Maximus Inc (MMS) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Maximus fiscal 2024 second quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jessica Batt, Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG from maximus. Thank you, Ms. Pat, you may begin.

歡迎參加 Maximus 2024 財政年度第二季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。現在我很高興向您介紹主持人，Maximus 投資者關係和 ESG 副總裁 Jessica Batt。謝謝你，帕特女士，你可以開始了。

Good morning and thanks for joining us with me today is Bruce Caswell, President and CEO; David Mutryn, CFO; and James Francis, Vice President of Investor Relations.

早安，感謝總裁兼執行長 Bruce Caswell 今天加入我們。大衛‧穆特林，財務長；和投資者關係副總裁詹姆斯·弗朗西斯（James Francis）。

I'd like to remind everyone that a number of statements being made today will be forward-looking in nature. Please remember that such statements are only predictions. Actual events and results may differ materially as a result of risks we face, including those discussed in Item 1A of our most recent Forms 10Q and 10K. We encourage you to review the information contained in our recent filings with the SEC and our earnings press release.

我想提醒大家，今天發表的許多聲明本質上都是前瞻性的。請記住，此類陳述僅是預測。由於我們面臨的風險（包括我們最新的表格 10Q 和 10K 的第 1A 項中討論的風險），實際事件和結果可能會存在重大差異。我們鼓勵您查看我們最近向 SEC 提交的文件以及我們的收益新聞稿中包含的資訊。

The company does not assume any obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.

除非法律要求，否則本公司不承擔任何修改或更新這些前瞻性聲明以反映後續事件或情況的義務。

Today's presentation also contains non-GAAP financial information management uses this information internally to analyze results and believes that may be informative to investors in gauging the quality of our financial performance, identifying trends and providing meaningful period-to-period comparisons for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures presented, please see the company's most recent forms 10Q and 10K. And with that, I'll hand the call over to David.

今天的演示還包含非公認會計準則財務信息，管理層在內部使用這些信息來分析結果，並相信這可能為投資者提供信息，幫助他們衡量我們的財務業績質量、識別趨勢並提供有意義的期間比較，以調整財務績效。接下來，我會將電話轉交給大衛。

Thanks, Jessica, and good morning. Our second quarter results were exceptionally strong, driving the second consecutive raise to our fiscal 2024 guidance. Demand remains high across our programs, which elevated volumes this quarter and perhaps more importantly, is indicative of stability returning following the disruptive years of the pandemic. We are also acutely focused on cost management, which had a positive impact this quarter and has added potential to further improve our bottom line in future periods.

謝謝，傑西卡，早安。我們第二季的業績異常強勁，推動我們連續第二次調高 2024 財年指引。我們的各個項目的需求仍然很高，本季度的數量有所增加，也許更重要的是，這表明在大流行的破壞性年份之後，穩定性正在恢復。我們也高度關注成本管理，這對本季產生了積極影響，並增加了未來進一步提高我們利潤的潛力。

Turning to results. Maximus reported revenue of $1.35 billion for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, which represents 11.7% year-over-year growth or 12.6% on an organic basis. Similar to last quarter, growth was driven by expanded programs in the US Federal Services segment and a combination of resumed and expanded programs in the US Services segment, adjusted operating income margin was 11.1% and adjusted EPS was $1.57 for the quarter, which compares to 7.2% and $0.81, respectively for the prior year period.

轉向結果。Maximus 報告 2024 財年第二季營收為 13.5 億美元，年增 11.7%，有機成長 12.6%。與上季類似，成長是由美國聯邦服務部門的擴大計劃以及美國服務部門恢復和擴大計​​劃的結合推動的，本季度調整後營業利潤率為11.1%，調整後每股收益為1.57 美元，相比之下，去年同期分別成長 7.2% 和 0.81 美元。

By our estimations, we set a high mark for earnings this quarter with the strength coming from no single area, but rather across our portfolio of domestic work, a portion of the over-delivery in the quarter came from extra volumes in US services tied to Medicaid re-determinations.

根據我們的估計，我們本季度的盈利設定了很高的水平，其優勢並非來自單一領域，而是來自我們的國內工作組合，本季度超額交付的一部分來自於與以下領域相關的美國服務的額外交易量：醫療補助重新確定。

Let's go to the segments for the US Federal Services segment, revenue increased 20.1% to $702 million, which was all organic and driven by volume growth on expanded programs, including the VA medical disability examination or MDE contracts. The operating income margin for US Federal Services in the second quarter was 11.9% as compared to 8.2% in the prior year period. Segment margin this quarter was slightly better than expected. Thanks to our MDE contracts exceeding their production goals and continuing to execute well in a new environment with high demand for assessments.

讓我們看看美國聯邦服務部門的各個部門，收入增長了 20.1%，達到 7.02 億美元，這完全是有機的，並受到擴大計劃（包括 VA 醫療殘疾檢查或 MDE 合約）數量增長的推動。美國聯邦服務業第二季營業利益率為 11.9%，去年同期為 8.2%。本季的分部利潤率略好於預期。由於我們的 MDE 合約超出了生產目標，並在評估要求很高的新環境中繼續良好執行。

For the US Services segment, revenue increased 8.1% to $486 million. Also all organic, a portion of the growth stemmed from resumed Medicaid redetermination activities, which weren't present last year. The segment also has a large state based assessment program, which has ramped in previous periods and contributed to growth on a comparative basis.

美國服務部門的營收成長 8.1%，達到 4.86 億美元。同樣都是有機成長，部分成長源自於恢復的醫療補助重新確定活動，而去年並沒有這些活動。該部門還擁有一個大型的州評估計劃，該計劃在前幾個時期有所增加，並在比較基礎上促進了增長。

The US Services operating income margin was 14.0% in the second quarter of this year. The prior year period's margin of 9.5% was before re-determination activities resumed. It's worth noting that this quarter's margin of 14.0% is likely the high watermark for the segment, at least in the near term. Bearing in mind, our longer term target margin for this segment is 11% to 14%. As I mentioned earlier, a portion of this segment's overperformance came from extra volumes tied to the restart of Medicaid redeterminations, which is a process that has been playing out over the last several quarters.

今年第二季美國服務業營業利益率為 14.0%。上一年期間的利潤率為 9.5%，是在重新確定活動恢復之前的情況。值得注意的是，本季 14.0% 的利潤率可能是該領域的高水位，至少在短期內是如此。請記住，我們該細分市場的長期目標利潤率為 11% 至 14%。正如我之前提到的，該細分市場表現優異的部分原因是與醫療補助重新確定的重新啟動相關的額外交易量，這是過去幾季一直在進行的過程。

We continue to forecast light segment margin normalization after the second quarter as the relatively limited amount of extra volumes conclude meaning landing closer to the middle of that 11% to 14% margin range for the back half of the year. That said, the outlook is slightly improved the back half as well and driven by improvement to other core areas of the business compared to this time last year, we are quite pleased that the segment is reflecting stabilized operations after being heavily disrupted during the pandemic. And in the case of Medicaid redetermination, which has occupied the spotlight recently. They should go back to quietly running in the background.

我們繼續預測第二季後輕型細分市場的利潤率將正常化，因為相對有限的額外銷售意味著下半年利潤率將接近 11% 至 14% 的中間水平。也就是說，與去年同期相比，下半年的前景也略有改善，並且受到其他核心業務領域改善的推動，我們非常高興該部門在大流行期間受到嚴重干擾後，業務表現出穩定。就醫療補助重新確定而言，最近成為人們關注的焦點。他們應該回到後台安靜地運行。

Turning to the outside the US segment, revenue decreased 7.2% year over year to $161 million for the quarter. Most of the decline was attributable to less revenue following completed divestitures to date, while the rest of the segment was flat on an organic basis, the segment made a small profit of $0.7 million as compared to an operating loss of $3.7 million in the prior year period.

轉向美國以外地區，該季度營收年減 7.2% 至 1.61 億美元。下降的主要原因是迄今為止完成的剝離後收入減少，而該部門的其餘部分在有機基礎上持平，該部門實現了 70 萬美元的小利潤，而上一年的營業虧損為 370 萬美元時期。

Our commitment to reshape the segment is in progress, and we remain on target this fiscal year. In the meantime, recent results demonstrate reduced volatility to the employment services portion of the segment now that the pandemic is behind us and we expect this trend to continue.

我們重塑該細分市場的承諾正在進行中，並且我們仍將實現本財年的目標。同時，最近的結果表明，由於疫情已經過去，該領域就業服務部分的波動性有所減少，我們預計這一趨勢將持續下去。

Let's now turn to cash flow and balance sheet items. Cash provided by operating activities for the second quarter of this year was $130 million and free cash flow was $105 million. [The assets] finished the quarter at 62 days. Our free cash flow guidance for the rest of the year has increased due to the improved earnings forecast. We ended the second quarter with total debt of $1.22 billion and our net debt to EBITDA ratio improved from 2.1 times to 1.7 times. As a reminder, this ratio is our debt net of allowed cash to adjusted EBITDA for the last 12 months as calculated in accordance with our credit agreement, our long-term target debt ratio remains 2 times to 3 times.

現在讓我們轉向現金流量和資產負債表項目。今年第二季經營活動提供的現金為1.3億美元，自由現金流為1.05億美元。 [資產] 本季結束時為 62 天。由於獲利預測的改善，我們今年剩餘時間的自由現金流指引增加。第二季結束時，我們的總負債為 12.2 億美元，淨負債與 EBITDA 的比率從 2.1 倍提高到 1.7 倍。提醒一下，這個比率是根據我們的信貸協議計算的過去12個月允許現金調整後EBITDA的債務淨額，我們的長期目標債務比率仍然是2倍到3倍。

However, in the current interest rate environment, our bias is toward the lower end of that range. We are now below that range and are comfortable in the near term, continuing to pay down to build capacity for future M&A, while also maintaining an opportunistic share repurchase program on that front, post quarter end, in the month of April, we repurchased nearly $20 million worth of shares.

然而，在目前的利率環境下，我們傾向於該區間的下限。我們現在低於該範圍，並且在短期內感到滿意，繼續支付費用以建設未來併購的能力，同時還在這方面維持機會主義的股票回購計劃，季度末後，我們在 4 月份回購了近價值2000萬美元的股票。

Turning to fiscal year 2024. We are pleased to be raising guidance for the second time with increases to both the top and bottom line guidance. Revenue is now expected to be between $5.15 billion and $5.25 billion, which is up $75 million at the midpoint compared to the previous guide. Adjusted operating income is estimated to be between $540 million $560 million, which is an increase of more than $34 million from prior guidance. Using the midpoint, adjusted EPS, excluding intangibles, amortization and divestiture related charges is now projected to be between $5.65 and $5.85 per share using the midpoint. This reflects a $0.4 raise from prior guidance and up $0.55 from our initial guidance in November.

轉向 2024 財年。我們很高興第二次提高指導值，同時提高頂線和底線指導值。目前預計收入在 51.5 億美元至 52.5 億美元之間，比先前的指導值中位數增加 7,500 萬美元。調整後的營業收入預計在 5.4 億美元之間，比先前的指導增加了 3,400 萬美元以上。使用中點，調整後的每股收益（不包括無形資產、攤銷和剝離相關費用）預計將在每股 5.65 美元至 5.85 美元之間。這比之前的指導值提高了 0.4 美元，比我們 11 月的初始指導值提高了 0.55 美元。

As a result of the improved earnings forecast, we are raising free cash flow guidance to between $330 million and $370 million for fiscal 2024 the improved outlook reflects higher expectations for both organic revenue growth and margin at the guidance midpoint. Organic growth is projected to be nearly 7%, up from 5% in prior guidance. And adjusted OI margin is 10.6%, up from 10.0% and prior guidance let me add some color on earnings.

由於獲利預測的改善，我們將 2024 財年的自由現金流指引提高至 3.3 億美元至 3.7 億美元之間，改善的前景反映出對指引中點的有機收入成長和利潤率的更高預期。有機成長預計接近 7%，高於先前指導的 5%。調整後的 OI 利潤率為 10.6%，高於 10.0%，先前的指導讓我對盈利增添了一些色彩。

In the back half of the year. We expect higher earnings in our fiscal third quarter compared to the fourth quarter due to a combination of factors in our US federal and US Services segments. First, we are planning on some investment costs in the US Federal segment in the fourth quarter, which will begin driving further operational efficiency in fiscal year 2025. On a full year basis, the federal segment margin should be approximately 12%.

下半年的時候。由於美國聯邦和美國服務部門的綜合因素，我們預期第三財季的收益將高於第四季。首先，我們計劃在第四季對美國聯邦部門進行一些投資成本，這將在 2025 財年開始進一步提高營運效率。以全年計算，聯邦部門利潤率應約為 12%。

Second, for the US services segment, as mentioned earlier, we expect this segment's margin to be more in the middle of the 11% to 14% target range for the back half of the year as volumes related to Medicaid redeterminations continue to moderate. And given the strong first half, the segment margin should be approximately 13% on a full year basis.

其次，對於美國服務業領域，如前所述，我們預計該領域的利潤率將在今年下半年處於 11% 至 14% 目標範圍的中間，因為與醫療補助重新確定相關的交易量繼續放緩。鑑於上半年的強勁表現，全年分部利潤率應約為 13%。

The outside the US segment remains on track to be slightly above breakeven for the full year, assuming status quo for the current footprint, we do expect further shaping of the segment to occur this fiscal year in an effort to deliver consistent profitability. A few other assumptions for fiscal 2024 include interest expense of approximately $77 million and intangibles amortization expense of approximately $89 million.

假設當前足跡維持現狀，美國以外地區的全年業務仍將略高於損益平衡點，我們預計本財年該業務將進一步調整，以實現持續的獲利能力。2024 財年的其他一些假設包括約 7,700 萬美元的利息費用和約 8,900 萬美元的無形資產攤銷費用。

To conclude, I would like to congratulate the entire Maximus team on executing another terrific quarter and reaffirming my comments on prior calls that the business is healthy with the ability to build momentum from previous quarters that domestic segments both hit the upper ends of their long-term margin targets this quarter, demonstrating the business has the earnings power that we have long signaled work remains on the outside the US segment.

最後，我要祝賀整個 Maximus 團隊又執行了一個出色的季度，並重申了我對之前電話的評論，即業務健康，有能力從前幾季度建立勢頭，國內細分市場都達到了長期的上限。本季的長期利潤率目標表明該業務具有盈利能力，我們長期以來一直暗示該業務仍集中在美國業務以外的領域。

And we have been clear that action in the remaining half of the year as a management priority. While we have been quite successful in navigating a period of higher rebid activity. There are two contracts that have some unique circumstances that Bruce will discuss further and do not change our positive view of the business nor disrupt the momentum we have built.

我們已經明確將此行動作為今年下半年的管理重點。雖然我們在重新競標活動較高的時期相當成功。有兩份合約具有一些獨特的情況，布魯斯將進一步討論，這不會改變我們對業務的積極看法，也不會破壞我們已經建立的勢頭。

Finally, our balance sheet is very strong as our debt ratio now sits below our long-term target range. This provides that flexibility and capacity to execute on our capital allocation priorities. With that, I'll hand the call over to Bruce.

最後，我們的資產負債表非常強勁，因為我們的負債比率目前低於我們的長期目標範圍。這提供了執行我們的資本配置優先事項的靈活性和能力。這樣，我就把電話轉給布魯斯。

Thanks, David, and good morning. As David presented, we have just completed a very strong quarter. Revenue grew 12.6%. On an organic basis, adjusted EPS was $1.57, up from $0.81 for the prior year period. Adjusted operating margin continues to meet our target range of 10% to 14%, with updated guidance now implying a 10.6% margin for full fiscal year 2024. And finally, we are increasing guidance for the remainder of the fiscal year.

謝謝，大衛，早安。正如大衛所說，我們剛剛完成了一個非常強勁的季度。收入增長12.6%。在有機基礎上，調整後每股收益為 1.57 美元，高於去年同期的 0.81 美元。調整後的營業利潤率繼續滿足我們 10% 至 14% 的目標範圍，更新後的指導現在意味著 2024 年整個財年的利潤率為 10.6%。最後，我們正在增加本財年剩餘時間的指導。

This is a notable accomplishment for the company as a whole following our solid first quarter, congratulations to our program teams in our critical support functions, all of whom remained focused on quality delivery and are committed to meeting the needs of our clients for the last several quarters, the company's top line revenue growth has been driven by expansion on current programs. This is not new for us. Building solid customer relationships through quality delivery, has it reliably enabled our teams to increase volumes and expand scope, ultimately benefiting our top and bottom line.

這是公司整體繼第一季表現強勁之後取得的一項顯著成就，祝賀我們關鍵支持職能部門的專案團隊，他們所有人都始終專注於品質交付，並致力於滿足客戶在過去幾個季度的需求。這對我們來說並不新鮮。透過高品質的交付建立牢固的客戶關係，使我們的團隊能夠可靠地增加數量並擴大範圍，最終使我們的收入和利潤受益。

This quarter in particular, we continued to see increased volumes in our BES business where, as David mentioned, MDE claims exceeded their production, growing current programs including movement into near adjacencies is fundamental to the Maximus business model. That said, we're also keenly focused on new work wins, which underpin our long-term growth goals in this vein and in the context of our Maximus Forward initiative, we are making investments in our business development capture and proposal teams and their supporting tools to help ensure their success across all segments.

特別是本季度，我們繼續看到 BES 業務量的增長，正如 David 所提到的，MDE 聲稱超出了其產量，不斷增長的當前項目（包括進入鄰近地區）是 Maximus 業務模式的基礎。也就是說，我們也非常關注新的工作勝利，這支撐著我們的長期成長目標，在我們的 Maximus Forward 計劃的背景下，我們正在對我們的業務開發捕獲和提案團隊及其支持進行投資幫助確保他們在所有領域取得成功的工具。

We've made a number of key hires. These leaders come to us with years of experience and proven capabilities, more specifically as part of a reorganization within our US federal capture and proposal teams. Our leaders are now aligned to the market areas and agencies where they bring the most expertise. This alignment allows heightened focus on the customer, enabling us to build better relationships and gain a deeper understanding of our clients' needs.

我們已經聘用了一些關鍵人員。這些領導者帶著多年的經驗和經過驗證的能力來到我們這裡，更具體地說，是我們美國聯邦捕獲和提案團隊重組的一部分。我們的領導者現在已與他們能帶來最多專業知識的市場領域和機構保持一致。這種一致性使我們能夠更加關注客戶，使我們能夠建立更好的關係並更深入地了解客戶的需求。

We are seeing early success with some of the investments made thus far shortly after the quarter close, we were awarded a few contracts that align well with our strategy. We were awarded a $70 million single-award BPA with the Department of Energy or DOE Office of Intelligence and counterintelligence, providing specialized software application development, technical advisory and consulting services.

在季度結束後不久，我們就看到了迄今為止所做的一些投資的早期成功，我們獲得了一些與我們的策略非常吻合的合約。我們獲得了能源部或能源部情報和反情報辦公室頒發的 7,000 萬美元的單一 BPA，提供專門的軟體應用程式開發、技術諮詢和諮詢服務。

Our support sits at the core of a crucial mission within the DOE enterprise at a pivotal moment for the agency security of our nation's critical infrastructure is an imperative and Maximus will provide support at the nexus of DOE headquarters, the national labs and the broader intelligence community.

我們的支援是能源部企業內一項重要任務的核心，在關鍵時刻，我們國家關鍵基礎設施的機構安全勢在必行，Maximus 將在能源部總部、國家實驗室和更廣泛的情報界之間提供支援。

Also in April, we were awarded our first task order on the OPM customer support center, or CSC, BPA valued at nearly $21 million over three years, including option periods. This win launches our support for OPMs expanded mission to provide benefits enrollment services for certain federal agencies beginning with US postal service employees. Under the task order, we will be building out a modern cloud-based contact center platform and delivering customer support services, delivering both staffed operations and innovative technology.

同樣在 4 月份，我們獲得了 OPM 客戶支援中心（CSC、BPA）的第一個任務訂單，三年內價值近 2,100 萬美元，包括選擇期。這場勝利啟動了我們對 OPM 擴展使命的支持，即為某些聯邦機構（從美國郵政服務員工開始）提供福利登記服務。根據任務訂單，我們將建立一個基於雲端的現代化聯絡中心平台，並提供客戶支援服務、人員營運和創新技術。

The OPM CSC task order takes full advantage of our recently announced Maximus total experience management or CXM solution CXM solution supports our customer services digitally enabled strategy pillar, the goal of which is to elevate customer experience to achieve higher levels of satisfaction, performance and outcomes through intelligent automation and cognitive computing.

OPM CSC 任務訂單充分利用我們最近宣布的Maximus 整體體驗管理或CXM 解決方案CXM 解決方案支援我們的客戶服務數位化策略支柱，其目標是提升客戶體驗，透過以下方式實現更高水準的滿意度、績效和成果智慧自動化和認知計算。

CXM implements our strategy by helping federal agencies deliver trusted information and government services simply consistently and securely. This solution seamlessly integrates people experience, data insights and secure technologies into one digitally powered platform to reimagine government service delivery seamlessly across phone, text and chat channels.

CXM 透過幫助聯邦機構簡單、一致、安全地提供可信賴資訊和政府服務來實施我們的策略。該解決方案將人員體驗、數據洞察和安全技術無縫整合到一個數位化平台中，以跨電話、文字和聊天管道無縫地重新構想政府服務交付。

While on the topic of new wins, let me turn to our award metrics and pipeline for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 signed awards totaled $568 million of total contract value. Further at March 31, there were $797 million worth of contracts that had been awarded but not yet signed. These awards translate into a book-to-bill of approximately 1.1 times for the trailing 12 period. Our pipeline at March 31 was $37.8 billion compared to $37.7 billion reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The March 31 pipeline is comprised of approximately $1.31 billion in proposals, pending $987 million in proposals in preparation and $35.5 billion in opportunities tracking of our total pipeline of sales opportunities.

在談到新合約的話題時，讓我談談我們的獎勵指標和 2024 財年第二季簽署的合約總價值 5.68 億美元的管道。截至 3 月 31 日，已有價值 7.97 億美元的合約已授予但尚未簽署。這些獎項轉化為過去 12 個時期的訂單出貨比約為 1.1 倍。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的籌措資金為 378 億美元，而 2024 財年第一季報告的籌措資金為 377 億美元。3 月 31 日的管道包括約 13.1 億美元的提案、9.87 億美元的待準備提案以及 355 億美元的銷售機會總管道追蹤機會。

Approximately 75% represents new work. Additionally, 56% of the $37.8 billion total pipeline is attributable to our US Federal Services. Our pipeline figures are reported as of March 31. As a result, they do not include two important rebids that we were tracking but on which we have greater clarity today. First is our contact center operations contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which we discussed at length last quarter. CMS has recently reported that the RFP is expected to be released on or around May 16.

約 75% 代表新作品。此外，378 億美元的總管道中有 56% 來自我們的美國聯邦服務部門。我們報告的管道數據截至 3 月 31 日。因此，它們不包括我們正在跟踪但今天我們更加清楚的兩個重要的重新投標。首先是我們與醫療保險和醫療補助服務中心的聯絡中心營運合同，我們在上個季度詳細討論了該合約。CMS 最近報導稱，RFP 預計將於 5 月 16 日左右發布。

As a reminder, CMS is recompleting the program earlier than expected with the express purpose of including a labor harmony agreement requirement. While we and other industry stakeholders have respectfully communicated our disagreement with this decision, we, of course, remain committed to our customer and the citizens we serve as this matter runs its course. We have and will continue to provide best-in-class customer service to CMS and the tens of millions of Americans we interact with each and every day most of whom are senior citizens.

謹此提醒，CMS 比預期更早重新完成該計劃，其明確目的是納入勞工和諧協議要求。雖然我們和其他行業利益相關者已恭敬地表達了我們對這一決定的不同意見，但我們當然仍然致力於我們的客戶和我們所服務的公民，讓此事順利進行。我們已經並將繼續為 CMS 以及我們每天與之互動的數千萬美國人提供一流的客戶服務，其中大多數是老年人。

As I mentioned on our first quarter call, since assuming operational responsibility for the CCO contract, we have consistently met or exceeded all contractual service levels with uninterrupted operations leading to the highest independently measured customer satisfaction in the history of the program while accommodating occasional labor organizing events, which we have unequivocally respected.

正如我在第一季度電話會議上提到的，自從承擔CCO 合約的營運責任以來，我們一直達到或超過所有合約服務水平，不間斷運營，從而實現了該計劃歷史上最高的獨立衡量的客戶滿意度，同時適應偶爾的勞工組織我們明確尊重這些事件。

Second point, I will make pertains to our medical disability exams contracts with the Veterans Benefit Administration or VBA. Several of these contracts will also be up for rebid later this year. The early rebid is required because the contracts in place include a ceiling on the claims volume.

我要說的第二點涉及我們與退伍軍人福利管理局 (VBA) 簽訂的醫療殘疾檢查合約。其中一些合約也將在今年稍後重新競標。需要提前重新投標，因為現有合約包含索賠量上限。

As we have communicated, volumes have increased significantly since the passing of the pact. Therefore, the VBA must recompete some but not all of the contracted regions in which we work. We remain optimistic about the outcome, given our strong relationship with the VBA demonstrated delivery capabilities and are continuing to invest in our operations.

正如我們所傳達的，自該協議通過以來，交易量大幅增加。因此，VBA 必須重新競爭我們工作的部分而非全部簽約區域。鑑於我們與 VBA 的牢固關係展示了交付能力，並且我們將繼續投資於我們的運營，我們對結果保持樂觀。

Our ability to deliver high-quality exams at scale in a complex programmatic and operational environment positions us well to remain a committed partner to the customer and the veterans, we are fortunate to serve returning to the success of the quarter.

我們有能力在複雜的程序化和營運環境中大規模提供高品質考試，這使我們能夠繼續成為客戶和退伍軍人的忠實合作夥伴，我們很幸運能夠在本季度取得成功。

David shared that our adjusted operating income margin forecast is a healthy 60 basis point improvement for the full year. That's attributable in part to the strong second quarter results were adjusted margin was 11.1%. Some of this success is driven by the Maximus Forward initiatives I've mentioned on recent earnings calls.

David 表示，我們調整後的全年營業利潤率預測將健康提高 60 個基點。這部分歸因於第二季業績強勁，調整後利潤率為 11.1%。這項成功在某種程度上是由我在最近的財報電話會議上提到的 Maximus Forward 計畫所推動的。

Fundamentally, this effort is a structured evaluation of the design processes and resources that drive our delivery. We've taken a hard look at both client facing programs and our corporate functions asking tough questions, promoting innovative ideas. I'm making hard but necessary decisions. Example initiatives we've shared with you include the AI agent assist and AI training pilots presented last quarter currently in progress and showing promising results. The hiring of our Chief Digital and Information Officer, or CDIO. was an early decision driven by Maximus forward under the leadership of Derek pleasure.

從根本上說，這項工作是對推動我們交付的設計流程和資源的結構化評估。我們認真審視了面向客戶的計劃和我們的公司職能，提出了尖銳的問題，促進了創新想法。我正在做出艱難但必要的決定。我們與您分享的範例措施包括上季提出的人工智慧代理協助和人工智慧培訓試點，目前正在進行中並顯示出有希望的結果。聘請我們的首席數位和資訊長（CDIO）。這是由馬克西姆斯在德里克普萊斯領導下前鋒推動的早期決定。

The Department is on its way to becoming a technology-based and data-driven organization designed to accelerate delivery of business outcomes, enhanced customer experiences and technology differentiation to drive competitive advantage. Since joining Derek has completed a comprehensive review covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time and developed a plan aligned with our expanded vision for technology at Maximus. He is aligning technical solutions to enterprise strategy and business needs, including key pipeline opportunities.

該部門正在成為一個基於技術和數據驅動的組織，旨在加速交付業務成果、增強客戶體驗和技術差異化，以推動競爭優勢。自加入以來，Derek 在短時間內完成了涵蓋大量內容的全面審查，並製定了一項與我們在 Maximus 擴展的技術願景相一致的計劃。他正在根據企業策略和業務需求調整技術解決方案，包括關鍵的管道機會。

We are prioritizing investments in research and development activities that can provide greater operating leverage and working with our operations to develop cutting-edge technologies ahead of our customer needs. As part of the changes implemented, Derek has added a Chief Technology Officer to his team, our CTO will lead our technology and innovation organization and will be vital for setting and executing our strategic technology direction within the CDIO organization and also driven by the Maximus Forward program. We have recently invested in our supply chain through acquisition of one of our critical IT suppliers, which is expected to be accretive post integration.

我們優先投資能夠提供更大營運槓桿的研發活動，並與我們的營運部門合作，在客戶需求之前開發尖端技術。As part of the changes implemented, Derek has added a Chief Technology Officer to his team, our CTO will lead our technology and innovation organization and will be vital for setting and executing our strategic technology direction within the CDIO organization and also driven by the Maximus Forward程式.我們最近透過收購關鍵 IT 供應商對我們的供應鏈進行了投資，預計整合後將帶來增值。

The group has been a long-term contributor to the success on our US services programs, bringing extensive engineering and research talent to enable greater depth, scale and capabilities in administering large critical government programs. We are excited to bring their team in-house and leverage their capabilities across our portfolio.

該集團一直為我們美國服務項目的成功做出了長期貢獻，帶來了廣泛的工程和研究人才，以提高管理大型關鍵政府項目的深度、規模和能力。我們很高興將他們的團隊引入內部，並在我們的產品組合中利用他們的能力。

While the success of the Maximus board program is driving shareholder value, it's also allowing us to continue investing in our people. Enhancements to our employee value proposition are driven by employee feedback and the continued effort to be market competitive in the compensation and benefits we provide and a long-term employer of choice.

雖然 Maximus 董事會計劃的成功正在推動股東價值，但它也使我們能夠繼續投資於我們的員工。我們的員工價值主張的增強是由員工回饋以及我們不斷努力在提供的薪酬和福利方面具有市場競爭力以及成為長期雇主的選擇所推動的。

Our driving force is to provide for the physical, mental and financial well-being of our employees and their families. Over the past few years, our focus on our employee value proposition has led to significant enhancements to our benefits program. Examples include increasing the employer contribution and reducing deductibles on all HSA plans, launching a PPO plan and adding free telehealth options all in the face of a macro backdrop of rising health care costs.

我們的動力是為員工及其家人提供身體、精神和經濟上的福祉。在過去的幾年裡，我們對員工價值主張的關注大大增強了我們的福利計畫。例如，在醫療保健成本不斷上漲的宏觀背景下，增加雇主繳款並減少所有 HSA 計劃的免賠額、推出 PPO 計劃以及增加免費遠距醫療選項。

As we look ahead at our 2025 benefits plan, we are excited to continue enhancing the return on investments made in our people is clear when analyzing our recent independently conducted global employee engagement survey results, the KPI I find most meaningful is the employee Net Promoter Score, which measures employee loyalty to the company.

當我們展望 2025 年福利計劃時，我們很高興能夠繼續提高對員工的投資回報，在分析我們最近獨立進行的全球員工敬業度調查結果時，我發現最有意義的 KPI 是員工淨推薦值，衡量員工對公司的忠誠度。

Fiscal year 2024 survey results showed an overall Net Promoter Score of plus 31. This is an 11 point increase from the fiscal year 2023 results and a 26 point increase from three years ago. When we first asked PwC to conduct this annual survey, Maximus has created a positive employee experience by fostering a culture of listening, feedback, transparency and accountability. I'm very grateful to everyone involved in driving such impactful change throughout our organization.

2024 財年調查結果顯示，整體淨推薦值為+31。這比 2023 財年的業績成長了 11 個百分點，比三年前成長了 26 個百分點。當我們第一次要求普華永道進行這項年度調查時，Maximus 透過培養傾聽、回饋、透明和問責的文化，創造了積極的員工體驗。我非常感謝參與推動整個組織如此有影響力的變革的每個人。

As I wrap my prepared remarks, I'd like to take a moment to highlight our continued recognition as a leader in veteran employment. Maximus has once again been honored as events indexes, five-star employer marking the third consecutive year. We've been recognized for our commitment to veterans and military connected individuals. This year, we were also proudly named a top veteran employer by military.com.

在結束準備好的發言時，我想花點時間強調我們作為退伍軍人就業領域領導者的持續認可。Maximus 再次被評為活動指數，連續第三年榮獲五星級雇主。我們因對退伍軍人和軍事相關人員的承諾而獲得認可。今年，我們也很自豪地被 Military.com 評為最佳退伍軍人雇主。

These accolades underscore our dedication to recruiting hiring, retaining, developing and supporting military personnel and their families. Our initiative celebrates the unique skills and experiences that veterans bring to our organization, reflecting our deep-rooted respect for military service as a core part of our identity and mission and public service for nearly five decades.

這些榮譽凸顯了我們致力於招募、留住、培養和支持軍事人員及其家人。我們的倡議慶祝退伍軍人為我們的組織帶來的獨特技能和經驗，反映了我們對軍事服務的根深蒂固的尊重，這是近五年來我們的身份、使命和公共服務的核心部分。

In closing, we continue to be pleased with our fiscal year 2024 performance thus far and remain optimistic about the growth of the company through expansion in our core business as well as a heightened focus on investment in new work opportunities. And with that, we'll open the line for Q&A. Operator?

最後，我們仍然對 2024 財年迄今的業績感到滿意，並對公司透過核心業務擴張以及更加重視重新工作機會投資的成長保持樂觀。接下來，我們將開通問答熱線。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Charlie Strauzer of CJS Securities.

（操作員指示）CJS 證券的 Charlie Strauzer。

I good morning.

我早安。

Good morning, Charlie.

早安，查理。

Just a quick question that you had obviously a very robust quarter, especially in federal Omnia sales and margins. You're kind of seeing some good uplift that's kind of ahead of ahead of schedule versus your prior guidance of just when you look at that, the drivers on the right, you see any revenue pull-forward on you maybe give us a little more color behind the drivers of that is a year before?

一個簡單的問題是，您顯然有一個非常強勁的季度，特別是在聯邦 Omnia 銷售額和利潤率方面。你會看到一些好的提升，這有點提前，而不是你之前的指導，當你看到這一點時，右邊的司機，你看到任何收入的增長可能會給我們多一點後面那個司機的顏色是一年前的嗎？

So great this is David. Good morning, Charlie. So as I mentioned, there was no real single area that led to the Q2 overperformance. That was a broad, strong performance across the portfolio, the VA and the volumes in the federal segment, where certainly a component that we're particularly strong in the quarter, I did allude to some benefit from extra volumes tied to the Medicaid unwind effort, which ends soon though it remains difficult to precisely quantify that.

太棒了，這就是大衛。早安，查理。正如我所提到的，沒有真正的單一領域導致第二季表現優異。這是整個投資組合、VA 和聯邦部門銷售的廣泛而強勁的表現，這當然是我們在本季度特別強勁的組成部分，我確實提到了與醫療補助放鬆工作相關的額外銷量帶來的一些好處，儘管仍然很難精確量化，但它很快就會結束。

But I would leave you with the impression that this was only some of the Q2 over-delivery of while I'm on it more broadly about the topic of re-determinations and sharing what we see today, Medicaid enrollments are landing a little higher. And as we expected, we are seeing continued engagement from the portion who have been redetermined and retained on the Medicaid rolls.

但我會給您留下這樣的印象：這只是第二季度超額交付的一部分，雖然我更廣泛地討論了重新確定的主題並分享了我們今天所看到的情況，但醫療補助註冊人數略有上升。正如我們所預期的那樣，我們看到那些被重新確定並保留在醫療補助名單上的部分人繼續參與。

So that effectively means it's back to business as usual for us for the work tied to the annual Medicaid renewals and those the normal base of beneficiaries that existed pre-pandemic is engaging in typical fashion in the post pandemic environment, which is good since that drives activities in our operations. Lastly, the fact that they're slightly higher population doesn't hurt either.

因此，這實際上意味著我們恢復了與年度醫療補助續約相關的工作，以及大流行前存在的正常受益人基礎在大流行後環境中以典型方式參與的工作，這很好，因為這推動了我們營運中的活動。最後，他們的人口略多這一事實也沒有什麼壞處。

And then while I've got the mike as I reflect on the quarter, I'll offer one last thing that I'm especially proud as reflecting on the quarter for the team, delivering on the financial commitments that we laid out back two years ago to the months in May of 2022 at our Investor Day.

然後，當我在回顧本季時，我將提供最後一件事，我特別自豪的是，為團隊回顧本季度，兌現了我們兩年前製定的財務承諾2022 年 5 月的投資者日。

So we had said sustainable mid-single digit organic growth and we delivered 7% in fiscal year '23 and now guiding to near 7% this year US services, in particular, which was in the midst of the public health emergency. We guided 11% to 14% margin. Once the redeterminations resumed, we just posted 14% in a peak quarter and guiding to the middle of that range going forward.

因此，我們說過可持續的中個位數有機成長，我們在 23 財年實現了 7%，現在指導今年美國服務業接近 7%，特別是，當時正處於公共衛生緊急狀態。我們指導利潤率為 11% 至 14%。一旦恢復重新確定，我們在高峰季度的成長率僅為 14%，並指導未來該區間的中間值。

US federal operating at the high end of their 10% to 12% guidance we gave. And then for the total company, we guided 9% to 12% adjusted OI margin. Our guidance for this year is now just above the midpoint of that. And now we're really focused on moving up further in the longer-term range that we gave of 10% to 14%. And then last week, we've also met our commitment to delever in the near term, having just crossed below the two to three times target. So a lot of milestones that we're proud of and much credit to the team here for delivering on these commitments.

美國聯邦政府的運作處於我們給出的 10% 至 12% 指導的高端。然後，對於整個公司，我們指導調整後的 OI 利潤率為 9% 至 12%。我們今年的指導現在略高於其中點。現在我們真正專注於在我們給出的 10% 到 14% 的長期範圍內進一步提高。上週，我們也兌現了近期去槓桿化的承諾，剛好低於兩到三倍的目標。我們為許多里程碑感到自豪，並對這裡的團隊兌現這些承諾表示高度讚揚。

Great. Thank you for that. And just a housekeeping on the guidance. You talked about Q3 being stronger than Q4 in the back half. Any sense of the cadence from Q2 to Q3, that would a factor?

偉大的。謝謝你。只是指導上的內務管理。你談到Q3在後半段比Q4更強。從第二季到第三季的節奏有什麼感覺，這會是一個因素嗎？

Sure. Well, yes, a couple of things I mentioned in my remarks that we have some planned investments in the fourth quarter. So first, I'll talk about kind of Q3 to Q4 and why we believe a little more color on why we guided Q3 being higher than Q4 so a component of those investments are the start of expensing on some new internal capitalized software effort. I've shared before on prior calls that we have increased investments in technology, particularly in the federal business that will provide enhanced efficiency, especially in highly scaled areas of the business.

當然。嗯，是的，我在發言中提到了一些事情，我們在第四季度有一些計劃投資。首先，我將討論第三季到第四季的情況，以及為什麼我們相信第三季高於第四季的原因，因此這些投資的一部分是開始支出一些新的內部資本化軟體工作。我之前在之前的電話會議上說過，我們增加了對技術的投資，特別是在聯邦業務方面，這將提高效率，特別是在大規模的業務領域。

So in this area, in particular, the fourth quarter is expected to be a transition period where we've been prudent and anticipating some duplicative costs. And so in fiscal year 25, we expect the legacy cost of funds that while the savings and the return on those investments would continue forward. So all that means is the fourth quarter is more of the outlier in our view of that may be a bit below the core run rate which would be manifest in the US Federal Services margin. We are also forecasting some moderation in US services volume, both from Q2 to Q3 and then also a little bit more from Q3 to Q4. So that's a piece of the Q2 to Q3.

因此，特別是在這一領域，第四季預計將是一個過渡期，我們一直保持謹慎態度，預計會產生一些重複成本。因此，在第 25 財年，我們預計遺留資金成本將持續下降，而這些投資的節省和回報將持續下去。因此，這意味著我們認為第四季的情況更為異常，可能略低於美國聯邦服務利潤率中所體現的核心運作率。我們也預測，從第二季到第三季度，美國服務量將放緩，從第三季到第四季也會放緩。這是 Q2 到 Q3 的一部分。

So looking forward from Q4, our continued efforts that Bruce mentioned in his prepared remarks, including the maximum Forward initiative that we described do give us confidence that there's more opportunity for continued margin improvement beyond fiscal year 24, which would mean continuing to move up in that range that I just quoted the longer-term range of 10% to 14% adjusted OI margin. And then, of course, outside the US, our continued work shaping and improving the profitability. There should also support further improvement.

因此，從第四季度開始，布魯斯在他準備好的演講中提到的我們的持續努力，包括我們描述的最大前瞻計劃，確實讓我們相信，在第24 財年之後，有更多機會繼續提高利潤率，這意味著繼續提高利潤率。當然，在美國以外，我們繼續努力塑造和提高獲利能力。也應該支持進一步的改進。

Great. Thank you.

偉大的。謝謝。

Thank you. Bert Subin, Stifel.

謝謝。伯特·蘇賓，史蒂菲爾。

Hey, good morning, Bruce and David.

嘿，早上好，布魯斯和大衛。

Good morning, Bert. Hope you well.

早安，伯特。希望你一切都好。

Thank you. Maybe I'll start on the VA side. So I mean, look, if we look back last year, I thought that was going to be a tail with pact act. And I think that's played out more so than anyone could have anticipated. And if we look at where current inventories are and sort of where the burn rate is you know, changes, but would indicate somewhere in the 1.5 to 2.5 years of sort of continued excess demand. And I guess as you think about the recompete what do you think changes?

謝謝。也許我會從 VA 方面開始。所以我的意思是，如果我們回顧去年，我認為這將是一個帶有契約行為的尾巴。我認為事情的發展超出了任何人的預期。如果我們看看當前庫存的情況以及燃燒率的情況，您就會知道，雖然會發生變化，但會表明在 1.5 至 2.5 年內會出現持續的過剩需求。我想當你考慮重賽時，你認為會發生什麼變化？

One of your competitors said they think that will wrap up by September. And I'm curious if you think that's the case, does that become does that drive pressure to your margins in the business? Is it an opportunity to get more share? And I guess, do you agree with the runway sort of laid out of potential sort of the runway for [MDA MDs] to be strong for a longer period of time.

您的一位競爭對手錶示，他們認為這將在 9 月結束。我很好奇，如果您認為情況確實如此，這是否會對您的業務利潤造成壓力？這是獲得更多份額的機會嗎？我想，您是否同意為 [MDA MD] 的潛在跑道鋪設的跑道，以使其在較長時間內保持強大。

Yes, Bert, David's going to take this one and I may add a little color commentary at the end?

是的，伯特，大衛會接受這個，我可以在最後添加一些色彩評論嗎？

Great. Yes, a few things about the pending rebid. As Bruce mentioned in his remarks, the way we view it, this is the required action by the government, which is more procedural in nature due to hitting the ceiling on those claims volumes. So really the result of some good news with the volume growth. Not only do we anticipate continuing to work uninterrupted until the process is complete, but we're still making investments to increase capacity in an effort to drive high quality and ongoing improvements to the veterans experience.

偉大的。是的，關於待定重新投標的一些事情。正如布魯斯在演講中提到的，在我們看來，這是政府需要採取的行動，由於索賠數量達到了上限，這在本質上更具程序性。這確實是銷量成長帶來的一些好消息的結果。我們不僅預計將繼續不間斷地工作直到該過程完成，而且我們仍在進行投資以提高容量，以努力推動退伍軍人體驗的高品質和持續改進。

The key really for us in any provider is the ability to operate at scale is the large program. Our experience tells us it's complex with an extensive nationwide network of clinicians. And while we'll be appropriately paranoid in the recompete process. As always, we do anticipate being able to maintain scale and volumes given significant operational advantages and experience that we believe we possess.

對於我們任何提供者來說，真正的關鍵是大規模營運的能力是大型專案。我們的經驗告訴我們，全國的臨床醫生網絡非常複雜。雖然我們在重新競爭的過程中會適當地偏執。像往常一樣，鑑於我們相信我們擁有的顯著營運優勢和經驗，我們確實預計能夠保持規模和數量。

Therefore, we would agree with your assertion about the volumes remaining elevated for the foreseeable future as evidenced by the inventory, as he said, that we think it will take some time for that to return to kind of normal levels based on the time line for the rebid we've seen thus far.

因此，我們同意你的說法，即庫存證明在可預見的未來銷量仍將保持高位，正如他所說，我們認為根據時間表，需要一段時間才能恢復到正常水平。叫價。

We also agree with what you said that the new contracts would essentially align with the start of our next next fiscal year, so around September 30 timeframe. So worth pointing out no impact on our fiscal year '24 expected. And as far as the financial details. I think at this point, we can't really speculate what may or may not change as a result of those.

我們也同意您所說的，即新合約基本上將與我們下一個財年的開始時間一致，即 9 月 30 日左右的時間範圍。因此值得指出的是，這對我們 24 財年的預期沒有影響。至於財務細節。我認為在這一點上，我們無法真正推測這些可能會或不會改變什麼。

Yes, I would agree with that, Bert. And in fact, I'd only add one thing, and that's that David mentioned we're making significant investments in internal use software to further streamline processes and build capacity in that business. So we feel that those investments and when they will come online and be productive for us are overlap well with this with the permit process. And so that in total, as we exit this fiscal year and go into the next fiscal year, we should be in a solid position in terms of capacity to handle the volumes in the new newly completed the program.

是的，我同意這一點，伯特。事實上，我只想補充一件事，那就是大衛提到我們正在對內部使用軟體進行大量投資，以進一步簡化流程並增強該業務的能力。因此，我們認為這些投資以及它們何時上線並對我們產生效益與許可流程有很好的重疊。因此，總的來說，當我們退出本財年並進入下一個財年時，我們在處理新完成的新計劃中的容量方面應該處於穩固的地位。

Got it. Very helpful. Thank you. I guess maybe following on to that, like if we think about some of the outperformance this year, MDBs have definitely helped re-determinations returning in the peak activity have helped on. Could you maybe just give us or frame for us what your expectation for like the next leg of growth is?

知道了。很有幫助。謝謝。我想也許接下來，就像我們考慮今年的一些優異表現一樣，多邊開發銀行肯定有助於重新確定在高峰活動中的回歸有所幫助。您能否告訴我們或為我們說明您對下一階段成長的期望是什麼？

It sounds like MDs will continue to contribute to growth and profit redeterminations. I guess there's some opportunity perhaps to pick up states in just a higher population count. We'll keep that steady, but you're operating sort of on the higher end of mid-single digits, almost in the high single digit organic growth range and your margins have been pretty strong. And just trying to get a feeling for sort of your confidence for that to continue as some of those tailwinds at some point it start to moderate.

聽起來總經理將繼續為成長和利潤重新確定做出貢獻。我想也許有一些機會可以選擇人口數量較多的州。我們將保持穩定，但您的營運處於中個位數的高端，幾乎處於高個位數的有機成長範圍內，而且您的利潤率相當強勁。只是試著感受你對這種情況繼續下去的信心，因為其中一些順風在某個時候開始減弱。

Sure, Bert I'll take that. So I would say, well, look at first of all, we continue to be very focused on executing on the three pillars of the strategy that we laid out back in May of 2022. And the one that I focus on right now is the technology solutions or technology, modern IT modernization initiatives on clearly an area that's had a lot of focus and attention is the IRS ethos contract and that contract in our view is really just getting started in terms. So still very much in the early stages. It's been noted that dumb, the original wordy alongside of us has been awarded one award funded at a funded value, about $35 million. That's the highest award thus far.

當然，伯特，我會接受的。所以我想說，首先，我們繼續非常專注於執行我們在 2022 年 5 月制定的策略的三大支柱。我現在關注的是技術解決方案或技術，現代 IT 現代化舉措顯然是一個備受關注的領域，即 IRS 精神合同，我們認為該合同實際上才剛剛開始。所以仍處於早期階段。值得注意的是，原來和我們一起多嘴的笨蛋獲得了一項資助金額約為 3500 萬美元的獎項。這是迄今為止的最高獎項。

So we feel like we're still early days on ethos and that there remain excellent opportunities, and we remain very bullish on our ability to be recognized as a valuable partner in providing solutions to the IRS through that vehicle. At the same time, it's probably worth broadening the aperture and just speaking for a moment about IT modernization, more generally in the federal environment.

因此，我們覺得我們的精神仍處於早期階段，仍然存在絕佳的機會，我們仍然非常看好我們有能力被認可為透過該工具向國稅局提供解決方案的有價值的合作夥伴。同時，可能值得擴大範圍並談談 IT 現代化，更普遍的是在聯邦環境中。

And I noted in my prepared remarks that we're very pleased to have been awarded the PPA with the Department of Energy, which includes a specialized software application development, technology consulting services.

我在準備好的演講中指出，我們很高興獲得能源部的 PPA，其中包括專門的軟體應用程式開發、技術諮詢服務。

And as I take that and kind of look at the broader pipeline that we see out there. We do see a strong pipeline of new work opportunities that really align well with the technology focus competencies of the organization that are really a combination of the two combinations we did our acquisitions. We did going back to 2015 with the Ascension business and then the Attain Federal business in 2021.

當我採取這一點並審視我們看到的更廣泛的管道時。我們確實看到了一系列強大的新工作機會，這些機會與該組織的技術重點能力非常契合，這些能力實際上是我們收購的兩種組合的結合。我們確實在 2015 年推出了 Ascension 業務，然後在 2021 年推出了 Attain Federal 業務。

Those competencies and they're in high demand and are presently our digital modernization, cyber hybrid cloud and infrastructure, AI and advanced analytics and data management because you can't do AI well without having the data in order and then low-code no-code solutions. So we continue to build out our competencies in those five areas. And I would say you've got to make sure, of course, that the demand single -- signal aligns with that.

這些能力的需求量很大，目前是我們的數位現代化、網路混合雲和基礎設施、人工智慧以及高級分析和數據管理，因為如果沒有有序的數據和低程式碼無程式碼，你就無法做好人工智能。因此，我們繼續增強我們在這五個領域的能力。當然，我想說的是，你必須確保需求訊號與此一致。

So I'd go back to some comments I made on last quarter call that I spoke to our confidence in the customer demand that we're seeing for longer-term IP monetization initiatives. So like [key docs], we think those will continue, particularly for agencies that have been thoughtful and have planned out their procurements and many of which are already in process to give you an example of many businesses in the industry are tracking an anticipated BPA from the Department of Energy that has a $10 billion ceiling on it that's expected to go into the procurement process later this year, and that would span any potential change in the political setting in Washington.

因此，我想回顧一下我在上季度電話會議上發表的一些評論，我談到了我們對客戶對長期知識產權貨幣化計劃的需求的信心。因此，就像[關鍵文件]一樣，我們認為這些將會繼續下去，特別是對於那些經過深思熟慮並已計劃好採購的機構，其中許多已經在進行中，為您提供行業中許多企業正在跟踪預期BPA的範例來自能源部的採購上限為 100 億美元，預計將在今年稍後進入採購流程，並涵蓋華盛頓政治環境的任何潛在變化。

So to summarize, we feel that this area of IT modernization, technology services, particularly of the competencies that I mentioned represent an excellent organic growth vector for the company as we move forward. But at the same time, we remain focused. I think this is one of the company's greatest competencies in combining technology with business process services to deliver programs at scale and more and more these days on RFPs that we see to show a flavor or a combination of those.

總而言之，我們認為 IT 現代化、技術服務這一領域，特別是我提到的能力，代表了公司前進過程中的一個出色的有機成長向量。但同時，我們仍然保持專注。我認為這是該公司最強大的能力之一，它將技術與業務流程服務相結合，以大規模地交付項目，並且如今越來越多的項目在RFP 上我們看到了這些項目的風格或組合。

Where you need to deliver, for example, a cloud-based technology solution that meets federal certification requirements, which themselves are changing with CMNC coming along, but also combined with the labor component to meet the mission requirements of the procuring agency. So we feel strongly that those two areas are really when taken together represent solid underpinning for the growth targets that we've laid out for the business. And I think David is going to add something to that.

例如，您需要提供基於雲端的技術解決方案，以滿足聯邦認證要求，這些要求本身隨著 CMNC 的出現而變化，但也與勞動力部分相結合，以滿足採購機構的任務要求。因此，我們強烈認為，這兩個領域結合在一起確實為我們為業務制定的成長目標提供了堅實的基礎。我認為大衛會補充一些內容。

Yes, and Bert, just further on your margin question and at the risk of being repetitive, we do intend to continue to drive margin improvement up in that 10% to 14% range with what I mentioned before, kind of a continued focus on standardization and operational efficiency through the maximum Forward program as well. Of course, with our ongoing efforts with the outside US portfolio.

是的，Bert，就您的利潤率問題進一步說明，並且冒著重複的風險，我們確實打算按照我之前提到的那樣，繼續推動利潤率在10% 到14% 的範圍內提高，有點像繼續專注於標準化以及透過最大轉發計劃實現營運效率。當然，隨著我們與美國以外投資組合的持續努力。

Great. Just one last one for me. Can you give us that you highlighted the VFD recompete in the CCO recompete? I guess just to maybe like a two-part clarification on the CCO, would you still be interested in bidding that if the terms changed significantly, like what's the time line of that in your view? And then are there other recompetes to be aware of or is your profile pretty thin? Otherwise?

偉大的。給我的只是最後一張。您能否告訴我們，您在 CCO 重賽中強調了 VFD 重賽？我想也許就像對 CCO 的兩部分澄清一樣，如果條款發生重大變化，您是否仍然有興趣競標，例如您認為的時間線？還有其他需要注意的重新競爭嗎？否則？

I'll go ahead and address the first piece, the CCO rebid, and I don't want to offer too many comments as it relates to strategy here, obviously, because it's an active procurement process on when you really look at the context of the reprocurement and consider that as I outlined in my prepared remarks, it's interesting, but not entirely surprising that we're seeing continued action by the government.

我將繼續討論第一部分，即 CCO 重新投標，我不想提供太多評論，因為它與此處的策略相關，顯然，因為當您真正了解以下背景時，這是一個積極的採購流程重新採購並考慮到正如我在準備好的發言中所概述的那樣，我們看到政府繼續採取行動，這很有趣，但並不完全令人驚訝。

Here. I noted that there was communication posted last week suggesting an RFP date on or around May 16, and that's a procurement would cover a contract for a transition period plus nine option years. It's important to note that no further details are provided, including any specifics related to the planned labor Harmony agreement requirement, which we understand is really the sole basis for triggering this premature rebid of successfully performing contract.

這裡。我注意到上週發布的消息表明 RFP 日期為 5 月 16 日左右，採購將涵蓋過渡期加上九個選項年的合約。值得注意的是，沒有提供進一步的細節，包括與計劃中的勞動和諧協議要求相關的任何細節，我們認為這實際上是觸發成功履行合約的過早重新投標的唯一基礎。

Also, as I mentioned on the last call, the procurement of this size and complexity, particularly typically take up to a year or more to complete, and it's not uncommon for the process to take up to three years. So we'll note that there is a strong likelihood that an RFP could trigger a pre-award protest to the GAO and potentially further given the unprecedented nature of the anticipated labor Harmony requirement.

此外，正如我在上次電話會議中提到的，這種規模和複雜性的採購通常需要一年或更長時間才能完成，並且該過程需要長達三年的時間並不少見。因此，我們會注意到，考慮到預期的勞工和諧要求的前所未有的性質，徵求建議書很有可能引發對政府問責局的授標前抗議。

It's also important to note here that further complicating the path forward is that there are significant operational impacts that would need to be accommodated and considered under resulting new contract, including flow down requirements to significant Small Business subcontractors who may be in our view least equipped to comply.

這裡還需要注意的是，使前進的道路更加複雜的是，在新合約中需要適應和考慮重大的營運影響，包括對重要小型企業分包商的流程要求，我們認為這些分包商可能最不具備能力遵守。

So it begins to get complicated when you kind of take theory and put it into practice. I mentioned in my prepared remarks that we remain very committed to the continued high quality services while the rebid matter plays out. And but we do have genuine concerns regarding the impact of the rebid on the ecosystem of small disadvantaged businesses that have been put together to support this program and in many communities, they're the primary employer.

因此，當您將理論付諸實踐時，事情就開始變得複雜。我在準備好的發言中提到，在重新投標事宜進行期間，我們仍然非常致力於持續提供高品質的服務。但我們確實擔心重新投標對小型弱勢企業生態系統的影響，這些小型弱勢企業是為了支持該計劃而組成的，並且在許多社區中，它們是主要雇主。

So the theory behind the labor Harmony agreement is to ensure continuity of operations. And yet we've repeatedly noted our record of service continuity and indeed, our view of the evidence suggests that any reprocurement only increases the risk of service failure to tens of millions of seniors.

因此，勞工和諧協議背後的理論是確保營運的連續性。然而，我們一再注意到我們的服務連續性記錄，事實上，我們對證據的看法表明，任何重新採購只會增加數千萬老年人服務失敗的風險。

So in summary, while the RFP win the RFPs released, we'll evaluate it comprehensively will determine our appropriate course of action at that point in time, giving due consideration to all of our available options. So at this point, I probably stay away from speculating further on the competitive environment. But I'll just note that it's a major area of focus for the business.

總而言之，雖然 RFP 贏得了已發布的 RFP，但我們將對其進行全面評估，並適當考慮我們所有可用的選項，從而確定我們當時的適當行動方針。因此，在這一點上，我可能不會進一步猜測競爭環境。但我只想指出，這是業務的一個主要關注領域。

And Bert, on your second point, nothing else large on the near-term horizon to call out.

伯特，關於你的第二點，短期內沒有什麼大的事情值得指出。

Great. Great color, guys. Thank you.

偉大的。很棒的顏色，夥計們。謝謝。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this brings us to the end of the question and answer session. We would like to thank everyone for their participation in today's conference. You may disconnect your lines or log off the webcast at this time and enjoy the rest of your day.

謝謝。女士們、先生們，問答環節到此結束。我們要感謝大家參加今天的會議。此時，您可以斷開線路或登出網路廣播，享受剩下的一天。