家參閱我們最近向 SEC 提交的文件，以更詳細地討論可能影響我們未來經營業績和財務狀況的風險。我們鼓勵投資者審查我們的監管文件，包括向 SEC 提交的截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的年度 10-K 表格。

During today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's financial performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and our investor presentation on the hl.com website.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估公司的財務表現。這些措施不應被孤立地考慮，也不應取代我們根據公認會計準則編制的財務表現。我們在 hl.com 網站上發布的收益報告和投資者介紹中提供了這些指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的調節表。

Hosting the call today, we have Scott Beiser, Houlihan Lokey's Chief Executive Officer; Scott Adelson, Co-President and Co-Head of Corporate Finance; and Lindsey Alley, Chief Financial Officer of the company. They will provide some opening remarks, and then we will open the call to questions.

今天主持電話會議的是 Houlihan Lokey 執行長 Scott Beiser； Scott Adelson，共同總裁兼企業財務聯席主管；和公司財務長 Lindsey Alley。他們將發表一些開場白，然後我們將開始提問。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Scott.

然後，我會將電話轉給斯科特。

Thank you, Christopher. Welcome, everyone, to our fourth quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call. First of all, let me say how enjoyable it has been for the last 21 years to have the pleasure of leading Houlihan Lokey on its journey to become a world-class investment banking firm. I'm incredibly thankful to thousands of employees, clients and shareholders who helped make this firm the success it is today.

謝謝你，克里斯多福。歡迎大家參加我們的 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。首先，我要說的是，在過去的21年裡，我有幸帶領Houlihan Lokey踏上成為世界一流投資銀行公司的旅程。我非常感謝成千上萬的員工、客戶和股東，他們幫助這家公司取得了今天的成功。

A special thanks to my Co-Executive officers, Scott Adelson, Lindsey Alley, Christopher Crain, Irwin Gold and David Preiser as well as our entire global leadership team. The partnership we have developed over the decade has been extraordinary. I'm incredibly pleased to be handing over the CEO title to my long-term partner, Scott Adelson, and a growing team of outstanding managers to lead the firm in the years ahead. I intend to remain involved with Houlihan Lokey but in a different capacity to assist Scott and others in our continuing effort to build the best investment banking firm in the world.

特別感謝我的聯合執行長 Scott Adelson、Lindsey Alley、Christopher Crain、Irwin Gold 和 David Preiser 以及我們整個全球領導團隊。十年來我們建立的夥伴關係非比尋常。我非常高興將執行長頭銜移交給我的長期合作夥伴斯科特·阿德爾森 (Scott Adelson)，以及一支不斷壯大的優秀經理團隊，以在未來幾年領導公司。我打算繼續與 Houlihan Lokey 合作，但以不同的身分協助 Scott 和其他人繼續努力打造世界上最好的投資銀行公司。

Now on to the business update. We ended the quarter with revenues of $520 million and adjusted earnings per share of $1.27. Revenues were up 17% and adjusted earnings per share were up 14% compared to the same quarter last year. We also ended our fiscal year with revenues up 6% versus last year, a good result in a challenging market.

現在介紹業務更新。本季末，我們的營收為 5.2 億美元，調整後每股收益為 1.27 美元。與去年同期相比，營收成長 17%，調整後每股收益成長 14%。我們的財年結束時，營收比去年成長了 6%，這在充滿挑戰的市場中取得了不錯的成績。

One of our firm's strengths is our diversified business model. Over the past year in an otherwise sluggish M&A market, our Corporate Finance and Financial and Valuation Advisory businesses were relatively stable, while our Financial Restructuring business grew. We begin the new fiscal year with momentum in all 3 of our business lines and remain optimistic that improving market conditions will continue throughout the year.

我們公司的優勢之一是我們多元化的業務模式。過去一年，在併購市場低迷的情況下，我們的企業融資和財務與估值諮詢業務相對穩定，而財務重組業務則有所增長。我們的所有 3 個業務線都以強勁勢頭開啟新財年，並對全年市場狀況持續改善保持樂觀。

As previously described, after reaching what we believe was the trough in the M&A markets in the spring of 2023, our Corporate Finance business has been steadily improving ever since. Some of the highlights in our last quarter include $288 million in Corporate Finance revenues representing our highest fourth quarter Corporate Finance revenues in 3 years, $155 million in Financial Restructuring revenues representing our second highest quarterly revenues ever in restructuring and $77 million in Financial and Valuation Advisory revenues also representing our second highest quarterly revenues ever in FVA.

如前所述，在 2023 年春季達到我們認為的併購市場的低谷後，我們的企業融資業務此後一直在穩步改善。上一季的一些亮點包括2.88 億美元的企業融資收入，代表我們3 年來最高的第四季度企業融資收入；1.55 億美元的財務重組收入，代表我們有史以來第二高的重組季度收入；以及7700萬美元的財務和估值諮詢收入收入也代表了我們 FVA 有史以來第二高的季度收入。

Overall, the market for our Corporate Finance and FVA businesses is steadily improving. Financing continues to be available in the marketplace, albeit at higher rates than in the last few years. Financial sponsors are gradually reentering the market, and we have seen an uptick in opportunities to sell private equity portfolio companies.

總體而言，我們的企業融資和 FVA 業務市場正在穩步改善。市場上繼續提供融資，儘管利率高於過去幾年。金融贊助商逐漸重新進入市場，我們看到出售私募股權投資組合公司的機會增加。

Our pipeline of opportunities and backlog in Corporate Finance continues to grow as does the size of our transactions. When the time frame to complete transactions returns to the historical norms, it will have a further positive impact on performance. Our Financial Restructuring business remains at elevated levels, and we reiterate our expectations that these elevated levels will continue through fiscal 2025, albeit with some level of quarterly volatility.

我們在企業融資方面的機會和積壓訂單不斷成長，交易規模也不斷成長。當完成交易的時間恢復到歷史正常水準時，將對業績產生進一步的正面影響。我們的財務重組業務仍處於較高水平，我們重申我們的預期，儘管存在一定程度的季度波動，但這些較高水平將持續到 2025 財年。

In the quarter, we hired 11 new Managing Directors, a recent high-water mark. Those hires were partially offset by mostly planned departures. In our current quarter, we are pleased to announce the promotion of 14 directors to Managing Director and the closing of the Triago acquisition, which added 7 Managing Directors to our Capital Markets business.

本季度，我們聘請了 11 位新董事總經理，創下近期新高。這些招聘被大部分計劃中的離職所部分抵消。在本季度，我們很高興地宣布 14 位董事晉升為董事總經理，並完成了 Triago 收購，這為我們的資本市場業務增加了 7 位董事總經理。

I would like to close my comments today by introducing you to Scott Adelson. Many of you know that Scott has been a partner of mine and the leadership of the firm till the last 20 years. I've asked Scott to join this call and participate in the Q&A. And starting next quarter, you will hear from Scott as Houlihan Lokey's new CEO.

我想透過向您介紹斯科特·阿德爾森來結束今天的評論。你們很多人都知道，在過去 20 年裡，史考特一直是我的合夥人，也是公司的領導階層。我已邀請 Scott 加入本次電話會議並參與問答。從下個季度開始，您將聽到 Scott 擔任 Houlihan Lokey 的新任執行長。

With that, I will hand it over to Scott for a few additional comments.

至此，我將把它交給斯科特徵求一些補充意見。

Thank you, Scott. I'm honored to be asked to hold this important position at Houlihan Lokey and want to thank Scott and the Board of Directors for entrusting me with this role. Our team of executives has been managing this firm for over a decade. We have set out a vision of what we wanted this firm to be, and we have been executing on that shared vision for as long as I can remember. I intend to continue down the same path with my colleagues with the goal of creating the finest independent investment banking firm in the world.

謝謝你，斯科特。我很榮幸受邀在 Houlihan Lokey 擔任這一重要職位，並感謝 Scott 和董事會委託我擔任這一職位。我們的高階主管團隊管理這家公司已經超過十年了。我們已經制定了我們希望這家公司成為什麼樣的願景，從我記事起，我們就一直在執行這個共同的願景。我打算與我的同事們繼續沿著同樣的道路前進，目標是創造世界上最好的獨立投資銀行公司。

This transition is happening at a unique time in our firm's evolution. We are emerging from 2 years of a sluggish M&A market with a record number of senior bankers, strong backlog, momentum in all 3 of our business lines, increasing market share around the world and the best shareholder base in our category. While I've had the pleasure of spending time with a number of you, I look forward to working with all of you in this new role, and thank you for your continued support of Houlihan Lokey.

這一轉變發生在我們公司發展的一個獨特時期。我們正在擺脫兩年低迷的併購市場，擁有創紀錄數量的高級銀行家、強勁的積壓、所有 3 個業務線的勢頭、全球市場份額的增加以及我們類別中最好的股東基礎。雖然我很高興與你們中的許多人共度時光，但我期待著在這個新職位上與你們所有人一起工作，並感謝你們對 Houlihan Lokey 的持續支持。

And with that, I will hand it over to Lindsey.

就這樣，我將把它交給 Lindsey。

Thank you, Scott. Revenues in Corporate Finance were $288 million for the quarter, up 12% when compared to the same quarter last year. We closed 121 transactions in this quarter, a high for fiscal 2024. And our average transaction fee was higher for the quarter versus the same quarter last year.

謝謝你，斯科特。該季度企業融資收入為 2.88 億美元，比去年同期成長 12%。本季我們完成了 121 筆交易，這是 2024 財年的最高水準。

Financial Restructuring revenues were $155 million for the quarter, a 29% increase versus the same period last year. We closed 35 transactions in the quarter compared to 38 in the same quarter last year, but our average transaction fee on closed deals increased significantly. As we've mentioned in the past, given the nature of the business, revenues in our Financial Restructuring business can be lumpy quarter-to-quarter. This quarter benefited from some larger transactions and favorable timing.

該季度財務重組營收為 1.55 億美元，比去年同期成長 29%。我們本季完成了 35 筆交易，而去年同期為 38 筆，但我們已完成交易的平均交易費用顯著增加。正如我們過去所提到的，鑑於業務的性質，我們的財務重組業務的收入可能會按季度波動。本季受益於一些較大的交易和有利的時機。

In Financial and Valuation Advisory, revenues were $77 million for the quarter, a 14% increase from the same period last year. We had 1,025 Fee Events during the quarter compared to 957 in the same period last year.

財務和估值諮詢業務本季營收為 7,700 萬美元，比去年同期成長 14%。本季我們發生了 1,025 起費用事件，而去年同期為 957 起。

Turning to expenses. With higher revenues, our adjusted compensation expenses were $320 million for the quarter versus $274 million for the same period last year. Our only adjustment was $9.4 million for deferred retention payments related to certain acquisitions. In both fiscal 2024 and 2023, our adjusted compensation expense ratio for the fourth quarter and fiscal year was 61.5%. We expect to maintain our long-term target of 61.5% for our adjusted compensation expense ratio.

轉向開支。由於收入增加，本季調整後的薪酬支出為 3.2 億美元，而去年同期為 2.74 億美元。我們唯一的調整是與某些收購相關的遞延保留付款 940 萬美元。在 2024 財年和 2023 財年，我們第四季和財年調整後的薪酬費用率為 61.5%。我們預計調整後的薪酬費用率將維持 61.5% 的長期目標。

Our adjusted noncompensation expenses were $81 million for the quarter, an increase of $13 million over the same period last year, but relatively flat compared with last quarter. This resulted in an adjusted noncompensation expense ratio of 15.6% for the quarter compared to an adjusted noncompensation expense ratio of 15.3% for the same period last year.

本季我們調整後的非薪酬費用為 8,100 萬美元，比去年同期增加了 1,300 萬美元，但與上季相比相對持平。這導致本季調整後的非補償費用率為 15.6%，而去年同期調整後的非補償費用率為 15.3%。

On a per employee basis, our adjusted noncomp expense was $31,000 this quarter versus $26,000 for the same period last year. For the last couple of fiscal years, our adjusted noncompensation expense has grown significantly as we invested heavily in real estate, technology, our bankers return to travel post pandemic, and we experienced inflation across all of our noncomp categories. The significant increase in our employee head count also contributed to increases in our noncompensation expense.

以每位員工計算，本季調整後的非公司費用為 31,000 美元，去年同期為 26,000 美元。在過去的幾個財年中，我們調整後的非補償費用大幅增長，因為我們在房地產、技術方面進行了大量投資，我們的銀行家在大流行後重新開始旅行，而且我們所有非補償類別都經歷了通貨膨脹。我們員工人數的大幅增加也導致了我們非薪資費用的增加。

For the fiscal year on a per employee basis, our adjusted noncompensation expense grew 8% from $112,000 per employee in fiscal 2023 to $121,000 per employee in fiscal 2024. We expect that absolute dollar growth in our noncompensation expense will temper in fiscal 2025.

在本財年，以每位員工為基礎，我們調整後的非薪酬費用增長了8%，從2023 財年的每位員工112,000 美元增長到2024 財年的每位員工121,000 美元。費用的絕對美元增長將在2025 財年放緩。

For the quarter, we adjusted out of our noncompensation expenses $2.5 million in noncash acquisition-related amortization, $1.3 million for acquisition-related costs, primarily related to the Triago acquisition, which closed during our first quarter of fiscal 2025 and $3.5 million pertaining to professional fees associated with streamlining our global organizational structure, which we refer to as Project Solo as we discussed on our last quarter's call. We are more than halfway through Project Solo and expect that the bulk of the work will be completed by the end of calendar year 2024.

本季度，我們從非補償費用中調整了 250 萬美元的非現金收購相關攤銷、130 萬美元的收購相關成本（主要與 Triago 收購相關）和 350 萬美元的專業費用。結構相關的費用，正如我們在上個季度的電話會議中討論的那樣，我們將其稱為“Project Solo”。 Project Solo 已完成一半以上，預計大部分工作將在 2024 年底完成。

Our adjusted other income and expense produced income of approximately $5.8 million versus income of approximately $3.9 million in the same period last year. The improvement in this category was primarily due to a net increase in interest income generated by our investment securities. We adjusted out of other income and expense, a gain of approximately $9.6 million related to the reduction in value of an earn-out liability associated with one of our prior acquisitions. We treat all acquisition-related earn-outs as purchase price and adjust out of our P&L, any significant changes in the value of these earn-outs.

調整後的其他收入和支出產生的收入約為 580 萬美元，而去年同期的收入約為 390 萬美元。此類別的改善主要是由於我們的投資證券產生的利息收入淨增加。我們從其他收入和支出中調整了約 960 萬美元的收益，該收益與我們先前的一項收購相關的獲利負債價值的減少有關。我們將所有與收購相關的獲利視為購買價格，並從我們的損益表中調整這些獲利價值的任何重大變化。

Our adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 29.9% compared to 28% for the same quarter last year. Our taxes increased year-over-year primarily as a result of increased taxes due to our foreign operations. Our long-term targeted range for our adjusted effective tax rate is between 28% and 30%.

本季調整後的有效稅率為 29.9%，去年同期為 28%。我們的稅收年增主要是由於我們的海外業務導致稅收增加。我們調整後的有效稅率的長期目標範圍在28%至30%之間。

Turning to the balance sheet. As of the quarter end, we had approximately $759 million of unrestricted cash and equivalents and investment securities. As a reminder, a significant portion of our cash is earmarked to cover accrued but unpaid bonuses for fiscal year 2024 that will be paid this month and in November. Shares issued this month as part of our fiscal 2024 compensation will invest into the fully diluted share count over a 4-year period from the date issued.

轉向資產負債表。截至本季末，我們擁有約 7.59 億美元的非限制性現金和等價物以及投資證券。提醒一下，我們很大一部分現金專門用於支付 2024 財年應計但未支付的獎金，這些獎金將於本月和 11 月支付。作為我們 2024 財年薪酬的一部分，本月發行的股票將在發行之日起的 4 年內投資於完全稀釋的股票數量。

In this past quarter, we did not repurchase any shares in the open market. We continue to take a conservative approach to share repurchases as we are prioritizing balance sheet strength, liquidity and flexibility to be able to take advantage of acquisition and hiring opportunities in this market. And finally, the Board approved a 3.5% increase to our quarterly dividend to $0.57 per share.

在過去的這個季度，我們沒有在公開市場回購任何股票。我們繼續對股票回購採取保守的態度，因為我們優先考慮資產負債表的實力、流動性和靈活性，以便能夠利用這個市場的收購和招聘機會。最後，董事會批准將我們的季度股息提高 3.5%，達到每股 0.57 美元。

And with that, operator, we can open the line for questions.

接線員，這樣我們就可以開通提問線路了。

(Operator Instructions) We go first this afternoon to Brennan Hawken of UBS.

（操作員指示）今天下午我們先去瑞銀集團的布倫南‧霍肯。

I wanted to start with restructuring. You spoke to the fact that there were larger deals and some timing that benefited the quarter. But could you take a step back and talk about the near-term outlook for restructuring, it seems as though the environment is pretty solid. You comment that some of your competitors have made. We hear a lot about the maturity realm of this year and in 2025. And so how should we be thinking about restructuring revenues and the potential growth of the [base] that you established this year?

我想從重組開始。您談到了這樣一個事實，即有更大的交易和一些時機使本季受益。但您能退後一步談談重組的近期前景嗎？您評論了您的一些競爭對手所做的事情。我們聽到了很多關於今年和 2025 年成熟度領域的信息。

So Brennan, it sounds like you're having some construction equipment there. It was a little hard to hear you, but I think we got the gist of your question. I think the market environment for restructuring is similar to what we've seen really over the last couple of quarters.

布倫南，聽起來你那裡有一些建築設備。聽你說話有點困難，但我想我們已經明白你問題的要點。我認為重組的市場環境與我們過去幾季所看到的情況類似。

As we've described, we think it's going to stay in an elevated level for a while, still driven by a number of companies that are going to need to do some form of solutions. And while there is some opening of the capital markets as we've described, it's still going to be at a higher interest rate environment than what they've experienced in the past. So that isn't necessarily the solution that ones could have had before.

正如我們所描述的，我們認為它將在一段時間內保持在較高水平，這仍然是由許多需要某種形式的解決方案的公司推動的。儘管正如我們所描述的，資本市場有所開放，但利率環境仍將高於過去。所以這不一定是人們以前可以擁有的解決方案。

There's still all the technology disruptors that were occurring over the last couple of years that are still continuing. We're seeing a lot of work, not only in the United States and Western Europe, but really in other parts of the globe as our restructuring franchise is one of the most global components of our firm. And we think we're just, not only ourselves, but probably the industry in general is going to be in an uptick in this area for some time.

過去幾年發生的所有技術顛覆仍在繼續。我們看到了大量的工作，不僅在美國和西歐，而且在全球其他地區，因為我們的重組專營權是我們公司最全球化的組成部分之一。我們認為，不僅是我們自己，整個產業在這一領域可能會在一段時間內呈現上升趨勢。

We do note it is the most volatile of our businesses. And so we're going to have some quarters that are probably a little higher than normal and some quarters, maybe a little lower than normal. But we think kind of the operating level we've been at it for a while is probably going to exist for the next year or 2.

我們確實注意到，這是我們最不穩定的業務。因此，我們將有一些季度可能會比正常水平稍高一些，而有些季度可能會比正常水平稍低一些。但我們認為，我們已經保持了一段時間的營運水準可能會在未來一兩年內保持下去。

Okay. Got it. For my follow-up, FVA actually came in a little bit better even though Corp Fin was a little lighter. And those businesses have historically moved together. Are you seeing an emergence of maybe some divergence in between those two businesses or maybe some greater resilience or unique drivers to the FVA business that could allow for that historical relationship to diverge a little and we could see a little bit more strength in FVA even the Corp Fin is still a bit of a waiting game?

好的。知道了。在我的後續行動中，FVA 實際上表現得更好一些，儘管 Corp Fin 的表現更輕。這些業務歷來都是一起移動的。您是否看到這兩項業務之間出現了一些分歧，或者FVA 業務可能出現了一些更大的彈性或獨特的驅動因素，這可能會導致這種歷史關係出現一些分歧，我們可以看到FVA 的實力更強一些，即使是Corp Fin 還在等待嗎？

Yes. I don't think so, Brennan. I think it's just the measurement period is too short. I think one quarter doesn't tell the story. I think all of the sort of movement of FVA and Corporate Finance that we've talked about is still kind of consistent. There's been no structural change.

是的。我不這麼認為，布倫南。我認為只是測量週期太短了。我認為四分之一的內容沒有講述這個故事。我認為我們討論過的 FVA 和企業融資的所有變動仍然是一致的。沒有發生結構性變化。

We go next now to Devin Ryan of Citizens JMP.

接下來我們請公民 JMP 的 Devin Ryan 發言。

This is Alex Jenkins, stepping in for Devin Ryan. I guess just to start on the GCA acquisition, it closed right before the market downturn. Can you talk about the momentum you're seeing in Europe today and how the GCA team has enhanced your offering and position in the market?

我是亞歷克斯‧詹金斯 (Alex Jenkins)，接替德文‧瑞安 (Devin Ryan)。我想剛開始收購 GCA 時，它就在市場低迷之前就結束了。您能談談您今天在歐洲看到的勢頭以及 GCA 團隊如何增強您的產品和市場地位嗎？

Yes, happy to do that. This is Scott Adelson. So clearly, the type of business that we are doing within Europe has evolved as a result of that transaction very materially. We have gone -- our importance in the European marketplace has fundamentally changed as a result of that transaction. While we had an emerging business that was doing well prior to that acquisition, we are now kind of just steps behind, at least from a deal count standpoint, institutions that have been at it for hundreds of years longer than we have in Europe.

是的，很高興這樣做。這是斯科特·阿德爾森。很明顯，我們在歐洲開展的業務類型因該交易而發生了重大變化。我們已經離開了——由於那次交易，我們在歐洲市場的重要性發生了根本性的變化。雖然我們的新興業務在收購之前表現良好，但至少從交易數量的角度來看，我們現在只落後於那些在這方面比我們在歐洲工作了數百年的機構。

Awesome. I guess, generally on sponsors, can you give us any insight into the dialogues you're currently having? I'm sure the conversations are picking up given where we are in the cycle, but I just want to get a better sense of your expectations going forward from here.

驚人的。我想，一般來說，關於贊助商，您能給我們介紹一下您目前正在進行的對話嗎？我確信考慮到我們所處的周期，對話正在加快，但我只是想更了解你們對未來的期望。

The level of sponsor conversations does continue to pick up by the day and has been for a while. It really is the velocity of that, that -- and how quickly deals are working their way through the pipeline, but there is clearly continues to be steady increasing in dialogues across the sponsor spectrum.

與贊助商的對話水平確實每天都在持續上升，並且這種情況已經持續了一段時間。這確實是速度，以及交易透過管道進行的速度有多快，但很明顯，贊助商範圍內的對話仍在穩步增加。

We'll go next now to Ken Worthington of JPMorgan.

接下來我們請摩根大通的肯‧沃辛頓發言。

This is [Michael Cho] in for Ken Worthington today. I guess, first, I just wanted to touch MD productivity. So you've been adding to your talent base. Clearly, GCA was one that you just talked to as well, but key hires and then some other bolt-ons as well. So the MD counts are up considerably over the last couple of years.

這是今天代表肯·沃辛頓的[邁克爾·曹]。我想，首先，我只是想提高 MD 的生產力。所以你一直在增加你的人才基礎。顯然，GCA 也是您剛交談過的公司，但也包括關鍵員工以及其他一些補充人員。因此，MD 的數量在過去幾年中大幅增加。

If we think about the Corporate Finance business with the amount of average revenue per MD that's trending is going a little bit less than half or about half of peak COVID period. How should we think about the upside to revenue per MD, if that activity picks up given the larger and upgraded talent bench at Houlihan today?

如果我們考慮企業融資業務，每位總經理的平均收入趨勢將略低於新冠疫情高峰期的一半或一半左右。有鑑於如今 Houlihan 的人才庫規模更大、升級，如果活動回升，我們該如何看待每位總經理收入的上升空間？

That's a good question. I mean my quick response is Corporate Finance is loaded for bear. We have a very high MD count relative to where revenues are. You're seeing it in productivity. Do we see productivity levels getting as high as they did during COVID? I think that's tough because during COVID, no one was traveling.

這是個好問題。我的意思是我的快速反應是企業財務已經不堪重負。相對於收入而言，我們的 MD 數量非常高。你在生產力中看到了這一點。我們看到生產力水準是否會像新冠疫情期間一樣高？我認為這很困難，因為在新冠疫情期間，沒有人去旅行。

So we are seeing some improvements in our average transaction size that will help make the argument that you could see COVID-level productivity, but I think it's too early to tell. But I think we all will tell you that it is low on a relative basis and expectations are that we'll see productivity improvements.

因此，我們看到平均交易規模有所改善，這將有助於證明您可以看到新冠病毒水平的生產力，但我認為現在下結論還為時過早。但我想我們都會告訴你，相對而言，這個數字較低，並且期望我們會看到生產力的提高。

I think where that caps out if it ever caps out is a little hard to tell. But the -- some of the momentum in average transaction size, average fee size is certainly a win behind us and expectations are that will help us drive productivity once the markets get back.

我認為，如果它真的達到上限，那麼它會在哪裡達到上限，這有點很難說。但是，平均交易規模、平均費用規模方面的一些勢頭無疑是我們的勝利，並且預期一旦市場恢復，這將幫助我們提高生產力。

And then just a quick follow-up on the topic around kind of the sponsor activity and just kind of pick up in overall in conversation. I mean are there any particular geographies or sectors that you'd call out today in terms of having more of an acceleration versus some other sectors or geos where you're not seeing as much?

然後，圍繞贊助商活動的主題進行快速跟進，並在對話中全面了解情況。我的意思是，與其他一些您沒有看到那麼多的行業或地區相比，您今天是否會指出有哪些特定的地區或地區有更多的加速？

Again, Scott Adelson, not really. I mean I can't -- there's something that I can point to in any sectors that are particularly strong or particularly weak.

再次強調，史考特·阿德爾森，事實並非如此。我的意思是我不能——我可以指出任何特別強或特別弱的領域中的一些東西。

And geography?

還有地理？

And geography I mean, I think that there has been some ebbs and flows between the U.S. and Europe, but at least right now, there's no discernible difference. And our Asian business is still just at a different scale level than U.S. and Europe.

我的意思是地理，我認為美國和歐洲之間存在一些潮起潮落，但至少現在沒有明顯的差異。我們的亞洲業務與美國和歐洲的規模水準仍然不同。

We go next now to James Yaro at Goldman Sachs.

接下來我們請來高盛的詹姆斯·亞羅 (James Yaro)。

On the non-M&A parts of Corporate Finance, maybe if you could just provide some color on how these businesses are performing in this environment and the outlook for those going forward.

在企業融資的非併購部分，也許您可以提供一些關於這些企業在這種環境下的表現以及未來前景的資訊。

Sure. The Capital Markets business, I think as we have discussed, has continued to grow quite nicely, and we are feeling good about where that is going and continues to be a strong growth area for us. And obviously, with the acquisition of Triago and the addition of individuals earlier in the year, to our PFG business. That's another area that we think in conjunction with the Capital Markets business will have a meaningful impact on growth within those non-M&A areas of Corporate Finance in the periods to come.

當然。我認為，正如我們所討論的，資本市場業務繼續保持良好成長，我們對其發展方向感覺良好，並且繼續成為我們強勁的成長領域。顯然，隨著今年稍早收購 Triago 以及增加人員，我們的 PFG 業務也隨之增加。我們認為，這是另一個領域，與資本市場業務結合將對未來時期企業融資非併購領域的成長產生有意義的影響。

And then maybe just one on the Triago acquisition. Any ability to give any sort of contribution to our results now that's closed. And then maybe you talked a little bit about there's a strong trajectory for the business going forward.

然後也許只是關於 Triago 收購的一件事。任何對我們的結果做出任何貢獻的能力現在都已經關閉了。然後也許你談到了業務未來的強勁發展軌跡。

So perhaps just how you're thinking about the synergies of that business with the rest of your sponsor franchise and how you might be able to grow the business beyond when it was a stand-alone entity?

那麼，也許您是如何考慮該業務與其他贊助商特許經營業務的協同效應，以及您如何能夠將業務發展到超越它是一個獨立實體時的水平？

Thanks a lot. So on the synergies between -- obviously, we have a very large set of sponsor relationships, and we do believe that our ability to offer them an integrated solution of advice ranges from primary, secondaries, directs, GP stakes, LP stakes and financings in general is something that we really are feeling very good about the opportunity that lies ahead. Obviously, we need to execute on that, but we are feeling very good about that. In terms of the contribution of that particular group, that's not something that we disclose.

多謝。因此，就協同效應而言，顯然，我們擁有大量的贊助商關係，而且我們確實相信，我們有能力為他們提供綜合解決方案，涵蓋初級、次級、直接、普通合夥人股權、有限合夥人股權和融資等方面的建議。顯然，我們需要執行這一點，但我們對此感覺非常好。就該特定群體的貢獻而言，我們並未透露。

(Operator Instructions) We go next now to Ryan Kenny with Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）我們現在請摩根士丹利的瑞安·肯尼 (Ryan Kenny) 發言。

So my question is on the M&A environment, specifically the comment in the press release around being realistic on the pace of recovery and the sluggish M&A environment. Can you just unpack that a bit as the realism more around the size of the pipeline? Is it more around the timing of the lag? Is it more around sponsors and strategic? Any color there would be helpful.

所以我的問題是關於併購環境，特別是新聞稿中有關復甦步伐和低迷併購環境的現實評論。您能否將其解壓縮為更多圍繞管道大小的現實主義？是不是更多的是關於滯後的時間？是否更多地圍繞贊助商和策略？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Yes. I think we did purposely think about the words that we want to use. We don't believe that we are in a robust environment like we were probably a couple of years ago. And we're also not in an under depressant environment. We've been kind of slugging it along, I'd say, for the last year or 2.

是的。我認為我們確實有意識地考慮了我們想要使用的詞彙。我們認為我們現在的環境不像幾年前那麼強大。而我們也沒有處於一個憂鬱的環境。我想說，過去一兩年我們一直在苦苦掙扎。

We've continued to actually be able to grow the business in terms of head count, in terms of quality of the clients, in terms of number of mandates that we're engaged on kind of average size. Everything is making, I would say, slow but sure progress.

我們實際上能夠在人員數量、客戶品質以及我們以平均規模參與的任務數量方面繼續發展業務。我想說，一切都在緩慢但確定地取得進展。

The one thing that we continually discuss that if we could snap our fingers and change it would probably be the time frame from when you get hired, when you get started on a mandate and when you close it, it is still taking longer than what we think is the normal time period.

我們不斷討論的一件事是，如果我們能打響指並改變它，可能會是從你被雇用、開始執行任務到結束任務的時間框架，它仍然比我們需要的時間更長。段。

But almost all the measures that we look at are more positive today than they were a year or 2 ago. And we're not yet in a robust environment. And when we think we are, I guess, we'll describe that to you as well. But we're not where we were a year ago when I think we kind of called the bottom and said that was about as negative as the environment that we've seen.

但今天我們看到的幾乎所有措施都比一兩年前更積極。而且我們還沒有處於一個強大的環境。我想，當我們認為我們是這樣的時候，我們也會向您描述這一點。但我們現在已經不再是一年前的水平了，當時我認為我們稱之為底部，並表示這與我們所看到的環境一樣負面。

Ryan, another way to think about it is, the commentary was more macro than micro. I think us and probably many of our peers have seen activity levels improved, have seen reasonable momentum in their business. And yet we have this sluggish macro environment that makes deals getting closed much harder. And so hard for us to control that.

瑞安，另一種思考方式是，評論更多的是宏觀而不是微觀。我認為我們以及我們的許多同行都看到了活動水平的改善，看到了他們業務的合理勢頭。然而，我們所處的宏觀環境低迷，使得交易完成變得更加困難。我們很難控制這一點。

And so we are -- and I think most of us thought we would have come out of it months or quarters ago, and it's just taken longer than I think any of us expected. So I think we're just being realistic that this year, we think it's going to look better than last year, but it's anyone's guess just given the macro environment.

所以我們 - 我想我們大多數人都認為我們會在幾個月或幾個季度前擺脫困境，但它所花費的時間比我認為我們任何人預期的都要長。因此，我認為我們只是現實地認為，今年的情況會比去年更好，但考慮到宏觀環境，這只是任何人的猜測。

And on the macro, (inaudible) curve has moved meaningfully since the last call when the curve was pricing and fixed rate cuts this year. Now we're at 1 or 2. How are your clients thinking about that change? Is it having any impact on the pipeline or not really because there aren't any hikes, price cut?

在宏觀方面，（聽不清楚）曲線自上次電話會議以來已經發生了有意義的變化，當時曲線是今年的定價和固定降息。現在我們處於 1 或 2。它是否對管道產生任何影響，或者是否真的因為沒有任何漲價、降價而產生影響？

Yes. I mean, really, it has been -- and I've said this many times, it's much more about the availability of capital than the cost of that capital. And today, capital is very available to our clients and people are actually being aggressive about deploying it. That is a good thing.

是的。我的意思是，實際上，我已經說過很多次了，更多的是資本的可用性，而不是資本的成本。如今，我們的客戶非常容易獲得資本，而且人們實際上正在積極部署資本。這是一件好事。

In terms of pricing, it obviously makes a difference in valuations, but it is really in terms of activity levels is much more about the availability than the cost of it.

就定價而言，它顯然會影響估值，但實際上就活動水平而言，更多的是可用性而不是成本。

We go next now to Steven Chubak of Wolfe Research.

接下來我們請沃爾夫研究中心的史蒂文‧查巴克 (Steven Chubak) 發言。

This is Brendan O'Brien filling in for Steven. I guess to start, someone touched on sponsors. While activity has been subdued for much of the past couple of years. One dynamic that is apparent from the data or publicly available data is that, call it, $1 billion plus activity has been much stronger, more resilient relative to mid-cap. I know that you tend to be more focused on mid-cap activity, but just wanted to get a sense as to what might be driving this divergence and trends between these two buckets?

我是布倫丹·奧布萊恩 (Brendan O'Brien) 接替史蒂文。我想首先有人談到了贊助商。儘管過去幾年的大部分時間活動一直低迷。從數據或公開數據中可以明顯看出，10 億美元以上的活動相對於中型股而言強勁得多，更具彈性。我知道您往往更關注中型股活動，但只是想了解是什麼推動了這兩個類別之間的差異和趨勢？

Yes, I think the way that we think about it is that globally, there are a tremendous number of deals that take place around the world and the vast preponderance of those are mid-cap, and we still have a very small market share of that overall number of deals.

是的，我認為我們的想法是，在全球範圍內，世界各地發生了大量的交易，其中絕大多數是中型企業，而我們在其中的市場份額仍然很小交易總數。

And the fact that a relatively small handful of large-cap deals are getting (inaudible) doesn't impact the overall denominator, if you will, of the total number of M&A deals and we are much more focused on total volume of deals than we are deal value in any given period of time.

事實上，相對較少的幾筆大盤交易（聽不清楚）不會影響併購交易總數的總分母，而且我們比我們更關注交易總量。

And I think that's probably the key point that we always want to make the press at times, maybe investors or the analysts you're focused on the dollar value of announced or completed transactions and it sways your view of what may be more or less healthy in the marketplace.

我認為這可能是我們有時總是想向媒體傳達的關鍵點，也許是投資者或分析師，您關注的是已宣布或已完成交易的美元價值，它會影響您對健康狀況或多或少的看法在市場上。

We're much more focused on the number of transactions that gets done, and that has probably more of a trending importance to us. So we don't actually see or experience what you maybe described, which is, is there at this juncture, any meaningful difference between the healthy (inaudible), whatever you want to call it, of the larger-cap deals versus the mid-cap deals.

我們更關注已完成的交易數量，這對我們來說可能更具趨勢重要性。因此，我們實際上並沒有看到或經歷過您所描述的情況，也就是說，在這個時刻，大型交易與中型交易之間的健康（聽不清楚）（無論您想如何稱呼它）之間是否存在任何有意義的差異？

And then for my follow-up, I just wanted to touch on the time to complete deals and the deal cycle. So you noted in your prepared remarks the time frame to close remains elongated. I just want to get a sense as to what could drive that normalization of deal time lines in your view? Is it just more certainty on the rate trajectory or the macro global economic backdrop or anything else?

然後，對於我的後續行動，我只想談談完成交易的時間和交易週期。因此，您在準備好的發言中指出，關閉的時間框架仍然很長。我只是想了解一下您認為什麼可以推動交易時間表的正常化？只是利率軌跡或全球宏觀經濟背景或其他方面更加確定嗎？

It is really that the -- we are still in a buyer's market at this point. And as that begins to shift to equilibrium, you will start to see velocity pick up. Right now, buyers are able to say, I'd like to see that one incremental piece of information. I'd like to wait one more quarter to see results. I mean endless array of things that cause it to drag on, but it is clearly that we are still in an environment where buyers have that leverage that but that is changing literally week by week at this point.

事實上，我們目前仍處於買方市場。當開始轉向平衡時，您將開始看到速度加快。現在，買家可以說，我想看到一條增量訊息。我想再等一個季度才能看到結果。我的意思是導致它拖延的無數因素，但很明顯，我們仍然處於買家擁有這種槓桿作用的環境中，但目前這種情況正在逐週改變。

And gentlemen, it appears we have no further questions this afternoon. Mr. Beiser, I'd like to turn things back to you, sir, for any closing comments.

先生們，看來今天下午我們沒有其他問題了。 Beiser 先生，先生，我想請您提出任何結束語。

I will end today's call with a thank you to all employees at Houlihan Lokey. It is all of you that have made this firm's success possible. You've truly made my time as CEO enjoyable, and I look forward to continuing our journey together over the coming years. And finally, we look forward to updating everyone on our progress when we discuss our first quarter results for fiscal 2025 this summer.

在結束今天的電話會議時，我要向 Houlihan Lokey 的所有員工表示感謝。正是你們所有人使這家公司的成功成為可能。你確實讓我作為執行長的時光變得愉快，我期待在未來幾年繼續我們的旅程。最後，我們期待在今年夏天討論 2025 財年第一季業績時向大家通報我們的最新進展。

Thank you, Mr. Beiser. Ladies and gentlemen, that will conclude today's Houlihan Lokey Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Call. Again, thank you so much for joining us. We wish you all a great remainder of your day. Bye.

謝謝你，拜瑟先生。女士們、先生們，今天的 Houlihan Lokey 第四季和 2024 財年財報電話會議到此結束。再次非常感謝您加入我們。我們祝福大家有個愉快的一天。再見。