Korn Ferry (KFY) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Korn Ferry Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year ended April 30, 2023 Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Following the prepared remarks, we will conduct the question-and-answer session. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes. We have also made available in the Investor Relations section of our website at kornferry.com a copy of the financial presentation that we will be reviewing with you today.

女士們、先生們，感謝你們的耐心等待，並歡迎參加光輝國際截至 2023 年 4 月 30 日的第四季度和財年電話會議。 （操作員指示） 在準備好的發言之後，我們將進行問答環節。謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製以供重播。我們還在 kornferry.com 網站的投資者關係部分提供了我們今天將與您一起審閱的財務演示文稿的副本。

Before we 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 suggest 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 that expectations reflect in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements.

在我們將電話轉交給東道主加里·伯尼森先生之前，讓我首先宣讀一份對投資者的警告聲明。今天電話會議中做出的某些陳述表明，與未來業績、計劃和目標相關的陳述構成了 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。儘管該公司認為此類前瞻性陳述中反映的預期基於合理的假設，但投資者應注意不要過分依賴此類陳述。

Actual results and future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risk factors and uncertainties, which are beyond the company's control. Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties can be found in the release relating to this presentation, in the periodic and other reports filed by the company with the SEC, including the company's soon to be filed and report for fiscal year 2023. 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 measures is contained in the financial presentation and earnings release related to this call, both which are posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.kornferry.com.

由於許多風險因素和不確定因素超出了公司的控制範圍，實際結果和未來期間可能與當前預期或期望的結果存在重大差異。有關此類風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參閱與本演示文稿相關的新聞稿、公司向 SEC 提交的定期報告和其他報告，包括公司即將提交的 2023 財年報告。此外，今天的一些評論可能會引用非 GAAP 財務指標，例如固定貨幣金額、EBITDA 和調整後 EBITDA。有關這些措施的更多信息，包括與最直接可比的 GAAP 財務措施的調節，包含在與本次電話會議相關的財務演示和收益發布中，兩者均發佈在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分。

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

這樣，我會將電話轉給加里·伯尼森。請繼續，加里。伯尼森先生，請繼續。

I'm going to tell the dial back in. Apologies.

我要告訴撥號回來。抱歉。

No problem. Thank you. Mr. Burnison is online now.

沒問題。謝謝。伯尼森先生現在在線。

I think we're ready to roll here, why don't you kick it off?

我想我們已經準備好了，你為什麼不開始呢？

Okay. We've got [logs], everybody is on the line. Number one, good afternoon, and thanks for joining us. Our team is going to get into the numbers in a moment, but I first wanted to start by saying how incredibly proud I am of our firm, of our colleagues, of our purpose to enable people and organizations to be more of that, and the results of our diversification strategy which is clearly working as we had planned. And so for example, while we've experienced a drop in the search business from post-pandemic highs, the rest of the portfolio performed as expected. With RPO less cyclical, digital and consulting growing and our new interim business really blossoming.

好的。我們有[日誌]，每個人都在線。第一，下午好，感謝您加入我們。我們的團隊稍後將討論這些數字，但我首先想說的是，我對我們的公司、我們的同事、我們讓員工和組織實現更多目標的目標以及我們的多元化戰略的結果感到非常自豪，該戰略顯然正在按照我們的計劃發揮作用。例如，雖然我們的搜索業務從大流行後的高點下降，但投資組合的其餘部分錶現符合預期。隨著 RPO 週期性的減弱，數字化和諮詢業務不斷增長，我們新的臨時業務真正蓬勃發展。

In fact, over the last 18 months or so, we've added this new interim capability which has about $400 million of annual revenue on a run rate basis, bringing our total professional search and interim business to approximately $550 million to $600 million on a run rate basis, and that's the direct result of our strategy, anticipating over 3 years ago, a workplace mobility that we thought would emerge post pandemic, and it has.

事實上，在過去 18 個月左右的時間裡，我們增加了這一新的臨時功能，按運行率計算，該功能的年收入約為 4 億美元，使我們的專業搜索和臨時業務總額按運行率計算約為 5.5 億至 6 億美元，這是我們戰略的直接結果，我們在 3 年前就預計，我們認為大流行後會出現工作場所流動性，而且它已經實現了。

Tectonic shifts are happening everywhere, how we produce and consume, where and how we work, how we're entertained, and ongoing war shifting trade lanes, inflation, interest rate rises at a rate we haven't seen in a long, long time and now generative AI. These megatrends can result in change that's fundamentally good for our clients and for Korn Ferry. And it's interesting to reflect that the foundation of our firm began with IP and science. With a world immersed in generative AI, will continue to invest not only in these technologies, but also in our proprietary data, assessment instruments and knowledge, and these will be the ultimate differentiators. Amid this transformation and change, I believe we're still at the very beginning of what Korn Ferry will be. With, therefore, much more tangible opportunity ahead to help our clients be more of that.

結構性轉變無處不在，我們如何生產和消費，我們在哪里和如何工作，我們如何娛樂，以及持續的戰爭改變貿易路線，通貨膨脹，利率上升的速度是我們很長一段時間以來沒有見過的，現在是生成人工智能。這些大趨勢可以帶來根本上對我們的客戶和光輝國際有利的變革。有趣的是，我們公司的基礎始於知識產權和科學。隨著世界沉浸在生成式人工智能中，我們不僅將繼續投資於這些技術，還將繼續投資於我們的專有數據、評估工具和知識，這些將成為最終的差異化因素。在這一轉變和變化中，我相信我們仍處於光輝國際的起步階段。因此，我們有更多切實的機會來幫助我們的客戶實現這一目標。

With that, I'll turn it over to Bob Rozek.

有了這個，我會把它交給鮑勃·羅澤克。

Great. Thanks, Gary, and good afternoon or good morning, depending where you're at. As I've said before, despite the substantial progress we've made evolving the business, I really believe that we're still in the early innings of this transformative journey. As Gary mentioned, strategy is working. It's producing the growth and results we set out for, which really are the proof points that the strategy is, in fact, working. With what has become an ongoing backdrop of macro uncertainty, the execution of our strategy has produced another successful year with organic and inorganic growth resulting in an all-time high of slightly more than $2.8 billion in fee revenue.

偉大的。謝謝，加里，下午好或早上好，取決於你在哪裡。正如我之前所說，儘管我們在業務發展方面取得了實質性進展，但我堅信我們仍處於這一變革之旅的早期階段。正如加里所說，戰略正在發揮作用。它正在產生我們設定的增長和結果，這確實是該戰略實際上正在發揮作用的證據。在宏觀不確定性持續存在的背景下，我們戰略的執行又帶來了成功的一年，有機和無機增長導致費用收入略高於 28 億美元，創下歷史新高。

If I go back two short years to fiscal '21, which is the year of the pandemic, our fee revenue has grown by more than $1 billion in that time and 70% of that growth came organically with the rest coming inorganically. Our consulting business showed resilience throughout the year, bolstered by the relevance of our larger integrated solutions. Our digital business also showed resilience while continuing its transformation from selling analog point solutions to licensing our digital performance management tools.

如果我回到 21 財年，也就是疫情爆發的那兩年，我們的費用收入在那段時間增長了超過 10 億美元，其中 70% 的增長是有機增長，其餘的增長是無機增長。我們的諮詢業務全年表現出彈性，這得益於我們更大的集成解決方案的相關性。我們的數字業務在繼續從銷售模擬點解決方案到授權我們的數字績效管理工具的同時，也表現出了韌性。

RPO remains extremely well positioned with its strong track record of large new business wins. And I expect that business to return to robust double-digit growth when a lot of the uncertainty that we're seeing today clears. Demand in exact search and in the perm placement portion of professional search moderated in the second half of last year. But at the same time, demand in interim remains steady and that offsets some of the transitory softness in the perm placement businesses.

RPO 憑藉其贏得大型新業務的良好記錄，保持著極其有利的地位。我預計，當我們今天看到的許多不確定性消除後，該業務將恢復強勁的兩位數增長。去年下半年，精確搜索和專業搜索的燙髮安置部分的需求有所放緩。但與此同時，臨時需求保持穩定，這抵消了燙髮業務暫時的疲軟。

Synergistic referrals between interim and perm placement plus referrals between our other lines of business and our marquee and regional accounts were significant contributors to the achievement of our FY '23 annual fee revenue. So again, it's clear to me that our strategy is working. So we're going to continue driving our integrated solution-based go-to-market strategy, including our marquee and regional accounts, delivering unparalleled client excellence extending our very strong Korn Ferry brand, advancing Korn Ferry as the premier career destination and continuing to pursue transformational opportunities at the intersection of talent and strategy.

臨時安置和永久安置之間的協同推薦以及我們其他業務線以及我們的大牌和區域帳戶之間的推薦是我們實現 23 財年年費收入的重要貢獻者。再說一遍，我很清楚我們的策略正在發揮作用。因此，我們將繼續推動基於集成解決方案的市場戰略，包括我們的大客戶和區域客戶，提供無與倫比的客戶卓越服務，擴展我們非常強大的光輝國際品牌，推動光輝國際成為首要的職業目的地，並繼續在人才和戰略的交叉點上尋求轉型機會。

With that, let me turn the call over to Gregg, who will take you some -- through some of the overall company financial highlights.

接下來，讓我將電話轉給格雷格，他將為您介紹一些公司整體財務亮點。

Thanks, Bob. In the fourth quarter, global fee revenue was $731 million, up 8% year-over-year and up 12% at constant currency. By line of business, fee revenue continued to moderate from post-pandemic highs for our permanent placement talent acquisition solutions, executive search, professional search and RPO. However, other lines of business remained stable in the quarter.

謝謝，鮑勃。第四季度，全球手續費收入為 7.31 億美元，同比增長 8%，按固定匯率計算增長 12%。按業務範圍劃分，我們的永久安置人才獲取解決方案、高管獵頭、專業獵頭和RPO的費用收入繼續從疫情后的高點回落。然而，本季度其他業務保持穩定。

Measured year-over-year at constant currency, fee revenue was up 3% for consulting, up 5% for digital and aided by our recent acquisitions of ICS and Salo, fee revenue for our interim services grew $70 million year-over-year. Consolidated new business in the fourth quarter also moderated and was down 4% year-over-year at actual foreign exchange rates and down 2% at constant currency. Consistent with fee revenue, new business in the fourth quarter moderated most in Executive Search and Professional Search.

按固定匯率計算，諮詢費用收入同比增長 3%，數字費用收入增長 5%，在我們最近收購 ICS 和 Salo 的幫助下，我們的臨時服務費用收入同比增長了 7000 萬美元。第四季度合併新業務也有所放緩，按實際匯率計算同比下降 4%，按固定匯率計算同比下降 2%。與費用收入一致，第四季度新業務在高管獵頭和專業獵頭領域的增幅最大。

In line with our guidance, earnings and profitability also moderated in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was $98 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.4%. Earnings and profitability in the fourth quarter were impacted by a number of factors. These factors include the mix shift in fee revenue by line of business, startup costs associated with the ramp-up of newly awarded large RPO assignments, investments in headcount to preserve fee-generating and execution capacity and product development initiatives for digital.

根據我們的指引，第四季度的盈利和盈利能力也有所放緩。第四季度調整後 EBITDA 為 9800 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 13.4%。第四季度的盈利和盈利能力受到多種因素的影響。這些因素包括按業務線劃分的費用收入的混合變化、與新授予的大型 RPO 任務相關的啟動成本、為保持費用產生和執行能力而進行的人員投資以及數字產品開發計劃。

Our adjusted fully diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter were $1.01, down 74% -- I'm sorry, down $0.74 or 42% year-over-year. Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share excludes $6.9 million or $0.10 per share of restructuring charges related to the cost true-up of actions taken in the third quarter and integration and acquisition costs associated with our recent acquisitions. GAAP diluted earnings per share in the fourth quarter were $0.91.

第四季度調整後完全稀釋每股收益為 1.01 美元，下降 74%——抱歉，同比下降 0.74 美元，即 42%。調整後的完全稀釋每股收益不包括 690 萬美元或每股 0.10 美元的重組費用，這些費用與第三季度採取的行動的成本調整以及與我們最近收購相關的整合和收購成本有關。第四季度 GAAP 稀釋後每股收益為 0.91 美元。

Our investable cash position at the end of the fourth quarter remained strong at $488 million, and our capital allocation continues to be well balanced. For all of fiscal '23, we deployed $490 million of cash using $94 million for share repurchases, $33 million for dividends, $62 million for capital expenditures, $255 million for M&A and $19 million for debt service.

截至第四季度末，我們的可投資現金頭寸依然強勁，達到 4.88 億美元，並且我們的資本配置繼續保持良好平衡。在整個 23 財年，我們部署了 4.9 億美元現金，其中 9400 萬美元用於股票回購，3300 萬美元用於股息，6200 萬美元用於資本支出，2.55 億美元用於併購，1900 萬美元用於償債。

Now I'll turn the call over to Tiffany to review our operating segments in more detail.

現在我將把電話轉給蒂芙尼，更詳細地審查我們的運營部門。

Thanks, Gregg. Starting with KF Digital, global fee revenue in the fourth quarter was $91 million, which was up 2% year-over-year and up 5% at constant currency. Digital subscription and license fee revenue in the fourth quarter was $32 million, which was approximately 35% of fee revenue for the quarter.

謝謝，格雷格。從 KF Digital 開始，第四季度全球手續費收入為 9100 萬美元，同比增長 2%，按固定匯率計算增長 5%。第四季度的數字訂閱和許可費收入為 3200 萬美元，約佔該季度費用收入的 35%。

The accumulation of sales of subscriptions over time has created year-over-year growth in subscription-based revenue, with increases in both sales effectiveness and total rewards tools. Global new business for KF Digital was $101 million, with $35 million or 35% of the total tied to subscription and license sales. For Consulting, fee revenue in the fourth quarter grew to $175 million, which was flat year-over-year, although both periods are all-time high and up approximately 1% at constant currency.

隨著時間的推移，訂閱銷售的積累創造了基於訂閱的收入的同比增長，同時銷售效率和總獎勵工具也有所提高。 KF Digital 的全球新業務為 1.01 億美元，其中 3500 萬美元或總收入的 35% 與訂閱和許可銷售相關。對於諮詢業來說，第四季度的費用收入增長至 1.75 億美元，與去年同期持平，儘管這兩個時期均創下歷史新高，並且按固定匯率計算增長約 1%。

Fee revenue growth was strongest in organizational strategy, followed by assessment and succession and rewards and benefits. Additionally, global new business for Consulting in the fourth quarter was down slightly, 4% year-over-year constant currency with mid-single-digit growth in EMEA.

組織戰略中的費用收入增長最為強勁，其次是評估和繼任以及獎勵和福利。此外，第四季度諮詢業的全球新業務略有下降，按固定匯率計算同比下降 4%，其中歐洲、中東和非洲地區實現中個位數增長。

The professional search and interim business increased 40% in the fourth quarter versus last year, driven by double-digit strength in North America and aided by the current year acquisitions. Total fee revenue was $152 million, up $51 million or 50% over the same time period. Breaking down the quarter, growth in the interim business was more than enough to offset moderation in the permanent placement portion of the segment.

在北美兩位數增長的推動以及今年收購的幫助下，專業搜索和臨時業務在第四季度比去年增長了 40%。總費用收入為 1.52 億美元，同比增加 5100 萬美元，即 50%。從本季度來看，臨時業務的增長足以抵消該部門永久配售部分的放緩。

Interim Services fee revenue grew to $89 million from $20 million in the same quarter of the prior year, driven primarily by the recent acquisitions. Permanent placement fee revenue declined by $18 million to $63 million year-over-year, down 23% at actual and down 22% at constant currency.

臨時服務費收入從上年同期的 2000 萬美元增至 8900 萬美元，這主要是由最近的收購推動的。永久安置費收入同比下降 1800 萬美元，至 6300 萬美元，實際下降 23%，按固定匯率計算下降 22%。

Moving on to recruitment process outsourcing. New Business for the fourth quarter was strong once again at $115 million and total revenue under contract at the end of the quarter was approximately $777 million. Fee revenue totaled $100 million which was down $13 million or 11% year-over-year and down approximately 9% at constant currency. Although we are seeing notable sequential improvement within Life Sciences, overall fee revenue is impacted by a moderation in hiring volume from all other industries in the base and backlog. We see this slowdown as transitory and believe RPO is well positioned to benefit with hiring returns to more normalized levels in the base and the larger, more recent wins begin converting to revenue.

轉向招聘流程外包。第四季度新業務再次強勁，達到 1.15 億美元，季度末合同總收入約為 7.77 億美元。費用收入總計 1 億美元，同比下降 1300 萬美元，即 11%，按固定匯率計算下降約 9%。儘管我們看到生命科學領域顯著連續改善，但總體費用收入受到基礎和積壓中所有其他行業招聘量放緩的影響。我們認為這種放緩是暫時的，並相信 RPO 處於有利位置，可以受益於招聘回報達到更加正常化的水平，並且更大、更近期的勝利開始轉化為收入。

Our pipeline remains strong as RPO continues to win new business, the differentiated service offering in the marketplace. Finally, global fee revenue for Executive Search in the fourth quarter was $213 million, and as expected, experienced a year-over-year decline of 11% at constant currency, compared to the high growth rates enjoyed during the pandemic recovery last year. Demand continued to moderate, most notably in North America and APAC followed by EMEA and Latin America. Global new business in the fourth quarter for Executive Search was down 20% year-over-year and down approximately 19% at constant currency.

隨著 RPO 繼續贏得新業務，即市場上的差異化服務，我們的渠道仍然強勁。最後，第四季度全球獵頭費用收入為 2.13 億美元，與去年大流行複蘇期間的高增長率相比，正如預期的那樣，按固定匯率計算，同比下降了 11%。需求繼續放緩，最明顯的是北美和亞太地區，其次是歐洲、中東和非洲和拉丁美洲。第四季度獵頭全球新業務同比下降 20%，按固定匯率計算下降約 19%。

I will now turn the call back over to Bob to discuss our outlook for the first quarter of fiscal '24.

我現在將把電話轉回鮑勃，討論我們對 24 財年第一季度的展望。

Great. Thanks, Tiffany. Assuming no new or further changes in worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets and foreign exchange rates, we expect fee revenue in the first quarter of fiscal '24, to range from $668 million to $698 million. Our adjusted EBITDA margin to be approximately 13.5%, and our consolidated adjusted diluted earnings per share to range from $0.84 to $1. Finally, we expect our GAAP diluted earnings per share in the first quarter to range from $0.78 to $0.95.

偉大的。謝謝，蒂芙尼。假設全球地緣政治狀況、經濟狀況、金融市場和外匯匯率沒有新的或進一步的變化，我們預計 24 財年第一季度的費用收入將在 6.68 億美元至 6.98 億美元之間。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 13.5%，調整後的合併稀釋每股收益為 0.84 美元至 1 美元。最後，我們預計第一季度 GAAP 攤薄後每股收益將在 0.78 美元至 0.95 美元之間。

In closing, I want to thank all of our colleagues for just an absolutely tremendous year. We continue to believe our portfolio of distinctive organizational consulting solutions, which are based on our deep risk proprietary IP and data delivered by our world-class colleagues will continue to differentiate Korn Ferry on our journey to become the preeminent organizational consultancy.

最後，我要感謝我們所有的同事，讓我們度過了非常美好的一年。我們仍然相信，我們獨特的組織諮詢解決方案組合基於我們的深度風險專有知識產權和世界級同事提供的數據，將繼續使光輝國際在成為卓越的組織諮詢公司的道路上脫穎而出。

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

因此，我們很樂意回答您的任何問題。

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

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的George Tong。

The consulting and digital businesses were relatively resilient this quarter, particularly when compared to exec search and perm placement. Can you discuss the broader selling environment across these business lines and walk through where you're seeing the most change and what assumptions you're currently reflecting in your fiscal 1Q outlook?

本季度諮詢和數字業務相對有彈性，特別是與高管搜索和永久職位安置相比。您能否討論一下這些業務線中更廣泛的銷售環境，並介紹一下您看到的最大變化以及您目前在第一季度財務展望中反映的假設？

The amount of change that is happening is breathtaking. And from the days of darkness and COVID, to economic changes to geopolitical changes to the fact that of late the U.S. labor force and other Western economies, the number of people in the workforce really hasn't changed. So there continues to be this move towards upskilling, towards retaining, developing talent. And if you look at fundamentally what we are doing, we're providing solutions for individuals and organizations to be successful.

正在發生的變化之大令人驚嘆。從黑暗和新冠疫情的日子，到經濟變化、地緣政治變化，再到最近美國勞動力和其他西方經濟體的勞動力數量實際上並沒有改變。因此，提高技能、保留和發展人才的趨勢仍在繼續。如果你從根本上看我們正在做的事情，我們正在為個人和組織提供成功的解決方案。

So whether it's employee fit, coaching, development, methodology, compensation and design, you name it, that's kind of where Korn Ferry is playing today. And when you look at the results, it's absolutely in line with the very beginning of the strategy. And so you're seeing an environment where the world came to a halt, there was incredible demand on all fronts in many, many industries. And you saw the Executive Search business a huge, huge upswing, and what we're seeing here is a significant moderation of search, a decline in volume. It's interesting to note that basically where we are today in search was essentially where we were pre-pandemic.

因此，無論是員工適合度、輔導、發展、方法論、薪酬和設計，凡是你能想到的，這都是光輝國際今天所涉足的領域。當你看到結果時，它絕對與策略一開始的一致。所以你會看到一個世界陷入停滯的環境，許多行業的各個方面都有令人難以置信的需求。你看到高管搜索業務出現了巨大的增長，而我們在這裡看到的是搜索量的顯著放緩，數量的下降。有趣的是，我們今天的搜索基本上就是大流行前的情況。

Revenue is up a little bit more than where we were pre-pandemic. Volume is a little bit down. But what we're saying is the cyclical parts of the business, the search business, are seeing that drop in demand that you would expect, but RPO is less cyclical than search, and consulting, digital and interim are all less cyclical than RPO and search. So it's playing out exactly as we thought. And what I've seen over the last few months is a stabilization of search, which is good.

收入比大流行前增加了一點。音量有點小了。但我們所說的是業務的周期性部分，即搜索業務，正如您所期望的那樣，需求出現下降，但 RPO 的周期性比搜索要小，而諮詢、數字和臨時業務的周期性都比 RPO 和搜索的周期性要小。所以事情的發展正如我們所想的那樣。過去幾個月我看到搜索量趨於穩定，這很好。

In May, we saw a rebound in China. And so our main new business overall was up 5%. Search was down about 12%. The consulting and digital were up -- and so essentially, it's playing out as we called for in the strategy, the marquee and regional accounts were almost 40% of our new business, so is the market different than it was a year ago? Yes, absolutely, it's different than a year ago. But a year ago, people were coming out of darkness and there was this just huge amount of activity across the industries. So it is different than a year ago, but I think I'm really proud of where the organization is and the results kind of bear out the strategic thesis that we had all along.

5月份，我們看到中國出現反彈。因此我們的主要新業務整體增長了 5%。搜索量下降了約 12%。諮詢和數字業務有所增長，所以本質上，它正在按照我們在戰略中所要求的那樣發揮作用，大型和區域客戶幾乎占我們新業務的 40%，那麼市場與一年前有什麼不同嗎？是的，絕對的，這與一年前不同。但一年前，人們走出了黑暗，各個行業都開展了大量的活動。所以這與一年前不同，但我認為我對組織的現狀感到非常自豪，而且結果在某種程度上證實了我們一直以來的戰略論點。

Very helpful. Separately, you noted that interim search trends remained relatively steady. If you look at other interim staffing providers even in the higher-end IT sector, they've been seeing some revenue headwinds and year-over-year revenue declines. Can you discuss what's driving the positive separation of Korn Ferry's interim search business and staffing business compared to competitors?

很有幫助。另外，您指出中期搜索趨勢保持相對穩定。如果你看看其他臨時人力資源提供商，即使是在高端 IT 領域，他們也已經看到了一些收入逆風和同比收入下降。您能否討論一下，與競爭對手相比，是什麼推動了光輝國際的臨時搜索業務和人力資源業務的積極分離？

Well, I would expect some moderation. I mean, there's no -- look, we're not going to be immune. But again, it is a large market, a huge market. You've got people that are changing the way that you work. We saw this in -- we really -- in April, May, June of 2020. This was a conscious decision that we're going to get into this market in a big way, particularly around finance and accounting, technology, HR, supply chain, that we were going to go big into it and in a very, very short amount of time. I think we've developed a very, very high-end business with an average hourly rate of $124. So I'm not going to sit here and pretend that we're immune.

嗯，我希望有一些節制。我的意思是，看，我們不會倖免。但話又說回來，這是一個很大的市場，一個巨大的市場。有人正在改變您的工作方式。我們確實在 2020 年 4 月、5 月、6 月看到了這一點。這是一個有意識的決定，我們將大規模進入這個市場，特別是在財務和會計、技術、人力資源、供應鏈方面，我們將在非常非常短的時間內大規模進入這個市場。我認為我們已經開發出了非常非常高端的業務，平均每小時費率為 124 美元。所以我不會坐在這裡假裝我們已經免疫了。

I do think one of the things that is helping us is the amount of cross referrals. And so I look over essentially an 18-month period, and what we see is almost $50 million coming from cross referrals, cross sales, whatever words you want to use, with nearly 700 deals. And so I think that when you look at maybe some other firms that are strictly in that business, they don't have the wider platform of Korn Ferry, and we'll see if that's going to continue to be a differentiator. I personally think it will be. But I'm not going to sit here and say that we're going to be immune from what we're seeing and what others are seeing when it comes to interim services.

我確實認為對我們有幫助的事情之一是交叉推薦的數量。因此，我基本上查看了 18 個月的時間段，我們看到近 5000 萬美元來自交叉推薦、交叉銷售（無論你想用什麼詞），以及近 700 筆交易。所以我認為，當你看看其他一些嚴格從事該業務的公司時，他們沒有光輝國際更廣泛的平台，我們將看看這是否會繼續成為一個差異化因素。我個人認為會的。但我不會坐在這裡說，在臨時服務方面，我們將免受我們所看到的以及其他人所看到的影響。

Our next question will come from the line of Tobey Sommer from Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Truist 證券公司的托比·索默 (Tobey Sommer)。

This is Jasper Bibb on for Tobey. I just wanted to ask how you're thinking about the long-term EBITDA margin targets, just given, as you know, we've seen the mix of lower-margin interim and RPO come up as well as the company has been able to continue to take fixed cost out of the business. So do you think that 18% to 19% range is still feasible? Or would it potentially be lower than that now?

我是托比的賈斯珀·比伯。我只是想問您如何看待長期 EBITDA 利潤率目標，正如您所知，我們已經看到利潤率較低的中期和 RPO 的組合出現，並且公司能夠繼續從業務中扣除固定成本。那麼您認為18%到19%的範圍仍然可行嗎？或者說可能會比現在更低？

Well, let me -- Bob will answer that question directly, but I would just provide contacts when you look at this firm, and I've seen it go from sub-$300 million to $3 billion, that what you would say is peak-to-peak, cycle-to-cycle, trough-to-trough, we've continually gone up and to the right. That is absolute fact, and you can look at it in the data. The other thing I would point out is that we did make a conscious decision to address a large market that we think is going to be quite lucrative for shareholders and our colleagues over the next several years, and that's interim services. So with that and an increasing focus on RPO, when you look back in the past, clearly, there's about a 200 basis point difference, and so I think you really have to factor that in to the modeling.

好吧，讓我——鮑勃會直接回答這個問題，但當你看這家公司時，我只會提供聯繫方式，我看到它從低於 3 億美元到 30 億美元，你會說是峰到峰、週期到週期、低谷到低谷，我們不斷上升和向右。這是絕對的事實，你可以從數據中看到。我要指出的另一件事是，我們確實做出了一個有意識的決定，以應對一個大市場，我們認為在未來幾年裡，這個市場將為股東和我們的同事帶來相當豐厚的利潤，這就是臨時服務。因此，隨著這一點以及對 RPO 的日益關注，當您回顧過去時，顯然存在大約 200 個基點的差異，因此我認為您確實必須在建模中考慮到這一點。

Before the pandemic, if I remember right, and Bob can you correct me, we were probably running 15%, 14.5%, 15.5% EBITDA margins, then we saw a huge upswing a year ago. And I would just say that whatever those models and those boundaries, I do think you have to adjust it by a couple of hundred basis points for the changing mix of business as we look forward. But Bob, what would you say on the specific operating boundaries for the firm?

在大流行之前，如果我沒記錯的話，鮑勃，你能糾正我嗎，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率可能是 15%、14.5%、15.5%，然後一年前我們看到了巨大的上升。我只想說，無論這些模型和邊界如何，我確實認為您必須將其調整幾百個基點，以適應我們未來不斷變化的業務組合。但是鮑勃，您對公司的具體運營邊界有何看法？

Yes, sure. Thanks, Gary. And I think, as I said in the remarks, Q1, we expect to be kind of 13.5%. And I would say for the near-term, we would continue to manage the business to about 13% to 14%, somewhere in that range as we're just continuing to invest in our revenue-generating capacity. If the long anticipated recession were to occur, and again, depending on the severity, we would manage the business kind of mid- to high-single-digits in a more severe downturn, and then low-double-digits in a more moderate scenario. And ultimately, from a longer-term perspective, that is going to depend on what the business looks like.

是的，當然。謝謝，加里。我認為，正如我在評論中所說，我們預計第一季度的增長率為 13.5%。我想說，短期內，我們將繼續將業務控制在 13% 至 14% 左右，在這個範圍內，因為我們只是繼續投資於我們的創收能力。如果長期預期的衰退真的發生，那麼根據嚴重程度，我們將在更嚴重的衰退中將業務管理在中高個位數，然後在更溫和的情況下將業務管理在低兩位數。最終，從更長遠的角度來看，這將取決於業務的情況。

If search bounces back, digital, we get digital where we think it's capable of going to, as Gary alluded to, RPO is just continuing to win new business and become a larger piece of the pie. There's a lot of moving pieces, but I would say, from a long-term perspective, you should expect to see us kind of in the 16% to 18% range. So down a little bit from the 18%, 19% where we previously communicated. But I would say 16% to 18% is probably a good spot to land at this point.

如果搜索數字化反彈，我們就會在我們認為有能力的地方實現數字化，正如加里提到的那樣，RPO 將繼續贏得新業務並成為更大的一塊蛋糕。有很多變化，但我想說，從長遠來看，你應該期望看到我們在 16% 到 18% 的範圍內。所以比我們之前溝通的18%、19%下降了一點。但我想說，16% 到 18% 可能是此時的一個不錯的選擇。

That makes sense. And then, Gary, you mentioned generative AI in the prepared remarks. I know it's still early, but any (inaudible) expectations for AI risks or opportunities in the business model?

這就說得通了。然後，加里，您在準備好的發言中提到了生成式人工智能。我知道現在還為時過早，但是對商業模式中的人工智能風險或機遇有什麼（聽不清）期望嗎？

Well, we've got a threefold plan. We're going at it big time. Let me just first say that nobody knows exactly where this is going to go. So that's number one. Even the so-called leaders in the space. It's gained a lot of attention for a very, very good reason. Could it be to the knowledge worker what the industrial revolution was to manufacturing. I don't know if I would go that far. But clearly, it's an opportunity for us, and so we're really looking at it in kind of 3 dimensions: One is around how we can use it offensively, to drive greater impact with our clients; two, is around our vulnerabilities; and three, is around the people that we need to partner with, the broader ecosystem to help navigate that. But I would just say that I believe very, very strongly that in this business, and I think what we've proven over the years is that data and knowledge is everything.

嗯，我們有一個三重計劃。我們將全力以赴。我首先要說的是，沒有人確切知道這將走向何方。所以這是第一。即使是該領域所謂的領導者。它獲得了很多關注，這是有充分理由的。對於知識工作者來說，就像工業革命對於製造業一樣嗎？我不知道我是否會走那麼遠。但顯然，這對我們來說是一個機會，因此我們實際上從三個維度來看待它：一是我們如何進攻性地利用它，以對我們的客戶產生更大的影響；二是如何利用它來提高對客戶的影響力。二是圍繞我們的弱點；第三，圍繞我們需要合作的人，更廣泛的生態系統來幫助解決這個問題。但我只想說，我非常非常堅信這個行業，而且我認為多年來我們已經證明數據和知識就是一切。

So we've got teams right now looking at, are we capturing all the data we can be capturing? Are we putting it in a warehouse, can we easily access that warehouse to provide insights to our clients. Then secondly, our IP and our assessment, is that truly fit for purpose in this world that we're heading into in the next 5 years, where there's tremendous. There's not much anticipated labor growth. There's going to be skill shortages continuing. And is our assessments and IP fit for purpose for the next 5 years, the next 10 years. And I really do believe that those two things, data, insight, knowledge, our assessment and IP, we have to make sure that we're investing in because I think that -- well no matter where this AI conversation goes, that ultimately, I think, will be the winner. And so clearly, we're -- we've been using AI in part of our recruiting processes for some time now. But clearly around our learning and development business, there's an enormous opportunity there. That's an area that we're focused in on. But I just practically speaking, you make your path as you walk it. And I just think that data, our IP, our assessment, the knowledge that we have, we have to make sure that we are putting enough capital into the foundation of the firm.

因此，我們的團隊現在正在考慮，我們是否捕獲了我們可以捕獲的所有數據？我們是否將其放入倉庫中，我們是否可以輕鬆訪問該倉庫以便為客戶提供見解。其次，我們的知識產權和我們的評估是否真正適合我們在未來 5 年內進入的這個世界，那裡有巨大的潛力。預計勞動力增長並不多。技能短缺的情況將持續存在。我們的評估和知識產權是否適合未來 5 年、未來 10 年的目的。我確實相信這兩件事，數據、洞察力、知識、我們的評估和知識產權，我們必須確保我們正在投資，因為我認為——無論人工智能對話走向何方，我認為最終都會成為贏家。很明顯，我們在招聘流程的一部分中使用人工智能已經有一段時間了。但顯然，圍繞我們的學習和發展業務，存在著巨大的機會。這是我們關注的一個領域。但我只是說，你走的路就是你走的路。我只是認為數據、我們的知識產權、我們的評估、我們所擁有的知識，我們必須確保我們為公司的基礎投入足夠的資本。

Gary, it's Bob. I would just add to that one point. So if you think about where we -- Korn Ferry shine relative to our clients, it's helping them work through disruption, right? And like you said, wherever Generative AI is going, nobody knows for sure, but I think the likelihood of it being disruptive, obviously, is there. And you think about what we've done during times of social disruption, COVID, remote, hybrid working and so on, we've been partnering with our clients to help them work through those disruptive periods. And as I look at this, I think this is just another step along the way for us to help our clients work through disruption and continue to drive their businesses forward.

加里，是鮑勃。我只想補充這一點。因此，如果您考慮一下光輝國際相對於我們的客戶而言的閃光點，那就是幫助他們應對乾擾，對嗎？就像你說的，生成式人工智能將走向何方，沒有人確切知道，但我認為它顯然具有顛覆性的可能性是存在的。你想想我們在社會混亂、新冠疫情、遠程、混合工作等時期所做的事情，我們一直在與客戶合作，幫助他們度過這些混亂時期。當我看到這一點時，我認為這只是我們幫助客戶克服干擾並繼續推動他們的業務向前發展的又一步。

Appreciate the detail there. Last one for me. You mentioned China picked up from a search perspective a little bit in May, at least domestically, it seems like we've seen capital markets activity start to pick up a little bit of really low levels in June. Maybe it's early, but are you seeing any green shoots domestically for the search business in June, just given, I guess, the rebound in equity markets and maybe the IPO pipeline starting to warm back up?

欣賞那裡的細節。最後一張給我。您提到中國的搜索量在 5 月份有所回升，至少在國內，我們似乎看到資本市場活動在 6 月份開始回升到非常低的水平。也許現在還為時過早，但考慮到股市的反彈以及 IPO 管道可能開始回暖，您是否看到 6 月份國內搜索業務出現任何萌芽？

When you say domestically, are you talking about domestic China or domestic United States?

當你說國內時，你指的是中國國內還是美國國內？

Domestic United States.

美國國內。

Well, like 1 month doesn't make a trend. What we saw in May was certainly good news. When you look month sequential, so not month, year-over-year. But if you just look month sequential, you take April to May, our normal seasonal pattern, we would expect new business to be down 3% to 5%. We were up 5% on an organic basis, it would probably be in that down 3% to 5%, so right in line.

嗯，1個月並不能形成趨勢。我們五月份看到的無疑是好消息。當你查看連續月份的數據時，而不是逐月查看時，逐年查看。但如果你只看逐月情況，以 4 月至 5 月（我們正常的季節性模式）為例，我們預計新業務將下降 3% 至 5%。我們有機增長了 5%，但也可能會下降 3% 到 5%，所以這是正確的。

May to June, we would expect to see month sequential, not year-over-year, but month sequentially, we would expect that to be up 5%, and we haven't closed out June year. We have a number of days left, and then you've also got the 4th of July, and we're kind of in line with that kind of number. So I think it's -- I think you're right, it may be too early for green shoots -- but certainly, it's more encouraging than not -- that over the last few months, we've seen a stabilization in the executive search business. And in North America, May was -- a new business was -- the trend was better than it was the previous month or two. So -- but again, with our consulting and digital and interim businesses, those have really held up quite well overall.

5 月至 6 月，我們預計會看到環比，而不是同比，但環比，我們預計會增長 5%，而且我們還沒有結束 6 月份的情況。我們還剩下幾天時間，然後就是 7 月 4 日，我們與這個數字是一致的。所以我認為——我認為你是對的，對於萌芽來說可能還為時過早——但當然，這比不更令人鼓舞——在過去的幾個月裡，我們看到獵頭業務趨於穩定。在北美，五月份——一項新業務——趨勢比前一兩個月要好。所以，但同樣，通過我們的諮詢、數字和臨時業務，這些業務總體上確實表現得很好。

Our next question is from [Trevor Romeo] from William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自威廉·布萊爾的[特雷弗·羅密歐]。

First, I just kind of wanted to ask about fourth quarter results relative to your expectations, particularly on margins since revenue was above the guidance. EPS is kind of more in line. I think Gregg's comments had talked about the mix shift in revenue, start-up costs with some RPO engagements, investments in headcount and product development. I was just wondering if you could maybe talk about which of those factors had more of an impact than you might have thought going into the quarter, if any? Just any kind of color on the margin performance in the quarter would be great.

首先，我只是想問一下第四季度的業績與您的預期相比，特別是利潤率，因為收入高於指導。 EPS 更符合實際情況。我認為 Gregg 的評論談到了收入的混合變化、一些 RPO 項目的啟動成本、人員投資和產品開發。我只是想知道您是否可以談談哪些因素對本季度的影響比您想像的更大（如果有的話）？任何一種顏色在本季度的利潤率表現都會很棒。

Well, I'll let -- Bob can comment. I mean I would just say that we had guided to an EBITDA margin of, I believe, 14% -- and I think we -- where we came out was 13% and 13.5%. So it was actually fairly close to what we had expected. I mean in any given quarter, you could have some unusual items swinging one way or the other. But I guess I wouldn't say that -- we said 7 months ago that we were going to run the business at kind of 14%. So this is pretty close to that. And again, when you see the falloff in search, then you see this mix shift that's happening within the organization. I think it was substantially in line with what we had thought like 7 or 8 months ago, and that we told our shareholders.

好吧，我會讓——鮑勃可以發表評論。我想說的是，我認為我們的 EBITDA 利潤率為 14%，而我們的結果是 13% 和 13.5%。所以它實際上相當接近我們的預期。我的意思是，在任何特定季度，你都可能會有一些不尋常的物品以某種方式擺動。但我想我不會這麼說——我們 7 個月前就說過，我們將以 14% 的稅率經營業務。所以這非常接近。再說一次，當你看到搜索量下降時，你就會看到組織內部正在發生的這種混合轉變。我認為這與我們七八個月前的想法基本一致，並且我們告訴了股東。

But Bob, you can probably give a better view, I think, than I.

但是鮑勃，我認為你可能比我給出更好的觀點。

Yes. So Trevor, if you look at whether you go quarter sequentially, year-over-year, the mix shift is likely 80% of the decline that you see in the adjusted EBITDA margin. As Gary said, it's the primary driver of it in the fourth quarter because our revenues exceeded the top end of our range, we did have in our business, when a lot of the bonuses are driven off revenue. So we had to book a little bit more bonus in the fourth quarter to satisfy the demand, but the primary driver is just the change in mix.

是的。 Trevor，如果你看看是否按季度、同比進行比較，你會發現，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率下降的 80% 可能是混合變化造成的。正如加里所說，這是第四季度的主要推動力，因為我們的收入超出了我們業務範圍的上限，當時很多獎金都是從收入中扣除的。因此，我們不得不在第四季度多預訂一點獎金來滿足需求，但主要驅動力只是組合的變化。

Okay. Got it. That is helpful. And then for my follow-up, just kind of wanted to ask about your M&A pipeline. I think we've heard from some other companies about a tough M&A market with disconnects on valuation between buyers and sellers. Others maybe suggesting the pipeline could open up a bit. You guys have obviously done a few acquisitions lately yourselves. Just kind of wondering where your pipeline stands today, which area you can see being attractive right now?

好的。知道了。這很有幫助。然後我的後續行動，只是想問一下你們的併購渠道。我想我們從其他一些公司那裡聽說併購市場形勢嚴峻，買家和賣家之間的估值脫節。其他人可能建議管道可以稍微開放一些。你們最近顯然自己也做了一些收購。只是想知道您現在的管道處於什麼位置，您現在認為哪個領域具有吸引力？

We've always taken a very systematic approach to capital allocation and we would expect that to continue. And I don't, at any one given point in time, I don't really say the pipeline is big or small. I mean we're not -- that's not how we're going about it. We're going about it to say, where is the real market opportunity, where can we have greater client impact. And whatever we're looking at, what does the neighborhood look like at 11:00 at night, what are your neighbors like? It's all about culture fit.

我們一直採取非常系統的資本配置方法，並且我們希望這種情況能夠繼續下去。在任何一個給定的時間點，我都不會真正說管道是大還是小。我的意思是我們不是——這不是我們的處理方式。我們要說的是，真正的市場機會在哪裡，我們在哪裡可以對客戶產生更大的影響。無論我們在看什麼，晚上 11:00 時鄰居是什麼樣子，你的鄰居是什麼樣的？這都是關於文化契合度的。

So you go through cycles, up cycles, down cycles, I don't really look at it that way. We continue to have a very systematic approach and we continue to meet with companies to get to know them. And so I don't think today is any different than it was, say, 3 or 4 months ago.

所以你會經歷週期、上升週期、下降週期，我並不這麼看。我們繼續採用非常系統的方法，並繼續與公司會面以了解他們。所以我認為今天與三四個月前沒有什麼不同。

Our next question is from Marc Riddick from Sidoti.

我們的下一個問題來自西多蒂的馬克·里迪克。

I just wanted to touch on a couple of areas that you touched on earlier, but I just wanted to follow up on as far as the opportunities that you see before you. You talked about being willing to invest and adding talent as we go through the year. Are there any particular areas either strategically or geographically that are kind of -- really sort of jumping out as [feeling's has got] maybe you're understaffed or maybe missing an opportunity at this point?

我只是想談談您之前提到的幾個領域，但我只是想跟進您所看到的機會。您談到了在這一年中願意投資和增加人才。是否有任何特定的區域，無論是戰略上還是地理上，確實有點像[感覺已經得到]，也許你人手不足，或者可能在這一點上錯過了一個機會？

Well, there's a couple of places in the world where I've asked our team to quadruple our business. I mean I'm not going to point those out publicly. But clearly, it's not 1 size fits all. There's countries that are doing exceptionally well right now, and we have great businesses there, but we're just scratching the surface of what that could be. I'm sure you could maybe guess at what those are. But we've got a very aggressive plan in 2 or 3 geographies that we see huge, huge opportunity.

嗯，世界上有幾個地方我要求我們的團隊將我們的業務翻兩番。我的意思是我不會公開指出這些。但顯然，它並不是一刀切的。有些國家現在表現得非常好，我們在那裡也有很棒的企業，但我們只是觸及了表面。我相信你也許能猜到那些是什麼。但我們在 2 或 3 個地區製定了非常積極的計劃，我們看到了巨大的機遇。

Look, the consulting business is a no brand. And we -- despite where we've -- where we are today, I continue to believe that we can use more colleagues and more resources in the consulting area. And I just -- I don't want to just say that's the favorite child because there's a number of opportunities we could pursue. But just broad base, we've just seen some enormous wins with our consulting and digital solutions working together. I just -- that's a multibillion dollar opportunity for us over the medium to long-term. And so that's the thing that would come screaming off the page. And then I think the fact that we have this incredible data, and how do we go about licensing that? How do we go about using that either stand-alone or with consulting, pushing or pulling, and really helping to solve what I think are going to continue to be organizational challenges for clients. I mean, in a time of tremendous change in a labor market that's really not moving, and I think that's opportunity for Korn Ferry.

看起來，諮詢業務是一個沒有品牌的業務。無論我們取得了怎樣的成績，我仍然相信我們可以在諮詢領域利用更多的同事和更多的資源。我只是——我不想只是說這是最喜歡的孩子，因為我們可以追求很多機會。但就廣泛的基礎而言，我們剛剛看到我們的諮詢和數字解決方案協同工作取得了一些巨大的勝利。我只是——從中長期來看，這對我們來說是一個價值數十億美元的機會。這就是頁面上令人尖叫的內容。然後我想我們擁有這些令人難以置信的數據，我們如何對其進行許可？我們如何單獨或通過諮詢、推動或拉動來使用它，並真正幫助解決我認為將繼續成為客戶組織挑戰的問題。我的意思是，在勞動力市場發生巨大變化的時代，勞動力市場確實沒有發生變化，我認為這對光輝國際來說是機會。

That's very helpful. And then maybe you could touch a little bit on maybe what your thoughts are, expectations are on CapEx for this fiscal year and sort of how that might play into tech spend and maybe whether that is to some level tied to the AI commentary that you had earlier, maybe sort of -- maybe tie some of that a little bit together to sort of give us a sense of sort of where we might be going there?

這非常有幫助。然後，也許你可以談談你的想法，對本財年資本支出的預期，以及這可能會如何影響技術支出，也許這是否在某種程度上與你之前的人工智能評論相關，也許是——也許將其中一些聯繫在一起，讓我們了解我們可能會去哪裡？

So our capital spending this year will be relatively consistent with what we saw last year in FY '23. So figuring somewhere kind of $65 million to $70 million with like -- probably somewhere around $50 million of that going into the digital business, there will be some in the consulting business. And then the rest would go to kind of making sure that the [effort] protects all the assets and keep the bad guys out. But I would look at our CapEx this year very consistently with what we did last year.

因此，我們今年的資本支出將與去年 23 財年的情況相對一致。因此，計算出 6500 萬至 7000 萬美元的資金，其中可能有 5000 萬美元左右的資金投入數字業務，其中會有一些投入諮詢業務。然後剩下的部分將用於確保[努力]保護所有資產並將壞人拒之門外。但我認為今年的資本支出與去年的情況非常一致。

The next question is from Mark Marcon from Baird.

下一個問題來自貝爾德 (Baird) 的馬克·馬孔 (Mark Marcon)。

This is [Andre] on for Mark Marcon. Could you go into some detail about what you're seeing by geography and by vertical. I think it's interesting how well EMEA has hold up on the search side, at least relative to North America. And then I know previously, you said industrial was holding up pretty well, but can you give an update on what verticals might be doing well, well, which ones may be struggling a little bit more?

這是[安德烈]為馬克·馬孔做的。您能否詳細介紹一下您所看到的地理和垂直方向的情況。我認為有趣的是，歐洲、中東和非洲地區在搜索方面的表現如何，至少相對於北美而言是這樣。然後我知道之前，您說工業表現得很好，但是您能否提供有關哪些垂直行業可能表現良好的最新信息，哪些垂直行業可能會遇到更多困難？

Well, I think as you saw in EMEA, it's more than the surge business. It's all of the businesses are doing very, very well, and it's fairly broad-based. I mean there's a couple of areas that are really performing extraordinarily well. So it's more than search. It's in EMEA. It's across the entire platform. Industrial is -- that's important for us. It's almost 30% of the company. It's a big, big part of our portfolio. And if you look -- either you look year-over-year, for example, and you're seeing kind of an 8% lift here. And clearly, the Infrastructure Act in the United States is having some impact, no doubt about it. But you see it across manufacturing, energy, engineering and construction and even sequentially, automotive held up. So it's been fairly -- it's been fairly broad-based within industrial. I'm not going to kind of pick on 1 sector. But overall, that's a positive for Korn Ferry given the size of industrial relative to the other pieces of the portfolio.

嗯，我認為正如您在歐洲、中東和非洲看到的那樣，這不僅僅是激增業務。所有的業務都做得非常非常好，而且基礎相當廣泛。我的意思是有幾個領域確實表現得非常好。所以這不僅僅是搜索。它位於歐洲、中東和非洲地區。它遍布整個平台。工業對我們來說很重要。幾乎占公司的30%。這是我們產品組合中非常非常大的一部分。例如，如果你看一下——或者你看一下同比，你會發現這裡有 8% 的提升。顯然，美國的基礎設施法案正在產生一些影響，這是毫無疑問的。但你可以在製造、能源、工程和建築領域看到這一點，甚至汽車行業也都表現出色。所以它在工業領域具有相當廣泛的基礎。我不會選擇某個行業。但總體而言，考慮到工業業務相對於投資組合其他業務的規模，這對光輝國際來說是一個積極因素。

Great color. And then switching over to the interim side. Could you talk about maybe what roles or skills you are seeing particular success with, whether you within cross-sell or outside of that? And then also when you're looking at adding capacity both organically as well as inorganically, maybe what areas would you be more likely to add to?

顏色很棒。然後切換到臨時側。您能否談談您在哪些角色或技能上取得了特別的成功，無論是在交叉銷售範圍內還是在交叉銷售之外？然後，當您考慮有機和無機地增加產能時，也許您更有可能增加哪些領域？

Well, we're going to -- we really do believe that finance and accounting, technology, supply chain, and HR, those would be the areas that are the natural adjacencies for Korn Ferry and that we would tend to stay at the high end of those markets. And so that's kind of our strategic focus -- and what -- it is impressive. I mean I just -- the quality of the people that have joined, the kinds of assignments that we're doing, and the fit within Korn Ferry, I mean to think about in a very, very short amount of time, you've seen a $50 million revenue lift in about 18 months, maybe it's a little bit longer. But 700 deals, I mean that -- well, you start to extrapolate that out and it's a real, real positive. And so that's one of the foundations of the strategy is that, can we create more impact with clients with a broad platform that ranges from org strategy, to compensation and benefits and developing people and leaders, and when you look at the firm overall, our cross referrals are 25% to 30% of the overall firm. And you look at that and you look at the marquee and regional accounts, and you think about that being 35%, 40% of the firm, and it's working, is my point. And so -- we do believe that with this high-end interim service that we have, there could be some moderation. I mean, I'm not going to -- how could we be immune, but the market potential is enormous.

嗯，我們確實相信，財務和會計、技術、供應鍊和人力資源，這些領域將是光輝國際的天然鄰接領域，我們將傾向於保持在這些市場的高端。這就是我們的戰略重點——令人印象深刻。我的意思是，我只是 - 加入人員的素質、我們正在執行的任務類型以及光輝國際內部的契合度，我的意思是在非常非常短的時間內考慮一下，您會在大約 18 個月內看到收入增長 5000 萬美元，也許更長一點。但是 700 筆交易，我的意思是——嗯，你開始推斷，這是一個真正的、真正的積極因素。因此，該戰略的基礎之一是，我們能否通過廣泛的平台（從組織戰略到薪酬和福利以及培養人員和領導者）為客戶創造更大的影響力，當你縱觀公司整體時，我們的交叉推薦佔整個公司的 25% 至 30%。你看看這個，你看看大帳篷和區域賬戶，你會想到公司的 35%、40%，而且它正在發揮作用，這就是我的觀點。因此，我們確實相信，通過我們擁有的高端臨時服務，可能會有所節制。我的意思是，我不會——我們怎麼能免受影響，但市場潛力是巨大的。

Yes, Gary, the only thing I would add to that, too, is the proclivity for executive search to work with the [Patina] folks on the C-suite interim placements, it seems to be an area that there's real synergies going on as well.

是的，加里，我唯一要補充的是，高管獵頭傾向於與 [Patina] 人員在 C 級高管臨時安置中合作，這似乎也是一個存在真正協同效應的領域。

Thank you and that does appear to be the final question. Please go ahead with any closing remarks.

謝謝，這似乎是最後一個問題。請繼續發表結束語。

Okay. Lois, thank you for moderating this. And as Bob said, we're incredibly proud of our team, and we certainly appreciate you listening, and we look forward to speaking to you very, very soon. So with that, we'll sign off, and have a great day. See you. Bye-bye.

好的。路易斯，謝謝你的主持。正如鮑勃所說，我們為我們的團隊感到無比自豪，我們當然感謝您的傾聽，我們期待很快與您交談。就這樣，我們就結束了，祝你有美好的一天。再見。再見。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this conference is available for replay beginning at 11:00 a.m. today and running through July 4 at midnight. You may access the AT&T replay system at any time by dialing 1 (866) 207-1041 and entering the access code 4932-486.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，本次會議可從今天上午 11:00 開始重播，一直持續到 7 月 4 日午夜。您可以隨時撥打 1 (866) 207-1041 並輸入訪問代碼 4932-486 訪問 AT&T 重播系統。

International dialers can call (402) 970-0847. Again, the numbers are 1 (866) 207-4 -- I'm sorry, 1041, and (402) 970-0847 with the access code of 4932-486, and that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T. You may now disconnect.

國際撥號者可撥打 (402) 970-0847。同樣，電話號碼是 1 (866) 207-4——對不起，是 1041，還有 (402) 970-0847，接入碼是 4932-486，我們今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與和使用 AT&T。您現在可以斷開連接。