KBR Inc (KBR) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the KBR First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Jacquita, and I will be your moderator for today's call. (Operator Instructions)

早上好，女士們，先生們。歡迎來到 KBR 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。我叫 Jacquita，我將擔任今天電話會議的主持人。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to pass the conference over to your host, Jamie DuBray with KBR. Jamie, please go ahead.

我現在想將會議轉交給您的主持人 Jamie DuBray 和 KBR。傑米，請繼續。

Thank you, Jacquita. Good morning, and welcome to KBR's First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings Call. Joining me are Stuart Bradie, President and Chief Executive Officer; as well as Mark Sopp, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，杰奎塔。早上好，歡迎來到 KBR 2023 財年第一季度收益電話會議。加入我行列的是總裁兼首席執行官 Stuart Bradie；以及執行副總裁兼首席財務官 Mark Sopp。

Stuart and Mark will provide highlights from the year and then open the call for your questions. Today's earnings presentation is available on the Investors section of our website at kbr.com.

Stuart 和 Mark 將提供這一年的亮點，然後打開您的問題電話。今天的收益報告可在我們網站 kbr.com 的投資者部分獲取。

This discussion includes forward-looking statements reflecting KBR's views about future events and their potential impact on performance as outlined on Slide 2.

該討論包括反映 KBR 對未來事件及其對業績的潛在影響的看法的前瞻性陳述，如幻燈片 2 所述。

These matters involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from these forward-looking statements, as discussed in our most recent Form 10-K available on our website.

這些事項涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述大相徑庭，正如我們網站上提供的最新 10-K 表格中所討論的那樣。

This discussion also includes non-GAAP financial measures that the company believes to be useful metrics for investors. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the nearest GAAP measure is included at the end of our earnings presentation.

該討論還包括公司認為對投資者有用的非 GAAP 財務指標。這些非 GAAP 指標與最接近的 GAAP 指標的對賬包含在我們的收益報告的末尾。

I will now turn the call over to Stuart.

我現在將把電話轉給斯圖爾特。

Thank you, Jamie, and thanks to you all for taking the time to join us this morning.

謝謝你，傑米，也感謝大家今天早上抽出時間加入我們。

Now before we begin our earnings call, I am deeply saddened to inform you that Lieutenant General, Vincent Stewart, U.S. Marine Corps retired, a very distinguished member of our Board passed away this past Friday, sadly.

現在，在我們開始財報電話會議之前，我非常悲痛地通知您，美國海軍陸戰隊文森特·斯圖爾特中將退休，他是我們董事會一位非常傑出的成員，上週五不幸去世了。

Vincent had been a Director of the company since June 2021. And on behalf of KBR's Board of Directors, and all of our employees, we extend our deepest sympathies to Vincent's family. I am personally very saddened by Vincent's passing. He was a tremendous support of the company and me personally and I will always be appreciative of his service and his impact to KBR.

文森特自 2021 年 6 月起擔任公司董事。我們代表 KBR 董事會和我們所有員工，向文森特的家人表示最深切的慰問。我個人對文森特的去世感到非常難過。他為公司和我個人提供了巨大的支持，我將永遠感激他的服務以及他對 KBR 的影響。

Now I'll start today's presentation on Slide 4, as you know, these are our Zero Harm pillars. And today, I'd like to talk about our annual Zero Harm Day that actually celebrates all of the pillars you see on the slide.

現在，我將從幻燈片 4 開始今天的演示，如您所知，這些是我們的零傷害支柱。今天，我想談談我們一年一度的零傷害日，它實際上是為了慶祝您在幻燈片上看到的所有支柱。

So on to Slide 5. So on February 22nd of this year, KBR employees from all around the world came together to celebrate the company's eighth Annual Zero Harm Day. Now this is an important and a significant day in the life of the company, which we celebrate KBR's outstanding safety performance and our sustainability culture throughout the organization.

轉到幻燈片 5。今年 2 月 22 日，來自世界各地的 KBR 員工齊聚一堂，慶祝公司第八屆年度零傷害日。現在，這是公司生命中重要而意義重大的一天，我們慶祝 KBR 出色的安全績效和我們整個組織的可持續發展文化。

It's also an opportunity to really recognize our people for the zero harm achievements and their courage to care. Project sites, offices, business groups all around the world had Zero Harm Day events and this is forecast of that in the slide. And thousands of employees took part in a huge range of activities.

這也是一次真正認可我們的員工零傷害成就和他們關心他人的勇氣的機會。世界各地的項目地點、辦公室、商業團體都舉辦了零傷害日活動，幻燈片中對此進行了預測。數千名員工參加了範圍廣泛的活動。

And when there were panel discussions on climate change, on mental health, we had community leaders come in and experts come in to talk about topics ranging from personal safety to recycling to giving back to communities, et cetera.

當有關於氣候變化、心理健康的小組討論時，我們邀請了社區領袖和專家來討論從人身安全到回收再到回饋社區等話題。

And overall, it was a fantastic day of recognizing our accomplishments but actually renewing our commitment and refreshing that commitment to a zero-harm culture at KBR.

總的來說，這是認可我們成就的美好一天，但實際上是在更新我們的承諾，並重申對 KBR 零傷害文化的承諾。

And of course, we carry on a zero harm theme actually throughout the whole year, as you know. And recently, our impact, our young professionals resource group came together on Earth Day for a day of giving back. And in Houston, they took part in a beach cleanup actually in Galveston, partnering the nonprofit Galveston Bay Foundation. So terrifically well done to those aspiring leaders.

當然，如您所知，我們實際上全年都在貫徹零傷害主題。最近，我們的影響力，我們的年輕專業人士資源小組在地球日齊聚一堂，進行了一天的回饋。在休斯敦，他們與非營利性加爾維斯頓灣基金會合作，參加了實際上在加爾維斯頓的海灘清理活動。那些有抱負的領導者做得非常好。

So on to Slide 6, and we'll just talk a little bit about some key highlights in the quarter and I guess, the business health of the group in general.

繼續看幻燈片 6，我們將談談本季度的一些關鍵亮點，我想，該集團的總體業務健康狀況。

Firstly, at the highest level, we've really hit the ground running in '23. Our people continue to perform. It's actually outstanding day in, day out. And I really wish to thank them personally for all that they do, doing things that matter 24/7.

首先，在最高級別，我們在 23 年真正開始運行。我們的人繼續表演。它實際上日復一日地出色。我真的很想親自感謝他們所做的一切，全天候 24 小時做重要的事情。

So staying on people on the top left, you will see that already this year, our headcount has actually increased by 7%. That's quite a jump, and almost all these roles are billable. Attrition has come down and it's kind of stabilized at normative levels, which is really helping, and obviously, our increased focus on retention, and recruitment is paying off.

所以留在左上角的人，你會看到今年我們的員工人數實際上增加了 7%。這是一個巨大的飛躍，幾乎所有這些角色都是收費的。人員流失已經下降，並且穩定在正常水平，這確實很有幫助，而且很明顯，我們更加關注保留，招聘正在取得成效。

So a big shout out to the folks in the HR function. They [are] really terrific work. I mean as a Services business, the employee numbers are not the only measure of growth. But I think, of course, they're a solid indicator.

因此，向人力資源部門的人們大聲疾呼。他們 [are] 真的很棒。我的意思是，作為一家服務企業，員工人數並不是增長的唯一衡量標準。但我認為，當然，它們是一個可靠的指標。

I did want to highlight in this section today, a program that we came across from the Centauri acquisition that we really identified as best practice at the time, and we've now broadened that to the whole of KBR and this is our tech fellows program.

我今天確實想在這一部分中強調，我們從 Centauri 收購中遇到的一個項目，我們當時確實認為這是最佳實踐，現在我們已經將其擴展到整個 KBR，這是我們的技術研究員項目.

Now this program takes nominations and then identifies and celebrates our leading technical goods. I mean I think this, of course, shows the value that KBR places on technical excellence. I mean many of these fellows are actually world leaders in their field. And I have to say that they are typically absolutely brilliant and excellent mentors to our people coming through.

現在，該計劃接受提名，然後確定並表彰我們領先的技術產品。我的意思是，我認為這當然表明了 KBR 對卓越技術的重視。我的意思是這些研究員中的許多人實際上是他們所在領域的世界領導者。我不得不說，對於我們的員工來說，他們通常是絕對出色和優秀的導師。

I mean this also provides a community and a forum to really innovate and to collaborate in sort of key topics that are really very important for our government and the world in general. We give additional budget and, of course, additional time so that they can invest in their chosen passion. So a really, really important program. And I think, again, really highlighting our commitment to technical excellence.

我的意思是，這也提供了一個社區和論壇，可以在對我們的政府和整個世界都非常重要的關鍵主題上進行真正的創新和協作。我們提供額外的預算，當然還有額外的時間，以便他們可以投資於他們選擇的激情。這是一個非常非常重要的計劃。我認為，這再次真正強調了我們對卓越技術的承諾。

Moving to our ESG program, Zero Harm. I'm pleased to report that our first quarter HSSE performance continues to be top quintile. So terrific. I mean, you can see the numbers there. But remember, as I always say, good safety is good business. So a terrific performance.

轉向我們的 ESG 計劃，零傷害。我很高興地報告，我們第一季度的 HSSE 績效繼續名列前五。太棒了。我的意思是，你可以看到那裡的數字。但請記住，正如我常說的，良好的安全就是好生意。非常棒的表現。

From a shareholder value perspective, in Q1, we were awarded 3 green ammonia projects. These are at different levels of maturity, and I think we've announced each of them separately. But it's nice to see when you put them together, I think it really tells the market story and really our position within it. Obviously, this was on the technology IP side of STS.

從股東價值的角度來看，第一季度，我們獲得了 3 個綠色合成氨項目。它們處於不同的成熟度級別，我想我們已經分別宣布了它們中的每一個。但很高興看到你將它們放在一起，我認為它確實講述了市場故事以及我們在其中的地位。顯然，這是在 STS 的技術 IP 方面。

On the Sustainable Services end, we also announced that we've been awarded BP's hydrogen development work. And now with this, we're working in an integrated and collaborative framework with BP.

在可持續服務方面，我們還宣布我們獲得了 BP 的氫氣開發工作。現在有了這個，我們正在與 BP 在一個集成的協作框架中工作。

And I think this and through time, will come with pull-through opportunities, think project management, engineering, technical authority over a number of years and BP has actually made a public $30 billion investment committee in hydrogen going forward. So super exciting.

而且我認為隨著時間的推移，這將帶來突破性的機會，想想多年來的項目管理、工程、技術權威，而 BP 實際上已經公開了一個 300 億美元的氫投資委員會。太令人興奮了。

Moving to the bottom left, I'll touch quickly on business growth. We were awarded $3.1 billion in the quarter, which took our backlog and options up to circa $21 billion.

移動到左下角，我將快速觸及業務增長。我們在本季度獲得了 31 億美元的獎勵，這使我們的積壓訂單和選擇權達到了大約 210 億美元。

But Importantly, the book-to-bill for the group was 1.4x, and GS at 1.0x in what is typically a slower quarter and STS at 1.9x on a trailing 12-month basis. I mean I think these are terrific indicators of our continued momentum for '23 and of course, towards the '25 targets.

但重要的是，該集團的訂單出貨比為 1.4 倍，GS 在通常較慢的季度為 1.0 倍，STS 在過去 12 個月的基礎上為 1.9 倍。我的意思是，我認為這些是我們為 23 年，當然還有 25 年目標持續發展勢頭的極好指標。

And I think the other key takeaway from this section is that we're feeling really, really good about '23 in general with 85% of our work now under contract. That's really a high level for this time of the year.

我認為本節的另一個關鍵要點是，我們對 23 年總體感覺非常非常好，我們 85% 的工作現在都在合同中。對於一年中的這個時候來說，這確實是一個很高的水平。

Touching on the financials. Again, at a high level, obviously, Mark will dig in a bit in a moment. But excluding OAW, our revenue was up an impressive 18% with margins also up 170 bps to 11%.

觸及財務。同樣，在高層次上，顯然，馬克稍後會深入探討一下。但不包括 OAW，我們的收入增長了 18%，利潤率也增長了 170 個基點，達到 11%。

Cash was positive, albeit seasonally low, plus with cash-out events like comp payouts, et cetera, in Q1. These were all as expected. And our net leverage now stands below [two double]. So really strong balance sheet.

現金是正的，儘管季節性較低，加上第一季度的現金支出等事件。這些都在預料之中。我們的淨槓桿現在低於[兩倍]。如此強大的資產負債表。

Although we beat consensus by a fair amount, we have resisted increasing guidance this quarter. I guess we kind of want to see how the rest of the year plays out. But with 85% of our work secured, and with a strong and active pipeline, I will reiterate the momentum is really good.

儘管我們在相當大的程度上超出了共識，但我們在本季度拒絕增加指導。我想我們有點想看看今年餘下時間的表現如何。但隨著我們 85% 的工作得到保障，並且擁有強大而活躍的管道，我要重申的是，勢頭非常好。

Now on to Slide 7, and we'll just touch a little bit more on markets and some of the award and the momentum that comes with that. So Slide 7. So starting on the left-hand side, the market across sustainable technology continues to be really bias, and it lines up nicely opposite our suite of offerings.

現在轉到幻燈片 7，我們將更多地涉及市場以及一些獎項和隨之而來的勢頭。所以幻燈片 7。所以從左側開始，可持續技術市場仍然非常偏向，它與我們的產品套件正好相反。

Now we spent quite a bit of time on STS last quarter, and the market drivers that we talked about then still hold today. So I won't really go over this again. But our book-to-bill in the quarter once more at pace, and we've highlighted a couple of key wins on the bottom left.

現在我們上個季度在 STS 上花了很多時間，我們當時談到的市場驅動因素今天仍然存在。所以我不會再討論這個了。但我們在本季度的訂單出貨速度再次加快，我們在左下角突出顯示了幾個關鍵的勝利。

Phase 2 of Plaquemines was given the green light, a great win in sustainable services. And directionally important, we also secured our first plastics recycling module on the IP side of the house.

Plaquemines 的第 2 階段獲得批准，這是可持續服務方面的巨大勝利。在方向上很重要的是，我們還在房屋的 IP 側確保了我們的第一個塑料回收模塊。

And I think this demonstrates these projects are now moving into the next phase, the execution phase with proprietary equipment orders. So clearly, more to come in this area.

我認為這表明這些項目正在進入下一階段，即專有設備訂單的執行階段。很明顯，這個領域還有更多。

There are a few key pieces of info on top of what's on the slide. The trailing 12-months book-to-bill excluding, so without Plaquemines was 1.6x. I just wanted to put this in context to demonstrate how well the whole portfolio is performing.

在幻燈片上的內容之上有一些關鍵信息。不包括過去 12 個月的訂單出貨比，因此沒有 Plaquemines 是 1.6 倍。我只是想把它放在上下文中來展示整個投資組合的表現如何。

In Q1 alone, we secured 7 ammonia awards. Three, in green ammonia, I highlighted earlier, plus 1 blue and 3 gray focused on additional capacity. So that's 7 ammonia stroke hydrogen-driven projects in the quarter.

僅在第一季度，我們就獲得了 7 個氨獎。三，在綠色氨中，我之前強調過，加上 1 個藍色和 3 個灰色專注於額外的容量。所以這是本季度的 7 個氨中風氫驅動項目。

The projects are in different phases, but the key takeaway here is it's a clear signal to the growing demand across the ammonia hydrogen markets that we have been highlighting for some time.

這些項目處於不同的階段，但這裡的關鍵要點是，這是我們一段時間以來一直強調的氨氫市場不斷增長的需求的明確信號。

Another key takeaway is that there is a growing mix of long-term contracts in the STS portfolio, which I think should really serve us well into the future. So Plaquemines, BP hydrogen and the recently announced win for Equinor in Canada are all really good examples of this. So all our multiyear giving us greater visibility and quite a bit beyond 2025.

另一個關鍵要點是，STS 投資組合中的長期合同組合越來越多，我認為這應該真正為我們的未來服務。所以 Plaquemines、BP hydrogen 和最近宣佈在加拿大贏得 Equinor 都是很好的例子。因此，我們所有的多年期都為我們提供了更大的知名度，並且遠遠超出了 2025 年。

Backlog in STS is a touch under $5 billion which is circa 3x annual revenue. So in really good shape.

STS 的未完成訂單略低於 50 億美元，大約是年收入的 3 倍。所以狀態非常好。

Now on to Government Solutions. Again, the market fundamentals are similar to what we described last quarter. Tensions in Europe and geopolitically in a global context continue. And this is driving increased activity both domestically and overseas in a number of our business areas, but obviously and more noticeably in readiness and sustainment.

現在介紹政府解決方案。同樣，市場基本面與我們上個季度所描述的相似。歐洲和全球範圍內地緣政治的緊張局勢仍在繼續。這正在推動我們許多業務領域在國內和海外的活動增加，但在準備和維持方面顯然更明顯。

The defense budget, albeit a little bit or a long way to go to formalize is directionally favorable and lines up nicely opposite where KBR has positioned itself. Space budgets are also up in civil and significantly in military space. Again, a very nice fit for us.

國防預算，儘管要正式化還有一點點或很長的路要走，但在方向上是有利的，並且與 KBR 的定位正好相反。太空預算在民用領域也有所增加，在軍事領域則顯著增加。同樣，非常適合我們。

And Mark will cover later our great performance in our Space business, which reflects this increased activity and as I have stated previously, our military space business, which actually sits inside our defense and intel portfolio grew over 20% last year and has had a terrific start this year in the first quarter.

馬克稍後將介紹我們在太空業務中的出色表現，這反映了這種活動的增加，正如我之前所說，我們的軍事太空業務實際上屬於我們的國防和英特爾產品組合，去年增長了 20% 以上，並且表現非常出色今年第一季度開始。

Internationally, the increased peer threats are driving closer cooperation across the Western allies. [Arkus] being a great example of this, and there's increased activity specifically in the advisory consulting arena where Frazer-Nash lives.

在國際上，日益增加的同行威脅正在推動西方盟友之間更緊密的合作。 [Arkus] 就是一個很好的例子，特別是在 Frazer-Nash 居住的諮詢諮詢領域，活動有所增加。

And what is traditionally a very slow bookings quarter, I think we are [paced] a bit with a book-to-bill of 1.0x, and this does not include the recently announced [FOMS 3] award for NASA, where KBR is a minority joint venture partner.

傳統上是一個非常緩慢的預訂季度，我認為我們的訂單出貨比為 1.0 倍，這不包括最近宣布的 NASA 的 [FOMS 3] 獎項，其中 KBR 是少數合資夥伴。

But to give you a scale context, we'll add circa 100 people to execute our work in that program. Overall, that FOMS 3 award is approximately $700 million takeaway that we'll book our share of in Q2 or Q3 depending on protests.

但為了給你一個規模背景，我們將增加大約 100 人來執行我們在該計劃中的工作。總的來說，FOMS 3 的獎勵約為 7 億美元，我們將根據抗議情況在第二季度或第三季度預訂我們的份額。

And our book-to-bill does not include anything for HomeSafe yet. Just on HomeSafe, the transition work has passed 50% complete. So we passed that milestone. It's all going very well and we've made very good progress on the commercial side as we head towards our first moves later this year.

我們的預訂到賬單還不包括 HomeSafe 的任何內容。就 HomeSafe 而言，過渡工作已完成 50%。所以我們通過了那個里程碑。一切進展順利，隨著我們在今年晚些時候邁出第一步，我們在商業方面取得了很好的進展。

There were multiple awards across all our business segments that drove the book-to-bill performance including increased task orders in LOGCAP in the U.S. and in Europe, some good awards under IAC MAC and the TENCAP contract frameworks, several high-end R&D awards, meaningful on-contract growth in our larger programs, increased activity within our Intel portfolio and numerous consulting assignments.

我們所有業務部門都獲得了多個獎項，這些獎項推動了訂單出貨量的表現，包括美國和歐洲 LOGCAP 任務訂單的增加、IAC MAC 和 TENCAP 合同框架下的一些優秀獎項、多個高端研發獎項、我們更大的項目中有意義的合同增長、我們英特爾產品組合中活動的增加以及大量諮詢任務。

Now I think this really demonstrates the value of the KBR business model and where we sit in our market. And it kind of ensures that we can go after the big fish, but we don't rely upon them.

現在我認為這確實證明了 KBR 商業模式的價值以及我們在市場中的地位。這在某種程度上確保了我們可以追捕大魚，但我們不依賴它們。

And you may have seen the new space suit that was demonstrated earlier this year. Axiom is the main contractor. But as you will know, we're a key design partner behind this exciting program. So that's pretty cool.

你可能已經看到了今年早些時候展示的新太空服。 Axiom 是主要承包商。但正如您所知，我們是這個激動人心的計劃背後的主要設計合作夥伴。所以這很酷。

And staying with NASA, and a huge shout out to our team as they were awarded the Super Nova Award. Now that's the highest safety and excellence award bestowed by NASA. So quite a big deal. I mean, and absolutely bang on a Zero Harm value. So a great, great win.

留在美國宇航局，並在我們的團隊獲得超新星獎時向他們大聲疾呼。現在這是 NASA 授予的最高安全和卓越獎。所以很重要。我的意思是，絕對達到零傷害值。非常非常棒的勝利。

Overall, I would say the feedback from the business as the award activity levels have gained momentum through Q1 after a sluggish start at the turn of the year which I think bears well for Q2 and Q3.

總的來說，我想說的是，在今年年初開局低迷之後，由於獎勵活動水平在第一季度獲得了動力，我認為這對第二和第三季度有利，因此來自企業的反饋。

So in summary, overall, our momentum continues with multiple market factors favorable. Our mission focus and delivery is absolutely top of mind. And I think you see that flowing into our results across the company, and we're feeling really, really good about our start in 2023.

因此，總的來說，我們的勢頭在多個市場因素有利的情況下繼續。我們的使命重點和交付絕對是最重要的。我想你看到了我們整個公司的業績，我們對 2023 年的開始感覺非常非常好。

So -- with that, I'll now hand over to Mark, who will dive into the numbers and segment performance a bit more. Mark?

所以 - 有了這個，我現在將交給馬克，他將深入研究數字和細分市場的表現。標記？

Great. Fantastic. Stuart. I'll pick up on Slide 9.

偉大的。極好的。斯圖爾特。我會在幻燈片 9 上接聽。

So as you just heard, we're off to a terrific start for 2023. We're really pleased to see that. We're seeing strong P&L results from both businesses, underpinned by excellent project execution and also tapping growth opportunities, which leverage our differentiated long-term contract base, also our global presence and our diversified offerings are kicking in.

因此，正如您剛剛聽到的那樣，我們將在 2023 年迎來一個美好的開端。我們真的很高興看到這一點。在出色的項目執行和利用增長機會的支持下，我們看到這兩項業務都取得了強勁的損益結果，這利用了我們差異化的長期合同基礎，以及我們的全球影響力和我們多元化的產品正在發揮作用。

Top line tipped $1.7 billion, which is up 18% on an ex-OAW basis. Just as a reminder, OAW was the large episodic humanitarian effort that we supported in 2021 and 2022. And that contributed about $300 million in revenues at the beginning of 2022 as it was winding down. So that's a comparable that we're seeing. 18% growth ex-OAW is quite impressive. It's fueled by both segments, and I'll cover those here in a second.

收入達到 17 億美元，在不計入 OAW 的基礎上增長了 18%。提醒一下，OAW 是我們在 2021 年和 2022 年支持的大型偶發性人道主義工作。在 2022 年初逐漸結束時，它貢獻了大約 3 億美元的收入。所以這就是我們所看到的可比性。前 OAW 增長 18% 是相當可觀的。它由這兩個部分推動，我將在一秒鐘內介紹這些。

Profit margins were excellent at 11% of revenue with EBITDA growing to $182 million, up 18%. And not shown on the slide, EBITDA was up circa 30%, excluding OAW which demonstrates terrific margin expansion year-over-year, fantastic. This level of EBITDA is a high watermark for quarterly operating profit for the new KBR.

利潤率非常出色，佔收入的 11%，EBITDA 增至 1.82 億美元，增長 18%。幻燈片上沒有顯示，EBITDA 增長了大約 30%，不包括 OAW，它顯示出同比驚人的利潤率增長，太棒了。這一水平的 EBITDA 是新 KBR 季度營業利潤的高水位線。

Margins of 11% were driven by both segments, where STS surpassed 20% and Government profitability continues to perform consistently at the targeted 10%. The strong EBITDA, coupled with a normative below-the-line items produced adjusted EPS at $0.67 a share. With such strong performance in Q1, particularly in STS, we're ahead of pace for 2023 and we'll keep you posted on this as the year unfolds.

11% 的利潤率是由這兩個部門推動的，其中 STS 超過 20%，而政府部門的盈利能力繼續保持在 10% 的目標水平。強勁的 EBITDA 加上正常的線下項目產生了每股 0.67 美元的調整後每股收益。憑藉第一季度如此強勁的表現，特別是在 STS 方面，我們領先於 2023 年的步伐，我們將在今年展開時及時通知您。

As for cash flow, results were as expected. Cash is usually low in Q1 due to incentive payments and this quarter was also affected by the $25 million headwind from early collections we had back in Q4 and also some other timing items.

至於現金流，結果符合預期。由於獎勵支付，第一季度的現金通常較低，本季度也受到我們在第四季度的早期收款以及其他一些時間項目的 2500 萬美元逆風的影響。

In addition, working capital demands went up due to the strong sequential growth we saw since Q4. We expect to get back on pace in later quarters this year. And on a positive note, we collected the second and final installment of the Ichthys settlement of AUD 90 million, a really nice boost to treasury in the quarter.

此外，由於我們自第四季度以來看到的強勁連續增長，營運資金需求上升。我們預計將在今年晚些時候重回正軌。從積極的方面來看，我們收到了 Ichthys 和解的第二筆也是最後一筆 9000 萬澳元的款項，這對本季度的資金來說是一個非常好的提振。

Now I'll go to Slide 10 for more color on the 2 segments, STS and Gov. And starting on the left, STS revenues were up almost 50%, all organic, amazing. This reflects everything we have been saying, technology offerings that are helping the world become a greener place, capabilities which are helping stabilize the global energy security challenges and a world-class team executing its business extremely well.

現在我將轉到幻燈片 10，了解 STS 和 Gov 這兩個部分的更多顏色。從左邊開始，STS 收入增長了近 50%，都是有機的，令人驚嘆。這反映了我們一直在說的一切，幫助世界變得更環保的技術產品，幫助穩定全球能源安全挑戰的能力，以及出色執行其業務的世界級團隊。

We are seeing strength in growth in all verticals within STS. Ammonia/hydrogen, olefins, clean refining, plastics recycling and sustainable services all involved in enabling really important projects all around the world.

我們看到 STS 內所有垂直領域的增長勢頭強勁。氨/氫、烯烴、清潔精煉、塑料回收和可持續服務都參與了在世界各地實現真正重要的項目。

With all of this going on, the team keeps a keen eye on the longer term as well. We always have sought to identify new technologies in this space, then acquire them, make them better and leverage them across our global installed base with a highly effective sales team.

隨著所有這一切的進行，該團隊也密切關注長期發展。我們一直尋求在這個領域發現新技術，然後獲取它們，使它們變得更好，並通過高效的銷售團隊在我們的全球安裝基礎上利用它們。

In Q1, we added sustainable aviation fuel with Swedish Biofuels, Acetica for carbon capture usage and SCOREKlean for zero carbon ethylene cracking using hydrogen burners.

在第一季度，我們添加了瑞典生物燃料可持續航空燃料、用於碳捕獲的 Acetica 和用於使用氫燃燒器進行零碳乙烯裂解的 SCOREKlean。

Acquiring and developing technologies in this fashion served us very well leading up to the strong market conditions and the performance we see today and continuing to do so helps drive STS in being both a short-term and long-term growth story.

以這種方式獲取和開發技術為我們帶來了強勁的市場條件和我們今天看到的表現，並繼續這樣做有助於推動 STS 成為一個短期和長期的增長故事。

EBITDA for STS blossomed to $82 million, with margins increasing from 17% to 22%. This profitability strength reflects good license mix, economies of scale and favorable closeouts on strong and consistent execution.

STS 的 EBITDA 增長至 8200 萬美元，利潤率從 17% 增加到 22%。這種盈利能力反映了良好的許可組合、規模經濟以及強大而一致的執行帶來的有利收尾。

While not provided here, and as Stuart said, book-to-bill for STS was an amazing 1.9x TTM, but was actually 2.2x in the quarter, continued demonstration of the attractive end market conditions and leadership positioning that we see in this business area.

雖然此處未提供，但正如 Stuart 所說，STS 的訂單出貨比是驚人的 1.9 倍 TTM，但本季度實際上是 2.2 倍，繼續展示了我們在該業務中看到的有吸引力的終端市場條件和領導地位區域。

Now over to Gov. Revenues grew 12% ex-OAW also reflecting good market conditions and having presence in areas in greatest need by our customers. While not on the chart, it was really good to see the strong sequential growth from Q4. Specifically, all 4 business units grew within GS meaningfully since Q4, together up about $75 million or 6%.

現在轉到政府。收入增長了 12%（不包括 OAW），這也反映了良好的市場狀況，並且在我們客戶最需要的地區開展業務。雖然不在圖表上，但很高興看到第四季度的強勁連續增長。具體而言，自第四季度以來，GS 的所有 4 個業務部門均實現了有意義的增長，總計增長約 7500 萬美元或 6%。

Growth was driven by our readiness and sustainment defense systems engineering and science and space business areas. The pockets of international also doing really well, such as technical consulting, and readiness and sustainment the majority of this business reflects long-term recurring base operations and supply chain programs serving the armed services community all over the world. This includes stable support for the European Command and the Northern Command under LOGCAP V. We've talked about that a lot.

增長是由我們的戰備和維持防禦系統工程以及科學和太空業務領域推動的。國際的口袋也做得很好，例如技術諮詢、戰備和維持，這項業務的大部分反映了為世界各地的武裝部隊服務的長期經常性基地運營和供應鏈計劃。這包括在 LOGCAP V 下對歐洲司令部和北方司令部的穩定支持。我們已經談了很多。

While that is all indeed firmly in place, our customer has also added substantial increases to support the allied effort to support Ukraine and overall security in Europe. We expected quite a bit of this in the 2023 plan and with high confidence, this will endure through the year and probably beyond. We'll certainly keep you posted.

雖然這一切確實已經到位，但我們的客戶也增加了實質性的增加，以支持盟軍支持烏克蘭和歐洲整體安全的努力。我們在 2023 年計劃中預計會有很多這樣的情況，並且很有信心，這將持續一年甚至更長時間。我們一定會及時通知您。

Science and Space grew 10% year-over-year, so kudos to Todd, Lori and the team on this, fabulous. Our operations focus has benefited from increased NASA and commercial space mission activity plus military health work that we do in this business unit.

科學與空間同比增長 10%，因此對 Todd、Lori 和團隊表示敬意，太棒了。我們的運營重點受益於 NASA 和商業太空任務活動的增加以及我們在該業務部門所做的軍事衛生工作。

This team also continues to receive stellar award fee scores, demonstrating superb service to the mission as it always does. Our work here continues to drive enormous pride across all of KBR.

該團隊還繼續獲得出色的獎勵費分數，一如既往地展示了對任務的卓越服務。我們在這裡的工作繼續為整個 KBR 帶來巨大的自豪感。

Margins for Gov came in at 10%, consistent with target and also recent performance.

Gov 的利潤率為 10%，與目標和近期表現一致。

On to Slide 11 and capital matters. So with strong EBITDA growth, net leverage registered down and finishing up 1.9x for the quarter. Last year, we signaled being cautious with debt in light of the interest rate environment, and we are indeed executing that strategy, but we're also still deploying meaningful cash for tuck-ins and returning capital to shareholders.

轉到幻燈片 11 和資本問題。因此，隨著強勁的 EBITDA 增長，本季度淨槓桿率下降並最終上升 1.9 倍。去年，鑑於利率環境，我們表示對債務持謹慎態度，我們確實在執行該戰略，但我們仍在部署大量現金用於投資和向股東返還資本。

M&A is selectively in play. And as discussed earlier, we added a couple of new technologies in STS this past quarter. In addition, buyback pace was kept strong at $50 million in Q1 plus another $11 million for benefit plan offsets.

併購是有選擇地進行的。如前所述，我們在上個季度在 STS 中添加了一些新技術。此外，第一季度回購步伐保持強勁，為 5000 萬美元，另外還有 1100 萬美元用於福利計劃抵消。

And finally, in Q1, we were opportunistic with the swap curve and bumped up our fixed to float ratio to about 90%. This will drop down 5 to 10 points when we retire the convertible securities later this year, this fall in particular.

最後，在第一季度，我們對掉期曲線投機取巧，將固定浮動比率提高到 90% 左右。當我們在今年晚些時候（尤其是今年秋天）退出可轉換證券時，這將下降 5 到 10 個百分點。

The average interest rate for our current debt stack is around 4%. The combination of high fixed to float percentage and the low average rate provides significant stability in the interest outlook relative to driving toward our 2025 financial targets.

我們當前債務組合的平均利率約為 4%。相對於推動我們 2025 年的財務目標，高固定浮動百分比和低平均利率相結合，為利率前景提供了顯著的穩定性。

And finally for me, on Slide 12, our forward outlook. Just quickly with an excellent Q1 and with 85% of our outlook under contract, we are affirming the '23 guidance for all measures.

最後對我來說，在幻燈片 12 上，我們的前瞻性展望。憑藉出色的第一季度和我們 85% 的合同前景，我們很快就確認了所有措施的 '23 指導。

The strong start also shifts our weighting of earnings contribution over the course of the year. We're now looking at a 48-52 split of EPS first half to second half.

強勁的開端也改變了我們對全年收益貢獻的權重。我們現在正在考慮上半年到下半年 EPS 的 48-52 分配。

Thank you. So I'll turn it back over to Stuart to finish it up.

謝謝。所以我會把它轉回給 Stuart 來完成它。

Thank you, Mark. A terrific job, as always. And my final slide today is Slide 13, I'll just touch on a couple of key takeaways.

謝謝你，馬克。一如既往的出色工作。我今天的最後一張幻燈片是幻燈片 13，我將只談幾個關鍵要點。

I think in summary, an absolutely terrific start to the year, sequential growth in all business units, margin expansion, adjusted EPS ahead of pace, really, our people are truly delivering significant value to our stakeholders.

總而言之，我認為今年的開局非常好，所有業務部門的連續增長，利潤率擴張，調整後的每股收益提前，我們的員工確實為我們的利益相關者帶來了巨大的價值。

Book-to-bill was excellent at 1.4x on a trailing 12-month basis and more importantly, the quality of work we're winning and the associated earnings are in key strategic areas.

過去 12 個月的訂單出貨比非常出色，為 1.4 倍，更重要的是，我們贏得的工作質量和相關收益都在關鍵戰略領域。

Work under contract is now 85% for 2023, and this is a very solid position to be in after Q1. We're very well positioned in attractive markets of the future. And I think our recent wins really demonstrate this. And thus, we remain absolutely committed to our 2025 targets.

到 2023 年，合同工作現在為 85%，這是在第一季度之後的一個非常穩固的位置。我們在未來有吸引力的市場中處於非常有利的地位。我認為我們最近的勝利確實證明了這一點。因此，我們仍然絕對致力於我們的 2025 年目標。

So thank you, and I'll now hand back to the operator, Jacquita, who will open the call for questions. Thank you.

所以謝謝你，我現在將交還給接線員 Jacquita，他將打開電話提問。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) The first question comes from the line of Bert Subin with Stifel.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Bert Subin 與 Stifel 的合作。

Stuart, maybe just a follow-up to some of the comments on STS. How should we think about the sustainability of the current demand backdrop? You noted several material wins over the last couple of months.

斯圖爾特，也許只是對 STS 上的一些評論的跟進。我們應該如何考慮當前需求背景的可持續性？您注意到在過去幾個月中取得了多項實質性勝利。

But I think the concern is if the global economy does start to head lower, ultimately, you could see some mix shift away from some of the licensing activity you've been doing back towards services and that could lead EBITDA down.

但我認為令人擔憂的是，如果全球經濟確實開始走低，最終，你可能會看到一些組合從你一直在做的一些許可活動轉向服務，這可能會導致 EBITDA 下降。

Is there a concern -- any concern like that in the near future? Or do you think the high book-to-bill and the pipeline gives you a pretty good runway on when you're thinking about our EBITDA growth?

在不久的將來是否有這樣的擔憂？或者您是否認為高訂單出貨比和管道在您考慮我們的 EBITDA 增長時為您提供了一個很好的跑道？

Yes, we're certainly seeing no signs of that, Bert. I think the latter, I think, really our book-to-bill and activity levels in our pipeline in the licensing side and the IP side of the house are also driving that performance.

是的，我們當然沒有看到任何跡象，伯特。我認為後者，我認為，我們在許可方面和房屋的 IP 方面的管道中的訂單到賬單和活動水平也在推動這種表現。

And on the Sustainable Services side, the margins we're attracting there given the high nature of what we're doing and the capability we have in that arena are also very attractive. So we don't see any margin pressure downwards at the moment. We're sticking to a guide, of course. And -- so I think it all bears well looking forward.

在可持續服務方面，鑑於我們正在做的事情的高度性質以及我們在該領域擁有的能力，我們在那裡吸引的利潤也非常有吸引力。因此，我們目前沒有看到任何利潤率下降的壓力。當然，我們堅持一個指南。而且 - 所以我認為這一切都值得期待。

And as I said earlier, I think one of the key takeaways, which is kind of a little bit different dynamic we're seeing in STS as we're being locked in for the quality of our resourcing into more longer-term programs like the BP hydrogen work.

正如我之前所說，我認為其中一個關鍵要點是我們在 STS 中看到的有點不同的動態，因為我們被鎖定在我們的資源質量到更長期的計劃中，例如BP氫氣工作。

So I think that really gives us a better vision into the future than we probably historically have had in that business area. So it's a really good mix at the moment. We're feeling really upbeat as you can tell.

所以我認為這真的讓我們對未來有一個比我們在該業務領域歷史上可能擁有的更好的願景。所以目前這是一個非常好的組合。如您所知，我們感到非常樂觀。

Okay. Great. Maybe on the other side of the business, you guys mentioned in your release that (inaudible) contract growth in Government Solutions has been a tailwind with Science and Space trending better. I think the expectation was that segment would be a little slower growing this year.

好的。偉大的。也許在業務的另一面，你們在發布中提到政府解決方案的（聽不清）合同增長一直是科學和空間趨勢更好的順風。我認為預期該細分市場今年的增長速度會稍慢一些。

But now you have that benefit paired with a nice JV win at Goddard Space Center as that trajectory looks like it's improving. Do you see a path to perhaps the higher end of the 5% to 8% core growth in Government Solutions this year, obviously, excluding OAW and HomeSafe?

但現在你有了這種好處，再加上在戈達德航天中心的合資企業取得了不錯的勝利，因為這條軌跡看起來正在改善。您是否看到今年政府解決方案核心增長 5% 至 8% 的高端路徑，顯然，不包括 OAW 和 HomeSafe？

Yes. I mean, I think Mark commented on that. I think the sequential growth across all the business areas in Government was 6% from Q4 into Q1 of this year, which was a terrific indicator of how that business is moving. I think -- we'll give you more color as the quarters unfold.

是的。我的意思是，我認為 Mark 對此發表了評論。我認為從今年第四季度到第一季度，政府所有業務領域的環比增長為 6%，這是該業務如何發展的一個極好的指標。我想——隨著季度的展開，我們會給你更多的顏色。

I think in Q1, it's a bit bold to be going out over the skis with that statement. I think -- and we've done terrifically well with 18% year-on-year growth ex-OAW and long may that continue, but -- that's a high watermark in anyone's book. So I think that's probably the best I can give you on that. But we're feeling pretty upbeat about the market and where we sit.

我認為在第一季度，用這種說法來滑雪有點大膽。我認為——我們做得非常好，前 OAW 同比增長 18%，而且這種情況可能會持續很長時間，但是——這在任何人的書中都是一個高水位線。所以我認為這可能是我能給你的最好的。但我們對市場和我們所處的位置感到非常樂觀。

The next question comes from the line of Jerry Revich with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自 Jerry Revich 與 Goldman Sachs 的對話。

I'm wondering if you could just expand on the Sustainable Tech Solutions performance in the quarter? Feels like that was ahead of plan. Can you just talk about what was the benefit of favorable closeouts versus things that we're seeing flowing through that will continue into the second quarter plus?

我想知道您是否可以擴大本季度可持續技術解決方案的表現？感覺那是超前的計劃。你能談談有利的收尾與我們看到的將持續到第二季度的事情相比有什麼好處嗎？

Yes. I think our long-range targets remain as they are, Jerry, at sort of high teens on the margin side. And I did comment that we think that business could get into the low 20s. And I think we're seeing that in various quarters.

是的。我認為我們的長期目標保持不變，傑里，在利潤率方面處於高位。我確實評論說我們認為業務可能會進入 20 多歲。我認為我們在各個方面都看到了這一點。

So I think we're doing extremely well and our folks are delivering. We seem to have quite favorable closeouts of projects on an ongoing basis. And I think Q1 was no different in that regard. So I think the key takeaway there is that we are ahead of pace.

所以我認為我們做得非常好，我們的員工正在交付。我們似乎在持續的基礎上有相當有利的項目收尾。我認為 Q1 在這方面沒有什麼不同。所以我認為關鍵的一點是我們領先於步伐。

I think the book-to-bill shows the continued activity in that segment. The team is doing an outstanding job as Mark remarked in his prepared remarks, I think that team globally is doing terrifically well and really delivering for our customers and thus for our stakeholders.

我認為訂單出貨比顯示了該細分市場的持續活動。正如馬克在準備好的發言中所說，該團隊做得非常出色，我認為全球團隊做得非常好，真正為我們的客戶和利益相關者提供服務。

So I think that's probably the best way to describe how that business is performing. And obviously, as the year shapes up, we'll give you more. But I think -- I mean, so far, we're very much well targeting our guidance.

所以我認為這可能是描述該業務表現的最佳方式。顯然，隨著時間的推移，我們會給你更多。但我認為 - 我的意思是，到目前為止，我們很好地瞄準了我們的指導。

And so the reason for the question is the discussion this morning is around whether given the sharp (inaudible) by STS in the quarter, there should have been a positive guidance revision because without it, it looks like the guidance is below consensus in coming quarters.

所以這個問題的原因是今天早上的討論是圍繞是否考慮到本季度 STS 的尖銳（聽不見），應該有一個積極的指導修訂，因為沒有它，看起來指導在未來幾個季度低於共識.

Can you just expand on that point? Is it just too early in the year given that, that's the only discussion, et cetera? Or you just say more please, if there are any parts of the business that we should be thinking about as potentially having a negative variance?

你能就這一點展開嗎？考慮到這是唯一的討論等等，今年是否還為時過早？或者你只是說更多，如果我們應該考慮業務的任何部分可能具有負方差？

So there are no parts of the business with a negative variance. I'll say that right off [of that]. I think the -- and I get your question on consensus when you add it to the quarter 1 performance.

因此，業務中沒有任何部分具有負方差。我馬上就說 [of that]。我認為 - 當你將它添加到第一季度的表現時，我會得到你關於共識的問題。

But I think we're still well within our guide with the consensus numbers each quarter plus Q1, albeit not at the middle of the guide, I'll give you that.

但我認為我們仍然很好地符合我們的指南，每個季度加上第一季度的共識數字，儘管不在指南的中間，我會給你那個。

And it is early in the year, and we -- as we come back in Q2 and Q3 and the business continue to form we -- perform, we will review where we are on our guide, but that's kind of where we sit. We're still with consensus still trending within our guidance range.

這是今年年初，我們 - 當我們在第二季度和第三季度回來並且業務繼續形成我們 - 執行時，我們將審查我們在指南中的位置，但這就是我們所處的位置。我們仍然認為共識仍在我們的指導範圍內趨勢。

So it sounds like we're towards the high end, just to put the pieces together.

所以聽起來我們正在走向高端，只是將各個部分放在一起。

Well, I think the mass would tell you that.

好吧，我想大眾會告訴你的。

The next question comes from the line of Jamie Cook with Credit Suisse.

下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的傑米庫克。

Sorry to follow up again on the STS. Obviously a great EBITDA performance. Do we think about it? I mean it had a nice jump sequentially in terms of EBITDA. Is the $80-some million -- Is that the -- how we should think about the run rate over the next couple of quarters?

不好意思再次跟進STS。顯然，EBITDA 表現出色。我們考慮一下嗎？我的意思是它在 EBITDA 方面有一個很好的順序跳躍。 80 多萬美元——那是——我們應該如何考慮未來幾個季度的運行率？

And then could you just -- congrats on the Plaquemines 2 award, can you just give a little color sort of on the size of that, the scope of work you're doing relative to the first contract (inaudible) that to kick in?

然後你能不能 - 祝賀 Plaquemines 2 獎，你能不能稍微說明一下它的大小，你正在做的工作範圍相對於第一份合同（聽不清）要開始？

Yes. Thanks, Jamie. The -- I mean I think the $80-plus million that this quarter did benefit with, as we said, some project closeouts and the mix. We've given a guide very clearly of $300 million for the year in STS, and we intend to do that.

是的。謝謝，傑米。我的意思是，正如我們所說，我認為本季度的 80 多萬美元確實受益於一些項目的收尾和組合。我們已經非常明確地為 STS 提供了今年 3 億美元的指導，我們打算這樣做。

With a fair wind, we may do a little bit better, but there's no commitment there. I think $300 million is the number we're targeting. And to be honest, if we deliver that, we're 2 years ahead of pace. And remember, the characteristics of that business, whether it's negative working capital and things, it's a terrific business. So all good.

順風的話，我們可能會做得更好一點，但那裡沒有承諾。我認為 3 億美元是我們的目標數字。老實說，如果我們做到這一點，我們就會領先 2 年。請記住，該業務的特徵，無論是負營運資金還是其他事情，都是一項了不起的業務。所以一切都很好。

In terms of Plaquemines, the first phase was 13 million tons or so with all the associated infrastructure to support 20 million tons. And the second phase is for the balance of the 7 million tons of LNG. So that's the way to think about it in terms of scale. It's circa -- for us about $800 million -- $700 million, $800 million going into the backlog.

Plaquemines 方面，第一階段為 1300 萬噸左右，所有相關基礎設施支持 2000 萬噸。二期為700萬噸LNG餘量。所以這就是從規模上考慮它的方式。這大約是 - 對我們來說大約 8 億美元 - 7 億美元，8 億美元用於積壓。

But one of the things I was keen to point out as on a trailing 12-month basis, that added a backlog. When you look at the rest of STS, we still achieved a book-to-bill of 1.6x, so excluding Plaquemines.

但我很想指出的一件事是，在過去 12 個月的基礎上，這增加了積壓。當您查看 STS 的其餘部分時，我們仍然實現了 1.6 倍的訂單出貨比，因此不包括 Plaquemines。

The whole portfolio is doing tremendously well. But I do think the other -- as I said earlier, in the questioning, I think the other change, I think, Jamie, is the long-term nature of some of these contracts that really underpin future performance.

整個投資組合表現非常好。但我確實認為另一個 - 正如我之前所說，在提問中，我認為另一個變化，我認為，傑米，是其中一些合同的長期性質，這些合同真正支撐了未來的表現。

The next question comes from the line of Sean Eastman with KeyBanc.

下一個問題來自 Sean Eastman 與 KeyBanc 的對話。

Just quickly wanted to start on a clarification one. If we zone in on this STS kind of outperformance on margins in the first quarter, are we looking at outperformance on the core licensing business? Or are we seeing closeouts on the legacy portfolio in that number?

只是很快想開始澄清。如果我們關注第一季度這種 STS 的超額利潤率，我們是否正在關注核心許可業務的超額表現？或者我們是否看到了這個數字的遺留投資組合的清倉？

It's probably not so much -- some legacy, Sean, but not too much. I mean, we've got ongoing services contracts. We've got ongoing, I guess, technology projects that we close out progressively. And as we close those out, we retire risks and we retire risk in their favor.

它可能不是那麼多 - 一些遺產，肖恩，但不是太多。我的意思是，我們有持續的服務合同。我猜，我們正在進行的技術項目正在逐步結束。當我們關閉它們時，我們就退出了風險，並且我們退出了對他們有利的風險。

We book the upside and that's an ongoing part of that type of business. And I think if you're prudent, then you get the upside and if you're conservative, then obviously, you get no downside surprises. So that's kind of how we manage that business. So I think it's a mix there.

我們預訂了上行空間，這是此類業務的持續部分。而且我認為，如果你謹慎，那麼你會得到好處，如果你保守，那麼顯然，你不會遇到意外的不利因素。這就是我們管理該業務的方式。所以我認為這是一個混合。

And then just relative to the debt ceiling negotiations. I just wanted to understand how the KBR team is thinking through scenarios and risk factors there. I mean, is there sort of a simple explanation for -- the Street here on how to think about the debt ceiling risk?

然後只是相對於債務上限談判。我只是想了解 KBR 團隊是如何思考那裡的場景和風險因素的。我的意思是，這裡是否有關於如何考慮債務上限風險的簡單解釋？

Yes. I mean it's -- some things are -- well, that whole negotiation is totally within our control. But the way that we think about it is that we've got certain attributes within KBR that are very different to perhaps some of our peers.

是的。我的意思是——有些事情是——好吧，整個談判完全在我們的控制之下。但我們考慮它的方式是，我們在 KBR 中擁有某些屬性，這些屬性可能與我們的一些同行非常不同。

We've got the STS business got nothing to do with that debt ceiling. As you're aware, we've got the international part of our Government business similarly that's up with it. And we're positioned very much at the operational end of what we do for government.

我們的 STS 業務與債務上限無關。如您所知，我們政府業務的國際部分也同樣如此。我們在很大程度上處於為政府所做工作的運營端。

And we've talked about this often that the things that are happening in Europe will not be switched off. They just can't be given the circumstances there. The work we're doing in Space can't be turned off because of the things we do there, et cetera, et cetera.

我們經常談到這一點，即歐洲正在發生的事情不會被關閉。他們只是無法了解那裡的情況。我們在太空中所做的工作不能因為我們在那裡所做的事情而停止，等等。

So we've also got over half of our GS backlog, as you know, in long-term contracts that are funded. So we're feeling pretty good about a lot of that. So we've got certain attributes that we think we're very well positioned, opposite these key priorities.

因此，如您所知，我們還有超過一半的 GS 積壓訂單是在獲得資助的長期合同中。所以我們對其中的很多感覺都很好。因此，我們擁有某些我們認為我們處於非常有利位置的屬性，與這些關鍵優先事項相反。

So I think the debt ceiling piece aside, I think we've talked about inflation risk before and how we've managed that. So I think we've come through that very strongly. We've seen the shifts on really throughout geopolitical risk. And again, I think we're well positioned there to be resilient.

因此，我認為除了債務上限之外，我認為我們之前已經討論過通脹風險以及我們是如何應對的。所以我認為我們已經非常堅強地度過了難關。我們已經看到了整個地緣政治風險的變化。再一次，我認為我們在這方面處於有利地位，可以保持彈性。

And I think that resiliency word hopefully resonates with the investment community on KBR today just because of the attributes I've just described. So -- we've also positioned our business in very strong cash-generative areas of the market.

而且我認為，僅僅因為我剛才描述的屬性，彈性這個詞有望在今天的 KBR 上引起投資界的共鳴。所以——我們還將我們的業務定位在市場上非常強大的現金生成領域。

And I think, again, you can see our leverage and where our balance sheet sits and the treasury team and Mark and I have done a terrific job in sort of derisking that element and given uncertainty with the swaps that Mark described.

而且我認為，你可以再次看到我們的槓桿作用以及我們的資產負債表所在的位置，以及財務團隊和馬克和我在消除該因素的風險方面做得非常出色，並給出了馬克描述的互換的不確定性。

So I think all up, we've derisked the balance sheet. We've derisked the outlook and we're in attractive markets with a very long book of business that gives us more transparency than most into the future. And with the attributes of STS and GSI with the U.S., I think that gives us certain factors that are very positive in that regard.

所以我認為，我們已經降低了資產負債表的風險。我們已經降低了前景的風險，並且我們處於有吸引力的市場，擁有一份非常長的業務簿，這使我們比大多數人對未來更具透明度。憑藉美國的 STS 和 GSI 屬性，我認為這為我們提供了某些在這方面非常積極的因素。

Makes sense. One last quick one for me. Last month, we saw this Australian defense strategic review come out. It seems like there was some moving pieces there, some reprioritization of spend being discussed. We weren't really sure what to take away there. So just curious on KBR's take on that one.

說得通。最後一個快速給我。上個月，我們看到了這份澳大利亞國防戰略評估報告。似乎那裡有一些動人的部分，正在討論重新確定支出的優先級。我們真的不確定在那裡帶走什麼。所以只是好奇 KBR 對此的看法。

Yes. It's just come out. We're still sort of digesting ourselves. Sean, obviously, there's a lot of focus on (inaudible) and the Navy in general which we're very well positioned, opposite that.

是的。它剛剛出來。我們仍在消化自己。肖恩，很明顯，有很多關注（聽不清）和海軍，我們處於非常有利的位置，相反。

We are also strong in things like Mission IT, which obviously, is all well funded going into the future. There will be some reprioritization. So we'll probably have to come back to you on that, but I don't -- it's not certainly changing our guide or our outlook.

我們在 Mission IT 等方面也很強大，顯然，未來的資金充足。會有一些重新排序。因此，我們可能不得不就此回复您，但我沒有——這肯定不會改變我們的指南或我們的前景。

The next question comes from the line of Andy Kaplowitz with Citigroup.

下一個問題來自花旗集團的 Andy Kaplowitz。

I guess close enough, how are you doing, guys? So Stuart or Mark, you mentioned the 7 ammonia awards in Q1 and the Hyundai plastic recycling modular plant, helped you deliver that sort of 1.6x trailing 12-month book-to-bill ex-Plaquemines, which seems like maybe even more of an acceleration in those key markets in the quarter. Is that the case? And does that mean you can sustain so at 1.6x that you've achieved ex LNG moving forward?

我想足夠接近了，你們好嗎，伙計們？所以 Stuart 或 Mark，你提到了第一季度的 7 個氨獎和現代塑料回收模塊化工廠，幫助你交付了 1.6 倍的 12 個月帳單出貨前 Plaquemines，這似乎更像是一個本季度這些主要市場的加速增長。是這樣嗎？這是否意味著您可以維持在 1.6 倍的水平，從而實現 ex LNG 向前發展？

Certainly, the market would -- we feel pretty good about the market and the pipeline. And obviously, it's been a month or so since the end of the quarter, and we're not seeing any of that slow down. So I think that will be as well going forward.

當然，市場會——我們對市場和管道感覺很好。顯然，自本季度末以來已經一個月左右，我們沒有看到任何放緩。所以我認為這也會向前發展。

Can you achieve that exact number every quarter? Andy, that's difficult to predict. There will be some ups and some downs in all of that. But I think overall, the key message and the takeaway is we've got a very strong backlog already secured in STS and with the whole group over 85%.

你能每個季度都達到這個確切的數字嗎？安迪，這很難預測。所有這些都會有一些起伏。但我認為總的來說，關鍵信息和要點是我們已經在 STS 中獲得了非常強大的積壓，並且整個團隊超過 85%。

Now I think we're in pretty good shape for '23 and a lot of focus is obviously booking business as we move into next year already.

現在我認為我們在 23 年的狀態非常好，隨著我們已經進入明年，很多重點顯然是預訂業務。

And then Stuart, I think last quarter, you had talked about maybe awards in Space starting to sort of -- you're watching for an acceleration of (inaudible) and maybe we're seeing that. You mentioned a 10% growth in space.

然後斯圖爾特，我想上個季度，你談到了太空獎項可能開始有點——你正在觀察（聽不清）的加速，也許我們正在看到這一點。你提到了 10% 的空間增長。

Does that have anything to do with sort of the Artemis program progressing? Like what do you see for that particular area? And then I'd ask you the same thing about European Command. It seems like you've been expecting the revenue step up there? But it seems like it's now coming in 2023?

這與 Artemis 計劃的進展有什麼關係嗎？比如你在那個特定區域看到了什麼？然後我會問你關於歐洲司令部的同樣問題。看起來你一直在期待那裡的收入增加？但是現在好像要到 2023 年了？

Yes. Certainly, the Artemis program and the flow-through of our existing contracts, I think that's what's driving the on-contract growth there. As Mark also said, the health side of the services (inaudible) is also seeing quite substantial on-contract growth.

是的。當然，Artemis 計劃和我們現有合同的流通，我認為這就是推動合同增長的原因。正如馬克還所說，服務的健康方面（聽不清）也看到了相當可觀的合同增長。

So it's all going, which is terrific. And that obviously doesn't include the military space piece I touched on, which sits inside our intelligence portfolio.

所以一切都在進行，這太棒了。這顯然不包括我提到的軍事空間，它位於我們的情報組合中。

In terms of what's happening in Europe, I think that ultimately, that program in EUCOM is moved away really from contingency funding as OEP into European Command O&M funding, which I think directionally sets the tone that we think this is going to be more enduring than less.

就歐洲正在發生的事情而言，我認為最終，EUCOM 的該計劃真正從 OEP 的應急資金轉移到歐洲司令部 O&M 資金，我認為這定向地定下了基調，我們認為這將比較少的。

And so I think there's probably more stability around that. But -- but you're right, we've seen growth from sort of last year to this year about -- in our forecast about $75 a quarter.

所以我認為這可能會更加穩定。但是 - 但你是對的，我們已經看到從去年到今年的增長 - 我們預測每季度約 75 美元。

The next question comes from the line of Steven Fisher with UBS.

下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Steven Fisher。

I just wanted to follow up on the guidance discussions earlier in the queue. I know it's early, and you don't want to get out over your skis, but I'm just wondering what are some of the key things you're looking at to update guidance or uncertainties that might be resolved?

我只是想跟進隊列前面的指導討論。我知道現在還早，您不想滑雪，但我只是想知道您正在關注哪些關鍵事項來更新指南或可能解決的不確定性？

Is it just time? Or is there any risk on the debt ceiling discussions in your mind shifting around timing of awards? Is it maybe something with this European Command that maybe troops could get pulled quickly? Anything kind of more specific you're looking for that's an uncertainty that you're looking for to be resolved?

只是時間嗎？還是您認為圍繞獎勵時間轉移的債務上限討論存在任何風險？是不是這個歐洲司令部可能會迅速撤軍？您正在尋找的任何更具體的東西是您正在尋找解決的不確定性嗎？

Not really, Steve. I think that it's a time issue. We just want to get a few more months under our belt. And as you know, we're quite conservative. We -- and I think that's prudent.

不是真的，史蒂夫。我認為這是一個時間問題。我們只想再多呆幾個月。如您所知，我們非常保守。我們 - 我認為這是謹慎的。

And we've derisked a number of factors I've touched on them already. I won't go into them all, but obviously, things like our capital situation and where we sit with sort of our interest rate risk and things like that has all been mitigated. And we've secured the work essentially to deliver.

我們已經排除了我已經提到的一些因素。我不會一一詳述，但顯然，諸如我們的資本狀況以及我們所處的利率風險之類的事情都已得到緩解。我們已經確保工作基本上可以交付。

And I think -- I mean, people often forget, you've got 85% of your work under contract. But ultimately, in a normal year, we get a number of things that are small and they make up 15% to 20% of our revenue base, and we don't know what they are until they hit a few weeks out before they hit. So we're feeling pretty good about the year.

我認為——我的意思是，人們經常忘記，你有 85% 的工作是根據合同進行的。但最終，在正常的一年裡，我們得到了一些小東西，它們占我們收入基礎的 15% 到 20%，我們不知道它們是什麼，直到它們在它們出現前幾週出現.所以我們對這一年感覺很好。

So it's more about time and just solid execution and a focus on delivering for our customers. And I think if we do that, we get a few more months under our belt, I think we'll talk -- talking about this again, I'm sure in Q3. So it's really time.

因此，更多的是時間和紮實的執行以及專注於為我們的客戶提供服務。而且我認為如果我們這樣做，我們會再花幾個月的時間，我想我們會再次討論這個問題，我確定在第三季度。所以真的是時候了。

And then curious what you're seeing in the M&A pipeline? And to what extent does your convert settlement later this year impact any M&A motivations? Or how does that convert also affect your buyback motivations as well?

然後好奇你在併購管道中看到了什麼？您今年晚些時候的轉換協議在多大程度上影響任何併購動機？或者這種轉換如何影響您的回購動機？

Steve, Mark here. M&A pipeline is fairly consistent. I wouldn't say there's a major trend one way or the other. There's always things happening in government. And as you see, and we're really pleased to execute a few additions on the STS side, which doesn't happen very often. Small but potentially really important in the long term as we continually tech refresh that business. Now, relative to the balance sheet, we did say very clearly in our last call, less so this time, but nonetheless remains our #1 capital priority this year is to settle the convert and get that behind us, and that does involve a meaningful amount of capital, circa $600 million at this stock price, starting today at least. And so we do need to build the treasury for that.

史蒂夫，馬克在這裡。併購管道相當一致。我不會說有一種或另一種主要趨勢。政府裡總是有事情發生。如您所見，我們真的很高興在 STS 端執行一些添加，這並不經常發生。規模雖小，但從長遠來看可能非常重要，因為我們不斷通過技術更新該業務。現在，相對於資產負債表，我們在上次電話會議中確實說得非常清楚，這次沒那麼清楚，但今年我們的第一大資本優先事項仍然是解決轉換問題並將其拋在腦後，這確實涉及有意義的至少從今天開始，按這個股價計算，資本額約為 6 億美元。因此，我們確實需要為此建立財政部。

We do have adequate liquidity to take care of that and do tuck-ins and don't be surprised if you see those. But otherwise, the priorities are very clear and unchanged and we do remain constructive on M&A as opportunities present themselves.

我們確實有足夠的流動性來處理這個問題並進行調整，如果你看到這些，不要感到驚訝。但除此之外，優先事項非常明確且不變，我們確實在機會出現時對併購保持建設性。

And I think in terms of -- in terms of buybacks, Steve, we've started the year with a strong cadence. I think if you look back to Q1 last year, we were slower out of the blocks, and we're committed to that the capital deployment and the '25 targets. And obviously, once we get through the contract later this year, that will free up liquidity to sort of fulfill on that promise.

我認為就回購而言，史蒂夫，我們以強勁的節奏開始了這一年。我認為，如果你回顧去年第一季度，我們的發展速度較慢，我們致力於實現資本部署和 25 年目標。顯然，一旦我們在今年晚些時候完成合同，這將釋放流動性來兌現這一承諾。

The next question comes from the line of Gautam Khanna with Cowen.

下一個問題來自 Gautam Khanna 與 Cowen 的對話。

I wanted to ask about HomeSafe and just make sure I understood. So you mentioned you've transitioned over half. If you could just talk about if your expectations are the same as they were with the $0.5 billion every 6 months increasing? And how -- how the phasing will be in '24 and '25. What do you think peak rate will be?

我想詢問有關 HomeSafe 的問題，並確保我理解了。所以你提到你已經過渡了一半以上。如果您能談談您的預期是否與每 6 個月增加 5 億美元的預期相同？以及如何 - 24 年和 25 年的分階段將如何進行。你認為峰值速率是多少？

And then if you could also talk about, how would it hold up in an extended CR? Like let's just say we had, for some reason, budget continuing resolution for all of next fiscal year of the government. Would the program be impacted at all, the ramp?

然後，如果您還可以談談，它在擴展 CR 中的表現如何？就像我們只是說，出於某種原因，我們為政府下一個財政年度的所有財政年度製定了預算繼續決議。該計劃是否會受到影響，坡道？

No, I don't think the ramp will be impacted at all. I think that's -- that's an ongoing commitment today, and that will continue into the future, Gautam. We don't see any impact with CR and the HomeSafe program.

不，我認為斜坡根本不會受到影響。我認為這是 - 這是今天的持續承諾，並且將持續到未來，Gautam。我們看不到 CR 和 HomeSafe 計劃有任何影響。

In terms of the ramp, we have said that as we head towards the end of this year, we hope to get some moves under our belt and the ramp will go up quite significantly into the summer of next year, which is the domestic busy period. And so that ramp will be quite marked, I think, into Q2 and Q3.

在坡道方面，我們已經說過，在接近今年年底時，我們希望採取一些行動，到明年夏天，即國內繁忙時期，坡道將大幅上升.因此，我認為，在第二季度和第三季度，這個斜坡將非常明顯。

And then it will probably come off a little bit, but the international moves will then pick up at the end of the year, the first quarter of the following year.

然後它可能會有所下降，但國際動作將在今年年底，即第二年第一季度回升。

So I think that's a sort of ramp and we reckon that will be, as we know, it's a $20 billion program over with a ceiling value over (inaudible) bit years. And that mass with, I guess, inflation will mean that the cadence might be a little bit above $2 billion in total.

所以我認為這是一種斜坡，我們認為這將是一個 200 億美元的計劃，超過（聽不清）比特年的上限值。我猜，這個質量和通貨膨脹將意味著節奏可能略高於 20 億美元。

And -- and -- but I think as we get closer to the end of this transition period, I think only then can we really truly come back and give you more accurate data around that, but that's the way to think about it just now.

而且 - 而且 - 但我認為隨著我們接近這個過渡期的結束，我認為只有到那時我們才能真正真正回來並為您提供更準確的數據，但這就是現在考慮的方式.

And your models, and -- and I think the margin, we've kind of resolved the -- as you know, we've got inflationary protection in the contract with CPI adjustments, and we've dealt with that with the government now. That's the -- for this kickoff period. So I think that's the good news we get to revisit that next year again, of course.

還有你的模型，而且——我認為邊際，我們已經解決了——如你所知，我們在 CPI 調整的合同中得到了通脹保護，我們現在已經與政府處理了這個問題.這就是 - 對於這個啟動期。所以我認為這是我們明年再次重訪的好消息，當然。

So at least the revenue basis is clear and now we're working on the supply chain side. So we should be able to come back to you, obviously, well before the end of the year with sort of our true margin expectations as well. So you just have to give us a little bit more time, Gautam, but that's a kind of thinking at the moment.

所以至少收入基礎是明確的，現在我們正在供應鏈方面工作。因此，顯然，我們應該能夠在今年年底之前以我們真正的利潤率預期返回給您。所以你只需要再給我們一點時間，Gautam，但這是目前的一種想法。

The next question comes from the line of Michael Dudas with Vertical Research.

下一個問題來自 Vertical Research 的 Michael Dudas。

So just a follow-up on some of your technology comments. I thought the plastics, the Mura order was quite helpful and ammonia has been quite visible and strong with your company and others as well.

所以只是跟進你的一些技術評論。我認為塑料，Mura 訂單非常有幫助，氨在貴公司和其他公司中非常明顯和強大。

Are those 2 areas where we can see the cadence pick up on those opportunities? Or is it going to be more balanced in some of the -- the more popular and more forward technology, especially on the emissions and the side on some of the legacy energy companies who are really starting to lean into that moving forward?

在這兩個領域我們可以看到節奏抓住這些機會嗎？或者它會在一些更流行和更先進的技術中更加平衡，特別是在排放方面，以及一些真正開始傾向於向前發展的傳統能源公司的方面？

Yes. I think it's a bit of both, Mike. You're right, the cadence of a lots in ammonia and I think directionally getting that first module going with plastics recycling, I think we -- obviously more to come on that. It's very exciting because, obviously, the volume increase is significant once you start to get into the execute phase with some of these developments.

是的。我認為兩者兼而有之，邁克。你是對的，大量氨的節奏，我認為方向性地讓第一個模塊與塑料回收一起進行，我認為我們——顯然還有更多的事情要做。這是非常令人興奮的，因為很明顯，一旦你開始進入其中一些開發的執行階段，體積的增加是顯著的。

But -- but as Mark alluded to, it's in his remarks also, it's -- we're seeing it in olefins. We're seeing it in greener refining or cleaner refining solutions. And across our portfolio, it's really not one or the other.

但是 - 但正如馬克所暗示的那樣，它也在他的言論中，它是 - 我們在烯烴中看到它。我們在更環保的精煉或更清潔的精煉解決方案中看到了它。在我們的投資組合中，它真的不是一個或另一個。

On the Sustainable Services side of our business, we presented that last quarter to show you the relativity in size of those bubbles that we presented, if you remember. And that side of the business that's really driven by decarbonized solutions around energy security is going extremely well also. So I think it's a combination.

在我們業務的可持續服務方面，如果您還記得的話，我們在上個季度展示了我們展示的那些氣泡大小的相關性。真正由圍繞能源安全的脫碳解決方案推動的業務方面也進展得非常順利。所以我認為這是一個組合。

And -- and it's not -- certainly not a one-trick pony. I think it's a multifaceted market driver thing, and we're seeing it not just in one market either. It's a very global phenomenon, as you can tell from some of our press releases.

而且——它不是——當然不是只會一招的小馬。我認為這是一個多方面的市場驅動因素，我們也不僅僅在一個市場上看到它。這是一個非常全球化的現象，您可以從我們的一些新聞稿中看出這一點。

And my follow-up is, with some of the newer technologies that you've acquired recently. How -- the visibility -- are those early stage, are those that we may see some more order cadence come through the next 6, 12 or 18 months? Are they longer-term plays? Like how do you guys think through when you're looking at these technologies? Is it like kind of get closer to the implementation stage or stuff or opportunities for KBR to kind of enhance and then really push forward?

我的後續行動是，你最近獲得的一些新技術。那些早期階段的可見性如何，我們可能會在接下來的 6、12 或 18 個月內看到更多的訂單節奏？它們是長期遊戲嗎？就像你們在研究這些技術時是如何思考的一樣？是否有點接近實施階段或 KBR 的東西或機會有點增強然後真正推進？

Yes. I think each is a little bit. They're both in reasonably early stages (inaudible) all 3 interests. Two, we've acquired, and one we've developed. I think the staff, the sustainable aviation fuel. We've been courting the Swedish Biomass company for a long time, and I think we've now obviously acquired the rights to that technology globally.

是的。我覺得每一個都是一點點。他們都處於相當早期的階段（聽不清）所有 3 個興趣。兩個，我們已經獲得，一個是我們開發的。我認為工作人員，可持續航空燃料。長期以來，我們一直在追求瑞典生物質公司，我認為我們現在顯然已經在全球範圍內獲得了該技術的權利。

And it's quite unique. It's actually been approved by DARPA, which is -- makes it more applicable to defense and I think a strong synergy play there into the future as the DoD tries to meet its net-zero commitments. But it's also quite unique because it's a true drop-in solution.

它非常獨特。它實際上得到了 DARPA 的批准，這使它更適用於國防，我認為隨著國防部努力實現其淨零承諾，未來將發揮強大的協同作用。但它也非常獨特，因為它是真正的嵌入式解決方案。

So -- what does that mean? It means you can actually just physically drop it into a tank of existing aviation fuel and that will work. And -- so you don't have to do a lot of work or pre-planned and all the things that you have to do with some of the other solutions. So -- but it's still early, but we think its attributes are very, very exciting.

那麼——這是什麼意思？這意味著你實際上只需將它放入現有航空燃料罐中即可。而且 - 所以您不必做很多工作或預先計劃以及您必須使用其他一些解決方案做的所有事情。所以 - 但現在還早，但我們認為它的屬性非常非常令人興奮。

And certainly, we know directionally in places like Japan, the government have legislated that 10% of all refined products now have to be sustainable aviation fuel. We've seen many airlines come out with partnerships and things that is driving that market.

當然，我們從方向上知道，在日本等地，政府已立法規定所有精煉產品中的 10% 現在必須是可持續航空燃料。我們已經看到許多航空公司建立了合作夥伴關係並推動了該市場的發展。

And certainly, that industry is under pressure to be more sustainable going forward. And people who use those services and the investors and those stocks are also demanding up.

當然，該行業正面臨著更可持續發展的壓力。使用這些服務的人、投資者和那些股票的需求也在上漲。

So we do think it's an exciting potential for the future. But I can't give you other than its attributes, I can't give you any numbers yet to support that. But it's exciting. And of course, we've got a hugely strong track record of commercializing new technologies, and we've got a very strong global sales force to affect that. So I think it's directionally really, really exciting.

所以我們確實認為這是未來令人興奮的潛力。但我不能給你除了它的屬性之外，我不能給你任何數字來支持它。但這很令人興奮。當然，我們在新技術商業化方面有著非常出色的記錄，而且我們擁有一支非常強大的全球銷售團隊來影響這一點。所以我認為這是有方向性的，真的非常令人興奮。

And -- and I think similarly, with acetic acid. Acetic acid is actually something that hangs besides what we do in ammonia. It's a different product stream and the beauty of that particular technology as it consumes CO2 in the process. So it's going to be attractive just from that attribute that we can actually take CO2 out and actually use it as a consumable.

並且 - 我認為與乙酸類似。乙酸實際上是除了我們在氨中所做的之外還存在的東西。這是一個不同的產品流和特定技術的美妙之處，因為它在這個過程中消耗了二氧化碳。因此，僅從我們實際上可以取出二氧化碳並將其實際用作消耗品的屬性來看，它就會很有吸引力。

So again, we think there are great opportunities for that as we go forward.

因此，我們再次認為，在我們前進的過程中，有很大的機會。

And then the third is really looking at [K-COT] scores, our olefins technology, and really we've done a bit of work trying to make that even more sustainable by introducing hydrogen bonus as part of the solution, which we think will be attractive to our customer base going forward.

然後第三個是真正關注 [K-COT] 分數，我們的烯烴技術，我們確實做了一些工作，試圖通過引入氫獎金作為解決方案的一部分來使其更具可持續性，我們認為這將對我們未來的客戶群具有吸引力。

So I think all exciting, Michael, all directionally terrific and -- but which ones goes quicker and which one goes lower, I don't know. What numbers they deliver to KBR? I don't know, but I think it does position us well given the market fundamentals we're seeing.

所以我認為一切都令人興奮，邁克爾，所有方向都很棒，而且 - 但我不知道哪些速度更快，哪些速度更低。他們向 KBR 提供什麼號碼？我不知道，但我認為鑑於我們所看到的市場基本面，它確實使我們處於有利地位。

The next question comes from the line of Brent Thielman with D.A. Davidson.

下一個問題來自 Brent Thielman 和 D.A.戴維森。

Stuart, I was curious on the comments about this growing mix of long-term contracts in STS. I mean Plaquemines is pretty transparent. You talked about some others like BP.

斯圖爾特，我很好奇關於 STS 中這種不斷增長的長期合同組合的評論。我的意思是 Plaquemines 非常透明。你談到了其他一些人，比如英國石油公司。

I guess I'm just curious if you see more of a trend where kind of a larger portion of future revenue in this segment will be secured by long-term contract arrangements maybe versus the shorter sales cycle solutions, I think it represented more of the business. Is that the direction of the market, more of a strategic initiative? How do you see that going forward?

我想我只是很好奇，如果你看到更多這樣的趨勢，即與更短的銷售週期解決方案相比，長期合同安排可能會確保該細分市場的未來收入的更大一部分，我認為它代表了更多商業。這是市場的方向，更多的是戰略舉措嗎？您如何看待這方面的進展？

Yes, I think that's exactly right. That was the point I was trying to make. I do think directionally, we're going to see more of that. I think as that market gets busy, I think we're not going to jump from one opportunity to the next.

是的，我認為這是完全正確的。這就是我想表達的意思。我確實有方向性地思考，我們會看到更多。我認為隨著市場變得繁忙，我認為我們不會從一個機會跳到下一個機會。

We're going to be strategic, particularly with our customer choice and the sort of work that we do and the quality of earnings that's associated with that. But with that comes key people. And I think locking in resources is all part of the attractiveness of these longer-term arrangements.

我們將具有戰略性，特別是在我們的客戶選擇和我們所做的工作類型以及與之相關的收益質量方面。但隨之而來的是關鍵人物。我認為鎖定資源是這些長期安排的吸引力的一部分。

And as a consequence of that, I do think given the activity levels in the market, you'll get to see more of that, not just with us, but I think with us for sure and where we're positioned, I think that's going to be at the higher end, and I think you're going to see more long-term contracts coming through the KBR portfolio and STS.

因此，我確實認為，鑑於市場的活動水平，你會看到更多，不僅僅是我們，但我認為我們肯定會和我們的定位，我認為這是將處於高端，我認為你會看到更多的長期合同來自 KBR 投資組合和 STS。

And as I said, that's really what we're seeing today. And I think that the customers are very well funded, of course, and I think trying to get in front of what they want to do from a sustainability perspective and look at their ESG goals. I think we can help them with that. And I think the -- they want the people that help deliver that.

正如我所說，這就是我們今天所看到的。我認為客戶的資金非常充足，當然，我認為試圖從可持續發展的角度了解他們想做的事情，並審視他們的 ESG 目標。我認為我們可以幫助他們。而且我認為 - 他們想要幫助實現這一目標的人。

So trending wise, I think it's a very astute question and exactly the message we're trying to deliver.

所以趨勢明智，我認為這是一個非常敏銳的問題，也正是我們試圖傳達的信息。

Okay. And Stuart, Mark, it (inaudible) spot with this, but obviously, you're getting lost the question about STS and all the different drivers within it. Good possibility.

好的。斯圖爾特，馬克，它（聽不清）發現了這一點，但很明顯，你迷失了關於 STS 和其中所有不同驅動程序的問題。很好的可能性。

I know there's competitive factors to this, too, that we can see more of a breakout at some of these different moving pieces within the segment just to understand financially where some of the implications are, kind of all these moving pieces within the segment, which all seem to be contributing in a significant way.

我知道這也有競爭因素，我們可以看到細分市場中一些不同的移動部分出現更多突破，只是為了從財務上了解其中的一些影響，細分市場中所有這些移動部分的種類，所有這些似乎都做出了重大貢獻。

Well, Brent, are you asking about the logic of the 2 together or something? I kind of missed the second part of that.

好吧，布倫特，你是在問 2 在一起的邏輯還是什麼？我有點錯過了第二部分。

No (inaudible) the ammonia, hydrogen, recycling piece, and there's lots of moving pieces within this business, which are all significant. I'm wondering if we could see KBR breaking out more of these pieces just to help the financial community understand it better?

沒有（聽不清）氨、氫、回收部分，而且這個行業中有很多移動部分，這些都很重要。我想知道我們是否可以看到 KBR 打破更多這些部分只是為了幫助金融界更好地理解它？

I think it's a great question. And as STS becomes more prominent component of the picture. It is up to us to improve our communications here. And so it's -- it's a great business. There's lots of parts to understand, things are always changing.

我認為這是一個很好的問題。隨著 STS 成為圖片中更加突出的組成部分。我們有責任改善我們在這裡的溝通。所以這是 - 這是一項偉大的業務。有很多部分需要了解，事情總是在變化。

Fortunately for us, for the better as conditions improve, and we are committed to improving the communications there as best we can. You saw us show more in the last quarter, and we'll consider or continue to evolve that as best we can.

對我們來說幸運的是，隨著條件的改善，情況會變得更好，我們致力於盡我們所能改善那裡的通訊。你看到我們在上個季度展示了更多，我們將盡我們所能考慮或繼續發展。

Breaking out components of a $1.5 billion business, has some merit, but I think more scale would be helpful, and we're certainly on a great track to do that with the growth rates we see here.

打破 15 億美元業務的組成部分，有一些優點，但我認為更大的規模會有所幫助，而且我們肯定會以我們在這裡看到的增長率實現這一目標。

So stay tuned. It's a work in progress. The team has been working very hard to execute and sell and maybe a little more time allocation to marketing might make sense someday, but I think we're doing the right things from a priority perspective and delivering these types of results.

敬請期待。這是一項正在進行的工作。團隊一直在非常努力地執行和銷售，也許有一天，將更多的時間分配給營銷可能會有意義，但我認為我們從優先級的角度做正確的事情並提供這些類型的結果。

The next question comes from the line of Mariana Perez Mora with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Mariana Perez Mora。

Actually it's [Andre] on for Mariana today. I was just wondering if you can give a little more color on the free cash flow step up to the year? Just where you're at now, how do you expect to get to $425 million to $460 million range for cash flow?

實際上，今天是 [Andre] 替 Mariana 上場。我只是想知道你是否可以對今年的自由現金流量增加一點顏色？就您現在所處的位置而言，您如何期望現金流量達到 4.25 億美元至 4.6 億美元的範圍？

Yes. Thanks, [Andre]. Fair question. The number does stick out a little bit in Q1. And so as I said, we did expect a pretty low number in Q1, and that's exactly what happened. I mentioned timing items in my prepared remarks.

是的。謝謝，[安德烈]。公平的問題。這個數字在第一季度確實有點突出。正如我所說，我們確實預計第一季度的數字會非常低，而這正是發生的事情。我在準備好的發言中提到了計時項目。

We got the incentive payments. We did have an extra payroll. We had some collections that went to the left and accelerated in Q4. So I mentioned those things. So we had quite a number of things going against us.

我們得到了獎勵金。我們確實有額外的工資單。我們有一些收藏品向左移動並在第四季度加速。所以我提到了那些事情。所以我們有很多事情對我們不利。

We don't expect that to occur in future quarters and to some degree, the opposite. So it is looks like a steep hill decline, but we've had very strong cash flow every year.

我們預計這種情況不會在未來幾個季度發生，並且在某種程度上恰恰相反。所以它看起來像一個陡峭的山坡下降，但我們每年都有非常強勁的現金流。

The business model hasn't changed. We're capital light, and we're going to work very hard to get those DSOs down and we've got about 5, 6 days to bring down over the course of the year, but the team is focused on it and we didn't change guidance. So we're confident as such.

商業模式沒有改變。我們是資本之光，我們將非常努力地工作以降低這些 DSO，在這一年中我們有大約 5、6 天的時間可以降低，但團隊專注於此，我們沒有'改變指導。所以我們很有信心。

Yes. And I think Q1 and Q4 are probably the lower quarters, Q2, Q3 being seasonally the higher quarters with typically 5 weeks (inaudible) and things like that, but also lesser holidays in those quarter. So yes. So we hope to make good progress into next quarter, and we'll obviously update that.

是的。而且我認為 Q1 和 Q4 可能是較低的季度，Q2、Q3 是季節性較高的季度，通常為 5 週（聽不清）等等，但這些季度的假期也較少。所以是的。所以我們希望在下個季度取得良好進展，我們顯然會更新。

Thank you. Yes, currently no more questions waiting at this time. So I would now like to turn the call back over to Stuart for closing remarks.

謝謝。是的，目前沒有更多問題在等待。所以我現在想把電話轉回 Stuart 以作結束語。

Thank you. Thank you very much. And again, thank you for joining us this morning.

謝謝。非常感謝。再次感謝您今天早上加入我們。

I'll be brief. I think -- I think we can all say we've got off to a great start in '23. I think lots of attributes with revenue growth, margin expansion, very strong book-to-bill and really just the absolute focus of our people on delivering, which is really driving amazing shareholder value.

我會很簡短。我認為 - 我認為我們都可以說我們在 23 年有了一個良好的開端。我認為收入增長、利潤率擴張、非常強勁的訂單出貨量以及我們員工對交付的絕對關注等諸多因素，這確實推動了驚人的股東價值。

So with that, I'll close, and I look forward to talking to a number of you as the day progresses. Thank you very much.

因此，我將結束，我期待著隨著時間的推移與你們中的許多人交談。非常感謝。

That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開線路。

Thank you.

謝謝。