Huron Consulting Group Inc (HURN) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to Huron Consulting Group's webcast to discuss financial results for the second quarter 2024. (Operator Instructions)

下午好，歡迎收看 Huron Consulting Group 的網路廣播，討論 2024 年第二季的財務表現。（操作員說明）

As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. Before we begin I would like to point all of you to the disclosure at the end of the company's news release for information about any forward-looking statements that may be made or discussed on this call.

謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音中。在我們開始之前，我想向大家指出公司新聞稿末尾的披露內容，以了解有關本次電話會議中可能做出或討論的任何前瞻性聲明的信息。

The news release is posted on Huron's website. Please review that information along with the filings with the SEC for a disclosure of factors that may impact subjects discussed in this afternoon's webcast. The company will be discussing one or more non-GAAP financial measures. Please look at the earnings release and on Huron's website for all of the disclosures required by the SEC, including reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP numbers.

新聞稿發佈在休倫的網站上。請查看該資訊以及向 SEC 提交的文件，以了解可能影響今天下午在網路廣播中討論的主題的因素。該公司將討論一項或多項非公認會計準則財務措施。請查看收益報告和 Huron 網站，以了解 SEC 要求的所有披露信息，包括與最具可比性的 GAAP 數據的調節。

And now I would like to turn the call over to Mark Hussey, Chief Executive Officer and President of Huron Consulting Group. Mr. Hussey, please go ahead.

現在我想把電話轉給休倫諮詢集團執行長兼總裁馬克‧赫西。赫西先生，請繼續。

Good afternoon, and welcome to Huron Consulting Group's second-quarter 2024 earnings call. With me today are John Kelly, our Chief Financial Officer; and Ronnie Dale, our Chief Operating Officer. In the second quarter, we achieved record revenues, led by solid growth in our healthcare and education segments, and we expanded our adjusted EBITDA margin to 15%. Our adjusted earnings per share also expanded to a record level, 20% higher than the previous high watermark established in the third quarter of the last year.

下午好，歡迎參加 Huron Consulting Group 的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的有我們的財務長約翰凱利 (John Kelly)；和我們的營運長羅尼·戴爾 (Ronnie Dale)。在醫療保健和教育領域的穩健成長帶動下，第二季我們實現了創紀錄的收入，並將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率擴大至 15%。我們的調整後每股盈餘也創下歷史新高，比去年第三季創下的高水位高出 20%。

We generated record cash flow in the second quarter, enabling us to meaningfully reduce our debt while returning capital to shareholders through ongoing share repurchases. Our record second-quarter results capped a strong first half performance for 2024.

我們在第二季創造了創紀錄的現金流，使我們能夠大幅減少債務，同時透過持續的股票回購向股東返還資本。我們創紀錄的第二季業績為 2024 年上半年的強勁表現奠定了基礎。

In the first half of 2024, revenues grew 9.5%. Adjusted EBITDA margins increased 60 basis points and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 28% over the same period a year ago. Our results demonstrate strong execution against our strategy as well as the positive impact from the changes we made to our enterprise operating model at the outset of 2022. These changes have broadened the set of offerings we deliver to clients in our core industries and allows us to operate our business at new levels of efficiency.

2024年上半年，營收成長9.5%。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率較去年同期成長 60 個基點，調整後稀釋每股盈餘成長 28%。我們的結果顯示我們對策略的執行力很強，以及我們在 2022 年初對企業營運模式所做的改變產生了正面影響。這些變化擴大了我們為核心產業客戶提供的產品範圍，並使我們能夠以新的效率水準運作我們的業務。

Our strategic focus continues to be on driving sustainable revenue growth, expanding margins, and effectively deploying capital to deliver superior returns for our shareholders. As it relates to improving profitability, despite a difficult comparison, adjusted EBITDA margins grew 100 basis points in the second quarter over the same period a year ago.

我們的策略重點仍然是推動永續收入成長、擴大利潤率和有效部署資本，為股東帶來豐厚回報。由於與提高獲利能力有關，儘管很難進行比較，但調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率在第二季度比去年同期增長了 100 個基點。

The scaling of our business over the past three years, combined with build-out of our global delivery capabilities, and our team's focus on our key operating levers like pricing and utilization have meaningfully enhanced Huron's earnings power. We expect this trend to continue as we progress towards our mid-teens EBITDA margin target. I'm incredibly proud of our team for delivering performance over the last 10 quarters that has outpaced our 2022 Investor Day financial objectives.

過去三年我們業務的擴展，加上我們全球交付能力的增強，以及我們團隊對定價和利用率等關鍵營運槓桿的關注，顯著增強了 Huron 的獲利能力。我們預計，隨著我們朝著 15 左右的 EBITDA 利潤率目標邁進，這一趨勢將持續下去。我為我們的團隊在過去 10 個季度的業績表現感到無比自豪，其業績超出了我們 2022 年投資者日的財務目標。

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2024, we expect our progress towards our medium-term financial goals to continue. As reflected by the midpoint of our updated revenue guidance, we expect sequential growth in the second half over the first half of 2024 and 9% annual revenue growth year over year.

展望 2024 年剩餘時間，我們預期我們將繼續在實現中期財務目標方面取得進展。正如我們更新的收入指引的中點所反映的，我們預計 2024 年下半年將比上半年實現環比增長，年收入將同比增長 9%。

Let me make one final comment before diving into more detail on our performance in the quarter. Our success in the market and in delivering these financial results is only possible because of our incredibly talented team. We've received numerous recognitions for being an Employer of Choice in 2024, more than in any year in our 22-year history. Our people are the heart of our business. And these honors acknowledge the power of a collaborative culture as demonstrated by our team's commitment to our clients and to one another. Our culture is one of our greatest competitive advantages and enables us to operate as one firm and to realize our full potential.

在更詳細地介紹我們本季的業績之前，讓我先做最後的評論。我們在市場上取得成功並取得這些財務表現的唯一原因是我們才​​華橫溢的團隊。我們因成為 2024 年首選雇主而獲得了無數認可，比我們 22 年曆史上的任何一年都多。我們的員工是我們業務的核心。這些榮譽認可了協作文化的力量，我們團隊對客戶和彼此的承諾證明了這一點。我們的文化是我們最大的競爭優勢之一，它使我們能夠作為一個公司運作並充分發揮我們的潛力。

Now I'll share some additional insights into our second-quarter performance. In the healthcare segment, second-quarter revenues grew 9% over the prior year quarter on top of 35% growth in the year-ago quarter over Q2 of 2022. The increase in revenues in the quarter was driven by a continued strong demand for our digital performance improvement culture and organizational excellence and strategy and innovation offerings.

現在我將分享一些關於我們第二季業績的額外見解。在醫療保健領域，第二季度營收較上年同期成長 9%，而去年同期較 2022 年第二季營收成長 35%。本季營收的成長是由於對我們的數位績效改善文化、卓越組織以及策略和創新產品的持續強勁需求所推動的。

The operating environment for healthcare organizations remains mixed and highly competitive, which continues to create solid demand across the breadth of our portfolio of offerings. While some health systems have realize improving margins over the past few quarters, many have not. In some cases, volumes have improved, but reimbursement trends continue to be challenging. Whether a hospital or health system is experiencing financial distress or seeking opportunities to advance their competitive advantage from a position of strength, our clients are here to shape their future strategies, evolve their business models, and optimize our operations to address the ongoing challenges and opportunities in the markets.

醫療保健組織的營運環境仍然複雜且競爭激烈，這繼續在我們的產品組合範圍內創造堅實的需求。雖然一些衛生系統在過去幾個季度已經實現了利潤率的提高，但許多系統還沒有實現。在某些情況下，數量有所改善，但報銷趨勢仍充滿挑戰。無論醫院或衛生系統正經歷財務困境，還是尋求機會以優勢地位提升競爭優勢，我們的客戶都會在這裡制定未來策略、發展業務模式並優化我們的運營，以應對持續的挑戰和機會在市場上。

Our depth of industry expertise, broad array of offerings, and long track record of proven results for the clients positions us very well to provide strategic, operational, financial, and digital solutions to help them achieve a more sustainable future in this complex and challenging healthcare environment.

我們深厚的行業專業知識、廣泛的產品以及為客戶提供的長期業績記錄使我們能夠很好地提供策略、營運、財務和數位解決方案，幫助他們在這個複雜且充滿挑戰的醫療保健領域實現更可持續的未來環境。

Turning now to education, education segment revenues grew 11% in the second quarter of 2024 over the prior year quarter on top of 25% growth in the year ago quarter over Q2 of 2022. The increase in revenues in the quarter was driven by increased demand for our strategy and operations and digital product offerings.

現在轉向教育，2024 年第二季教育部門營收較上年同期成長 11%，而去年同期較 2022 年第二季成長 25%。本季營收的成長是由於對我們的策略和營運以及數位產品的需求增加所致。

Higher-education institutions are facing complex challenges that threaten their historic business models. The issues facing university leadership are vast and they span all areas of the institution. For example, declining affordability continues to challenge the perceived value of a college degree in the face of unfavorable demographic trends. Rising costs and increased level of funding that made achieving goals even more difficult and they need to operate more efficiently while differentiating the student experience requires investments in both new operating models and new technologies.

高等教育機構正面臨著威脅其歷史商業模式的複雜挑戰。大學領導層面臨的問題非常廣泛，涉及機構的各個領域。例如，面對不利的人口趨勢，負擔能力下降繼續挑戰大學學位的感知價值。成本上升和資金水平增加使得實現目標變得更加困難，他們需要更有效地運營，同時差異化學生體驗需要對新運營模式和新技術進行投資。

Building on our deep industry expertise, we've strategically expanded our portfolio of offerings to serve the needs of nearly every role in the university President's leadership team as they collectively focus on advancing the institutional mission and planning for a sustainable, long-term future. We've hired several industry leaders whose experience further strengthens our position as the trusted advisor and partner of choice to our clients.

憑藉著深厚的行業專業知識，我們策略性地擴展了我們的產品組合，以滿足大學校長領導團隊中幾乎每個角色的需求，因為他們共同致力於推進機構使命並規劃可持續的長期未來。我們聘請了幾位行業領導者，他們的經驗進一步鞏固了我們作為客戶值得信賴的顧問和合作夥伴的地位。

And as the needs of our clients continue to evolve, we're a unique partner in the higher education market, given the strength of our relationships, the diversity of our offerings, and the depth of our experience. That collectively positions us very well for continued solid growth in this business.

隨著客戶需求的不斷發展，鑑於我們的關係實力、產品的多樣性以及豐富的經驗，我們已成為高等教育市場上獨一無二的合作夥伴。這些共同為我們在該業務的持續穩健成長奠定了良好的基礎。

Now turning to the commercial segment, revenues declined 6% in the second quarter over the prior year quarter, reflecting softer demand for our digital offerings, partially offset by an increase in demand for our financial advisory offerings, which remained strong given the continued impact of challenging capital markets and expanding competitive pressures.

現在轉向商業領域，第二季度營收比去年同期下降6%，反映出對我們數位產品的需求疲軟，但部分被對我們財務諮詢產品的需求增加所抵消，考慮到金融諮詢產品的持續影響，財務諮詢產品的需求仍然強勁。

In our digital business, we continue to see our commercial clients taking a more cautious approach in executing large-scale initiatives and strategy-related engagements as uncertainties in the macro economic and political environments persist. Like many of our competitors in the IT services industry, we're seeing some delays in decision making and a slower pace of spending on our digital offerings.

在我們的數位業務中，由於宏觀經濟和政治環境的不確定性持續存在，我們繼續看到我們的商業客戶在執行大規模計劃和戰略相關業務時採取更加謹慎的態度。與 IT 服務業的許多競爭對手一樣，我們發現決策存在一些延遲，數位產品支出速度也有所放緩。

We have confidence the softening of demand is temporary as our pipeline remains solid across our broad set of solutions and the underlying needs of our clients remain robust. We believe demand for digital offerings will return to their historic double-digit levels as macro economic pressures begin to abate.

我們相信需求的疲軟是暫時的，因為我們廣泛的解決方案管道仍然穩固，而且客戶的潛在需求仍然強勁。我們相信，隨著宏觀經濟壓力開始減輕，對數位產品的需求將恢復到歷史兩位數水準。

The commercial segment is a key pillar of our enterprise growth strategy. We believe that a broad portfolio of digital, financial advisory, and strategy and innovation offerings, coupled with deepening industry expertise, will continue to be a solid platform for growth in this segment. We expect clients will continue to demand technology solutions delivered by our partners that can enable transformation of their businesses and strengthen their competitive advantages.

商業部門是我們企業成長策略的關鍵支柱。我們相信，廣泛的數位、財務諮詢、策略和創新產品組合，加上不斷深化的產業專業知識，將繼續成為該領域成長的堅實平台。我們預期客戶將繼續需要我們的合作夥伴提供的技術解決方案，以實現其業務轉型並增強其競爭優勢。

The breadth of our offerings and proven track record of delivering results positions us very well for continued growth for commercial segment over time. And we continue to see M&A opportunities that will complement and expand our capabilities and deepen our expertise in our industries of focus.

我們產品的廣度和交付成果的良好記錄使我們非常有利於商業領域隨著時間的推移持續成長。我們繼續看到併購機會，這些機會將補充和擴展我們的能力，並加深我們在重點行業的專業知識。

Let me make one final comment before turning to our outlook for the remainder of the year. One distinguishing feature of our business that drives significant value for shareholders is our strong free cash flow model. In the second quarter, we generated record cash flows while executing our balanced capital deployment strategy. We continue to manage the balance sheet in a manner that provides us with the flexibility and capacity to enhance returns to shareholders and to fund accretive M&A, which we continue to believe is an important part of our growth strategy.

在談到我們對今年剩餘時間的展望之前，讓我先做最後的評論。我們業務的一個顯著特徵是我們強大的自由現金流模型，為股東帶來了巨大的價值。第二季度，我們在執行平衡資本部署策略的同時產生了創紀錄的現金流。我們繼續以一種為我們提供靈活性和能力的方式管理資產負債表，以提高股東回報並為增值併購提供資金，我們仍然認為這是我們成長策略的重要組成部分。

And now finally, let me turn to our outlook. So the press release indicates we're narrowing our annual revenue guidance to $1.46 billion to $1.5 billion. And we're raising our annual adjusted EBITDA margin guidance by 25 basis points to a range of 13% to 13.5%. Finally, we're raising our full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share to a range of $5.85 to $6.15, which at the midpoint represents 22% growth over 2023.

最後，讓我談談我們的前景。因此，新聞稿顯示我們正在將年度收入指引縮小至 14.6 億美元至 15 億美元。我們將年度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率指導上調 25 個基點，達到 13% 至 13.5% 的範圍。最後，我們將全年調整後稀釋每股收益提高至 5.85 美元至 6.15 美元的範圍，這意味著比 2023 年增加 22%。

We are narrowing our full-year revenue guidance to the lower half of our previously stated range due to the shorter-term softening of demand for our digital offerings in the commercial segment. Our full-year earnings guidance reflects our first-half performance and the scale efficiency we've made. And coupled with our team's discipline around expense management, we continue to make steady progress towards the medium-term financial goals set forth at our 2022 Investor Day.

由於商業領域對我們數位產品的需求短期疲軟，我們將全年收入指引縮小至先前規定範圍的下半部。我們的全年獲利指引反映了我們上半年的業績和我們所取得的規模效率。再加上我們團隊在費用管理方面的紀律，我們將繼續朝著 2022 年投資者日制定的中期財務目標穩步前進。

As we enter the second half of our five-year strategy that we outlined at our 2022 Investor Day, I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish in the market, with their clients, their business, and for our teams. Our record results in the second quarter of 2024 demonstrate our focus on achieving our strategic and financial goals. We believe we are well-positioned for continued growth in the years ahead with a strong client relationships we've built, the depth of our industry expertise, the balanced portfolio of offerings that will continue to evolve, and address our clients' most complex challenges.

隨著我們進入 2022 年投資者日概述的五年策略的下半年，我為我們在市場上、與他們的客戶、他們的業務以及我們的團隊所取得的成就感到自豪。我們 2024 年第二季創紀錄的業績顯示我們致力於實現策略和財務目標。我們相信，憑藉我們已建立的強大客戶關係、深厚的行業專業知識以及將繼續發展的均衡產品組合，我們已做好在未來幾年持續增長的準備，並解決客戶最複雜的挑戰。

Now let me turn it over to John for more detailed discussion of our financial results. John?

現在讓我把它交給約翰，讓他更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。約翰？

Thank you, Mark, and good afternoon, everyone. Before I begin, please note that I will be discussing non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow. Our press release, 10-Q, and investor relations page on the Huron website have reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures, the most comparable GAAP measures, along with the discussion of why management uses these non-GAAP measures and why management believes they provide useful information to investors regarding our financial condition and operating results.

謝謝你，馬克，大家下午好。在開始之前，請注意，我將討論非 GAAP 財務指標，例如 EBITDA、調整後 EBITDA、調整後淨利潤、調整後每股收益和自由現金流。我們的新聞稿、10-Q 和Huron 網站上的投資者關係頁面對這些非GAAP 衡量標準、最具可比性的GAAP 衡量標準進行了調節，並討論了管理層為何使用這些非GAAP 衡量標準以及管理層為何認為它們提供了為投資者提供有關我們財務狀況和經營業績的有用資訊。

Before discussing our financial results for the quarter, I would like to acknowledge two housekeeping items. First, in the second quarter of 2024, we settled a litigation matter for $15 million, for which Huron was the plaintiff. This $15 million settlement gain was recorded as a component of other gains net on our consolidated statement of operations. We have excluded from our non-GAAP measures for $11.7 million, which is the value of the settlement gain that exceeds that third-party legal costs incurred during 2024 specific to this litigation matter.

在討論本季的財務表現之前，我想先確認兩個內務事項。首先，在 2024 年第二季度，我們以 1,500 萬美元和解了一起訴訟事宜，Huron 是該訴訟的原告。這 1500 萬美元的和解收益被記錄為我們合併營運報表中其他淨收益的一部分。我們已將 1,170 萬美元排除在非公認會計準則措施之外，該和解收益的價值超過了 2024 年期間針對該訴訟事項產生的第三方法律費用。

Second, I want to make a comment on revenue generating professional headcount growth. Our year-over-year headcount growth 13% as of June 30, included the expansion of our India-based healthcare IT managed services team. Excluding the impact of the India-based managed services team, headcount growth was 6%.

其次，我想對創造收入的專業員工人數成長發表評論。截至 6 月 30 日，我們的員工人數年增 13%，其中包括擴大印度醫療保健 IT 託管服務團隊。排除印度託管服務團隊的影響，員工人數增加了 6%。

Now, I'll share some of the key financial results from the second quarter. Revenues for the second quarter of 2024 were record high, achieving $371.7 million, up 7.2% from $346.8 million in the same quarter of 2023. The increase in revenues was driven by continued strength in demand for healthcare and education segments, and included a full-quarter contribution of $6.8 million from our GG+A acquisition, which closed during the first quarter of 2024.

現在，我將分享第二季的一些主要財務表現。2024年第二季的營收創歷史新高，達3.717億美元，比2023年同季的3.468億美元成長7.2%。營收的成長得益於醫療保健和教育領域需求的持續強勁，其中包括我們在 2024 年第一季完成的 GG+A 收購帶來的 680 萬美元的全季貢獻。

Net income for the second quarter of 2024 was $37.5 million or $2.03 per diluted share compared to net income of $24.7 million or $1.27 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2023. The increase in net income was driven by the litigation settlement gain I mentioned earlier and revenues that outpaced expenses. Our effective income tax rate in the second quarter of 2024 was 28.1%, which is less favorable than the statutory rate inclusive of state income taxes, primarily due to certain non-deductible expense items.

2024 年第二季的淨利潤為 3,750 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 2.03 美元，而 2023 年第二季淨利為 2,470 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.27 美元。淨利潤的成長是由我之前提到的訴訟和解收益以及收入超過支出所推動的。我們2024年第二季的有效所得稅率為28.1%，低於包含國家所得稅的法定稅率，這主要是由於某些不可扣除的費用項目。

Adjusted EBITDA was a record $55.7 million in Q2 2024 or 15% of revenues compared to $48.5 million or 14% of revenues in Q2 2023. The increase in adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was primarily due to the increase in segment operating income, excluding the impact of segment restructuring charges. We are proud of our progress in improving margins, and we remain confident in our ability to achieve full-year mid-teen margins in 2025, consistent with the goal we set forth in our 2022 Investor Day.

2024 年第二季調整後 EBITDA 達到創紀錄的 5,570 萬美元，佔營收的 15%，而 2023 年第二季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,850 萬美元，佔營收的 14%。本季度調整後 EBITDA 的成長主要是由於分部營業收入的增加，不包括分部重組費用的影響。我們對提高利潤率方面取得的進展感到自豪，並且對我們在 2025 年實現全年中雙位數利潤率的能力充滿信心，這與我們在 2022 年投資者日制定的目標一致。

Adjusted net income was $30.9 million or a record $1.68 per diluted share in Q2 2024 compared to $27 million or $1.38 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2023, resulting in a 22% increase and adjusted diluted earnings per share over Q2 2023.

2024 年第二季調整後淨利為3,090 萬美元，即創紀錄的每股攤薄收益1.68 美元，而2023 年第二季調整後淨利為2,700 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益1.38 美元，導致調整後稀釋每股盈餘較2023 年第二季成長22%。

Now I'll discuss the performance of each of our operating segments. Healthcare segment generated 51% of total company revenues during the second quarter of 2024. This segment posted revenues of $190.1 million, up $16.3 million or 9.4% from the second quarter of 2023. The increase in revenues in the quarter reflects continued strong demand for digital performance improvement, culture and organizational excellence, and strategy and innovation offering.

現在我將討論我們每個營運部門的表現。2024 年第二季度，醫療保健部門占公司總收入的 51%。該部門的營收為 1.901 億美元，比 2023 年第二季成長 1,630 萬美元，增幅為 9.4%。本季營收的成長反映了對數位績效改進、文化和組織卓越以及策略和創新產品的持續強勁需求。

Healthcare's digital and consulting and managed services capabilities grew 15% and 7%, respectively, in the second quarter, reflecting the continued broad-based demand for our offerings. Second quarter of 2024 included $17 million of favorable performance-based fee adjustments compared to $16 million of such adjustments in the second quarter of 2023. The ability to earn performance-based fees as we drive benefits for our clients is a favorable and ongoing attribute of our healthcare business. So the recognition of revenue for such adjustments can vary significantly quarter to quarter.

第二季度，醫療保健產業的數位化、諮詢和管理服務能力分別成長了 15% 和 7%，反映出對我們產品的持續廣泛需求。2024 年第二季包括 1,700 萬美元的基於績效的有利費用調整，而 2023 年第二季的此類調整為 1,600 萬美元。在為客戶帶來利益的同時賺取基於績效的費用的能力是我們醫療保健業務的一個有利且持續的屬性。因此，此類調整的收入確認可能會因季度而異。

Operating margin for healthcare was 29.1% in Q2 2024 compared to 28.3% in Q2 2023. The increase in margin was primarily due to a decrease in contractor expenses, partially offset by an increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals as a percentage of revenues. The education segment generated 33% of total company revenues during the second quarter of 2024.

2024 年第二季醫療保健業務的營業利潤率為 29.1%，而 2023 年第二季為 28.3%。利潤率的增加主要是因為承包商費用的減少，但部分被我們創收專業人員的薪酬成本佔收入百分比的增加所抵銷。2024 年第二季度，教育部門的收入占公司總收入的 33%。

The education segment posted revenues of $122.8 million, up $12.1 million or 10.9% from the second quarter of 2023 and included $6.8 million from our acquisition of GG+A. The increase in revenues in the quarter was driven by increased demand for our strategy and operations in digital product offerings.

教育部門的收入為 1.228 億美元，比 2023 年第二季成長 1,210 萬美元，即 10.9%，其中包括我們收購 GG+A 帶來的 680 萬美元。本季營收的成長是由於對我們的數位產品策略和營運的需求增加所推動的。

Education's consulting and managed services capability revenue grew 19% over the second quarter of 2023. The operating margin for education was 25.1% for Q2 2024 compared to 24.8% the same quarter in 2023. The increase in operating margin in the quarter was primarily driven by revenue growth that outpaced increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals and a decrease in contractor expenses, partially offset by an increase in compensation costs for our support personnel as a percentage of revenue.

教育諮詢和管理服務能力收入較 2023 年第二季成長 19%。2024 年第二季教育產業的營業利潤率為 25.1%，而 2023 年同一季度為 24.8%。本季營業利潤率的成長主要是由於收入成長超過了我們創收專業人員的薪酬成本的成長和承包商費用的減少，但部分被我們支援人員的薪酬成本佔收入百分比的增加所抵消。

The commercial segment generated 16% of total company revenues during the second quarter of 2024 and posted revenues of $58.8 million compared to $62.3 million in the second quarter of 2023. The decrease in revenues was driven by slower sales cycle for our digital offerings, partially offset by an increase in demand for our financial advisory offerings.

2024 年第二季度，商業部門的營收占公司總營收的 16%，營收為 5,880 萬美元，而 2023 年第二季的營收為 6,230 萬美元。收入下降是由於我們的數位產品銷售週期放緩造成的，但部分被對我們財務諮詢產品的需求增加所抵消。

As Mark mentioned, despite the shorter-term softening of market demand for our digital offerings, we are confident in the long-term growth trajectory of the commercial segment as temporary macro headwinds ease and we fully capture the ongoing strength in our sales pipeline.

正如馬克所提到的，儘管短期內市場對我們數位產品的需求疲軟，但我們對商業領域的長期成長軌跡充滿信心，因為暫時的宏觀阻力有所緩解，而且我們充分抓住了銷售管道的持續優勢。

Operating margin for the commercial segment was 15.3% in Q2 2024 compared to 16.8% for the same quarter in 2023. The decrease in operating margin was driven by an increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals as a percentage of revenues, partially offset by decreases in restructuring charges and contractor expenses as a percentage of revenues.

2024 年第二季商業部門的營業利潤率為 15.3%，而 2023 年同一季度為 16.8%。營業利益率下降的原因是我們創收專業人員的薪酬成本佔收入的百分比增加，但部分被重組費用和承包商費用佔收入百分比的下降所抵消。

Corporate expense is not allocated at the segment level, excluding the $15 million litigation settlement gain and corporate restructuring charges, were $45.6 million in Q2 2024 compared to $43 million in Q2 2023. Unallocated corporate expenses in the second quarter of 2024 and 2023 included $700,000 and $1.4 million, respectively, of expense related to the increase in the liability of our deferred compensation plan, which is offset by the investment gain and the assets used to fund that plan reflected in other income.

不包括 1,500 萬美元的訴訟和解收益和公司重組費用，公司費用未在部門層級分配，2024 年第二季為 4,560 萬美元，而 2023 年第二季為 4,300 萬美元。2024 年和2023 年第二季的未分配公司費用分別包括與我們的遞延薪酬計劃負債增加相關的費用70 萬美元和140 萬美元，該費用被投資收益和用於為該計劃提供資金的資產所抵消在其他收入中。

Excluding the impact of the deferred compensation plan in both periods, unallocated corporate expenses increased $3.2 million, primarily due to increases in software and data hosting expenses and compensation expense for our support personnel.

排除這兩個時期遞延薪酬計劃的影響，未分配的公司費用增加了 320 萬美元，主要是由於軟體和資料託管費用以及支援人員的薪酬費用增加。

Now turning to the balance sheet and cash flows, cash flow from operations in the second quarter of 2024 was a record $107.2 million. In the quarter, we invested $9 million in capital expenditures, inclusive of internally developed software costs, resulting in free cash flow of $98.2 million.

現在轉向資產負債表和現金流，2024 年第二季的營運現金流達到創紀錄的 1.072 億美元。本季度，我們投資了 900 萬美元的資本支出，其中包括內部開發的軟體成本，導致自由現金流為 9,820 萬美元。

DSO was 81 days at the close of the second quarter of 2024 compared to 91 days for the first quarter of 2024 and 77 days in the second quarter of 2023. Total debt as of June 30, 2024, with $511.6 million, consisting entirely of our senior bank debt. And we finished the quarter with cash of $17.6 million for net debt of $493.9 million. This was a $61.1 million decrease in net debt compared to Q1 of 2024.

截至 2024 年第二季末，DSO 為 81 天，而 2024 年第一季為 91 天，2023 年第二季為 77 天。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，債務總額為 5.116 億美元，全部由我們的優先銀行債務組成。本季結束時，我們的現金為 1,760 萬美元，淨債務為 4.939 億美元。與 2024 年第一季相比，淨債務減少了 6,110 萬美元。

Our leverage ratio, as defined in our senior bank agreement, was 2.2 times adjusted EBITDA as of June 30, 2024, consistent with the leverage ratio as of June 30, 2023. During the second quarter, we used $34.4 million to repurchase approximately 376,000 shares. Since the beginning of 2024, we have repurchased 1 million shares, representing 5.4% of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2023. As of June 30, 2024, $90 million remained available for share repurchases under our current share repurchase program.

截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，我們的高級銀行協議中定義的槓桿率為調整後 EBITDA 的 2.2 倍，與截至 2023 年 6 月 30 日的槓桿率一致。第二季度，我們使用 3,440 萬美元回購了約 376,000 股股票。自 2024 年初以來，我們已回購 100 萬股股票，佔截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日已發行普通股的 5.4%。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，根據我們目前的股票回購計劃，仍有 9,000 萬美元可用於股票回購。

We achieved record free cash flow in the second quarter of 2024 and continued to execute on our balanced capital deployment strategy. We believe the cumulative effect of our return to shareholders via share repurchases over the last several years has well positioned us for continued strong EPS expansion. At the same time, our balance sheet remains strong, providing us the capacity for continued share repurchases and accretive M&A.

我們在 2024 年第二季實現了創紀錄的自由現金流，並繼續執行平衡的資本部署策略。我們相信，過去幾年透過股票回購給股東帶來的回報的累積效應，為我們持續強勁的每股盈餘擴張奠定了良好的基礎。同時，我們的資產負債表依然強勁，為我們提供了持續股票回購和增值併購的能力。

Finally, let me turn to our guidance for the full-year 2024. As Mark mentioned, we are updating our full-year 2024 revenue and earnings guidance as follows: narrowing our revenues before reimbursable expenses guidance to a range of $1.46 billion to $1.5 billion, reflecting the lower half of our previous revenue guidance range; increasing our adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue guidance to a range of 13% to 13.5%; and increasing our adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $5.85 to $6.15.

最後，讓我談談我們對 2024 年全年的指導。正如Mark 所提到的，我們正在更新2024 年全年收入和盈利指引，如下：將可報銷費用指引前的收入範圍縮小至14.6 億美元至15 億美元，反映了我們先前收入指引範圍的下半部分；將調整後的 EBITDA 佔收入指導的百分比提高至 13% 至 13.5%；並將調整後的稀釋每股盈餘指引提高至 5.85 美元至 6.15 美元的範圍。

Thanks, everyone. I would now like to open the call to questions. Operator?

感謝大家。我現在想開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Andrew Nicholas, William Blair & Company.

（操作員說明）安德魯·尼古拉斯，威廉·布萊爾公司。

Hi, everyone. Good afternoon. I want to ask on a commercial weakness first. Mark, you're pretty confident in this being temporary weakness. Just curious if you could speak to what gives you that confidence and over what timeframe you would expect this to play itself out? Is it just a matter of getting through some difficult comps and some of these budget restrictions? Or is there any other catalyst you're looking for? And then somewhat relatedly, is the plan to let the foot off the gas a little bit on the headcount growth side until you start to see evidence of how those budgets dying out?

大家好。午安.我想先問一下商業上的弱點。馬克，你對這只是暫時的弱點很有信心。只是好奇您能否談談是什麼給了您這種信心，以及您希望這種情況在什麼時間範圍內發揮作用？這只是通過一些困難的比較和其中一些預算限制的問題嗎？或者您正在尋找其他催化劑嗎？然後，在某種程度上相關的是，計劃是否會在員工數量增長方面稍微放鬆一下，直到你開始看到這些預算如何消失的證據？

Yeah, Andrew. I would start with the reason for our confidence. It's really the pipeline itself. When we look at the kinds of projects that we're bidding on and the clients that are engaging us, we look at the size of that at historic levels and we feel confident that the demand is there and that really what we've got is delays in decision making. That to me, we've seen in other environments where there's a macro environment and we got the elections going on.

是的，安德魯。我將從我們充滿信心的原因開始。這實際上是管道本身。當我們審視我們正在競標的項目類型以及吸引我們的客戶時，我們會關注其歷史水平的規模，我們相信需求是存在的，而且我們真正擁有的是決策的延遲。對我來說，我們在其他環境中看到了宏觀環境，並且我們進行了選舉。

So we believe that, ultimately, there's -- the tailwinds are going to come back and we see signs from time to time, we're not ready to call that in the second half of the year. We have tapped the brakes on head count additions, but there's really -- we see nothing that really gives us any view of change in trajectory for the longer term.

因此，我們相信，最終，順風將會回來，我們不時會看到跡象，但我們還沒有準備好在今年下半年宣布這一點。我們已經對增加員工數量踩下了煞車，但實際上，我們沒有看到任何東西可以真正讓我們看到長期發展軌蹟的變化。

And Andrew, I'll add. When we look at the guidance update and the lowering of the midpoint of our revenue guidance by $20 million, the majority of that actually relates to some of the softness that we experienced during the first six months of the year. When we look at the back half of the year and our projection for the back half of the year, which is supported by our pipeline by the backlog. That's actually much more consistent with the expectations that we had in the front half of the year. So I think we've already digested a significant component of the weakness that Mark was referring to.

安德魯，我補充一下。當我們查看指導更新以及收入指導中點降低 2000 萬美元時，其中大部分實際上與我們在今年前六個月經歷的一些疲軟有關。當我們回顧今年下半年以及我們對今年下半年的預測時，我們的管道和積壓訂單支持了這個預測。這其實與我們今年上半年的預期更加一致。所以我認為我們已經消化了馬克提到的弱點的一個重要組成部分。

And then, John, maybe to clarify that, that's specific to commercial you're saying in terms of growth consistent with --

然後，約翰，也許是為了澄清這一點，這是特定於你所說的與成長一致的商業--

Yeah.

是的。

Okay. Maybe that's a good segue then to just ask a follow-up on segment level expectations. You had given us your outline that for us on the fourth quarter call. First quarter was a little bit different somewhat with commercial. I think healthcare was a little bit better than you had thought, going after just three months. So if you could just outline maybe where segment level expectations are today relative to the fourth-quarter call, I think that would be some helpful additional context for the guidance changes.

好的。也許這是一個很好的繼續，然後只是詢問細分級別期望的後續情況。您在第四季電話會議上向我們提供了您的大綱。第一季與商業廣告略有不同。我認為醫療保健比您想像的要好一點，僅僅三個月後。因此，如果您能概述一下當前相對於第四季度電話會議的細分級別預期，我認為這將是指導變更的一些有用的附加背景。

Sure, Andrew. I'll start with Healthcare. From a healthcare perspective, we're expecting the full-year growth rate at this point to be in the upper-single-digit to lower-double-digit range, so that's up from the mid- to upper-single-digit range back from the February call. And we still expect margins for healthcare to be in the 25% to 27% range.

當然，安德魯。我將從醫療保健開始。從醫療保健的角度來看，我們預計此時的全年增長率將在上個位數到下兩位數的範圍內，因此高於中個位數到上個位數的範圍從二月份的電話會議來看。我們仍預期醫療保健領域的利潤率將在 25% 至 27% 範圍內。

From an education perspective, I was expecting revenues now for the full year to be in the low-double-digit range. I would describe it as a low-teen range on the call back in February. I think we still expect to be in the low-double-digit range. And there the margins, again, we expect to be in the 24% to 26% range, which is consistent from the February call.

從教育角度來看，我預計全年收入將處於低兩位數範圍內。我會在二月的電話會議上將其描述為低青少年範圍。我認為我們仍然預計將處於低兩位數範圍內。我們再次預期利潤率將在 24% 至 26% 的範圍內，這與 2 月的電話會議一致。

And then from a commercial perspective, we're now expecting the full year to be relatively flat with last year. And that was an area where we expected at the outset of the year on low-double-digit growth. And the margins for this part of the business also remain unchanged in the 21%, 23% range.

然後從商業角度來看，我們現在預計全年將與去年相對持平。這是我們年初預計的低兩位數成長的領域。而這部分業務的利潤率也維持在21%、23%的區間不變。

Great. Thank you. And then if I could just squeeze one more in. I mean, some movement there at the segment level, but the margin outlook consistent at the segment level and also you were able to raise it for the full year. I mean, what gives you the ability to do that. Is it just really, really strong utilization trend? Is it plans to lower headcount growth in the back half of the year? And anything else that you would touch on, that would be great.

偉大的。謝謝。然後如果我能再擠一個進去就好了。我的意思是，細分市場層面出現了一些變化，但細分市場層面的利潤率前景保持一致，而且您還可以提高全年利潤率。我的意思是，是什麼讓你有能力做到這一點。這真的是非常非常強勁的利用趨勢嗎？是否計劃在下半年降低員工數量成長？如果您能涉及到其他任何內容，那就太好了。

Yeah, Andrew. It's John. Our team has done an excellent job of really managing expenses throughout the first half of the year. For context, the attrition as we've talked about in the past couple of calls, has been much lower than what we anticipated beginning of the year, which means that careful stewardship by our teams has been all the more important. To your point about utilization as the year does go on, based on our forecast, we do expect utilization to continue to ramp up in the back half of the year. And so we think that's going to be another margin accretive item as we get towards the back half of the year.

是的，安德魯。是約翰。我們的團隊在上半年的費用管理方面做得非常出色。就背景而言，我們在過去幾次電話中談到的人員流失率遠低於我們年初的預期，這意味著我們團隊的認真管理變得更加重要。對於您關於今年的利用率的觀點，根據我們的預測，我們確實預計利用率將在今年下半年繼續上升。因此，我們認為，隨著下半年的到來，這將成為另一個增加利潤的項目。

And then finally, we mentioned the litigation settlement gain. Having those litigation expenses for that settlement fully behind us, at this point, that's another positive factor in terms of our full-year margin outlook.

最後，我們提到了訴訟和解收益。目前，我們已經完全擺脫了該和解的訴訟費用，這是我們全年利潤率前景的另一個積極因素。

Tobey Sommer, Truist Securities.

托比·索默（Tobey Sommer），Truist 證券公司。

Thank you. I wanted to ask a broad question about incremental margins. Can you achieve the mid-teens margin target for next year 15%, I guess, at this kind of revenue growth rate? Or do you need revenue growth to accelerate for that to be achievable?

謝謝。我想問一個關於增量利潤的廣泛問題。我猜，在這樣的營收成長率下，你能實現明年 15% 的利潤率目標嗎？或者您需要加速收入成長才能實現這一目標？

Tobey, it's John. We don't need revenue to accelerate beyond -- really, the revenue growth profile that you're seeing this year, just for the sake of discussion in order to continue to ramp forward that we see with margins for the full year next year. That's an area where -- when we look at the different levers that we have from a margin perspective, scaling our SG&A, continued deployment using our global delivery model, utilization some of the pricing initiatives that we have underway, we feel good that those individual levers, in fact, probably oversell the margin targets that we have out there, which of course, gives us some capacity to continue to invest in the business. So we feel good about our ability to continue to manage towards the margin targets in a variety of different revenue growth rates.

托比，是約翰。我們不需要收入加速超越——實際上，你今年看到的收入成長情況，只是為了討論，以便繼續提高我們明年全年的利潤率。在這個領域，當我們從利潤角度審視我們擁有的不同槓桿、擴大我們的銷售及管理費用、使用我們的全球交付模式繼續部署、利用我們正在進行的一些定價舉措時，我們對那些個人感到滿意事實上，槓桿可能超出了我們現有的利潤目標，這當然使我們有能力繼續投資該業務。因此，我們對繼續在各種不同的收入成長率下實現利潤率目標的能力感到滿意。

And Tobey, I'll add, I think, what is a very important addition to that, which is in our Managing Director compensation, the targets that we set, we really have built into everybody's objectives a margin component, which really is very important because many of the decisions that are made are really at the micro level by individual Managing Directors as they manage their engagements that have been sold and delivered.

托比，我想補充一點，我認為，除此之外，還有一個非常重要的補充，那就是我們的董事總經理薪酬，我們設定的目標，我們確實在每個人的目標中建立了利潤成分，這確實非常重要因為許多決策實際上是由個別董事總經理在管理已出售和交付的業務時在微觀層面做出的。

And so that really has shifted up to a nice balance between not only revenue growth but making sure we preserve the profitability the bottom line. So the rate of growth on the topline certainly is very helpful when we look at the components contributed by leveraging SG&A, but there's many of the levers that we have that -- so we're not -- certainly not single-threaded around just the revenue growth.

因此，這確實在收入成長和確保我們保持獲利能力之間實現了良好的平衡。因此，當我們考慮利用 SG&A 貢獻的組件時，營收成長率肯定非常有幫助，但我們擁有許多槓桿 - 所以我們不是 - 當然不是單線程圍繞收入增長。

Within the education business and what you're seeing from customers there, there's certainly been news over the last -- the first half of the year with protests and potential impacts on fundraising, the delays with [Femsa] and impacts on enrollment and now like having to pay student athletes. Do those factors potentially alter the growth rate for the segment or like how does news flow today impact your outlook for the business in 12 months, so to speak?

在教育行業以及您從那裡的客戶那裡看到的情況中，過去肯定有新聞 - 今年上半年發生了抗議活動和對籌款的潛在影響，[Femsa] 的延誤和對入學的影響，現在就像必須向學生運動員支付費用。這些因素是否可能會改變該細分市場的成長率，或者說，今天的新聞流如何影響您對 12 個月後業務的展望？

It's a very fair question, just given a promise in the headlines that you're seeing. But really when you look at it, it's really centered around the office of the President. And as I mentioned even in my remarks, so much of our work is done with people within the President's cabinet, if you will, that -- and they all have responsibilities that are really tied to the improvements they need to make across their own institutions.

這是一個非常公平的問題，只是在您看到的頭條新聞中給出了承諾。但實際上，當你仔細觀察時，你會發現它確實以總統辦公室為中心。正如我在演講中提到的，我們的大部分工作都是與總統內閣內部的人員一起完成的，如果你願意的話，他們都有責任，這些責任與他們需要在自己的機構中做出的改進密切相關。

And so we have not really seen any kind of a impact out of that. Although we watch it, we monitor it. So at this point, it is not something that we're terribly concerned about. But just because we've had some degree of time already between now and when some of those initial challenges happen [in the IDs].

因此，我們還沒有真正看到由此產生的任何影響。儘管我們觀察它，但我們監視它。所以在這一點上，這並不是我們非常擔心的事情。但這只是因為從現在到一些最初的挑戰發生之間我們已經有了一定的時間[在 ID 中]。

Right. And then within the health care portfolio that you've broadened demand and can have services that can match a wider spectrum of healthy or sick conditions at hospital customers, how are you seeing the spectrum of demand evolve?

正確的。然後，在醫療保健產品組合中，您擴大了需求，並且可以提供能夠滿足醫院客戶更廣泛的健康或疾病狀況的服務，您如何看待需求範圍的變化？

Several quarters ago, we had mostly performance improvement and the complexion of that seems to be shifting. How would you characterize the balance of demand and where it's strongest currently?

幾個季度前，我們的業績大部分都得到了改善，但情況似乎正在改變。您如何描述需求平衡以及當前需求最強的地方？

Yeah, I'll let John elaborate. But I would just say, as a general expectation, I think the areas that are -- first of all, I'd say the comments that we hear from our teams are the -- the margins are pretty razor thin. They're better. But it's not like there's a big [difference]. But there is definitely a barbell, if you will, of clients that are doing quite well and are being aggressive toward their growth. Those are the areas that they're investing in technology, in their digital solutions, some of the strategy areas, and financial advisory, things that are on the proactive growth side.

是的，我會讓約翰詳細說明。但我只想說，作為一般預期，我認為這些領域——首先，我想說的是，我們從我們的團隊中聽到的評論是——利潤率非常薄弱。他們更好。但好像沒有大[不同之處]。但如果你願意的話，肯定有一些客戶做得很好，並且正在積極尋求成長。這些是他們投資技術、數位解決方案、一些策略領域和財務諮詢等積極成長方面的領域。

And yeah, we still see those systems that are really challenged with just headwinds around their competitive markets, the reimbursement models and the like. And so there's been a pretty healthy mix, but I would say leaning towards digital as the area that you're really seeing people within the systems leading into healthcare.

是的，我們仍然看到那些系統確實面臨競爭市場、報銷模式等方面的阻力。因此，這是一個非常健康的組合，但我想說的是，傾向於數位化作為你真正看到系統中的人們進入醫療保健的領域。

Yeah. And from the best -- from the market overview from - when you look at our pipeline, Tobey, it continues to be really well balanced. And so that segment of the market that's going through financial pressures right now, that's still driving significant demand for our performance improvement offerings. And our teams continue to relay back to us that it's a robust market for those types of offerings right now. And that's supported by the data that we see in our backlog and our pipeline.

是的。從最好的方面來看——從市場概況來看——當你看看我們的產品線時，托比，它仍然非常平衡。因此，目前正面臨財務壓力的市場部分仍然推動著對我們的性能改進產品的巨大需求。我們的團隊持續向我們回饋，目前此類產品的市場非常強勁。我們在待辦事項和管道中看到的數據支持了這一點。

Yet at the same time, the digital means that Mark just referred to also a big growth area. We also see a number of meaningful projects in the pipeline and opportunities related to that part of our business. So to your -- the way you asked the question about the trajectory of things, you're right, it was a performance improvement weighted pipeline last year. We talked about more balanced at the beginning of this year and I'd say we continue to see that balance at this point this year.

但同時，數位化意味著馬克剛才提到的還有一個巨大的成長領域。我們也看到許多有意義的項目正在醞釀中，以及與我們這部分業務相關的機會。因此，對於您提出有關事物發展軌蹟的問題的方式來說，您是對的，這是去年的績效改進加權管道。我們在今年年初討論了更加平衡的問題，我想說，今年這個時候我們將繼續看到這種平衡。

Thank you. And then just on your headcount growth, particularly digital in your offshore operations, is it fair to assume that headcount growth is attached to sales already sort of consummated and in the bag as opposed to prospective sales in future quarters?

謝謝。然後，就您的員工數量增長而言，尤其是離岸業務的數位化增長，是否可以公平地假設員工數量增長取決於已經完成並已完成的銷售，而不是未來幾個季度的預期銷售？

Yeah. I would say our digital -- what I referred to earlier in the call was our managed services team in India or global team for managed services. And yes, to answer your question, that team is related to projects that have already been sold and they're executing on those. And to broaden the question to our digital team, which is also based in India, they're largely deployed and have strong utilization on our ongoing digital projects as well.

是的。我想說的是我們的數位化——我之前在電話會議中提到的是我們在印度的託管服務團隊或全球託管服務團隊。是的，為了回答你的問題，該團隊與已經出售的項目相關，並且他們正在執行這些項目。為了將問題擴大到我們同樣位於印度的數位團隊，他們在我們正在進行的數位專案中得到了廣泛部署和充分利用。

And then last numerical question for me. Will -- in the context of improving EBITDA margins and getting up to the mid-teens, does that have any implications or changes to the cash flow conversion or should the rules of thumb of the past hold true as the margins expand?

然後是我的最後一個數字問題。在 EBITDA 利潤率提高並達到十幾歲左右的背景下，這是否會對現金流轉換產生任何影響或變化，或者隨著利潤率的擴大，過去的經驗法則是否應該成立？

I think the rule of thumb should hold through from our perspective, Tobey.

我認為從我們的角度來看，經驗法則應該適用，托比。

Bill Sutherland, The Benchmark Company.

比爾·薩瑟蘭，基準公司。

Thanks, everybody. I wanted to -- maybe, Mark, can you untangle -- not untangle but take apart the digital demand a little bit? Obviously, particularly interested in how you guys are participating in AI initiatives that health systems are increasingly taking on? I noticed one. One just announced a Head of AI Projects. I think it was Cleveland. Anyway, just whatever you guys are doing there and kind of how much that is starting to move the needle?

謝謝大家。我想──也許，馬克，你能解開──不是解開而是分解一下數字需求嗎？顯然，對你們如何參與衛生系統越來越多採取的人工智慧措施特別感興趣？我注意到一個。其中一位剛剛宣布了人工智慧專案負責人。我認為是克利夫蘭。不管怎樣，無論你們在那裡做什麼，以及這在多大程度上開始發揮作用？

Yeah, I would say it's still in the early innings, in general. But there's a tremendous amount of activity, Bill, to your point, and we're definitely seeing many, many organizations are piloting AI ideas before they're scaling them across the organization. And it's really true in education as well.

是的，我想說，總的來說，這還處於早期階段。但比爾，就你的觀點而言，有大量的活動，而且我們肯定看到很多很多組織正在試行人工智慧想法，然後再在整個組織中擴展。在教育領域也是如此。

We do see some areas, as an example, in education, on the research side, that seem to be accelerating as well. I think for us, it continues to be upside, but we're very active not only in the healthcare, higher education, and certainly, in the commercial markets as well. We see a lot of activity going on. So I think we feel like we're well-positioned. We're very aggressive and active in the marketplace and we're getting very good response from clients as we work with them.

我們確實看到一些領域，例如，在教育、研究方面，似乎也正在加速發展。我認為對我們來說，它仍然有上行空間，但我們不僅在醫療保健、高等教育領域非常活躍，當然在商業市場也非常活躍。我們看到很多活動正在進行。所以我認為我們感覺自己處於有利位置。我們在市場上非常積極主動，在與客戶合作時我們得到了非常好的回應。

And you're able to build up the bench in terms of AI credentials?

你們能夠在人工智慧方面建立基礎嗎？

Yeah, there's -- the issue of -- we're not going out and meeting the higher deep data scientists, but people who have prompt engineering backgrounds and other types of skills, we have not found an issue finding the right numbers of people that we need to scale. And then internally, we're also using AI too at a greater level as we look at our own delivery methodologies as well. So it's very pervasive, I would say, increasing in scope and scale.

是的，問題是，我們不會出去會見更高級的深度資料科學家，而是會見那些具有快速工程背景和其他類型技能的人，我們還沒有發現找到合適數量的人員的問題我們需要擴大規模。然後在內部，我們也在更大的層面上使用人工智慧，同時我們也在研究我們自己的交付方法。所以我想說，它非常普遍，範圍和規模都在增加。

That was my follow-up, actually was to what degree are you seeing or hope to see benefit on margin in terms of implementing AI?

這是我的後續行動，實際上是您在實施人工智慧方面看到或希望看到多大程度的利潤收益？

Yeah, we're not dependent on it in the sense that while there's -- we don't automate things, we're not going to be able to achieve our goals. But feel like it's certainly -- I take AI and expand that to really the whole concept of automation in general because there's a lot more beyond just AI what we can benefit from collectively. And so we do think that will ultimately become an increasing benefit for us as we look ahead to 2025, as an example.

是的，我們並不依賴它，因為雖然我們不實現自動化，但我們將無法實現我們的目標。但我感覺這是肯定的——我採用人工智慧並將其擴展到真正的自動化的整個概念，因為除了人工智慧之外，我們還可以從集體中受益更多。因此，我們確實認為，以 2025 年為例，最終將為我們帶來越來越大的好處。

I missed -- John, I missed what you said -- this is a couple of housekeeping. What GG+A contributed?

我錯過了——約翰，我錯過了你所說的——這是一些家務事。GG+A貢獻了什麼？

It was $6.8 million for the quarter, Bill.

比爾，這個季度的營收是 680 萬美元。

$6.8 million.

680 萬美元。

Yes, correct.

是，對的。

And then, did you discuss the interest expense as it's presented to the second quarter? And what -- I'm kind of wondering about the size of [value] and what -- how to think about the next few quarters?

然後，您是否討論了第二季的利息支出？我有點想知道[價值]的大小以及如何思考接下來的幾季？

So the second quarter from an interest expense perspective is really our high watermark, Bill. If you think about it, we pay out the annual incentives in mid-March,. So you really get the full higher borrowing levels for a full quarter in the second quarter. You can see based on what we discussed from a free cash flow perspective, we had some really nice paydown of our debt as the quarter progressed. We expect that trend to continue in the third and fourth quarter. And so that really should be the high watermark. I would think of the back half of the year probably mean more all in kind of a $10 million range.

因此，從利息支出的角度來看，第二季確實是我們的高水位線，比爾。如果您考慮一下，我們會在三月中旬支付年度獎勵。因此，您在第二季度確實獲得了整個季度的較高借貸水平。根據我們從自由現金流角度討論的內容，您可以看到，隨著本季的進展，我們的債務得到了一些非常好的償還。我們預計這一趨勢將在第三和第四季繼續下去。所以這確實應該是高水位線。我認為今年下半年可能意味著 1000 萬美元左右的更多。

(Operator Instructions) Kevin Steinke, Barrington Research.

（操作員說明）Kevin Steinke，Barrington Research。

Thanks. So as you mentioned in your prepared remarks, the full-year revenue guidance still continues to imply sequential revenue growth in the second half of 2024, looking specifically at commercial. To get to that relatively flat outlook, it looks like you have to have some pretty nice sequential revenue growth in commercial specifically. So can you comment on that? Is that correct? And if so, what would drive that as some of the pipeline beginning to move that's currently being pushed out? Or what would lead to that?

謝謝。因此，正如您在準備好的演講中所提到的，全年收入指引仍然意味著 2024 年下半年收入連續成長，特別是商業方面。為了實現相對平穩的前景，看起來你必須在商業領域實現相當不錯的連續收入成長。你能對此發表評論嗎？那是對的嗎？如果是這樣，隨著目前正在推出的一些管道開始移動，什麼會推動這一趨勢？或是什麼會導致這種情況？

That's right, Kevin. You named it. It's the pipeline converting to hard backlog now in the back half of the year. I think that's true both from a digital perspective as well as a consulting perspective within the commercial segment. So our teams have had some really nice conversion on the consulting side as well from a distressed financial advisory perspective. And so we're entering a period of higher run rate on some of those projects during the third and fourth quarter.

沒錯，凱文。你給它命名了。今年下半年，管道正轉變為積壓的積壓。我認為從數位角度以及商業領域的諮詢角度來看都是如此。因此，我們的團隊在諮詢方面以及從陷入困境的財務諮詢角度都取得了一些非常好的轉變。因此，我們在第三和第四季度進入了其中一些項目運行率較高的時期。

And then on top of that, some of the delays that we've seen in pipeline and the slower sales cycle on the digital side, our expectation is that we have more conversions there in the back half of the year too that firms up the digital side as well.

除此之外，我們在數位方面看到了一些延遲和銷售週期放緩，我們的預期是，今年下半年我們也會有更多的轉換，從而鞏固數字方面的優勢。

Okay. That's helpful. And then looking at healthcare, the increase to the full-year 2024 growth expectations for that segment, can you just maybe comment on what's trended a bit better than you would have expected at the outset of the year that enabled you to increase that outlook for health care?

好的。這很有幫助。然後看看醫療保健領域，該領域 2024 年全年增長預期的提高，您能否評論一下目前的趨勢比您年初預期的要好一些，這使您能夠提高該領域的前景衛生保健？

It's been broad-based, Kevin, within the healthcare segment, and it goes back to that conversation we had a couple of minutes ago about the pipeline and where we've been seeing demand. So I think from a performance improvement perspective, we continue to see some really strong demand from our clients there in terms of needing help from a margin improvement perspective. And so that I think has been a positive item relative to our beginning of the year expectations.

凱文，它在醫療保健領域有著廣泛的基礎，這可以追溯到幾分鐘前我們就管道和我們所看到的需求進行的對話。因此，我認為從績效改進的角度來看，我們繼續看到我們的客戶在需要從利潤改進的角度提供幫助方面提出了一些非常強烈的需求。因此，我認為相對於我們年初的預期來說，這是一個積極的項目。

But then also on the digital side of the shop, and that probably relates to the to the customers at the other end of the spectrum who are feeling like they're in a stronger financial position than they were a year ago. Those clients and their investments in digital has been stronger than we expected as well. So I'd say it's a story of balance, both in terms of the pipeline but then also in terms of the improvement in our guidance versus what our beginning of the year expectations were.

但在商店的數字方面，這可能與另一端的客戶有關，他們感覺自己的財務狀況比一年前更強大。這些客戶及其對數位化的投資也比我們預期的要強。所以我想說，這是一個平衡的故事，無論是在通路方面，還是在我們的指導相對於年初預期的改善方面。

Thank you. Seeing no more questions in the queue, I'd like to turn the call back to Mr. Hussey.

謝謝。看到隊列中沒有更多問題，我想將電話轉回給赫西先生。

Well, thanks everyone for spending time with us this afternoon. We look forward to speaking with you again in October when we announce our third-quarter results. Have a good evening.

好的，感謝大家今天下午與我們共度時光。我們期待在 10 月宣布第三季業績時再次與您交談。祝你晚上愉快。