Korn Ferry (KFY) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Korn Ferry First Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded for replay purposes.

女士們，先生們，感謝您的支持，歡迎參加光輝國際 2023 財年第一季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，本次通話正在錄音以供重播。

We have also made available in the Investor Relations section of our website, at kornferry.com, a copy of the financial presentation that we'll be reviewing with you today.

我們還在我們網站 kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分提供了一份我們今天將與您一起審查的財務演示文稿的副本。

Before I turn the call over to your host, Mr. Gary Burnison, let me first read a cautionary statement to investors. Certain statements made in the call today, such as those relating to future performance, plans and goals constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, which are beyond the company's control.

在我將電話轉給您的主持人加里·伯尼森先生之前，讓我先向投資者宣讀一份警告聲明。今天在電話會議中做出的某些陳述，例如與未來業績、計劃和目標有關的陳述，構成了 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。儘管公司相信這些前瞻性陳述中反映的預期基於合理的假設，請投資者註意不要過分依賴此類陳述。由於一些超出公司控制範圍的風險和不確定性，未來期間的實際結果可能與當前預期或期望的結果存在重大差異。

Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties can be found in the release relating to this presentation and in the periodic and other reports filed by the company with the SEC, including the company's annual report for fiscal year 2022 and in the company's soon to be filed quarterly report for the quarter ended July 31, 2022.

有關此類風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參見與本演示文稿相關的新聞稿以及公司向 SEC 提交的定期報告和其他報告，包括公司 2022 財年的年度報告和公司即將提交的季度報告截至 2022 年 7 月 31 日的季度報告。

Also some of the comments today may reference non-GAAP financial measures, such as constant currency amounts, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Additional information concerning these measures, including reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, is contained in the financial presentation and earnings release relating to this call, both of which are posted on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.kornferry.com.

此外，今天的一些評論可能會引用非公認會計準則財務指標，例如固定貨幣金額、EBITDA 和調整後的 EBITDA。有關這些措施的其他信息，包括與最直接可比的 GAAP 財務措施的對賬，包含在與本次電話會議相關的財務報告和收益發布中，兩者都發佈在公司網站 www.kornferry 的投資者關係部分。 com。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mr. Burnison. Please go ahead, Mr. Burnison.

有了這個，我會把電話轉給伯尼森先生。請繼續，伯尼森先生。

Thank you, Tony. Good afternoon, and thanks for joining us. First, I'm very pleased with our first quarter results. They were up about 24% constant currency, 19% in actual dollars to about $696 million in fee revenue, and our long-term performance has also been good. Our 10-year CAGR is about 13%, while our 20-year CAGR is about 10%.

謝謝你，托尼。下午好，感謝您加入我們。首先，我對我們第一季度的業績感到非常滿意。他們的費用收入增長了約 24% 不變貨幣，實際美元增長了 19% 至約 6.96 億美元，而且我們的長期表現也很好。我們的 10 年復合年增長率約為 13%，而我們的 20 年復合年增長率約為 10%。

When you look more broadly at the landscape today, there's a big reset taking place, not to mention a work scape that is experiencing significant labor imbalances and dramatic changes in how and where organizations get work done. These tectonic shifts under our feet are arguably the most significant since the Industrial Revolution.

當您從更廣泛的角度審視當今的格局時，正在發生巨大的重置，更不用說正在經歷嚴重的勞動力不平衡以及組織完成工作的方式和地點發生巨大變化的工作格局。我們腳下的這些構造變化可以說是自工業革命以來最重要的變化。

As a result, organizations, including Korn Ferry, will face a different climate over the next year than we've seen over the last 24 months. Clients will undoubtedly be in a fight for growth, profitability and relevancy. And I'm confident that we've built a portfolio of offerings and IP that are relevant in today's and tomorrow's business environment.

因此，包括光輝國際在內的組織在明年將面臨與過去 24 個月不同的氣候。毫無疑問，客戶將在為增長、盈利能力和相關性而戰。我相信我們已經建立了與當今和未來商業環境相關的產品和 IP 組合。

During times of change, it's easy to identify numerous potential initiatives, but great companies choose the most impactful and execute them relentlessly. As such, we're anchoring Korn Ferry around initiatives that will continue to drive opportunity in the months ahead.

在變革時期，很容易識別出許多潛在的舉措，但偉大的公司會選擇最具影響力的舉措並堅持不懈地執行。因此，我們將圍繞將在未來幾個月繼續推動機遇的舉措圍繞著光輝國際。

Number one, we're executing a major account strategy that represents about 36% of our portfolio. The program includes 350 marquee and regional global accounts, generating almost $1 billion in revenue on the current run rate basis. And that strategy is key to maintaining scalable and durable revenues.

第一，我們正在執行一項占我們投資組合約 36% 的主要客戶戰略。該計劃包括 350 個大型和區域性全球賬戶，在當前運行率基礎上產生近 10 億美元的收入。該戰略是維持可擴展和持久收入的關鍵。

Secondly, we're driving an integrated go-to-market strategy, One Korn Ferry, which delivers almost 30% of our revenue from cross line of business referrals. Our consulting and digital capabilities represent 38% of our firm. We're going to continue to invest in these areas to expand our suite of technological and digital capabilities.

其次，我們正在推動一個綜合的市場戰略，One Korn Ferry，它提供了我們近 30% 的收入來自跨業務推薦。我們的諮詢和數字能力占我們公司的 38%。我們將繼續在這些領域進行投資，以擴展我們的技術和數字能力套件。

And we're also excited about the potential of our new interim business with about $200 million of annual run rate on a current basis. Then that includes our most recent investment in Infinity Consulting Solutions last March, and we really welcome them to the Korn Ferry family.

而且我們也對我們新的臨時業務的潛力感到興奮，目前的年營業額約為 2 億美元。然後包括我們去年 3 月對 Infinity Consulting Solutions 的最新投資，我們非常歡迎他們加入光輝國際大家庭。

Given the labor imbalances that exist, and the career nomad trend as people change jobs more frequently, we continue to pivot toward bringing our interim capabilities to market. We also see growth opportunities around the focus on sales effectiveness and bolstering tech upskilling in the marketplace. ICS has a heavy focus on technologists, and our firm is working on a digital platform to upskill technology professionals.

鑑於存在的勞動力不平衡，以及隨著人們更頻繁地更換工作而出現的職業游牧趨勢，我們繼續將我們的臨時能力推向市場。我們還看到了圍繞銷售效率和加強市場技術提升的增長機會。 ICS 非常關注技術人員，我們公司正在開發一個數字平台，以提高技術專業人員的技能。

Lastly, we're going to continue to execute a balanced, disciplined approach to capital allocation. The times of great change can bring great opportunity. We're going to remain relentlessly focused on meeting the evolving needs of our clients, as they rethink all aspects of their strategy, their organizational leadership and talent components needed to drive success. This includes specialized offerings in learning and professional development for these times.

最後，我們將繼續執行一種平衡、有紀律的資本配置方法。大變革的時代可以帶來大機遇。我們將繼續不懈地專注於滿足客戶不斷變化的需求，因為他們重新思考其戰略的各個方面、他們的組織領導力和推動成功所需的人才組成部分。這包括在這些時代提供的學習和專業發展方面的專業服務。

While cycles will continually change, the long-term premium on people endures. Strategy without talent is helpless, and talent without strategy is hopeless. Korn Ferry is the firm that helps clients drive performance through synchronizing their organization, their strategy and their people.

雖然週期會不斷變化，但人們的長期溢價會持續存在。戰略沒有人才是無奈，人才沒有戰略是沒有希望的。 Korn Ferry 是一家通過同步組織、戰略和人員來幫助客戶提高績效的公司。

I'm joined this morning by Gregg Kvochak and Bob Rozek. Bob, I'll turn it over to you.

Gregg Kvochak 和 Bob Rozek 今天早上加入了我的行列。鮑勃，我會把它交給你的。

Great. Thanks, Gary, and good afternoon or good morning, depending where you are in the world.

偉大的。謝謝，加里，下午好或早上好，這取決於你在世界的哪個地方。

Secular drivers are reshaping the world of work and continue to drive our business forward. Even in today's uncertain economic environment, global labor markets continue to be dislocated, challenged by shortages of skilled talent. And it really drives companies to seek new and innovative ways of finding, engaging, developing and retaining their workforce.

世俗的驅動因素正在重塑工作世界，並繼續推動我們的業務向前發展。即使在當今不確定的經濟環境中，全球勞動力市場仍然錯位，面臨技術人才短缺的挑戰。它確實促使公司尋求新的和創新的方式來尋找、參與、發展和留住員工。

Our strategy capitalizes on these drivers. An example of this is our timely diversification into interim talent solutions that Gary just spoke about. We're helping our clients with their increased need for finding quality talent, which, in today's times of labor shortages, is both permanent and interim positions.

我們的戰略利用了這些驅動因素。這方面的一個例子是我們及時多元化到 Gary 剛剛談到的臨時人才解決方案。我們正在幫助我們的客戶滿足他們對尋找優質人才的日益增長的需求，在當今勞動力短缺的時代，這既是長期職位，也是臨時職位。

Today, more than ever, our broad collection of integrated talent management solutions anchored in a common set of proprietary intellectual property are perfectly aligned with the needs of the market. Now this ever-growing relevance uniquely positions us to partner with our clients to find bona fide business solutions to today's most difficult talent issues.

今天，我們以一套共同的專有知識產權為基礎的廣泛的綜合人才管理解決方案集合比以往任何時候都更符合市場需求。現在，這種不斷增長的相關性使我們能夠與客戶合作，為當今最困難的人才問題尋找真正的商業解決方案。

Remember, as I've said in the past, no company has ever navigated through uncertain times or solved a sticky business issue without the help of people, and that's where we come in. Our services and solutions enable people and organizations to exceed their potential. We continue to thrive in today's economy, and our results for the first quarter of fiscal '23 illustrate the power of our strategy and our relentless focus on execution.

請記住，正如我過去所說，沒有一家公司能夠在沒有人的幫助的情況下度過不確定的時期或解決棘手的業務問題，這就是我們的用武之地。我們的服務和解決方案使人們和組織能夠超越他們的潛力.我們在當今的經濟中繼續蓬勃發展，我們在 23 財年第一季度的業績說明了我們戰略的力量和我們對執行的不懈關注。

In the first quarter, fee revenue grew to $696 million, which was up $110 million or 19% year-over-year, and that was up 24% at constant currency. Every line of business grew year-over-year in the first quarter led by Professional Search and Interim, which was up 101%; RPO, which was up 37%; and Consulting, which was up 18%, now all of that at constant currency.

第一季度，費用收入增長至 6.96 億美元，同比增長 1.1 億美元或 19%，按固定匯率計算增長 24%。在 Professional Search 和 Interim 的帶動下，第一季度所有業務線均同比增長 101%； RPO，增長了 37%；和諮詢，上漲了 18%，現在所有這些都是按固定匯率計算的。

Consolidated new business, excluding RPO, was also up in the first quarter, with year-over-year growth in nearly every line of business. By month, new business was good in May, strong in June, but was followed by a slower July. RPO new business remained exceptionally strong in the first quarter, with another $149 million of new contracts.

第一季度，不包括 RPO 的合併新業務也有所增長，幾乎所有業務線都實現了同比增長。按月份來看，5 月份的新業務表現良好，6 月份表現強勁，但隨後 7 月份表現放緩。 RPO 新業務在第一季度仍然異常強勁，新合同額為 1.49 億美元。

An interesting note, synergies between our Professional Search and Interim, which includes, obviously, our recent acquisitions, with our other lines of business continues to remain strong as the cross line of business referrals actually increased the Professional Search and Interim new business by almost 18% for the quarter.

有趣的是，我們的 Professional Search 和 Interim 之間的協同效應，顯然包括我們最近的收購，以及我們的其他業務線繼續保持強勁，因為跨業務線推薦實際上將 Professional Search 和 Interim 新業務增加了近 18本季度的百分比。

Now our digital new business was lighter than expected. For the 8 prior quarters, digital averaged about $10 million per quarter in large deals, with large being defined as those over $1 million. Going into the quarter, digital had a strong pipeline of large deals, but only $2 million in large deals closed in the quarter. The pipeline for large deals remains very strong, and we expect to return to historical levels of deal closings.

現在我們的數字新業務比預期的要輕。在之前的 8 個季度中，數字交易平均每季度約 1000 萬美元的大宗交易，其中大宗交易被定義為超過 100 萬美元的交易。進入本季度，Digital 擁有強大的大宗交易渠道，但本季度僅完成了 200 萬美元的大宗交易。大型交易的渠道仍然非常強勁，我們預計交易完成將恢復到歷史水平。

Higher revenue and disciplined cost control continue to drive earnings growth. Adjusted EBITDA grew $11 million or 9% year-over-year to $132 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 19%. Our earnings and profitability in the first quarter were impacted by both investment spending for new hires as well as promotion pay raises. These investments in our colleagues are important to drive future growth and to keep our colleagues engaged and motivated.

更高的收入和嚴格的成本控制繼續推動盈利增長。調整後 EBITDA 同比增長 1100 萬美元或 9% 至 1.32 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 19%。我們第一季度的收益和盈利能力受到新員工投資支出和晉升加薪的影響。這些對我們同事的投資對於推動未來的增長以及保持我們的同事的參與和積極性非常重要。

Our adjusted EBITDA margins were also impacted by our continued investment in interim businesses, which carry a slightly lower post-synergy adjusted EBITDA margin, but really offer us significant opportunities to capture outsized rates of fee revenue growth.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率也受到我們對臨時業務的持續投資的影響，這些業務的協同效應後調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率略低，但確實為我們提供了捕捉超額費用收入增長率的重要機會。

And finally, our adjusted diluted earnings per share grew $0.13 or 9% year-over-year to $1.50. Our investable cash position remains strong. At the end of the first quarter, cash and marketable securities totaled about $897 million. Now excluding amounts reserved for deferred comp arrangements and accrued bonuses, our global investable cash balance at the end of the first quarter was approximately $614 million.

最後，我們調整後的稀釋後每股收益同比增長 0.13 美元或 9% 至 1.50 美元。我們的可投資現金狀況依然強勁。第一季度末，現金和有價證券總額約為 8.97 億美元。現在不包括為遞延薪酬安排和應計獎金預留的金額，我們在第一季度末的全球可投資現金餘額約為 6.14 億美元。

You heard Gary talk about our capital deployment, how that continues to be well balanced. In the first quarter, we repurchased about 370,000 shares of our stock using about $22 million, paid a cash dividend of approximately $7 million and we funded about $17 million of capital expenditures, most of which was directed towards development initiatives for our digital business. And as we previously announced, we deployed about $100 million in capital with the acquisition of Infinity Consulting Solutions, or ICS. And we did that on August 1, the first day of our second quarter.

您聽到 Gary 談到我們的資本部署，以及如何繼續保持良好平衡。在第一季度，我們用約 2200 萬美元回購了約 370,000 股股票，支付了約 700 萬美元的現金股息，並為約 1700 萬美元的資本支出提供了資金，其中大部分用於我們數字業務的發展計劃。正如我們之前宣布的那樣，我們通過收購 Infinity Consulting Solutions 或 ICS 部署了大約 1 億美元的資本。我們在第二季度的第一天 8 月 1 日做到了這一點。

With that, I'm going to turn the call over to Gregg to review our operating segments in more detail.

有了這個，我將把電話轉給格雷格，以更詳細地審查我們的運營部門。

Thanks, Bob.

謝謝，鮑勃。

Starting with KF Digital. Global fee revenue for KF Digital was $83.8 million, which was up approximately 4% year-over-year and 10% at constant currency. The subscription and license component of digital's fee revenue continued to grow, reaching $30 million, which is up approximately 21% year-over-year and was approximately 35% of revenue for the quarter.

從 KF 數碼開始。 KF Digital 的全球費用收入為 8380 萬美元，同比增長約 4%，按固定匯率計算增長 10%。 Digital 費用收入的訂閱和許可部分繼續增長，達到 3000 萬美元，同比增長約 21%，約佔本季度收入的 35%。

Global new business for KF Digital was approximately $93 million, with $31 million of the total coming from subscription and license sales.

KF Digital 的全球新業務約為 9300 萬美元，其中 3100 萬美元來自訂閱和許可銷售。

Earnings and profitability were slightly impacted in the quarter by investments in both commercial sales representatives and product development initiatives. In the first quarter, digital generated adjusted EBITDA of $24.2 million, with a 29% adjusted EBITDA margin.

本季度的收益和盈利能力受到對商業銷售代表和產品開發計劃的投資的輕微影響。第一季度，數字業務產生了 2420 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 29%。

Now turning to Consulting. Fee revenue grew to $166.5 million, which was up approximately 12% year-over-year and 18% at constant currency. Fee revenue growth continued to be broad based across all solution areas and strongest regionally in EMEA and North America, which were up 18% and 20%, respectively, at constant currency.

現在轉向諮詢。費用收入增長至 1.665 億美元，同比增長約 12%，按固定匯率計算增長 18%。費用收入在所有解決方案領域繼續廣泛增長，在歐洲、中東和非洲和北美地區表現最為強勁，按固定匯率計算分別增長 18% 和 20%。

Consulting new business was up 1% year-over-year and 7% at constant currency. In the first quarter, adjusted EBITDA for Consulting grew $2.7 million or 10% to $29.6 million, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.7%.

諮詢新業務同比增長 1%，按固定匯率計算增長 7%。第一季度，諮詢業務調整後 EBITDA 增長 270 萬美元或 10% 至 2960 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 17.7%。

Growth in Professional Search and Interim was also strong in the first quarter, supported by steady market demand for skilled professionals and aided by new and enhanced capabilities recently acquired from both Lucas Group and Patina.

第一季度專業搜索和臨時業務的增長也很強勁，這得益於市場對熟練專業人員的穩定需求，以及最近從 Lucas Group 和 Patina 獲得的新的和增強的能力。

Fee revenue for permanent placement was $74 million, which was up approximately $22 million or 42% year-over-year. Our interim fee revenue grew to $25 million, with quarter sequential growth driven in part by our recent acquisition of Patina, which provides senior level executive and professional talent on a project basis.

永久安置的費用收入為 7400 萬美元，同比增長約 2200 萬美元或 42%。我們的中期費用收入增長到 2500 萬美元，季度環比增長的部分原因是我們最近收購了 Patina，該公司以項目為基礎提供高級管理人員和專業人才。

Our interim business average bill rate was approximately $122 per hour. Adjusted EBITDA was up $9.8 million or 50% year-over-year and $29.2 million -- or $229.2 million with a 29.5% adjusted EBITDA margin.

我們的臨時業務平均賬單費率約為每小時 122 美元。調整後的 EBITDA 同比增長 980 萬美元或 50%，同比增長 2920 萬美元，即 2.292 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 29.5%。

Fundamentals for our recruitment process outsourcing business remained strong in the first quarter. RPO was awarded another $148 million of new business in the first quarter, consisting of $114 million of new client work and $34 million of renewals and extensions. This brings the total revenue under contract at the end of the first quarter to approximately $821 million.

第一季度，我們招聘流程外包業務的基本面依然強勁。 RPO 在第一季度又獲得了 1.48 億美元的新業務，其中包括 1.14 億美元的新客戶工作和 3400 萬美元的續訂和延期。這使第一季度末的合同總收入達到約 8.21 億美元。

Fee revenue was also strong, growing to $114 million, which was up $27 million or 30% year-over-year and approximately 37% at constant currency. Earnings per RPO continued to scale with revenue, with adjusted EBITDA at $17.7 million, which was up $3.2 million or 22% year-over-year with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.5%.

費用收入也很強勁，增長至 1.14 億美元，同比增長 2700 萬美元或 30%，按固定匯率計算增長約 37%。每個 RPO 的收益繼續隨收入增長，調整後的 EBITDA 為 1770 萬美元，同比增長 320 萬美元或 22%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 15.5%。

Finally, in the first quarter, global fee revenue for Executive Search grew to $233 million, which was up 7% year-over-year and 11% at constant currency. Growth was strongest in EMEA and North America, which were up approximately 22% and 10%, respectively, at constant currency. Global new business for Executive Search was also strong in the first quarter, up approximately 9% year-over-year and 12% at constant currency.

最後，在第一季度，全球獵頭費用收入增長至 2.33 億美元，同比增長 7%，按固定匯率計算增長 11%。 EMEA 和北美的增長最為強勁，按固定匯率計算分別增長了約 22% 和 10%。第一季度全球獵頭新業務也很強勁，同比增長約 9%，按固定匯率計算增長 12%。

We continue to expand our team of consultants, with a total number of dedicated Executive Search consultants worldwide at the end of the first quarter reaching 619, which was up 54 year-over-year and up 32 sequentially. The 32 consultant additions in the quarter consists of 13 net new hires and 19 promotions.

我們繼續擴大我們的顧問團隊，截至第一季度末，全球專門的獵頭顧問總數達到 619 人，同比增長 54 人，環比增長 32 人。本季度新增的 32 名顧問包括 13 名淨新員工和 19 名晉升。

Annualized fee revenue production per consultant in the first quarter remained strong at $1.54 million, and the number of new search assignments opened worldwide in the first quarter was down 4% year-over-year to 1,682. In the first quarter, Global Executive Search adjusted EBITDA grew to approximately $62.2 million, which was up 1% year-over-year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.7%.

第一季度每位顧問的年化費用收入保持強勁，為 154 萬美元，第一季度全球新開放的搜索任務數量同比下降 4% 至 1,682。第一季度，全球高管搜索調整後 EBITDA 增長至約 6220 萬美元，同比增長 1%，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 26.7%。

Now I'll turn the call back over to Bob to discuss our outlook for the second quarter of fiscal '23.

現在我將把電話轉回給鮑勃，討論我們對 23 財年第二季度的展望。

Great. Thanks, Gregg.

偉大的。謝謝，格雷格。

In setting guidance, there were a number of factors we considered. First, let's revisit the broader landscape and the big reset that Gary mentioned. Increasing uncertainty and economic factors like inflation that we haven't seen since the 1970s, rising interest rates, supply chain disruptions, escalating geopolitical tensions, all of this contributes to a wide range of potential outcomes.

在製定指導方針時，我們考慮了許多因素。首先，讓我們回顧一下 Gary 提到的更廣闊的前景和大的重置。自 1970 年代以來我們從未見過的通脹、利率上升、供應鏈中斷、地緣政治緊張局勢升級等不確定性和經濟因素不斷增加，所有這些都導致了廣泛的潛在結果。

Second, we consider the fact that consolidated new business in the first quarter was up year-over-year, with growth across nearly all lines of business. Now on a monthly basis at constant currency, our consolidated new business without RPO and measured year-over-year grew 19% in May, 26% in June and then decelerated to approximately 7% in July at the beginning of the summer vacation season. At constant currency, our August new business without RPO, which historically is seasonally slower, was up 15% year-over-year.

其次，我們認為第一季度合併後的新業務同比增長，幾乎所有業務線都有增長。現在按固定匯率按月計算，我們沒有 RPO 的合併新業務在 5 月份同比增長 19%，在 6 月份增長 26%，然後在暑假季節開始時減速至 7% 左右。按固定匯率計算，我們 8 月份沒有 RPO 的新業務（歷史上季節性較慢）同比增長 15%。

Third, we looked at our historical seasonal patterns of new business. And if they were to repeat, we would expect September new business to grow sequentially over August and then peak at a quarter high in October.

第三，我們審視了新業務的歷史季節性模式。如果他們重蹈覆轍，我們預計 9 月份的新業務將在 8 月份連續增長，然後在 10 月份達到四分之一高點。

And last, while we understand the current state of play, it is difficult to know what the future holds. So for purposes of determining our guidance, we are assuming no new major pandemic-related lockdowns or any further changes in worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets and foreign exchange rates.

最後，雖然我們了解當前的比賽狀態，但很難知道未來會怎樣。因此，為了確定我們的指導方針，我們假設沒有新的與大流行相關的重大封鎖或全球地緣政治狀況、經濟狀況、金融市場和外匯匯率的任何進一步變化。

Now considering all of those factors above, we broke from a historical monthly new business patterns in the second quarter, and we have assumed that September new business will be on par with what we did in August, and the month sequential increase in October will be mid-single digits.

現在考慮到以上所有因素，我們打破了第二季度歷史上的月度新業務模式，我們假設 9 月的新業務將與我們 8 月的水平持平，而 10 月的月環比增長將是中個位數。

So for our fiscal year '23 second quarter, we expect fee revenue to range from $678 million to $708 million and our consolidated adjusted diluted earnings per share to range from $1.34 to $1.50 and our GAAP diluted earnings per share to range from $1.28 to $1.45.

因此，對於我們的 23 財年第二季度，我們預計費用收入將在 6.78 億美元至 7.08 億美元之間，我們的合併調整後每股攤薄收益將在 1.34 美元至 1.50 美元之間，我們的 GAAP 攤薄每股收益將在 1.28 美元至 1.45 美元之間。

Now our guidance for the second quarter includes the addition of ICS, our recent acquisition. ICS provides professional talent primarily on an interim basis in high-demand specialties like information technology, legal and compliance and finance and accounting. In calendar year '21, ICS generated approximately $88 million of fee revenue, with about 90% being generated from IT interim services.

現在，我們對第二季度的指導包括增加我們最近收購的 ICS。 ICS 主要在信息技術、法律和合規以及財務和會計等高需求專業的臨時基礎上提供專業人才。在 21 日曆年，ICS 產生了大約 8800 萬美元的費用收入，其中大約 90% 來自 IT 臨時服務。

Now in closing, even if economic headwinds begin to accelerate and job postings begin to moderate, we believe shortages of skilled executive and professional talent will persist against the backdrop of elevated global uncertainty.

現在結束了，即使經濟逆風開始加速並且職位發布開始放緩，我們相信在全球不確定性升高的背景下，熟練的行政人員和專業人才的短缺將持續存在。

Additionally, today, more than ever, our clients realize that an integrated talent management strategy is critical to their long-term success in finding a relevant partner to help them with issues, such as workforce transformation and digitization; employee retention and development; ESG, including diversity, equity and inclusion. Accelerated revenue growth in a number of other complex talent initiatives is essential.

此外，今天，我們的客戶比以往任何時候都更加意識到，綜合人才管理戰略對於他們在尋找相關合作夥伴以幫助他們解決勞動力轉型和數字化等問題方面取得長期成功至關重要；員工保留和發展； ESG，包括多樣性、公平性和包容性。在許多其他復雜的人才計劃中，加速收入增長至關重要。

With the collection of assets that we have, core and integrated solutions, data, IP, content, we are an industry of one, uniquely positioned to be the partner that helps people and organizations exceed their potential.

憑藉我們擁有的資產、核心和集成解決方案、數據、IP、內容的集合，我們是一個行業，獨特的定位是成為幫助人們和組織超越潛力的合作夥伴。

With that, we would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

有了這個，我們很樂意回答您可能有的任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from the line of George Tong with Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 George Tong。

In the past, you've discussed normalized EBITDA margins being in the 18% to 19% range. Can you discuss whether you expect to land within that range in fiscal 2023? And what EBITDA margin assumptions are included in your fiscal 2Q EPS guide?

過去，您曾討論過標準化 EBITDA 利潤率在 18% 至 19% 的範圍內。您能否討論一下您是否希望在 2023 財年落在該範圍內？您的第二財季每股收益指南中包含哪些 EBITDA 利潤率假設？

We don't guide out more than a quarter, but I would say that we have an enormous potential given the labor trends that we're seeing in the marketplace around Professional Search and Interim and RPO. And with that increasing pursuit of those growth opportunities comes with it a higher revenue but at a lower margin.

我們的指導不超過四分之一，但我想說，鑑於我們在專業搜索和臨時和 RPO 市場上看到的勞動力趨勢，我們擁有巨大的潛力。隨著對這些增長機會的日益追求，隨之而來的是更高的收入，但利潤率更低。

And so right now, if you were to look at it where we currently are with the interim business and the RPO business that's getting increasing traction in the marketplace, we would assume that, that's at least a 50 basis point impact on what we had talked about in terms of long-term margins.

所以現在，如果你看一下我們目前在市場上越來越受關注的臨時業務和 RPO 業務的情況，我們會假設，這對我們所說的內容至少有 50 個基點的影響關於長期利潤率。

Now if we are even more successful, particularly on the interim side, and if companies really pivot towards cost optimization and there's still a labor imbalance, the RPO business has even greater runway.

現在，如果我們更加成功，特別是在過渡方面，並且如果公司真的轉向成本優化並且仍然存在勞動力不平衡，那麼 RPO 業務將會有更大的發展空間。

And so with those 2 things, there clearly could be a pressure on what we had talked about last quarter in terms of our longer-term margins, but it really depends on whether we're able to capitalize on those growth opportunities.

因此，就這兩件事而言，我們上個季度談到的長期利潤率顯然可能會受到壓力，但這實際上取決於我們是否能夠利用這些增長機會。

George, I would -- go ahead, George.

喬治，我會 - 繼續，喬治。

No. Just to follow up, so what margin assumptions are embedded in your fiscal 2Q guide?

不，只是為了跟進，那麼您的第二財季指南中包含了哪些利潤率假設？

Yes. So I was just going to say it's right in the range that we talked about, 18% to 19%.

是的。所以我只想說它在我們討論的範圍內，18% 到 19%。

Okay. Perfect. And then a follow-up question on quarterly new business growth. It was 26% year-over-year in fiscal 4Q, 17% in fiscal 1Q on a constant currency basis. What's a reasonable and sustainable rate of growth for new business? And how should that translate into near- to medium-term fee revenue growth?

好的。完美的。然後是關於季度新業務增長的後續問題。按固定匯率計算，第四財季同比增長 26%，第一財季同比增長 17%。新業務的合理且可持續的增長率是多少？這應該如何轉化為近期到中期的費用收入增長？

Well, life is full of cycles, and businesses are full of cycles. I would point back to our 10-year CAGR has been 13% and our 20-year CAGR is 10%. So through different kinds of cycles, that has been our actual performance.

嗯，生活充滿了循環，企業也充滿了循環。我會指出我們的 10 年復合年增長率為 13%，我們的 20 年復合年增長率為 10%。因此，通過不同類型的周期，這就是我們的實際表現。

Clearly, the levels that we saw coming out of the pandemic, the complete shutdown, those are not sustainable. And so you look at July and August, and new business in both those months was up 7%, 8% constant currency, kind of 3% actual. And that's probably -- that's more in line with our 10- and 20-year CAGRs.

顯然，我們從大流行中看到的水平，完全關閉，這些是不可持續的。所以你看看 7 月和 8 月，這兩個月的新業務增長了 7%，固定匯率增長了 8%，實際增長了 3%。這可能 - 這更符合我們的 10 年和 20 年復合年增長率。

Our next question is from Tim Mulrooney with William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自 Tim Mulrooney 和 William Blair。

So in Executive Search, it looks like the number of engagements billed and number of new engagements is down sequentially and year-over-year. We keep hearing about how the tight labor market, how tight it still is today. And you read all these articles about the skills gap for leadership roles.

因此，在高管搜索中，計費的參與數量和新參與的數量似乎在逐年下降。我們不斷聽到勞動力市場的緊張程度，今天仍然如此緊張。你閱讀了所有這些關於領導角色技能差距的文章。

But given the recent deceleration in the numbers, I'm curious how you'd characterize the state of the labor market right now relative to, say, 3 to 6 months ago for Executive Search.

但鑑於最近的數字減速，我很好奇你如何描述目前勞動力市場的狀況，相對於 3 到 6 個月前的獵頭而言。

Well, look, we would look at Executive Search and then we would look at the bigger opportunity around knowledge workers, professional level people. And I would say that on the executive side, you're not going to see what we saw a few months ago in terms of the level of demand that escalated there.

好吧，看，我們會看看獵頭，然後我們會看看圍繞知識工作者、專業水平人員的更大機會。我想說的是，在執行方面，就那裡升級的需求水平而言，你不會看到我們幾個月前看到的情況。

So you look today, our unit count is running -- I'm taking July and August now. I'm not talking about our first quarter. But take the unit count, it's probably above -- slightly above where we were pre-pandemic on Executive Search. But the fees, the productivity, the average fees are substantially higher, which reflects the broader landscape of wage inflation.

所以你今天看，我們的單位計數正在運行——我現在正在考慮 7 月和 8 月。我不是在談論我們的第一季度。但是以單位數量計算，它可能高於 - 略高於我們在高管搜索大流行前的水平。但費用、生產力、平均費用要高得多，這反映了工資上漲的更廣泛前景。

When it comes to Professional Search and Interim, I think there's a significant labor imbalance, and I just look at the U.S. workforce as an example. And you go back 15 years, and there's not much growth in the workforce. The last 2.5 to 3 years, there's really no growth. And as you know, the labor participation rate is 62%.

談到專業搜索和臨時工作，我認為勞動力嚴重失衡，我只是以美國勞動力為例。回到 15 年前，勞動力並沒有太大的增長。過去的 2.5 到 3 年，確實沒有增長。如你所知，勞動參與率為62%。

So central banks are focused on demand, tamping down demand. I don't know if the problem is so much demand as it is supply, and supply clearly when it comes to labor. So I think what you're reading today is exactly what we're seeing and why we've, over the last 18 months, made such a big push towards career nomads and interim professionals and professional search.

因此，中央銀行專注於需求，抑制需求。我不知道問題是需求多還是供給多，而且在勞動力方面供應明確。因此，我認為您今天閱讀的內容正是我們所看到的，以及為什麼我們在過去 18 個月中如此大力推動職業游牧民、臨時專業人士和專業搜索。

Got it. That's helpful. If I kind of stay on this point about the massive shortage that we have and that maybe being reflected stronger in interim and professional search. And Bob, maybe this one is for you, but you did, I think, $74 million this quarter in Professional Search and $52 million in the first quarter of last year.

知道了。這很有幫助。如果我在這一點上停留在我們所擁有的巨大短缺上，並且這可能會在臨時和專業搜索中得到更強的反映。 Bob，也許這個是給你的，但我認為你在本季度的專業搜索中獲得了 7400 萬美元，去年第一季度獲得了 5200 萬美元。

But I do believe that there's some acquired revenue from Lucas and Patina in there. Maybe Infinity, I don't know. But if you were to strip out the acquired revenue, I don't know if you have that number handy, but how would the Professional Search business have performed on an organic basis in the quarter?

但我確實相信那裡有一些從盧卡斯和帕蒂娜那裡獲得的收入。也許無限，我不知道。但如果你要剔除獲得的收入，我不知道你是否有這個數字，但專業搜索業務在本季度的有機基礎上表現如何？

Yes. The Pro Search business on an organic basis, we would have seen kind of low single-digit growth in the first quarter. And remember, Tim, and even thinking about what George's questions were, the M&A, I know people like to look at things organic and inorganic.

是的。專業搜索業務在有機基礎上，我們會在第一季度看到低個位數的增長。記住，蒂姆，甚至想想喬治的問題是什麼，併購，我知道人們喜歡看有機和無機的東西。

But M&A is a huge part of our strategy. And when Gary talks about 10% CAGRs and 13% CAGRs, that includes M&A. And we view M&A as just -- it's no different than putting capital investment into digital to grow that business. So we -- as we look at ourselves and the opportunities, we look at it all in.

但併購是我們戰略的重要組成部分。當 Gary 談到 10% 的複合年增長率和 13% 的複合年增長率時，這包括併購。我們認為併購只是——這與將資本投資於數字化以發展該業務沒有什麼不同。所以我們 - 當我們審視自己和機會時，我們會全面審視它。

So maybe I'll just ask one more then as a follow-up there. I mean, what is your appetite for more M&A in this environment? Should we expect you to take a little bit of a pause here and integrate these 3 assets that you've recently acquired? Or are you still comfortable pursuing more acquisitions this fiscal year?

所以也許我會再問一個，然後作為後續行動。我的意思是，在這種環境下，您對更多併購的興趣是什麼？我們是否應該期待您在這裡稍作停頓，整合您最近獲得的這 3 項資產？還是您仍然願意在本財年進行更多收購？

We're pursuing on absolutely a balanced approach, a systematic approach to capital deployment. And yes, we do have an appetite. We are going to continue to make investments. We're going to do it cautiously, carefully. And we're also going to balance out with our returns to shareholders.

我們正在追求一種絕對平衡的方法，一種系統的資本配置方法。是的，我們確實有胃口。我們將繼續進行投資。我們會小心翼翼，小心翼翼地做這件事。我們還將平衡我們對股東的回報。

Our next question is from Mark Marcon with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Mark Marcon 和 Baird。

Tim's last question was going to be my first question, but let me expand that to also internal hiring. I mean, Gary, we've been through multiple cycles together. The Fed is obviously working hard to tamp down demand.

蒂姆的最後一個問題將是我的第一個問題，但讓我將其擴展到內部招聘。我的意思是，加里，我們一起經歷了多個週期。美聯儲顯然正在努力抑制需求。

Are you going to stay on the same pace from an acquisition perspective as what you've been on over the last 12 months? Or would that pace be a little bit more tempered? Or would you be -- or would you apply maybe more bargaining with regards to what price you'd be willing to pay given that it looks like the cycle is kind of peaking here?

從收購的角度來看，您是否會保持與過去 12 個月相同的步伐？或者這個速度會更緩和一些嗎？或者你會 - 或者你可能會就你願意支付的價格進行更多的討價還價，因為看起來週期在這里達到頂峰？

Well, I hope it's the latter. I hope we're very smart. And certainly, we would absolutely take into account the economic context and the valuation, no doubt about it.

好吧，我希望是後者。我希望我們很聰明。當然，我們絕對會考慮經濟背景和估值，這是毫無疑問的。

But I do see this labor imbalance is real. And I think there is a supply issue, not only a supply chain issue, but a supply issue of talent. And so we do see an opportunity here to capitalize on Pro Search and in Interim.

但我確實看到這種勞動力不平衡是真實存在的。我認為存在供應問題，不僅是供應鏈問題，還有人才供應問題。因此，我們確實在這裡看到了利用 Pro Search 和臨時性的機會。

And as Bob alluded to, what we're seeing is incredibly high levels of cross referrals on the businesses that we've acquired. So I think we'll be consistent, we'll be steady, but we'll absolutely be mindful of the economic context and valuation levels.

正如鮑勃所暗示的那樣，我們所看到的是我們收購的業務的高水平交叉推薦。所以我認為我們會保持一致，我們會保持穩定，但我們絕對會注意經濟背景和估值水平。

Along those lines, I mean, what are you thinking about with regards to internal hires and particularly in areas like consulting or executive search? How should we think about headcount on a go-forward basis?

沿著這些思路，我的意思是，對於內部招聘，尤其是在諮詢或獵頭等領域，你有什麼想法？在前進的基礎上，我們應該如何考慮員工人數？

We -- number one, in the digital area, we are -- cautiously, but we are increasing the capacity there on the commercial salespeople that we have. So that is an area that we've been actively pursuing now for several months. We're going to continue to do that. We're going to be careful about it.

我們 - 在數字領域排名第一，我們是 - 謹慎，但我們正在增加我們擁有的商業銷售人員的能力。所以這是我們幾個月來一直在積極追求的領域。我們將繼續這樣做。我們會小心的。

But clearly, that's one, and consulting is the other. So both of those areas, we haven't changed our viewpoint in terms of bringing in talent and also promoting talent. I mean, we just had a record level of promotions as well the past year.

但顯然，這是一個，而諮詢是另一個。所以這兩個領域，我們在引進人才和提拔人才方面都沒有改變我們的觀點。我的意思是，在過去的一年裡，我們的促銷活動也達到了創紀錄的水平。

And Mark, it's Bob. I was just going to add to that in the digital business, we're also adding product development folks. We were maybe a little bit over relying on contractors in the past. And so we're shifting to bring more of those resources in-house, so you don't have knowledge walking out the door when a contractor decides to leave.

馬克，是鮑勃。我只是想在數字業務中增加這一點，我們也在增加產品開發人員。過去我們可能有點過度依賴承包商。因此，我們正在轉向將更多這些資源帶入內部，因此當承包商決定離開時，您不會知道走出門外。

Great. And then with regards to EMEA, on the Executive Search side, it's been surprisingly strong given some of the challenges that are occurring over there. What do you attribute that to?

偉大的。然後關於歐洲、中東和非洲地區，在獵頭方面，考慮到那裡正在發生的一些挑戰，它的表現出奇的強大。你把它歸因於什麼？

Well, look, we have an outstanding team. We've got a great footprint. And when you look at the EMEA business, in July and August, I mean, on a constant currency basis, it increased, both kind of in line with what we said globally about July and August. So that was very good to see. It's been fairly broad based across EMEA.

好吧，看，我們有一支優秀的團隊。我們的足跡很大。當您查看 EMEA 業務時，在 7 月和 8 月，我的意思是，在不變的貨幣基礎上，它有所增加，這與我們在全球範圍內關於 7 月和 8 月所說的一致。所以很高興看到。它在歐洲、中東和非洲的基礎相當廣泛。

The area -- the region that showed the weakness, Mark, is Asia, and that has certainly tempered the new business that we saw in July and August. The policy in China around zero tolerance has absolutely had an impact on our business levels of new business in July and August. And China is a big driver, not only of the world. 33% of the world is manufacturing, but it's clearly a driver of the broader Asia Pacific region.

表現出弱點的地區，馬克，是亞洲，這無疑緩和了我們在 7 月和 8 月看到的新業務。中國的零容忍政策對我們7、8月份新業務的業務水平產生了絕對的影響。中國是一個大驅動力，不僅是世界的驅動力。 33% 的世界是製造業，但它顯然是更廣泛的亞太地區的驅動力。

Yes. If we go into a recession, say, a mild one, not like the last 2, which were extraordinary, but just kind of along the lines of a '90, '91, where do you think margins -- what level could you keep margins at or with the flexibility that you currently have? In other words, every cycle, you've done a little bit better in terms of margin protection. How should we think about it this time around?

是的。如果我們陷入衰退，比如說，溫和的衰退，不像過去的兩次那樣非同尋常，但有點像 90 年、91 年，你認為利潤率在哪裡——你能保持什麼水平您當前擁有的靈活性或與您當前擁有的靈活性的利潤率？換句話說，每個週期，您在保證金保護方面都做得更好。這一次我們應該如何思考？

Yes. No, that's a good point. I'll let Bob answer the details, but you're right. I mean, when you look at the company's performance, peak to peak, trough to trough, during these different cycles, we've topped for sure. We've topped previous cycles.

是的。不，這是一個很好的觀點。我會讓鮑勃回答細節，但你是對的。我的意思是，當您查看公司的業績時，從峰到峰，從低谷到低谷，在這些不同的周期中，我們肯定已經達到頂峰。我們已經超過了之前的周期。

And so Bob, what would be a good way to kind of lay a framework around that?

那麼鮑勃，圍繞它建立一個框架的好方法是什麼？

Yes. So Mark, what we have in place, what we call, our operating boundaries. And if you go back to the Great Recession, during the 12 months following, when we troughed, we burned through approximately $30 million in cash. And so when we were dealing with the pandemic, we took a look at our operating boundaries and said, "What we want to do going through the pandemic is we want to maintain cash flow neutrality." And for the 12 months following the trough, we actually generated about $117 million of cash.

是的。所以馬克，我們有什麼，我們稱之為什麼，我們的運營邊界。如果你回到大蕭條時期，在接下來的 12 個月裡，當我們處於低谷時，我們燒掉了大約 3000 萬美元的現金。因此，當我們應對大流行時，我們查看了我們的運營邊界並說：“我們想要在大流行中做的是保持現金流中性。”在低谷之後的 12 個月裡，我們實際上產生了大約 1.17 億美元的現金。

And so now, as we look at our scenario planning, obviously, we'd want to do better than cash flow neutral. And so what we've done is we've increased the EBITDA margin and really using that as our operating value. Now we're saying on a trailing 12 basis, we would not want to go below a 5% adjusted EBITDA margin, and that would make us probably be $160 million, $170 million positive cash flow in that period.

所以現在，當我們審視我們的情景規劃時，顯然，我們希望做得比現金流中性更好。所以我們所做的是我們增加了 EBITDA 利潤率，並真正將其用作我們的運營價值。現在我們說，在過去 12 年的基礎上，我們不希望低於 5% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率，這將使我們在此期間可能達到 1.6 億美元，即 1.7 億美元的正現金流。

Now we've modeled out a couple of different scenarios. And given where the business is today, if we're down 10%, 15%, we would still be kind of low double-digit EBITDA margins given the cost structure and everything we have in place today. But we'd be looking for no less than a 5% adjusted EBITDA margin on a trailing 12 basis.

現在我們已經模擬了幾個不同的場景。考慮到今天的業務狀況，如果我們下降 10%、15%，考慮到成本結構和我們今天所擁有的一切，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率仍然會處於兩位數的低水平。但我們會在過去 12 年的基礎上尋找不少於 5% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率。

Our next question comes from the line of Marc Riddick with Sidoti.

我們的下一個問題來自 Marc Riddick 與 Sidoti 的對話。

I wanted to touch on the -- any thoughts you may have on -- anything you could share regarding the pricing dynamic that you're seeing in the various segments? And first of all, by the way, I should have mentioned that I do appreciate the breakout of RPO and Pro Search and what we saw there. So that's nice to see.

我想談談 - 你可能有什麼想法 - 關於你在各個細分市場看到的定價動態，你可以分享什麼？首先，順便說一句，我應該提到我確實很欣賞 RPO 和 Pro Search 的突破以及我們在那裡看到的東西。所以很高興看到。

But I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about sort of bill rates and maybe what room there may be there on pricing and sort of how you sort of feel about where you are currently given the demand drivers and what's needed by clients around the world. It seems as though there would be some room there to operate.

但我想知道您是否可以談談賬單費率，也許在定價方面可能有什麼空間，以及您對目前在哪裡獲得需求驅動因素以及周圍客戶需要什麼的感覺世界。似乎那裡會有一些空間可以操作。

Well, we -- about a year ago, 9 months ago, we certainly put in place protocols to increase our pricing, and that is certainly borne out in the numbers. And so when you look at the Professional Search and Executive Search businesses, there's kind of a natural regulator there, which revolves around wage inflation.

好吧，我們 - 大約一年前，也就是 9 個月前，我們當然制定了協議來提高我們的定價，這在數字上肯定得到了證實。因此，當您查看專業搜索和高管搜索業務時，那裡有一種自然的監管機構，它圍繞著工資上漲。

And so we've clearly seen that in our average fees, and we'll have to continue to see if that wage pressure continues. Certainly, today, there's been no let up on that.

因此，我們在平均費用中清楚地看到了這一點，我們將不得不繼續觀察工資壓力是否會持續。當然，今天，這一點沒有鬆懈。

In our Consulting business, when you look at our average hourly rates, it's up 20% since pre-pandemic. I think we're about $300 an hour. Now we're at $363. In this quarter sequentially, we didn't see as big of an increase. I think we're around $363, $365, something like that.

在我們的諮詢業務中，當您查看我們的平均小時費率時，它比大流行前上漲了 20%。我想我們大約每小時 300 美元。現在我們的價格是 363 美元。在本季度，我們沒有看到有太大的增長。我想我們大約是 363 美元，365 美元，差不多。

So we're continuing to put discipline around pricing. I don't see that 20% uplift for sure from where we were pre-pandemic over the next few months. But is there room to grow? Yes, there's room to grow, but we also have to be cautious of the environment around us in the competitive landscape.

因此，我們將繼續對定價進行約束。在接下來的幾個月裡，我看不到從大流行前的水平肯定會增加 20%。但是還有成長的空間嗎？是的，有增長的空間，但我們也必須在競爭格局中對我們周圍的環境保持謹慎。

Okay. Great. And then switching over to something completely different. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about if you're seeing much in the way of differentiation among industry verticals, amongst customers as far as recent activity and maybe some of their targeted priorities, if you've seen much in the way of changes in that regard?

好的。偉大的。然後切換到完全不同的東西。我想知道您是否可以談談您是否看到垂直行業之間的差異化方式，就最近的活動而言，客戶之間的差異化以及他們的一些目標優先事項，如果您已經看到了很多這方面的變化？

Well, the macro change is companies dealing with career nomads. So hybrid working, ,which is really code from working from home, that's clearly one. But then that plays into learning and development.

好吧，宏觀變化是公司與職業游牧者打交道。所以混合工作，實際上是在家工作的代碼，這顯然是一個。但這會影響學習和發展。

How do you mentor people? How do you grow? And so that's why we are putting increased emphasis on the professional development segment of our business. So that would kind of come screaming off the page, broadly speaking.

你如何指導人？你如何成長？這就是為什麼我們越來越重視我們業務的專業發展部分。所以從廣義上講，這會讓人大喊大叫。

When you look at the industries, sequentially, if you just take a look at the first quarter compared to our fourth quarter, we certainly saw a slight downdraft as you would expect in technology. You read about it. And we saw a downdraft in financial services, particularly around capital markets, as you can appreciate. So those 2 things, we saw those things pencil out in the numbers.

當您按順序查看行業時，如果您僅看一下第一季度與第四季度的比較，我們肯定會看到技術方面的輕微下滑。你讀過它。正如你所理解的，我們看到了金融服務的下滑，尤其是在資本市場周圍。所以這兩件事，我們在數字中看到了這些東西。

On the other side, we've seen continued strength in Industrial, and Industrial is our flagship offering. It's almost 30%, 26%, 28% of the firm. And we saw growth in both the fourth quarter year-over-year and then sequentially even fourth quarter to first quarter.

另一方面，我們看到工業領域的持續實力，工業是我們的旗艦產品。它幾乎占公司的 30%、26%、28%。我們看到第四季度同比增長，然後是第四季度到第一季度的連續增長。

Our next question is from Tobey Sommer with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Tobey Sommer。

I wanted to start by following up on your CAGR over the last 10 and 20 years. What's the organic CAGR over those periods?

我想從跟踪你過去 10 年和 20 年的複合年增長率開始。這些時期的有機複合年增長率是多少？

Gregg and Bob, do you have that?

格雷格和鮑勃，你們有嗎？

We don't really look at it that way. We just look at the -- again, given that M&A is such a critical part of our strategy, we view that as just deployment of capital, and we look at the growth holistically.

我們真的不這麼看。我們只看 - 再次，鑑於併購是我們戰略的重要組成部分，我們認為這只是資本的部署，我們會整體看待增長。

Okay. Within the push to interim, could you maybe put some flesh on the bones of the target that you're aiming for? What does it look like in 5 years as a percent of sales to the company, if that's a reasonable amount of time? You can pick a different one if you like. And what are the sort of focal areas that you think you'll end up having the most exposure to?

好的。在過渡期間，您是否可以在您瞄準的目標的骨頭上放一些肉？如果這是合理的時間，那麼 5 年內占公司銷售額的百分比是多少？如果你願意，你可以選擇一個不同的。你認為你最終會接觸最多的重點領域是什麼？

Tobey, to answer your first question, in our strategic plan, we would think that 30% to 40% of our growth is going to come on an inorganic basis. And I wouldn't be surprised if you look back on those numbers, and then certainly don't hold me to this because, as Gregg and Bob said, we haven't done the math. But I would presume that the inorganic piece of that is probably around that level.

托比，回答你的第一個問題，在我們的戰略計劃中，我們認為我們 30% 到 40% 的增長將來自無機基礎。如果你回顧這些數字，我不會感到驚訝，當然不要讓我堅持這一點，因為正如 Gregg 和 Bob 所說，我們還沒有計算過。但我認為其中的無機部分可能在那個水平附近。

The thing that's very hard to measure is we do have an integrated strategy when we make investments in companies. And when we make an investment, we typically see at least 25% -- 20%, 25% gearing on whatever that company's revenue was, and that's borne out in the data.

很難衡量的是，當我們對公司進行投資時，我們確實有一個綜合戰略。當我們進行投資時，我們通常會看到至少 25% - 20%，25% 取決於該公司的收入，這在數據中得到了證實。

When you look at the cross line of business referrals, it's almost 30%, which is quite significant. So that's the hard part for us to actually do the mathematics around that. But as Bob said, it's part of our disciplined approach to capital.

當您查看跨業務推薦時，幾乎是 30%，這是非常重要的。所以這對我們來說是很難圍繞它進行實際數學運算的部分。但正如鮑勃所說，這是我們嚴格的資本管理方法的一部分。

The interim business, looking out on a long-term basis, that should be at least $1 billion business. And so today, again, on a run rate basis, call that $200 million. So could you -- and this is not even talking about Professional Search. But could you see your way to $1 billion? And the focal point there is broadly around 2 areas: technologists and finance and accounting. Those are the 2 areas.

從長遠來看，臨時業務應該是至少 10 億美元的業務。因此，今天，再次以運行率計算，將其稱為 2 億美元。你也可以——這甚至不是在談論專業搜索。但你能看到自己的方式達到 10 億美元嗎？那裡的焦點大致圍繞兩個領域：技術人員以及財務和會計。這是2個領域。

I'm not saying we wouldn't -- we do an HR. We do legal. We do supply chain. We do a lot of other things, but those 2 areas would be key. If you look at kind of trying to get four or fivefold growth into that business from where it is today, and part of that would be dependent on not only this One Korn Ferry go-to-market approach that we've got a proven track record around. But it would be around, as Bob said, the investments that we make as part of a disciplined capital allocation strategy.

我不是說我們不會——我們做人力資源。我們做合法的。我們做供應鏈。我們做了很多其他事情，但這兩個領域將是關鍵。如果您考慮嘗試使該業務從今天的水平獲得四倍或五倍的增長，其中一部分將不僅取決於我們已經得到驗證的 One Korn Ferry 進入市場的方法記錄周圍。但正如鮑勃所說，它將圍繞我們作為有紀律的資本分配策略的一部分進行的投資。

In the Consulting business, how would you characterize the split of services between sort of like up cycle businesses that sell well in an expansion versus ones that sell better in uncertain times? And maybe could you give us a couple of examples of those services that sell better in uncertain times?

在諮詢業務中，您如何描述在擴張中銷售良好的向上週期業務與在不確定時期銷售更好的業務之間的服務劃分？也許你能給我們舉幾個在不確定時期賣得更好的服務的例子嗎？

Well, I think in this kind of uncertain time, there's a big wildcard because the environment is substantially different than one that I can recall. I just -- you don't see this with the kind of labor imbalance that exists. And so again, I think it's not necessarily a demand issue. I think there's an issue around supply, particularly supply of labor.

嗯，我認為在這種不確定的時期，有一個很大的通配符，因為環境與我記憶中的環境大不相同。我只是 - 你看不到這種存在的勞動力不平衡。同樣，我認為這不一定是需求問題。我認為供應存在問題，尤其是勞動力供應。

So there could be an interesting opportunity for us on the consulting and digital side around, for example, professional development. That's where we're putting a lot of emphasis there. I think there could be significant demand around sales effectiveness and what we call accelerated revenue growth. That could be up cycle.

因此，在諮詢和數字方面，我們可能會有一個有趣的機會，例如專業發展。這就是我們非常重視的地方。我認為圍繞銷售效率和我們所說的加速收入增長可能會有很大的需求。那可能是上升週期。

Two years ago, we had just a phenomenal track record around DE&I. I don't think that's going to go away. There's a focus around ESG. I don't think that's going to fully go away. So those kinds of areas are interesting today, but this is a different environment for sure.

兩年前，我們剛剛在 DE&I 方面取得了非凡的業績記錄。我認為這不會消失。 ESG 是一個焦點。我認為這不會完全消失。所以今天這些領域很有趣，但這肯定是一個不同的環境。

I just -- I haven't seen this where there continues to be this war for talent and this labor imbalance that exists and also just a change in attitudes around work-life balance. I mean, there's just tectonic shifts that are happening right now that haven't been present in previous troughs and peaks.

我只是 - 我還沒有看到這種人才爭奪戰和存在的勞動力不平衡以及圍繞工作與生活平衡的態度發生變化的情況。我的意思是，現在正在發生的構造變化在之前的低谷和高峰中沒有出現。

In the digital business, what's most promising over the next year or 2 that we might talk about? Because I remember, plus or minus a year ago, we talked about a pretty substantial sale you had in sales force effectiveness. What are you most interested in and think we're going to be talking about the most over the next year or 2?

在數字業務中，我們可能會談論的未來一兩年最有希望的是什麼？因為我記得，前後一年，我們談到了你在銷售隊伍效率方面的一筆相當可觀的銷售。您最感興趣並認為我們將在未來一兩年內談論最多的是什麼？

We did, and that will even make the comps harder in the second quarter in terms of new business. We had a very, very large win there. I think medium to longer term, clearly, channel partners, being part of an ecosystem is going to be incredibly important for us, and that is something that we're working very hard on, but the payoff is not immediate.

我們做到了，這甚至會使第二季度的新業務更加困難。我們在那裡取得了非常非常大的勝利。我認為中長期，顯然，渠道合作夥伴，成為生態系統的一部分對我們來說將非常重要，這是我們正在努力工作的事情，但回報不是立竿見影的。

But if you look at any world-class consulting organization, they are part of an ecosystem where they enjoy push and pull from those partners. So that is something that we're working hard on. And we're working hard on it, particularly around learning and professional development.

但是，如果你看看任何世界級的諮詢組織，它們都是生態系統的一部分，在這個生態系統中，它們享受著來自這些合作夥伴的推動和拉動。所以這是我們正在努力的事情。我們正在為此努力，尤其是在學習和專業發展方面。

So I hope that those are areas that you see. And again, I think the channel partners is a longer-term endeavor. But I think the area around learning and professional development is something that we're talking about and particularly around the sales effectiveness. And so when you look at the digital business today, 25% of it or so is around licensing -- primarily, I shouldn't say all licensing, but primarily using our IP to, I'll use the term, license the company.

所以我希望這些是你看到的領域。再說一次，我認為渠道合作夥伴是一項長期的努力。但我認為圍繞學習和專業發展的領域是我們正在談論的，特別是圍繞銷售效率。因此，當您查看當今的數字業務時，其中 25% 左右與許可有關——首先，我不應該說所有許可，而是主要使用我們的 IP 來，我將使用這個詞，許可公司。

So that's 1/4 of it. That's been consistent and steady growth. And this next quarter historically should be one of our better quarters for that part of our digital business. Then half of it, another 50% on top of the 25%, another 50% is really around learning and professional development. A good part of that is anchored around sales professionals. There's -- in the United States alone, there's at least 15 million sales professionals.

所以這是它的1/4。這是持續穩定的增長。從歷史上看，下一個季度應該是我們數字業務這一部分的更好的季度之一。然後是其中的一半，在 25% 的基礎上再增加 50%，另外 50% 真的是圍繞學習和專業發展。其中很大一部分是以銷售專業人員為基礎的。僅在美國，就有至少 1500 萬銷售專業人員。

And we're going to pivot in the medium term. Again, you won't see it necessarily in a couple of quarters, but we are pivoting really hard towards technologists. There's like 65 million technologists in the world, and we're developing offerings that can upskill those technologists.

我們將在中期轉向。同樣，您不一定會在幾個季度內看到它，但我們正在努力轉向技術專家。世界上有大約 6500 萬技術人員，我們正在開發能夠提升這些技術人員技能的產品。

So I hope we're talking about that. I hope we're talking about continued push and pull on our own ecosystem, particularly within consulting. I hope that we get even more traction there.

所以我希望我們正在談論這個。我希望我們談論的是繼續推動和拉動我們自己的生態系統，特別是在諮詢領域。我希望我們在那裡獲得更大的牽引力。

Then the final piece is around the commercial sales capability that we have. And right now, we're -- we've made an investment in commercial salespeople, in the digital business, where I think we're running about 325 commercial salespeople. We would think that number is going to be 350, 360 at the end of this quarter. So those are the things that I hope we're talking about successfully.

最後一點是圍繞我們擁有的商業銷售能力。現在，我們 - 我們已經對商業銷售人員進行了投資，在數字業務中，我認為我們正在運營大約 325 名商業銷售人員。我們認為這個數字將在本季度末達到 350、360。所以這些是我希望我們成功談論的事情。

If I could just ask a last numbers question to understand the guidance. What's the normal historical sequential increase in new business and/or revenue in September? I understand you described it as the guidance embeds sort of a flat comparison versus August, but what would the normal change be?

如果我可以問最後一個數字問題來理解指導。 9 月份新業務和/或收入的正常歷史連續增長是多少？我知道您將其描述為指南嵌入了與 8 月的比較，但正常的變化是什麼？

Yes. I'll let Gregg, and he can give the numbers. But certainly, in September from August, we would see an uplift. And that uplift, it's probably 5% to 10%. Then in October, you'd actually see another increase from September. And whether that's 10%, but it's certainly that kind of pattern.

是的。我會讓格雷格，他可以給出數字。但可以肯定的是，從 8 月到 9 月，我們會看到上升。而這種提升，可能是 5% 到 10%。然後在 10 月，您實際上會看到比 9 月的另一次增長。不管那是 10%，但肯定是那種模式。

Gregg, what would be the actual numbers behind that?

格雷格，這背後的實際數字是多少？

Yes, yes. I think you characterized it pretty accurately, Gary. It's going to be very high single digit, close to 10% on a sequential basis, again, September over August and then pretty close to another high single-digit increase in October over September.

是的是的。我認為你對它的描述非常準確，加里。這將是非常高的個位數，連續接近 10%，再次是 9 月超過 8 月，然後非常接近 10 月超過 9 月的另一個高個位數增長。

It appears there are no further questions. Mr. Burnison?

看來沒有其他問題了。伯尼森先生？

Okay. Thank you. Thank you to our -- first and foremost, to our colleagues and our shareholders. Thank you for taking an interest in what we're doing.

好的。謝謝你。首先感謝我們的同事和股東。感謝您對我們正在做的事情感興趣。

I really do believe that, despite all the stuff you read about the economic climate, there continues to be this pretty dramatic labor imbalance. And we're optimistic about what we can do and how we can help companies exceed their potential.

我真的相信，儘管你讀到了所有關於經濟環境的東西，但這種相當嚴重的勞動力失衡仍然存在。我們對我們能做什麼以及我們如何幫助公司超越他們的潛力持樂觀態度。

So thank you for the time today, and I look forward to speaking again. Thank you.

所以謝謝你今天的時間，我期待著再次發言。謝謝你。

Ladies and gentlemen, this conference will be available for replay 1 week starting today at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time running through September 14, 2022, at midnight. You may access the AT&T Executive playback service by dialing (866) 207-1041 and entering the access code 1548489. International participants may dial (402) 970-0847.

女士們，先生們，本次會議將於今天下午 3:00 開始重播 1 週。東部時間運行至 2022 年 9 月 14 日午夜。您可以撥打 (866) 207-1041 並輸入訪問代碼 1548489 訪問 AT&T Executive 播放服務。國際參與者可以撥打 (402) 970-0847。

Additionally, the replay will be available for playback at the company's website, www.kornferry.com, in the Investor Relations section. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

此外，回放將在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分提供。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。