Maximus Inc (MMS) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to the Maximus fiscal 2025 1st quarter conference call at this time. (Operator instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加 Maximus 2025 財年第一季電話會議。（操作員指令）

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jessica Batt, Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG for Maximus. Thank you, Mrs. Jessica Batt. You may begin.

現在我很高興介紹您的主持人，Maximus 投資者關係和 ESG 副總裁 Jessica Batt。謝謝您，傑西卡·巴特女士。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. I'd like to remind everyone that a number of statements being made today will be forward-looking in nature.

早安，感謝您與我們一起接受我們的訪問。今天是總裁兼執行長 Bruce Caswell、財務長 David Mutryn 和投資者關係副總裁 James Francis。我想提醒大家，今天發表的一些聲明具有前瞻性。

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 one a of our most recent forms10-Q and 10-K.

請記住，這些陳述僅是預測，實際事件和結果可能由於我們所面臨的風險（包括我們最近的 10-Q 和 10-K 表格第一項中討論的風險）而存在重大差異。

We encourage you to review the information contained in our recent filings with the SEC and our earnings press release. 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.

我們鼓勵您查看我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件和收益新聞稿中包含的資訊。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔修改或更新這些前瞻性陳述以反映後續事件或情況的任何義務。

Today's presentation also contains non-gap financial information management uses this information internally to analyze results and believes it may be informative to investors in identifying trends gauging the quality of our financial performance and providing meaningful period to period comparisons for a reconciliation of the non-gap measures presented.

今天的演示還包含非缺口財務信息，管理層在內部使用這些信息來分析結果，並相信這些信息可能對投資者有幫助，有助於識別趨勢，衡量我們財務業績的質量，並提供有意義的期間比較，以協調所提出的非缺口措施。

Please see the company's most recent forms 10-Q and 10-K and with that, I'll hand the call over to Bruce Caswell.

請查看公司最新的 10-Q 和 10-K 表格，然後我會將電話轉給 Bruce Caswell。

Thanks Jessica Batt and Good morning, we have strong first quarter results to share with you today. And I'll offer my perspective on maximus favorable position in government services as we navigate the first weeks of the new administration.

謝謝傑西卡·巴特 (Jessica Batt)，早安，今天我們有強勁的第一季業績與大家分享。在新的政府成立的頭幾周里，我將就政府服務中的最大優勢提出自己的看法。

But first, I'd like to recap the highly positive developments for the business that have occurred since our November 21st year end call.

但首先，我想回顧一下自 11 月 21 日年終電話會議以來公司業務取得的非常積極的發展。

I'll start with the two large recompete that we faced. In What I believe was the best outcome, The government withdrew the attempted early recompete of our CMS contact center operations or CCO contract, also known as the1800 Medicare and federal marketplace contract.

我先從我們面臨的兩次大型競爭開始。我認為最好的結果是政府撤回了我們試圖提前重新競爭 CMS 聯絡中心營運或 CCO 合約（也稱為 1800 醫療保險和聯邦市場合約）。

We objected to the basis for the recompete and took our case first to the government accountability Office and subsequently to the court of federal claims. Following the election. In late November, the government canceled the procurement thereby clearing the way for our current contract to continue operating which we expect it to through 2031 using the available option periods.

我們對重新競爭的基礎提出反對，並首先向政府問責辦公室提起訴訟，隨後又向聯邦索賠法院提起訴訟。選舉之後。11 月下旬，政府取消了採購，從而為我們繼續執行現有合約掃清了道路，我們預計該合約將使用可用的選擇期運行到 2031 年。

Then as announced last month, we were successfully re-awarded the successor contracts for our VA medical disability examination or MDE work. These two-year contracts began on January 1st and enabled our support of the VBA and the veteran community to continue uninterrupted.

正如上個月宣布的那樣，我們成功地重新獲得了 VA 醫療殘疾檢查或 MDE 工作的後續合約。這些為期兩年的合約於 1 月 1 日開始，使我們能夠不間斷地持續為 VBA 和退伍軍人社區提供支援。

Next, we completed the divestiture of our employment services businesses in Australia and South Korea that resided in the outside the US segment.

接下來，我們完成了位於美國以外地區的澳洲和韓國就業服務業務的剝離。

We had previously committed to reshaping this area of the business and are pleased to have worked again with a recognized provider who has proven to be an excellent home for our employees.

我們之前曾致力於重塑這一業務領域，並很高興再次與公認的供應商合作，事實證明，該供應商是我們員工的絕佳家園。

This recent divestiture achieves an important goal of reducing volatility and is expected to improve profitability in the segment through fiscal year 2025 and beyond.

此次資產剝離實現了降低波動性的重要目標，預計將在 2025 財年及以後提高該部門的獲利能力。

Finally, as announced in mid December, the board of directors authorized an increase of $200 million to our share repurchase program. When we go to David for financial results, he will share the latest activity on that front.

最後，正如 12 月中旬宣布的那樣，董事會批准將我們的股票回購計畫增加 2 億美元。當我們向戴維詢問財務結果時，他會分享該方面的最新活動。

I'd like to turn now to how Maximus is uniquely positioned to continue being a proven value-added partner to government. This speaks to both our current book of business as well as new opportunities that may lie ahead during the transition period, we've witnessed the durability of our core business as well as early insights as to the priorities of the new administration to which we believe we are well equipped to respond.

現在我想談談 Maximus 如何憑藉其獨特優勢繼續成為政府公認的增值合作夥伴。這不僅反映了我們目前的業務狀況，也反映了過渡時期可能出現的新機遇，我們見證了核心業務的持久性，也對新政府的優先事項有了初步了解，相信我們有能力應對這些事項。

While we predominantly serve the federal civilian side of government, and its related state administered benefit programs. Our durable portfolio is tied to well established entitlement programs and others requiring mandatory spending that have broad bipartisan support. Medicare and veterans disability benefits are prime examples, and we witnessed recent events that demonstrate their criticality to government.

雖然我們主要為聯邦政府的民事部門及其相關的國家管理的福利計劃提供服務。我們持久的投資組合與完善的福利計劃以及其他需要強制性支出並得到兩黨廣泛支持的計劃掛鉤。醫療保險和退伍軍人殘障福利就是典型的例子，我們目睹了最近發生的事件，證明了它們對政府的重要性。

One was the recent hiring freeze on federal civilian employees which exempted positions related to the distribution of benefits under Medicare veterans benefits and Social Security.

一是最近凍結了聯邦文職僱員的招聘，但與醫療保險退伍軍人福利和社會安全福利分配相關的職位除外。

Separately, the Office of Management and Budget instituted a temporary pause of agency grant loan and other financial assistance programs.

另外，管理和預算辦公室暫停了機構贈款貸款和其他財政援助計劃。

While the funding freeze was ultimately rescinded, OMB had already clarified that programs providing direct benefits to Americans including mandatory programs like Medicaid and Medicare were explicitly excluded

雖然資金凍結最終被取消，但 OMB 已經澄清，向美國人提供直接福利的項目，包括醫療補助和醫療保險等強制性項目，被明確排除在外

In a fast-moving policy environment that can introduce uncertainty and ambiguity for some companies. We believe our track record has demonstrated that our core business across major federal and state programs has desirable characteristics that contribute to its resilience.

快速變化的政策環境可能會為一些公司帶來不確定性和模糊性。我們相信，我們的業績記錄表明，我們在聯邦和州主要項目的核心業務具有有助於其復原力的理想特徵。

Looking beyond the core benefit program areas. I've mentioned our earned reputation as an efficient and accountable service provider in our view positions us well to respond to the evolving needs of our customers and priorities of the new administration.

超越核心福利計劃領域。我提到過，我們作為高效、負責任的服務提供者贏得了聲譽，我們認為這使我們能夠很好地響應客戶不斷變化的需求和新政府的優先事項。

One area receiving ongoing attention of course, is the Department of government efficiency or Doge.

當然，受到持續關注的一個領域是政府效率部或總督府。

As you know, the Doge now resides in the renamed United States Doge Service or USDS previously known as the United States Digital Service.

如您所知，Doge 現駐留在更名後的美國 Doge 服務或 USDS（以前稱為美國數位服務）。

The Legacy USDS was established in the Executive office of the President in 2014 to bring top tier technical talent to partner with federal agencies to among other objectives, improve critical government services.

傳統美國農業部於 2014 年在總統行政辦公室成立，旨在引進頂級技術人才與聯邦機構合作，實現改善關鍵政府服務等目標。

The executive order establishing and implementing the doge updates this objective in its stated purpose to include modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.

建立和實施總督府的行政命令在其既定目的中更新了這一目標，包括對聯邦技術和軟體進行現代化改造，以最大限度地提高政府效率和生產力。

In our view, recognizing that we are still in the early innings, the importance of technology modernization to the administration and capabilities needed to achieve the USDS software modernization initiative goals are well aligned with the demonstrated experience of Maximus in the areas of software development, network infrastructure and it systems.

我們認為，認識到我們仍處於早期階段，技術現代化對管理的重要性以及實現 USDS 軟體現代化計劃目標所需的能力與 Maximus 在軟體開發、網路基礎設施和 IT 系統領域的豐富經驗非常吻合。

finally turning to the state level and our US services business much has been written about potential changes to reduce the level of federal Medicaid spending through levers ranging from FMP reductions to per person spending caps or block grants.

最後轉向州一級和我們的美國服務業，已經有很多關於通過各種手段降低聯邦醫療補助支出水平的潛在變化的文章，這些手段包括從聯邦醫療計劃削減到人均支出上限或整筆撥款。

Many states in turn are developing contingency plans that for some include accessing reserves and for others may include examining eligibility requirements while it's too early to know which if any proposed policy changes will proceed. I'll offer two observations on the dynamics that characterize our Medicaid business.

許多州正在製定應急計劃，一些州包括動用儲備金，其他州可能包括審查資格要求，但現在還無法知道哪些擬議的政策變化將會實施。我將針對我們的醫療補助業務的動態提出兩點觀察。

First, changes requiring consumer engagement such as steps to verify eligibility generally increase our volumes. Most of our state contracts are based on the volume of activity we perform rather than a flat rate per member per month, and second in many of our largest states, we also administer state-based exchanges in which consumers may become enrolled when no longer eligible for Medicaid. Meaning our engagement with those consumers is sustained.

首先，需要消費者參與的變更（例如驗證資格的步驟）通常會增加我們的業務量。我們的大部分州合約都是基於我們執行的活動量，而不是每個會員每月的固定費率；其次，在我們許多最大的州，我們還管理州內交易所，當消費者不再有資格享受醫療補助時，他們可以加入其中。這意味著我們與這些消費者的合作關係是持續的。

We anticipate states will take varying approaches in addressing potential Medicaid policy changes and the opportunity to work collaboratively with them to apply our deep experience to tailor solutions to their different needs and desired outcomes.

我們預計各州將採取不同的方法來應對潛在的醫療補助政策變化，並有機會與他們合作，運用我們豐富的經驗來根據他們的不同需求和期望結果制定解決方案。

Let's turn to awards and I'll share two recent wins that provide further evidence of our execution our 3 to 5 year strategy.

讓我們來談談獎項，我將分享兩個最近的獲獎成果，它們進一步證明了我們執行 3 至 5 年策略的能力。

First, we are pleased to have been selected by the Federal Reserve System to provide technology enabled contact center services through our recently announced Total Experience Management or TM solution.

首先，我們很高興被聯邦儲備系統選中，透過我們最近宣布的全面體驗管理或 TM 解決方案提供技術支援的聯絡中心服務。

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors were in need of modernized contact center operations including self service capabilities all to be delivered, meeting strict data privacy requirements in an ASC compliant and fed ramped environment. Total contract value of the award is $76 million over nine years with options and is reported in our unsigned award balance at December 31, 2024, RTX solution leverages data insights and cost effectively enables federal agencies to reach citizens through a multichannel secure cloud-based platform through potential shared services agreements. It is anticipated that other agencies including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration could benefit from TXN in the future.

聯準會理事會需要實現聯絡中心營運的現代化，包括提供自助服務功能，並在符合 ASC 和聯準會監管的環境下滿足嚴格的資料隱私要求。該獎項的合約總價值為 7600 萬美元，為期九年，並附帶選擇權，並於 2024 年 12 月 31 日在我們未簽署的獎項餘額中報告，RTX 解決方案利用數據洞察並以經濟有效的方式使聯邦機構能夠通過潛在的共享服務協議，通過多渠道接觸公民的基於雲的平台接觸公民。預計未來包括聯邦存款保險公司和國家信用合作社管理局在內的其他機構也可以從 TXN 中受益。

I'm also excited to announce a recent win at the National Energy Technology Laboratory or NETL part of the Federal Department of Energy valued at $123 million total contract value with a five-year performance period.

我還很高興地宣布，我最近贏得了美國聯邦能源部國家能源技術實驗室（NETL）的一項合同，總價值為 1.23 億美元，合約執行期為五年。

Maximus will provide expanded professional it services to meet the business and research needs of the NETL in areas including high performance computing AIML development and ongoing operations and maintenance delivered by our technology consulting services or TCS team. Our services reflect strong core capabilities in enterprise it infrastructure, cyber, data management and AIML.

Maximus 將提供擴展的專業 IT 服務，以滿足 NETL 的業務和研究需求，包括高效能運算 AIML 開發以及由我們的技術諮詢服務或 TCS 團隊提供的持續營運和維護。我們的服務體現了企業 IT 基礎架構、網路、資料管理和 AIML 的強大核心能力。

I'am proud of our TCS team who is exceptionally qualified to support the modernization operation and maintenance of NETL complex portfolio of enterprise, cyber and research infrastructure.

我為我們的 TCS 團隊感到自豪，他們非常有資格支援 NETL 複雜的企業、網路和研究基礎設施組合的現代化營運和維護。

Let's go to awards reporting and the pipeline in the first quarter of fiscal year, 2025 signed awards totaled $2.1 billion of total contract value. Further at December 31, there were $410 million worth of contracts that had been awarded but not yet signed.

讓我們來看看 2025 財年第一季的獎勵報告和管道，簽署的獎勵總額為 21 億美元。此外，截至 12 月 31 日，有價值 4.1 億美元的合約已授予但尚未簽署。

These awards translate into a book to bill of approximately 0.7 times using our standard reporting for the trailing 12-month period or about 1.5 times when measured in the quarter. This represents a healthy step up from our book to bill at September 30th and tracks to our expectations for an improved metric in this fiscal year.

根據我們過去 12 個月的標準報告，這些獎勵相當於訂單出貨比約為 0.7 倍，或按季度計算約為 1.5 倍。這表明，與 9 月 30 日的帳面餘額相比，我們的帳單餘額有了健康的增長，並且符合我們對本財年指標改善的預期。

A key driver this quarter was the successful recompete for the MD contracts demonstrating Rebid award activity picking up again after lower Rebid volumes in preceding periods as we approach the midway point of the second quarter, I'm pleased that we're continuing to see awards flow and thus far solicitations tracking to expected schedules.

本季度的一個關鍵驅動因素是 MD 合約的成功重新競爭，表明在接近第二季度中點時，重新投標授予活動在前幾個時期的重新投標量較低之後再次回升，我很高興我們繼續看到授予流動，到目前為止，招標工作正在按照預期的時間表進行。

We maintain our slightly cautious approach to forecasting this year while also being optimistic about our deal flow.

我們對今年的預測保持略微謹慎的態度，同時也對我們的交易流程保持樂觀。

Our total pipeline of sales opportunities at December 31, was $41.4 billion compared to $54.3 billion reported at September 30.

截至 12 月 31 日，我們的銷售機會總額為 414 億美元，而 9 月 30 日報告的數字為 543 億美元。

The prior period pipeline figure had included the early Rebid of the CCO and recompete for the MDE contracts. So, the reduction is largely driven by the successes discussed at the start of my remarks.

前期管道數字已包括早期對 CCO 的重新招標和對 MDE 合約的重新競爭。因此，這一減少很大程度上是由我在發言開始時所討論的成功所推動的。

The current pipeline is comprised of approximately $2.5 billion in proposals pending $1.5 billion in proposals in preparation and $37.5 billion in opportunities tracking of our current pipeline, approximately 57% represents new work. Additionally, 63% of the $41.4 billion total pipeline is attributable to our US federal services segment.

目前的管道包括約 25 億美元的待定提案、15 億美元的準備提案和 375 億美元的機會跟踪，在我們當前的管道中，約 57% 代表新工作。此外，414 億美元的總管道中有 63% 來自我們的美國聯邦服務部門。

We are continuing to focus on the US federal sector where we believe technology modernization and cost-effective program administration using private sector partners will remain a priority while maintaining a balanced mix of federal and state opportunities.

我們將繼續關注美國聯邦部門，我們相信，利用私營部門合作夥伴進行技術現代化和具有成本效益的專案管理仍將是我們工作的重點，同時保持聯邦和州機會的平衡。

This approach aims to ensure a responsibly diversified portfolio and well managed exposure across the segments.

這種方法旨在確保負責任的多元化投資組合和在各個領域進行良好的風險管理。

Over the past few years. We've communicated ways in which our company culture has evolved, leading to greater organizational agility and a heightened ability to innovate. As an example, the Maximus Forward initiative has been a positive forum to challenge established structures and processes, promote more efficient operations and provide for reinvestment in the business to address priorities from talent acquisition and development to technology and innovation.

在過去的幾年裡。我們傳達了公司文化的發展方式，從而提高了組織靈活性和創新能力。例如，Maximus Forward 計劃是一個積極的論壇，旨在挑戰既定的結構和流程、促進更有效率的營運並為業務再投資提供資金，以解決從人才獲取和發展到技術和創新等優先事項。

Reflecting the goals of Maximus forward, our Chief Digital and Information Officer Derek Pledger established an AI and data accelerator group to advance our AI capabilities, providing the necessary resources frameworks and infrastructure to harness the full potential of AI across our operations.

為了實現 Maximus 的未來目標，我們的首席數位和資訊長 Derek Pledger 成立了一個人工智慧和數據加速器小組，以提升我們的人工智慧能力，提供必要的資源框架和基礎設施，以在我們的營運中充分發揮人工智慧的潛力。

The AI and Data Accelerator is designed to speed up the development and deployment of AI driven solutions from pilots to scale while ensuring they adhere to our governance principles. Central to our strategy is our commitment to responsible AI development and use while taking steps to help ensure that our AI solutions are implemented ethically transparently and with accountability to government guidelines and regulations.

人工智慧和資料加速器旨在加速人工智慧驅動解決方案從試點到大規模的開發和部署，同時確保它們遵守我們的治理原則。我們策略的核心是致力於負責任的人工智慧開發和使用，同時採取措施幫助確保我們的人工智慧解決方案在道德上透明地實施，並遵守政府的指導方針和法規。

In this spirit, I'm excited to announce our inaugural investment via Maximus Ventures, our corporate venture capital function, we will be partnering with a company that is developing human in the loop AI capabilities specific to clinical assessment services.

本著這種精神，我很高興地宣布，我們將透過我們的企業創投部門 Maximus Ventures 進行首次投資，我們將與一家開發針對臨床評估服務的人機互動 AI 功能的公司合作。

Our objective is to support our clinicians in a manner that allows for fully auditable, timely effective and quality health assessments and evaluations. We've structured an investment that is designed to drive increased financial performance on our existing clinical programs while bringing differentiating technology to our government clients.

我們的目標是以一種允許完全可審計、及時有效和高品質的健康評估和評估的方式為我們的臨床醫生提供支援。我們制定了一項投資計劃，旨在提高我們現有臨床項目的財務業績，同時為我們的政府客戶帶來差異化技術。

We believe our unique positioning with federal and state governments makes us an attractive partner for innovative health technology companies and start-ups wishing to access these large markets where contract vehicles, relationships and the complex nature of government contracting are challenging for outsiders.

我們相信，我們與聯邦政府和州政府的獨特定位使我們成為創新醫療技術公司和新創企業的有吸引力的合作夥伴，這些公司和新創公司希望進入這些大型市場，在這些市場中，合約載體、關係和政府合約的複雜性對外人來說都是具有挑戰性的。

In addition to driving efficiency in our service delivery, Maximus is also focused on helping government gain access to proven safe and ethical new technologies through its venture investments.

除了提高服務交付效率之外，Maximus 還致力於透過創投幫助政府獲得經過驗證的安全和合乎道德的新技術。

Before I turn the call over to David Mutryn, I'd like to congratulate our teams on an excellent start to the fiscal year with our CCO and VIMDE contracts now secure and fueled by a strong start to new contract wins.

在我將電話轉給 David Mutryn 之前，我想祝賀我們的團隊在財年取得了良好的開端，我們的 CCO 和 VIMDE 合約現已得到保障，並且得益於新合約勝利的強勁開端。

Our teams are focused on consistent operational execution while supporting our clients as policy priorities continue to evolve. While we like many of our peers continue to face unknowns and the risks they represent overall, we believe the balance tilts toward opportunity and with that, I'll turn the call over to David Mutryn.

隨著政策重點的不斷演變，我們的團隊專注於一致的營運執行，同時為客戶提供支援。雖然我們和許多同行一樣，繼續面臨著未知因素及其所代表的整體風險，但我們相信，天平會向機會傾斜，因此，我將把電話交給大衛·穆特林 (David Mutryn)。

Thanks Bruce Caswell and good morning, we're pleased to start fiscal 2025 with strong first quarter results and an improvement to our full year earnings guidance. We're delivering them from a strengthened position after successfully securing favorable outcomes on the two key rebids.

謝謝布魯斯·卡斯韋爾 (Bruce Caswell)，早安，我們很高興以強勁的第一季業績和全年盈利預期的提升開啟 2025 財年。在兩次關鍵的重新競標中成功取得有利結果後，我們正以更強的地位履行這些義務。

We also completed the divestiture of our employment services businesses in Australia and South Korea, thus reducing volatility in the outside the US segment and providing a lift to the segment's profitability.

我們也完成了對澳洲和韓國就業服務業務的剝離，從而降低了美國以外業務的波動性並提升了該業務的盈利能力。

In addition, we significantly increased our pace of share repurchases in the quarter from our fiscal year start on October 1, through last week, we have deployed approximately $290 million through share repurchases enabled by our strong balance sheet. And consistent with our capital deployment strategy.

此外，從 10 月 1 日財年開始到上週，我們在本季度大幅加快了股票回購步伐，憑藉強勁的資產負債表，我們已透過股票回購部署了約 2.9 億美元。並與我們的資本配置策略一致。

Let's turn to quarterly results where Maximus reported revenue of $1.40 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year, 2025 which represents 5.7% year over year growth or 6.3% on an organic basis.

讓我們來看看季度業績，Maximus 報告 2025 財年第一季的營收為 14 億美元，年成長 5.7% 或有機成長率為 6.3%。

The US federal services segment was the primary driver of growth in the quarter. With the outside the US segment also posting strong double digit organic growth adjusted EBITDA margin was 11.2% and adjusted EPS was $1 and $0.61 for the quarter, which compares to 10.6% and $1 and $0.34 respectively for the prior year period.

美國聯邦服務部門是本季成長的主要推動力。美國以外地區也實現強勁的兩位數有機成長，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 11.2%，本季調整後每股收益為 1 美元和 0.61 美元，而去年同期分別為 10.6% 和 1 美元和 0.34 美元。

The outside the US divestiture was completed in the first quarter. And as a result of the transaction, we incurred divestiture charges of about $38 million. The majority of this about $21 million results from foreign exchange losses that had accumulated over decades related to Australia.

美國以外的資產剝離已於第一季完成。此次交易導致我們產生約 3800 萬美元的資產剝離費用。其中約2,100萬美元的大部分是數十年來與澳洲相關的累積的外匯損失。

These had been recorded in other comprehensive income, but the transaction event requires them to move to the income statement. There is no cash impact related to this shift. These divestiture charges also caused a higher effective tax rate to be recognized in the quarter. The divestiture charges and the related tax rate impact which together make up $0.64 per share are excluded from our adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA metrics, consistent with our methodology.

這些原本記錄在其他綜合收入中，但交易事件要求它們轉移到損益表中。此轉變不會對現金產生影響。這些資產剝離費用也導致本季確認了更高的有效稅率。剝離費用和相關稅率影響總計為每股 0.64 美元，不包含在我們的調整後每股收益和調整後 EBITDA 指標中，這與我們的方法一致。

I'll now move to results for each of our segments.

我現在將轉到每個部分的結果。

For the US federal services segment revenue increased 15.3% to $781 million which was all organic revenue growth stemmed from multiple areas throughout the segment including clinical assessments, some outsized volumes on other clinical programs, as well as customer service type programs.

美國聯邦服務部門的收入成長 15.3% 至 7.81 億美元，所有有機收入成長均源自於該部門的多個領域，包括臨床評估、其他臨床項目的一些超額工作量以及客戶服務類型項目。

The operating income margin for the segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 was 12.7%. As compared to 10.2% in the prior year period. The outsized volumes in certain smaller clinical programs helped bolster this quarter's margin and are not expected to carry through the remainder of the year at these levels.

2025財年第一季該部門的營業收入利潤率為12.7%。相比之下，去年同期這一比例為 10.2%。某些較小臨床項目的超大交易量幫助提高了本季的利潤率，預計今年剩餘時間內不會再維持這種水準。

For the US services segment revenue decreased 7.7% to $452 million. The prior year period, which had outsized growth at the time benefited from strong performance across the Medicaid related portfolio, most of which were excess volumes from the now completed unwinding exercise.

美國服務部門營收下降 7.7% 至 4.52 億美元。去年同期的成長非常迅猛，得益於醫療補助相關投資組合的強勁表現，其中大部分是現已完成的平倉活動產生的超額交易量。

The segment's operating income margin this quarter was 9.0% and compares to 13.5% for the prior year period. A portion of the margin GAAP stems from the prior year period's enhanced profitability from the excess volumes. The other portion is some seasonality that was contemplated in our full year outlook. For the segment which is unchanged in our updated guidance.

該部門本季的營業收入利潤率為 9.0%，而去年同期為 13.5%。部分 GAAP 利潤率源自去年同期因銷售過剩而帶來的獲利能力增強。另一部分是我們在全年展望中考慮的一些季節性因素。對於我們更新後的指南中保持不變的部分。

Turning to the outside the US segment revenue increased 6.0% year over year to $170 million for the quarter. Organic growth was 10.7% and driven by strength in flagship contracts in the UK such as the new functional assessment services contract. The segment generated $8.1 million of profit which is a 4.8% margin compared to an operating loss of $0.1 million in the prior year period. Following the divestitures of predominantly employment services contracts that we have completed in the last two years. We are now seeing a notable reduction of volatility in the segment. We will continue to evaluate this segment's performance though we believe that the shaping actions requiring prioritization have now been completed.

放眼美國市場以外，本季美國分部營收年增 6.0% 至 1.7 億美元。有機成長率為 10.7%，主要得益於英國旗艦合約（例如新的功能評估服務合約）的強勁成長。該部門創造了 810 萬美元的利潤，利潤率為 4.8%，而去年同期的營業虧損為 10 萬美元。繼過去兩年內我們完成主要就業服務合約的剝離之後。我們現在看到該領域的波動性明顯降低。儘管我們認為需要優先考慮的塑造行動現已完成，但我們將繼續評估這一部分的表現。

Turning to cash flow items, cash used in operating activities was $80 million and free cash flow was an outflow of $103 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 1st quarter, negative cash flows reflected expected seasonality around timing of payments that we tend to have in this quarter which I noted on our November call, our day sales outstanding were 62 days during the quarter. We significantly increased the pace of share repurchases buying back approximately 3.1 million shares for $237 million. This increase is consistent with our stated capital allocation approach which features opportunistic share repurchases enabled by our strong balance sheet. Since quarter end through January 31, we repurchased an additional 686,000 shares for $53 million leaving approximately $85 million remaining under the current $200 million board of directors' authorization.

談到現金流項目，截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的第一季度，經營活動所用的現金為 8000 萬美元，自由現金流流出 1.03 億美元，負現金流反映了我們本季度付款時間的預期季節性，我在 11 月的電話會議上指出，本季度我們的應收賬款天數為 62 天數。我們大幅加快了股票回購的步伐，以 2.37 億美元回購了約 310 萬股。這一增長與我們所述的資本配置方法一致，該方法的特點是透過我們強勁的資產負債表進行機會性股票回購。自本季末至 1 月 31 日，我們又以 5,300 萬美元回購了 686,000 股，在目前董事會授權的 2 億美元下還剩下約 8,500 萬美元。

We ended the first quarter with total debt of $1.40 billion and our net debt to EBITDA ratio increased from 1.4 last quarter to 1.8 times this quarter. Primarily as a result of the share repurchase activity.

我們第一季結束時的總負債為 14 億美元，淨負債與 EBITDA 比率從上一季的 1.4 倍上升至本季的 1.8 倍。主要是由於股票回購活動。

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, we remain below our stated target net leverage range of 2 to 3 times adjusted EBITDA.

提醒一下，這個比率是我們過去 12 個月的債務減去允許現金與調整後 EBITDA 比率。根據我們的信用協議計算，我們仍低於我們所述的目標淨槓桿範圍，即調整後 EBITDA 的 2 至 3 倍。

Our capital deployment priorities have not changed, and we continue to seek acquisitions that can accelerate future organic growth. Meanwhile, we continue to pay a dividend that increases with earnings over time and maintain an opportunistic share repurchase program which has been consuming a larger portion of our capital deployed over the last few months.

我們的資本配置重點沒有改變，我們將繼續尋求能夠加速未來有機成長的收購。同時，我們將繼續支付隨收益而增加的股息，並維持機會性股票回購計劃，該計劃在過去幾個月中一直消耗著我們部署的大部分資本。

I'll finish with 2025 updated guidance where our implied organic growth rate is increasing, and we are raising both earnings and free cash flow projections on the revenue side. Our updated guidance is $5.2 billion to $5.35 billion. Crosswalking from formal guidance in November, $100 million was removed for the completed outside the US divestiture, which means other areas of the business including Q1 results have increased guidance by $25 million.

我將以 2025 年最新指引作為結束，其中我們的隱含有機成長率正在增加，我們正在提高收入方面的獲利和自由現金流預測。我們的最新預期是 52 億美元至 53.5 億美元。與 11 月的正式指引相比，因完成美國以外地區的資產剝離，該公司削減了 1 億美元指引，這意味著包括第一季業績在內的其他業務領域的指引增加了 2,500 萬美元。

This translates to a 50-basis point bump to the implied full year organic growth rate versus last fiscal year on the earnings side for fiscal year 2025. Our full year adjusted EBITDA margin guide improves by 20 basis points to 11.2%. And our adjusted EPS guide increases by $0.20 to range between $5 and $0.90 and $6 and $0.20 per share.

這意味著，與上一財年相比，2025財年的獲利預計全年有機成長率將上升50個基點。我們的全年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率預期提高了 20 個基點，達到 11.2%。我們的調整後每股盈餘預期上調 0.20 美元，至每股 5 至 0.90 美元至 6 至 0.20 美元之間。

Free cash flow guidance increases by $10 million to $355 to $385 million. There are several drivers to the increased guidance. Number one, our Q1 results were strong and ahead of internal expectations. This was evident in the US federal margin of 12.7% in the quarter.

自由現金流預期增加 1,000 萬美元，達到 3.55 億美元至 3.85 億美元。有幾個因素推動了指導力度的增強。首先，我們的第一季業績強勁，超出了內部預期。本季美國聯邦利潤率為 12.7%，可見一斑。

Number two, the divestiture and outside the US at the time of announcement in December, we noted the transaction was estimated to be slightly accretive which is now baked into the full year forecast. And number three, the higher levels of share repurchase activity especially in the first quarter of this year is providing a benefit to our full year adjusted EPS.

第二，在 12 月宣布剝離美國業務時，我們注意到該交易估計會略有增值，目前已計入全年預測。第三，特別是今年第一季更高水準的股票回購活動為我們的全年調整後每股盈餘帶來了好處。

It's worth noting that our forecast for the remaining three quarters of fiscal 2025 remains largely intact and reflects a continuation of a more cautious approach, which was our objective. When we laid out initial guidance for the year, I'll touch on segment margin assumptions. We expect the US federal segment to deliver a full year margin of around 11.5% for fiscal 2025 reflecting more typical performance. After a strong first quarter, the US services segment remains on track to deliver a full year margin of around 11% reflecting improvement for the remaining quarters after the lower first quarter margin, which as I mentioned was largely expected for the outside the US segment. We expect 3% to 5% for the full year. As we noted on our divestiture announcement, this is a 200-basis point increase from initial guidance. And while the actions we've taken are still fresh. I'm pleased to see us tracking to our committed 3% to 7% margin range for this segment.

值得注意的是，我們對 2025 財年剩餘三個季度的預測基本上保持不變，並反映出我們將繼續採取更為謹慎的態度，這也是我們的目標。當我們制定今年的初步指導時，我會談到分部利潤率假設。我們預計美國聯邦部門 2025 財年的全年利潤率將達到 11.5% 左右，反映出更典型的表現。在經歷了第一季的強勁表現後，美國服務業仍有望實現約 11% 的全年利潤率，這反映出在第一季度利潤率較低之後剩餘幾個季度的改善，正如我所提到的，這在美國以外的市場基本上是可以預料到的。我們預計全年成長率為 3% 至 5%。正如我們在資產剝離公告中所指出的，這比最初的指引增加了 200 個基點。儘管我們採取的行動仍然新鮮。我很高興看到我們在這一領域實現了承諾的 3% 至 7% 的利潤範圍。

Other updated assumptions for fiscal 2025 would be an updated interest expense of approximately $75 million resulting from greater borrowings tied to higher repurchase activities. Our full year tax rate is now expected to range between 28% and 29%. As a reminder, the higher first quarter rate was tied to the divestiture related charges and not an indicator of the three remaining quarters which are expected to be in the 25.5% to 26% range. Finally, on a full year basis, the weighted average shares are expected to be about 58 million shares.

2025 財年的其他更新假設包括更新後的利息支出約為 7,500 萬美元，這是由於與更高的回購活動相關的借款增加而導致的。我們目前預計全年稅率在 28% 至 29% 之間。需要提醒的是，第一季較高的利率與資產剝離相關費用有關，並不代表剩餘三個季度的利率（預計在 25.5% 至 26% 之間）。最後，以全年計算，預計加權平均股數約為5800萬股。

We continue to track favorably to our 10% to 13% adjusted EBITDA near term margin expectations that I shared on the November call. Today's guidance for fiscal 2025 is approximately 11.2% and our goal beyond 2025 is ongoing incremental improvement to move into the upper half of that range. We believe there is cause for optimism with the business, firmly rooted and essential bipartisan programs, a healthy pipeline of opportunities and a reputation for solving challenges for government customers through the efficient delivery of quality programs often at scale.

我們繼續良好地追蹤我在 11 月電話會議上分享的 10% 至 13% 的調整後 EBITDA 近期利潤率預期。今天對 2025 財年的指導價格約為 11.2%，而我們 2025 年以後的目標是持續逐步改善，以進入該範圍的上半部分。我們相信，該業務有理由保持樂觀，它有根深蒂固且至關重要的兩黨合作項目、大量的機會，而且透過高效、大規模地提供高品質項目，為政府客戶解決挑戰，享有盛譽。

And with that, we will open the line for Q&A operator.

同時，我們將開通問答熱線。

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. (Operator instructions)

謝謝。我們現在將進行問答環節。（操作員指令）

Our first question comes from the line of Charlie Strausser with CJS security. Please proceed with your question.

我們的第一個問題來自 CJS 安全部門的 Charlie Strausser。請繼續回答您的問題。

Hi, good morning.

嗨，早安。

Good morning, Charlie Strausser.

早安，查理·史特勞瑟。

Bruce Caswell. If you could, you maybe talk about the strength in Q1, very, very strong quarter. You know, well ahead of our expectations, was there any, we'll pull forward from, in that performance, I should say.

布魯斯·卡斯韋爾。如果可以的話，您可以談談第一季的實力，非常非常強勁的季度。你知道，遠遠超出了我們的預期，我應該說，我們會從那場表演中向前邁進。

Yeah, it's a good question and David Mutryn will give you some more details on that.

是的，這是個好問題，David Mutryn 會就此向您提供更多細節。

Yeah, thanks Charlie Strausser. Just to put it in the context of the annual guidance as well. Maybe it would be helpful to kind of roughly quantify some of the changes in the full year guidance. So you know, I said the forecast for Q2 to Q4 is largely intact.

是的，謝謝 Charlie Strausser。也只是將其放在年度指導的背景下。粗略地量化全年指引的一些變化可能會有所幫助。所以你知道，我說第二季至第四季的預測基本上保持不變。

The share repurchase is if you look at the change in share count, the higher interest and combine that with a slightly higher tax rate that gives you about 10% improvement to the full year earnings. So kind of below the line and then the other two drivers I mentioned which were the Q1 over performance as well as some accretion from the divestiture actually drive a little bit more than $0.10. So altogether that would be a little bit over $0.20 given we're only one quarter in and still maintaining a disciplined approach. We decided to keep the earnings guidance raise at the $0.20 level. And as we said on the last call, we have intentionally kind of de-risked the forecast for any potential impact of procurement timing. So now less than 2% of our revenue midpoint is coming from new work. So Q1, it was less of a pull into Q1 but just wanted to put the Q1 over performance into the context as it relates to the full year guidance. Is that helpful?

股票回購是指如果您考慮股票數量的變化、更高的利息以及略高的稅率，這將為全年收益帶來約 10% 的提高。因此，低於這一水平的還有我提到的另外兩個驅動因素，即第一季的超額表現以及資產剝離帶來的一些增值，實際上推動了略高於 0.10 美元的增長。因此，考慮到我們只進入了一個季度並且仍保持著嚴謹的態度，總的來說，這個數字將略高於 0.20 美元。我們決定將獲利預期上調幅度維持在 0.20 美元的水準。正如我們在上次電話會議上所說的那樣，我們有意降低了採購時機可能產生的影響的預測風險。因此，現在我們的收入中位數不到2%來自新工作。因此，Q1 對第一季的拉動較小，只是想將第一季的表現納入與全年指引相關的背景中。這樣有幫助嗎？

Yeah, definitely. And you know, maybe talk a little bit too about, your confidence in the guidance, kind of making some of that into your, your thought process.

是的，確實。你知道，也許可以談談你對指導的信心，將其融入你的思考過程。

Yeah, I think confidence remains high. When we give guidance, we're careful to not lean forward too much. And I think you're used to having that thinking around it. I think the new business assumption I mentioned is probably the clearest and most precise kind of evidence I can show that we're being careful about the environment and making sure we've got good visibility.

是的，我認為信心仍然很高。當我們給予指導時，我們會注意不要過度前傾。我想你已經習慣這樣的想法了。我認為我提到的新業務假設可能是我能證明的最清晰、最精確的證據，表明我們正在謹慎對待環境並確保我們擁有良好的可視性。

Great Thanks, and Bruce Caswell, given the headlines from the new administration, obviously, you probably have some smaller pockets of your portfolio that are not tied to durable programs where you might have opportunities to risk, maybe talk about that and give us a little more color on that front.

非常感謝，布魯斯·卡斯韋爾，考慮到新政府的頭條新聞，顯然，您的投資組合中可能有一些較小的部分與持久計劃無關，您可能有風險，也許可以談談這個問題，並在這方面給我們更多細節。

Yeah, Charlie, it's a good question. Thank you. And I think you've hit an important point that these are would be small pockets. We've really, as you can imagine, looked very closely at the portfolio kind of across all of our federal customer areas on a contract by contract basis.

是的，查理，這是個好問題。謝謝。我認為你已經觸及了一個重要觀點，那就是這些都是小口袋。正如您所想像的，我們確實逐一仔細地審查了所有聯邦客戶區域的合約組合。

And as we have done that, we've, the process we've looked at is to say, look what's the core function that's being performed here. And if for example, there were to be a structural change at a department level, where would that core function have to go to continue? Because in our view, the programs themselves are not going to go away and the basic functions of providing service and managing portfolios, for example, on behalf of the government have to continue to be performed.

當我們這樣做的時候，我們所研究的流程就是看看這裡正在執行的核心功能是什麼。例如，如果部門層級發生結構變化，那麼核心功能要轉移到哪裡才能繼續運作？因為我們認為，這些項目本身不會消失，而且代表政府提供服務和管理投資組合等基本職能必須繼續履行。

And so we've looked at, where that might go in the future if necessary and would be ready to adjust if we needed to. But fundamentally, we really haven't seen many pockets that would be if in fact any pockets that would be directly impacted by any of the executive orders.

因此，我們研究了未來必要時可能採取的措施，並準備在必要時進行調整。但從根本上來說，我們確實沒有看到太多領域會直接受到行政命令的影響。

It's worth also saying that we've been pleased to see continued deal flow in the pipeline. I'd be happy to go into more detail on that. But, compared to other Presidential transitions or the last Presidential transition, it's really normal course presently from a deal flow standpoint.

值得一提的是，我們很高興看到交易持續不斷。我很樂意更詳細地講解這一點。但是，與其他總統過渡或上一次總統過渡相比，從交易流程的角度來看，目前這確實是正常的進程。

Yeah, I was going to ask you too about, last time when Trump was, first, put into office, it took him, quite a while to, find the right appointees, et cetera. It seems like he, has kind of hit the ground running here and you know, that, helped you, with your, your pipeline in terms of, going after our, our P and rps being let out that a slow down in that, that, sales cycle if you will.

是的，我也想問您，上次川普剛上任時，他花了很長時間才找到合適的任命人選等等。看起來他已經開始行動了，你知道，這有助於你建立你的管道，追逐我們的 P 和 rps，從而減緩銷售週期的速度。

Let me give you a little more context on that. So, we're not seeing any real direct impacts presently on deals that we're watching in the pipeline, particularly in the health and the defense and the homeland security areas in some individual agencies within that group, as you might expect are temporarily pausing new acquisitions to ensure that they're aligned with administrative administration priorities.

讓我給你更多有關該問題的背景資訊。因此，我們目前沒有看到對我們正在關注的交易產生任何真正的直接影響，特別是在衛生、國防和國土安全領域，該集團內的一些個別機構正在暫時暫停新的收購，以確保它們與行政管理優先事項保持一致。

And that's a very common thing for them to do during a period of transition kind of as expected. And we bake that into our expectations in terms of new work for the year and so forth. On the civilian side of the business is a slightly different dynamic.

正如預期的那樣，這是他們在過渡時期很常見的事情。我們將其納入了我們對今年新工作的期望之中等等。而民用業務方面的情況則略有不同。

We're seeing some customers turn to extensions and bridges on existing contracts to get work through and get it programmed and accommodate delays in other procurement vehicles.

我們看到一些客戶轉向現有合約的延期和過渡，以完成工作、對其進行編程，並適應其他採購工具的延誤。

So, that of course, is a great position to in when you're an incumbent because you're picking up work with very low or no cost of sales on existing vehicles. It's less of a great position to be in when you're waiting for procurement to come out.

因此，當您是現任者時，這當然是一個很好的職位，因為您可以以非常低的銷售成本甚至零銷售成本來承接現有車輛的工作。當你等待採購結果出來的時候，情況就不怎麼好了。

And I'm pleased that from a civilian perspective, I feel like we've been more on the beneficial side of that. Another point I would make is that many of the govcon companies as you well know, are dependent on government wide acquisition vehicles or G wax government wide acquisition contracts. And we really haven't seen any material delay in the acquisition schedules for those.

我很高興，從平民的角度來看，我感覺我們在這方面取得了更多的成果。我想說的另一點是，眾所周知，許多政府合約公司都依賴政府範圍的採購工具或 G wax 政府範圍的採購合約。我們確實沒有看到這些收購計劃有任何實質的延遲。

So that gives you a sense of the lay of the land. I want to note however, that there are some other variables that everybody is watching. One is the FY25 appropriations process that could impact the timing of new contracts across the community represent actually new spending and would obviously go above the funding that would be available through a continuing resolution.

這樣您就可以了解地形的狀況。然而我想指出的是，還有一些其他變數值得大家關注。一是 2025 財年撥款程序可能會影響整個社區新合約的時間，這實際上代表著新支出，而且顯然會超出通過持續決議可提供的資金。

So already we've seen talk about what will happen on March 14th when the current cr expires, will we see another cr will that carry us through the remainder of the fiscal year? In some instances, if we're maintaining the current funding levels, that could keep new contracts from being funded with new money.

因此，我們已經看到有關 3 月 14 日當前 cr 到期時會發生什麼的討論，我們是否會看到另一個 cr 來幫助我們度過本財政年度的剩餘時間？在某些情況下，如果我們維持目前的資金水平，那麼可能會導致新合約無法獲得新資金的資助。

We're also cautiously watching the OPM deferred resignation and voluntary early retirement authority or vera process for the potential impacts on government procurement staff.

我們也在謹慎關注人事管理局的延期辭職和自願提前退休授權或 vera 程序對政府採購人員的潛在影響。

You know, we've talked about this before Charlie, but government procurement teams and contract shops have been stretched for a number of years in some agencies and we want to obviously consider and as an industry consider how resignations and retirements could exacerbate that issue.

你知道，查理，我們之前談過這個問題，但在一些機構中，政府採購團隊和合約商店已經捉襟見肘好幾年了，我們顯然想考慮，作為一個行業，也要考慮辭職和退休如何加劇這個問題。

So that's why I think David put it. Well, when he said, we're maintaining a disciplined view of the remainder of FY25 and that we've got less than 2% of our FY25 revenue coming from anticipated pipeline conversions.

所以我認為這就是大衛這麼說的原因。嗯，他說，我們對 2025 財年剩餘時間保持謹慎的看法，並且我們 2025 財年的收入中不到 2% 來自預期的管道轉換。

Hope that helps.

希望能有所幫助。

Yeah, definitely. Thank you very much Bruce Caswell. And David, if you, maybe if we could talk a little bit more about segment margins, you know, what are kind of the assumptions you're making into, your kind of stated goals there and, are there any kind of, drivers, kind of key drivers or impediments to achieving those goals?

是的，確實。非常感謝布魯斯·卡斯韋爾。戴維，我們可以再多談一點關於分部利潤率的問題嗎？您知道，您對既定目標做出了哪些假設，以及實現這些目標的驅動因素、關鍵驅動因素或障礙是什麼？

I'll start with us services. The US services margin Q1 was a bit lower than what we expect for the year as a backdrop. As you recall last year in 24 US services had higher than normal margins as a result of the extra volumes from the Medicaid unwind. So we have tough year over year comps for the first three quarters there.

我將從我們的服務開始。作為背景，美國第一季的服務利潤率略低於我們對今年的預期。您還記得，去年美國 24 家醫療服務機構的利潤率高於正常水平，這得益於醫療補助計劃取消帶來的額外業務量。因此，我們前三個季度的年比業績表現不佳。

And then recall in Q4 of last year, us services delivered a more typical margin of 11% which again is what we're guiding to for the full year. Despite the first quarter being at 9% the dip in Q1 was largely anticipated. A component of that was really the impact of open enrollment on that segment, especially this year.

回想去年第四季度，美國服務業的利潤率較為典型，為 11%，這也是我們對全年利潤率的預期。儘管第一季的成長率為 9%，但第一季的下滑在很大程度上是可以預料到的。其中一個因素實際上是開放招生對該部分的影響，尤其是今年。

We were prudent in how we staffed our contracts there that are typically paid on either a volume based or more of a fixed price basis, especially given there's been a lot of change in that population. So we largely anticipated that when we gave the guidance back in November and we still expect that segment to come in around 11% for the full year.

我們在那裡謹慎安排合同，通常按數量或固定價格支付，特別是考慮到那裡的人口發生了很大變化。因此，當我們在 11 月給出指引時，我們基本上已經預料到了這一點，我們仍然預計該部分全年的成長速度將達到 11% 左右。

For us, federal margin was a little bit higher in Q1 than our guidance of 11%. And again, as I said, there were some smaller clinical programs that really over delivered in the quarter, just given higher volume coming through that we are not currently anticipating that level of volume continuing at such a high level. So that explains what we see there, that outside the US pleased that it's at 3 to 5% and should be more stable as a result of the shaping we've done.

對我們來說，第一季的聯邦利潤率略高於我們的 11% 的預期。而且，正如我所說，本季度確實有一些規模較小的臨床項目超額完成了任務，只是由於處理量較大，我們目前預計這種處理量不會持續處於如此高的水平。這就解釋了我們所看到的情況，美國以外的國家對 3% 到 5% 的成長率感到滿意，而且由於我們所做的調整，成長率應該會更加穩定。

Great. And one housekeeping question for you, David tax rate was a little higher in the quarter and your tax rate guidance is a little bit higher as well. You know what's driving that?

偉大的。還有一個基本問題要問您，大衛，本季的稅率略高一些，您的稅率指引也略高一些。你知道是什麼原因導致的嗎？

So the first thing is the impact of the divestiture related charges.

因此，首先是剝離相關費用的影響。

So those are non tax deductible. Therefore, the Q1 rate is very high which we've adjusted out of our adjusted EPS numbers. Even apart from the divestiture related impact.

所以這些都是不可免稅的。因此，第一季的利率非常高，我們已經從調整後的每股盈餘數字中進行了調整。即使不考慮資產剝離相關的影響。

I said in my commentary, the tax rate in Q3 and Q4 should be in the 25.5 to 20 6% range, which is just a tad higher than the 25% range. We said last quarter. So there's just a small upward impact there with no single driver once you normalize for the divestiture impact.

我在我的評論中說過，第三季和第四季的稅率應該在25.5%到20.6%的範圍內，略高於25%的範圍。我們上個季度就說過了。因此，一旦將資產剝離的影響正常化，那麼就只會產生輕微的上行影響，而不會產生單一驅動因素。

Great. Thank you very much for taking my questions.

偉大的。非常感謝您回答我的問題。

Thanks Charlie.

謝謝查理。

Thank you, our next question comes from the line of (Brian Justa with Raymond James). Please proceed with your question.

謝謝，我們的下一個問題來自（Brian Justa 與 Raymond James 合作）。請繼續回答您的問題。

Hey, good morning. Really nice job on the quarter and the execution.

嘿，早安。本季的工作和執行確實非常出色。

I wanted to Bruce Caswell, kind of peel into some of the commentary you had around Medicaid. Appreciated that color. I think it makes it's pretty intuitive that you get incremental volume for more consumer engagement or, or changes in the program.

我想請布魯斯·卡斯韋爾 (Bruce Caswell) 詳細闡述您對醫療補助計劃的一些評論。很欣賞那個顏色。我認為這非常直觀，你可以獲得增量以獲得更多消費者參與或程序變更。

But I thought it was really interesting your discussion around running the state-based exchanges as well and picking up incremental volume as perhaps populations decline in Medicaid. We, we've had the Medicaid chip population peak at about $94 million. we're now under $80million. Can you maybe talk about that relationship and what you've seen over the last 12 months?

但我認為，您關於運行基於州的交易所以及隨著醫療補助人口減少而增加增量的討論非常有趣。我們的醫療補助晶片人口高峰已達到約 9,400 萬美元。現在我們的資金不足8000萬美元。您能談談這種關係以及過去 12 個月您看到的情況嗎？

Sure, Brian and good morning and thanks for the question.

當然，布萊恩，早安，謝謝你的提問。

So to give it some context at the national level, we just ended the 2024 open enrollment period. Total health plan selections made during open enrollment were $21.4 million and that's at the federal marketplace and also includes the state-based exchanges. So, the $21.4 million is a $5.1 million increase over 2023 or 31% increase across the entire system.

因此，為了在國家層級提供一些背景信息，我們剛剛結束了 2024 年的開放註冊期。開放註冊期間選擇的健康計劃總額為 2,140 萬美元，這包括聯邦市場以及州內交易所。因此，2,140 萬美元比 2023 年增加了 510 萬美元，或整個系統增加了 31%。

Interestingly, there was a 41% increase in new consumers signing up for plans. So, the dynamic that you're referencing is borne out in the data as people are transitioning from after all the recertification process and redetermination process in Medicaid.

有趣的是，簽署該計劃的新消費者數量增加了 41%。因此，您所提到的動態在數據中得到了證實，因為人們正在從醫療補助計劃的所有重新認證過程和重新確定過程過渡。

It's clear that individuals are traversing over to the exchange business. And as I said, we are fortunate that in instances we're operating state based exchanges or really a single entity that could include the Medicaid work as well as a basic health plan as well as an exchange alternative for consumers.

顯然，個人正在轉向交易業務。正如我所說，我們很幸運，在某些情況下，我們運營的是基於州的交易所，或者實際上是一個單一的實體，它可以包括醫療補助工作、基本健康計劃以及消費者的交易所替代方案。

And also, of course, through the work that we do on the 100 Medicare or federal marketplace contract, we're picking up enrollment activity related to federal marketplace states.

當然，透過我們在 100 份醫療保險或聯邦市場合約上所做的工作，我們正在進行與聯邦市場州相關的登記活動。

So as reported by CMS just to drill into some of the numbers New York who is a big customer of ours saw open enrollment plan selection during this period increased 35% from 2023 to 2024. So individuals clearly moving from one coverage area to another, all of that.

正如 CMS 所報告的，深入研究我們的大客戶紐約的一些數據後發現，在此期間，開放註冊計劃的選擇從 2023 年到 2024 年增加了 35%。因此個人顯然從一個覆蓋區域移動到另一個覆蓋區域，所有這些。

It's important to note in the context, however, that it's a very fluid policy environment. So as you're, I'm sure very well aware there was a final rule on streamlining that was issued by CMS that affects Medicaid chip and basic health plans.

然而，值得注意的是，這是一個非常不穩定的政策環境。因此，我相信您非常清楚，CMS 發布了一項關於精簡的最終規則，該規則影響到醫療補助晶片和基本健康計劃。

And that came out in March of 2024. There are a number of states that are challenging requirements of that rule and with things like for example, continuous eligibility requirements and so forth and that could overall further affect enrollments going forward in chip programs and in some instances, maybe cause more individuals to need to need to make a plan selection in a product other than Medicaid or Chip. And the last thing I'd say is that still hanging out there, of course, are the subsidies that were provided through the American rescue plan and the Inflation Reduction Act.

它將於 2024 年 3 月發布。許多州正在對該規則的要求提出挑戰，例如，持續的資格要求等，這可能會進一步影響晶片計劃的註冊，在某些情況下，可能會導致更多的人需要選擇除 Medicaid 或 Chip 之外的其他產品。我最後要說的是，美國救助計畫和通膨削減法案提供的補貼當然仍然存在。

Those subsidies have enabled consumers with higher income levels to get coverage including about a million and a half consumers that reported income over 400% of the federal poverty level this last open enrollment period. So again, the sustaining those subsidies would be critical to keeping those enrollment levels where we're seeing them. I hope that helps.

這些補貼使收入水平較高的消費者能夠獲得保障，其中包括在上次開放註冊期間報告收入超過聯邦貧困水平 400％ 的約一百五十萬消費者。所以，再說一遍，維持這些補貼對於維持目前的入學率至關重要。我希望這能有所幫助。

That great answer. I appreciate all the, all the data that it was embedded in that. Thank you. In order to, to talk about the veteran assessment business, it looks like inventories are drawing down slower. In other words, there's, there's a lot more kind of ongoing activity on this.

真是太棒了。我很感謝其中蘊含的所有數據。謝謝。為了談論退伍軍人評估業務，看起來庫存下降的速度正在變慢。換句話說，關於這方面的活動還有很多。

Can you maybe just talk about your outlook for that in terms of, of growth as we think about it and it in your guidance and, and maybe this really nice new contract renewal that you had, how we think about the particulars of how that might impact the business as well.

您能否談談對此的展望，從我們對成長的看法以及您的指導，以及您剛剛簽訂的這份非常好的新合約的續簽，我們如何看待這可能會對業務產生的具體影響。

Yes, I'll start and then I'll hand it off to David for some more color. You're right. The claims inventory that the VBA reports came down from a peak of what appears to be about $1.1 million down to about 953,000 and is kind of stabilized at that level. So there continues to be an awful lot of work to be done and we continue to, to have our fair share of that work.

是的，我先開始，然後將其交給大衛來添加更多顏色。你說得對。VBA 報告的索賠庫存從約 110 萬美元的峰值下降至約 953,000 美元，並且穩定在該水平。因此，仍有大量的工作要做，我們也將繼續承擔我們應承擔的工作。

And we're very pleased with the performance of the team and the volumes that they're handling in what is a complicated program and complex choreography. If you will, between the work we do with the veterans and the clinicians and so forth and the va so David can comment on kind of our volume expectations that are embedded in our guidance for the full year.

我們對團隊的表現以及他們在處理如此複雜的專案和編排時所處理的工作量感到非常滿意。如果您願意的話，在我們與退伍軍人和臨床醫生等以及 VA 合作的工作之間，David 可以對我們全年指導中包含的數量預期發表評論。

But I'll just say, as we've said on prior calls, we're very focused on continuing to improve the veteran experience and ensure that we can increase our ability to handle these volumes and what might be further volumes in the future.

但我只想說，正如我們在之前的電話會議中所說的那樣，我們非常注重繼續改善退伍軍人的體驗，並確保我們能夠提高處理這些工作量以及未來可能進一步增加的工作量的能力。

But more importantly to ensure that we're maintaining quality and that we're meeting the handle time requirements within the contract. So we are making a significant investment in technology to support that program that we expect to be coming online more fully. I would say toward the end of this fiscal year. So with that said, I'll hand it off to David Mutryn to talk a little bit about what's embedded in our guidance.

但更重要的是確保我們保持品質並且滿足合約中的處理時間要求。因此，我們正在對技術進行大量投資以支持該計劃，我們希望該計劃能夠更加全面地上線。我想說的是，在本財政年度快結束時。因此，我將把主題交給 David Mutryn，讓他稍微談一談我們的指導中所包含的內容。

Yeah, I think in short, our view and expectation for volume hasn't changed much over the last couple of quarters. Obviously, we had a big step up in volume as did the other vendors over the past two years. And from here, what we see is more stability. Certainly, we see the volume sustaining at the current level, but more a steady to modest growth level rather than another step up.

是的，簡而言之，我們對銷售的看法和預期在過去幾季沒有太大變化。顯然，過去兩年來，我們的銷售量和其他供應商一樣有了很大的成長。從這裡我們看到的是更多的穩定。當然，我們看到交易量維持在當前水平，但更多的是穩定到適度的成長水平，而不是進一步上升。

Great, thanks. Maybe just a couple other real quick ones. Housekeeping. Can you maybe comment on the loan servicing you have with the Department of Education and student loans and maybe just talk about all the noise around the headlines that are seemingly coming out on a daily basis.

非常好，謝謝。也許只是其他幾個非常快的。家政。您能否就教育部和學生貸款的貸款服務發表評論，並談論似乎每天都會出現的頭條新聞的所有噪音。

Yeah, I appreciate the question. And I would just say, in our view, that's a perfect example of what I spoke to a little bit earlier, which is that the core function, which is managing a portfolio of federally direct lent student loans that are we've now been through return to repayment and we're in kind of full operational mode that's going to need to continue one way or another.

是的，我很感謝你提出這個問題。我想說，在我們看來，這是我之前談到的一個完美的例子，即核心功能，即管理聯邦直接借出的學生貸款組合，我們現在已經經歷了償還的過程，我們處於全面運作模式，無論如何都需要繼續下去。

I would have to say that, there are obviously all the borrowers out there are going to need continuity of service regardless of ultimately where that function lands in government.

我必須說，顯然所有的借款人都需要持續的服務，不管這項職能最終由政府的哪個部門來承擔。

And there has been some speculation as to other agencies that have similar financial management functions as part of their remit that where a portfolio like that could go and continue to be serviced. But we don't feel that that would in any way change the contracting model that government is using to service those loans.

有人猜測其他機構是否也擁有類似的財務管理職能，可以將這樣的投資組合放到哪裡並繼續提供服務。但我們認為，這不會以任何方式改變政府用於償還這些貸款的承包模式。

So we'll just continue to support our customer and we're pleased to continue to handle the portfolio that I will say has grown over time as a reflection of our high customer satisfaction scores and the confidence that the customers expressed in the work that we're doing and we'll let the other decisions related to department structures and so forth, be handled, at the political level.

因此，我們將繼續支持我們的客戶，我們很高興繼續處理這個產品組合，我想說，這個產品組合隨著時間的推移而增長，這反映了我們較高的客戶滿意度分數和客戶對我們所做工作所表達的信心，我們將在政治層面處理與部門結構等相關的其他決定。

Appreciate that and then just, just final one, David probably for you help us a little bit on the rhythm of the free cash flow. You've got a lot of free cash to generate in the, in the next over the next three quarters. Is it a linear progression, are there any kind of considerations to take on a quarter by quarter basis? And, and maybe really just a little bit of help on how we shape that?

非常感謝，最後一個問題，大衛，您能為我們提供一些關於自由現金流節奏的幫助嗎？在接下來的三個季度中，您將獲得大量自由現金。這是一個線性進展嗎？是否需要按季度考慮？而且，也許真的能為我們如何塑造這一點提供一點幫助？

Yeah, I mean, Q1, I guess as I highlighted the timing of certain payments that we expected. If you look at our cash flow statement for Q1, you can see a cash outflow related to accrued comp and benefits. So that has to do with our annual incentive payments as well as just the timing of payroll, which we anticipated.

是的，我的意思是，Q1，我想我強調了我們預期的某些付款的時間。如果您查看我們第一季的現金流量表，您會看到與應計薪資和福利相關的現金流出。所以這與我們的年度獎勵支付以及我們預期的薪資發放時間有關。

And then even though our DSOS were only up one day, you can still see a use of cash on accounts receivable. That's really just revenue being quite high in December, especially during open enrollment. So that tied up a little more in A.

儘管我們的 DSOS 僅上漲了一天，您仍然可以看到應收帳款現金的使用情況。這實際上只是 12 月的收入相當高，特別是在開放註冊期間。因此這與 A 更加相關。

So, we do expect both of those to be Q1 specific for the rest of the year. Nothing really to highlight. I think we'll continue to see strong cash flows come in over the next three quarters. It's sometimes even difficult with collections coming in right at the end of a month to pick which quarter among the three. So there's nothing else unusual. I'd call that.

因此，我們確實預計這兩項數據都將在今年剩餘時間內成為第一季的數據。沒什麼好強調的。我認為未來三個季度我們將繼續看到強勁的現金流。有時甚至很難在月底收到收款通知時選擇這三個季度中的哪個季度。所以並沒有什麼不尋常的事情。我會這麼稱呼。

Understood. Thanks so much guys.

明白了。非常感謝大家。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you. And this concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your line at this time. Thank you for your participation.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。