Information Services Group Inc (III) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the ISG 2022 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results Call. My name is Charlie and I'll be coordinating the call today. This call is being recorded and a replay will be available on ISG's website within 24 hours. (Operator Instructions) I will now hand over to your host, Mr. Barry Holt for his opening introduction. Barry, please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎來到 ISG 2022 第四季度和全年業績電話會議。我叫查理，今天我將負責協調電話會議。此通話正在錄音中，重播將在 24 小時內在 ISG 的網站上提供。 （操作員說明）現在請主持人 Barry Holt 先生做開場介紹。巴里，請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Hello and good morning. My name is Barry Holt. I'm a Senior Communications Executive at ISG. I'd like to welcome everyone to ISG's fourth quarter conference call. I'm joined today by Michael Connors, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Bert Alfonso, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I'd like to read a forward-looking statement. It is important to note that this communication may contain forward-looking statements, which represent the current expectations and beliefs of the management of ISG concerning future events and their potential effects.

謝謝你，運營商。你好，早上好。我叫巴里·霍爾特。我是 ISG 的高級傳播主管。歡迎大家參加 ISG 的第四季度電話會議。今天，董事長兼首席執行官邁克爾·康納斯 (Michael Connors) 加入了我的行列； Bert Alfonso，執行副總裁兼首席財務官。在我們開始之前，我想閱讀一份前瞻性聲明。值得注意的是，本通訊可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述代表了 ISG 管理層對未來事件及其潛在影響的當前預期和信念。

These statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. For a more detailed listing of the risks and other factors that could affect future results, please refer to the forward-looking statement contained on our Form 8-K that was furnished last night to the SEC and the Risk Factors section in ISG's Form 10-K covering full year results.

這些陳述不是對未來結果的保證，並受某些風險和不確定因素的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與預期結果存在重大差異。有關可能影響未來結果的風險和其他因素的更詳細列表，請參閱我們昨晚向美國證券交易委員會提供的 8-K 表格中包含的前瞻性聲明以及 ISG 表格 10 中的風險因素部分- K 涵蓋全年業績。

You should also read ISG's Annual Report on Form 10-K and any other relevant documents, including any amendments or supplements to these documents filed with the SEC. You will be able to obtain free copies of any of ISG's SEC filings on either ISG's website at www.isg-one.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. ISG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. During this call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, which ISG believes improves the comparability of the company's financial results between periods and provides for greater transparency of key measures used to evaluate the company's performance.

您還應該閱讀 ISG 的 10-K 表格年度報告和任何其他相關文件，包括向美國證券交易委員會提交的對這些文件的任何修訂或補充。您將能夠在 ISG 的網站 www.isg-one.com 或 SEC 的網站 www.sec.gov 上獲得任何 ISG 提交給 SEC 的免費副本。 ISG 不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述以反映後續事件或情況的義務。在此電話會議中，我們將討論某些非 GAAP 財務指標，ISG 認為這些指標提高了公司不同時期財務業績的可比性，並提高了用於評估公司業績的關鍵指標的透明度。

The non-GAAP measures, which we will touch on today include adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings and the presentation of selected financial data on a constant currency basis. Non-GAAP measures are provided as additional information and could not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. For the reconciliation of all non-GAAP measures presented to the most closely applicable GAAP measure, please refer to our current report on Form 8-K, which was filed last night with the SEC.

我們今天將討論的非 GAAP 衡量指標包括調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的淨收益和以固定貨幣為基礎的選定財務數據的列報。非 GAAP 措施作為附加信息提供，不能孤立地考慮或替代根據 GAAP 編制的財務結果。有關將所有非 GAAP 指標與最適用的 GAAP 指標進行核對，請參閱我們昨晚向美國證券交易委員會提交的 8-K 表格當前報告。

And now I'd like to turn the call over to Michael Connors, who will be followed by Bert Alfonso. Mike?

現在我想把電話轉給 Michael Connors，隨後是 Bert Alfonso。麥克風？

Thank you, Barry, and good morning, everyone. Today, we will review our record results for the fourth quarter and full year, our continued recurring revenue growth, our new enhanced amended credit facility and our outlook for the first quarter. ISG delivered our best quarterly and full year performance in our 17-year history. For the quarter, ISG delivered record revenues of $74 million, up 11% in constant currency. Record net income of $4.3 million, up 20%; record earnings per share of $0.09, record adjusted earnings per share of $0.13 and record adjusted EBITDA of $11 million, up 9%.

謝謝你，巴里，大家早上好。今天，我們將回顧我們創紀錄的第四季度和全年業績、我們持續的經常性收入增長、我們新的增強型修訂信貸額度以及我們對第一季度的展望。 ISG 實現了我們 17 年曆史上最好的季度和全年業績。本季度，ISG 實現創紀錄的 7400 萬美元收入，按固定匯率計算增長 11%。創紀錄的淨收入為 430 萬美元，增長 20%；創紀錄的每股收益為 0.09 美元，創紀錄的調整後每股收益為 0.13 美元，創紀錄的調整後 EBITDA 為 1100 萬美元，增長 9%。

Our key metrics were equally impressive for the full year with record revenues of $286 million, up 8% in constant currency. Record operating income of $29 million, up 17%; record net income of $20 million, up 27%; record adjusted net income of $27 million, up 18%; record earnings per share of $0.39; record adjusted earnings per share of $0.53 and record adjusted EBITDA of $43 million, up 11%. Our record fourth quarter and full year results were accomplished despite an uncertain macro environment and fewer working days in Q4, normally a seasonally lower quarter for ISG.

我們全年的關鍵指標同樣令人印象深刻，創紀錄的收入達到 2.86 億美元，按固定匯率計算增長 8%。創紀錄的營業收入為 2900 萬美元，增長 17%；創紀錄的淨收入為 2000 萬美元，增長 27%；創紀錄的調整後淨收入為 2700 萬美元，增長 18%；創紀錄的每股收益 0.39 美元；調整後每股收益為 0.53 美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 4300 萬美元，增長 11%。儘管宏觀環境不確定且第四季度的工作日較少（通常是 ISG 的季節性較低季度），但我們仍取得了創紀錄的第四季度和全年業績。

But our diverse and valued suite of products and services from cost optimization to business transformation is making a difference in our performance. Looking at the fourth quarter, our topline growth was driven by double-digit operating growth in both the Americas and Europe as client demand for efficiency and optimization services escalates. We also saw strong growth for our subscription services in research and governance and in network and software advisory services during the quarter. Our recurring revenues in Q4 reached $30 million, up 26% over the prior year and represented 40% of our firm-wide revenues.

但我們從成本優化到業務轉型的多樣化且有價值的產品和服務套件正在改變我們的績效。展望第四季度，隨著客戶對效率和優化服務的需求不斷升級，我們的收入增長受到美洲和歐洲兩位數運營增長的推動。本季度，我們在研究和治理以及網絡和軟件諮詢服務方面的訂閱服務也實現了強勁增長。我們在第四季度的經常性收入達到 3000 萬美元，比上年增長 26%，占我們全公司收入的 40%。

For the year, we achieved $108 million in recurring revenue, surpassing the $100 million goal we set for ourselves back in 2020. Not surprisingly, FX continues to chip away at our reported results. For the quarter, the impact of revenue was 447 basis points or 3.2 and $13 million for the full year. Overall, our more profitable mix of products and services, combined with the operating efficiencies we derive from our ISG NEXT operating model resulted in the highest full year EBITDA margin in our firm's history at 15%. From a client perspective, we served 556 clients in Q4, up 6% and surpassed 900 clients for the year, a new high for our firm.

這一年，我們實現了 1.08 億美元的經常性收入，超過了我們在 2020 年為自己設定的 1 億美元的目標。毫不奇怪，FX 繼續削弱我們報告的業績。對於本季度，全年收入的影響為 447 個基點或 3.2 和 1300 萬美元。總體而言，我們更有利可圖的產品和服務組合，加上我們從 ISG NEXT 運營模式中獲得的運營效率，使我們的全年 EBITDA 利潤率達到了公司歷史上最高的 15%。從客戶的角度來看，我們在第四季度服務了 556 家客戶，增長了 6%，全年超過 900 家客戶，這是我們公司的新高。

Today, nearly every one of our clients is a digital business. Each is using digital technology to redefine how they operate, how they engage with customers, employees and business partners and how they create new revenue streams through connected products and services. Even in uncertain times, our clients remain committed to continuous digital transformation. Markets and technology are changing fast. There's really no time to hit pause. Every business needs to keep moving forward or be left behind. With intense market pressure to invest in cloud, analytics, customer experience and AI, our clients are turning to ISG to help them optimize their costs, not only to get lean, but to free up resources to fund their digital ambitions.

今天，幾乎我們的每一位客戶都是數字業務。每個人都在使用數字技術重新定義他們的運營方式，他們與客戶、員工和業務合作夥伴的互動方式，以及他們如何通過互聯產品和服務創造新的收入流。即使在不確定的時期，我們的客戶仍然致力於持續的數字化轉型。市場和技術瞬息萬變。真的沒有時間暫停。每個企業都需要繼續前進或落後。由於投資雲、分析、客戶體驗和人工智能的巨大市場壓力，我們的客戶正在求助於 ISG 來幫助他們優化成本，不僅是為了精簡，而且是為了騰出資源來資助他們的數字雄心。

To meet this need, ISG introduced a wide-ranging cost transformation service that builds upon our long-standing expertise in this area. Our offering very successful to-date focuses on the four key levers to optimize cost, the supplier ecosystem, technology investments, software asset management and business operations. This approach delivers both short- and long-term efficiencies and reduces the peaks and valleys of traditional linear spin models. As I mentioned, these continuous savings can be reinvested in our clients' business, particularly for ongoing digital transformation.

為滿足這一需求，ISG 推出了一項範圍廣泛的成本轉型服務，該服務建立在我們在該領域長期積累的專業知識之上。我們迄今為止非常成功的產品專注於優化成本、供應商生態系統、技術投資、軟件資產管理和業務運營的四個關鍵槓桿。這種方法提供了短期和長期效率，並減少了傳統線性自旋模型的峰值和谷值。正如我所提到的，這些持續節省的資金可以重新投資於我們客戶的業務，特別是用於正在進行的數字化轉型。

This is another example of how our 17-year history of being the largest sourcing adviser in the world is paying off. Revenues from our cost optimization services are growing by double digits. Among our major engagements, we are helping a global healthcare solutions company, reduce its $40 million of technology costs by 25%. And an automotive supplier reduced its $140 million spend by 20%. There are many more such opportunities in progress and in our pipeline. Turning to our regions; the Americas delivered $44 million of revenue in the quarter, up 12% versus the prior year on the strength of our digital and cost optimization offerings.

這是我們作為世界上最大的採購顧問的 17 年曆史如何獲得回報的另一個例子。我們的成本優化服務收入正以兩位數的速度增長。在我們的主要項目中，我們正在幫助一家全球醫療保健解決方案公司將其 4000 萬美元的技術成本降低 25%。一家汽車供應商將其 1.4 億美元的支出減少了 20%。還有更多這樣的機會正在進行中和我們的管道中。轉向我們的地區；得益於我們的數字和成本優化產品，美洲在本季度實現了 4400 萬美元的收入，比上年增長 12%。

During the quarter, we saw double-digit growth in our media, health sciences, energy and utilities industries. And among our services, network and software advisory, research and GovernX were also up double digits. Key client engagements during the fourth quarter included McKesson, Stryker, Exelon and Fiserv. As I mentioned, demand for GovernX are SaaS-based vendor compliance and risk management platform is soaring as clients seek to get the most value out of their supplier ecosystems. During the quarter, a global hospitality giant renewed its annual million-dollar-plus ISG GovernX subscription at a higher rate for 2023.

本季度，我們的媒體、健康科學、能源和公用事業行業實現了兩位數的增長。在我們的服務中，網絡和軟件諮詢、研究和 GovernX 也增長了兩位數。第四季度的主要客戶包括 McKesson、Stryker、Exelon 和 Fiserv。正如我所提到的，隨著客戶尋求從供應商生態系統中獲得最大價值，對 GovernX 的需求是基於 SaaS 的供應商合規性和風險管理平台正在飆升。在本季度，一家全球酒店業巨頭以更高的價格續訂了 2023 年超過百萬美元的年度 ISG GovernX 訂閱。

This client is one of our longest-standing GovernX clients, generating more than $25 million in recurring revenue over the last 10 years. We also extended our ISG GovernX contract with one of the top three global tech giants in the world for a further four years with a significant increase in annual contract value. ISG also won a new multimillion-dollar ISG GovernX engagement with a major U.S. healthcare company to provide our unique vendor-management-office-as-a-service capability. Additionally, ISG Research has signed a large deal worth more than $1.5 million with a leading services tech provider for a range of go-to-market projects and ISG Solutions, including a multiyear ISG Pro benchmark contract.

該客戶是我們歷史最悠久的 GovernX 客戶之一，在過去 10 年中產生了超過 2500 萬美元的經常性收入。我們還將與全球三大科技巨頭之一的 ISG GovernX 合同又延長了四年，年度合同價值顯著增加。 ISG 還贏得了與美國一家大型醫療保健公司價值數百萬美元的新 ISG GovernX 合同，以提供我們獨特的供應商管理辦公室即服務功能。此外，ISG Research 還與一家領先的服務技術提供商簽署了一項價值超過 150 萬美元的大額交易，用於一系列上市項目和 ISG 解決方案，包括一份為期多年的 ISG Pro 基準合同。

Now turning to Europe; our Q4 revenues of $24 million were up 12% in constant currency over last year. For the quarter, Europe delivered double-digit revenue growth in our media, public sector, consumer services and manufacturing industry verticals and in our GovernX network and software advisory businesses. Key client engagements in Europe in the fourth quarter included Volkswagen, Deutsche Bahn, Allianz and Nestle. During the quarter, a leading transportation company in Germany extended the digital labor and automation engagement it awarded ISG in late 2020 for an additional two years.

現在轉向歐洲；我們第四季度的收入為 2400 萬美元，按固定匯率計算比去年增長 12%。本季度，歐洲在我們的媒體、公共部門、消費者服務和製造業垂直領域以及我們的 GovernX 網絡和軟件諮詢業務中實現了兩位數的收入增長。第四季度在歐洲的主要客戶包括大眾汽車、德國鐵路、安聯和雀巢。在本季度，德國一家領先的運輸公司將其在 2020 年底授予 ISG 的數字勞動力和自動化參與又延長了兩年。

ISG will continue as the client's strategic automation adviser, delivering Platform-as-a-Service, maintenance and licensing services. We also secured a major deal with a global chemicals and industrial solutions manufacturer in Germany to provide network advisory services. Additionally, ISG has been awarded a significant million-dollar-plus engagement with the Swiss Federal Office of Information Technology, Systems and Telecommunications. We are helping this client optimize their technology portfolio, restructure their underlying cost models and redefined our organizational structure to ensure lasting improvement.

ISG 將繼續作為客戶的戰略自動化顧問，提供平台即服務、維護和許可服務。我們還與德國的一家全球化學品和工業解決方案製造商達成一項重大交易，以提供網絡諮詢服務。此外，ISG 還獲得了瑞士聯邦信息技術、系統和電信辦公室價值超過百萬美元的重要合同。我們正在幫助該客戶優化他們的技術組合，重組他們的基礎成本模型並重新定義我們的組織結構，以確保持續改進。

Now turning to Asia-Pacific; our Q4 revenues of $7 million were up 5% in constant currency from last year with double-digit growth in our network and software advisory business. Asia-Pacific has been a strong performer this year with full year revenues up 16% in constant currency. In the latest quarter, we saw double-digit growth in our consumer and media industry verticals. Key clients in the quarter included The Australian Taxation Office, (inaudible) and the Insurance Company Bupa. Turning now to another very positive development for ISG; we recently announced that we were able to successfully amend our $140 million credit agreement at more favorable terms.

現在轉向亞太地區；我們的第四季度收入為 700 萬美元，按固定匯率計算比去年增長 5%，我們的網絡和軟件諮詢業務實現了兩位數的增長。亞太地區今年表現強勁，全年收入按固定匯率計算增長 16%。在最近一個季度，我們在消費者和媒體行業垂直領域看到了兩位數的增長。本季度的主要客戶包括澳大利亞稅務局（聽不清）和保柏保險公司。現在轉向 ISG 的另一個非常積極的發展；我們最近宣布，我們能夠以更優惠的條件成功修改我們的 1.4 億美元信貸協議。

This was made possible by our strong financial position and operating results. The new agreement converts the previous term and revolving loan into an all revolving credit facility. It eliminates $4.3 million of mandatory annual principal payments under the former agreement and extends the maturity date by three years to February 2028. This is clearly an excellent outcome, especially during a time of increasing interest rates and a volatile debt market. Now let me turn to guidance. Continuous digital transformation remains a business imperative, and ISG is ideally positioned to meet that need.

我們強大的財務狀況和經營業績使這成為可能。新協議將之前的期限和循環貸款轉換為全循環信貸額度。它取消了之前協議規定的 430 萬美元的強制性年度本金支付，並將到期日延長三年至 2028 年 2 月。這顯然是一個很好的結果，尤其是在利率上升和債務市場動蕩的時期。現在讓我轉向指導。持續的數字化轉型仍然是企業的當務之急，而 ISG 處於滿足這一需求的理想位置。

In addition, we see continuing strong demand for our services as we help our clients optimize their technology and business environments, design their future operating state and leverage the technology and services that will help them realize their objectives. Looking ahead to 2023, our demand pipeline remains strong. Indeed, we hired additional employees in Q4 to meet future demand. We are also mindful of the economic factors that could impact the timing of client decision-making, including inflation, the possibility of recession, geopolitical concerns and talent shortages. In consideration of all of this, for the first quarter, we are targeting revenues of between 73 and $75 million, including a negative FX impact of approximately 200 basis points in this range and adjusted EBITDA between 10 and $11 million.

此外，我們看到對我們服務的持續強勁需求，因為我們幫助客戶優化他們的技術和業務環境，設計他們未來的運營狀態並利用將幫助他們實現目標的技術和服務。展望 2023 年，我們的需求渠道依然強勁。事實上，我們在第四季度僱傭了更多的員工來滿足未來的需求。我們還注意到可能影響客戶決策時機的經濟因素，包括通貨膨脹、經濟衰退的可能性、地緣政治問題和人才短缺。考慮到所有這些，對於第一季度，我們的目標收入在 73 至 7500 萬美元之間，包括在此範圍內約 200 個基點的負面外匯影響和 10 至 1100 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。

So with that, let me turn the call over to Bert, who will summarize our financial results. Bert?

因此，讓我將電話轉給 Bert，他將總結我們的財務結果。伯特？

Well, thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. As Mike mentioned, ISG continues to have momentum in the market, leading to a record-breaking quarter and year. Revenues for the fourth quarter were $74.2 million, up 7% on a reported basis and up 11% on a constant currency basis compared with the fourth quarter last year. Currency negatively impacted reported revenues by $3.2 million versus the prior year. The Americas reported revenues of $43.6 million, up 12% versus the prior year.

好吧，謝謝你，邁克，大家早上好。正如 Mike 所提到的，ISG 在市場上繼續保持強勁勢頭，導致創紀錄的季度和年度。第四季度的收入為 7420 萬美元，與去年第四季度相比，報告基礎上增長 7%，按固定匯率計算增長 11%。與上一年相比，貨幣對報告的收入產生了 320 萬美元的負面影響。美洲報告的收入為 4360 萬美元，比上年增長 12%。

In Europe, revenues were $23.9 million, up 1% on a reported basis and up 12% in constant currency. And Asia-Pacific revenues were $6.7 million, down 4% reported and up 5% in constant currency. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA was $11.1 million, up 9% from last year, resulting in EBITDA margin of 15%, up 33 basis points compared with the prior year's fourth quarter. In constant currency, adjusted EBITDA was up 17% for the full year. Fourth quarter operating income increased slightly to $7.2 million compared with $7.1 million in the prior year.

在歐洲，收入為 2390 萬美元，按報告基礎增長 1%，按固定匯率計算增長 12%。亞太地區收入為 670 萬美元，報告下降 4%，按固定匯率計算增長 5%。第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 1110 萬美元，比去年同期增長 9%，EBITDA 利潤率為 15%，比去年第四季度增長 33 個基點。按固定匯率計算，調整後的 EBITDA 全年增長 17%。第四季度營業收入略增至 720 萬美元，而去年同期為 710 萬美元。

Net income for the quarter was $4.3 million or $0.09 per fully diluted share, up 20% over net income of $3.6 million or $0.07 per fully diluted share in the prior year. Fourth quarter adjusted net income was $6.5 million or $0.13 per fully diluted share on a fully diluted basis, up 27% from adjusted net income of $5.1 million or $0.10 per fully diluted share in the prior year's fourth quarter. Headcount as of December 31 was 1,599, up 61 professionals or 4% from Q3. As Mike mentioned earlier, we added resources to gear up for future growth. Consulting utilization for the fourth quarter was 67%, impacted by our additional hiring.

本季度淨收益為 430 萬美元或每股完全攤薄收益 0.09 美元，比去年同期的淨收益 360 萬美元或每股完全攤薄收益 0.07 美元增長 20%。第四季度調整後淨收入為 650 萬美元或完全攤薄後每股 0.13 美元，比去年第四季度調整後淨收入 510 萬美元或完全攤薄後每股 0.10 美元增長 27%。截至 12 月 31 日，員工總數為 1,599 人，比第三季度增加 61 名專業人員或 4%。正如 Mike 之前提到的，我們增加了資源來為未來的增長做好準備。受我們額外招聘的影響，第四季度的諮詢利用率為 67%。

Our full year utilization was 73%. Our balance sheet continues to have the strength and flexibility to support our business over the long-term. For the quarter, net cash provided by operations was 6.6 and $11.1 million for the full year. We ended the quarter with $30.6 million of cash, up from $19.7 million at the end of the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, ISG paid dividends totaling $2 million. Our next quarterly dividend will be payable on March 31 to shareholders of record on March 20.

我們的全年利用率為 73%。我們的資產負債表繼續具有長期支持我們業務的實力和靈活性。本季度，運營提供的淨現金為 6.6 美元，全年為 1110 萬美元。我們在本季度末擁有 3060 萬美元的現金，高於第三季度末的 1970 萬美元。第四季度，ISG 支付了總計 200 萬美元的股息。我們的下一個季度股息將於 3 月 31 日支付給 3 月 20 日登記在冊的股東。

In addition, we paid $2.5 million related to the C4G acquisition, borrowing $9 million from our revolver to fund the acquisition and business operations. We also paid down $1.1 million of debt and with our debt balance of $79.2 million our debt-to-EBITDA ratio was 1.8x, a record low for year-end. Our borrowing rate for the quarter was 5.1%, up from 1.9% last year, and we ended the quarter with 48.3 million shares outstanding.

此外，我們支付了與 C4G 收購相關的 250 萬美元，從我們的循環貸款中藉了 900 萬美元來為收購和業務運營提供資金。我們還償還了 110 萬美元的債務，我們的債務餘額為 7920 萬美元，我們的債務與 EBITDA 比率為 1.8 倍，創年底歷史新低。我們本季度的借款利率為 5.1%，高於去年的 1.9%，本季度末我們有 4830 萬股流通股。

Mike will now share some concluding remarks before we go to the Q&A. Back to you, Mike.

在我們進入問答環節之前，邁克現在將分享一些總結性意見。回到你身邊，邁克。

Thank you, Bert. To summarize our portfolio of cost optimization, sourcing and digital transformation services is in the sweet spot for enterprises in today's environment. As a result, ISG delivered our best quarter and full year ever with record-breaking revenues and profits in each period. Our Q4 recurring revenues were up double digits, enabling us to exceed our $100 million full year target set back in 2020. Recurring revenues were 40% of our firm-wide total in Q4.

謝謝你，伯特。總結一下我們的成本優化、採購和數字化轉型服務組合是當今環境中企業的最佳選擇。因此，ISG 創造了有史以來最好的季度和全年業績，每個時期的收入和利潤均創紀錄。我們第四季度的經常性收入增長了兩位數，使我們能夠超過我們在 2020 年設定的 1 億美元的全年目標。第四季度經常性收入占我們全公司總收入的 40%。

We navigated FX headwinds and other market uncertainties in the fourth quarter to deliver double-digit operating growth in Europe and the Americas and Asia-Pacific had an outstanding year. Our strong financial position and operating performance allowed us to successfully amend our $140 million credit agreement, giving us more flexibility to invest in the continued growth of our firm. And we see our momentum continuing with the potential of another record-setting first quarter. As always, we are focused on creating shareholder value for the long-term, and we are steadfast in our mission to deliver operational excellence to our clients.

我們在第四季度克服了外匯逆風和其他市場不確定性，在歐洲和美洲實現了兩位數的運營增長，亞太地區表現出色。我們強大的財務狀況和經營業績使我們能夠成功修改我們的 1.4 億美元信貸協議，使我們能夠更靈活地投資於我們公司的持續發展。我們看到我們的勢頭在繼續，第一季度有可能再創新高。一如既往，我們專注於為股東創造長期價值，我們堅定不移地履行為客戶提供卓越運營的使命。

So thank you very much for calling in this morning. And now let me turn the session over to our operator for your questions.

非常感謝您今天早上的來電。現在讓我將會議轉交給我們的接線員來回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Vincent Colicchio of Barrington Research.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Barrington Research 的 Vincent Colicchio。

Nice quarter, Mike. Just a couple for me. So it sounds like the strength in the quarter was somewhat similar to last quarter, cost optimization, GovernX, research. I think Network Advisory was sort of a new area of strength. Does that latter area have legs? And are there any other areas I'm not mentioning that were new source of strength this quarter versus last? And do they have legs?

不錯的季度，邁克。對我來說只是一對。所以聽起來本季度的實力與上一季度有些相似，成本優化、GovernX、研究。我認為網絡諮詢是一個新的優勢領域。後一個區域有腿嗎？與上一季度相比，本季度是否還有其他我未提及的新力量來源？他們有腿嗎？

Yeah, good point. So cost optimization and on the digital transformation front continues. And definitely, our network and software advisory business, reminding you that the software advisory or all the software that enterprises purchase, whether that's a Salesforce or an Oracle or a ServiceNow, etcetera, we help them navigate the number of licenses, the value, the pricing, etcetera. And clearly, that fits right into cost optimization. And then network, which is a large spend, sometimes the third largest tech spend in a lot of the large enterprises around the network around 5G, around data, voice, etcetera, is -- does have legs.

是的，好點。因此，成本優化和數字化轉型前沿仍在繼續。當然，我們的網絡和軟件諮詢業務，提醒您軟件諮詢或企業購買的所有軟件，無論是 Salesforce 還是 Oracle 或 ServiceNow 等等，我們幫助他們了解許可證的數量、價值、定價等。顯然，這正好適合成本優化。然後是網絡，這是一個很大的支出，有時是許多圍繞 5G 網絡、數據、語音等的大型企業的第三大技術支出——確實有優勢。

We had an outstanding fourth quarter in network and in software, and we see both of those getting right into the current environment, both in Europe and in the U.S. So we see a lot of legs there. And our recurring revenue streams with our platform business like GX and our research we see continued strength there as well. So you couple that together with, I think, a pretty strong demand environment for the services and the suite of services that we currently have is kind of pushing us to where we are in the early part of '23.

我們在網絡和軟件方面的第四季度表現出色，我們看到這兩個領域都進入了當前的環境，無論是在歐洲還是在美國。所以我們在那裡看到了很多腿。我們通過平台業務（如 GX）和我們的研究獲得的經常性收入流也持續強勁。因此，我認為，將其與我們目前擁有的服務和服務套件的強勁需求環境相結合，將我們推向了 23 年初的階段。

And what were the major margin improvement drivers? Was it the mix -- and if so, will that mix also benefit you in '23?

利潤率提高的主要驅動因素是什麼？它是混合的——如果是這樣，這種混合也會讓你在 23 年受益嗎？

Well, I would say the first thing is our recurring revenues were $30 million. We've never been at that level. And Vince, you've followed us for a while and you'll go back maybe four or five years, we might not have had $30 million of -- we might not have had $30 million of recurring revenue so having in the quarter number one, that our recurring revenues are clearly higher margin. So as that continues to expand, it's $100 million of our business now, and that will continue to definitely grow. So I think that and the mix that we have with our kind of digital transformation, which we can still sell at good premium levels. I think our margins should be -- continue to be healthy as we move forward.

好吧，我要說的第一件事是我們的經常性收入是 3000 萬美元。我們從來沒有達到過那個水平。文斯，你已經關注我們一段時間了，你可能會回到四五年前，我們可能沒有 3000 萬美元——我們可能沒有 3000 萬美元的經常性收入，所以在第一季度排名第一，我們的經常性收入顯然是更高的利潤率。因此，隨著業務的不斷擴大，我們現在的業務已達到 1 億美元，而且肯定會繼續增長。因此，我認為這一點以及我們與我們的數字化轉型相結合，我們仍然可以以很高的溢價水平銷售。我認為我們的利潤率應該——在我們前進的過程中繼續保持健康。

Okay. And then lastly, what are your thoughts on acquisitions currently and this pricing come in to make it a more attractive area to focus on capital this year?

好的。最後，您對目前的收購有何看法，這種定價使它成為今年關注資本的更具吸引力的領域？

Yeah. So we -- as you know, we did two last year with agreement and Change for Growth. We are on the hunt primarily around recurring revenue streams and around digital, and we are in the market. And if we find something that is a win-win for us as well as the target, then we will execute on that during 2023. So we see the market -- most of ours are sole sourced. And so it's a bit of a dance, and it's both an economic as well as kind of an emotional sale because all these teams tend to be owner-operated, the ones we are interested in. But we think the market is in pretty good shape out there, and we have our sights set.

是的。所以我們 - 如您所知，我們去年做了兩件事，達成了協議並改變了增長。我們主要圍繞經常性收入流和數字領域進行尋找，並且我們在市場上。如果我們找到對我們和目標都是雙贏的東西，那麼我們將在 2023 年執行它。所以我們看到了市場——我們的大部分產品都是獨家採購的。所以這有點像跳舞，這既是一種經濟上的銷售，也是一種情感上的銷售，因為所有這些團隊往往都是所有者經營的，我們感興趣的是。但我們認為市場狀況非常好在那裡，我們已經設定了目標。

Our next question comes from Marc Riddick of Sidoti.

我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti 的 Marc Riddick。

So I wanted just to touch on a couple of things, and thank you for all the detail and congratulations on the -- getting the agreement done, which is certainly encouraging and certainly in these times. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about with those activities of clients looking for cost savings solutions and the like, I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about sort of how you're seeing that shift play out and whether or not there are any particular industries that have been maybe more at the forefront of that process than others or sort of how you're sort of seeing it? I mean you're active in all industries and all geographies. So I was kind of wondering if some were sort of leading the charge more so than others.

所以我只想談幾件事，感謝你提供的所有細節，並祝賀達成協議，這無疑是令人鼓舞的，在這個時代也是如此。我想知道你是否可以談談客戶尋求成本節約解決方案等的活動，我想知道你是否可以談談你是如何看待這種轉變的，以及是否是否有任何特定行業可能比其他行業更處於該過程的最前沿，或者您是如何看待它的？我的意思是你活躍於所有行業和所有地區。所以我有點想知道是否有些人比其他人更能帶頭衝鋒。

Yes. No, good. Thanks, Marc. Good question. Let me give you a couple of examples and then I'll talk specifically about the industry. So I'll give you two; [one, CIO,] very large top five insurance company globally called and they asked us that look, they have $225 million of application expense. Do we think that, that's the right number? And if so, if not, do we think that we could take out at least 20% or $40 million plus out of that. And so we said, look, let's come in, we'll do a quick assessment for you. We'll benchmark it against our data, and we'll see what we can do in terms of our recommendations on application kind of rationalization.

是的。不好。謝謝，馬克。好問題。我先舉幾個例子，然後再具體說說這個行業。所以我給你兩個； [一位，首席信息官，] 全球排名前五的大型保險公司打電話給我們，他們問我們，他們有 2.25 億美元的申請費用。我們認為那是正確的數字嗎？如果是這樣，如果不是，我們是否認為我們可以從中拿出至少 20% 或 4000 萬美元以上。所以我們說，看，我們進來吧，我們會為你做一個快速評估。我們將根據我們的數據對其進行基準測試，並且我們將根據我們對應用程序合理化的建議，看看我們能做些什麼。

That's very typical. That will be 25 weeks' worth of work and based on our assessment we think we'll take $50 million of cost out. In this particular example, wants to take that money and move it over into digitizing a number of their processes in this particular insurance company. So that's one example. There's another example, a large bank, a large bank does a lot of training on regulatory and on compliance. We have a new service we launched last year called Training-as-a-Service, TaaS.

這是很典型的。這將是 25 週的工作，根據我們的評估，我們認為我們將節省 5000 萬美元的成本。在這個特定的例子中，想要拿走這筆錢並將其轉移到數字化這家特定保險公司的一些流程中。這就是一個例子。還有一個例子，一家大銀行，一家大銀行在監管和合規方面做了很多培訓。我們去年推出了一項名為“培訓即服務”(TaaS) 的新服務。

And we're taking one of the top four banks in the world, and we are basically going to operate their Training-as-a-Service on a fixed-fee multiyear contract. Why? Because of the number of people, the turnover, the costs associated with it, and we could do it more efficiently for them. So there's another flip of that. So if you look at the industries from which ones, I would say, are the hottest at the moment, health sciences, very hot. So think about healthcare and pharma, that area very hot. I would say call it, 20% plus growth.

我們選擇了世界四大銀行之一，我們基本上將根據固定費用的多年合同來運營他們的培訓即服務。為什麼？由於人數、營業額以及與之相關的成本，我們可以更有效地為他們做這件事。所以還有另一個翻轉。因此，如果你看一下目前最熱門的行業，健康科學，非常熱門。所以想想醫療保健和製藥，那個領域非常熱門。我會說它是 20% 以上的增長。

Manufacturing back. Why? Because of efficiency and optimization. You see some of the large major automobile companies doing some reductions or doing some buyouts. Why is that? They're trying to get more efficient. That's up 20%. Media and the tech industry out west here, up almost 40%, again, on a cost optimization. I mentioned in my remarks, one of the top tech three companies in the world has moved higher into our GovernX compliance, regulatory governance areas.

製造業回歸。為什麼？因為效率和優化。你會看到一些大型汽車公司在進行一些削減或收購。這是為什麼？他們正在努力提高效率。這增加了 20%。由於成本優化，西部的媒體和科技行業再次上漲近 40%。我在發言中提到，世界三大科技公司之一已經進入我們的 GovernX 合規、監管治理領域。

The private equity channel is also very hot for us where we help them do two things on their targets and also on their exits are sprucing up their current portfolio so they can prepare for an exit. It may be a year away based on the market. And finally, I would say the public sector Marc, the public sector globally is in pretty strong shape. It varies sometimes by quarter because of the timing of their RFPs. But the public sector is also an area that we are seeing a lot of kind of automation, digitization, sourcing efficiencies being done now. So those would be the highlighted kind of industry segments, I think I would mention, Marc.

私募股權渠道對我們來說也很熱門，我們幫助他們在目標上做兩件事，並且在他們退出時正在整理他們目前的投資組合，以便他們為退出做準備。根據市場情況，可能還需要一年時間。最後，我要說的是公共部門，馬克，全球公共部門的狀況非常好。由於他們的 RFP 的時間安排，它有時會因季度而異。但公共部門也是一個領域，我們現在看到了很多自動化、數字化和採購效率。所以那些將是突出的行業細分，我想我會提到，馬克。

That's really, really helpful. And then I was wondering as far as your comments on the sort of the hiring that took place during the fourth quarter, that clearly gives an indication of the demand that you see in front of you or you expect to see. Did that continue into the New Year or is there a little bit of a pause after that or how should we be thinking about additional hiring expectations and then I'll get back in queue?

這真的，真的很有幫助。然後我想知道你對第四季度發生的那種招聘的評論，這清楚地表明了你在你面前看到的或你期望看到的需求。這種情況是否會持續到新的一年，或者在那之後會有一點停頓，或者我們應該如何考慮額外的招聘期望，然後我會回到隊列中？

Yeah. So we hired about 60 people in the fourth quarter. We hired about 50 in the third quarter. We did hire January, February. We now think that at the levels we are roughly, I'll call it, after the January, February hiring that we did, we think we have kind of the portfolio we currently have. While I'm sure we'll do some surgical things. We're bidding on a business -- a piece of business is $4 million. That's going to require some incremental talent that we win it. So those kinds of things we would add. But I think kind of the -- we're in the 1,600 employee level, probably 1,650 or so.

是的。所以我們在第四季度僱傭了大約 60 人。我們在第三季度僱用了大約 50 人。我們確實僱用了一月、二月。我們現在認為，在我們所做的 1 月、2 月招聘之後，我們大致處於這樣的水平，我們認為我們擁有目前擁有的投資組合。雖然我確定我們會做一些外科手術。我們正在競標一項業務——一項業務價值 400 萬美元。這將需要我們贏得它的一些增量人才。所以我們會添加這些東西。但我認為有點——我們有 1,600 名員工，大概有 1,650 名左右。

But we think kind of in that range for the next few quarters is probably the right range unless we do win some of the large bids that we have out there that may change that a little bit. So we kind of -- we hired -- I think I mentioned this before, a little unusual for us because we normally try to hire right at the moment, but we made the decision based on talent availability in the market and what other firms we're doing. We took advantage of it. We brought in talent maybe slightly ahead, where would have some -- did have a little bit of productivity downside for the quarter, but we overcame all of that clearly, but that's kind of where we would see it at the moment, Marc.

但我們認為，在接下來的幾個季度裡，在這個範圍內可能是正確的範圍，除非我們確實贏得了一些可能會稍微改變這一點的大型投標。所以我們有點——我們僱用了——我想我之前提到過這一點，這對我們來說有點不尋常，因為我們通常會嘗試在此時招聘，但我們根據市場上的人才可用性以及我們其他公司的情況做出了決定正在做。我們利用了它。我們引進的人才可能略有領先，其中會有一些 - 本季度確實有一點生產力下降，但我們顯然克服了所有這些問題，但這就是我們目前會看到的地方，馬克。

Our next question comes from David Storms of Stonegate Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Stonegate Securities 的 David Storms。

Thank you. Appreciate you taking my call and congrats on the really strong quarter. Just wanted to start with the recurring revenue side of things. What are some of the key variables that are driving that number higher? And how are you thinking about continuing to grow that number now that you hit that $100 million goal?

謝謝。感謝您接聽我的電話，並祝賀這個季度非常強勁。只想從事物的經常性收入方面開始。推動該數字更高的一些關鍵變量是什麼？既然您已經達到了 1 億美元的目標，您如何考慮繼續增加這個數字？

Yeah. So good question, David. So first of all, what are the drivers behind -- just to remind you, the key components is our platform business around GovernX around ProBenchmark, which is a pricing SaaS platform and certainly, our research, which is a subscription and kind of a multiyear agreement. What is driving that? First of all, on the GovernX standpoint is all around regulatory, it's around compliance and it's around governing the ecosystem, which has become much more complex kind of post-pandemic as companies had broadened out their supplier community, the ecosystem gets bigger, it gets broader, gets a little more challenging to manage and to govern and comply. And using our SaaS software plus our services that we have in Bangalore, India, one or two people on the ground at the prime sites, that combination is driving the growth around that particular platform.

是的。問得好，大衛。所以首先，背後的驅動因素是什麼 - 提醒您，關鍵組件是我們圍繞 ProBenchmark 的 GovernX 平台業務，這是一個定價 SaaS 平台，當然還有我們的研究，這是一個訂閱和一種多年期協議。是什麼推動了它？首先，在 GovernX 的立場上，一切都圍繞著監管、合規性和治理生態系統，隨著公司擴大供應商社區，生態系統變得越來越大，它變得更加複雜。範圍更廣，管理、治理和遵守變得更具挑戰性。使用我們的 SaaS 軟件加上我們在印度班加羅爾提供的服務，在主要地點的一兩個人，這種組合正在推動圍繞該特定平台的增長。

Our ProBenchmark, which is a pricing platform is hot because a lot of the tech providers think of Accenture, think of Capgemini, think of some of the large telecom providers. They all want to understand what the pricing capabilities are out in the market. So if I'm one of the big tech providers and I want to go bid on a large automotive company piece of work. They want to understand what the pricing capabilities and flexibilities are when you're doing their pursuit. So those are some of the things that are driving as part of our platform growth areas on recurring.

我們的 ProBenchmark 是一個定價平台，很火爆，因為很多技術供應商都想到了埃森哲，想到了凱捷，想到了一些大型電信提供商。他們都想了解市場上的定價能力。因此，如果我是大型技術提供商之一，並且我想競標一家大型汽車公司的工作。當您追求他們時，他們想了解定價能力和靈活性。因此，這些是作為我們平台增長領域的一部分不斷推動的一些事情。

On research, clearly, the need to understand and be informed regarding the emerging technologies, where are the key players around cloud and cyber workforce collaboration, the tools that are out there. It's more complex. There's more of them, how do they rank? How do they stack? What is our perspective and views on it? We call it the ISG Provider Lens, IPL are all very hot and in demand, and that is driving some of that recurring revenue.

顯然，在研究方面，需要了解和了解新興技術，雲計算和網絡勞動力協作的主要參與者在哪裡，以及現有的工具。它更複雜。還有很多，排名如何？它們如何堆疊？我們對此有何看法和看法？我們稱之為 ISG Provider Lens，IPL 都非常熱門且需求旺盛，這推動了部分經常性收入。

So our sense is that we have a portfolio between our research and our platform business that we will -- we think we will be able to continue our recurring revenue streams, and we'll have a -- we've been working through this just as we did in 2020. Our plan is in May when we do our first quarter report, we will give you some guidance on kind of what we see the multiyear recurring revenue will be, and we'll probably set another goal for ourselves at that point in time and fill you in David.

所以我們的感覺是，我們在我們的研究和我們的平台業務之間有一個投資組合，我們將 - 我們認為我們將能夠繼續我們的經常性收入來源，而且我們將 - 我們一直在努力解決這個問題就像我們在 2020 年所做的那樣。我們的計劃是在 5 月份發布第一季度報告時，我們將就我們所看到的多年經常性收入的類型向您提供一些指導，我們可能會在那個時候為自己設定另一個目標時間點讓你填滿大衛。

And one more, if I could. You had mentioned that we signed a number of [government] clients. Obviously, you're still getting on new contracts across your suite. Given the current macro environment, are you seeing any request for terms in those contracts that might be reflective of companies trying to stay nimble, something in like shorter contract lines, maybe not actually for a full suite of services, anything like that?

還有一個，如果可以的話。您曾提到我們簽署了一些 [政府] 客戶。顯然，您仍在整個套件中獲得新合同。鑑於當前的宏觀環境，您是否看到這些合同中的任何條款請求可能反映出公司試圖保持靈活，比如更短的合同期限，也許實際上不是全套服務，諸如此類？

Not in our GovernX, I would say that there might be a little bit of a elongated process to get it closed. And that's usually driven that when this environment happens, usually, it takes a few more layers of approvals that maybe it didn't happen before. So the sales cycle can be a little bit longer, David. But I would not say that the term of our agreements would be less. But certainly, we would see and can see a little bit of a longer sales cycle. And we see approval levels kind of requiring a little more extra layers than we maybe not have -- if you don't have the macro environment at the moment.

不是在我們的 GovernX 中，我會說關閉它可能需要一些較長的過程。這通常是因為當這種環境發生時，通常需要更多層的批准，這可能以前沒有發生過。所以銷售週期可以稍微長一點，大衛。但我不會說我們的協議期限會更短。但可以肯定的是，我們會看到並且可以看到更長的銷售週期。我們看到批准級別需要比我們可能沒有的更多的額外層級——如果您目前沒有宏觀環境。

Our next question comes from Joe Gomes of NOBLE Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 NOBLE Capital Markets 的 Joe Gomes。

This is Joshua Zoepfel just filling in for Joe Gomes and I wanted to congratulate you guys on the quarter as well as the year. So I just wanted to start off with, I know your revenues kind of came in slightly higher than you guys expected last quarter. Was this just kind of like a lower FX headwind or those are kind of something a little bit more to that, maybe more current revenues?

我是 Joshua Zoepfel，剛剛接替 Joe Gomes，我想祝賀你們本季度和本年度的表現。所以我只想開始，我知道你們的收入略高於你們上個季度的預期。這只是有點像較低的外匯逆風，還是那些有點更多，也許是更多的當前收入？

Yeah. I mean I think it's twofold. Number one, I think the mix of our cost optimization services are increasing demand, number one. Our platform services are fitting into kind of the sweet spot. If you think about it from an optimization standpoint, if you're dealing with an ecosystem of suppliers in Europe, large multinational, multibillion dollar enterprise and your ecosystem is larger and broader, you want to have a good understanding of the capabilities and what they're delivering, are they delivering what they said they were going to deliver. Can I spruce that up or streamline that a bit? So those are the things that are kind of driving, I would say, driving that area. That's probably how I would answer that question.

是的。我的意思是我認為這是雙重的。第一，我認為我們的成本優化服務組合正在增加需求，第一。我們的平台服務正處於最佳位置。如果您從優化的角度考慮，如果您正在處理歐洲供應商的生態系統、大型跨國公司、價值數十億美元的企業並且您的生態系統更大更廣，您希望對這些功能及其作用有一個很好的了解在交付時，他們是否交付了他們所說的要交付的內容。我可以修飾一下或簡化一下嗎？因此，我想說，這些都是推動該地區的事情。這可能就是我會如何回答這個問題。

Okay. Yeah, perfect. And I think looking through the press release, I didn't know there's anything just regarding share purchases in the quarter. Is this kind of the -- so that Change for Growth acquisition, like kind of what you guys has plans for share repurchases going into the New Year?

好的。是的，完美。而且我認為通過新聞稿，我不知道本季度有任何關於股票購買的事情。是這種 - 所以這種增長收購的變化，就像你們計劃進入新年的股票回購一樣？

Yeah. I think you've had exactly the way we thought about it. We were very focused on the acquisition during the quarter. We concluded that at the end of October. And we chose to use our cash proceeds from cash flow on that one. We also think that in this environment, holding a little bit more cash probably serves us well. And our thinking around buyback isn't any different. Our strategy over time is to avoid dilution from stock comp. And we don't do that quarter-by-quarter, but that's our long-term objective as part of our capital allocation. So it's exactly the way you're thinking about it.

是的。我認為您的想法與我們的想法完全一致。我們非常關注本季度的收購。我們在 10 月底得出結論。我們選擇將現金流中的現金收益用於該項目。我們還認為，在這種環境下，多持有一點現金可能對我們有利。我們對回購的想法也沒有什麼不同。隨著時間的推移，我們的策略是避免股票補償稀釋。而且我們不會逐季度這樣做，但這是我們作為資本配置一部分的長期目標。所以這正是你的想法。

Okay. Perfect. And just lastly, if I may, I know you guys kind of briefly kind of hinted at something like a creating like a large like enterprise operations potential growth last quarter. Is that something that you're still looking into maybe this year?

好的。完美的。最後，如果可以的話，我知道你們在上個季度有點像創造像大型企業運營潛在增長這樣的東西。也許今年你還在研究這個問題嗎？

I'm sorry you broke up just a minute. Just say that one more fun.

對不起，你剛才分手了。就說一個更好玩的。

Okay. So I know you guys briefly mentioned something regarding just the UK operations for the Change for Growth. I know you guys were wanting to create something more like a large enterprise or something along those lines? Is that something you guys are kind of looking at going into the New Year?

好的。所以我知道你們簡要提到了一些關於英國業務的變化以促進增長。我知道你們想創建更像大型企業的東西或類似的東西？這是你們進入新年時正在考慮的事情嗎？

No, not in operations per se. The Change for Growth business was a U.S. domestic business. We do have organizational change management across both the U.S. and Europe. Obviously, it's bigger in the U.S. And so we see this acquisition as a way with more resources and more capabilities to expand further in the UK and EMEA market in general, but not necessarily setting up anything other than what we have today, which is we have resources on the ground. We just see it as a way to expand that business more globally than what we have today.

不，不是在運營本身。 Change for Growth 業務是美國本土業務。我們在美國和歐洲都有組織變革管理。顯然，它在美國更大所以我們認為這次收購是一種擁有更多資源和更多能力的方式，可以在英國和 EMEA 市場進一步擴張，但不一定要建立我們今天擁有的以外的任何東西，這就是我們在地面上有資源。我們只是將其視為一種比今天更全球化地擴展該業務的方式。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question is from [Michael Matheson] of [Singular Research].

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 [Singular Research] 的 [Michael Matheson]。

Congratulations on those numbers, gentlemen, a great quarter, great year. Regarding some of the longer sales -- regarding some of the longer sales cycle that you described yourself beginning to see, are there any particular industry verticals where you see more of that than others?

祝賀這些數字，先生們，一個偉大的季度，偉大的一年。關於一些較長的銷售 - 關於您描述自己開始看到的一些較長的銷售週期，是否有任何特定的行業垂直領域比其他行業看到更多？

No, good question. I think the answer is no, and I only commented on it based on the question that was there. I would say it's not prevalent on the elongated sales cycle. There is a little more multiple layers of approval. So it will take a little -- it does take it a little bit longer. But I don't think there's any one industry that is longer than the other. I just think it takes a little bit longer. But having said that, you can see through our results, none of that really stopped our demand environment and delivering what we are delivering. Now it might change something being sold in a March versus in a April or something like that, but it's not going to stop at sale, if you will.

不，好問題。我認為答案是否定的，我只是根據那裡的問題對此發表評論。我會說這在延長的銷售週期中並不普遍。有更多的多層批准。所以這需要一點時間——確實需要更長的時間。但我不認為有任何一個行業比另一個行業更長。我只是認為它需要更長的時間。但話雖如此，您可以通過我們的結果看到，這些都沒有真正阻止我們的需求環境和交付我們正在交付的產品。現在它可能會改變 3 月與 4 月或類似時間的銷售情況，但如果你願意的話，它不會停止銷售。

Because right now, the suite of services that we have are right in the sweet spot of what people are looking to do. I gave a couple of examples with the insurance company and the others. So there's a lot of movement to trying to take cost out, but to take it out and move it into something that they can help try to drive growth on the top line, the digitization, the customer experience areas, analytics to help them better understand modernizing technology, as I mentioned to you earlier, the example of the applications. So no industry specific, I would say on that, Michael.

因為現在，我們擁有的全套服務正處於人們想要做的事情的最佳位置。我舉了幾個保險公司和其他人的例子。因此，有很多嘗試降低成本的舉措，但要將成本降低並轉移到他們可以幫助推動收入增長、數字化、客戶體驗領域、分析的領域，以幫助他們更好地理解現代化技術，正如我之前提到的，應用程序的例子。所以沒有特定行業，我會說，邁克爾。

Okay, great. One last question. You mentioned the new service Training-as-a-Service. I just respond it's a great idea. I wonder if it's something that you can leverage to other banks or potentially other industries like brokerage.

好的，太好了。最後一個問題。您提到了新服務“培訓即服務”。我只是回應這是個好主意。我想知道您是否可以利用它來影響其他銀行或其他潛在行業，例如經紀業。

Yeah. Look, it's a very good question, and it's emerging, and we think this is beyond just financial services. We are in the process of concluding and signing another large financial services firm. But I would also say we have moved this now into the health sciences area. As you know, there's a lot of kind of compliance around drugs, etcetera, and we are beginning to get traction in that area. So we think that this is a multiple industry solution. It's emerging, but we think this could be a fast-growing segment for us over the next two to three years. So I think you're on the right track there. But I think it's not only financial services, we're seeing it now in health sciences, and we think there's a few others that will take us up on this as the year progresses. And I'll keep everyone posted on this.

是的。看，這是一個非常好的問題，它正在出現，我們認為這不僅僅是金融服務。我們正在締結和簽署另一家大型金融服務公司。但我還要說，我們現在已經將其轉移到健康科學領域。如您所知，圍繞藥物等有很多合規性，我們開始在該領域受到關注。所以我們認為這是一個多行業的解決方案。它正在興起，但我們認為這可能是我們在未來兩到三年內快速增長的部分。所以我認為你在正確的軌道上。但我認為這不僅是金融服務，我們現在在健康科學領域也看到了這一點，而且我們認為隨著時間的推移，還有其他一些將讓我們著手解決這個問題。我會讓每個人都知道這一點。

(Operator Instructions) I see we have a follow-up from David Storms of Stonegate Securities.

（操作員說明）我看到我們有來自 Stonegate Securities 的 David Storms 的跟進。

Just one follow-up. Do you guys have any thoughts on, from a CapEx perspective, if there's anything unusual we should be keeping an eye out for in 2023?

只是一個跟進。從資本支出的角度來看，如果有什麼不尋常的地方我們應該在 2023 年留意，你們有什麼想法嗎？

No, David, I would say, overall, we're very lean on capital with very little real estate -- and our capital tends to fluctuate between 2 and $3 million. It was a little bit higher in '22. We upgraded some of our accounting and HR systems. But it's been fairly consistent. It's a low capital requirement business, which helps us in terms of cash flow. So I would say nothing extraordinary, and that's the range that we generally budget for and it's been very consistent over the last couple of years.

不，大衛，我會說，總的來說，我們非常依賴資本，房地產很少——我們的資本往往在 2 到 300 萬美元之間波動。它在 22 年略高一些。我們升級了一些會計和人力資源系統。但它一直相當一致。這是一項低資本要求的業務，在現金流方面對我們有幫助。所以我不會說什麼特別的，這是我們通常預算的範圍，並且在過去幾年中一直非常一致。

At this stage, we currently have no further questions. So I'll hand that over to the management team for any closing remarks.

在這個階段，我們目前沒有進一步的問題。所以我會把它交給管理團隊，聽取任何結束語。

Well, thank you, and let me just close by saying thank you to all our professionals worldwide for their dedication to our clients and from working together as a global team to achieve our record fourth quarter and full year results. Our people have a passion for delivering the best advice and support to our clients as they continue their digital journeys and I could not be prouder of them. And thanks to all of you on the call today for your continued support and confidence in our firm. Have a great rest of the day.

好吧，謝謝，最後讓我感謝我們全球所有的專業人士，感謝他們為我們的客戶所做的奉獻，以及作為一個全球團隊的共同努力，以實現我們創紀錄的第四季度和全年業績。我們的員工熱衷於為我們的客戶提供最好的建議和支持，因為他們繼續他們的數字之旅，我為他們感到驕傲。感謝今天來電的所有人，感謝你們對我們公司的持續支持和信任。好好休息一天。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。