Hirequest Inc (HQI) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to HireQuest Incorporated third quarter 2024 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, John Nesbett, IMS Investor Relations. John, the floor is yours.

大家下午好，歡迎參加 HireQuest Incorporated 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。我現在將會議轉交給主持人 IMS 投資者關係部門的約翰·內斯貝特 (John Nesbett)。約翰，地板是你的。

Thank you, operator. I'd like to welcome everyone to the call. Hosting the call today are HireQuest's Chief Executive Officer, Rick Hermanns; and Chief Financial Officer, Steve Crane.

謝謝你，接線生。我謹歡迎大家致電。今天主持電話會議的是 HireQuest 執行長 Rick Hermanns；和財務長史蒂夫·克蘭。

I would like to take a moment to read the safe harbor statement. This conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended.

我想花點時間閱讀安全港聲明。本次電話會議包含經修訂的 1933 年證券法第 27A 條和經修訂的 1934 年證券交易法第 21E 條定義的前瞻性陳述。

These forward-looking statements and terms such as anticipate, expect, intend, may, will, should or other comparable terms involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events that depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. These statements include statements regarding the intent, belief and current expectations of HireQuest and members of the management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based.

這些前瞻性陳述和術語，例如預期、期望、打算、可能、將會、應該或其他類似術語涉及風險和不確定性，因為它們與取決於未來將發生的情況的事件有關。這些聲明包括有關 HireQuest 和管理層成員的意圖、信念和當前期望的聲明以及此類聲明所基於的假設。

Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, including those described in HireQuest's periodic reports filed with the SEC and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements.

潛在投資者請注意，任何此類前瞻性陳述都不是對未來業績的保證，並涉及風險和不確定性，包括HireQuest 向SEC 提交的定期報告中描述的風險和不確定性，並且實際結果可能與此類前瞻性陳述預期的結果有重大差異。

Except as required by federal securities law, HireQuest undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions. I would now like to turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer of HireQuest, Rick Hermanns. Please go ahead, Rick.

除聯邦證券法要求外，HireQuest 不承擔更新或修改前瞻性聲明以反映變更情況的義務。我現在想將電話轉給 HireQuest 執行長 Rick Hermanns。請繼續，瑞克。

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining our call today. We achieved slight growth in total revenue in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2023 as well as sequential revenue growth of 8.5% when compared to the second quarter of 2024 as the market for temporary staffing solutions began to stabilize.

下午好，感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。隨著臨時用工解決方案市場開始穩定，我們在 2024 年第三季的總營收較 2023 年第三季略有成長，較 2024 年第二季較上季營收成長 8.5%。

As we've mentioned before, the staffing industry has faced a particularly difficult environment in recent quarters as employers remain cautious in their hiring decisions influenced by the presidential election and an unpredictable economic landscape. Additionally, the spike in illegal immigration, which occurred from 2022 through earlier 2024 led to the influx of undocumented workers to the lower-tier labor force.

正如我們之前提到的，最近幾個季度，人力資源產業面臨著特別困難的環境，因為受總統選舉和不可預測的經濟狀況的影響，雇主在招募決策上仍然保持謹慎態度。此外，2022 年至 2024 年初期間非法移民激增，導致無證工人湧入低階勞動市場。

While it's hard to quantify the impact on our business or the staffing industry in general, many of the jobs that we staff daily are the types of jobs undocumented workers fill. Despite these headwinds, I'm proud to say that HireQuest has performed relatively well when compared to our peers, demonstrating the strength and versatility of our franchise model. In this quarter, system-wide sales for our temporary staffing brands grew by 3.6% year-over-year for the first time since the first quarter of 2023.

雖然很難量化對我們的業務或整個人力資源行業的影響，但我們每天提供的許多工作都是無證工人從事的工作類型。儘管存在這些不利因素，但我很自豪地說，與同行相比，HireQuest 的表現相對較好，展示了我們特許經營模式的實力和多功能性。本季度，我們臨時工品牌的全系統銷售額自 2023 年第一季以來首次年增 3.6%。

Looking ahead, we believe that we're beginning to see a leveling out of the compressed demand we've been experiencing on the temporary and commercial staffing side of our business and are positioned for improved results as we move through the balance of 2024 and into 2025.

展望未來，我們相信，我們業務的臨時和商業人員配置方面所經歷的壓縮需求已開始趨於平穩，並且隨著 2024 年餘下時間和進入2024 年，我們將取得更好的業績2025 年。

Expense management continues to be a priority. We reduced SG&A expenses by over 15% in the quarter when compared to the third quarter of 2023 as we continue to mitigate workers' compensation expense that impacted our profitability in the second half of 2023.

費用管理仍然是優先事項。與 2023 年第三季相比，我們本季的銷售、管理及行政費用減少了 15% 以上，因為我們繼續減少影響 2023 年下半年盈利能力的工人賠償費用。

Specifically, workers' compensation expense in the third quarter decreased nearly 67% when compared to the third quarter of 2023. We believe that we can maintain and even improve on these results. And as I mentioned on last quarter's call, we see no indication that workers' compensation will reach 2023 levels moving forward.

具體來說，第三季的工傷賠償費用較2023年第三季下降了近67%。我們相信我們能夠維持甚至改進這些成果。正如我在上個季度的電話會議中提到的，我們沒有看到任何跡象表明工人的薪水將達到 2023 年的水平。

We view permanent placement and executive recruiting as a significant long-term opportunity that ideally complements our existing staffing offerings and MRI Network is the cornerstone of our growth strategy in this market.

我們認為永久安置和高階主管招募是一個重要的長期機會，可以理想地補充我們現有的人員配置，而 MRI Network 是我們在該市場成長策略的基石。

That said, our overall -- the overall market for permanent placement and executive recruiting has faced industry-wide challenges for several quarters. And while we anticipate some -- while we anticipated some contraction of MRI at the time of the acquisition, we did not project the protracted industry-wide downturn that we've experienced.

也就是說，我們的整體——永久安置和高階主管招聘的整體市場在幾個季度中面臨全行業的挑戰。雖然我們在收購時預計 MRI 會出現一些收縮，但我們並沒有預測到我們所經歷的長期全行業低迷。

To better reflect the fair -- the current fair value of MRI Network to our business, we made the decision to write down certain noncash assets related to MRI, resulting in a onetime noncash impairment charge of just over $6 million. This charge significantly impacted our profitability in the quarter and in the year-to-date period for which Steve will provide more detail in his prepared remarks.

為了更好地反映 MRI Network 目前對我們業務的公平價值，我們決定減記與 MRI 相關的某些非現金資產，導致一次性非現金減損費用略高於 600 萬美元。這項費用極大地影響了我們本季和年初至今的獲利能力，史蒂夫將在他準備好的演講中提供更多細節。

At a high level, though, absent this onetime noncash charge, adjusted net income in the quarter increased 29% compared to the third quarter of 2023, demonstrating not only our ability to deliver strong growth and value on a year-over-year basis, but also our ability to do so in the face of headwinds that have continued to impact the entire staffing industry.

不過，從高水準來看，如果不計入這項一次性非現金費用，本季調整後淨利潤與2023 年第三季相比增長了29%，這不僅證明了我們有能力實現同比強勁增長和價值，還在於我們面對持續影響整個人力資源產業的逆風時這樣做的能力。

As we close out the year, we believe that we are well positioned to drive enhanced financial performance as we enter a period where we expect to capitalize on a stabilizing staffing market and employ prudent expense management across our business. I would like to conclude my prepared remarks by reiterating some important data points that we presented on last quarter's call.

在今年即將結束之際，我們相信，隨著我們進入一個期望利用穩定的人力資源市場並在整個業務中採用審慎費用管理的時期，我們有能力推動財務業績的提高。我想透過重申我們在上個季度電話會議中提出的一些重要數據點來結束我準備好的發言。

Since our Command Center merger in the summer of 2019, our operational results have consistently outpaced the broader staffing industry regardless of macroeconomic factors, highlighted by a 4-year adjusted EBITDA CAGR of 12.6% from 2019 to 2023 that is more than double almost all other commercial or professional staffing companies in our peer group.

自2019 年夏季合併指揮中心以來，無論宏觀經濟因素如何，我​​們的營運表現始終領先於更廣泛的人力資源產業，2019 年至2023 年4 年調整後EBITDA 複合年增長率為12.6%，是幾乎所有其他公司的兩倍多。

This quarter, we achieved our highest adjusted EBITDA since the third quarter of 2022. And with the visibility that we have today, we believe that we're in a strong position to continue this trend. Overall, we're pleased with our third quarter results, and we're optimistic that the market for both temporary and permanent staffing solutions is entering a more favorable economic environment. We're ready and eager to capitalize on the opportunities that become available to us as demand for staffing services strengthens.

本季度，我們實現了自 2022 年第三季以來調整後 EBITDA 的最高水準。憑藉今天的知名度，我們相信我們有能力繼續這一趨勢。總體而言，我們對第三季的業績感到滿意，我們樂觀地認為臨時和長期人員配置解決方案市場正在進入更有利的經濟環境。隨著人才服務需求的增加，我們已準備好並渴望利用提供給我們的機會。

I'll now pass the call over to our Chief Financial Officer, Steve Crane, who will provide a closer look at our third quarter results. Steve?

我現在將把電話轉給我們的財務長 Steve Crane，他將詳細介紹我們第三季的業績。史蒂夫？

Thank you, Rick, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Total revenue for the third quarter of 2024 was $9.4 million compared with revenue of $9.3 million in the same quarter last year, an increase of 1.6%. Our total revenue is made up of 2 components: franchise royalties, which is our primary source of revenue; and service revenue, which is generated from certain services and interest charged to our franchisees as well as other miscellaneous revenue.

謝謝你，瑞克，大家下午好。感謝您今天加入我們。2024年第三季總營收為940萬美元，較去年同季營收930萬美元成長1.6%。我們的總收入由兩部分組成：特許經營權使用費，這是我們主要的收入來源；服務收入，來自某些服務和向我們的特許經營商收取的利息以及其他雜項收入。

Franchise royalties for the third quarter were $9 million compared to $8.9 million for the same quarter last year. Underlying the royalties are system-wide sales, which are not part of our revenue, but are a helpful contextual performance indicator. System-wide sales reflect sales at all offices, including those classified as discontinued.

第三季特許經營費為 900 萬美元，去年同期為 890 萬美元。特許權使用費的基礎是全系統的銷售額，這不是我們收入的一部分，但卻是一個有用的上下文績效指標。全系統銷售額反映了所有辦公室的銷售額，包括那些被歸類為停產的辦公室。

System-wide sales for the third quarter were $148.6 million compared to $151.2 million for the same period in 2023. The decrease in system-wide sales was primarily driven by a decline in our professional recruiting and staffing brands of $6.5 million and partially offset by a $3.9 million increase in sales generated by our temporary staffing brands when compared to the prior year period.

第三季全系統銷售額為 1.486 億美元，而 2023 年同期為 1.512 億美元。全系統銷售額的下降主要是由於我們的專業招聘和人員配備品牌下降了650 萬美元，但與去年同期相比，我們的臨時人員配備品牌銷售額增加了390 萬美元，部分抵消了這一下降。

Service revenue was $428,000 for the third quarter compared to $366,000 for the same quarter a year ago. Service revenue is composed of interest charged to our franchisees on overdue accounts receivable, service fees, other miscellaneous revenue and MRI Networks advertising fund revenue. Service revenue can fluctuate from quarter-to-quarter based on a number of factors, including changes in system-wide sales, accounts receivable, insurance renewals and similar dynamics.

第三季服務收入為 428,000 美元，去年同期為 366,000 美元。服務收入包括向加盟商收取的逾期應收帳款利息、服務費、其他雜項收入和 MRI Networks 廣告基金收入。服務收入可能會因多種因素而逐季度波動，包括全系統銷售、應收帳款、保險續保和類似動態的變化。

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter were $5.4 million compared to $6.4 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 15.3% as the changes we made to our workers' compensation insurance policy in Q1 of this year have lessened the increase in related experience -- excuse me, expense we experienced in 2023.

第三季的銷售、一般和管理費用為 540 萬美元，而去年同期為 640 萬美元，下降了 15.3%，因為我們在今年第一季對工傷賠償保險政策所做的更改減少了相關經歷——請問，我們2023年經歷的費用。

Additionally, we continue to prioritize expense management across our business. Net workers' compensation expense in the third quarter of 2024 was approximately $499,000 compared to a net expense of approximately $1.5 million in the third quarter of 2023.

此外，我們繼續優先考慮整個業務的費用管理。2024 年第三季的淨工人賠償費用約為 499,000 美元，而 2023 年第三季的淨費用約為 150 萬美元。

Also included in our SG&A were salaries and benefits, which continues to be the largest component of our operating expenses. In the third quarter of 2024, we recognized $2.8 million in compensation-related expenses compared to $2.9 million in the third quarter of 2023.

我們的銷售及管理費用還包括薪資和福利，這仍然是我們營運支出的最大組成部分。2024 年第三季度，我們確認了 280 萬美元的薪酬相關費用，而 2023 年第三季為 290 萬美元。

Our year-to-date compensation-related expenses decreased 11.1% to $8.5 million, primarily driven by headcount reductions we made during 2023 related to the integration of the MRI Network acquisition. Net loss after tax was $2.2 million in the third quarter of 2024 or a loss of $0.16 per diluted share compared to a net income of $1.5 million or earnings per diluted share of $0.11 in the third quarter of 2023.

我們年初至今的薪酬相關費用下降了 11.1% 至 850 萬美元，這主要是由於我們在 2023 年因收購 MRI Network 的整合而進行的人員削減。2024 年第三季稅後淨虧損為 220 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 0.16 美元，而 2023 年第三季淨利為 150 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.11 美元。

As Rick mentioned in his prepared remarks, we recognized a onetime noncash impairment charge of $6 million in the quarter related to the MRI network assets we acquired in December 2022. This noncash impairment charge had a considerable impact on our profitability, both in the quarter and year-to-date in 2024.

正如 Rick 在他準備好的演講中提到的那樣，我們在本季度確認了與我們 2022 年 12 月收購的 MRI 網路資產相關的 600 萬美元一次性非現金減損費用。這項非現金減損費用對我們 2024 年季度和年初至今的獲利能力產生了相當大的影響。

As such, we decided that providing an adjusted net income figure for the quarter and the year-to-date period as of September 30, 2024, would be a helpful metric to better showcase the growth and progress that we've achieved.

因此，我們決定提供截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的季度和年初至今的調整後淨利潤數據，這將是一個有用的指標，可以更好地展示我們所取得的成長和進步。

With that said, adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2024, which excludes the onetime noncash impairment charge, amortization of acquired intangibles and other nonrecurring onetime expenses, net of the tax effect from these adjustments was $2.8 million or $0.20 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $2.2 million or $0.16 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2023.

話雖如此，2024 年第三季調整後淨利（不包括一次性非現金減損費用、收購的無形資產攤提和其他非經常性一次性費用，扣除這些調整帶來的稅務影響）為280萬美元，或稀釋後每股0.20 美元。

Adjusted net income for the 9 months ended September 30, 2024, was $7.3 million or $0.52 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $7.3 million or $0.53 per diluted share in the prior year period. We did provide a table in the press release we put out earlier this afternoon with a detailed reconciliation of net income to adjusted net income.

截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日的 9 個月調整後淨利潤為 730 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.52 美元，而上一年期間調整後淨利潤為 730 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.53 美元。我們確實在今天下午早些時候發布的新聞稿中提供了一份表格，其中包含淨利潤與調整後淨利潤的詳細調節表。

Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2024 was $4.9 million compared to $3.7 million in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin for the quarter was 52% compared to 40% in the prior year period. We believe adjusted EBITDA is a relevant metric for us due to the size of noncash operating expenses running through our P&L. A detailed reconciliation of net income to adjusted EBITDA is provided in our press release and our 10-Q.

2024 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 490 萬美元，去年同期為 370 萬美元。本季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 52%，而去年同期為 40%。我們認為，由於我們損益表中非現金營運費用的規模，調整後的 EBITDA 對我們來說是一個相關指標。我們的新聞稿和 10-Q 報告中提供了淨利潤與調整後 EBITDA 的詳細調整表。

Moving now to the balance sheet. Our current assets at September 30, 2024, were $58 million compared to $51.5 million at December 31, 2023. Current assets as of September 30, 2024, included $1.6 million in cash and $50.5 million of net accounts receivable, while current assets at December 31, 2023, included $1.3 million of cash and $44.4 million of net accounts receivable.

現在轉向資產負債表。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的流動資產為 5,800 萬美元，而 2023 年 12 月 31 日為 5,150 萬美元。截至2024年9月30日的流動資產包括160萬美元的現金和5050萬美元的應收帳款淨額，而截至2023年12月31日的流動資產包括130萬美元的現金和4440萬美元的應收帳款淨額。

Current assets exceeded current liabilities by $23.4 million at September 30, 2024, versus year-end 2023 when working capital was $15.7 million. Current liabilities were 59.7% of current assets at September 30, 2024, versus 69.4% of current assets at December 31, 2023.

截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，流動資產超過流動負債 2,340 萬美元，而 2023 年底的營運資金為 1,570 萬美元。截至2024年9月30日，流動負債佔流動資產的59.7%，截至2023年12月31日，流動負債佔流動資產的69.4%。

At September 30, 2024, we had $13.4 million drawn on our credit facility and another $26.9 million in availability, assuming continued covenant compliance. Importantly, our credit facility was not impacted by the onetime noncash impairment charge that we recognized in the quarter. We believe our credit facility provides us with flexibility and room for short-term working capital needs as well as the capacity to capitalize on potential acquisitions.

截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們已從信貸額度中提取了 1,340 萬美元，另有 2,690 萬美元可用（假設繼續遵守契約）。重要的是，我們的信貸額度並未受到我們在本季確認的一次性非現金減損費用的影響。我們相信，我們的信貸安排為我們提供了短期營運資金需求的靈活性和空間，以及利用潛在收購的能力。

We have paid a regular quarterly dividend since the third quarter of 2020. Most recently, we paid a $0.06 per common share dividend on September 16, 2024, to shareholders of record as of September 2. We expect to continue to pay a dividend each quarter, subject to the Board's discretion. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Rick for some closing comments.

自2020年第三季以來，我們定期支付季度股息。最近，我們於 2024 年 9 月 16 日向截至 9 月 2 日登記在冊的股東支付了每股普通股 0.06 美元的股息。我們預計將繼續每季支付股息，具體取決於董事會的決定。這樣，我會將電話轉回給 Rick，以徵求一些結束語。

Thank you, Steve, and I'd like to thank our employees and franchisees for their hard work and dedication this quarter. And we look forward to closing out the year strong and speaking with you again on our year-end call. With that, we can now open the line to questions. Thank you.

謝謝你，史蒂夫，我要感謝我們的員工和加盟商本季的辛勤工作和奉獻精神。我們期待著以強勁的勢頭結束這一年，並在年終電話會議上再次與您交談。這樣，我們現在就可以開始提問了。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Mike Baker, D.A. Davidson.

麥克貝克，D.A.戴維森。

Great. So a lot of CEOs have been saying there's a lot of uncertainty out there because of the election. That's been a collar refrain for, I don't know, 3-, 6 months. Election is over, no disruption. So that's now behind us. You've been -- you said in your call that things are getting better prior to that.

偉大的。因此，許多執行長一直表示，由於選舉，存在許多不確定性。我不知道，這已經是三、六個月了。選舉已經結束，沒有乾擾。現在這一切都已經過去了。您在電話中說過，在此之前情況正在好轉。

Now first of all, why do you think things are getting better? What's getting better in the environment? And how does the resolution -- the relatively calm resolution of the election have -- lead to even more improvement in the environment?

現在首先，為什麼你認為情況正在好轉？環境有哪些好轉？這項決議——相對平靜的選舉決議——如何帶來環境的進一步改善？

So thanks for the question, Mike. I would say 3 things. One is, of course, the reduction of interest rates today further reduces the chance of a meltdown in the commercial real estate market and commercial construction, which is a big driver of our business. So that's one thing. And of course, that already started during this quarter. So that's a very helpful factor.

謝謝你的提問，麥克。我想說三件事。當然，一是今天的利率降低進一步降低了商業房地產市場和商業建築崩潰的可能性，而商業房地產市場和商業建築是我們業務的一大推動力。所以這是一回事。當然，這已經在本季開始了。所以這是一個非常有幫助的因素。

I also -- and the reality is that on top of it is with -- in June, obviously, the federal government started changing a bit of the way it was handling the illegal immigration. And I think we're starting to see some of that as well because we -- particularly our HireQuest direct line basically competes directly with undocumented workers.

我還——事實上，最重要的是——六月，聯邦政府顯然開始改變處理非法移民的方式。我認為我們也開始看到其中的一些情況，因為我們——尤其是我們的 HireQuest 直撥電話基本上與無證工人直接競爭。

And so that, I think, is a favorable thing that's happened throughout the summer. And then with that being resolved, it just -- it takes that issue off the table. And then the other part is we can just see it in our numbers that things have -- that we're getting orders where we weren't getting them before. I think that our franchisees have -- the market post pandemic was very strange.

所以，我認為，這是整個夏天發生的一件有利的事。然後，隨著這個問題的解決，這個問題就不再被討論了。另一方面，我們可以從我們的數據中看到——我們收到了以前沒有收到的訂單。我認為我們的加盟商——大流行後的市場非常奇怪。

There was -- it was hard to find employees. It was hard to find permanent employees and good business development people. And some of those things have started to normalize. And so part of what -- where I feel good about it is that our franchisees themselves are sort of returning to habits that they had pre-pandemic and normal incentives are starting to take effect. So those would be the reasons for our optimism.

很難找到員工。很難找到長期員工和優秀的業務開發人員。其中一些事情已經開始正常化。因此，我感到滿意的部分原因是，我們的特許經營者本身正在恢復他們在大流行前的習慣，正常的激勵措施也開始生效。因此，這些就是我們樂觀的原因。

Yes. That's very helpful. And so then if I could ask one follow-up within all those things getting better, are there specific lines of business or types of businesses that are getting better? Are you actually starting to see commercial real estate and construction get better? And then same question geographically.

是的。這非常有幫助。那麼，如果我可以問所有這些事情變得更好的後續行動，是否有特定的業務線或業務類型正在變得更好？您真的開始看到商業房地產和建築業變得更好了嗎？然後是地理上的同樣問題。

Commercial construction has been strong really for the last -- since -- for that matter, really since 2020, it's been consistently strong and even really during 2020. So that's been a bright spot throughout. Geographically, it's the same areas that are good for us, which is Texas, Tennessee.

就這一點而言，自 2020 年以來，商業建築一直非常強勁，甚至在 2020 年期間一直強勁。所以這一直是個亮點。從地理位置上來說，這也是對我們有利的地區，即德克薩斯州和田納西州。

But Tennessee is hurting a little bit, but Florida, Georgia, they've all been -- the Southeast has been very strong for us. But now we're also having some better success even in the Mid-Atlantic is getting stronger. And I would say also our skilled trades division is really picking up as well. So we're getting some help from that as well.

但田納西州受到了一點傷害，但佛羅裡達州、喬治亞州，他們都受到了影響——東南部對我們來說非常強大。但現在我們也取得了一些更好的成功，即使在大西洋中部也變得越來越強大。我想說的是，我們的技術貿易部門也確實在發展。所以我們也從中得到了一些幫助。

Kevin Steinke, Barrington Research.

凱文‧史坦克，巴靈頓研究中心。

So you talked about temporary staffing returning to system-wide sales growth. But at the same time, the executive recruiting and permanent staffing market being a little tougher. Although I think in your actual press release, you said you're optimistic that the market for both temporary staffing and permanent staffing is entering a more favorable economic environment.

因此，您談到了臨時人員配置恢復全系統銷售成長的問題。但同時，高階主管招募和長期員工市場卻有些艱難。儘管我認為在您的實際新聞稿中，您表示您對臨時員工和長期員工市場正在進入更有利的經濟環境感到樂觀。

So I'm just wondering if you're seeing signs of stabilization or improvement on the permanent staffing side and your outlook or your level of optimism for that part of the business?

所以我只是想知道您是否看到長期員工方面穩定或改善的跡像以及您對這部分業務的前景或樂觀程度？

Thanks for that question. So the perm staffing -- I'm sorry, perm placement business has been incredibly tough the last 7 quarters. I'm not going to sugarcoat that. It's been really bad. And so if nothing else, the optimism -- and I guess the optimism is almost based on it almost can't stay that. It's at abnormally low levels. And so it almost has no place to go but up.

謝謝你提出這個問題。因此，燙髮人員配備 - 對不起，過去 7 個季度的燙髮安置業務非常艱難。我不會粉飾這一點。情況真的很糟。因此，如果不出意外的話，樂觀主義——我想這種樂觀主義幾乎是建立在它的基礎上的——幾乎無法維持這種狀態。它處於異常低的水平。所以它除了向上幾乎沒有其他地方可去。

And again, sort of what I alluded to in responding to Mike's question regarding why we're optimistic is part of it is it was sort of -- in some respects, it was almost too easy in 2022 for our offices and people started getting away from just normal blocking and tackling. And now they're kind of waking up and saying, you know what, I don't really like where I'm at and sort of readjusting to their own office habits basically to be a bit more aggressive.

再說一次，我在回答麥克關於我們為什麼樂觀的問題時提到的部分原因是——在某些方面，2022 年對於我們的辦公室來說幾乎太容易了，人們開始離開從正常的阻擋和鏟斷。現在他們醒悟過來，說，你知道嗎，我真的不喜歡我現在的處境，並且正在重新調整自己的辦公習慣，基本上變得更有侵略性。

But it's also -- there was that overhang in 2022, where people were hiring pretty much as anything they could do to hire a person, they would. And so 2023 came as a bit of a shock almost where it's, gosh, now I have 58 computer programmers, but I really only needed 30, but I was just grabbing them because I couldn't find them.

但 2022 年也存在這種懸而未決的情況，人們幾乎會盡其所能地招募員工。所以 2023 年的到來有點令人震驚，天哪，現在我有 58 名電腦程式設計師，但我實際上只需要 30 名，但我只是抓住他們，因為我找不到他們。

And I think we're getting back again to just more at least of the normal market. And I think, again, '23 and '24 were abnormally depressed because of the strength of '22. I don't know if that answers your question, but that's a lot of how I see it.

我認為我們至少會再次回到正常市場。我再次認為，由於「22」的強勢，「23」和「24」異常沮喪。我不知道這是否能回答你的問題，但這就是我的看法。

Yes, absolutely. Yes, that makes sense. So great. So on the expense side, I apologize if you called it out, but just you've talked about the core SG&A in the past and then also the workers' compensation expense. I can't recall if you gave the exact number. I'm backing into it being about $500,000 or so, but just I was wondering if you could review those numbers for me.

是的，絕對是。是的，這是有道理的。太棒了。因此，在費用方面，如果您指出這一點，我深表歉意，但您過去已經談到了核心SG&A，然後還有工人賠償費用。我不記得你是否給了確切的數字。我支持大約 500,000 美元左右，但我只是想知道您是否可以幫我查看這些數字。

Yes. And I'm kind of going to back into these. We didn't give the core -- or do you have it, Steve?

是的。我有點想回到這些話題。我們沒有提供核心——或者你有它嗎，史蒂夫？

Well, I've got the net workers' comp. You were spot on. It's about $500,000 in the third quarter of this year and then $1.5 million in the third quarter last year.

嗯，我有網路工人的補償。你說得很對。今年第三季約 50 萬美元，去年第三季約 150 萬美元。

So $1 million was the improvement, which really -- so core SG&A stayed flat at $5.4 million. But obviously, overall SG&A dropped by $1 million due to the improvement in workers' comp. So we were able to hold our costs flat from the third quarter of last year, which is pretty much consistent with our sales being flat as well year-over-year.

因此，改良額為 100 萬美元，核心 SG&A 維持在 540 萬美元不變。但顯然，由於工人薪酬的改善，整體 SG&A 下降了 100 萬美元。因此，我們能夠從去年第三季開始保持成本持平，這與我們的銷售額同比持平幾乎一致。

Yes. Okay. Understood. Yes, that's helpful. And so going forward, with the demand picture appearing to pick up here, do you think you can hold those core SG&A expenses relatively flat? I know you've talked about maybe having some excess capacity to add system-wide sales or just again, I want to get back to how much capacity you think you might have in terms of (multiple speaker)

是的。好的。明白了。是的，這很有幫助。因此，展望未來，隨著需求狀況似乎有所好轉，您認為您可以將這些核心銷售、管理及行政費用保持在相對平穩的水平嗎？我知道您已經談到可能有一些過剩的產能來增加系統範圍的銷售額，或者再次，我想回到您認為您可能擁有多少產能（多個發言者）

That's a great question. Yes, Kevin, that's a great question. So here's how I would answer it is that, yes, we still have the ability to take on, I would argue, probably a 5% to 10% sales increase with no appreciable increase in costs. a need for SG&A. So yes, we still have some slack capacity. The only thing that would dampen that in my mind would be to the extent that the environment -- the economy improves a bit is I do believe that there's going to be a very real potential for wages to go up.

這是一個很好的問題。是的，凱文，這是一個很好的問題。所以我的回答是，是的，我認為我們仍然有能力在成本沒有顯著增加的情況下實現 5% 到 10% 的銷售額成長。 SG&A 的需要。所以，是的，我們仍然有一些閒置產能。在我看來，唯一會抑制這種情況的是環境——經濟有所改善，我確實相信薪資確實有上漲的潛力。

And so while we may not have a major headcount increase, it's easy for me to see our perm payroll expenses go up. So I don't think we can stay flat, but I do think our headcount will stay almost exactly flat.

因此，雖然我們的員工人數可能不會大幅增加，但我很容易看到我們的燙髮薪資支出增加。所以我不認為我們可以保持不變，但我確實認為我們的員工人數將幾乎完全保持不變。

Okay. Yes. Got it. That's fair. And so you've talked in previous calls with this softer demand environment that it typically has created more acquisition opportunities for you. Just wondering if that's been the case still or what the pipeline looks like and your just kind of overall appetite for continuing.

好的。是的。知道了。這很公平。因此，您在先前的電話會議中談到，這種疲軟的需求環境通常會為您創造更多的收購機會。只是想知道情況是否仍然如此，或者管道是什麼樣的，以及您對繼續進行的整體興趣。

Kevin, I'm glad you asked that question. I'm glad you asked that question. So obviously, our threshold for reporting acquisitions as we've grown, has become significantly higher. So even in this quarter, we've made 2 acquisitions, small, but 2 acquisitions. And so we have any -- we have a fair number of deals in the pipeline right now.

凱文，我很高興你問這個問題。我很高興你問這個問題。很明顯，隨著我們的發展，我們報告收購的門檻已經大幅提高。因此，即使在本季度，我們也進行了 2 次收購，雖然規模較小，但也是 2 次收購。所以我們現在有相當多的交易正在醞釀中。

Nothing so significant as to saying trigger any disclosures or anything, but we have -- but like I said, we have a number of small deals that are in various points of completion. So like I said, we did 2 deals already in the last 3 months and would anticipate -- there's no reason for me to believe that, that will slow down.

沒有什麼比觸發任何披露或任何事情更重要的了，但我們已經——但正如我所說，我們有許多小交易處於不同的完成階段。正如我所說，我們在過去 3 個月內已經完成了 2 筆交易，並且預計——我沒有理由相信這種情況會放緩。

Okay. Yes. Obviously, like you mentioned, too small to even register from a materiality perspective, but were those just kind of typical commercial staffing? Or what areas have you been looking at?

好的。是的。顯然，就像你提到的那樣，從重要性的角度來看，規模太小了，甚至無法註冊，但那些只是典型的商業人員配置嗎？或者說您一直在關注哪些領域？

Yes. There -- well, I shouldn't say that. Actually, they were on demand. 2 of them were on demand. The 2 were on demand this quarter. But really, there tends to be more opportunities in the commercial because the commercial -- the traditional commercial staffing is a larger portion of the staffing industry.

是的。嗯，我不該這麼說。事實上，他們是按需的。其中 2 個是按需提供的。這兩個版本是本季按需提供的。但實際上，商業領域往往有更多的機會，因為商業——傳統的商業人員配置在人員配置產業中佔據了更大的比例。

So we tend to have more of those opportunities, whereas the on-demand is more of a niche market, and there are fewer out there. That said, we found 2 of them this past quarter. And -- but I would -- so I would say they would tend to trend more towards commercial staffing, though, in the future.

因此，我們往往擁有更多這樣的機會，而按需服務更多的是一個利基市場，而且機會較少。也就是說，我們在上個季度發現了其中兩個。而且——但我會——所以我想說，儘管如此，未來他們會更傾向於商業人員配備。

By the way, to answer your original question, they're also -- they tend to be -- whether it's the ones we're looking at, whether it's the ones that we completed, it might be someone who has only 1 market or 2 markets.

順便說一句，為了回答你原來的問題，他們也——他們往往是——無論是我們正在研究的，還是我們已經完成的，可能是只有 1 個市場的人，或者2個市場。

And so it really fits in nicely, either fortifying our position in a particular market or maybe it puts us in a new city, so -- which we had one of each like this last quarter. So they're nice deals. They're a very limited risk. And like I said, just strengthen our overall presence.

所以它確實非常適合，要么鞏固我們在特定市場的地位，要么讓我們進入一個新的城市，所以——我們在上個季度都有這樣的情況。所以他們是很划算的交易。它們的風險非常有限。就像我說的，只是加強我們的整體存在。

Thank you very much. Well, we appear to have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. I will now hand back over to the management team for any closing remarks.

非常感謝。好吧，我們的問答環節似乎已經結束了。我現在將把閉幕詞交還給管理團隊。

Thank you, Jenny, and thank you for joining us on this call. I certainly hope you will agree that despite the write-down of the MRI assets that there's a lot of information in there that have sort of validated our strategy as far as being a franchisor of staffing companies, and it demonstrates our resilience despite the headwinds that you can clearly see in our peers. And again, I encourage you to reach out if you have any further questions, and we just thank you for joining us, and have a good day.

謝謝你，珍妮，也謝謝你參加我們這次的電話會議。我當然希望你會同意，儘管MRI 資產被減記，但其中有很多信息在某種程度上驗證了我們作為人才派遣公司特許經營者的策略，並且它表明了我們的韌性，儘管面臨著以下阻力：你可以在我們的同行中清楚地看到。再次，如果您有任何其他問題，我鼓勵您與我們聯繫，我們非常感謝您加入我們，並祝您有美好的一天。

Thank you very much. This does conclude today's conference. You may now disconnect your phone lines at this time and have a wonderful rest of the day. Thank you for your participation.

非常感謝。今天的會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開電話線並享受一天的美好休息。感謝您的參與。