Medpace Holdings Inc (MEDP) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Medpace First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call may be recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference call, Lauren Morris, Medpace's Director of Investor Relations. You may begin.

女士們先生們，美好的一天，歡迎來到 Medpace 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）提醒一下，此通話可能會被錄音。我現在想介紹今天電話會議的主持人 Lauren Morris，Medpace 的投資者關係總監。你可以開始了。

Good morning, and thank you for joining Medpace's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Also on the call today is our CEO, August Troendle; our President, Jesse Geiger; and our CFO, Kevin Brady. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that our remarks and responses to your questions during this teleconference may include forward-looking statements within the meeting of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

早上好，感謝您加入 Medpace 的 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。今天與會的還有我們的首席執行官 August Troendle；我們的總裁 Jesse Geiger；以及我們的首席財務官 Kevin Brady。在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，我們在本次電話會議上的評論和對您問題的回答可能包括 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》會議中的前瞻性陳述。

These statements involve inherent assumptions with known and unknown risks and uncertainties as well as other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. These factors are discussed in our Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. Please note that we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements even if estimates change. Accordingly, you should not rely on any of today's forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date after today.

這些陳述涉及具有已知和未知風險和不確定性的固有假設，以及可能導致實際結果與我們當前預期存在重大差異的其他重要因素。這些因素在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表格和其他文件中進行了討論。請注意，即使估計發生變化，我們也沒有義務更新前瞻性陳述。因此，您不應依賴今天的任何前瞻性陳述來代表我們在今天之後的任何日期的觀點。

During this call, we will also be referring to certain non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures are not superior to or replacement for the comparable GAAP measures, but we believe these measures help investors gain a more complete understanding of results. A reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in the earnings press release and earnings call presentation slides provided in connection with today's call.

在本次電話會議中，我們還將提及某些非 GAAP 財務指標。這些非 GAAP 指標並不優於或替代可比的 GAAP 指標，但我們相信這些指標有助於投資者更全面地了解結果。與今天的電話會議相關的收益新聞稿和收益電話演示幻燈片提供了此類非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比的 GAAP 指標的對賬。

The slides are available in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.medpace.com. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to August Troendle.

這些幻燈片可在我們網站 investor.medpace.com 的投資者關係部分找到。有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 August Troendle。

Thank you, Lauren. Business environment improved in Q1 with RFP flow up on a sequential and year-over-year basis. The total dollar value of pending RFPs also improved significantly. Although award notifications were down in the quarter, they showed sequential improvement January to February to March and have improved even further to a relatively strong level in the first 3 weeks of April.

謝謝你，勞倫。第一季度的商業環境有所改善，RFP 流量環比和同比增加。待定 RFP 的總美元價值也顯著提高。儘管本季度的獲獎通知數量有所下降，但在 1 月至 2 月至 3 月期間呈現環比改善，並在 4 月的前 3 週進一步改善至相對強勁的水平。

Total pipeline cancellations were down over 50% on a sequential basis in Q1. The trends at this point look favorable, and we are cautiously optimistic about our backlog build towards 2024. We are raising 2023 guidance in line with our strong financial performance in Q1 and greater visibility we now have into the full year results. Jesse and Kevin will now review Q1 financial results in detail and our updated 2023 guidance.

第一季度，管道取消總數環比下降了 50% 以上。目前的趨勢看起來不錯，我們對 2024 年的積壓工作持謹慎樂觀態度。我們正在提高 2023 年的指導，以配合我們在第一季度的強勁財務表現以及我們現在對全年業績的更高可見度。傑西和凱文現在將詳細審查第一季度的財務業績和我們更新的 2023 年指南。

Thank you, August, and good morning, everyone. Our revenue in the first quarter of 2023 was $434.1 million, which represents a year-over-year increase of 31.2%. Net new business awards entering backlog in the first quarter increased 31.4% from the prior year to $555.8 million, resulting in a 1.28x net book-to-bill. Ending backlog as of March 31 was approximately $2.5 billion, which was an increase of 17.8% from the prior year. We project that approximately $1.33 billion of backlog will convert to revenue in the next 12 months, and backlog conversion in the first quarter was 18.6% of beginning backlog.

謝謝你，八月，大家早上好。我們在 2023 年第一季度的收入為 4.341 億美元，同比增長 31.2%。第一季度進入積壓的淨新業務獎勵比上年同期增長 31.4% 至 5.558 億美元，淨訂單出貨比為 1.28 倍。截至 3 月 31 日的期末積壓訂單約為 25 億美元，比上年增長 17.8%。我們預計在未來 12 個月內，大約 13.3 億美元的積壓訂單將轉化為收入，第一季度積壓訂單的轉化率為期初積壓訂單的 18.6%。

In 2023, we continued to make progress in hiring in the first quarter, adding 4.3% from the end of 2022 and over 15.8% from the prior year. Employee retention and continued hiring for future business will remain top priorities in 2023. And with that, I will turn the call over to Kevin to review our financial performance in more detail and discuss our 2023 guidance. Kevin?

2023 年第一季度，我們在招聘方面繼續取得進展，比 2022 年底增加 4.3%，比上年增加 15.8% 以上。留住員工和為未來業務繼續招聘仍將是 2023 年的首要任務。因此，我將把電話轉給凱文，以更詳細地審查我們的財務業績並討論我們的 2023 年指導方針。凱文？

Thank you, Jesse, and good morning to everyone listening in. As Jesse mentioned, revenue was $434.1 million in the first quarter of 2023. This represented a year-over-year increase of 31.2% on a reported basis and 31.8% on a constant currency basis. The strong revenue results for the quarter reflected less funding challenges than anticipated for our clients. EBITDA of $92.8 million, increased 31.9% compared to $70.4 million in the first quarter of 2022.

謝謝你，傑西，大家早上好。正如傑西所說，2023 年第一季度的收入為 4.341 億美元。按報告計算，同比增長 31.2%，按固定資產計算增長 31.8%貨幣基礎。本季度強勁的收入結果反映出融資挑戰比我們客戶預期的要少。 EBITDA 為 9280 萬美元，與 2022 年第一季度的 7040 萬美元相比增長 31.9%。

On a constant currency basis, EBITDA for the first quarter increased 28.6% compared to the prior year. EBITDA margin for the first quarter was 21.4% compared to 21.3% in the prior year period. EBITDA margin for the quarter was positively impacted by the strong revenue. We anticipate margin headwinds the balance of the year as a result of wage inflation, headcount growth and higher reimbursable costs as a proportion of total revenue.

按固定匯率計算，第一季度的 EBITDA 比去年同期增長 28.6%。第一季度的 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.4%，而去年同期為 21.3%。本季度的 EBITDA 利潤率受到強勁收入的積極影響。由於工資上漲、員工人數增長和可報銷成本佔總收入的比例增加，我們預計利潤率將在今年餘下時間出現不利因素。

In the first quarter of 2023, net income of $72.9 million, increased 18.9% compared to net income of $61.3 million in the prior year period. Net income growth lagging EBITDA was primarily driven by a higher effective tax rate of 15.3% compared to 6.1% in the prior year period. Net income per diluted share for the quarter was $2.27 compared to $1.69 in the prior year period.

2023 年第一季度，淨收入為 7290 萬美元，較上年同期的淨收入 6130 萬美元增長 18.9%。淨收入增長落後於 EBITDA 的主要原因是有效稅率為 15.3%，高於去年同期的 6.1%。本季度每股攤薄淨收益為 2.27 美元，而去年同期為 1.69 美元。

Regarding customer concentration, our top 5 and top 10 customers represent roughly 22% and 29%, respectively, of our first quarter revenue. In the first quarter, we generated $80.1 million in cash flow from operating activities. Our net days sales outstanding was negative 43.2 days. During the quarter, we repurchased approximately 650,000 shares for a total of $120.1 million. As of March 31, 2023, we had $332.7 million of authorization remaining under our share repurchase program.

關於客戶集中度，我們的前 5 名和前 10 名客戶分別占我們第一季度收入的大約 22% 和 29%。第一季度，我們從經營活動中產生了 8010 萬美元的現金流。我們的淨銷售額天數為負 43.2 天。本季度，我們以總計 1.201 億美元回購了大約 650,000 股股票。截至 2023 年 3 月 31 日，根據我們的股票回購計劃，我們還有 3.327 億美元的授權剩餘。

Our net debt position at the end of the quarter was $68.1 million, which was composed of debt of $115 million and cash of $46.9 million. Our net leverage ratio is approximately 0.2x last 12 months EBITDA. Moving now to our updated guidance for 2023. Full year 2023 total revenue is now expected in the range of $1.745 billion to $1.805 billion, representing growth of 19.5% to 23.6% over 2022 total revenue of $1.46 billion.

我們在本季度末的淨債務頭寸為 6810 萬美元，其中包括 1.15 億美元的債務和 4690 萬美元的現金。我們的淨槓桿率約為過去 12 個月 EBITDA 的 0.2 倍。現在轉到我們更新的 2023 年指南。2023 年全年總收入預計在 17.45 億美元至 18.05 億美元之間，比 2022 年 14.6 億美元的總收入增長 19.5% 至 23.6%。

Our 2023 EBITDA is expected in the range of $335 million to $355 million, representing growth of 8.7% to 15.2% compared to EBITDA of $308.1 million in 2022. Guidance is based on foreign exchange rates as of March 31. This guidance assumes a full year 2023 effective tax rate of 17.5% to 18.5% and 32 million diluted weighted average shares outstanding for 2023. There are no additional share repurchases in our guidance.

我們 2023 年的 EBITDA 預計在 3.35 億美元至 3.55 億美元之間，與 2022 年的 3.081 億美元的 EBITDA 相比增長 8.7% 至 15.2%。指導基於截至 3 月 31 日的匯率。本指導假設全年2023 年有效稅率為 17.5% 至 18.5%，2023 年已發行稀釋加權平均股數為 3200 萬股。我們的指引中沒有額外的股票回購。

We forecast 2023 net income in the range of $250 million to $269 million. Earnings per diluted share is expected to be in the range of $7.81 to $8.40. With that, I will turn the call back over to the operator so we can take your questions.

我們預測 2023 年的淨收入在 2.5 億美元至 2.69 億美元之間。每股攤薄收益預計在 7.81 美元至 8.40 美元之間。這樣，我會將電話轉回接線員，以便我們回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) For your first question, it comes from the line of David Windley from Jefferies.

（操作員說明）對於您的第一個問題，它來自 Jefferies 的 David Windley。

I apologize I toggled over a little bit late, so I may have missed some of this. But for the group, I guess, we are seeing in some of our data on a buildup of studies that are -- seem to be proposed, but are not starting. So call it, to be specific, estimated start dates in clinicaltrials.gov, that are not flipping to actual starts, kind of not getting the first patient in.

很抱歉我切換的有點晚，所以我可能錯過了其中的一些內容。但對於該小組，我想，我們在我們的一些數據中看到了一些研究的積累——似乎被提議，但還沒有開始。因此，具體來說，clinicaltrials.gov 中的估計開始日期並沒有轉向實際開始，有點像沒有讓第一個病人進來。

I wondered in the environment, it sounds like you said RFPs were stronger, but maybe awards were a little softer. And I wonder if that juxtaposes with anything that you're seeing these kind of studies that are seem to be sitting in limbo and not moving forward?

我想知道在環境中，聽起來你說 RFP 更強，但也許獎勵更溫和一些。我想知道這是否與您所看到的這些似乎處於困境而不向前推進的研究並列？

Yes, Dave. It's August. Yes -- well, I think RFPs are not at that stage. I guess, things that are awarded but not gotten into our backlog would sort of represent that class of studies where it's kind of stalled. Client maybe doesn't have the funding or unsure thinking of redesigning their program and has put things on hold. Certainly, we have a number of programs like that, and this environment tends to get the greater number of those. But I think what we've seen in the last quarter was less of that than we kind of anticipated and more things moving forward.

是的，戴夫。現在是八月。是的——好吧，我認為 RFP 不在那個階段。我想，那些被授予但沒有進入我們積壓工作的東西會有點代表那種停滯不前的研究。客戶可能沒有資金或不確定重新設計他們的程序的想法，並擱置了事情。當然，我們有很多這樣的程序，而且這種環境往往會獲得更多這樣的程序。但我認為我們在上個季度看到的情況比我們預期的要少，更多的事情正在向前發展。

And we had seen quite a bit of pause by a lot of our clients in Q4, and we were kind of expecting worsening, kind of a snowballing of this effect, but I did not see that, and things have kind of improved, but you certainly do see programs that are stalled and unable to move forward.

我們已經看到很多客戶在第四季度有相當多的停頓，我們有點期待這種影響會惡化，有點像滾雪球一樣，但我沒有看到，情況有所改善，但你當然確實看到了停滯不前且無法向前推進的計劃。

Got it. And then your -- historically, given the small biotech focus, your customer concentration has usually been quite diverse. And we noticed in the slide deck that your -- both your customer concentration and your therapeutic concentration kind of jumped in tandem. I wonder if -- I'm assuming those are related to the same thing. Perhaps you could flesh out what the driver was there?

知道了。然後是你的——從歷史上看，鑑於生物技術的關注點很小，你的客戶集中度通常非常多樣化。我們在幻燈片中註意到，您的客戶集中度和治療集中度都同步上升。我想知道是否——我假設這些與同一件事有關。也許你可以充實那裡的司機是什麼？

I think, first off, you're looking at suddenly at the first quarter this year versus first quarter of last year. We look at -- these pie charts are kind of cumulative for the year. So this is a 1-quarter comparison rather than a 2-, 3- or 4-quarter comparison. There's been no -- I guess, the trends that we've seen over this downturn is a greater amount of our bookings and awards have been more in the midsized clients. Many of our very small clients have had challenges.

我認為，首先，你會突然看到今年第一季度與去年第一季度的對比。我們看 - 這些餅圖是今年的累積。所以這是 1 個季度的比較，而不是 2 個、3 個或 4 個季度的比較。沒有——我想，我們在這次經濟低迷中看到的趨勢是我們的預訂量和獎勵更多地出現在中型客戶身上。我們的許多非常小的客戶都遇到過挑戰。

We have had very strong metabolic awards, oncology, which tends to be toward our biotech clients and antivirals, anti-infectives, which infectious disease type studies have -- which have always tend to have a lot of funding difficulties have been smaller in number. That's the kind of profile I'd provide.

我們有非常強大的代謝獎，腫瘤學，往往是針對我們的生物技術客戶和抗病毒藥，抗感染藥，傳染病類型的研究 - 總是傾向於有很多資金困難，但數量較少。這就是我要提供的那種配置文件。

Got it. Okay. So I guess the -- maybe more specific question around that is the metabolic jump that you mentioned, is that multiple clients driving that? And I guess what you'd be saying is the 1Q over 1Q is a little idiosyncratic, but that perhaps you're insinuating that the growth has been building over the course of '22 in those buckets, is that right?

知道了。好的。所以我想 - 也許更具體的問題是你提到的新陳代謝跳躍，是多個客戶推動的嗎？我想你會說的是 1Q 超過 1Q 有點奇怪，但也許你暗示在這些桶中的增長在 22 年的過程中一直在增長，對嗎？

That's right. I think what you're seeing is a cumulative rise in our metabolic, which has been very strong throughout the past year. There is no one client pushing that, there's no large study. There's no -- it's a very diversified pool. So we have no real strong concentration there. There's nothing unusual, nothing particularly large it came in or anything. Just across the board, a large number of studies.

這是正確的。我想你看到的是我們新陳代謝的累積增長，在過去的一年中一直非常強勁。沒有一個客戶推動這一點，也沒有大規模的研究。沒有——這是一個非常多樣化的池。所以我們在那裡沒有真正的高度集中。沒有什麼不尋常的，沒有什麼特別大的東西進來了。只是一刀切，大量研究。

For your next question, it comes from the line of Max Smock from William Blair.

對於您的下一個問題，它來自 William Blair 的 Max Smock 系列。

One quickly here for me on the lack of growth in backlog not expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months. I think it was flat quarter-over-quarter, the first time that we've seen this. So just wondering if you can help us understand how this would happen, given the really strong bookings that you saw in the quarter? Does this mean that the outsized portion of bookings are coming from change orders and past dues as opposed to customers booking out new longer-term studies that go beyond the next 12 months?

我很快就想到積壓訂單增長不足，預計在未來 12 個月內不會轉化為收入。我認為季度環比持平，這是我們第一次看到這種情況。鑑於您在本季度看到的非常強勁的預訂量，想知道您是否可以幫助我們了解這將如何發生？這是否意味著大部分預訂來自變更單和逾期未付的款項，而不是客戶預訂超過未來 12 個月的新的長期研究？

Sorry, Max, what are you seeing in terms of next 12 months? You're saying it's flat?

抱歉，Max，您對未來 12 個月有何看法？你說它是平的？

Yes. So if you look at your portion of backlog and -- if you look at total backlog and subtract out the portion that you called out that you expect to convert to revenue over the next 12 months, that's actually flat quarter-over-quarter, suggesting that a lot of the backlog growth -- or all of the backlog growth rather is expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months, right?

是的。因此，如果您查看您的積壓部分，並且 - 如果您查看總積壓並減去您預計在未來 12 個月內轉化為收入的部分，這實際上與上一季度持平，這表明在未來 12 個月內，大量積壓增長 - 或者所有積壓增長預計將轉化為收入，對嗎？

So on a non next 12-month backlog metric here at 1.13 and going into the first quarter, that stayed the same in spite of the big jump up in bookings that you saw in the quarter. So just wondering why the portion of your backlog that is not expected to convert beyond the next 12 months? Why that would actually be flat, given the really large step-up in the bookings that you saw here in the first quarter?

因此，在進入第一季度的非下一個 12 個月積壓指標為 1.13 時，儘管您在本季度看到預訂量大幅上升，但仍保持不變。所以只是想知道為什麼您的積壓部分預計不會在接下來的 12 個月後轉化？鑑於您在第一季度在這裡看到的預訂量大幅增加，為什麼實際上會持平？

Yes. From the fourth quarter, you should have seen an increase in the next 12 months roll off to 1.3 or so for, again, the next 12 months relative to -- in Q4, we might have been kind of in the 1.21 maybe range.

是的。從第四季度開始，你應該看到未來 12 個月的增長下降到 1.3 左右，再次，未來 12 個月相對於 - 在第四季度，我們可能在 1.21 可能範圍內。

Yes, jumped to $120 million.

是的，躍升至 1.2 億美元。

Yes. Sorry, I'm doing a poor job of phrasing this. I'm talking about -- so if you back out that $1.33 billion, right, from your total ended backlog number, you get the portion that's not -- so I'm talking about the portion that's not expected to convert to revenue over the next 12 months, which would be $1.13 billion. If you go back to the fourth quarter and you back out the $1.21 billion, your...

是的。抱歉，我措辭不當。我說的是 - 所以如果你從你的總積壓數量中退出那 13.3 億美元，你會得到不是的部分 - 所以我說的是預計不會轉化為收入的部分未來 12 個月，這將是 11.3 億美元。如果你回到第四季度並退出 12.1 億美元，你的......

Our conversion rate has increased. That's what you're pointing out.

我們的轉化率提高了。這就是你要指出的。

Okay. Got it.

好的。知道了。

Yes, I think -- I mean...

是的，我想——我的意思是……

Yes, that's a function of the heavy revenue growth and the conversion rate picking up here in the first quarter. So if you're saying that...

是的，這是第一季度收入大幅增長和轉化率回升的結果。所以如果你是說...

I don't think we have any particular reason for drawing that out or anything. I don't -- I guess.

我認為我們沒有任何特別的理由將其提取出來或其他任何內容。我不——我猜。

No, Max, our typical -- typically, we're in kind of the low 50% of our backlog will convert into revenue over the next 12 months. And that's what we continue to see here in the first quarter. So nothing's really changed in that regard. Clearly, as you think about, we've got existing backlog. In those programs, it's a mix of portfolio and at different stages of progression.

不，Max，我們的典型 - 通常情況下，我們處於積壓的低 50% 將在未來 12 個月內轉化為收入。這就是我們在第一季度繼續看到的情況。所以在這方面並沒有真正改變。顯然，正如您所想的那樣，我們已經積壓了。在這些項目中，它是投資組合的混合體，處於不同的發展階段。

And then you're adding in the new awards that we saw in the quarter, which were very strong. So it's kind of a balance of studies that are starting up through the new awards and what we've got an existing backlog.

然後你要添加我們在本季度看到的新獎項，這些獎項非常強大。因此，這是通過新獎項開始的研究與我們現有積壓的研究之間的一種平衡。

Okay. Got it. Yes. I just stood out because I think it's the first time that non extra month backlog number hasn't jumped up, but I appreciate your point there about conversion picking out. Following up on Dave's question here, and acknowledging that revenue growth outside your top 5 customers were still pretty strong, I did want to dig into the revenue from the top 5 customers since it's really accelerated over the last couple of quarters.

好的。知道了。是的。我之所以脫穎而出，是因為我認為這是第一次非額外月份的積壓數量沒有激增，但我很欣賞你關於轉換挑選的觀點。跟進戴夫在這裡的問題，並承認前 5 大客戶以外的收入增長仍然非常強勁，我確實想深入了解前 5 大客戶的收入，因為它在過去幾個季度確實加速了。

And going back to the 10-K from the fourth quarter here, it looks like revenue from LIB Therapeutics is a key driver. Can you just confirm how much revenue and bookings came from LIB in the first quarter? And then August, given your role with that company, is there any detail you can provide around what exactly is causing that big step-up that we've seen recently and the expected contribution from LIB moving forward here in 2023?

從第四季度開始回到 10-K，看起來 LIB Therapeutics 的收入是一個關鍵驅動因素。您能否確認第一季度來自 LIB 的收入和預訂量是多少？然後是 8 月，考慮到你在該公司的角色，你是否可以提供任何細節，說明究竟是什麼導致了我們最近看到的大幅提升，以及 LIB 預計在 2023 年做出的貢獻？

Yes. I think the amount of revenue will be in our queue. I don't have it in front of me, but it's just -- I think at the peak point of its Phase III programs. I don't think there's anything unusual there.

是的。我認為收入的數量將在我們的隊列中。我沒有它在我面前，但它只是——我認為在它的第三階段計劃的高峰期。我不認為那裡有什麼不尋常的地方。

Your next question comes from the line of Sandy Draper from Guggenheim Partners.

你的下一個問題來自 Guggenheim Partners 的 Sandy Draper。

Really, just some modeling questions right now for me. One, when I sort of look at your revenue guidance and the current backlog conversion rate, which, as you pointed out, was 18.6 and up. Obviously, some of this will depend on what bookings are, but it looks like in your guidance that you're assuming that the backlog conversion rate starts to moderate back down. Otherwise, I get way above your revenue guidance.

真的，現在對我來說只是一些建模問題。第一，當我查看您的收入指導和當前的積壓轉換率時，正如您指出的那樣，該轉換率為 18.6 或更高。顯然，其中一些將取決於預訂情況，但在您的指南中，您似乎假設積壓轉化率開始放緩。否則，我會超出你的收入指導。

So one, just wanted to make sure I'm right on that. And then if you can sort of give me an idea of what you're sort of targeting for the backlog conversion rate? That would be my first question.

所以，我只是想確保我是對的。然後，您是否可以讓我了解您對積壓轉化率的目標是什麼？那將是我的第一個問題。

Yes, Sandy, you're right. We do expect things to slow down a little bit in the back half or the rest of the balance of the year. For the year, book-to-bill somewhere in the 1.25x range. With a burn rate for the year of kind of 17.5% to 18%. So it's kind of going back to where we were in the third and fourth quarter of 2022.

是的，桑迪，你是對的。我們確實預計在下半年或今年餘下的時間裡，情況會有所放緩。今年，訂單出貨比在 1.25 倍範圍內。當年的燃燒率為 17.5% 至 18%。所以這有點回到我們在 2022 年第三和第四季度的水平。

The first quarter really just accelerated with less funding challenges than anticipated with clients and lower cancellations as August had pointed out in his prepared remarks. We've kind of had a perfect setup for us in the first quarter with reimbursable activities and direct service activities that really drove that first quarter revenue, but we expect that to come back to ranges that we saw in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2022.

正如 August 在他準備好的發言中指出的那樣，第一季度確實加速了，客戶的融資挑戰比預期的要少，取消訂單也減少了。我們在第一季度為我們提供了一個完美的設置，可報銷活動和直接服務活動真正推動了第一季度的收入，但我們預計這將回到我們在第三季度和第四季度看到的範圍2022.

Okay. Great. That's really helpful. And then my next question, when I just -- when I look at the first quarter EBITDA and then the full year guide, it obviously assumes there's some EBITDA reduction over the next 3 quarters. I just wanted to -- I guess, a 2-part question. One, is that more gross margin-driven or margins are expected to come down some or SG&A is going to go up because of hiring? And then I guess, if it is the margin, is that more on the mix of pass-through revenue staying higher increasing? Or is it expecting the service margins to come back down because you're hiring aggressively?

好的。偉大的。這真的很有幫助。然後是我的下一個問題，當我只是 - 當我查看第一季度的 EBITDA 和全年指南時，它顯然假設未來 3 個季度的 EBITDA 會有所減少。我只是想——我想，一個由兩部分組成的問題。第一，是更多的毛利率驅動還是利潤率預計會下降一些，或者 SG&A 會因為招聘而上升？然後我想，如果是利潤率，那麼傳遞收入的組合是否會保持更高的增長？或者它是否期望服務利潤率回落，因為您正在積極招聘？

Yes. Good question. The raise that we had was really driven by the first quarter revenue and the leverage that is enabled on our cost structure. So if you think about the balance of the year, we expect our cost structure to remain pretty much the same in that we do expect headwinds the rest of the year. Headwinds from a couple of things. One is hiring that we pointed out in the last quarter when you intend to continue aggressive hiring. The balance of the year, we made some progress in the first quarter. The second quarter typically is our highest hiring quarter.

是的。好問題。我們的加薪實際上是由第一季度的收入和我們的成本結構所啟用的槓桿推動的。因此，如果您考慮今年的餘額，我們預計我們的成本結構將保持幾乎相同，因為我們確實預計今年餘下時間會出現逆風。來自幾件事的逆風。一個是我們在上個季度指出的招聘，當時您打算繼續積極招聘。年末，我們在第一季度取得了一些進展。第二季度通常是我們招聘人數最多的季度。

We got wage inflation pressures. But then as you pointed out, we do expect our reimbursable cost as a percentage of revenue to continue to be elevated the balance of the year. So it's a combination of those three factors really.

我們面臨工資通脹壓力。但正如您所指出的那樣，我們確實希望我們的可報銷成本佔收入的百分比將在今年餘下時間繼續提高。所以這真的是這三個因素的結合。

Okay. Great. And then my last question is probably for August or maybe Jesse. I'm not sure it's really a fair question because this is about competitors and just breaking news. But obviously, August, that was -- your commentary about the environment RFP flow awards was, to me, notably more positive than what we've seen the last 3, 4 quarters. It sounds like things are better.

好的。偉大的。然後我的最後一個問題可能是關於 August 或 Jesse 的。我不確定這是否真的是一個公平的問題，因為這是關於競爭對手和突發新聞的。但顯然，八月，對我來說，你對環境 RFP 流量獎勵的評論明顯比我們在過去 3、4 個季度看到的更加積極。聽起來事情好多了。

But when I look at some comments out of Danaher and LabCorp/Covance and Wuxi, there was definitely seem to more concerned and calling out the biotech funding environment. Just any thoughts you can think of -- do you think you guys are winning more share, operating just, obviously, different spaces just because it's a little bit confusing when, to me, you had a positive total shift, but other folks out there seem to be calling out some concerns. So I'd just love any commentary there.

但當我看到 Danaher 和 LabCorp/Covance 以及 Wuxi 的一些評論時，他們似乎更加關注和呼籲生物技術融資環境。只是你能想到的任何想法——你認為你們贏得了更多的份額，顯然，只是在不同的空間運營，只是因為對我來說，當你有一個積極的總轉變時有點混亂，但其他人在那裡似乎在呼喚一些擔憂。所以我只是喜歡那裡的任何評論。

Yes. I don't know. Everyone's client base is a bit different and profile, et cetera. We certainly have seen the funding difficulty and drop off of things. And I would characterize this quarter as less bad than we anticipated. Things have certainly come down over time. And our growth this year is not like the last year and -- last few years. But we have seen a turn through the quarter through Q1 of improving profile in both RFPs and programs not getting stalled.

是的。我不知道。每個人的客戶群和概況都有些不同，等等。我們當然已經看到資金困難和事情的減少。我認為本季度沒有我們預期的那麼糟糕。隨著時間的推移，事情肯定會好轉。我們今年的增長與去年和過去幾年不同。但我們已經看到，從第一季度開始，RFP 和項目的形像都得到了改善，沒有停滯不前。

The clients that were kind of on a cash basis accrual. We thought they were going under and continue to pay us and have -- things have just seem to improve over the quarter. But there's certainly still a number of our clients that are having funding difficulty installed programs. And so I think we're -- we think we've seen the low in the near term, things could always turn again. But things are in the right direction as far as we can see at this point.

以現金為基礎的應計客戶。我們認為他們正在倒閉並繼續向我們付款並且已經 - 這個季度的情況似乎有所改善。但肯定還有一些我們的客戶在安裝程序時遇到資金困難。所以我認為我們 - 我們認為我們已經在短期內看到了低點，事情總是會再次轉變。但就我們目前所見，事情正朝著正確的方向發展。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from the line of John Sourbeer from UBS.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 John Sourbeer。

I guess just maybe digging in a little bit deeper just on what Sandy asked there in. So it sounds like RFP is up quarter-to-quarter, year-over-year. I guess just -- I mean, is it despite the funding environment? Where do you think that this strength has come down? Is there like additional specific indications? Is it going into larger customers? I guess just any additional color there, just despite some of the commentary that peers have out there?

我想也許只是更深入地挖掘桑迪在那裡問的問題。所以聽起來 RFP 比去年同期有所上升。我想只是 - 我的意思是，它是否與融資環境無關？你覺得這股力量是從哪裡下來的呢？是否有其他具體適應症？它會進入更大的客戶嗎？我猜只是那裡有任何其他顏色，儘管同行有一些評論？

Yes. So because I said it. RFPs have kind of still mirrored our usual client profile. We have had stronger awards and programs that are moving forward from the larger companies. And so in our breakout that we provide, it shows you'd see a larger number coming from midsized pharma rather than smaller biotech. But it's been kind of moving up the chain even within the biotech. So it tends to be the better funded companies. There's still a lot of very small companies that are challenged and having much more funding difficulty than they have in the past.

是的。所以因為我說了。 RFP 在某種程度上仍然反映了我們通常的客戶資料。我們獲得了來自大公司的更強大的獎項和計劃。因此，在我們提供的突破中，它表明您會看到更多的人來自中型製藥公司，而不是小型生物技術公司。但即使在生物技術領域，它也一直在向上移動。所以它往往是資金更充足的公司。仍然有很多非常小的公司面臨挑戰，融資困難比過去大得多。

But our RFP flow is actually not very predictive of that in terms of -- it tends to have the same breakout as historically with a lot of biotech is our largest client and the proportions have remained about the same. I don't know if that helps.

但我們的 RFP 流程實際上並不能很好地預測這一點——它往往與歷史上的許多生物技術公司有相同的突破，這是我們最大的客戶，而且比例保持不變。我不知道這是否有幫助。

Appreciate it. And also, I know you mentioned, I think, pipeline cancellations down 50%. Just any additional color there? Why do you think you might have seen that spike in the 4Q and what's normalizing here? And then just any anecdotal color you can provide since the SBB takeover and maybe how that's trended into early April here?

欣賞它。而且，我知道你提到過，我認為管道取消率下降了 50%。那裡還有其他顏色嗎？為什麼你認為你可能已經看到第四季度的飆升以及這裡正常化的原因是什麼？然後是自 SBB 接管以來您可以提供的任何軼事色彩，以及這在 4 月初的趨勢如何？

Yes. Well, we had a lot of clients that were having difficulty raising funding. And we had some that declared bankruptcy and stop their programs. And largely, that was a Q4 phenomenon. And we haven't seen as much as we kind of anticipated seeing more of that and have not seen as much in Q1 and things -- I don't know the clients that had challenged profile are now not part of it, and remaining companies are able to raise funds, but that's just been the profile we've seen.

是的。好吧，我們有很多客戶在籌集資金方面遇到困難。我們有一些宣布破產並停止他們的計劃。在很大程度上，這是第四季度的現象。我們並沒有像我們預期的那樣看到更多這樣的事情，而且在第一季度也沒有看到那麼多——我不知道那些質疑過個人資料的客戶現在不在其中，剩下的公司能夠籌集資金，但這只是我們所看到的情況。

There are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the conference back to over to Lauren Morris, Medpace's Director of Investor Relations, for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。我現在想把會議轉回 Medpace 投資者關係總監 Lauren Morris 的閉幕詞。

Thank you for joining us on today's call and for your interest in Medpace. We look forward to speaking with you again on our second quarter 2023 earnings call.

感謝您加入我們今天的電話會議並感謝您對 Medpace 的關注。我們期待在 2023 年第二季度的財報電話會議上再次與您交談。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。