ePlus inc (PLUS) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the ePlus Earnings Release Conference Call (Operator Instructions) I would now like to hand the call over to Mr. Kley Parkhurst. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 ePlus 收益發布電話會議（操作員說明） 我現在想將電話轉交給 Kley Parkhurst 先生。請繼續。

Thank you for joining us today. On the call is Mark Marron, CEO and President; Darren Raiguel, COO and President of ePlus Technology; Elaine Marion, CFO; and Erica Stoecker, General Counsel.

感謝您今天加入我們。首席執行官兼總裁 Mark Marron 參加了電話會議； Darren Raiguel，ePlus Technology 首席運營官兼總裁；伊萊恩·馬里昂，首席財務官；和總法律顧問艾麗卡·斯托克 (Erica Stoecker)。

I want to take a moment to remind you that the statements we make this afternoon that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and are based on management's current plans, estimates, and projections. Actual and anticipated future results may vary materially due to certain risks and uncertainties detailed in the earnings release, we issued this afternoon in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and in other documents that we may file with the SEC.

我想花點時間提醒您，我們今天下午做出的非歷史事實的陳述可能被視為前瞻性陳述，並且基於管理層當前的計劃、估計和預測。由於收益發布中詳述的某些風險和不確定性，實際和預期的未來結果可能會存在重大差異，我們今天下午在向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期文件中發布了這些風險和不確定性，包括我們最新的10-K 表格年度報告、關於表 10-Q 以及我們可能向 SEC 提交的其他文件。

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which the statement is made and the company undertakes no responsibility to update any of these forward-looking statements in light of new information, future events or otherwise.

任何前瞻性聲明僅代表聲明發布之日的情況，公司不承擔根據新信息、未來事件或其他情況更新任何這些前瞻性聲明的責任。

In addition, we will be using certain non-GAAP measures during the call. We have included a GAAP financial reconciliation in our earnings release, which is posted on the Investor Information section of our website at www.eplus.com. I'd like to turn the call over to Mark Marron. Mark?

此外，我們將在電話會議期間使用某些非公認會計準則衡量標準。我們在收益發布中納入了 GAAP 財務調節表，該報表發佈在我們網站 www.eplus.com 的投資者信息部分。我想把電話轉給馬克·馬龍。標記？

Thank you, Kley. And thank you, everyone, for participating in today's call to discuss our first quarter fiscal 2024 results. I will start with some key takeaways. ePlus delivered strong results in the first quarter, marking a great start to our fiscal year. Double-digit sales growth was driven by solid execution, our land and expand strategy, supply chain improvements, and contributions from acquisitions. Our team performed at a high level, executing consistently across all end markets. Our net sales growth of 25%, along with our scalable operating platform and disciplined cost management drove significant operating leverage.

謝謝你，克萊。感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論我們 2024 財年第一季度的業績。我將從一些關鍵要點開始。 ePlus 在第一季度取得了強勁的業績，標誌著我們財年的良好開端。兩位數的銷售增長得益於紮實的執行力、我們的土地和擴張戰略、供應鏈的改進以及收購的貢獻。我們的團隊表現出色，在所有終端市場上始終如一地執行。我們的淨銷售額增長了 25%，加上我們可擴展的運營平台和嚴格的成本管理，推動了顯著的運營槓桿。

Adjusted EBITDA rose 41% and diluted EPS improved 51% compared to the same period last year. The strength of our performance again highlighted how our strategic positioning and focus on serving faster-growing solution areas enables us to generate growth well in excess of the overall market for IT spending.

與去年同期相比，調整後 EBITDA 增長 41%，稀釋後每股收益增長 51%。我們的業績實力再次凸顯了我們的戰略定位和對服務快速增長的解決方案領域的專注如何使我們能夠實現遠遠超過 IT 支出整體市場的增長。

In today's environment, where enterprises and organizations are prioritizing investments that optimize cost and security, we have continued to meet our customers' needs with the suite of products and services that deliver value rapidly and efficiently.

在當今的環境中，企業和組織優先考慮優化成本和安全性的投資，我們繼續通過快速高效地創造價值的產品和服務套件來滿足客戶的需求。

During the first quarter, we continue to see an easing in supply chain constraints. With the improved product availability, we were able to complete a number of previously delayed customer projects benefiting overall sales growth. Based on our conversations with our partners, we anticipate continued improvement in product availability and lead times over the remainder of the year.

第一季度，我們繼續看到供應鏈限制有所緩解。隨著產品可用性的提高，我們能夠完成一些先前推遲的客戶項目，從而有利於整體銷售增長。根據我們與合作夥伴的對話，我們預計今年剩餘時間內產品可用性和交貨時間將持續改善。

As you know, acquisitions represent the fundamental component of our growth strategy, and our first quarter results benefited from the contributions of our Network Solutions Group and Future Com, who we acquired in July of 2022. On a combined basis, these acquisitions contributed approximately 1/3 of our net sales growth in the first quarter. Our Technology business sales increased 26% with demand improving across all end markets and across most product categories.

如您所知，收購是我們增長戰略的基本組成部分，我們第一季度的業績得益於我們於 2022 年 7 月收購的 Network Solutions Group 和 Future Com 的貢獻。綜合起來，這些收購貢獻了約 1我們第一季度淨銷售額增長的/3。隨著所有終端市場和大多數產品類別的需求改善，我們的技術業務銷售額增長了 26%。

We continue to get operating leverage in our Technology business segment as evidenced by our operating income being up almost 50% versus last year. We had experienced a broadening of customer demand trends in the first quarter across all customer size segments, led by strength in the mid-market segment. The mid-market, which we define as organizations with 500 to 10,000 employees is primarily focused on adopting cost-optimized cloud-based architectures as well as enhancing cloud security to accommodate remote and hybrid work.

我們的技術業務部門繼續獲得運營槓桿，我們的營業收入比去年增長了近 50%，就證明了這一點。在中端市場的強勁帶動下，我們在第一季度經歷了所有客戶規模細分市場的客戶需求趨勢的擴大。我們將中端市場定義為擁有 500 至 10,000 名員工的組織，主要側重於採用成本優化的基於雲的架構以及增強雲安全性以適應遠程和混合工作。

Mid-market customers are particularly well suited to partner with ePlus as their key areas of need align with our strengths in areas such as workplace transformation, cybersecurity and technology modernization. Our customers are continuing to evaluate AI technologies, and we see it as an emerging growth driver. Many of our partners have incorporated AI into their core offerings to simplify and optimize operations as well as provide faster detection, response remediation on the security front.

中端市場客戶特別適合與 ePlus 合作，因為他們的關鍵需求領域與我們在工作場所轉型、網絡安全和技術現代化等領域的優勢相符。我們的客戶正在繼續評估人工智能技術，我們將其視為新興的增長動力。我們的許多合作夥伴已將人工智能納入其核心產品中，以簡化和優化運營，並在安全方面提供更快的檢測和響應修復。

We empower customers with cutting-edge AI-optimized infrastructure solutions through strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as NVIDIA. Our AI services are designed to help customers adopt the latest technologies while increasing their speed to market.

我們通過與 NVIDIA 等行業領導者的戰略合作夥伴關係，為客戶提供尖端的人工智能優化基礎設施解決方案。我們的人工智能服務旨在幫助客戶採用最新技術，同時加快產品上市速度。

Our customers utilize our expertise to manage the complexity of designing, deploying, supporting and managing AI. This can include building out an AI strategy plan, identifying priority projects, providing resources to help structure and implement AI projects and then ensure proper governance and policies are applied and monitored.

我們的客戶利用我們的專業知識來管理設計、部署、支持和管理人工智能的複雜性。這可以包括制定人工智能戰略計劃、確定優先項目、提供資源來幫助構建和實施人工智能項目，然後確保應用和監控適當的治理和政策。

We believe with the expansion of data overall and the benefits of AI being embedded in hardware and networking platforms will continue to provide modernization opportunities for infrastructure related to networking, security, cloud, and collaboration. Networking was the standout performer this quarter as gross billings increased 67%.

我們相信，隨著數據整體的擴展以及人工智能嵌入硬件和網絡平台的優勢將繼續為與網絡、安全、雲和協作相關的基礎設施提供現代化機會。網絡業務是本季度表現最為出色的業務，總營收增長了 67%。

The growth drivers included solid organic growth, reflecting demand for networking solutions that facilitate collaboration and enable workplace transformation as well as improved product availability that allowed us to complete certain customer projects and the contribution from recent acquisitions.

增長動力包括穩健的有機增長，反映了對促進協作和實現工作場所轉型的網絡解決方案的需求，以及使我們能夠完成某些客戶項目的產品可用性的提高以及最近收購的貢獻。

Security product gross billings increased 24% year-over-year on a trailing 12-month basis and is approximately 21% of total gross billings. We believe that cybersecurity remains an IT priority for organizations of all sizes, and we remain focused on providing the products and services that enable our customers to mitigate risk.

過去 12 個月，安全產品總賬單同比增長 24%，約佔總賬單的 21%。我們相信，網絡安全仍然是各種規模組織的 IT 優先事項，我們仍然專注於提供幫助客戶降低風險的產品和服務。

Our services revenues improved by 7% as a slight decline in professional services was more than offset by robust revenue growth in Managed Services.

我們的服務收入增長了 7%，專業服務的小幅下降被託管服務收入的強勁增長所抵消。

We saw a particularly strong demand for our enhanced maintenance support and SOC services. These and other managed services offer significant value to customers who face complex challenges in terms of managing cybersecurity risk, keeping pace with technological change, and recruiting and retaining IT talent. We continue to build out our Annuity Managed Services with proprietary new offerings that expands our capabilities in our focused markets such as ePlus Cloud Managed Services, Storage-as-a-Service, and ePlus Lifecycle Services Support. Several months ago, we introduced ePlus Automated Virtual Assistant for collaboration spaces.

我們看到對我們增強的維護支持和 SOC 服務的需求特別強勁。這些服務和其他託管服務為在管理網絡安全風險、跟上技術變革以及招聘和留住 IT 人才方面面臨複雜挑戰的客戶提供了巨大的價值。我們繼續通過專有的新產品構建年金託管服務，擴展我們在重點市場的能力，例如 ePlus 雲託管服務、存儲即服務和 ePlus 生命週期服務支持。幾個月前，我們推出了用於協作空間的 ePlus 自動虛擬助手。

This innovative solution utilizes robotic automation processes in conjunction with ePlus Managed Services to enhance the user experience in video-enabled meeting rooms and workspaces. By building out our portfolio of unique offerings, we are differentiating ePlus against our competition while strengthening our value proposition. Managed Services revenues increased 23.2% over last year and has generated a CAGR of 24.1% over the last 5 years. To put this in perspective, annuity quality services have almost doubled over the last 3 years.

這一創新解決方案利用機器人自動化流程與 ePlus 託管服務相結合，增強視頻會議室和工作空間的用戶體驗。通過構建我們獨特的產品組合，我們使 ePlus 在競爭中脫穎而出，同時強化我們的價值主張。託管服務收入比去年增長 23.2%，過去 5 年的複合年增長率為 24.1%。從這個角度來看，年金質量服務在過去三年中幾乎翻了一番。

Moving to our finance segments. Results for the quarter were consistent with our expectation given last year's first quarter produced outsized transactional gains from specific financing deals, creating a tough compare quarter-over-quarter. As a reminder, the financing business provides flexibility for our customers and is a competitive differentiator as compared to our technology market peers.

轉向我們的金融部門。鑑於去年第一季度特定融資交易產生了巨大的交易收益，導致季度環比比較困難，本季度的業績與我們的預期一致。需要提醒的是，融資業務為我們的客戶提供了靈活性，與我們的技術市場同行相比，是一個競爭優勢。

Earlier, I noted the positive contributions from our recent acquisitions. As we look forward, acquisitions will remain an important element in our growth strategy and the strength of our balance sheet affords us the flexibility to pursue additional value-accretive transactions.

早些時候，我注意到我們最近的收購所做出的積極貢獻。展望未來，收購仍將是我們增長戰略的重要組成部分，而我們的資產負債表實力使我們能夠靈活地追求額外的增值交易。

Our M&A pipeline remains active, and we are currently evaluating a variety of targets that can further extend our capabilities and supplement our organic growth. I'd like to thank all our ePlus teammates for their efforts this quarter to drive our strong financial results, innovation, as well as numerous customer success stories. I will now turn the call over to Elaine to discuss our financial results in more detail. After Elaine's remarks, I will provide our financial outlook for fiscal 2024. Elaine?

我們的併購渠道仍然活躍，我們目前正在評估各種可以進一步擴展我們的能力並補充我們的有機增長的目標。我要感謝所有 ePlus 團隊成員本季度為推動我們強勁的財務業績、創新以及眾多客戶成功案例所做的努力。我現在將把電話轉給伊萊恩，更詳細地討論我們的財務業績。在伊萊恩講話之後，我將提供我們對 2024 財年的財務展望。伊萊恩？

Thank you, Mark. And good afternoon, everyone. I am pleased to report on our strong start to fiscal year 2024, reflecting the success of our growth strategy as well as the contribution from our recent acquisitions. Broad-based strength across key end markets and revenue from acquisitions led to a consolidated net sales increase of 25.3% to $574.2 million. These factors are also evident in our Technology business net sales, which grew 26% to 565.7 million.

謝謝你，馬克。大家下午好。我很高興地報告我們 2024 財年的強勁開局，這反映了我們增長戰略的成功以及我們最近收購的貢獻。主要終端市場的廣泛實力和收購收入導致綜合淨銷售額增長 25.3%，達到 5.742 億美元。這些因素在我們的技術業務淨銷售額中也很明顯，該淨銷售額增長了 26%，達到 5.657 億美元。

Beginning with this quarter, we have introduced 3 operating segments, which comprise our Technology business, Product, Professional Services and Managed Services. Our Product segment includes sales of third-party products, including software and services. Our Professional Service segment contains our project-related services staff augmentation, consulting engagements and project management services. Our Managed Services segment comprises various services offerings, such as our infrastructure and cloud managed services, managed security, and service desk.

從本季度開始，我們推出了 3 個運營部門，包括技術業務、產品、專業服務和管理服務。我們的產品部門包括第三方產品的銷售，包括軟件和服務。我們的專業服務部門包括與項目相關的服務人員擴充、諮詢服務和項目管理服務。我們的託管服務部門包括各種服務產品，例如我們的基礎設施和雲託管服務、託管安全和服務台。

Going forward, we will reference these new business segments collectively as our Technology business. In our Products segment, revenues increased by 29.2% to $498.2 million, led by sales of networking products in the Managed Services segment, revenue grew 23.2% to $32 million from sustained growth and enhanced maintenance support and security operation center services.

展望未來，我們將把這些新業務部門統稱為我們的技術業務。在我們的產品部門，收入增長了29.2%，達到4.982 億美元，其中託管服務部門的網絡產品銷售帶動了收入增長23.2%，達到3200 萬美元，得益於持續增長和增強的維護支持和安全運營中心服務。

In our Professional Services segment, revenue declined 4.3% to $35.6 million year-over-year, primarily due to reduced demand for staff augmentation services. Our strategy of focusing on faster-growing areas boosted by acquisition contribution and easing supply chains led to Technology business gross billings growing by 17.6% and to $842 million year-over-year. As a reminder, gross billings denote the total dollar value of customer purchases of goods and services, including shipping charges during the period, net of customer returns and credit memos and sales and other taxes.

在我們的專業服務部門，收入同比下降 4.3% 至 3560 萬美元，主要是由於對員工擴充服務的需求減少。我們的戰略是專注於通過收購貢獻和放鬆供應鏈推動的快速增長領域，導致技術業務總營收同比增長 17.6%，達到 8.42 億美元。提醒一下，總賬單是指客戶購買商品和服務的總美元價值，包括期間的運費，扣除客戶退貨和貸項憑證以及銷售稅和其他稅費。

Within our Technology business, our 2 largest markets continue to be telecom, media and entertainment, and technology, representing 26% and 19%, respectively, of our Technology business net sales on a trailing 12-month basis. SLED, Healthcare and financial services accounted for 16%, 14% and 9%, respectively, with the remaining 16% from other end markets.

在我們的技術業務中，我們的兩個最大市場仍然是電信、媒體和娛樂以及技術，分別占我們過去 12 個月技術業務淨銷售額的 26% 和 19%。 SLED、醫療保健和金融服務分別佔16%、14%和9%，其餘16%來自其他終端市場。

In our Financing segment, lower post-contract earnings and transactional gains in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 led to Financing segment revenue of $8.5 million, a decline from $9.6 million in the last year's first quarter, which resulted in lower gross profit of $6.4 million compared to $7.9 million.

在我們的融資部門，2024 財年第一季度合同後收益和交易收益的下降導致融資部門收入為 850 萬美元，較去年第一季度的 960 萬美元有所下降，導致毛利潤減少為 640 萬美元相比之下，790 萬美元。

As we have mentioned, results in our Financing segment can vary widely due to the transactional nature of the business. Our consolidated gross profit increased 25.3% to $142.3 million, with a consolidated gross margin of 24.8%, in line with that of the prior year. Within our Technology business, gross profit increased 28.6% to $135.9 million, and gross margin expanded by 50 basis points to 24% and driven by higher margins across all 3 Technology segments. Due to a more profitable mix, Product gross margin expanded 80 basis points to 22.4% and Professional Service gross margin expanded 90 basis points to 41.4%.

正如我們所提到的，由於業務的交易性質，我們的融資部門的結果可能會有很大差異。我們的綜合毛利潤增長 25.3%，達到 1.423 億美元，綜合毛利率為 24.8%，與上年持平。在我們的技術業務中，毛利潤增長了 28.6%，達到 1.359 億美元，毛利率增長了 50 個基點，達到 24%，這主要得益於所有 3 個技術領域利潤率的提高。由於利潤更高的組合，產品毛利率增長了 80 個基點，達到 22.4%，專業服務毛利率增長了 90 個基點，達到 41.4%。

Benefiting from our increased scale, Managed Services gross margin improved 210 basis points to 30.7%. And SG&A expenses increased 17.6% year-over-year, reflecting the addition of team members from Network Solutions Group, organic hires, and higher variable compensation expense. Still lower than gross profit, which increased 25.3%.

受益於我們規模的擴大，託管服務毛利率提高了 210 個基點，達到 30.7%。 SG&A 費用同比增長 17.6%，反映出網絡解決方案集團團隊成員的增加、內部招聘以及可變薪酬費用的增加。仍低於毛利潤的增長25.3%。

At quarter end, our head count increased to 1,853 from 1,637 in the prior year quarter mainly reflecting additions of customer-facing employees. Through continual operational discipline, operating income grew 39.6% to $46.3 million. The effective tax rate was 27.2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to 28% in the year-ago quarter.

截至季度末，我們的員工人數從去年同期的 1,637 人增加到 1,853 人，主要反映了面向客戶的員工的增加。通過持續的運營紀律，營業收入增長了 39.6%，達到 4,630 萬美元。 2024 財年第一季度的有效稅率為 27.2%，而去年同期為 28%。

Fiscal 2024 1st quarter consolidated net earnings were $33.8 million or $1.27 per diluted share, both up 51.5% and 51.2%, respectively, from the year ago quarter. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.41, a 42.4% increase from the year ago period. Adjusted EBITDA was $53.9 million or 40.7% ahead of the comparable quarter in fiscal 2023. We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $101.6 million compared to $103.1 million at the end of fiscal 2023. Over the past 3 years, operating cash flow has been impacted by the growth in inventories, which partly reflects supply chain constraints.

2024 財年第一季度合併淨利潤為 3380 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益 1.27 美元，較去年同期分別增長 51.5% 和 51.2%。非 GAAP 攤薄後每股收益為 1.41 美元，較去年同期增長 42.4%。調整後EBITDA 為5,390 萬美元，比2023 財年同期增長40.7%。本季度結束時，我們的現金和現金等價物為1.016 億美元，而2023 財年末為1.031 億美元。在過去3 年裡，運營現金流受到庫存增長的影響，這在一定程度上反映了供應鏈的限制。

With supply chains now improving, we expect inventory to remain flat or decrease reducing our working capital needs and enhancing operating cash flows. First quarter inventories remained flat relative to the level at the close of fiscal 2023. Inventory turns improved to 32 days versus 38 days in the preceding quarter.

隨著供應鏈的改善，我們預計庫存將保持不變或減少，從而減少我們的營運資金需求並增強運營現金流。第一季度庫存與 2023 財年結束時的水平持平。庫存周轉時間從上一季度的 38 天改善至 32 天。

Our cash conversion cycle was 48 days compared to 44 days in the year ago quarter but significantly improved from the 59 days at the end of March 2023. Finally, I want to thank our ePlus team for solid execution in the first quarter and their persistent efforts to drive growth. With that, I will turn the call back over to Mark. Mark?

我們的現金周轉週期為48 天，而去年同期為44 天，但較2023 年3 月末的59 天有了顯著改善。最後，我要感謝我們的ePlus 團隊在第一季度的紮實執行和堅持不懈的努力推動增長。這樣，我會將電話轉回給馬克。標記？

Thank you, Elaine. ePlus is off to a strong start this year, benefiting from our diversified base of customers and our strategic focus on serving faster-growing end markets. In an environment where our customers are prioritizing more rapid payback on their IT investments, ePlus remains well positioned for continued growth. We are leveraging our extensive capabilities across the technology stack to deliver effective solutions that enable our customers to optimize costs, enhance security, and focus on their core business operations.

謝謝你，伊萊恩。 ePlus 今年取得了良好的開局，這得益於我們多元化的客戶群以及我們對服務快速增長的終端市場的戰略重點。在我們的客戶優先考慮更快地收回其 IT 投資的環境中，ePlus 仍處於持續增長的有利位置。我們正在利用我們在整個技術堆棧中的廣泛能力來提供有效的解決方案，使我們的客戶能夠優化成本、增強安全性並專注於其核心業務運營。

As a result, we remain confident in our ability to deliver sales growth in fiscal 2024 that exceeds the projected growth in the IT spending market. We are, therefore, initiating fiscal 2024 net sales guidance of $2.23 billion to $2.33 billion. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $200 million to $215 million, representing an adjusted EBITDA margin of 9% to 9.2%.

因此，我們對 2024 財年實現銷售增長超過 IT 支出市場預期增長的能力仍然充滿信心。因此，我們啟動 2024 財年淨銷售額指導為 22.3 億美元至 23.3 億美元。我們預計調整後 EBITDA 為 2 億至 2.15 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 9% 至 9.2%。

Our guidance assumes, in part, a continued gradual easing in supply chain constraints that enables us to complete previously delayed customer projects. In closing, ePlus remains focused on building long-term shareholder value through the execution of our growth strategy and efficient allocation of capital. I want to thank the ePlus team for their dedication, which is again evident in our strong performance.

我們的指導部分假設供應鏈限制持續逐步放鬆，使我們能夠完成之前推遲的客戶項目。最後，ePlus 仍然專注於通過執行我們的增長戰略和有效的資本配置來建立長期股東價值。我要感謝 ePlus 團隊的奉獻精神，我們的強勁表現再次證明了這一點。

Operator, please open the call for questions.

接線員，請打開電話提問。

(Operator Instructions) First up is Jesse Wilson, William Blair.

（操作員說明）首先是傑西·威爾遜、威廉·布萊爾。

This is Jesse on for Maggie. Congrats on the results and thanks for taking our questions. So I guess, first, it's nice to see you initiate full year guidance, but just to dig in, it seems like a bit of a range in terms of the calculated growth at the upper and lower end. Can you talk about some of the assumptions you've made, what kind of gets you to upper end versus the lower end?

這是傑西為瑪吉代言的。祝賀結果並感謝您提出我們的問題。因此，我想，首先，很高興看到您啟動全年指導，但仔細研究一下，就上限和下限的計算增長而言，這似乎有點範圍。您能談談您所做的一些假設嗎？哪些假設使您達到高端，哪些使您達到低端？

Sure. So Jesse, it's Mark here. So a couple of different things. So let me start off with one why we're providing guidance now. So we had actually planned on providing guidance a few years back and then COVID hit. So we kind of pulled back. As we've talked to folks like yourself and other investors, they thought it would be helpful if we provide guidance. We have really good visibility into our pipeline and backlog, and we thought this would help with some of the modeling because there was some pretty big differences between the different analysts in terms of our growth, both top line and bottom line.

當然。傑西，我是馬克。所以有一些不同的事情。首先讓我談談為什麼我們現在提供指導。因此，我們實際上已經計劃在幾年前提供指導，然後新冠疫情來襲。所以我們有點退縮了。正如我們與像您和其他投資者這樣的人交談時，他們認為如果我們提供指導將會有所幫助。我們對我們的管道和積壓工作有很好的了解，我們認為這將有助於一些建模，因為不同分析師在我們的增長方面存在一些相當大的差異，無論是頂線還是底線。

So we're just trying to provide a little more granularity. As it relates to the numbers, both from a, I'll call it, net sales and adjusted EBITDA. What we saw in Q1, we actually had a really nice quarter, but there are a few things that happened in the quarter. One, we saw some supply chain easing. So we sourced some deals specifically in the networking space that were pulled forward. We also had about 1/3 of our net sales was from acquisitions. I will point out in subsequent quarters, one of the acquisitions will fall off [and/or] in your projections already.

所以我們只是試圖提供更多的粒度。因為它與數字有關，我稱之為淨銷售額和調整後的 EBITDA。我們在第一季度看到，我們實際上度過了一個非常好的季度，但該季度發生了一些事情。第一，我們看到供應鏈有所放鬆。因此，我們專門在網絡領域尋找了一些已提前完成的交易。我們還有大約 1/3 的淨銷售額來自收購。我將在接下來的幾個季度中指出，其中一項收購將在您的預測中[和/或]下降。

We also had some large land and expand deals that affected the quarter. So there was some pull forward. There were some acquisition-related, which is about 1/3 of the net sales and then supply chain easing. As we looked at the metrics, it was about 7 to rough numbers. This is approximate 7% to 11% growth over last year on the top line. And we were very comfortable looking at our pipeline and backlog on where that put us, especially after the first quarter. I will point out Q2 is a tough compare for us for a lot of different reasons.

我們還有一些影響本季度的大型土地和擴建交易。所以有一些前進的動力。其中有一些與收購相關，大約占淨銷售額的1/3，然後是供應鏈寬鬆。當我們查看指標時，粗略數字約為 7。營收比去年增長約 7% 至 11%。我們對我們的管道和積壓工作感到非常滿意，特別是在第一季度之後。我要指出的是，由於很多不同的原因，第二季度對我們來說是一個艱難的比較。

Mainly in our Finance segment, we had a really solid quarter last year, especially in the operating income space. So I think that will be tough to for us to match as we go into this quarter. And it's normally -- Q2 is normally a solid quarter, but with that tough compare and some of the pull forward, we thought it might be a little bit tighter in Q2. But that's the high level on the thought process as it relates.

主要是在我們的金融部門，我們去年的季度表現非常強勁，尤其是在營業收入領域。因此，我認為進入本季度時，我們將很難與之匹敵。通常情況下，第二季度通常是一個穩定的季度，但由於艱難的比較和一些前移，我們認為第二季度可能會更緊一些。但這是相關思維過程的高水平。

And we thought the margin percentage 9% to 9.2% on the adjusted EBITDA was in line with expectations based on some investments we plan on making as we continue forward throughout the year.

我們認為，調整後 EBITDA 的利潤率為 9% 至 9.2%，符合我們計劃在全年繼續推進的一些投資的預期。

Got it. That's all really helpful. And then a couple of follow-up questions just because you hit on both in your first answer. So you are seeing some of those land and expand deals ramp up. Are you thinking about that on a multiyear basis? Or kind of over a few quarters, which seems like that might be the case. And then my second follow-up...

知道了。這一切都非常有幫助。然後是幾個後續問題，因為您在第一個答案中同時提到了這兩個問題。因此，您會看到其中一些土地和擴建交易正在增加。您是否會在多年的基礎上考慮這個問題？或者在幾個季度內，情況似乎可能如此。然後我的第二個後續行動...

Go ahead, Jesse. Sorry.

繼續吧，傑西。對不起。

Yes. My second follow-up was on the acquisition. So did you just acquire some very talented sales persons that are winning new business? Or were some recently acquired customers spending more? That's it for me.

是的。我的第二個後續行動是關於收購。那麼，您是否剛剛招募了一些非常有才華的銷售人員來贏得新業務？或者最近獲得的一些客戶是否花費更多？對我來說就是這樣。

Okay. So good question. So on the land and expand, it's a strategy we've had for a while, and it's where we work with the -- I'll say more on the enterprise side, but it's also on the mid-market side that we'll work with customers. We'll try to get a foothold in the account. And then from there, we try to expand the sale everything that we have.

好的。好問題。因此，在土地和擴張方面，這是我們已經實施了一段時間的戰略，也是我們合作的地方——我會在企業方面多說一些，但在中端市場方面，我們也會與客戶合作。我們將盡力在該帳戶中站穩腳跟。然後從那裡開始，我們嘗試擴大我們擁有的一切產品的銷售。

So sometimes we'll get a big pop or hit in the quarter based on a big opportunity. Normally, the margin is a little bit tighter on those deals, and then we try to expand it with our value-added solutions and services. And that can go across multiple quarters or multiple years as we try to expand it. So that's not something that's just the in a quarter or 2, it could be multiple years that we see the benefit on that strategy. All right?

因此，有時我們會因為重大機會而在本季度獲得巨大的成功或成功。通常，這些交易的利潤會稍微緊張一些，然後我們會嘗試通過增值解決方案和服務來擴大利潤。當我們試圖擴展它時，這可能會跨越多個季度或多年。因此，這不僅僅是一個季度或兩個季度的事情，我們可能需要很多年才能看到該策略的好處。好的？

And the second question was around acquisitions. So on the acquisitions, we like to think we acquired really good people and talented salespeople. We think it's a great -- 2 of them are both really good acquisitions for us. Future Com, which we acquired in July of 2022 and mainly in the security space and gave us some additional customers and access to the Texas region.

第二個問題是關於收購的。因此，在收購方面，我們認為我們收購了真正優秀的人才和才華橫溢的銷售人員。我們認為這是一次偉大的收購——其中兩個對我們來說都是非常好的收購。我們於 2022 年 7 月收購了 Future Com，主要是在安全領域，為我們提供了一些額外的客戶和進入德克薩斯州地區的機會。

And then network service systems group (sic) [Network Solutions Group] is in the service provider space. And they had a really nice quarter. Most acquisitions normally struggle in the first quarter, Jesse, and they actually had a nice quarter. And I think that was due to some of the network supply chain that they opened up as well as some things that they closed. But I would expect that to slow down a little bit as we move forward, but a nice jump to Q1.

然後網絡服務系統組（原文如此）[網絡解決方案組]屬於服務提供商領域。他們度過了一個非常美好的季度。大多數收購通常會在第一季度陷入困境，傑西，但他們實際上度過了一個不錯的季度。我認為這是由於他們開放了一些網絡供應鏈以及他們關閉了一些東西。但我預計隨著我們的前進，這一速度會稍微放緩，但會很好地躍升至第一季度。

Up next, we'll take a question from Greg Burns, Sidoti.

接下來，我們將回答 Sidoti 的 Greg Burns 的問題。

Can you just delve into where you're pipeline and backlog stands now because it sounds like you did deliver on some of those backlog projects this quarter, but the inventory didn't really go down too much. So how much is left there to -- that I guess would still be in process?

您能否深入研究一下您現在的管道和積壓工作情況，因為聽起來您本季度確實交付了一些積壓項目，但庫存並沒有真正下降太多。那麼，我想還有多少工作仍在進行中？

Yes. So Greg, so what I was talking about is both in our CRM systems as well as looking at our open orders and backlog, we've got very good visibility. As it relates to our backlog/open orders, they're probably down about $60 million sequentially. So that's where we saw some of the runoff into the quarter.

是的。格雷格，我所說的是我們的 CRM 系統以及我們的未結訂單和積壓訂單，我們擁有非常好的可見性。由於這與我們的積壓訂單/未結訂單有關，因此可能會連續減少約 6000 萬美元。這就是我們看到本季度的一些徑流的地方。

There was also some, what I'll say, lead times that improved on the networking side that help our networking numbers were up about 67%. So there was some pull forward in my opinion, that I don't know if we'll see as much as we move throughout the year. But that's kind of the high level on the quarter there.

我想說的是，網絡方面的交貨時間也有所改善，這有助於我們的網絡數量增加了約 67%。因此，我認為有一些推動，我不知道我們是否會看到全年的進展。但這是本季度的高水平。

Okay. And then it seems like demand is broadening -- you had broad-based demand across products and customer segments. But are you seeing any signs of caution? Any indications that companies are pulling back? Or are they just reprioritizing and where your products and services are is where the money is flowing. Can you just give us a sense of maybe your outlook for the market?

好的。然後需求似乎正在擴大——跨產品和客戶群體的需求廣泛。但您是否看到任何謹慎的跡象？有跡象表明公司正在撤退嗎？或者他們只是重新調整優先順序，你的產品和服務在哪裡，資金就在哪裡流動。您能給我們介紹一下您對市場的展望嗎？

Yes. So it's interesting, Greg. So a couple of different things there. One, we do believe we'll continue to pace the IT spend market, for sure. We've done that and believe we'll continue to do it. We are seeing some longer deal cycles and there's the economic uncertainty. There is some -- there's been some nice size layoffs from some of the tech vendors out there. And you see some of the projections from some of our public peers in terms of what they're projecting in terms of declining revenue. So I never want to say we're immune to it, but we are resilient, if you will, as it relates to our business.

是的。所以這很有趣，格雷格。所以有一些不同的事情。第一，我們確實相信我們肯定會繼續加快 IT 支出市場的步伐。我們已經做到了這一點，並且相信我們會繼續這樣做。我們看到交易週期更長，並且存在經濟不確定性。一些技術供應商已經進行了大規模裁員。您會看到我們的一些公共同行對收入下降的一些預測。因此，我從來不想說我們對此免疫，但如果你願意的話，我們是有彈性的，因為這與我們的業務有關。

The other thing is -- we don't really play in the commodity space. We made a decision a long time ago in the PC/laptop space to get out of that business. We still do it for some of our bigger customers. But we didn't see some of the headwinds, I think that some of the others are in that space.

另一件事是——我們並沒有真正涉足商品領域。很久以前，我們就在個人電腦/筆記本電腦領域做出了退出該業務的決定。我們仍然為一些大客戶這樣做。但我們沒有看到一些不利因素，我認為其他一些因素也存在於這個領域。

And then the other thing is on our customer size segment, every customer size segment was up. What was really nice was our mid-market was up, which I believe is -- those customers have real need for the types of solutions that we're providing. So we feel good about our guidance. We feel good about the quarter, but not overly not jumping up and down yet in terms of where the economy can go in the second half.

另一件事是我們的客戶規模細分，每個客戶規模細分都增加了。真正令人高興的是我們的中端市場已經崛起，我相信這些客戶確實需要我們提供的解決方案類型。所以我們對我們的指導感到滿意。我們對本季度感覺良好，但就下半年經濟走向而言，還沒有過度波動。

Okay. And then lastly, why did you split out Professional and Managed Services into their own segments. Is there like an expectation for a difference in terms of growth rates or margins? Like why provide that extra granularity now?

好的。最後，為什麼您將專業服務和託管服務分成各自的部分。增長率或利潤率是否存在差異預期？比如為什麼現在要提供額外的粒度？

Yes. You know what, Greg, it's to help with some of the modeling. We've talked about our Managed Services/Anuity Quality revenues for years. We thought it made sense as we decided to give guidance to break out services as well. I would think what I'd call a transactional services or professional services and staffing over time, you'll start to see an uptick.

是的。你知道嗎，格雷格，這是為了幫助進行一些建模。多年來我們一直在談論我們的託管服務/年金質量收入。我們認為這是有道理的，因為我們決定也為突破性服務提供指導。我認為隨著時間的推移，我所說的交易服務或專業服務和人員配備，你會開始看到上升。

Some of that is held back by supply chain overall. So that's one thing. And as it relates to or Managed Services, we saw that this quarter was up 23% year-over-year. And as I think I mentioned, the CAGR over the last 5 years is 24%. So it's a -- it's a very visible revenue stream and it's a profitable revenue stream. But I would expect our transactional professional services over time to pick up as well.

其中一些受到整體供應鏈的阻礙。所以這是一回事。就託管服務而言，我們發現本季度同比增長 23%。正如我提到的，過去 5 年的複合年增長率為 24%。所以這是一個非常明顯的收入來源，也是一個有利可圖的收入來源。但我預計隨著時間的推移，我們的交易專業服務也會有所改善。

And we'll take the next question from Matthew Sheerin, Stifel.

我們將回答 Matthew Sheerin（Stifel）提出的下一個問題。

Yes. Thank you. And I also echo others' comments about appreciating the disclosure, the outlook and guidance as well as the breakdown of some of your revenue streams. So I appreciate that. But just relative to your guidance for the year, Mark, as you said, it looks like your forward guide is -- it looks to be conservative because you're up 25% year-on-year, you're guiding up 10%, I mean, in the first quarter.

是的。謝謝。我也贊同其他人關於讚賞披露、前景和指導以及部分收入流細分的評論。所以我很欣賞這一點。但馬克，正如你所說，相對於你今年的指導，你的前瞻性指導看起來是保守的，因為你同比增長了 25%，你的指導是增長 10% ，我的意思是，在第一季度。

So that would imply that the second half is going to be flat to down also in December, I know you're going to be facing tough comps because you had a very, very strong December quarter last year. So I'm just wondering, are you just -- is that just conservative because of maybe you don't have visibility into the full year or some of the comments you made earlier about reasons maybe to be more conservative?

因此，這意味著下半年 12 月的業績也將持平甚至下降，我知道您將面臨艱難的競爭，因為去年 12 月季度的表現非常非常強勁。所以我只是想知道，你只是——這只是保守嗎，因為你可能無法了解全年情況，或者你之前發表的一些關於可能更加保守的原因的評論？

Just trying to get a feel for how you think about the rest of the year. And also, the September quarter, you're typically up sequentially. But I'm wondering if -- with all the pull-ins that you talked about, whether that's going to be more flattish or down sequentially?

只是想了解一下您對今年剩餘時間的看法。而且，在九月季度，您通常會連續上升。但我想知道，隨著您談到的所有拉動，這是否會變得更加平坦或依次下降？

Yes. So that was a lot in there, Matt. So a couple of different things. One is, I think I called out, we're starting to see some of the tough comps on the finance piece. So we had a really big quarter I believe it was $12.2 million in operating income in Q2. So that's going to be really tough to replicate. So that's the first thing as it relates to Q2.

是的。所以里面有很多內容，馬特。所以有一些不同的事情。一是，我想我已經說過，我們開始看到財務方面的一些艱難的競爭。所以我們有一個非常大的季度，我相信第二季度的營業收入為 1220 萬美元。所以這將很難復制。這是與第二季度相關的第一件事。

You are right. Q3 is normally our strongest quarter. Q2 is normally a solid quarter, but I do believe we had some pull forward in this quarter. We saw some things that popped in that -- at the end of the quarter that popped into the quarter that we weren't expecting.

你是對的。第三季度通常是我們表現最強勁的季度。第二季度通常是一個穩定的季度，但我確實相信我們在本季度取得了一些進展。我們看到了一些事情在季度末突然出現，這是我們沒有預料到的。

So I think that's part of what maybe is throwing you off a little bit because the quarter was so big. The other thing is, yes, we are a little reserved as it relates to our guidance, but we feel very good about the guidance. Based on what we're hearing in the market from our competitors and from others that are down single to double digits. So we're just trying to make sure that we put something out that's fair based on our pipeline, based on our backlog, based on everything that we're seeing.

所以我認為這可能是讓你有點失望的部分原因，因為這個季度太大了。另一件事是，是的，我們有點保留，因為這與我們的指導有關，但我們對指導感覺非常好。根據我們從競爭對手和其他公司那裡聽到的市場情況，下降了個位數到兩位數。所以我們只是想確保我們推出的東西是基於我們的管道、基於我們的積壓、基於我們所看到的一切而公平的。

The other thing I will highlight, it is up 7% to 11% on over last year in this market, which I don't think you're seeing in most of the companies that have announced results.

我要強調的另一件事是，這個市場比去年增長了 7% 到 11%，我認為大多數已公佈業績的公司都沒有看到這種情況。

And quite honestly, that's ballpark $150 million to $250 million in terms of guidance above what we did last year. So I think it's a somewhat aggressive but realistic target. So not undercutting it. I don't know if that gave you everything you need there, Matt.

老實說，與我們去年的指導相比，這大約是 1.5 億至 2.5 億美元。所以我認為這是一個有點激進但現實的目標。所以不削弱它。我不知道這是否給了你所需的一切，馬特。

Well, I have some follow-ups, but just regarding backlog, is it still elevated? It sounds like it was down. Was it down $60 million quarter-on-quarter? And is it still elevated? And how much relative to your normal backlog?

嗯，我有一些後續行動，但就積壓而言，它仍然很高嗎？聽起來好像已經垮了。環比減少了 6000 萬美元嗎？而且還高嗎？相對於正常積壓的數量是多少？

Yes, it's still elevated to our normal backlog, Matt. It's -- quite honestly, it's almost pre-COVID, almost double our normal in terms of open orders, but it's down sequentially $60 million.

是的，它仍然上升到我們正常的積壓量，馬特。老實說，這幾乎是新冠疫情之前的情況，就未結訂單而言，幾乎是正常情況的兩倍，但環比下降了 6000 萬美元。

Okay. And then on the EBITDA guidance, the margin guidance 9% to 9.2%, that's basically flat year-over-year, but you're going to be up significantly year-on-year in [OR] in Q1. So I'm wondering is that because you expect maybe some OpEx going up? Why not continue to see that leverage play through the year?

好的。然後就 EBITDA 指導而言，利潤率指導為 9% 至 9.2%，與去年同期基本持平，但第一季度 [OR] 同比將大幅上升。所以我想知道這是因為您預計運營支出可能會上升嗎？為什麼不繼續看到槓桿在這一年中發揮作用呢？

Yes, I think there's 2 things, Matt. One, we acquired the Network Solutions Group. So you only saw 2 months of the of the OpEx in this quarter. So I'd expect that to be up a little as we move forward. And yes, we believe we can continue to grow market share. So we are going to invest across our practices, adding more customer-facing headcount. For example, if you think about some of the stuff going on with artificial intelligence, it's an area that, right now, I believe, is in the early innings. I don't -- it's not a big revenue generator for us, but we believe it could be a growth driver.

是的，我認為有兩件事，馬特。第一，我們收購了網絡解決方案集團。因此，本季度您只看到了 2 個月的運營支出。因此，我預計隨著我們的前進，這一數字會有所上升。是的，我們相信我們可以繼續擴大市場份額。因此，我們將在我們的實踐中進行投資，增加更多面向客戶的員工人數。例如，如果你考慮人工智能方面正在發生的一些事情，我相信這個領域目前還處於早期階段。我不認為——這對我們來說不是一個巨大的收入來源，但我們相信它可能是一個增長動力。

So we'll look to invest in areas in that space over time by providing advisory services around helping customers understand the risk and the government and things that they have to understand, understanding how to take advantage of some of the AI-embedded solutions from our partners that are out there. So yes, we do plan on making some additional investments in headcount, but it's also some additional expense that's not in there as it relates to the Network Solutions Group, which we acquired in May.

因此，隨著時間的推移，我們將尋求在該領域進行投資，提供諮詢服務，幫助客戶了解風險、政府以及他們必須了解的事情，了解如何利用我們的一些人工智能嵌入式解決方案。那裡的合作夥伴。所以，是的，我們確實計劃在員工人數上進行一些額外的投資，但這也是一些額外的費用，因為它與我們五月份收購的網絡解決方案集團有關。

Okay. That's super helpful. And just last question for me. Just regarding the pricing trends. And I know in recent quarters, you and everyone has been -- have been able to pass along the vendor price increases. Are you starting to see that level off at all? Or any pricing pressure as the component availability becomes better.

好的。這非常有幫助。這是我的最後一個問題。只是關於定價趨勢。我知道最近幾個季度，您和每個人都能夠轉嫁供應商價格上漲的影響。您開始看到這種水平了嗎？或者隨著組件可用性變得更好而產生任何定價壓力。

Yes. No, Matt, I haven't seen anything. We've been able to pass it on and haven't seen. There are certain deals where you'll have some pressure from competitors that will go in aggressively with discounts. But as it relates to any pricing pressures, we've been able to pass that on, we had a strong quarter related to our product sales, which I think Elaine mentioned was up 29%. So didn't see much of that change in that space.

是的。不，馬特，我什麼也沒看到。我們已經能夠傳遞它，但還沒有看到。在某些交易中，您會面臨來自競爭對手的壓力，他們會積極提供折扣。但由於它與任何定價壓力有關，我們已經能夠傳遞這一點，我們的產品銷售表現強勁，我認為伊萊恩提到的增長了 29%。所以沒有看到那個空間有太大的變化。

And everyone, at this time, there are no further questions. I'll hand things back to our speakers for any additional or closing remarks.

而大家，這個時候，也沒有再問什麼了。我會將所有內容交還給我們的發言人，以供其補充或結束髮言。

Okay. Thanks, Lisa. So if I could close, it was a really nice start to our fiscal year. It was a solid quarter and I want to congratulate and thank the ePlus team for everything they did to produce the results that we did. And with that, I'd like to thank everybody for joining us for this call and look forward to our next earnings call. Take care and be safe.

好的。謝謝，麗莎。因此，如果我能結束的話，這對我們的財政年度來說是一個非常好的開始。這是一個堅實的季度，我要祝賀並感謝 ePlus 團隊為取得我們所取得的成果所做的一切。在此，我要感謝大家參加我們的這次電話會議，並期待我們的下一次財報電話會議。小心並註意安全。

Once again, everyone, that does conclude today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

各位，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。