ManpowerGroup Inc (MAN) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to ManpowerGroup Second Quarter Earnings Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) This call will be recorded. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time.

歡迎來到萬寶盛華第二季度收益結果電話會議。 （操作員說明）此通話將被錄音。如果您有任何異議，請在此時斷開連接。

And now I will turn the call over to ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO, Jonas Prising. Sir, you may begin.

現在，我將把電話轉給萬寶盛華集團董事長兼首席執行官 Jonas Prising。先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, and welcome to the second quarter conference call for 2022. Our Chief Financial Officer, Jack McGinnis, is with me today. And for your convenience, we've included our prepared remarks within the Investor Relations section of our website at manpowergroup.com.

謝謝大家，歡迎參加 2022 年第二季度電話會議。我們的首席財務官 Jack McGinnis 今天與我同在。為了您的方便，我們已將我們準備好的評論包含在我們網站 manpowergroup.com 的投資者關係部分中。

I'll start by going through some of the highlights of the quarter, and Jack will go through the second quarter results and guidance for the third quarter of 2022. And I will then share some concluding thoughts before we start our Q&A session.

我將首先介紹本季度的一些亮點，Jack 將介紹 2022 年第三季度的第二季度業績和指導。然後在我們開始問答環節之前，我將分享一些結論性想法。

Jack will now cover the safe harbor language.

Jack 現在將介紹安全港語言。

Good morning, everyone. This conference call includes forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, which are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties.

大家，早安。本次電話會議包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關 COVID-19 大流行和俄羅斯-烏克蘭戰爭影響的陳述，這些陳述受到已知和未知風險和不確定性的影響。

These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs. Actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

這些陳述基於管理層當前的期望或信念。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果大不相同。我們不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Slide 2 of our earnings release presentation further identifies forward-looking statements made in this call and factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially and information regarding reconciliation of non-GAAP measures.

我們的收益發布演示文稿的幻燈片 2 進一步確定了本次電話會議中所做的前瞻性陳述以及可能導致我們的實際結果出現重大差異的因素以及有關非 GAAP 措施調節的信息。

Thanks, Jack. I'm just back from extensive trips through Europe, which included the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, VivaTech, which is one of the world's largest technology and start-up events in Paris, and the Choose France Summit held just last week in Versailles, France. I will touch on these events as well as insights from my clients during my business reviews later in the call.

謝謝，傑克。我剛從歐洲的廣泛旅行中回來，其中包括在達沃斯舉行的世界經濟論壇年會、在巴黎舉行的世界上最大的技術和初創活動之一的 VivaTech，以及上周剛剛在法國凡爾賽宮。我將在電話會議稍後的業務評論中談到這些事件以及我的客戶的見解。

Turning to our financial results. In the second quarter, revenue was $5.1 billion, up 6% year-over-year in constant currency or 3% in organic constant currency. Our EBITDA for the quarter was $190 million. Adjusting for the U.S. acquisition integration costs, EBITDA was $193 million, reflecting growth of 22% in constant currency year-over-year. Reported EBITDA margin was 3.7% and adjusted EBITDA margin was 3.8%. The Earnings per diluted share was $2.29 on a reported basis and $2.33 on an adjusted basis. Adjusted earnings per share increased 28% year-over-year in constant currency. After recent meetings with clients, policymakers and our teams across markets on my travels, I'm struck by the fact that despite the clouds weighing on the outlook of the global economy, the labor markets remain strong. Although there have been and continue to be disruptions from supply chain shortages in specific sectors, such as automotive, construction and to a lesser degree, logistics, our clients continue to prioritize acquiring talent in this environment.

轉向我們的財務業績。第二季度收入為 51 億美元，按固定匯率計算同比增長 6%，按有機固定匯率計算增長 3%。我們本季度的 EBITDA 為 1.9 億美元。調整美國收購整合成本後，EBITDA 為 1.93 億美元，按固定匯率計算同比增長 22%。報告的 EBITDA 利潤率為 3.7%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 3.8%。每股攤薄收益在報告基礎上為 2.29 美元，在調整後為 2.33 美元。按固定匯率計算，調整後每股收益同比增長 28%。在我最近在旅途中與客戶、政策制定者和我們跨市場的團隊會面後，我感到震驚的是，儘管全球經濟前景陰雲密布，但勞動力市場仍然強勁。儘管汽車、建築和物流等特定行業的供應鏈短缺已經並將繼續出現中斷，但我們的客戶繼續優先考慮在這種環境下招聘人才。

As a result, demand for our services remained strong across many of our major markets. Our clients are particularly interested in permanent recruitment, both in our Talent Solutions RPO business as well as in our staffing businesses, in MSP within Talent Solutions, in Experis IT resourcing and solutions broadly and across our Manpower Specializations.

因此，我們的許多主要市場對我們服務的需求依然強勁。我們的客戶對長期招聘特別感興趣，包括我們的人才解決方案 RPO 業務以及我們的人員配備業務、人才解決方案中的 MSP、廣泛的 Experis IT 資源和解決方案以及我們的人力資源專業化。

Our own quarterly forward-looking hiring research across 40,000 employers in 40-plus countries, the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey also showed that hiring confidence has remained very strong in absolute measures, with organizations experiencing talent shortages at record highs. In our most recent survey completed in May, 75% of companies globally predicted that they wouldn't be able to find the talent they need, which is the highest in 16 years.

我們自己對 40 多個國家/地區的 40,000 名雇主進行的季度前瞻性招聘研究，萬寶盛華就業前景調查還顯示，招聘信心在絕對指標上仍然非常強勁，組織的人才短缺達到了創紀錄的高位。在我們於 5 月完成的最新調查中，全球 75% 的公司預測他們將無法找到所需的人才，這是 16 年來的最高水平。

In summary, labor markets are healthy, talent shortages are high and demand for our services and solutions remains strong. Having said that, the combination of the continued war in Ukraine, increasing energy and food prices driving higher inflation rates and continued supply chain issues creates a more uncertain economic outlook.

總之，勞動力市場健康，人才短缺嚴重，對我們的服務和解決方案的需求依然強勁。話雖如此，烏克蘭持續的戰爭、能源和食品價格上漲推動通脹率上升以及持續的供應鏈問題共同造成了更加不確定的經濟前景。

This will likely create economic headwinds that may eventually spill into labor markets to a greater degree than what we have seen so far. Should that be the case, we're confident in our ability, as we have in the past, to manage changes in the market environment and adapting quickly, leveraging our diversified business mix and experienced leadership to position our company for continued success.

這可能會造成經濟逆風，最終可能會比我們迄今為止看到的更大程度地蔓延到勞動力市場。如果是這種情況，我們對我們的能力充滿信心，就像我們過去一樣，管理市場環境的變化並迅速適應，利用我們多元化的業務組合和經驗豐富的領導力來定位我們公司的持續成功。

We have made progress in diversifying our business into specialized higher-value services and solutions, digitizing our business on common global platforms and creating talent at scale through our MyPath and Experis Academy initiatives. This should position us well even in a more turbulent environment and create competitive strength to our advantage.

通過 MyPath 和 Experis Academy 計劃，我們在將業務多元化為專業化的高價值服務和解決方案、在全球通用平台上實現業務數字化以及大規模培養人才方面取得了進展。即使在更加動蕩的環境中，這也應該使我們處於有利地位，並為我們創造競爭優勢。

I'll now turn it over to Jack to take you through the results.

我現在將把它交給傑克，讓你了解結果。

Thanks, Jonas. Revenues in the second quarter came in at the low end of our constant currency guidance range. Gross profit margin came in above our guidance range. As adjusted, EBITDA was $193 million, representing a 22% increase in constant currency from the prior year period, or an 11% increase on an organic constant currency basis. As adjusted, EBITDA margin was 3.8%, and came in at the high end of our guidance, representing 50 basis points of year-over-year improvement, or 30 basis points organically.

謝謝，喬納斯。第二季度的收入處於我們固定匯率指導範圍的低端。毛利率高於我們的指導範圍。經調整後，EBITDA 為 1.93 億美元，按固定匯率計算比去年同期增長 22%，或按有機固定匯率計算增長 11%。經調整後，EBITDA 利潤率為 3.8%，處於我們指引的高端，同比增長 50 個基點，或有機增長 30 個基點。

Due to the significant strengthening of the dollar, particularly against the euro, year-over-year foreign currency movements had a much bigger impact than usual on our results. This drove an almost 10% swing between the U.S. dollar reported revenue trend and the constant currency-related growth rate. After adjusting for the negative impact of foreign exchange rates, our constant currency revenue increased 6%. Due to the impact of net acquisitions increasing revenue about 3% and slightly more billing days, the organic days adjusted revenue increase was about 2.5% compared to our guidance of 5%. The softer revenue trend was a result of more modest growth than anticipated in the Manpower brand.

由於美元顯著走強，特別是兌歐元匯率，同比外匯走勢對我們業績的影響比往常大得多。這推動了美元報告的收入趨勢和與貨幣相關的固定增長率之間的近 10% 的波動。調整匯率的負面影響後，我們的固定貨幣收入增長了 6%。由於淨收購增加收入約 3% 和計費天數略有增加的影響，有機天數調整後收入增長約 2.5%，而我們的指導為 5%。收入趨勢疲軟是由於萬寶盛華品牌的增長低於預期。

Turning to the EPS bridge. Reported earnings per share was $2.29, which included $0.04 related to the Experis U.S. acquisition integration costs. Excluding integration costs, adjusted EPS was $2.33. Walking from our guidance midpoint, our results included improved operational performance of $0.02, slightly lower weighted average shares due to share repurchases in the quarter, which had a positive impact of $0.03, a slightly better effective tax rate, which had a positive $0.01 impact and foreign currency impact was $0.06 more negative than anticipated in our guidance, particularly due to the euro weakness during the quarter, and other expenses had a negative $0.02 impact.

轉向EPS橋。報告的每股收益為 2.29 美元，其中包括與 Experis 美國收購整合成本相關的 0.04 美元。不計整合成本，調整後每股收益為 2.33 美元。從我們的指導中點開始，我們的結果包括改善了 0.02 美元的運營業績，由於本季度股票回購導致加權平均股票略低，產生了 0.03 美元的積極影響，有效稅率略高，產生了 0.01 美元的積極影響，以及外匯影響比我們的指導預期多 0.06 美元，特別是由於本季度歐元疲軟，其他費用產生了 0.02 美元的負面影響。

Next, let's review our revenue by business line. Year-over-year, on an organic constant currency basis, the Manpower brand reported revenue growth of 1%, the Experis brand reported revenue growth of 10% and the Talent Solutions brand reported revenue growth of 13%. Within Talent Solutions, we continue to see exceptional revenue growth in RPO and very strong revenue growth in MSP. As the outplacement environment continues to experience low levels of activity, Right Management saw double-digit percentage revenue decreases year-over-year.

接下來，讓我們按業務線查看我們的收入。與去年同期相比，Manpower 品牌報告收入增長 1%，Experis 品牌報告收入增長 10%，Talent Solutions 品牌報告收入增長 13%。在 Talent Solutions 中，我們繼續看到 RPO 的出色收入增長和 MSP 的非常強勁的收入增長。由於新職環境繼續經歷低水平的活動，Right Management 的收入同比下降了兩位數。

Looking at our gross profit margin in detail. Our gross margin came in at 18.2%. Underlying staffing margin contributed a 30 basis point increase. The Experis U.S. acquisition added 30 basis points. Permanent recruitment contributed 90 basis point GP margin improvement as hiring activity continued to be strong across our largest markets.

詳細查看我們的毛利率。我們的毛利率為 18.2%。基礎人員配置利潤率貢獻了 30 個基點的增長。 Experis 在美國的收購增加了 30 個基點。由於我們最大市場的招聘活動繼續強勁，永久招聘貢獻了 90 個基點的 GP 利潤率提高。

Experis Solutions contributed 30 basis point improvement, which was driven by the U.S. business. This was offset by a lower mix of Right Management career transition business, which resulted in a 10 basis points of GP margin reduction and other items represented a positive 20 basis points.

Experis Solutions 貢獻了 30 個基點的改善，這是由美國業務推動的。這被 Right Management 職業過渡業務的較低組合所抵消，這導致 GP 利潤率下降 10 個基點，其他項目代表正 20 個基點。

Moving on to our gross profit by business line. During the quarter, the Manpower brand comprised 57% of gross profit, our Experis professional business comprised 27% and Talent Solutions comprised 16%. During the quarter, our Manpower brand reported an organic constant currency gross profit increase of 6% year-over-year.

繼續按業務線計算我們的毛利潤。本季度，Manpower 品牌佔毛利潤的 57%，Experis 專業業務佔 27%，Talent Solutions 佔 16%。本季度，我們的萬寶盛華品牌報告有機固定貨幣毛利潤同比增長 6%。

Organic gross profit in our Experis brand increased 20% in constant currency year-over-year. This reflects strong growth in higher-margin solutions as well as permanent recruitment. Organic gross profit in Talent Solutions increased 22% in constant currency year-over-year. This was driven by the performance in RPO and MSP discussed earlier, which was partially offset by the decrease in Right Management due to outplacement trends.

我們的 Experis 品牌的有機毛利潤按固定匯率計算同比增長 20%。這反映了利潤率更高的解決方案以及長期招聘的強勁增長。 Talent Solutions 的有機毛利潤按固定匯率計算同比增長 22%。這是由前面討論的 RPO 和 MSP 的表現推動的，這部分被新職人員趨勢導致的權利管理減少所抵消。

Our SG&A expense in the quarter was $741 million. Excluding acquisition and integration costs, SG&A was 16% higher on a constant currency basis and 11% higher on an organic constant currency basis. This reflects continued investment in the business, reflecting the addition of recruiters and sales personnel in Experis, RPO and in various growth opportunity markets in Manpower.

我們本季度的 SG&A 費用為 7.41 億美元。不計收購和整合成本，SG&A 在固定貨幣基礎上增長 16%，在有機固定貨幣基礎上增長 11%。這反映了對業務的持續投資，反映了在 Experis、RPO 和 Manpower 的各種增長機會市場中增加了招聘人員和銷售人員。

The underlying increase is consisted of operational costs of $78 million, incremental costs related to net acquired businesses of $29 million, offset by currency changes of $60 million. Adjusted SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue represented 14.5% in the second quarter.

基本增長包括 7800 萬美元的運營成本、2900 萬美元與淨收購業務相關的增量成本，被 6000 萬美元的貨幣變化所抵消。第二季度調整後的 SG&A 費用佔收入的百分比為 14.5%。

The Americas segment comprised 25% of consolidated revenue. Revenue in the quarter was $1.3 billion, an increase of 23% in constant currency or 4% on an organic constant currency basis or 6% after adjusting for days. OUP was $81 million. As adjusted, OUP was $84 million and OUP margin was 6.6%.

美洲部門佔合併收入的 25%。本季度收入為 13 億美元，按固定匯率計算增長 23%，按有機固定匯率計算增長 4%，或在調整天數後增長 6%。 OUP 為 8100 萬美元。經調整後，OUP 為 8400 萬美元，OUP 利潤率為 6.6%。

The U.S. is the largest country in the Americas segment, comprising 72% of segment revenues. Revenue in the U.S. was $904 million, representing a 44% increase or 12% organically compared to the prior year. As adjusted to exclude acquisition and integration costs, OUP for our U.S. business was $67 million in the quarter, representing an organic increase of 22%. As adjusted, OUP margin was 7.5%.

美國是美洲細分市場中最大的國家，佔細分市場收入的 72%。美國的收入為 9.04 億美元，與上一年相比增長了 44% 或 12%。剔除收購和整合成本後，本季度我們美國業務的 OUP 為 6700 萬美元，有機增長 22%。經調整，OUP 利潤率為 7.5%。

Within the U.S., the Manpower brand comprised 26% of gross profit during the quarter. Revenue for the Manpower brand in the U.S. increased 3% during the quarter, a slight deceleration from the 6% growth recorded in the first quarter.

在美國，萬寶盛華品牌佔本季度毛利潤的 26%。本季度，萬寶盛華品牌在美國的收入增長了 3%，較第一季度的 6% 增長略有放緩。

The Experis brand in the U.S. comprised 45% of gross profit in the quarter. Within Experis in the U.S., IT skills comprised approximately 90% of revenues. Experis U.S. had a very strong quarter with revenues growing 25% organically, and we anticipate continued strong double-digit organic growth in the third quarter. The acquired U.S. Experis business had solid revenue growth during the quarter, and the integration is proceeding on schedule.

美國的 Experis 品牌佔本季度毛利潤的 45%。在美國的 Experis，IT 技能約佔收入的 90%。 Experis 美國的季度表現非常強勁，收入有機增長 25%，我們預計第三季度將繼續強勁兩位數的有機增長。被收購的美國 Experis 業務在本季度實現了穩健的收入增長，整合正在按計劃進行。

Talent Solutions in the U.S. contributed 29% of gross profit and experienced revenue growth of 17% in the quarter. This was driven by RPO, which continued to win new business and experienced another quarter of record revenue levels as hiring programs remain very strong. U.S. MSP business continued to perform well with strong revenue growth in the quarter. Within Right Management, career transition activity remained low.

美國的 Talent Solutions 在本季度貢獻了 29% 的毛利潤和 17% 的收入增長。這是由 RPO 推動的，由於招聘計劃仍然非常強勁，RPO 繼續贏得新業務，並經歷了另一個創紀錄的收入水平的四分之一。美國 MSP 業務繼續表現良好，本季度收入增長強勁。在 Right Management 內部，職業過渡活動仍然很低。

In the third quarter, we expect ongoing strong revenue growth for the U.S. in the range of 34% to 38% year-over-year, or 6% to 10% organically. Our Mexico operation experienced a revenue decline of 61% in constant currency in the quarter, representing a stable trend since the commencement of the new labor regulation in 2021. We begin to anniversary the impact of the regulations in August and expect a revenue decrease of approximately 23% to 27% in the third quarter.

在第三季度，我們預計美國的收入將持續強勁增長，同比增長 34% 至 38%，或有機增長 6% 至 10%。我們的墨西哥業務在本季度按固定匯率計算的收入下降了 61%，這是自 2021 年新勞動法規實施以來的穩定趨勢。我們在 8 月開始紀念法規的影響，預計收入下降約第三季度為 23% 至 27%。

Southern Europe revenue represented 43% of consolidated revenue in the quarter. Revenue in Southern Europe came in at $2.2 billion, growing 2% in constant currency. OUP equaled $112 million and OUP margin was 5.1%.

南歐收入佔本季度綜合收入的 43%。南歐的收入為 22 億美元，按固定匯率計算增長 2%。 OUP 等於 1.12 億美元，OUP 利潤率為 5.1%。

France revenue comprised 56% of the Southern Europe segment in the quarter and increased 4% in constant currency. OUP was $62 million in the quarter and OUP margin was 5%. France experienced a decelerating revenue trend during the quarter as Russia-Ukraine-related supply chain disruptions continued to impact the automotive sector and, to a lesser degree, construction and logistics.

本季度法國收入佔南歐部分的 56%，按固定匯率計算增長 4%。本季度 OUP 為 6200 萬美元，OUP 利潤率為 5%。由於俄羅斯和烏克蘭相關的供應鏈中斷繼續影響汽車行業，並在較小程度上影響建築和物流，法國在本季度的收入趨勢出現減速。

As we begin the third quarter, we are estimating a year-over-year constant currency revenue trend for France in the range of minus 1% to plus 3%. Our recent revenue trend in the month of June was plus 1%, which also represents the midpoint of our third quarter guidance range for France.

在第三季度開始時，我們估計法國的同比固定貨幣收入趨勢在負 1% 到正 3% 之間。我們最近在 6 月份的收入趨勢是增加 1%，這也代表了我們對法國第三季度指導範圍的中點。

Revenue in Italy equaled $454 million in the quarter, reflecting an increase of 11% in days-adjusted constant currency. OUP equaled $35 million and OUP margin was 7.8%. We estimate that Italy will continue to have solid growth in the third quarter with the year-over-year constant currency revenue increase in the range of 1% to 5%, which represents mid-single-digit growth at the midpoint on a days adjusted basis.

本季度意大利的收入為 4.54 億美元，按天數調整的固定貨幣計算增長了 11%。 OUP 等於 3500 萬美元，OUP 利潤率為 7.8%。我們估計意大利在第三季度將繼續保持穩健增長，固定貨幣收入同比增長在 1% 至 5% 之間，這代表調整後天數中位數的中位數增長基礎。

Our Northern Europe segment comprised 20% of consolidated revenue in the quarter. Revenue of $1 billion was flat in organic constant currency or represented 1% growth adjusted for billing days. OUP represented $11 million and OUP margin was 1.1%.

我們的北歐分部佔本季度綜合收入的 20%。 10 億美元的收入按有機固定貨幣計算持平，或按計費天數調整後增長 1%。 OUP 代表 1100 萬美元，OUP 利潤率為 1.1%。

Our largest market in Northern Europe segment is the U.K., which represented 36% of segment revenues in the quarter. During the quarter, U.K. revenues decreased 6% in constant currency, or 4% adjusted for billing days. This reflects the exit of certain low-margin arrangements replaced with higher fee-based margin business. Considering this, our U.K. business is performing well, and we expect low to mid-single-digit constant currency revenue growth in the third quarter.

我們在北歐細分市場的最大市場是英國，佔本季度細分市場收入的 36%。本季度，英國收入按固定匯率計算下降 6%，或按計費天數調整後下降 4%。這反映了某些低利潤安排的退出，取而代之的是更高的收費保證金業務。考慮到這一點，我們的英國業務表現良好，我們預計第三季度固定匯率收入將出現低至中個位數的增長。

In Germany, revenues decreased 9% in days adjusted constant currency in the second quarter. As we have discussed in the past, Germany is one of the most difficult markets for our industry due to the regulations impacting management of the bench workforce, the outsized impact of the automotive sector and, more recently, the impact from the Russia-Ukraine war. Although we have made some progress in improving the business, we are not satisfied with the rate of improvement and have more work to do in this challenging market. Overall, we are expecting a similar year-over-year revenue trend in the third quarter.

在德國，第二季度按天數調整的固定貨幣收入下降了 9%。正如我們過去所討論的，德國是我們行業最困難的市場之一，因為法規影響了替補勞動力的管理、汽車行業的巨大影響以及最近俄羅斯-烏克蘭戰爭的影響.儘管我們在改善業務方面取得了一些進展，但我們對改善的速度並不滿意，在這個充滿挑戰的市場上還有更多工作要做。總體而言，我們預計第三季度的收入同比趨勢類似。

The Asia Pacific Middle East segment comprises 12% of total company revenue. In the quarter, revenue grew 10% in constant currency to $604 million. OUP was $23 million and OUP margin was 3.7%.

亞太中東地區占公司總收入的 12%。本季度，按固定匯率計算的收入增長了 10%，達到 6.04 億美元。 OUP 為 2300 萬美元，OUP 利潤率為 3.7%。

Our largest market in the APME segment is Japan, which represented 45% of segment revenues in the quarter. Revenue in Japan grew 13% in days adjusted constant currency. We are very pleased with the performance of our Japan business, and we expect continued strong revenue growth in the third quarter.

我們在 APME 細分市場中最大的市場是日本，佔本季度細分市場收入的 45%。以天數調整的固定貨幣計算，日本的收入增長了 13%。我們對日本業務的表現非常滿意，我們預計第三季度收入將繼續強勁增長。

I'll now turn to cash flow and balance sheet. In the 6 months year-to-date, free cash flow equaled a cash outflow of $20 million compared to positive free cash flow of $171 million in the prior year. In the second quarter, free cash flow represented a cash outflow of $72 million compared to positive free cash flow of $43 million in the prior year. The cash outflow during the second quarter was driven by strong growth in North America and timing of payables. We expect to resume strong free cash flow in the second half of the year.

我現在將轉向現金流和資產負債表。今年迄今為止的 6 個月中，自由現金流相當於 2000 萬美元的現金流出，而上一年的正自由現金流為 1.71 億美元。在第二季度，自由現金流代表現金流出 7200 萬美元，而去年同期為正自由現金流 4300 萬美元。第二季度的現金流出受到北美強勁增長和應付賬款時間的推動。我們預計下半年將恢復強勁的自由現金流。

At quarter end, days sales outstanding was up about 2 days year-over-year at 58 days. Capital expenditures represented $23 million during the second quarter. During the second quarter, we repurchased 1.14 million shares of stock for $100 million. As of June 30, we have 3.5 million shares remaining for repurchase under the share program approved in August of 2021.

在季度末，未結銷售天數同比增長約 2 天，達到 58 天。第二季度的資本支出為 2300 萬美元。在第二季度，我們以 1 億美元回購了 114 萬股股票。截至 6 月 30 日，根據 2021 年 8 月批准的股票計劃，我們還有 350 萬股可供回購。

Our balance sheet ended the quarter with cash of $886 million and total debt of $1.4 billion. On June 30, we issued a new EUR 400 million note as part of our refinancing of the euro note of the same amount scheduled to mature in September 2022. With the proceeds from the June 30 sale, we repaid the maturing euro note during the first week of July. As a result, the balance sheet at June 30 reflects the temporary increase in our debt as a result of the refinancing activity.

我們的資產負債表以 8.86 億美元的現金和 14 億美元的總債務結束了本季度。 6 月 30 日，我們發行了一張新的 4 億歐元票據，作為我們對計劃於 2022 年 9 月到期的相同金額的歐元票據再融資的一部分。利用 6 月 30 日出售的收益，我們在第一期償還了到期的歐元票據七月的一周。因此，6 月 30 日的資產負債表反映了由於再融資活動導致我們的債務暫時增加。

The adjusted amounts presented on the slide reflect the underlying debt and capitalization ratios without the additional euro note for this brief period. Net debt equaled $537 million at quarter end. Our debt ratios at quarter end reflect total adjusted gross debt to trailing 12 months adjusted EBITDA of 1.22 and total adjusted debt to total capitalization of 29%.

幻燈片上顯示的調整後金額反映了在此短暫時期內沒有額外歐元票據的基礎債務和資本化比率。季度末淨債務為 5.37 億美元。我們在季度末的債務比率反映了調整後總債務總額與過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 之比為 1.22，調整後債務總額與總資本化率之比為 29%。

Our debt and credit facility summary reflects new euro note issuance maturing in June of 2027 at an effective interest rate of 3.514%. As I noted, this issuance has now replaced the previous EUR 400 million note, which was repaid shortly after quarter end.

我們的債務和信貸安排摘要反映了新發行的歐元票據將於 2027 年 6 月到期，實際利率為 3.514%。正如我所指出的，此次發行現在已經取代了之前的 4 億歐元票據，該票據在季度末不久就被償還了。

During the quarter, we also entered into a new $600 million revolving credit agreement for a new 5-year term maturing in May of 2027. These new credit arrangements further strengthen our debt duration and overall balance sheet position. We expect to repay the remaining $50 million related to the prior year U.S. Experis acquisition during the third quarter.

在本季度，我們還簽訂了新的 6 億美元循環信貸協議，新的 5 年期限於 2027 年 5 月到期。這些新的信貸安排進一步加強了我們的債務期限和整體資產負債表狀況。我們預計將在第三季度償還與去年美國 Experis 收購相關的剩餘 5000 萬美元。

Next, I'll review our outlook for the third quarter of 2022. Our guidance continues to assume no material additional COVID-19 or Russia-Ukraine war-related impacts, including energy-related disruptions in Europe beyond those that exist today. On that basis, we are forecasting underlying earnings per share for the third quarter to be in the range of $2.19 to $2.27, which includes an unfavorable foreign currency impact of $0.29 per share. This does not include the impact of projected acquisition integration costs of $4 million to $6 million, which will continue to be broken out separately from the ongoing operations.

接下來，我將回顧我們對 2022 年第三季度的展望。我們的指導繼續假設沒有實質性的額外 COVID-19 或俄羅斯-烏克蘭戰爭相關影響，包括歐洲目前存在的與能源相關的中斷。在此基礎上，我們預測第三季度每股基本收益將在 2.19 美元至 2.27 美元之間，其中包括每股 0.29 美元的不利外匯影響。這不包括預計的 400 萬至 600 萬美元的收購整合成本的影響，這將繼續與正在進行的運營分開。

Our constant currency revenue guidance growth range is between 4% and 8%, and at the midpoint represents 6%. After adjusting for the acquisition of the U.S. Experis business, the disposition of Russia, and an almost equal number of billing days in the third quarter, our organic days adjusted revenue growth represents 3% at the midpoint.

我們的固定貨幣收入指導增長范圍在 4% 到 8% 之間，中點為 6%。在對美國 Experis 業務的收購、俄羅斯的處置以及第三季度幾乎相同的計費天數進行調整後，我們的有機天數調整後收入增長在中點為 3%。

This represents a stable to slightly improving trend from the second quarter revenue growth on the same basis. The third quarter revenue trend incorporates solid revenue growth across our industry verticals in our major markets with the exception of automotive, which we expect to continue to be sluggish predominantly in France and Germany, and, to a lesser degree, construction in France.

這代表了在相同基礎上從第二季度收入增長穩定到略有改善的趨勢。第三季度的收入趨勢包括我們主要市場的垂直行業收入的穩健增長，但汽車除外，我們預計汽車將繼續低迷，主要在法國和德國，在較小程度上是法國的建築業。

Our third quarter guidance assumes a stable economic environment throughout the full quarter and assumes the important September post-holiday period in Europe experiences no material trend change in demand. We expect our EBITDA margin during the third quarter to be up 60 basis points at the midpoint compared to the prior year, with the acquired U.S. Experis business contributing 20 basis points of the improvement.

我們的第三季度指引假設整個季度的經濟環境穩定，並假設歐洲重要的 9 月節後期間需求沒有發生重大趨勢變化。我們預計第三季度的 EBITDA 利潤率中點將比上一年增加 60 個基點，收購的美國 Experis 業務貢獻了 20 個基點的改善。

We estimate that the effective tax rate for both the third quarter and the full year of 2022 to be 30%. As usual, our guidance does not incorporate restructuring charges or additional share repurchases, and we estimate our weighted average shares to be 52.8 million.

我們估計 2022 年第三季度和全年的有效稅率均為 30%。像往常一樣，我們的指導不包括重組費用或額外的股票回購，我們估計我們的加權平均股數為 5280 萬股。

I will now turn it back to Jonas.

我現在將它轉回給喬納斯。

Thanks, Jack. We continue to make good progress in our strategy to digitize, diversify and innovate in our investments to create talent at scale through MyPath and Experis Academy.

謝謝，傑克。我們的投資數字化、多元化和創新戰略繼續取得良好進展，通過 MyPath 和 Experis Academy 大規模培養人才。

On diversification, our Experis business continues to grow very nicely globally, particularly here in the U.S., which is the largest market for IT resourcing and where our market share is strong as well as in the U.K. and other key markets globally.

在多元化方面，我們的 Experis 業務在全球範圍內繼續保持良好增長，特別是在美國，這是最大的 IT 資源市場，我們的市場份額在英國和全球其他主要市場都非常強勁。

We also expanded our higher-value Talent Solutions offering with a small acquisition in July in France, which expands our capabilities in the public sector. Having just attended the Choose France event hosted by President Macron, I note that our industry is seen as an important contributor to achieve the French government's ambitious labor market agenda for full employment, which is very encouraging.

我們還於 7 月在法國進行了一次小規模收購，從而擴展了我們更高價值的人才解決方案產品，這擴大了我們在公共部門的能力。剛剛參加了馬克龍總統主持的“選擇法國”活動，我注意到我們的行業被視為實現法國政府雄心勃勃的勞動力市場議程以實現充分就業的重要貢獻者，這非常令人鼓舞。

On Digitization, we continue to execute our global technology agenda at pace, including the completion of the large PowerSuite implementation final wave of the U.S. Manpower business, which followed the U.S. Experis implementation conducted in prior years. We also successfully transitioned the U.S.-acquired Experis business onto our PowerSuite front office during the quarter. So U.S. and Global IT teams have been quite busy executing the successful implementations in the past quarters.

在數字化方面，我們繼續按節奏執行我們的全球技術議程，包括完成美國人力業務的大型 PowerSuite 實施最後一波，這是在前幾年進行的美國 Experis 實施之後完成的。我們還在本季度成功地將美國收購的 Experis 業務轉移到了我們的 PowerSuite 前台。因此，美國和全球 IT 團隊在過去幾個季度一直忙於執行成功的實施。

And on Innovation, we continue to make excellent progress. For the sixth consecutive year, we were the Gold HR partner at VivaTech. Attended by 0.5 million people over 4 days, VivaTech serves as an excellent platform from which we can showcase human capital innovation through our Experis IT resourcing and project solutions offerings as well as our tech innovations across the Talent Solutions and Manpower brands.

在創新方面，我們繼續取得出色的進步。我們連續第六年成為 VivaTech 的金牌人力資源合作夥伴。在 4 天內有 50 萬人參加，VivaTech 是一個出色的平台，我們可以通過 Experis IT 資源和項目解決方案產品以及我們在人才解決方案和人力品牌中的技術創新來展示人力資本創新。

During the event, we also launched our New Age of Tech Talent report on which tech skills are most in demand globally. The innovations we showcased at VivaTech included our move into the Metaverse with our Virtual Reality Skills Insight assessment, RightMap, our data-driven digital career management offering, as well as Manpower MyPath and Experis Academy, providing our clients with solutions that create, develop and retain talent and use machine learning and AI to upskill and reskill in-demand tech workers at speed and scale, all of which is matching people to meaningful, sustainable jobs with better accuracy than either humans or machines could do on their own.

活動期間，我們還發布了關於全球最需要哪些技術技能的新時代科技人才報告。我們在 VivaTech 展示的創新包括我們通過虛擬現實技能洞察評估、RightMap、我們的數據驅動的數字職業管理產品以及 Manpower MyPath 和 Experis Academy 進入元界，為我們的客戶提供創建、開發和留住人才，並使用機器學習和人工智能以速度和規模提升和重新培訓有需求的技術工人，所有這些都使人們與有意義的、可持續的工作相匹配，比人類或機器單獨完成的準確性更高。

We were proud to host more than 20 HR tech start-ups in our Working to Change the World Lab using innovation to represent our ESG commitments around Planet, People & Prosperity and Principles of Governance.

我們很自豪能夠在我們的“努力改變世界”實驗室中接待 20 多家人力資源技術初創企業，這些企業利用創新來代表我們圍繞地球、人與繁榮以及治理原則的 ESG 承諾。

We also hosted many of our clients and other partners that demonstrate our community investment, including Junior Achievement, the world's sixth largest NGO that reaches more than 14 million young people each year and whose global Board I'm honored to chair, to showcase examples of creating entrepreneurial talent for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

我們還接待了許多展示我們社區投資的客戶和其他合作夥伴，其中包括世界第六大非政府組織 Junior Achievement，該組織每年接觸超過 1400 萬年輕人，我很榮幸擔任其全球董事會主席，以展示以下例子：為今天和明天的工作創造創業人才。

And finally, as further reinforcement and external recognition of our diversification, digitization and innovation capabilities, we are very pleased to be named Star Performer and Global Leader in Recruitment Process Outsourcing for the 12th year in the Everest Group PEAK Matrix Assessment, recognized in both Global and EMEA categories.

最後，作為對我們多元化、數字化和創新能力的進一步強化和外部認可，我們很高興在珠穆朗瑪峰集團峰值矩陣評估中連續第 12 年被評為招聘流程外包的明星表現者和全球領導者，在全球和 EMEA 類別。

Everest especially recognizes our breadth of global service offerings, strong performance across a portfolio of buyers of all sizes and continued investment in our PowerSuite technology stack, including our automated Rapid Recruit solution and IntelliReach, which is our data and analytics portal.

Everest 尤其認可我們廣泛的全球服務產品、在各種規模的買家組合中的強勁表現以及對我們的 PowerSuite 技術堆棧的持續投資，包括我們的自動化 Rapid Recruit 解決方案和 IntelliReach，這是我們的數據和分析門戶。

This is recognition to all of our global Talent Solutions team, and I thank them and the rest of the ManpowerGroup team for another quarter of good results and for delivering on our purpose to find meaningful and sustainable employment for millions of people every year.

這是對我們所有全球人才解決方案團隊的認可，我感謝他們和萬寶盛華團隊的其他成員又取得了四分之一的好成績，並實現了我們每年為數百萬人尋找有意義和可持續就業的目標。

I'd now like to open the call for Q&A. Operator?

我現在想打開問答電話。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Andrew Steinerman of JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Andrew Steinerman。

Jonas, I wanted to just kind of go over the macro picture. I know you just gave third quarter guide that included an assumption of a stable economic environment here. Could you give us a sense of where you think we are in terms of the U.S. and European economic cycle as central banks are hiking interest rates to fight inflation? And have you seen wage inflation stabilized yet?

喬納斯，我想回顧一下宏觀圖景。我知道您剛剛給出了第三季度指南，其中包括對穩定經濟環境的假設。您能否讓我們了解一下您認為我們在美國和歐洲經濟周期中所處的位置，因為各國央行正在提高利率以對抗通脹？你看到工資通脹穩定了嗎？

Yes. And that is the question on everyone's mind, where is this going. I think as you heard us say in our prepared remarks, the first observation is that from a client behavior at this point, we see no change in their desire to acquire more skilled workers of various kinds across industries, with the exceptions we've talked about such as automotive in some markets and construction as well as logistics, to a lesser degree.

是的。這是每個人都在思考的問題，這是要去哪裡。我認為正如您在準備好的評論中聽到我們所說的那樣，第一個觀察結果是，從客戶此時的行為來看，我們認為他們希望在各個行業獲得更多技術工人的願望沒有變化，除了我們已經談過的例如一些市場的汽車、建築和物流，在較小程度上。

What is equally clear is that many of our clients are quite concerned about the economic outlook on the one hand. But when we ask them how they're feeling about their own business, they're saying that they're still working through the pent-up demand from the pandemic, that they are looking for more talent. They're looking for our help in more ways than we were able to provide them even before the pandemic.

同樣清楚的是，我們的許多客戶一方面非常關注經濟前景。但是當我們問他們對自己的業務感覺如何時，他們說他們仍在努力應對大流行中被壓抑的需求，他們正在尋找更多的人才。他們正在以比我們在大流行之前能夠提供給他們的方式更多的方式尋求我們的幫助。

So their view is that talent is going to be immensely important for them as they navigate through this turbulent environment. And as we've discussed in the past, Andrew, during turbulent times, during growth times, but with greater uncertainty, our clients are looking to us to provide operational and strategic flexibility. And certainly, that's what we would expect also going forward.

所以他們的觀點是，當他們在這個動蕩的環境中航行時，人才對他們來說非常重要。正如我們過去所討論的，安德魯，在動盪時期，在增長時期，但不確定性更大，我們的客戶希望我們提供運營和戰略靈活性。當然，這也是我們未來所期望的。

So based on what we are seeing across labor markets, across the demand structure that we have today, I think we're feeling good about our outlook. If you then look at this from a U.S. versus Europe perspective, the U.S. economy is very strong, labor markets are very strong. But as you will have noted, as we discussed in our last earnings call, wage inflation appears to be sitting around 5% and not moving higher in any discernible way.

因此，根據我們在勞動力市場和我們今天的需求結構中看到的情況，我認為我們對我們的前景感覺良好。如果從美國與歐洲的角度來看，美國經濟非常強勁，勞動力市場非常強勁。但正如你會注意到的，正如我們在上次財報電話會議中討論的那樣，工資通脹似乎保持在 5% 左右，並且沒有以任何明顯的方式上升。

Wage inflation in Europe is lower than what it is in the U.S. And I think they are a few months behind. You can still see some wage inflation in Europe to a greater extent than what we see in the U.S., but we would expect this to stabilize as well and the rate of growth to come down slightly in the coming months as well.

歐洲的工資通脹低於美國，而且我認為他們落後了幾個月。你仍然可以看到歐洲的工資通脹比我們在美國看到的更大，但我們預計這也會穩定下來，未來幾個月的增長率也會略有下降。

So, so far, you can still see PMIs being positive both in Europe and in the U.S. So, we are in a slowing growth environment, Andrew, and not at this point seeing any indications in terms of our client behavior, in terms of our demand picture and in terms of the strength of the labor markets of anything that's different to that.

所以，到目前為止，你仍然可以看到歐洲和美國的採購經理人指數都是積極的。所以，我們處於增長放緩的環境中，安德魯，目前還沒有看到任何跡象表明我們的客戶行為，就我們的需求情況以及任何與此不同的勞動力市場的實力。

Our next question is from the line of Kevin McVeigh of Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸的 Kevin McVeigh。

Great. And Jack or Jonas, can you give us a sense, it seems like the EBITDA was at the higher end of the range versus the revenue with the lower? Any puts and takes on profitability? Was that primarily mix or anything else that drove the EBITDA performance?

偉大的。傑克或喬納斯，你能給我們一個感覺嗎，EBITDA 似乎處於範圍的高端，而收入則處於較低水平？有沒有看跌期權的盈利能力？這主要是混合還是其他推動 EBITDA 表現的因素？

Yes. No, I'd be happy to talk to that, Kevin. Yes, I'd say the higher end of the range, as you look at the GP bridge, you can see the higher margin offerings and businesses had higher growth across the board. So that's really the impact of the Experis coming through. That's the impact of Talent Solutions coming through, both of them at double-digit growth.

是的。不，我很樂意和你談談，凱文。是的，我會說範圍的高端，當您查看 GP 橋時，您可以看到更高的利潤率產品和業務的全面增長。這就是 Experis 的真正影響。這就是 Talent Solutions 帶來的影響，兩者都實現了兩位數的增長。

And when those businesses are growing faster, then that's going to drop down to both our GP margin, but importantly, our EBITDA margin. And so that's part of our ongoing strategy to continue that trend.

當這些業務增長更快時，這將下降到我們的 GP 利潤率，但重要的是，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率。因此，這是我們延續這一趨勢的持續戰略的一部分。

Certainly, perm recruitment had an impact as well. And so we've been seeing consistent strong perm hiring trends across our largest markets. And that's the biggest item in the GP bridge, and that actually was a driver as well in that top of the end range on the EBITDA margin.

當然，燙髮招聘也產生了影響。因此，我們在最大的市場中看到了持續強勁的燙髮招聘趨勢。這是 GP 橋中最大的項目，實際上也是 EBITDA 利潤率的高端範圍內的驅動因素。

But other than that, Kevin, I'd say it was a pretty clean quarter. I know a year ago, we had pretty big direct cost adjustment that impacted earnings that we didn't really have that this year. So considering that, the up 50 basis points year-over-year, if you consider the fact that last year was flatter 20 basis points, it's actually on an underlying basis and a bit better on an overall basis. So that's what I'd say in terms of the EBITDA trend.

但除此之外，凱文，我會說這是一個非常乾淨的季度。我知道一年前，我們進行了相當大的直接成本調整，這影響了我們今年並沒有真正實現的收益。因此，考慮到這一點，同比增長 50 個基點，如果你考慮到去年持平 20 個基點的事實，它實際上是在基礎基礎上，總體上要好一些。這就是我要說的 EBITDA 趨勢。

That's helpful. And then just real quick, given the dramatic shift in currency, and just obviously the war in Ukraine and energy, are you seeing any shift from a client perspective in terms of outsized impact in different industries that you'd call out one way or the other? Again, just obviously, the currency seems like it's a big driver of where the guidance is at. But just any shift in behavior from an FX or just energy perspective within the client context?

這很有幫助。然後真的很快，考慮到貨幣的巨大變化，以及顯然烏克蘭和能源的戰爭，你是否從客戶的角度看到任何轉變，就不同行業的巨大影響而言，你會以一種方式或其他？同樣，很明顯，貨幣似乎是指導所在位置的重要驅動力。但只是從客戶環境中的外匯或能源角度來看行為的任何轉變？

Yes. No, I'd say from an FX perspective, we operate largely in the local currency in our markets. So as a result, FX doesn't really impact client demand in our major markets. So we're not seeing an impact from FX.

是的。不，我想說的是，從外彙的角度來看，我們在市場上主要以當地貨幣運作。因此，外匯並沒有真正影響我們主要市場的客戶需求。所以我們沒有看到外彙的影響。

I think from an energy standpoint, I think similar to Jonas' comments, energy certainly has been a contributor to year-over-year inflation on a general standpoint. And certainly, in Europe, it's been more severe. But so far, that has not impacted demand for our services. So we have not seen a significant impact.

我認為從能源的角度來看，我認為與喬納斯的評論類似，從總體上看，能源肯定是導致同比通脹的一個因素。當然，在歐洲，情況更為嚴重。但到目前為止，這並未影響對我們服務的需求。所以我們沒有看到顯著的影響。

Now certainly, we've talked about the sectors that have been disrupted by supply chain issues, and some of that could be energy-related. But on an overall basis, putting supply chain disruptions to the side, we really haven't seen a significant impact on demand for those reasons.

現在，當然，我們已經討論了被供應鏈問題打亂的行業，其中一些可能與能源有關。但總體而言，將供應鏈中斷放在一邊，由於這些原因，我們確實沒有看到對需求的重大影響。

Our next question is coming from Jeff Silber of BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 Jeff Silber。

Jonas, you briefly alluded to President Macron in France. I know he won his election, but his party did not win. Do you see any changes, either positive or negative, because of this governmental structure going forward in France?

喬納斯，你曾簡短地提到過法國總統馬克龍。我知道他贏得了選舉，但他的政黨沒有獲勝。由於這種政府結構在法國的發展，您是否看到任何積極或消極的變化？

Spending a lot of time last week with all of the relevant ministries and hearing President Macron speak and hearing their thinking about how they intend to drive their structural reforms forward, they don't appear to be overly concerned with our ability to get the main pillars of their programs implemented.

上週花了很多時間與所有相關部門交流，聽取馬克龍總統的講話，聽取他們對如何推動結構性改革的想法，他們似乎並不過分擔心我們獲得主要支柱的能力他們實施的計劃。

And from our perspective, what's, of course, important is the change in business tax that they have talked about and listening to Bruno Le Maire and asking him about that. He reaffirmed his commitment to the business tax change in the 2023 budget, which from our perspective, is very positive. Talking to the labor minister in terms of our role as ManpowerGroup in France and helping them move to the next level of employment progress in terms of their stated objective for full employment and how important they see our contributions there, we really feel very good about France under the Macron administration and also feel very good about -- or their ability to drive through their structural reform programs that they have outlined during the election.

從我們的角度來看，當然，重要的是他們談到並聽取了 Bruno Le Maire 並詢問他的營業稅的變化。他重申了他對 2023 年預算中營業稅改革的承諾，從我們的角度來看，這是非常積極的。就我們作為法國萬寶盛華集團的角色與勞工部長進行交談，並幫助他們就充分就業的既定目標以及他們對我們在那裡所做貢獻的重要性而言，幫助他們進入下一個就業進步水平，我們對法國感到非常滿意在馬克龍政府的領導下，也對他們在選舉期間概述的結構改革計劃的推動能力感到非常滿意。

What's important to remember, Jeff, is that you have a parliament where the Macron administration is clearly and, by far, the biggest player. And you have many smaller players on the right and on the left, but most of the time have opposing views on various aspects of any program.

傑夫，重要的是要記住，你有一個議會，馬克龍政府顯然是其中最大的參與者。左右兩邊都有很多較小的玩家，但大多數時候對任何程序的各個方面都有不同的看法。

So the likelihood that all of the various extremes would be able to unite and go against as a majority vote against the Macron administration seems very unlikely, possible, of course, but very unlikely. And especially on the broader economic and labor market initiatives that we're interested in, we think that the Macron administration is going to be able to drive it through. And for that reason, I have to say that I feel very good about the French market and the policies that are going to make France more competitive and as such, for us, an extremely important market to continue to do well in.

因此，所有各種極端分子能夠團結起來反對馬克龍政府的多數票似乎不太可能，當然可能，但不太可能。特別是在我們感興趣的更廣泛的經濟和勞動力市場計劃方面，我們認為馬克龍政府將能夠推動它通過。出於這個原因，我不得不說我對法國市場以及將使法國更具競爭力的政策感覺非常好，因此，對我們來說，這是一個非常重要的市場，需要繼續在其中表現出色。

Okay. That's really helpful. And then shifting gears a little bit more broadly. You've mentioned energy-related disruptions a number of times. We've been reading potentially things get worse as we head into the winter. And if they cut off Russian supplies, especially in Germany, they're talking about rationing.

好的。這真的很有幫助。然後更廣泛地換檔。您多次提到與能源相關的中斷。當我們進入冬天時，我們一直在閱讀可能會變得更糟的情況。如果他們切斷俄羅斯的供應，尤其是在德國，他們就是在談論配給。

I know it still may be early, but are you hearing any discussions along those lines from any of your clients, either in Germany or anywhere else in Europe?

我知道現在可能還為時過早，但您是否從您的任何客戶那裡聽到過類似的討論，無論是在德國還是在歐洲其他任何地方？

Overall, just as you are, I'm reading in the papers around the preparations that Europe is making for that very eventuality. And in the sessions with the French government last week, for instance, a lot of their hypothesis and their planning is around the zero supply of gas into Europe and what that would mean.

總的來說，就像你一樣，我正在閱讀有關歐洲正在為這種可能性做準備的論文。例如，在上週與法國政府的會議上，他們的很多假設和計劃都是圍繞著向歐洲供應零天然氣以及這意味著什麼。

So Europe is preparing, I think, for all alternatives. And the outlook, they appear to feel that there are options and ways of working around it. No doubt it appears that it could become quite difficult also depending on the severity of the winter. If it's a mild winter, it would be less severe. If it's a more severe winter, it would be more difficult. But as you can tell, these are things that are entirely out of our control.

因此，我認為歐洲正在為所有替代方案做準備。展望未來，他們似乎覺得有解決它的選擇和方法。毫無疑問，這似乎也可能變得相當困難，這也取決於冬天的嚴重程度。如果是溫和的冬天，就不會那麼嚴重了。如果是更嚴酷的冬天，那就更難了。但正如你所知道的，這些都是我們完全無法控制的。

And coming back to what this means to us, at this point, we don't see any of our clients changing their behavior or asking us to do anything different than trying to find them the talent that they need to execute on their business strategies. And that's -- for now, that's what we're seeing. We, of course, are fully aware of what could happen. But how it would be resolved and whether it actually happens, that's something we just have to be ready to react to. And as you well know, we are very used to reacting quickly to changes in market and we would do that in this case as well.

回到這對我們來說意味著什麼，在這一點上，我們沒有看到我們的任何客戶改變他們的行為或要求我們做任何與試圖為他們尋找執行業務戰略所需的人才不同的事情。這就是 - 現在，這就是我們所看到的。當然，我們完全清楚可能發生的事情。但是如何解決它以及它是否真的發生，這是我們必須準備好應對的事情。眾所周知，我們非常習慣於對市場變化做出快速反應，在這種情況下我們也會這樣做。

Our next question is from the line of Mark Marcon of Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Mark Marcon。

Wondering, can you talk a little bit about what your expectations are in terms of cyclical sensitivity for the Talent Solutions business as well as Experis. Obviously, you've had a fairly significant shift in terms of the business mix. And I'm wondering, particularly Talent Solutions, how you think that and perm would end up operating if things slow down a little bit further?

想知道，您能否談談您對人才解決方案業務和 Experis 的周期性敏感性的期望。顯然，就業務組合而言，您已經發生了相當大的轉變。我想知道，尤其是人才解決方案，如果事情進一步放緩，你認為這和燙髮最終會如何運作？

So we have a positive view on the diversification, as you heard me say in the prepared remarks and Jack talked about the shift in our business mix and what that is doing to our operating and EBITDA margins. And we think that this increased diversification will serve us well during a cyclical downturn.

因此，正如您在準備好的講話中聽到我所說的那樣，我們對多元化持積極態度，傑克談到了我們業務組合的轉變以及這對我們的運營和 EBITDA 利潤率有何影響。我們認為，這種增加的多元化將在周期性低迷時期為我們提供良好的服務。

Perm tends to be more cyclical sometimes than temporary staffing or resourcing solutions. But at the same time, I would say that the environment that we're looking at from a labor market perspective would make us think that in the proximity to the pandemic, how clients react in a downturn today especially if it's of a lighter variety. So maybe more of a technical recession or a shallow recession, if that were to happen, companies will remember what it was like to find talent after the pandemic.

燙髮有時比臨時人員配備或資源解決方案更具週期性。但與此同時，我要說的是，我們從勞動力市場的角度看待的環境會讓我們認為，在大流行病臨近的情況下，客戶在今天的低迷中如何反應，尤其是在經濟低迷的情況下。因此，可能更多的是技術性衰退或淺度衰退，如果發生這種情況，公司將記住大流行之後尋找人才的感覺。

And they worked very hard and are frankly still working very hard at finding the talent they need to execute on their plans. So we think that the position that we have obtained across Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions, both from a resourcing on the temporary or contingent side as well as on the perm side, will be very good for us as we go into a time of a need for greater flexibility from a company perspective because we can ramp up and down quickly on their behalf.

他們工作非常努力，坦率地說，他們仍在努力尋找執行計劃所需的人才。因此，我們認為，我們在人力、經驗和人才解決方案方面獲得的職位，無論是從臨時或臨時方面以及在永久方面的資源，對我們來說都是非常好的，因為我們進入了一個時代從公司的角度來看，我們需要更大的靈活性，因為我們可以代表他們快速上升和下降。

So I think the position that we have, both from a business mix diversification and the proximity to the pandemic and the memories of what that kind of talent shortage market looks like, could give us actually an opportunity to experience more resilience in our business model than what we have seen in the past.

因此，我認為我們所擁有的位置，無論是業務組合多樣化，還是接近大流行，以及對那種人才短缺市場的記憶，實際上都可以讓我們有機會在我們的商業模式中體驗比我們過去所看到的。

That's great. And then obviously, the U.S. business has diversified the most. And clearly, we're seeing the benefit with regards to the margins. To what extent do you think of the U.S. is basically being a template that could be exported to a greater extent across your international operations?

那太棒了。顯然，美國企業的多元化程度最高。顯然，我們看到了利潤率方面的好處。您認為美國在多大程度上基本上是一個可以在您的國際業務中更大程度出口的模板？

Well, clearly, we are driving that kind -- the diversification that you're seeing us do in the U.S. and in many other geographies as well. I would note, though, Mark, that the composition of the market itself in the U.S. is quite different from what business is in Asia Pac, in Latin America and especially in Europe.

好吧，很明顯，我們正在推動這種多樣化——你看到我們在美國和許多其他地區所做的多樣化。不過，馬克，我要指出，美國市場本身的構成與亞太地區、拉丁美洲，尤其是歐洲的業務有很大不同。

So I think we're going to be pushing the market composition in terms of our own diversification harder, but it's important to remember that the market composition in the U.S. is also much bigger diversification than what you see in Europe and in Latin America and in Asia Pacific.

所以我認為我們將在我們自己的多元化方面更加努力地推動市場構成，但重要的是要記住，美國的市場構成也比你在歐洲、拉丁美洲和亞太地區。

But having said that, our strategy is the same. We're diversifying our business to higher-margin, faster-growing businesses within -- between the brands, Experis and Talent Solutions and Manpower and also within the brands. In Manpower, we see some good growth in higher-level skilled specializations, both on a contingent side and especially from a perm side, and that is something that we will continue to drive across all of our geographies, Mark.

但話雖如此，我們的策略是一樣的。我們正在將我們的業務多樣化，以在品牌、Experis and Talent Solutions 和 Manpower 之間以及品牌內部實現更高利潤、增長更快的業務。在 Manpower 中，我們看到高級技能專業的一些良好增長，無論是在隊伍方面，尤其是在燙髮方面，這就是我們將繼續在我們所有地區推動的事情，馬克。

Our next question is from the line of Kartik Mehta of Northcoast Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Northcoast Research 的 Kartik Mehta。

Jonas, you've talked about your clients are a little bit concerned about the economy, but haven't made any changes. Is that surprising at all that the clients are reading and a little bit concerned about the economy, but they're not making any behavioral changes or demand changes?

喬納斯，你談到你的客戶有點擔心經濟，但沒有做出任何改變。客戶正在閱讀並有點擔心經濟，但他們沒有做出任何行為改變或需求改變，這是否令人驚訝？

I think, Kartik, what we're seeing is the individual business doing well, having a great order stock and still working through the pent-up demand and the supply chain issues that may have -- they may have experienced, and that's what their staffing and recruitment activities and their businesses are indicating. But at the same time, they're looking out, they're reading and they clearly understanding that the central banks across the world are trying to bring down inflation, which means cooling down the economy.

我認為，Kartik，我們看到的是個別企業表現良好，擁有大量訂單庫存，並且仍在解決被壓抑的需求和可能存在的供應鏈問題——他們可能已經經歷過，這就是他們的人員配備和招聘活動及其業務正在顯示。但與此同時，他們在看，他們在閱讀，他們清楚地了解世界各地的中央銀行正在努力降低通脹，這意味著讓經濟降溫。

So they are seeing what is the intent, but they are living a reality of a continued strong business environment for them. So this is a bit of a time where it's all going to be a question of the economy bending. So economic growth slowing, labor markets may be cooling off a little bit, but remaining very strong. And then coming back to improved growth or economies coming down into a recessionary environment of some kind, and I think that's what they are debating.

所以他們看到了意圖是什麼，但他們生活在一個對他們來說持續強大的商業環境的現實中。所以現在有點時候，這一切都將成為經濟彎曲的問題。因此經濟增長放緩，勞動力市場可能會稍微降溫，但仍然非常強勁。然後回到改善的增長或經濟陷入某種衰退環境，我認為這就是他們正在爭論的問題。

But at this point, as we mentioned in our prepared remarks, none of them -- most of the clients that we're working with are not experiencing drops in demand that are changing behavior. They continue to express difficulties due to supply chain, which is impacting their ability to produce and manufacture and deliver certain services. So that's what they're still dealing with at this stage.

但是在這一點上，正如我們在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，它們都沒有——我們正在與之合作的大多數客戶都沒有經歷正在改變行為的需求下降。由於供應鏈，他們繼續表示困難，這影響了他們生產、製造和提供某些服務的能力。所以這就是他們現階段仍在處理的問題。

And then just one last question. You talked a little bit about wage inflation and the rate of growth slowing. Is that translating into greater talent availability? Or how does talent availability look for you?

然後是最後一個問題。你談到了工資通脹和增長率放緩。這是否會轉化為更多的人才可用性？或者人才可用性如何尋找您？

Well, so first, talking about inflation, specific to our business model, as we've talked about in the past, generally, wage inflation benefits us as the majority of arrangements pass those wage inflations on to our clients. And that's what we need to do to be able to find and recruit the talent.

好吧，首先，談論通貨膨脹，具體到我們的商業模式，正如我們過去談到的那樣，一般來說，工資通脹對我們有利，因為大多數安排將這些工資通脹轉嫁給我們的客戶。這就是我們需要做的才能找到和招募人才。

But in terms of impact on the global economy, clearly, there is going to be something to watch on the inflation and the recovery, and we know this is the top priority. So although we can see the risk on inflation, generally speaking, as a cooling effect on the economy from our business model, it is still something that is working well.

但就對全球經濟的影響而言，通脹和復蘇顯然需要關注，我們知道這是重中之重。因此，雖然我們可以看到通脹風險，但總的來說，我們的商業模式對經濟有降溫作用，但它仍然運作良好。

And I would just add to that, Kartik, is Jonas has talked about in the past, in terms of the availability of supply, the one market where we have been very vocal in the past where it was very difficult was the U.S. And we talked a lot about that last summer.

我想補充一點，Kartik，Jonas 過去曾談到過，就供應的可用性而言，我們過去一直非常直言不諱的一個市場是非常困難的，那就是美國。我們談到了很多關於去年夏天的事。

And what we saw starting in the fourth quarter and continuing into the first quarter was supply improved. So particularly in the Manpower brand and the commercial staffing side of things. And the update on that through the second quarter is those trends are generally holding up.

我們看到從第四季度開始並持續到第一季度的是供應有所改善。尤其是在人力品牌和商業人員方面。第二季度的最新情況是這些趨勢總體上保持不變。

So supply has improved in the U.S., which used to be the extreme. And generally, I would say that, that is going to be an opportunity for us based on these current trends that we've been talking about. So although there could be some impact for all the reasons we've been talking about on this call in terms of some of the economic clouds that are out there, that should be favorable for supply. And so that will be an offsetting factor for us, particularly on the commercial staffing side.

因此，美國的供應有所改善，這曾經是極端情況。一般來說，我會說，根據我們一直在談論的這些當前趨勢，這對我們來說將是一個機會。因此，儘管我們在這次電話會議上一直在談論的所有原因可能會產生一些影響，就那裡的一些經濟雲而言，這應該有利於供應。所以這對我們來說是一個抵消因素，特別是在商業人員方面。

Next one in queue is Mr. Tobey Sommer of Truist.

隊列中的下一位是 Truist 的 Tobey Sommer 先生。

In the context of the macro uncertainty, but still kind of unwavering demand, how are you managing your growth in your own sales-related staff across geographies and lines of business?

在宏觀不確定性的背景下，但需求仍然堅定不移，您如何管理跨地區和業務線的銷售相關員工的增長？

As you might have heard on the call, Tobey, we are continuing to invest in talent in the areas there where we see great opportunities. And notably, in the past quarter, that's been an RPO, in our perm offerings, in Experis, in Manpower specializations in a number of markets. So we still have had a forward-leaning posture as it comes to investing in talent.

正如您在電話會議上聽到的那樣，托比，我們將繼續在我們看到巨大機會的領域投資人才。值得注意的是，在上個季度，這是我們的燙髮產品、Experis 和多個市場的人力專業領域的 RPO。因此，在人才投資方面，我們仍然保持著前瞻姿態。

And by now, we are well above our pre-pandemic levels of talent within ManpowerGroup. And we feel good about that also coming into the third quarter. Having said that, of course, we monitor the evolution very closely, and we're able to adapt that. But at this point, we still think that there is opportunity for growth. And where those opportunities exist, we're investing in hiring recruiters as well as salespeople across the 3 brands.

到現在為止，我們在萬寶盛華集團內的人才水平遠遠高於大流行前的水平。我們也對進入第三季度感到滿意。話雖如此，當然，我們非常密切地監控演變，我們能夠適應它。但在這一點上，我們仍然認為有增長的機會。在這些機會存在的地方，我們正在投資招聘招聘人員以及三個品牌的銷售人員。

And conversely, are there any pockets or geographies or lines of business where you slowed or halted investment in sales-related staff?

相反，您是否在某些地區、地區或業務領域放緩或停止了對銷售相關人員的投資？

Well, you could see that we're -- in the countries where we've had more difficulties, notably in Germany due to the automotive sector, that's clearly an area where we're pulling back and we're being more cautious also with an outlook maybe that could look more challenging.

嗯，你可以看到我們 - 在我們遇到更多困難的國家，特別是在德國，由於汽車行業，這顯然是我們正在撤退的領域，我們也更加謹慎前景也許看起來更具挑戰性。

But even there, within pockets such as in Talent Solutions and in permanent recruitment, we still feel good about adding resources in specific areas of Germany. So we make that assessment on a country-by-country on a brand-by-brand basis on an ongoing and continuing basis as well.

但即便如此，在人才解決方案和長期招聘等領域，我們仍然對在德國特定領域增加資源感到滿意。因此，我們也在持續和持續的基礎上逐個國家逐個品牌地進行評估。

And I would want to add to that, Tobey. So to Jonas' point, it's really in those sectors where they've been impacted by supply chain that, as you would expect, we are not adding salespeople in those parts of the businesses, and that's primarily manpower.

我想補充一點，托比。所以在喬納斯看來，正如你所料，在那些受到供應鏈影響的領域，我們並沒有在這些業務領域增加銷售人員，而這主要是人力。

But when I look across our largest businesses, Japan, is probably near the top of the list. And again, Japan has been a very special market that grew during the entire pandemic and continues to have very strong double-digit growth. I would also add the U.S. in there, as we've talked about, we've been investing very heavily in the Experis and Talent Solutions businesses. You clearly see that coming through in the results.

但縱觀我們最大的企業，日本可能名列前茅。同樣，日本是一個非常特殊的市場，在整個大流行期間都在增長，並且繼續保持非常強勁的兩位數增長。正如我們已經談到的那樣，我還會將美國加入其中，我們一直在大力投資 Experis 和人才解決方案業務。你清楚地看到了結果。

And I would include Italy in there as well. So Italy has been growing very nicely. And Italy's had some very, very strong permanent recruitment coming through as well. So just a little bit of color. I think I would add the Nordics to the list as well, seeing very good positive growth trends there, and we're seeing good opportunities for continued growth as well.

我也會把意大利包括在內。所以意大利的發展非常好。意大利也有一些非常非常強大的長期招聘。所以只是一點點顏色。我想我也會把北歐人列入名單，在那裡看到非常好的積極增長趨勢，我們也看到了持續增長的好機會。

Our next question is from George Tong of Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的 George Tong。

Taking a step back, you mentioned that you're seeing softer-than-expected organic revenue growth trends in the Manpower brand business. How do you reconcile that with your observation that labor markets remain strong? And I guess, where are you seeing the pockets of weakness?

退後一步，您提到您看到萬寶盛華品牌業務的有機收入增長趨勢低於預期。您如何將這一點與您對勞動力市場依然強勁的觀察相協調？我猜，你在哪裡看到了弱點？

The pockets of weakness are far and few between. If you look at the labor markets, you can see that participation rates in Europe are above pre-pandemic levels. European employment is higher than it's been in decades. Our employment here in the U.S. is also very high and unemployment very low.

弱點之間的距離非常少。如果您查看勞動力市場，您會發現歐洲的參與率高於大流行前的水平。歐洲的就業率高於幾十年來。我們在美國的就業率也很高，失業率也很低。

And as Jack just mentioned, the only weaknesses that we would see really come from the pockets that are impacted by supply chain. And in the case of the U.S., you can see that some of the weakness comes through in sectors where the consumers are pulling back. Notably a lot of tech companies that saw a surge during the pandemic, be it in streaming or tech products, they're pulling back a bit.

正如傑克剛剛提到的，我們看到的唯一弱點確實來自受供應鏈影響的口袋。就美國而言，您可以看到一些疲軟來自消費者撤退的行業。值得注意的是，許多在大流行期間出現激增的科技公司，無論是流媒體還是科技產品，它們都在有所回落。

Consumption of retail products is being traded against experiences and travel and leisure spend instead by the consumers. So you're seeing some shifts within. But if you then step back and you look at the overall picture of the labor market, the labor markets are still very, very healthy. And the weaknesses, at this point, are absorbed by excess demand and strength in other parts of the economy, and that's certainly true both for the U.S. and Europe.

零售產品的消費正在與體驗以及旅行和休閒消費進行交易，而不是消費者。所以你看到了一些內部的變化。但如果你退後一步，看看勞動力市場的整體情況，勞動力市場仍然非常非常健康。在這一點上，弱點被經濟其他部分的過剩需求和實力所吸收，這對美國和歐洲來說都是如此。

Got it. Based on the latest PRISM data in France, we're seeing a slowdown in French temp staffing growth. Can you elaborate on the labor market conditions there and the key drivers?

知道了。根據法國最新的 PRISM 數據，我們看到法國臨時工增長放緩。您能否詳細說明那裡的勞動力市場狀況和主要驅動因素？

Yes. No, we can see that the PRISM data really reflects the reality of our own business, and we have seen the French market pool down. And I think the French market has been hit particularly around construction, access to materials as well as automotive being an important part of the French economy.

是的。不，我們可以看到 PRISM 數據確實反映了我們自己業務的實際情況，我們已經看到法國市場池下降了。我認為法國市場在建築、材料獲取以及汽車作為法國經濟的重要組成部分方面受到的打擊尤其嚴重。

But speaking to the labor minister last week, his outlook for the French labor market is still very bullish all the way through the end of the year. So despite an increase in retirements. And as you know, George, retirements in Europe are mandated and they are age based. So the outflow from the labor market is known on a year-by-year basis, he expects job creation to offset that decline, participation rates to continue to move up and the labor market to continue to be in very good shape. So the French labor market is still looking strong, but it does have pockets of weakness in certain sectors.

但上週與勞工部長交談時，他對法國勞動力市場的前景一直非常樂觀，直到今年年底。因此，儘管退休人數有所增加。如你所知，喬治，歐洲的退休是強制性的，而且是基於年齡的。因此，勞動力市場的流出是逐年可知的，他預計創造就業機會將抵消這種下降，參與率將繼續上升，勞動力市場將繼續保持良好狀態。因此，法國勞動力市場看起來仍然強勁，但在某些領域確實存在一些疲軟。

Now since most of those are supply chain related, which many companies believe will start to improve over the course over the coming 12 months, I would say, overall, the outlook at this point in France for the labor market is still looking good.

現在，由於其中大部分與供應鏈相關，許多公司認為在未來 12 個月內將開始改善，我想說，總體而言，法國勞動力市場目前的前景仍然看好。

Our last question in queue is Mr. David Silver from CL King.

我們排隊的最後一個問題是來自 CL King 的 David Silver 先生。

I had a question, I guess, about customer attitudes towards utilizing Manpower's outsourcing services. So I guess, situations differ regionally. But if we are in kind of a slower -- slowing economic environment, if Europe is facing maybe somewhat greater uncertainty related to geopolitical events, I mean maybe if you could just touch on the customer attitudes towards utilizing Manpower's outsourcing services.

我想我有一個關於客戶對使用萬寶盛華外包服務的態度的問題。所以我想，情況因地區而異。但是，如果我們處於一種較慢的經濟環境中，如果歐洲面臨與地緣政治事件相關的更大的不確定性，我的意思是，如果你可以談談客戶對使用萬寶盛華外包服務的態度。

In other words, do they see a slowing economy as an opportunity to reduce their fixed cost base by tapping Manpower to handle some functions? Or is it alternatively the case that maybe internally if there is a slower economy, they might choose to handle more things captively? So how do you see outsourcing demand maybe in the U.S. and then in Europe responding to a slowing global economy?

換句話說，他們是否將經濟放緩視為通過利用人力來處理某些職能來降低固定成本基礎的機會？或者，如果經濟放緩，他們可能會選擇在內部處理更多事情？那麼，您如何看待美國和歐洲的外包需求對全球經濟放緩的反應？

The two scenarios we think about, as you consider a slowing scenario, are really twofold. The gradual slowing and the knowledge of a slowing economy means that companies tend to want to become more flexible, more adaptable, able to pivot quicker should the market take a further turndown and that can be very beneficial for Manpower, frankly, Experis as well as Talent Solutions because companies in the U.S. and frankly, even to a greater degree in Europe, then resort to our services to provide them that strategic and operational flexibility.

當您考慮放緩的情況時，我們考慮的兩種情況實際上是雙重的。逐漸放緩和對經濟放緩的了解意味著公司往往希望變得更加靈活、適應性更強，能夠在市場進一步下滑時更快地轉向，坦率地說，這對 Manpower、Experis 以及人才解決方案，因為美國的公司，坦率地說，甚至在更大程度上在歐洲，然後求助於我們的服務，為他們提供戰略和運營靈活性。

And in an environment where the labor markets are tight, and you have slowing growth rates, which improved the supply of available labor, we could have some good opportunities, not only in terms of improving the penetration rates as in the use of our services, but also benefiting from an increased supply of labor.

在勞動力市場緊張的環境中，增長率放緩，這改善了可用勞動力的供應，我們可以有一些很好的機會，不僅在提高滲透率方面，在使用我們的服務方面，同時也受益於勞動力供應的增加。

Of course, in a more severe downturn, such as the one we experienced in 2008 and '09, and to its extreme for the brief period of time during the pandemic, you get a very quick reduction in the provision of our services, and that comes mainly from a very big surprising downward trend or event that reduces the need for labor overall.

當然，在更嚴重的衰退中，例如我們在 2008 年和 09 年經歷的衰退，以及在大流行期間短暫的極端情況下，我們的服務供應會迅速減少，而且主要來自一個非常大的令人驚訝的下降趨勢或事件，它減少了對勞動力的整體需求。

So I guess those are the 2 scenarios you can think about and what we believe that what we're seeing at least now is knowledge of an economic headwind, slowing growth, but PMI is still being expansion in about 50 both in Europe as well as in the U.S. and elsewhere. So we still think, based on the outlook we have for the third quarter, that there are some good opportunities for us to continue growth, and that's why we guided the way we did into the third quarter.

所以我想這是你可以考慮的兩種情況，我們認為至少現在我們看到的是經濟逆風、增長放緩的知識，但 PMI 在歐洲和歐洲的 50 左右仍在擴張在美國和其他地方。所以我們仍然認為，根據我們對第三季度的前景，我們有一些繼續增長的好機會，這就是為什麼我們引導我們進入第三季度的方式。

Can I just ask one quick question related to your cash deployment strategies and how it relates to the overall economy and the economic outlook? In other words, year-to-date, I think your working capital needs have increased by about $300 million. And you've also chosen to accelerate or to conduct share buybacks in dollar terms at a pretty high level.

我可以問一個與您的現金部署策略相關的快速問題，以及它與整體經濟和經濟前景的關係嗎？換句話說，年初至今，我認為您的營運資金需求增加了大約 3 億美元。而且您還選擇加速或以相當高的水平進行以美元計價的股票回購。

Just given the overall economic outlook as you see it, should I interpret your cash deployment programs here as indicating your increased confidence in the company's ability to manage whatever variations in the economic and demand outlook that you see? Or are there some other aspects that I should be taking into consideration?

鑑於您所看到的整體經濟前景，我是否應該將您的現金部署計劃解釋為表明您對公司管理您所看到的經濟和需求前景的任何變化的能力的信心增強？還是我應該考慮其他一些方面？

In other words, what's driving maybe the confidence or the cash deployment strategies for the first half, which seemed to me to indicate rising or a meaningful management confidence to -- in your ability to manage whatever scenario presents itself?

換句話說，是什麼推動了上半年的信心或現金部署策略，在我看來，這似乎表明管理信心正在上升或有意義的管理信心——你管理任何出現的情況的能力？

Thanks, David, for that question. And I'll talk to that briefly. I think what I'd start with is our capital allocation strategy really remains unchanged. I think we have a pretty consistent track record.

謝謝，大衛，這個問題。我會簡短地談一談。我想我首先要說的是我們的資本配置策略確實保持不變。我認為我們有相當一致的記錄。

I would agree with your statement that we are confident. I think we are quite confident with the profile of the balance sheet, with our free cash flow opportunity and our cash collection efforts overall. So I think what you're referring to is we've been very open on our share repurchase element of our capital allocation plan that we're opportunistic.

我同意你的說法，我們有信心。我認為我們對資產負債表的概況、我們的自由現金流機會和我們整體的現金收集工作非常有信心。所以我認為你所指的是我們對我們的資本分配計劃中的股票回購元素非常開放，我們是機會主義的。

And what you're really reflecting is that we were opportunistic in the second quarter. You saw a higher level of share repurchases. So we were in the market in June, and we're able to average in some pretty good purchases at some pretty favorable price levels.

你真正反映的是我們在第二季度是機會主義的。你看到了更高水平的股票回購。因此，我們在 6 月份進入市場，我們能夠以相當優惠的價格水平平均購買一些相當不錯的產品。

So I would say you should expect that, that's going to continue to be an important element of the way we look at capital allocation overall. We've always said that the dividend is a priority. You saw the nice dividend increase that our Board approved in May.

所以我想說你應該期待，這將繼續成為我們看待整體資本配置方式的一個重要因素。我們一直說股息是重中之重。您看到我們董事會在 5 月批准的股息增長不錯。

And so in a good, stable economic environment, you should expect progressive increases. And we were very proud of the fact that we held the dividend stable in the depth of the pandemic as well. But beyond that, if there is additional cash, the first thing is if there is an acquisition that will be devoted to the resources for the acquisition. You saw that with the ettain group purchase.

因此，在良好、穩定的經濟環境中，您應該期待逐步增長。我們為在大流行深度期間保持股息穩定這一事實感到非常自豪。但除此之外，如果有額外的現金，首先要考慮的是是否有一項收購將專門用於收購的資源。您在 ettain 團購中看到了這一點。

And if there isn't an acquisition, then you should expect that share repurchases will continue to be an important part of our overall capital allocation program.

如果沒有收購，那麼您應該期望股票回購將繼續成為我們整體資本配置計劃的重要組成部分。

So I would say that. So thank you for the comments, and I'll turn it over to Jonas.

所以我會這麼說。因此，感謝您的評論，我將把它交給 Jonas。

Thank you, Jack, and that brings us to the end of our second quarter earnings call. Thank you very much for attending. Thank you for your questions, and we look forward to speaking with you on our next earnings call.

謝謝你，傑克，這使我們結束了第二季度財報電話會議。非常感謝您的出席。感謝您的提問，我們期待在下一次財報電話會議上與您交談。

Thanks, everyone. Have a good rest of the summer.

感謝大家。好好休息這個夏天。

Thank you, speakers, and that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

謝謝各位發言者，今天的電話會議到此結束。謝謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連接。