昆泰 (IQV) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the IQVIA Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Thank you.

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。此時，我想歡迎大家參加 IQVIA 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，此通話正在錄音中。謝謝。

I would now like to turn the call over to Nick Childs, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasury. Mr. Childs, please begin your conference.

我現在想把電話轉給投資者關係和財政部高級副總裁 Nick Childs。 Childs 先生，請開始您的會議。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Call. With me today are Ari Bousbib, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Ron Bruehlman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Eric Sherbet, Executive Vice President and General Counsel; Mike Fedock, Senior Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis; and Gustavo Param, Senior Director, Investor Relations.

謝謝。大家，早安。感謝您加入我們的 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的是董事長兼首席執行官 Ari Bousbib；執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Ron Bruehlman； Eric Sherbet，執行副總裁兼總法律顧問； Mike Fedock，財務規劃和分析高級副總裁；投資者關係高級總監 Gustavo Param。

Today, we will be referencing a presentation that will be visible during this call for those of you on our webcast. This presentation will also be available following this call in the Events and Presentations section of our IQVIA Investor Relations website at ir.iqvia.com.

今天，我們將引用一個演示文稿，在本次電話會議期間，您可以在我們的網絡廣播中看到該演示文稿。此演示文稿也將在本次電話會議後在我們的 IQVIA 投資者關係網站 ir.iqvia.com 的“活動和演示”部分提供。

Before we begin, I would like to caution listeners that certain information discussed by management during this conference call will include forward-looking statements. The actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business which are discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒聽眾，管理層在本次電話會議期間討論的某些信息將包含前瞻性陳述。由於與公司業務相關的風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異，這些風險和不確定性在公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中進行了討論，包括我們關於 10-K 表格的年度報告和隨後提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件。

In addition, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures on this call which should be considered a supplement to and not a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP measures is included in the press release and conference call presentation.

此外，我們將在本次電話會議上討論某些非 GAAP 財務措施，這些措施應被視為對根據 GAAP 編制的財務措施的補充而非替代。這些非 GAAP 措施與可比較的 GAAP 措施的對賬包含在新聞稿和電話會議演示中。

I would now like to turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO.

我現在想把電話轉給我們的董事長兼首席執行官。

Thank you, Nick, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year results.

謝謝你，尼克，大家早上好。感謝您今天加入我們討論我們的第四季度和全年業績。

As we close 2022, we are very proud of what we've achieved at IQVIA. It was a record year for our R&DS business. We achieved bookings of $10.8 billion, which was the highest ever. Our backlog stands now at a record $27.2 billion, and the business added over 275 new customers in the year.

在 2022 年即將結束之際，我們為在 IQVIA 取得的成就感到非常自豪。對於我們的研發業務來說，這是創紀錄的一年。我們實現了 108 億美元的預訂量，這是有史以來最高的。我們的積壓訂單現在達到創紀錄的 272 億美元，並且該業務在這一年增加了超過 275 個新客戶。

We improved access to clinical research. We've expanded our decentralized clinical trial capabilities by launching the first self-collection safety lab panel for U.S. clinical trial participants in collaboration with Tasso. Our DCT program achieved GDPR validation in Europe, marking the first time a DCT offering received this data privacy validation. And our connected devices business added 50 new customers, including wins with 2 top 10 pharma companies.

我們改善了獲得臨床研究的機會。我們與 Tasso 合作，為美國臨床試驗參與者推出了第一個自收集安全實驗室面板，從而擴展了我們的分散式臨床試驗能力。我們的 DCT 計劃在歐洲獲得了 GDPR 驗證，這標誌著 DCT 產品首次獲得此數據隱私驗證。我們的連接設備業務增加了 50 個新客戶，其中包括 2 家排名前 10 的製藥公司。

We made significant advancements as well in our real-world business. We increased the number of our active data sources by more than 30% across more than 50 countries, and we enhanced access to real-world data for European and U.S. regulators through our partnerships with the European Medicines Agency and the Real-World Alliance.

我們在現實世界的業務中也取得了重大進展。我們將 50 多個國家/地區的活躍數據源數量增加了 30% 以上，並且通過與歐洲藥品管理局和現實世界聯盟的合作，我們增強了歐洲和美國監管機構對現實世界數據的訪問。

We expanded our digital marketing capabilities with the acquisition of Lasso Marketing, which offers a technology purpose-built for health care marketers to execute digital campaigns.

我們通過收購 Lasso Marketing 擴展了我們的數字營銷能力，Lasso Marketing 提供專為醫療保健營銷人員執行數字營銷活動而打造的技術。

We deployed capital of $3.7 billion during the year. This included $1.3 billion in acquisitions, $1.2 billion in share repurchase, $0.7 billion in CapEx and repayment of $510 million of debt. At the same time, we were able to reduce our net leverage ratio to 3.45x adjusted EBITDA.

我們在這一年部署了 37 億美元的資金。這包括 13 億美元的收購、12 億美元的股票回購、7 億美元的資本支出和 5.1 億美元的債務償還。與此同時，我們能夠將淨槓桿率降至調整後 EBITDA 的 3.45 倍。

2022 also marked the end of our Vision 22 3-year strategic plan. No one could have predicted the volatile macro environment we would have to operate in during this period. Despite the many headwinds we have faced since 2019, when we set these goals, we in fact exceeded our Vision 2022 goals. I am proud of the resilience, resourcefulness and creativity that our employees around the world demonstrate every day in support of IQVIA's mission. And it is these attributes that allowed our company to deliver on comment the commitments we made to you in 2019.

2022 年也標誌著我們 Vision 22 三年戰略計劃的結束。沒有人能預料到我們在此期間必須經營的動蕩的宏觀環境。儘管自 2019 年以來我們面臨許多不利因素，但當我們設定這些目標時，我們實際上超出了我們的 2022 年願景目標。我為我們世界各地的員工每天為支持 IQVIA 的使命而表現出的韌性、足智多謀和創造力感到自豪。正是這些屬性使我們公司能夠在評論中兌現我們在 2019 年對您做出的承諾。

Now as you know, since the beginning of '22, the industry has been reporting a slowdown in demand for clinical and commercial services caused by reductions in biotech funding as well as the higher interest rate environment and macroeconomic uncertainty. As we've discussed before, while we've of course seen anecdotal evidence of these concerns, we at IQVIA remain confident that the fundamentals of our industry and the demand from our clients remain healthy. And in fact, we remain confident in our ability to deliver on our 2025 goals.

如您所知，自 22 世紀初以來，該行業一直報告說，由於生物技術資金減少以及利率環境升高和宏觀經濟不確定性，導致臨床和商業服務需求放緩。正如我們之前所討論的，雖然我們當然已經看到了這些擔憂的軼事證據，但我們 IQVIA 仍然相信我們行業的基本面和我們客戶的需求仍然健康。事實上，我們對實現 2025 年目標的能力充滿信心。

As we begin 2023, there are more molecules in development than at any other time in history. Our RFP flow was up 13% for the full year. We in fact saw acceleration in Q4 to 22%, with double-digit growth in all 3 segments: Large, midsized and EBP segments. Our net new business reached a record $3.1 billion in Q4, which is up 29% versus prior year. For the full year, we achieved bookings of $10.8 billion despite the large COVID bookings we had in 2021 that didn't repeat in 2022.

2023 年伊始，正在開發的分子比歷史上任何時候都多。我們的 RFP 流量全年增長了 13%。事實上，我們在第四季度看到了 22% 的加速增長，所有 3 個細分市場都實現了兩位數的增長：大型、中型和 EBP 細分市場。我們的淨新業務在第四季度達到創紀錄的 31 億美元，比去年同期增長 29%。儘管我們在 2021 年獲得了 2022 年沒有重複的大量 COVID 預訂，但全年我們實現了 108 億美元的預訂。

And yes, in our commercial business, while we are seeing some short-term fluctuations in discretionary spend categories, such as for example consulting, demand for our commercial services nonetheless remains on a favorable growth trend.

是的，在我們的商業業務中，雖然我們看到可自由支配支出類別（例如諮詢）出現一些短期波動，但對我們商業服務的需求仍然保持良好的增長趨勢。

Finally, let me just acknowledge and congratulate our employees around the world for the nice recognition the company received last week. IQVIA was named to Fortune's list of the World's Most Admired Companies for the sixth consecutive year. Importantly, once again, we earned the first place ranking within our industry group. We also ranked #1 in 7 out of 9 categories, including innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of products and services, global competitiveness and long-term investment value.

最後，讓我感謝並祝賀我們在世界各地的員工上週對公司的認可。 IQVIA 連續第六年入選《財富》雜誌全球最受讚賞公司名單。重要的是，我們再次贏得了我們行業組別中的第一名。我們還在 9 個類別中的 7 個類別中排名第一，包括創新、人員管理、企業資產的使用、社會責任、產品和服務質量、全球競爭力和長期投資價值。

Turning now to the results for the quarter. Revenue for the fourth quarter grew 2.8% on a reported basis, 7% at constant currency compared to last year. And excluding COVID-related work from both periods, we grew the top line 10% at constant currency on an organic basis. Fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA increased 11.1%, reflecting our strong revenue growth and ongoing cost management discipline. Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $2.78 grew 9%, driven by our adjusted EBITDA growth.

現在轉向本季度的結果。第四季度的收入在報告的基礎上增長了 2.8%，與去年相比按固定匯率計算增長了 7%。排除這兩個時期與 COVID 相關的工作，我們的收入以固定匯率有機增長了 10%。第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 增長 11.1%，反映出我們強勁的收入增長和持續的成本管理紀律。受我們調整後的 EBITDA 增長的推動，第四季度調整後的攤薄每股收益為 2.78 美元，增長 9%。

A few highlights of business activity this quarter. In our technology business, IQVIA recently entered into a milestone agreement with Alibaba Cloud to collaborate in China. Through this collaboration, IQVIA will be the first company to make its Salesforce-based products available on Alibaba Cloud and the only life sciences provider to have a full Salesforce-based ecosystem of products hosted locally and designed to be compliant with China's data residency and privacy regulations. Through our partnership with Alibaba Cloud and Salesforce, IQVIA will continue to extend the OCE suite, delivering innovative capabilities tailored to meet China's specific market needs.

本季度商業活動的一些亮點。在我們的技術業務方面，IQVIA 最近與阿里云達成了一項里程碑式的協議，以在中國開展合作。通過此次合作，IQVIA 將成為第一家在阿里雲上提供其基於 Salesforce 的產品的公司，也是唯一一家在本地託管完整的基於 Salesforce 的產品生態系統的生命科學供應商，該生態系統的設計符合中國的數據駐留和隱私規定。通過我們與阿里雲和 Salesforce 的合作，IQVIA 將繼續擴展 OCE 套件，提供為滿足中國特定市場需求而量身定制的創新功能。

As you know, IQVIA Human Data Science Cloud offers clients a combination of extensive data networks, data integration and embedded intelligence, all of which help our clients deal with the challenge of increased data complexity and volume. A top 10 pharma awarded IQVIA our largest-ever commercial managed services deal, where we will take responsibility for managing the end-to-end commercial analytics for all their commercial brands globally.

如您所知，IQVIA Human Data Science Cloud 為客戶提供廣泛的數據網絡、數據集成和嵌入式智能的組合，所有這些都幫助我們的客戶應對數據複雜性和數據量增加的挑戰。一家排名前 10 位的製藥公司授予 IQVIA 我們有史以來最大的商業託管服務交易，我們將負責管理其全球所有商業品牌的端到端商業分析。

Personalization of care is becoming a focus of our customers' commercial strategies. This quarter, IQVIA was awarded a major patient support program by a top 10 pharma for their [kit] cardiology product, displacing the incumbent vendor and once again validating IQVIA's uniquely differentiated, integrated domain expertise, services and technology platform.

個性化護理正成為我們客戶商業戰略的重點。本季度，IQVIA 因其 [kit] 心髒病學產品獲得了前 10 家製藥公司的主要患者支持計劃，取代了現有供應商，並再次驗證了 IQVIA 獨特的差異化、集成領域專業知識、服務和技術平台。

As I previously highlighted, demand for our -- from our EBP customers has remained high despite the funding levels returning essentially to pre-pandemic levels. As an example, a U.S.-based emerging biopharma company recently selected IQVIA to be their end-to-end clinical-to-commercial partner. IQVIA was selected due to the breadth of capabilities, our domain expertise, strong resources and technologies, such as OCE. IQVIA will support all aspects of their first commercial launch as well as provide clinical trial services for their future indications.

正如我之前強調的那樣，儘管資金水平基本恢復到大流行前的水平，但我們的 EBP 客戶對我們的需求仍然很高。例如，一家總部位於美國的新興生物製藥公司最近選擇 IQVIA 作為其端到端的臨床到商業合作夥伴。之所以選擇 IQVIA，是因為我們擁有廣泛的能力、我們的領域專業知識、強大的資源和技術，例如 OCE。 IQVIA 將支持他們首次商業發布的所有方面，並為其未來的適應症提供臨床試驗服務。

In another example, Biostage, which is a biotech company developing regenerative medicine treatments, selected IQVIA to manage its first clinical trial of their esophageal implant product. Current treatment options for patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer result in only 20% survival at 5 years. In the first use of the implant, the trial demonstrated that the product was able to successfully regenerate tissue to restore the functionality of the esophagus. IQVIA was selected due to our dedicated gastrointestinal team and our ability and expertise running the most complex, cutting-edge cell and gene therapy trials.

在另一個例子中，Biostage 是一家開發再生醫學療法的生物技術公司，它選擇 IQVIA 來管理其食管植入產品的首次臨床試驗。目前診斷為食管癌的患者的治療選擇導致 5 年存活率僅為 20%。在植入物的首次使用中，試驗表明該產品能夠成功地再生組織以恢復食道的功能。 IQVIA 之所以被選中，是因為我們專注的胃腸道團隊以及我們運行最複雜、最前沿的細胞和基因治療試驗的能力和專業知識。

Within R&DS, we also signed a long-term collaboration with Clalit, the largest health services provider in Israel, to launch the first Prime Site in the region. The collaboration combines IQVIA and Clalit's capabilities in clinical trial delivery, real-world research, data and genomics. Clalit operates a network of 14 hospitals and more than 1,600 primary care clinics with special expertise in oncology, pediatric rare disease and genomics.

在 R&DS 內部，我們還與以色列最大的醫療服務提供商 Clalit 簽署了長期合作協議，以在該地區推出第一個 Prime Site。此次合作結合了 IQVIA 和 Clalit 在臨床試驗交付、現實世界研究、數據和基因組學方面的能力。 Clalit 運營著一個由 14 家醫院和 1,600 多家初級保健診所組成的網絡，在腫瘤學、兒科罕見病和基因組學方面擁有專業知識。

In oncology, which remains the largest therapeutic area for R&D outsourcing, we continue to experience strong double-digit year-over-year growth in bookings. As an example, we expanded one of our preferred partnerships with a top global pharma, which awarded IQVIA a large early and late-stage trial in multiple oncology indications. We were selected because of our analytics to optimize protocol development, site selection and operational planning, including our ability to recruit patients meeting their diversity targets.

在仍然是研發外包最大治療領域的腫瘤學領域，我們的預訂繼續實現兩位數的強勁同比增長。例如，我們擴大了與一家全球頂級製藥公司的首選合作夥伴關係之一，該製藥公司授予 IQVIA 一項針對多種腫瘤適應症的大型早期和晚期試驗。我們之所以被選中，是因為我們的分析可以優化協議開發、選址和運營規劃，包括我們招募滿足其多樣性目標的患者的能力。

So overall, the R&DS business continues its strong momentum. You saw we achieved new bookings of $3.1 billion in the quarter, the highest in our history. This translated into a quarterly book-to-bill of 1.51, including pass-throughs. And excluding pass-throughs, the business delivered almost $2 billion of total net new business in the quarter with a book-to-bill of -- a ratio of 1.30. For the full year, our contracted book-to-bill ratio was 1.36 including pass-throughs and 1.33 excluding pass-throughs.

因此，總體而言，研發業務繼續保持強勁勢頭。你看到我們在本季度實現了 31 億美元的新預訂，這是我們歷史上最高的。這轉化為 1.51 的季度訂單出貨比，包括傳遞。不包括傳遞，該業務在本季度交付了近 20 億美元的淨新業務總額，訂單出貨比為 1.30。全年，我們的合同訂單出貨比為 1.36（包括傳遞）和 1.33（不包括傳遞）。

I will now turn it over to Ron for more details on our financial performance.

我現在將其轉交給羅恩，以了解有關我們財務業績的更多詳細信息。

Thanks, Ari, and good morning, everyone. Let's start by reviewing revenue. Fourth quarter revenue of $3.739 billion grew 2.8% on a reported basis and 7% at constant currency. In the quarter, COVID-related revenues were approximately $190 million, which was down about $150 million versus the fourth quarter of 2021. In our base business, that is, excluding all COVID-related work from both this year and last, organic growth at constant currency was 10%.

謝謝，Ari，大家早上好。讓我們從回顧收入開始。第四季度收入為 37.39 億美元，按報告基礎增長 2.8%，按固定匯率計算增長 7%。本季度，與 COVID 相關的收入約為 1.9 億美元，與 2021 年第四季度相比下降了約 1.5 億美元。在我們的基礎業務中，即排除今年和去年所有與 COVID 相關的工作，有機增長在固定匯率為 10%。

Technology & Analytics Solutions revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.499 billion, up 0.2% reported and 4.7% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in TAS was 7%.

第四季度技術與分析解決方案收入為 14.99 億美元，報告增長 0.2%，按固定匯率計算增長 4.7%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，TAS 以固定匯率計算的有機增長為 7%。

R&D Solutions fourth quarter revenue of $2.058 billion was up 5.9% reported and 9.3% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in R&DS was 14%.

R&D Solutions 第四季度收入為 20.58 億美元，報告增長 5.9%，按固定匯率計算增長 9.3%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，R&DS 的固定匯率有機增長為 14%。

Finally, Contract Sales & Medical Solutions, or CSMS, fourth quarter revenue of $182 million declined 7.1% reported but grew 2% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in CSMS was also 2%.

最後，合同銷售與醫療解決方案 (CSMS) 第四季度的收入為 1.82 億美元，報告下降 7.1%，但按固定匯率計算增長 2%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，CSMS 的固定貨幣有機增長也為 2%。

For the full year, revenue was $14.410 billion, growing at 3.9% on a reported basis and 7.8% at constant currency. COVID-related revenues totaled approximately $1 billion for the year. In our base business, again, that's excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency was 13%.

全年收入為 144.10 億美元，按報告基礎增長 3.9%，按固定匯率計算增長 7.8%。今年與 COVID 相關的收入總額約為 10 億美元。同樣，在我們的基礎業務中，不包括所有與 COVID 相關的工作，按固定匯率計算的有機增長率為 13%。

For the full year, Technology & Analytics Solutions revenue was $5.746 billion, up 3.8% reported and 8.7% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in TAS was 10% for the year.

全年，技術與分析解決方案收入為 57.46 億美元，報告增長 3.8%，按固定匯率計算增長 8.7%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，按固定匯率計算，TAS 全年有機增長為 10%。

Full year revenue in R&D Solutions was $7.921 billion, growing 4.8% reported and 7.7% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in R&DS was 17%.

研發解決方案的全年收入為 79.21 億美元，報告增長 4.8%，按固定匯率計算增長 7.7%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，R&DS 的固定貨幣有機增長為 17%。

Full year CSMS revenue was $743 million, which was down 5.2% reported but grew 2.7% at constant currency. Excluding all COVID-related work, organic growth at constant currency in CSMS was 4% for the year.

全年 CSMS 收入為 7.43 億美元，報告下降 5.2%，但按固定匯率計算增長 2.7%。排除所有與 COVID 相關的工作，CSMS 按固定匯率計算的有機增長率為 4%。

Now let's move down the P&L. Adjusted EBITDA was $920 million for the fourth quarter, representing growth of 11.1%, while full year adjusted EBITDA was $3.346 billion, which was up 10.7% year-over-year. Fourth quarter GAAP net income was $227 million, and GAAP diluted earnings per share was $1.20. Full year GAAP net income was $1.091 billion or $5.72 of earnings per diluted share. Adjusted net income was $524 million in the fourth quarter, and adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 9% to $2.78. For the full year, adjusted net income was $1.937 billion and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $10.16, up 12.5% year-over-year.

現在讓我們向下移動損益表。第四季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 9.2 億美元，增長 11.1%，而全年調整後的 EBITDA 為 33.46 億美元，同比增長 10.7%。第四季度 GAAP 淨收入為 2.27 億美元，GAAP 攤薄後每股收益為 1.20 美元。全年 GAAP 淨收入為 10.91 億美元或每股攤薄收益 5.72 美元。第四季度調整後淨收入為 5.24 億美元，調整後攤薄每股收益增長 9% 至 2.78 美元。全年調整後淨收入為 19.37 億美元，調整後攤薄每股收益為 10.16 美元，同比增長 12.5%。

Now as Ari reviewed, R&D Solutions delivered another outstanding quarter of bookings. Our backlog at December 31 stood at a record $27.2 billion, which was up 9.6% year-over-year on a reported basis and 11.6% adjusting for the impact of foreign exchange. Without that impact of foreign exchange year-over-year, backlog would have been about $500 million higher.

現在，正如 Ari 所回顧的那樣，R&D Solutions 交付了另一個出色的季度預訂。截至 12 月 31 日，我們的積壓訂單達到創紀錄的 272 億美元，按報告基礎同比增長 9.6%，並根據外匯影響調整後增長 11.6%。如果沒有外匯同比的影響，積壓訂單將增加約 5 億美元。

Full year net new business increased $10.8 billion, growing 6.2% year-over-year on a reported basis -- it increased to $10.8 billion, I should say, growing 6.2% year-over-year on a reported basis despite the significant amount of COVID bookings we had in 2021 that didn't repeat in 2022.

全年淨新業務增長 108 億美元，按報告基礎同比增長 6.2%——我應該說，它增至 108 億美元，按報告基礎同比增長 6.2%，儘管有大量我們在 2021 年進行的 COVID 預訂在 2022 年沒有重複。

Okay. Reviewing the balance sheet. As of December 31, cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.216 billion and gross debt was $12.747 billion, and that resulted in net debt of $11.531 billion. Our net leverage ratio ended the year at 3.45x trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. Fourth quarter cash flow from operations was $560 million and CapEx was $171 million, which resulted in free cash flow of $389 million for the quarter.

好的。審查資產負債表。截至 12 月 31 日，現金和現金等價物總計 12.16 億美元，總債務為 127.47 億美元，淨債務為 115.31 億美元。我們的淨槓桿比率年底為 3.45 倍的 12 個月調整後 EBITDA。第四季度運營現金流為 5.6 億美元，資本支出為 1.71 億美元，導致本季度的自由現金流為 3.89 億美元。

Now as we shared on the last earnings call, early in the fourth quarter, we retired $510 million of variable rate U.S. dollar term loan that was scheduled to mature in early 2024. At the end of the year, we entered into a $1 billion -- or $1 billion of floating fixed -- floating to fixed interest rate swaps to further limit our exposure to changes in interest rates. And with these changes, our debt structure at year-end was 66% fixed. And we expect this to drop to about 58% fixed at the end of Q1, when as you know, we have a $1 billion swap expiring.

現在，正如我們在上次財報電話會議上分享的那樣，在第四季度初，我們取消了原定於 2024 年初到期的 5.1 億美元可變利率美元定期貸款。在年底，我們達成了 10 億美元 - - 或 10 億美元的浮動固定利率 - 浮動到固定利率掉期，以進一步限制我們對利率變化的風險敞口。通過這些變化，我們年底的債務結構已固定 66%。我們預計這一比例將在第一季度末降至固定的 58% 左右，如您所知，屆時我們將有 10 億美元的掉期到期。

December 31 marked the end of our Vision 2022 3-year plan. And as Ari mentioned, we exceeded our commitments, and here are a few highlights. We achieved a compound average growth rate for revenue of 9.1% reported and 10.2% adjusted for the impact of foreign exchange. This achievement exceeded the high end of our goal range of 7% to 10%. Our 3-year CAGR for adjusted EBITDA was 11.7%, exceeding our goal of 8% to 11%. And for adjusted diluted earnings per share, the average growth rate was 16.7%, consistent with our goal of double-digit growth. Finally, our net leverage ratio exiting 2022 of 3.4x trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA compared favorably to our goal of 3.5 to 4x.

12 月 31 日標誌著我們 2022 年願景 3 年計劃的結束。正如 Ari 提到的，我們超出了我們的承諾，這裡有一些亮點。我們報告的收入複合平均增長率為 9.1%，根據外匯影響調整後為 10.2%。這一成就超出了我們目標範圍的上限 7% 到 10%。我們調整後 EBITDA 的 3 年復合年增長率為 11.7%，超過了我們 8% 至 11% 的目標。對於調整後的稀釋每股收益，平均增長率為 16.7%，符合我們兩位數增長的目標。最後，我們到 2022 年的淨槓桿率為 3.4 倍，過去 12 個月調整後的 EBITDA 高於我們 3.5 至 4 倍的目標。

Okay. Let's turn now to 2023 guidance. For the full year 2023, we expect total revenue to be between $15.150 billion and $15.400 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 5.1% to 6.9%. This revenue growth includes about 100 basis points of contribution from M&A activity and a very slight FX tailwind of approximately 10 basis points versus the prior year.

好的。現在讓我們轉向 2023 年指南。對於 2023 年全年，我們預計總收入將在 151.5 億美元至 154.00 億美元之間，同比增長 5.1% 至 6.9%。這一收入增長包括來自併購活動的約 100 個基點的貢獻，以及與上一年相比約 10 個基點的非常輕微的外匯順風。

Adjusting for the COVID-related work step-down, which we anticipate to be approximately $600 million, the contribution of acquisitions and the FX tailwind, our guidance implies 9% to 11% underlying organic revenue growth at constant currency.

調整與 COVID 相關的工作縮減（我們預計約為 6 億美元）、收購的貢獻和外匯順風，我們的指導意味著按固定匯率計算潛在有機收入增長 9% 至 11%。

Our adjusted EBITDA guidance is $3.625 billion to $3.695 billion, a growth of 8.3% to 10.4%. Our adjusted diluted EPS guidance is $10.26 to $10.56, representing year-over-year growth of 1% to 3.9%.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 指引為 36.25 億美元至 36.95 億美元，增長 8.3% 至 10.4%。我們調整後的攤薄每股收益指引為 10.26 美元至 10.56 美元，同比增長 1% 至 3.9%。

Our EPS guidance includes about $615 million of interest expense; just under $550 million of operational D&A; an effective income tax rate of approximately 21%, which is about 1 point higher than it otherwise would have been because of the increase in the U.K. corporate tax rate from 19% to 25%. And finally, our EPS guidance assumes an average diluted share count slightly above 190 million shares. Adjusting for the year-over-year impact of the onetime step-up in interest rates and the higher U.K. tax rate, our guidance implies adjusted EPS growth of 11% to 14%.

我們的 EPS 指引包括約 6.15 億美元的利息支出；略低於 5.5 億美元的運營 D&A；有效所得稅率約為 21%，比英國公司稅率從 19% 提高到 25% 時高出約 1 個百分點。最後，我們的每股收益指引假設平均攤薄後的股票數量略高於 1.9 億股。調整一次性利率上升和英國稅率上升的同比影響後，我們的指引意味著調整後的每股收益增長 11% 至 14%。

This guidance assumes about $2 billion of cash deployment split evenly between acquisitions and debt retirement. Regarding the latter, we expect to retire remaining term debt maturing in March 2024 towards the end of the year, that is, the end of '23. Based on these assumptions and our guidance, our net leverage ratio should drop to below 3x adjusted EBITDA by the end of 2023. Finally, our guidance assumes that foreign currency rates as of February 8 continue for the balance of the year.

本指南假設約 20 億美元的現金部署在收購和債務清償之間平均分配。關於後者，我們預計將在 2024 年 3 月到期的剩餘定期債務到今年年底，即 23 年底到期。基於這些假設和我們的指導，到 2023 年底，我們的淨槓桿率應降至調整後 EBITDA 的 3 倍以下。最後，我們的指導假設截至 2 月 8 日的外幣利率在今年餘下時間保持不變。

Now I know there are a lot of moving pieces in our guidance, so let me share some additional color on the revenue and adjusted EPS dynamics in 2023.

現在我知道我們的指南中有很多變化，所以讓我分享一些關於 2023 年收入和調整後 EPS 動態的額外顏色。

As I mentioned earlier, we anticipate that COVID-related revenue will step down by approximately $600 million versus 2022. And I should highlight that about 40% of this step-down will occur in the first quarter. Now we'll more than compensate for this headwind during the course of the year as we project revenue to grow between 9% and 11% organically at constant currency, excluding COVID-related work.

正如我之前提到的，我們預計與 COVID 相關的收入將比 2022 年減少約 6 億美元。我要強調的是，大約 40% 的減少將發生在第一季度。現在，我們將在這一年中彌補這一不利因素，因為我們預計收入以固定匯率計算將有機增長 9% 至 11%，不包括與 COVID 相關的工作。

As I also mentioned previously, our full year guidance includes about 100 basis points of M&A contribution and a very slight tailwind from foreign exchange of 10 basis points. Now that said, it's important to point out that we will actually experience a headwind from FX in the first half.

正如我之前也提到的，我們的全年指導包括約 100 個基點的併購貢獻和 10 個基點的外匯貢獻。話雖如此，重要的是要指出我們實際上將在上半年經歷來自外彙的逆風。

Now at the segment level, we expect TAS revenue growth to be 6% to 8% reported. This includes a year-over-year step-down in COVID-related work. Underlying organic growth for TAS, that is, adjusting for the step-down in COVID work, FX and acquisition impacts, will be 7% to 9%.

現在在細分市場層面，我們預計 TAS 收入增長將達到 6% 至 8%。這包括與 COVID 相關的工作逐年減少。 TAS 的潛在有機增長，即針對 COVID 工作、外彙和收購影響的減少進行調整，將達到 7% 至 9%。

R&DS revenue will grow 5% to 7% reported. This reflects an even more significant year-over-year step-down in COVID-related work. Underlying organic growth for R&DS, again, adjusting for COVID-related work, FX and acquisition impacts, will be 10% to 12%.

據報導，R&DS 收入將增長 5% 至 7%。這反映出與 COVID 相關的工作同比下降更為顯著。同樣，根據 COVID 相關工作、外彙和收購影響進行調整後，R&DS 的潛在有機增長將為 10% 至 12%。

And finally, in CSMS, revenue growth is expected to be flat reported and approximately 2 percentage points organic excluding COVID-related work and FX impacts.

最後，在 CSMS 中，收入增長預計將持平，有機增長約 2 個百分點，不包括與 COVID 相關的工作和外匯影響。

On adjusted EPS, we will experience the year-over-year impact of the step-up in interest rates and an increase in the U.K. corporate tax rate that I mentioned. Together, these nonoperational items are expected to impact growth by approximately 10 percentage points year-over-year. Excluding these items, we expect to deliver strong results with 11% to 14% adjusted EPS growth.

在調整後的每股收益方面，我們將經歷利率上升和我提到的英國公司稅率上升的同比影響。這些非經營性項目預計將對同比增長產生約 10 個百分點的影響。排除這些項目，我們預計將實現強勁的業績，調整後每股收益增長 11% 至 14%。

It's important to note that the year-over-year increase in interest expense step-up will be most pronounced in the first half, while the operational tailwind from our cost-cutting and productivity initiatives will be skewed towards the second half of the year. And these timing issues are relevant to our first quarter guidance.

值得注意的是，利息支出的同比增長將在上半年最為明顯，而我們削減成本和提高生產力舉措的運營順風將偏向下半年。這些時間問題與我們的第一季度指導相關。

The first quarter will be the toughest comparison versus the prior year primarily due to 4 factors: Number one, the largest headwind from FX despite FX being a tailwind for the year; number two, the largest year-over-year COVID-related step-down; third, the toughest interest expense comparison; and finally, fourth, the phase-in during the year of the benefits of our productivity initiatives, which will increase as we progress through the year.

第一季度與上一年相比將是最艱難的，這主要是由於 4 個因素：第一，儘管外匯是全年的順風，但外彙的最大逆風；第二，與 COVID 相關的同比最大降幅；第三，最嚴格的利息支出比較；最後，第四，我們的生產力舉措的好處在這一年中的逐步實施，隨著我們在這一年的進展，這些好處將會增加。

So as a result, in Q1, we expect revenues to be between $3.570 billion and $3.640 billion or growth of 2.4% to 4.3% on a constant currency basis and 0.1% to 2% on a reported basis. Excluding COVID-related work, we expect organic revenue growth at constant currency to be between 9% and 11%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $835 million and $860 million, which is up 2.8% to 5.9%.

因此，我們預計第一季度收入將在 35.7 億美元至 36.4 億美元之間，按固定匯率計算增長 2.4% 至 4.3%，按報告計算增長 0.1% 至 2%。排除與 COVID 相關的工作，我們預計按固定匯率計算的有機收入增長將在 9% 至 11% 之間。調整後的 EBITDA 預計在 8.35 億美元至 8.6 億美元之間，增長 2.8% 至 5.9%。

And finally, adjusted diluted EPS is expected to be between $2.35 and $2.46, declining 4.9% to 0.4%. Excluding the step-up of interest expense and the tax rate in the U.K., we expect adjusted diluted EPS to grow between 6% and 10% in the first quarter. Again, our guidance assumes that foreign currency rates as of February 8 continue for the balance of the year.

最後，調整後的攤薄每股收益預計在 2.35 美元至 2.46 美元之間，下降 4.9% 至 0.4%。剔除利息支出的增加和英國的稅率，我們預計第一季度調整後的攤薄每股收益將增長 6% 至 10%。同樣，我們的指導假設截至 2 月 8 日的外幣匯率在今年餘下時間繼續保持不變。

So to summarize. Q4 was another strong quarter, capping a successful year. For the full year, revenue grew 13% organic at constant currency, excluding COVID-related work. And adjusted EPS was up 13%. Underlying demand in the industry and our business remain healthy with RFP growth accelerating in Q4 and record bookings in R&DS.

所以總結一下。第四季度是另一個強勁的季度，為成功的一年畫上了句號。全年，收入按固定匯率計算有機增長 13%，不包括與 COVID 相關的工作。調整後的每股收益增長了 13%。行業的基本需求和我們的業務保持健康，第四季度 RFP 增長加速，R&DS 的預訂量創歷史新高。

During 2022, we repurchased almost $1.2 billion of our shares and retired $500 million of variable rate term debt while reducing our net debt leverage ratio to 3.4x. We exceeded our Vision 2022 commitments despite the volatile macro environment. And lastly, we're projecting strong operating performance again in 2023 with 9% to 11% organic revenue growth at constant currency, excluding COVID-related work; and 11% to 14% adjusted EPS growth, excluding nonoperational headwinds.

2022 年期間，我們回購了近 12 億美元的股票並償還了 5 億美元的可變利率定期債務，同時將我們的淨債務槓桿率降至 3.4 倍。儘管宏觀環境動盪不安，我們仍超額完成了 2022 年願景的承諾。最後，我們預計 2023 年的經營業績將再次強勁，按固定匯率計算，有機收入將增長 9% 至 11%，不包括與 COVID 相關的工作；調整後每股收益增長 11% 至 14%，不包括非運營不利因素。

And with that, let me hand it back over to the operator for Q&A.

然後，讓我將其交還給接線員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Dan Leonard with Credit Suisse.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Dan Leonard。

So I'll just start off. Ari, you mentioned continued confidence in the 2025 goals. You're guiding 5% to 7% revenue growth in '23. I think the CAGR through '25 was a double-digit number. So could you bridge from the 2023 result to the acceleration anticipated thereafter?

所以我要開始了。 Ari，你提到了對 2025 年目標的持續信心。您正在引導 23 年收入增長 5% 到 7%。我認為到 25 年的複合年增長率是兩位數。那麼，您能否將 2023 年的結果與此後預期的加速聯繫起來？

Yes. Thank you very much, Dan. Look, when we say we are on the same trajectory we were on when we set our '25 goals, it continues to be true. Operationally, obviously, we assumed foreign currency rates that were different. I think we lost -- I don't know the exact number any longer, but we probably lost $0.5 billion in revenue just in 2022 so -- to FX. So look, I don't know about revenue. It will be close, maybe not 20%, but it will be close.

是的。非常感謝你，丹。看，當我們說我們在設定 25 年目標時所處的軌道上時，它仍然是正確的。顯然，在操作上，我們假設了不同的外幣匯率。我認為我們失去了——我不再知道確切的數字，但我們可能僅在 2022 年就損失了 5 億美元的收入——所以——輸給了 FX。所以看，我不知道收入。它會很接近，也許不是 20%，但它會很接近。

On EBITDA and on earnings per share, we're very confident that we will achieve those goals. Again, the -- what we are facing -- first of all, you see that EBITDA is certainly clearly on that trajectory, unchanged despite everything else.

在 EBITDA 和每股收益方面，我們非常有信心實現這些目標。同樣，我們所面臨的——首先，您會看到 EBITDA 顯然處於該軌跡上，儘管其他一切都沒有變化。

And EPS is, just as we said in our introductory remarks, a onetime step-up that probably won't replicate. If anything, I think the world expects rates to either stabilize or start declining afterwards in '24 and '25. So that would be even a tailwind. But certainly, the step-up is onetime. And after that, we expect to resume very strong double-digit as we experienced.

正如我們在介紹性發言中所說，EPS 是一種可能無法複製的一次性升級。如果有的話，我認為世界預計利率在 24 世紀和 25 年之後要么穩定下來，要么開始下降。所以這甚至是順風。但可以肯定的是，升級是一次性的。在那之後，我們預計會像我們經歷的那樣恢復非常強勁的兩位數。

I remind you, we delivered over 16% compound earnings per share rate -- growth rate over the 2022 3-year period.

我提醒你，我們實現了超過 16% 的複合每股收益——在 2022 年 3 年期間的增長率。

Your next question is from the line of Eric Coldwell with Baird.

你的下一個問題來自 Eric Coldwell 與 Baird 的對話。

So I wanted to hit on R&DS bookings first. Difficult to ask the question in a way that's easy to answer. But I'd like you to step back and think about your fourth quarter strong bookings, your '22 bookings. Do you have a sense how much was, if you will, normal opportunities? Versus, say, competitive takeaways, rescue wins or incremental share capture that you might have gained through higher hit rates through the year? Just trying to get a sense of where the market was versus what IQVIA did additionally on top of that, if that makes sense.

所以我想先進行 R&DS 預訂。很難以一種容易回答的方式提出問題。但我希望你退後一步，想想你第四季度強勁的預訂量，你的 22 年預訂量。如果你願意的話，你知道有多少是正常的機會嗎？與您可能通過全年更高的命中率獲得的競爭優勢、救援勝利或增量份額捕獲相比？只是想了解市場的位置與 IQVIA 在此基礎上所做的事情，如果這有意義的話。

Yes. Yes. Well, it's really hard because we don't have the perspective of time and clear data from competitors yet. We will know a little bit more after we read your report on how CROs did when everyone has reported. So I'm looking forward to that read.

是的。是的。好吧，這真的很難，因為我們還沒有時間的角度和來自競爭對手的明確數據。在我們閱讀您關於 CRO 在每個人都報告時如何做的報告後，我們會知道更多。所以我很期待那篇文章。

But look, we've been on a momentum, certainly since the merger, to gain market share. And I think it's clear that we have been gaining market share. We know we are gaining market share because we are displacing competitors.

但是看，自合併以來，我們一直在保持勢頭，以獲得市場份額。而且我認為很明顯我們一直在獲得市場份額。我們知道我們正在獲得市場份額，因為我們正在取代競爭對手。

I don't think rescue studies played a role. Of course, we have the anecdotal here and there, but not more or less than in history. And things happen, and the study doesn't go well with a certain approach. And at some point in time, the sponsor decides that they want to switch CROs. It's a very difficult and cumbersome exercise, and no one wants to do that. But it does happen.

我不認為救援研究發揮了作用。當然，我們到處都有軼事，但不多於或少於歷史。事情發生了，並且研究在某種方法下並不順利。在某個時間點，贊助商決定他們想要更換 CRO。這是一項非常困難和繁瑣的練習，沒有人願意這樣做。但它確實發生了。

I don't think it happened more than in the past, unless you're including rescue studies that were at the beginning, and that for a reason or another, the sponsor decided to switch CROs. That, I would include in the category of market share gains.

我不認為這種情況比過去發生得更多，除非你包括一開始的救援研究，並且出於某種原因，發起人決定更換 CRO。那，我將包括在市場份額收益的類別中。

The market continues to be strong. The underlying demand, all the indicators that we see, and we kept repeating it ad nauseam during 2022 despite everyone else being on the other side and suggesting that the world was falling apart because of biotech funding levels returning to what I consider to be very strong levels, but nevertheless lower levels than they were during the pandemic.

市場繼續保持強勁。潛在需求，我們看到的所有指標，我們在 2022 年不斷重複它，儘管其他人都站在另一邊，並暗示世界正在分崩離析，因為生物技術資金水平恢復到我認為非常強勁的水平水平，但仍低於大流行期間的水平。

We haven't seen any delays in decision-making. We haven't seen any signs that demand was slowing down, quite the opposite. I mentioned that RFP flow is very strong. I can give you even more -- I've got some more data here on me if you'd like.

我們沒有看到任何決策延遲。我們沒有看到任何需求放緩的跡象，恰恰相反。我提到 RFP 流非常強勁。我可以給你更多——如果你願意的話，我這裡有更多關於我的數據。

The answer would always be yes. Yes, I would like more data.

答案永遠是肯定的。是的，我想要更多數據。

So I kind of -- I get that. The -- again, overall RFP flow was very strong. We said 13% for the full year and over 20% in the fourth quarter. So if anything, accelerating. Our qualified pipeline at the end of the year was up over 20%. But that is really the pipeline that we consider real.

所以我有點——我明白了。同樣，總體 RFP 流非常強勁。我們說全年13%，第四季度超過20%。因此，如果有的話，加速。我們在年底的合格管道增加了 20% 以上。但這確實是我們認為真實的管道。

The awards, by the way, which is kind of an early indicator of what will happen in the future, I'll also remind you, is stuff that we have essentially won but we have not yet contracted for and not booked for. The awards were up. Actually, the absolute number in Q4 was the highest ever, and it was up 9% year-over-year. So we mentioned the book-to-bill ratios, the backlog, which itself is up just under 10% year-over-year and 11.6% excluding FX.

順便說一下，獎項是未來會發生什麼的早期指標，我還要提醒你，這些獎項基本上是我們已經贏得的，但我們還沒有簽約也沒有預訂。獎品都上去了。實際上，第四季度的絕對數字是有史以來最高的，同比增長 9%。所以我們提到了訂單出貨比，即積壓訂單，它本身同比增長略低於 10%，不包括外彙在內為 11.6%。

So I mean, I don't know what else to share. We've got hard solid numbers here that support healthy, healthy demand for clinical trial services. And then on top of that, you can add our market share gains, and I think that explains it.

所以我的意思是，我不知道還能分享什麼。我們這裡有可靠的數字支持對臨床試驗服務的健康需求。然後最重要的是，你可以加上我們的市場份額增長，我認為這可以解釋。

And Ron, if I could just have one quick technical item here. Can you confirm that there are no share repurchases built into the guidance? And I know you've talked about the $2 billion capital deployment and the split between debt and M&A. But is there any current thinking on taking some advantage of that authorization that you have on the repurchase side?

羅恩，如果我能在這裡有一個快速的技術項目就好了。您能否確認指南中沒有包含股票回購？我知道你已經談到了 20 億美元的資本部署以及債務與併購之間的分離。但是，目前是否有任何關於利用您在回購方面的授權的想法？

I can confirm that there is no share repurchase baked into our guidance. We're right now assuming $2 billion of capital deployment split evenly between M&A and debt reduction. Look, might we repurchase some shares during the year? Sure. That's our -- our assumption going in, and the guidance that we gave is that we're not, and we'll devote the capital to debt reduction instead. But that could always change with circumstances.

我可以確認我們的指南中沒有任何股票回購。我們現在假設 20 億美元的資本部署在併購和債務削減之間平均分配。看，我們可以在年內回購一些股票嗎？當然。那是我們的 - 我們的假設，我們給出的指導是我們不是，我們將把資金用於減少債務。但這總是會隨著情況而改變。

Your next question is from the line of Anne Samuel with JPMorgan.

你的下一個問題來自摩根大通的安妮塞繆爾。

Anne Samuel, your line is open.

安妮·塞繆爾，您的電話已開通。

Okay. Next question, please.

好的。請下一個問題。

Your next question is from Justin Bowers with Deutsche Bank.

你的下一個問題來自德意志銀行的賈斯汀鮑爾斯。

Just pivoting from RDS, Ari, you talked a lot about some strong momentum in commercial managed services. Just wondering if you could expand about some of the strength there. And also, is that isolated just in TAS? Or is that also in the CTMS (sic) [CSMS] business?

剛從 RDS 轉向 Ari，你談到了商業託管服務的一些強勁勢頭。只是想知道您是否可以擴展那裡的一些力量。而且，那隻是在 TAS 中隔離的嗎？或者這也在 CTMS (sic) [CSMS] 業務中？

You mean CSMS, right?

你是說CSMS吧？

Sorry, CSMS. That's right.

對不起，CSMS。這是正確的。

Yes. Yes. No. I mean, CSMS is a relatively slow grower. So I mean, I'll put that aside. The TAS growth has been consistent. We're pleased, obviously, to see that it continues to grow. You saw that, excluding the COVID step-down, and we had a fair -- I would say, a large share of COVID work during the pandemic. So that's stepping down. And excluding that, we had growth of 7% in Q4 and 10% for the full year.

是的。是的。不，我的意思是，CSMS 是一個相對緩慢的種植者。所以我的意思是，我會把它放在一邊。 TAS 的增長是一致的。顯然，我們很高興看到它繼續增長。你看到了，不包括 COVID 降級，我們有一個公平的——我想說，在大流行期間有很大一部分 COVID 工作。所以這是下台。除此以外，我們在第四季度增長了 7%，全年增長了 10%。

Quarter-to-quarter, it could vary. I think the first half was more or less around 10% growth. Third quarter was 12%. We had the activity that was -- that came in earlier than we thought. And the fourth quarter was 7%. So overall, very good growth in Q4. We guided 7% to 9% for next year. Again, this is consistent -- again, excluding COVID, acquisitions and FX, it is consistent with the underlying operating momentum that we've had in TAS and that we've guided to, which is high single digits.

每個季度，它可能會有所不同。我認為上半年的增長率或多或少在 10% 左右。第三季度為 12%。我們的活動比我們想像的要早。第四季度為 7%。總的來說，第四季度的增長非常好。我們指導明年 7% 到 9%。再次，這是一致的——再次，不包括 COVID、收購和外匯，它與我們在 TAS 中擁有的和我們指導的潛在運營勢頭一致，這是高個位數。

So the real -- the fast growers in this business are technology and real world. And that's where I mentioned a few very significant achievements and a few significant awards with clients. Both continue to be strong drivers of growth as we continue to find innovative ways to utilize real-world evidence for clients and deploy more of our technology solutions.

所以真正的——這個行業的快速增長者是技術和現實世界。這就是我提到一些非常重要的成就和一些重要的客戶獎項的地方。隨著我們繼續尋找創新方法來為客戶利用真實世界的證據並部署更多我們的技術解決方案，兩者將繼續成為增長的強大驅動力。

The piece of the business that is perhaps more exposed to the economic wins and budget expansions or restrictions by clients is the more discretionary spend, like analytics and consulting work. We saw -- usually, at the end, I must -- just to share a little bit more color, we usually have at the end of the year an acceleration in this business, and we didn't see that in December. And the reason for that is, historically, clients like to spend more towards the end of the year, and they do kind of last-minute purchases, and they kind of utilize their budgets, if you will. And we didn't see that so much this year.

可能更容易受到經濟勝利和預算擴張或客戶限制的業務部分是更多可自由支配的支出，例如分析和諮詢工作。我們看到——通常，在最後，我必須——只是為了分享更多的顏色，我們通常在年底時會加速這項業務，而我們在 12 月沒有看到這一點。其原因是，從歷史上看，客戶喜歡在年底花更多錢，他們會在最後一刻購買，如果你願意的話，他們會有點利用預算。今年我們沒有看到那麼多。

And again, I don't know whether people are kind of being more cautious or anything. But -- and mostly, again, it was in the consulting area and analytics, which tends to be short cycle, short term and more discretionary. But the underlying growth is driven by real world and technology, both of which are longer-term decisions and are not so subject to cyclical economic changes.

再一次，我不知道人們是否變得更加謹慎了。但是——而且主要是在諮詢領域和分析領域，這往往是短期的、短期的和更多的自由裁量權。但潛在的增長是由現實世界和技術驅動的，兩者都是長期決策，不受週期性經濟變化的影響。

And then of course the last piece is the data business, which is flat and continues -- or flat to low single digits, 1-ish percent. And that continues where it is. And when you do the math, basically, that's what yields you high single-digit growth for the segment. Thank you for your questions.

最後當然是數據業務，它持平並繼續——或者持平到低個位數，1%左右。這會繼續下去。當你進行數學計算時，基本上，這就是你為該細分市場帶來高個位數增長的原因。謝謝你的問題。

Your next question is from the line of Jack Meehan with Nephron.

您的下一個問題來自 Jack Meehan 與 Nephron 的合作。

Ari, so I know you sound bullish around the funding trends that you've seen over the last year. I wanted to ask about funding in a different way. Just what were you seeing in terms of cancellations around year-end? Was there anything notable about that relative to kind of the last couple of years?

Ari，所以我知道你對去年的融資趨勢持樂觀態度。我想以不同的方式詢問資金問題。就年底前後的取消而言，您看到了什麼？與過去幾年相比，這有什麼值得注意的嗎？

Nothing.

沒有什麼。

Short and sweet. [Juiced it.] Yes, has there been any rumbling around restructuring at any of your important clients? I guess, just like how are you building just sort of the macro into your outlook for the R&D segment this year?

簡短而甜美。 [榨汁] 是的，您的任何重要客戶是否有任何關於重組的傳言？我想，就像你如何在今年的研發部門展望中建立某種宏觀？

Okay. Once again, in terms of the demand, no signs that we can see that our clients are somehow delaying, canceling, postponing clinical trial development work that was planned before. So we don't see anything. No unusual cancellation activity, no unusual postponements, nothing. We've been saying this essentially for 12 months exactly.

好的。再一次，就需求而言，沒有跡象表明我們的客戶以某種方式推遲、取消、推遲了之前計劃的臨床試驗開發工作。所以我們什麼也看不到。沒有不尋常的取消活動，沒有不尋常的延期，什麼都沒有。我們基本上已經說了 12 個月了。

In terms of factoring the macro environment, if you want to expand your question, then that's a different discussion. We got -- we are a large, powerful ship navigating extremely stormy waters. The engine continues to be very strong, that's the demand, and certainly our operating momentum in our organization.

在考慮宏觀環境方面，如果你想擴展你的問題，那就另當別論了。我們得到了——我們是一艘強大的大船，在風雨如磐的水域航行。引擎繼續非常強勁，這是需求，當然也是我們組織的運營勢頭。

But the winds, in the form of interest expense; in the form of wage inflation; in the form of wars in foreign theaters that affect our ability to do work in certain sites; in the form of continued COVID issues in China, which have affected delays, are returned to normal operating mode in clinical sites, all of those and more are these winds that I'm -- winds.

但是風，以利息的形式支出；以工資通脹的形式；以外國戰區的戰爭形式影響我們在某些地點開展工作的能力；以中國持續的 COVID 問題的形式，影響了延遲，在臨床站點恢復到正常運行模式，所有這些以及更多都是我的這些風——風。

And stormy waters that I'm referring to that are macro factors, some of which we can do something about. For example, wage inflation, we are addressing by trying to manage our workforce more tightly, by increasing and accelerating our productivity initiatives, by looking at maintaining and accelerating our cost-cutting discipline. And we've launched, to that effect towards the end of last year, a new program to, again, bring forward many overhead rationalizations and economies of scope and outsourcing and offshoring decisions that were scheduled to occur over the '22 to '25 planning period. And we are accelerating all of that into 2023.

我所指的驚濤駭浪是宏觀因素，其中一些我們可以採取一些措施。例如，我們正在通過努力更嚴格地管理我們的勞動力，通過增加和加速我們的生產力計劃，通過考慮維持和加速我們的成本削減紀律來解決工資通脹問題。為此，我們在去年年底啟動了一項新計劃，再次提出許多管理費用合理化和範圍經濟以及計劃在 '22 到 '25 規劃期間發生的外包和離岸決策時期。我們正在將所有這些加速到 2023 年。

So as Ron mentioned, the benefits of those will begin showing towards the latter part of the year, but the work is ongoing. So that's how we are trying to address those macro factors that are not -- that are somehow -- that we can offset with action on our side.

正如 Ron 提到的那樣，這些好處將在今年下半年開始顯現，但工作仍在進行中。因此，這就是我們試圖解決那些我們無法通過我們這邊的行動抵消的宏觀因素的方式。

With respect to interest shortage, the onetime step-up in the interest expense, were kind of limited in what we can do. But we certainly, as you saw, started reducing our debt levels, and we entered into swaps. We are trying to address that in capital markets. We'll probably, towards the end of the year, retire another $1 billion of debt. A tranche that would normally term out in 2024, we'll do that in the latter part of the year.

關於利息短缺，利息支出的一次性增加，我們能做的有點有限。但是，正如您所看到的，我們當然開始降低我們的債務水平，並且我們進行了掉期交易。我們正試圖在資本市場上解決這個問題。到今年年底，我們可能會再償還 10 億美元的債務。通常會在 2024 年到期的部分，我們將在今年下半年完成。

And for now, as Eric reminded us, we do not have any share repurchase plan this year, it's because we are diverting our cash flow now. If our cash flow is very strong and circumstances were to change, obviously, we will adjust those decisions. But that's what we're doing to adjust to the macro factor. Thank you very much, Jack, for your question.

目前，正如 Eric 提醒我們的那樣，我們今年沒有任何股票回購計劃，因為我們現在正在轉移現金流。如果我們的現金流非常強勁並且情況發生變化，顯然，我們將調整這些決定。但這就是我們為適應宏觀因素所做的事情。非常感謝你，傑克，你的問題。

Your next question is from the line of Luke Sergott with Barclays.

你的下一個問題來自 Luke Sergott with Barclays。

Can you -- a couple -- one cleanup here on the COVID. Can you give us a sense of the -- how you're expecting that to roll off in 1Q between the 2 segments, between TAS and RDS? Just from a modeling perspective.

你們能不能——一對夫婦——在 COVID 上進行一次清理。您能否讓我們了解一下 - 您如何期望在 TAS 和 RDS 之間的 2 個細分市場之間的 1Q 中下降？僅從建模的角度來看。

Yes. Jack, it's -- I think I said overall, of the $600 million COVID step-down year-over-year, about 40% of it would be in Q1. There will be fairly substantial impacts in both of the segments there.

是的。傑克，我想我說的是總體而言，在 6 億美元的 COVID 同比削減中，大約 40% 將出現在第一季度。那裡的兩個部分都會產生相當大的影響。

And I would say about 1/3 of the impact will be in TAS, Jack, and about 2/3 in R&D. That's kind of how you should think about it by quarter and for the full year, it's about that roughly.

我會說大約 1/3 的影響將出現在 TAS 中，Jack，大約 2/3 將出現在研發中。這就是你應該按季度和全年考慮的方式，大致就是這樣。

All right. Great. That's really helpful. And then lastly here, another from on the free cash flow. So I mean, I understand a ton of moving parts here for the year. But can you give us a sense of what you're targeting for '23, and as a percentage of EBITDA conversion?

好的。偉大的。這真的很有幫助。最後在這裡，另一個來自自由現金流。所以我的意思是，我了解這一年這裡有大量活動部件。但是你能告訴我們你在 23 年的目標是什麼，以及 EBITDA 轉換的百分比嗎？

We always talked about it as a percentage of adjusted net income, and we target typically between 80% and 90% free cash flow to adjusted net income, that's where we were for the full year 2022.

我們總是將其作為調整後淨收入的百分比進行討論，我們的目標通常是調整後淨收入中 80% 至 90% 的自由現金流，這就是我們 2022 年全年的目標。

And look, the only thing I would caution on that is that, in any given year, it could vary from that because cash flow is based on point to point of the balance sheet. It's not like an accrual concept or anything like that. So of course, you could be higher or lower. We were substantially higher than that in 2021, and we're right in the range in 2022.

看，我唯一要提醒的是，在任何給定的年份，它可能會有所不同，因為現金流量是基於資產負債表的點對點。它不像權責發生製概念或類似的東西。所以當然，你可以更高或更低。我們大大高於 2021 年的水平，並且我們在 2022 年處於該範圍內。

And I would say just as a kind of a target, you should think of us being in the 80% to 90% of adjusted net income range, but recognizing that we could deviate from that in any given year.

我想說的是，作為一種目標，你應該認為我們處於調整後淨收入範圍的 80% 到 90% 之間，但認識到我們可能會在任何特定年份偏離這一目標。

Your next question is from the line of Sandy Draper with Guggenheim.

你的下一個問題來自古根海姆的 Sandy Draper。

A question for you, Ari, to sort of maybe gaze in your crystal ball a little bit longer term because I know you're talking certainly to a lot more of the biopharma CEOs than I am.

阿里，問你一個問題，也許可以更長期地註視你的水晶球，因為我知道你肯定會與比我更多的生物製藥公司首席執行官交談。

When I look back at sort of what I heard out of JPMorgan, Davos, just other things around how pharma is looking at the next 3 to 5, even 10 years, especially with the Inflation Reduction Act, I hear sort of conflicting messages from, about, "Are people going to invest more?" "Hey, we want to get away from or be more diversified and not so concentrated in 1 or 2 blockbuster drugs, and so we want to get more drugs out there. We're going to -- and so there's more trials we're going to pull back."

當我回顧我從摩根大通、達沃斯論壇上聽到的一些事情，以及關於製藥公司如何看待未來 3 到 5 年，甚至 10 年的其他事情，尤其是通貨膨脹減少法案，我聽到了一些相互矛盾的信息，關於，“人們會投資更多嗎？” “嘿，我們想要遠離或更加多元化，而不是集中在 1 或 2 種重磅炸彈藥物上，所以我們想要獲得更多的藥物。我們要 - 所以我們正在進行更多試驗要撤退了。”

I'd just love to hear what you're hearing and what you're thinking about what your customers are looking at, not really from an economic perspective about the current macro environment, but with how their portfolios are, how concentrated they are in a few really big drugs and what the Inflation Reduction Act means. Would love to hear your thoughts on that.

我只是想听聽你聽到了什麼，你在想什麼，你的客戶在看什麼，不是真正從經濟角度來看當前的宏觀環境，而是他們的投資組合如何，他們的集中度如何一些非常重要的藥物以及《降低通貨膨脹法》的含義。很想听聽您對此的看法。

Yes. Thank you. Yes. I mean, look, the Inflation Reduction Act, just similar to what they decided to name it, is very -- is in flux right now. There's a lot of work to be done in finalizing the details of the legislation. We actually spent a lot of time with our clients trying to explain to them what's in it. Not that we understand it entirely because many of the provisions, first of all, haven't been detailed enough or specific enough.

是的。謝謝。是的。我的意思是，看，《降低通貨膨脹法案》，就像他們決定給它起的名字一樣，現在非常變化。在最終確定立法細節方面還有很多工作要做。我們實際上花了很多時間與我們的客戶一起試圖向他們解釋其中的內容。並不是說我們完全理解，因為很多規定，首先是不夠詳細，不夠具體。

And we don't know how it's going to work. And a lot of it is still subject to negotiations. Many of the provisions anyway won't kick in until later in the decade. And again, some parts of the legislations are undefined. Many of the rules and regulations are still under discussion.

我們不知道它會如何運作。其中很多仍在談判中。無論如何，許多條款要到十年後才會生效。同樣，立法的某些部分未定義。許多規章制度仍在討論中。

So generally, the statements from pharma CEOs, when I speak to them about this, is that it's harmful to innovation and to patients because any time you start curbing the economics of your drug, started curbing the economics for drug development, even if it's long term and even if it's -- the effect, if any, before any other administration changes these things, it will be seen 15 years from now. It could, at least conceptually, lead pharma companies to decide, 'Well, it's not as attractive, so I'm going to drop this program or that program when I factor in different types of pricing and so on and so forth, or reimbursements."

因此，總的來說，當我與製藥公司的首席執行官們談論此事時，他們的說法是，這對創新和患者都是有害的，因為任何時候你開始限製藥物的經濟性，就開始限製藥物開發的經濟性，即使它很長任期，即使它是——在任何其他政府改變這些事情之前的影響，如果有的話，15 年後就會看到。至少在概念上，它可以讓製藥公司做出決定，‘好吧，它沒有那麼有吸引力，所以當我考慮不同類型的定價等等或報銷時，我將放棄這個或那個計劃”

But again, this is not how pharma works. Despite the bad press, pharma is motivated by healing people. And the R&D -- all of the R&D heads at pharma companies that I know and that my colleagues speak to day in and day out, their motivation, what makes them come to work every day, is they are going to come up with a drug to cure pancreatic cancer and to cure breast cancer and to cure diabetes, et cetera, et cetera. So this is the underlying motivation, and the model is predicated on pharmaceuticals doing good for society.

但同樣，這不是製藥業的運作方式。儘管有負面報導，但製藥公司的動機是治愈人們。還有研發——我認識的所有製藥公司的研發負責人以及我的同事每天都在談論他們，他們的動機，是什麼讓他們每天來上班，他們會想出一種藥物治愈胰腺癌，治愈乳腺癌，治愈糖尿病，等等，等等。所以這是潛在的動機，該模型基於對社會有益的藥物。

So that's -- the notion that people are going to cancel a program because the economics don't look as attractive, yes, at the margins. That's a general observation.

這就是——人們將取消一個項目的想法，因為經濟學看起來不那麼有吸引力，是的，在邊緣。這是一個普遍的觀察。

Second observation in my conversations with clients is that a lot of -- and that's a trend that's independent of the Inflation Reduction Act. A lot of the focus is on trying to address more specific diseases, rare diseases, subcategories within subcategories in oncology. I mentioned before, oncology is probably -- it continues to be the largest and strongest grower in our business in terms of the demand for clinical trial and drug development work.

在我與客戶的談話中，我的第二個觀察是很多 - 這是一種獨立於通貨膨脹減少法案的趨勢。很多重點是試圖解決更具體的疾病、罕見疾病、腫瘤學子類別中的子類別。我之前提到過，就臨床試驗和藥物開發工作的需求而言，腫瘤學可能仍然是我們業務中最大和最強的增長者。

So that's just not going away. Until the diseases go away, which we all hope for, drug development is here to stay and pretty much in the same model. Again, the focus on addressing previously untouched, obviously, much smaller markets, that continues. And that, as you know, plays to our strength and capabilities. So I mean, that's a little bit of color on my conversation.

所以這不會消失。在疾病消失之前（我們都希望如此），藥物開發將繼續存在，並且幾乎採用相同的模式。同樣，專注於解決以前未觸及的、顯然要小得多的市場的重點仍在繼續。如您所知，這發揮了我們的實力和能力。所以我的意思是，這對我的談話來說有點色彩。

So yes, I mean, it's a general cloud. And at the conference like Davos, you could expect to hear such things. But in practice, the thinking is not changing very much day-to-day how our clients operate and make decisions with respect to their investment programs.

所以是的，我的意思是，這是一個普通的雲。在像達沃斯這樣的會議上，你可能會聽到這樣的話。但在實踐中，我們的客戶在日常運作和投資計劃決策方面的想法並沒有發生太大變化。

Your next question is from the line of Elizabeth Anderson with Evercore ISI.

您的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 Elizabeth Anderson。

I was wondering if you could comment on sort of the degree of pricing that you're sort of getting on new contracts that are going into bookings. And also sort of the degree of wage inflation you're currently experiencing at your labor force.

我想知道你是否可以評論你在預訂新合同時的定價程度。還有你目前在勞動力中經歷的工資通脹程度。

Okay. I'll take the second part of your question first. Yes, we are experiencing significant wage inflation. The skill sets that we are looking for are scarce and in high demand. We're looking for people who have health care expertise, who have data science expertise, who have software development expertise or a combination of all 3. And that -- these skills are in very high demand.

好的。我先回答你問題的第二部分。是的，我們正在經歷嚴重的工資通脹。我們正在尋找的技能組合非常稀缺且需求量很大。我們正在尋找具有醫療保健專業知識、數據科學專業知識、軟件開發專業知識或三者兼而有之的人。而且——這些技能的需求量非常大。

Secondly, frankly, we are a hunting ground for competitors of all kinds, in the health care sector, in the tech sector and in the data science sector. And as a result, we are compelled to raise our compensation programs, and that is -- causes inflation. So you have the general inflation out there, plus reasons that are specific, idiosyncratic to our business and to our company.

其次，坦率地說，我們是醫療保健領域、科技領域和數據科學領域各種競爭對手的獵場。結果，我們被迫提高我們的薪酬計劃，也就是導致通貨膨脹。所以你有普遍的通貨膨脹，加上對我們的業務和我們公司來說具體的、特殊的原因。

Now I mentioned before that despite that, you can see that we are growing our margins. So we are addressing it, and that's through essentially cost management programs, meaning we do more work in lower-cost areas, et cetera.

現在我之前提到過，儘管如此，你可以看到我們的利潤率正在增長。所以我們正在解決這個問題，這主要是通過成本管理計劃，這意味著我們在低成本領域等方面做更多的工作。

Now I lean into the first part of your question, which is pricing. Are we able to offset those cost increases with pricing? Generally, in the commercial sector for shorter-cycle businesses, theoretically, yes, and we are when we can. But it's always a negotiation with clients. And it's a competitive market out there, you got a lot of smaller competitors who are fighting for the slice of the pie. And often, we got to defend against that. And so our pricing flexibility is limited. It does exist, in theory, on the commercial side.

現在我轉向你問題的第一部分，即定價。我們能否通過定價來抵消這些成本增加？一般來說，在商業領域，對於較短週期的業務，理論上，是的，我們會在可能的時候。但這始終是與客戶的談判。這是一個競爭激烈的市場，有很多較小的競爭對手在爭奪蛋糕的份額。通常，我們必須抵禦這種情況。因此我們的定價靈活性是有限的。從理論上講，它確實存在於商業方面。

In R&D, as in for clinical trials, yes, of course, rates have to reflect what the labor cost is. And again, that's also subject to negotiation. But we do transfer at least a portion of those wage raises to our clients in the form of rates that are applied to determine pricing for a clinical trial.

在研發中，就像在臨床試驗中一樣，是的，當然，費率必須反映勞動力成本。同樣，這也需要協商。但我們確實以用於確定臨床試驗定價的費率形式將至少一部分加薪轉移給我們的客戶。

But I remind you that the clinical trial business is a long-term, long-cycle business. Meaning that what we book today, which may reflect some level of price increase, won't be realized into revenues until the next 1 to 5 years. So what we are delivering in revenue today and tomorrow was sold several years ago at different -- under different labor cost assumptions.

但是提醒大家，臨床試驗業務是一個長期的、長周期的業務。這意味著我們今天的預訂可能反映了某種程度的價格上漲，要到未來 1 到 5 年才能實現收入。因此，我們今天和明天的收入是幾年前在不同的勞動力成本假設下以不同的方式出售的。

So there is a delay, if you will, in the clinical trial business because of the long-cycle nature of the business. There are contracts where we have escalation clauses for inflation, but they never envisioned the type of inflation that we are facing in some of the markets. So that's the picture on pricing. Thank you very much, Elizabeth.

因此，如果您願意的話，由於業務的長周期性，臨床試驗業務會有延遲。有些合同我們有通貨膨脹升級條款，但他們從未預料到我們在某些市場面臨的通貨膨脹類型。這就是定價的情況。非常感謝你，伊麗莎白。

Your final question comes from the line of Charles Rhyee with Cowen.

你的最後一個問題來自 Charles Rhyee 和 Cowen 的台詞。

Maybe Ron, just -- I might have missed it, but when you talk about the impact of EPS from these buckets, can you kind of break down for us the relative contribution between the higher tax rate, interest expense, et cetera, that makes up sort of that delta on EPS growth? And then if you think about -- for this year, yes, for EPS. Yes.

也許羅恩，只是——我可能錯過了，但是當你談到這些桶對每股收益的影響時，你能不能為我們分解一下較高稅率、利息支出等之間的相對貢獻，這使得每股收益增長的三角洲？然後，如果您考慮 - 今年，是的，對於 EPS。是的。

Talking about -- for this year, yes. Well, look, the U.K. corporate tax rate increase added about 1 percentage point to our overall effective tax rate. So you start with that. But most of the impact year-over-year is coming from interest expense. So we were, I think, slightly over $400 million in interest expense in 2022. We told you about $615 million in 2023. So you can do the math on that. And at 190 million -- roughly 190 million shares and figure out what the impact is. It's principally coming out of that. And that's why we excluded those 2 items and showed you that, absent those, our EPS growth rate, underlying operational, was still very strong double digit.

談論 - 今年，是的。好吧，你看，英國公司稅率的提高使我們的整體有效稅率增加了大約 1 個百分點。所以你從那個開始。但與去年同期相比，大部分影響來自利息支出。所以我認為，我們在 2022 年的利息支出略高於 4 億美元。我們告訴過你 2023 年約為 6.15 億美元。所以你可以計算一下。在 1.9 億股——大約 1.9 億股，並弄清楚影響是什麼。它主要來自於此。這就是為什麼我們排除了這兩項並向您展示，如果沒有這些，我們的 EPS 增長率，基礎運營，仍然是非常強勁的兩位數。

And that assumes the debt paydown assumptions and going into the swap agreements? Or is that if you do those things over the course of the year? Okay.

假設債務償還假設和進入掉期協議？或者如果你在一年中做這些事情？好的。

Yes. All that is baked in. Yes. All of that is baked into our assumptions.

是的。所有這些都是烤好的。是的。所有這些都融入了我們的假設。

I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Childs.

我現在將把電話轉回給 Childs 先生。

Okay. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to speaking to you again on our next earnings call. Myself and the team will be available the rest of the day for any follow-up questions you might have.

好的。謝謝大家今天加入我們。我們期待在下次財報電話會議上再次與您交談。我和我的團隊將在當天剩下的時間裡回答您可能遇到的任何後續問題。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連接。