R C M Technologies Inc (RCMT) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and thank you for joining us. This is Kevin Miller, Chief Financial Officer of RCM Technologies. I am joined today by Brad Vizi, RCM's Executive Chairman.

早安，感謝您加入我們。我是凱文‧米勒 (Kevin Miller)，RCM Technologies 財務長。今天 RCM 執行主席 Brad Vizi 也加入了我的行列。

Our presentation in this call will contain forward-looking statements. The information contained in the forward-looking statements is based on our beliefs, estimates, assumptions, and information currently available to us. And these matters may materially change in the future. Many of these beliefs, estimates and assumptions are subject to rapid change. For more information on our forward-looking statements and the risks, uncertainties, and other factors to which they are subject, please see the periodic reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K that we filed with the SEC as well as our press releases that we issue from time to time.

我們在本次電話會議中的演示將包含前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述中包含的資訊是基於我們的信念、估計、假設和目前可獲得的資訊。這些問題將來可能會發生重大變化。其中許多信念、估計和假設都會快速改變。有關我們的前瞻性陳述及其所受風險、不確定性和其他因素的更多信息，請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的 10-K、10-Q 和 8-K 表格定期報告：以及我們不時發布的新聞稿。

I will now turn the call over to Brad Vizi, Executive Chairman, to provide an overview of RCM's operating performance during the second quarter.

我現在將把電話轉給執行主席 Brad Vizi，概述 RCM 第二季度的營運表現。

Thanks, Kevin. Good morning, everyone. Second-quarter growth was led by engineering as project activity continues to ramp, building on the foundation carefully laid over the last several years. More important, engineering's leadership corroborates a fundamental aspect of the RCM thesis. The success of our company is not predicated on any one division or discipline.

謝謝，凱文。大家早安。第二季的成長由工程部門引領，專案活動在過去幾年精心打下的基礎上持續增加。更重要的是，工程界的領導地位證實了 RCM 論文的一個基本面向。我們公司的成功並不取決於任何一個部門或學科。

In 2022, performance was propelled by the success of healthcare. In 2023, life sciences data and solutions were a key pillar to maintaining the company's trajectory, completing the transition to a post-COVID world. And now in 2024, we are witnessing the emergence of a world-class engineering division with the infrastructure to scale.

2022 年，醫療保健領域的成功推動了業績的成長。2023 年，生命科學數據和解決方案是維持公司發展軌跡、完成向後新冠世界的過渡的關鍵支柱。現在到了 2024 年，我們正在見證一個基礎設施規模不斷擴大的世界級工程部門的出現。

Five years ago, we presented RCM not as a healthcare company, not as an IT practice, nor an engineering outfit, but an emerging world-class professional services firm that can compete and win on the global stage. That was the vision then, and this is our reality today. Also of note, we anticipate continued strong contribution from engineering along with increased strength in the other two divisions in the back half of the year.

五年前，我們將 RCM 介紹為一家能夠在全球舞台上競爭並獲勝的新興世界級專業服務公司，而不是一家醫療保健公司、IT 實踐公司或工程機構。這是當時的願景，也是我們今天的現實。另外值得注意的是，我們預計今年下半年工程部門將持續做出強勁貢獻，同時其他兩個部門的實力也會增強。

Now I will provide a more granular update on the progress of each of our teams, starting with healthcare. RCM's healthcare division finished the school year strong. Looking ahead to the 2024 and 2025 school year, we are extremely encouraged about our prospects. We have successfully added many new school districts to our portfolio, several potentially requiring 50 to 75 new providers.

現在，我將從醫療保健開始，更詳細地介紹我們每個團隊的進展。RCM 的醫療保健部門以優異的成績結束了本學年。展望 2024 和 2025 學年，我們對我們的前景感到非常鼓舞。我們已成功將許多新學區添加到我們的投資組合中，其中一些可能需要 50 至 75 個新的提供者。

While the exact value of these districts is yet to be determined, RCM has a proven track record of entering new districts and quickly becoming the primary vendor. Our dedicated team is working tirelessly to streamline our recruiting and credentialing processes, reducing time it takes to bring new providers on board and into the field. This commitment to efficiency is not the cost of quality but to ensure that we can meet the growing demand swiftly and maintain high standard of service our clients expect.

雖然這些地區的確切價值尚未確定，但 RCM 在進入新地區並迅速成為主要供應商方面擁有良好的記錄。我們的專業團隊正在不懈地努力簡化我們的招募和認證流程，減少新供應商加入和進入該領域所需的時間。這種對效率的承諾並不是以品質為代價，而是為了確保我們能夠迅速滿足不斷增長的需求並維持客戶期望的高標準服務。

In addition to our domestic growth, we have significantly expanded our operations in the Philippines. This expansion includes not only increasing our recruitment team but also building a robust operational support team. Investments in both are domestic and international operations, coupled with our unwavering commitment to efficiency and high standards position us strongly for continued growth and success. We are not just hopeful but confident that our efforts will drive significant value for our stakeholders as we continue to expand our footprint and enhance our service offerings.

除了國內成長外，我們還大幅擴大了在菲律賓的業務。此次擴張不僅包括增加我們的招募團隊，還包括建立強大的營運支援團隊。對國內和國際業務的投資，加上我們對效率和高標準堅定不移的承諾，為我們的持續成長和成功奠定了堅實的基礎。我們不僅充滿希望，而且相信，隨著我們繼續擴大業務範圍並增強我們的服務，我們的努力將為我們的利害關係人帶來巨大的價值。

In life sciences, data and solutions, the second quarter showed continued progress as we implemented our solutions integrated approach. We have seen a structural profitability increase relative to the historic performance and work to continue to strengthen the business. We believe our HCM practice is one of the premier partners in the industry. For the eight straight quarter, we have exceeded implementation quotas for one strategic client.

在生命科學、數據和解決方案方面，隨著我們實施解決方案整合方法，第二季度取得了持續進展。與歷史業績相比，我們看到了結構性獲利能力的成長，並致力於繼續加強業務。我們相信我們的 HCM 實踐是業內最重要的合作夥伴之一。我們已經連續八個季度超出了一個戰略客戶的實施配額。

In life sciences, our Puerto Rico team just completed a successful nine-month 15% quality control project for a major pharma packaging company. Our life science commercial practice leads our growth as it continues to demonstrate its ability to assist clients to bring new products to market faster, cheaper while improving compliance reporting.

在生命科學領域，我們的波多黎各團隊剛剛為一家大型製藥包裝公司成功完成了為期 9 個月的 15% 品質控制專案。我們的生命科學商業實踐引領著我們的發展，因為它不斷證明其有能力協助客戶更快、更便宜地將新產品推向市場，同時改善合規報告。

We continue to see strong interest in our managed service offerings. We can support a broad range of functions ranging from our industry-leading RPC to quality, to validation and qualification, to application support.

我們繼續看到人們對我們的託管服務產品抱有濃厚的興趣。我們可以支援廣泛的功能，從業界領先的 RPC 到品質、驗證和鑑定，再到應用程式支援。

Transitioning to engineering, starting with energy services. The second quarter of 2024 demonstrated robust results, delivering revenue and EBITDA figures exceeding forecast. Backlog remains solid and activity is healthy as we continue to execute against large engineering substation projects while maintaining high levels of client satisfaction.

從能源服務開始轉向工程。2024 年第二季業績強勁，營收和 EBITDA 數據超乎預期。隨著我們繼續執行大型工程變電站項目，同時保持高水準的客戶滿意度，積壓工作仍然穩定，活動也很健康。

The EPC group maintains strong relations with existing clients but also targeted additional potential customers for new projects in the US, including Puerto Rico. To participate in the growing energy markets internationally, energy services is evaluating cooperation agreements in LatAm and Europe. The German office sees a significant increase in high-voltage substation demand and has begun staffing to prepare for further growth.

EPC 集團與現有客戶保持著牢固的關係，同時也針對美國新專案的其他潛在客戶（包括波多黎各）。為了參與不斷成長的國際能源市場，能源服務部門正在評估拉丁美洲和歐洲的合作協議。德國辦事處看到高壓變電站的需求顯著增加，並已開始配備人員，為進一步成長做好準備。

Increasing our market awareness, energy services continued a strong presence in most significant technical associations during the IEEE events in Puerto Rico and Anaheim, California becoming a major contributor in the electrical engineering industry. For the upcoming SEGRO Paris session this August, energy services will present together with a large US utility an innovative technical paper of a future-oriented microgrid substation.

在波多黎各和加州阿納海姆舉行的 IEEE 活動期間，能源服務繼續在最重要的技術協會中佔據重要地位，提高了我們的市場意識，成為電氣工程行業的主要貢獻者。在即將於今年 8 月舉行的 SEGRO 巴黎會議上，能源服務部門將與美國一家大型公用事業公司一起展示一份關於面向未來的微電網變電站的創新技術論文。

In process and industrial, RCM Thermal Kinetics remains active in the zero-carbon chemical production market with three equipment projects in various stages of completion. The thermal kinetics office is also executing two ethanol plant optimization expansion studies that integrate the patented energy integration design, enabling clients to lower their carbon intensity score.

在製程和工業領域，RCM Thermal Kinetics 仍然活躍在零碳化學品生產市場，並擁有三個處於不同完成階段的設備項目。熱動力學辦公室也正在執行兩項乙醇工廠優化擴建研究，其中整合了專利的能源整合設計，使客戶能夠降低碳強度分數。

The team is also completing a detailed process design for a planned SAF facility for a US-based customer. Various tests are being conducted for our customers utilizing test rigs for crystallization, filtration, and evaporation. The sales team is forced on the current market needs and how strategically pursued business in the lithium markets. That focus has yielded an engineering order placement this week for a lithium production facility in the United States.

該團隊還正在為美國客戶的計劃中的 SAF 設施完成詳細的流程設計。我們正在利用結晶、過濾和蒸發測試裝置為我們的客戶進行各種測試。銷售團隊被迫了解當前的市場需求以及如何策略性地在鋰市場開展業務。這項重點已在本週為美國一家鋰生產設施發出了工程訂單。

The engineering order involves the development of the lithium solution chemistry and processing equipment design. The team also expects to close an equipment order for lithium refinement, which employs crystallization technology and downstream drawing of crystals. This project is a good example of the strength of the TK team and the supporting test center. The theoretical chemistry used in the lithium solution chemistry is complex and is derisked by running the process in the test center with the chemical engineers who are designing the plant.

該工程訂單涉及鋰溶液化學的開發和加工設備的設計。該團隊還預計將完成一項鋰精煉設備訂單，該設備採用結晶技術和下游晶體拉絲。該計畫很好地體現了東江團隊及配套測試中心的實力。鋰溶液化學中使用的理論化學很複雜，並且透過在測試中心與設計工廠的化學工程師一起運行該過程來避免風險。

The test center continues to gain momentum and is at 100% utilization through Q2 and well into Q3 2024. We continually evaluate further investment in additional equipment for the test center that benefits our clients. RCM Thermal Kinetics recently presented at the fuel ethanol workshop trade show in June. The focus, again, was plant optimization and identifying areas of improvement that our engineers excel at. The team remains focused on the continuation of our emergence as a market leader in responsible and sustainable chemical process design.

該測試中心持續保持強勁勢頭，從 2024 年第二季度到第三季度，利用率均達到 100%。我們不斷評估對測試中心額外設備的進一步投資，這對我們的客戶有利。RCM 熱動力學最近在 6 月的燃料乙醇研討會貿易展上亮相。同樣，重點是工廠優化和確定我們的工程師擅長的改進領域。該團隊仍然專注於繼續成為負責任和永續化學製程設計的市場領導者。

The aerospace and defense group had mixed results in Q2 2024 due to a slower-than-anticipated recovery in the aftermarket. However, EBITDA for the division remains healthy. The engineering business is thriving, executing with three or new clients in Q2 of 2024. Our estimate of realizing a healthy increase in EBITDA for 2024 holds true, and the overall strategy remains the same, recognizing most of our customer spend in the engineering domain. RFIs, RFQs and MSAs expected to finalize have begun to produce new revenue in Q2 with an aggressive increase in headcount. Revenue and profit anticipated to escalate in the second half of 2024.

由於售後市場的復甦慢於預期，航空航太和國防集團在 2024 年第二季的業績好壞參半。然而，該部門的 EBITDA 仍然保持健康。工程業務正在蓬勃發展，到 2024 年第二季將與三個或新客戶合作。我們對 2024 年 EBITDA 實現健康成長的估計是正確的，整體策略保持不變，並認識到我們的大部分客戶支出在工程領域。預計最終確定的 RFI、RFQ 和 MSA 已開始在第二季產生新的收入，員工人數大幅增加。預計 2024 年下半年收入和利潤將上升。

The most significant piece of the business that has had immediate impact is in the engineering arena with one of our new vertical customers, our current space customers, as well as our expansion into other divisions with one of our existing aerospace component manufacturers. We have realized much-anticipated increases in customer requirements in Q2. Our world-class recruitment team continues to successfully execute, which has allowed us to experience a noteworthy increase in new hires. We have experienced a 54% increase in new hires in Q2 2024 versus Q1 2024. We expect to see this increase quarter over quarter in Q3 and Q4.

產生直接影響的最重要的業務是在工程領域與我們的新垂直客戶之一、我們當前的航太客戶，以及我們與現有的航空航太零件製造商之一向其他部門的擴張。我們在第二季度實現了客戶需求的預期成長。我們世界一流的招募團隊繼續成功執行，這使我們的新員工數量顯著增加。與 2024 年第一季相比，2024 年第二季的新進員工數量增加了 54%。我們預計第三季和第四季將出現環比成長。

We continue to drive and expand our model-based expertise, software systems, mechanical and avionics expertise throughout the customer base in Q2 2024 with continuous inventories and partnership opportunities as well. Our new service offering, involving solving quality and production issues within the supply base of our clients continues to grow with interest. New statements of work with major OEMs have been received with expanded skills and scheduled starts in Q3, Q4 2024, and Q1 2025. We will continue to expand our reach with these clients and prioritize these engagements throughout 2024 and 2025.

2024 年第二季度，我們將繼續在整個客戶群中推動和擴展基於模型的專業知識、軟體系統、機械和航空電子專業知識，並提供持續的庫存和合作機會。我們的新服務，涉及解決客戶供應基地內的品質和生產問題，我們的興趣持續增長。已收到與主要 OEM 廠商的新合作聲明，其中包含擴展的技能，並計劃於 2024 年第三季、第四季和 2025 年第一季啟動。我們將繼續擴大與這些客戶的聯繫，並在 2024 年和 2025 年優先考慮這些業務。

We have received three large RFQs for engineering and aftermarkets within our OEM client base and with a potential new client in the air mobility arena. The outlook for the second half of 2024 is bright.

我們已經收到了 OEM 客戶群中三個針對工程和售後市場的大型詢價單，以及空中交通領域的潛在新客戶。2024 年下半年的前景是光明的。

Now I will return the call to Kevin to discuss the Q2 2024 financial results in more detail.

現在我將回電給 Kevin ，更詳細地討論 2024 年第二季的財務表現。

Thank you, Brad. Regarding our consolidated results, consolidated gross profit for the second quarter of 2024 grew by 6.6% as compared to 2023 from $18.8 million to $20.0 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter grew by 10.8% from $6.5 million to $7.2 million. Adjusted diluted EPS for the second quarter of 2024 grew by 12.0% from $0.50 to $0.56.

謝謝你，布拉德。關於我們的綜合業績，2024 年第二季的綜合毛利與 2023 年相比成長了 6.6%，從 1,880 萬美元增至 2,000 萬美元。第二季調整後 EBITDA 成長 10.8%，從 650 萬美元增至 720 萬美元。2024 年第二季調整後稀釋每股收益成長 12.0%，從 0.50 美元增至 0.56 美元。

As for our segment performance in the first quarter of 2024, engineering gross profit grew by 23.7%. Life sciences, data and solutions gross profit decreased by 17.9%. Healthcare second-quarter gross profit grew by 8.6%. If we remove the impact of COVID from the comparable second quarter of 2023, we estimate that second-quarter 2024 revenue grew by about 11.1%. If we remove the impact of COVID and a deliberate reduction in services to a large long-time but slow-paying rehab customer, we estimate that second quarter 2024 grew by about 19.1%. School revenue of $30.8 million for the second quarter of 2024 grew by 23.0% after removing COVID revenue for the second quarter of 2023.

就我們2024年第一季的分部業績而言，工程毛利成長23.7%。生命科學、數據和解決方案毛利下降17.9%。醫療保健第二季毛利成長8.6%。如果我們從 2023 年第二季的可比較資料中剔除新冠疫情的影響，我們估計 2024 年第二季營收成長約 11.1%。如果我們消除新冠疫情的影響以及故意減少對長期但付款緩慢的大型康復客戶的服務，我們估計 2024 年第二季將增長約 19.1%。在扣除 2023 年第二季的新冠疫情收入後，2024 年第二季的學校收入為 3,080 萬美元，成長了 23.0%。

While we certainly consider our non-school revenue important for our future growth, our healthcare business is largely a school-based healthcare delivery model. Our year-to-date 2024 school revenue in 2024 exceeds 83%. The 2023-2024 school year is this third school year since schools returned from virtual school. The 2023-2024 school year is also the first school year to comprise zero-COVID-related revenue. We see some exciting trends.

雖然我們當然認為我們的非學校收入對我們未來的成長很重要，但我們的醫療保健業務主要是基於學校的醫療保健服務模式。我們2024年迄今的學校收入超過2024年的83%。2023-2024 學年是學校從虛擬學校返回以來的第三個學年。2023-2024 學年也是第一個新冠疫情相關收入為零的學年。我們看到了一些令人興奮的趨勢。

2023-2024 revenue of $109.8 million grew by 24.9% over 2022-2023 after removing COVID-related revenue from the prior school year. Our non-COVID school revenue in 2022-2023 grew by 29.2% over 2021-2022. School revenue from the last pre-COVID year of 2018-2019 was $60.2 million, which we nearly doubled in 2023-2024. We now have 15 school districts that exceed $500,000 in revenue. In 2018-2019, we had three. For 2021-2022, we had five.

扣除上一學年與新冠病毒相關的收入後，2023-2024 年收入為 1.098 億美元，比 2022-2023 年增長 24.9%。2022-2023 年，我們的非新冠疫情學校收入比 2021-2022 年增加了 29.2%。新冠疫情爆發前的 2018-2019 年學校收入為 6,020 萬美元，在 2023-2024 年幾乎翻了一番。我們現在有 15 個學區的收入超過 50 萬美元。2018-2019 年，我們有 3 個。2021-2022 年，我們有五個。

We are optimistic we'll get this well over 20 school districts that exceed $500,000 for the 2024-2025 school year that begins in August, September of this year as our new school pipeline is the best it's ever been heading into a new school year. While we often don't know in July, August, if a new school client will generate $50,000 or $500,000 in revenue, what I can say is that we've signed far more new school contracts for 2024-2025 than we have at any time in our long history serving school districts. As for the second half of fiscal 2024, we are optimistic that we will continue to see low double-digit consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth as compared to fiscal 2023 with a similar quarterly cadence when compared to fiscal 2023.

我們樂觀地認為，在今年 8 月、9 月開始的 2024-2025 學年中，我們將為超過 20 個學區提供超過 50 萬美元的資金，因為我們的新學校管道是進入新學年以來最好的。雖然我們通常不知道在7 月、8 月，新的學校客戶是否會產生50,000 美元或500,000 美元的收入，但我可以說的是，我們在2024-2025 年簽署的新學校合約比任何時候都多得多在我們為學區服務的悠久歷史中。至於 2024 財年下半年，我們樂觀地認為，與 2023 財年相比，我們將繼續看到較低的兩位數綜合調整後 EBITDA 增長，且季度節奏與 2023 財年相似。

This concludes our prepared remarks. At this time, we will open the call for questions.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。此時，我們將開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Alex Rygiel, B. Riley Securities.

（操作員指示）Alex Rygiel，B. Riley 證券。

Thank you, Brad and Kevin, very solid quarter. Nice to see.

謝謝布拉德和凱文，這個季度非常紮實。很高興看到。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

A couple of quick questions here. First, schools business. Obviously, it's doing fantastic, but the strength in the schools business and the commentary with regards to engineering for other segments, it all seems very bullish and more bullish than low double-digit EBITDA growth. So I wanted to talk to you a little bit about maybe helping us to understand what I feel is maybe a conservative target.

這裡有幾個簡單的問題。一是學校業務。顯然，它的表現非常出色，但學校業務的實力以及對其他領域工程的評論，這一切似乎都非常樂觀，而且比低兩位數的 EBITDA 成長更樂觀。所以我想和你們談談，也許可以幫助我們理解我認為可能是個保守的目標。

Well, just bear in mind, we're talking about Q3 and Q4 of this year. A lot of that revenue is already baked, right? The schools don't really get going until like the second week in September. I mean they sprinkle into August and into September. And we often don't know how strong they're going to start in terms of the new schools, and even some of the long-time clients sometimes start a little slow and then ramp up.

好吧，請記住，我們正在談論今年的第三季和第四季。大部分收入已經出爐了，對吧？學校直到九月的第二週才真正開學。我的意思是，它們會持續到八月和九月。我們常常不知道他們在新學校方面的起步有多強，甚至一些長期客戶有時起步會有點慢，然後就會加快速度。

So it's -- we're very bullish on the school year in general. But we have some -- if you look at the numbers, compared to 2023, we had a pretty big jump in Q4 from Q3, right? So basically, predicting a 10%-ish increase in EBITDA is already baking in a pretty nice increase in terms of the sequential movement of revenue and EBITDA. But yes, I mean we are being a little bit conservative but that's by design because, obviously, things can change pretty rapidly, and we don't want to put big numbers out there, obviously.

所以，我們總體上對本學年非常樂觀。但我們有一些——如果你看一下數字，與 2023 年相比，我們第四季度比第三季度有相當大的跳躍，對嗎？因此，基本上，預測 EBITDA 成長 10% 左右，就收入和 EBITDA 的連續變動而言，已經預示著相當不錯的成長。但是，是的，我的意思是我們有點保守，但這是設計使然，因為顯然，事情可能會很快發生變化，而且我們顯然不想放出大數字。

And then Brad, as you think about the next 12 months, from a revenue standpoint, what segment do you think grows fastest?

Brad，當您考慮未來 12 個月時，從收入的角度來看，您認為哪個細分市場成長最快？

Well, that's an interesting question. Look, we think about the business every single day, so we can work with the team leaders to help set that business up for success, T+2, T+3, and well into the future. So naturally, when you look at the strength of all three of these businesses being able to underwrite the success relative to one another over the short term based on drivers that we're invested in and put in place potentially two, three years ago.

嗯，這是一個有趣的問題。看，我們每天都在思考業務，因此我們可以與團隊領導合作，幫助業務取得成功，T+2、T+3，並為未來做好準備。因此，很自然地，當你觀察這三項業務的實力時，它們能夠根據我們在兩三年前投資並可能實施的驅動因素，在短期內保證彼此的成功。

It can become difficult from an underwriting perspective. However, I think that this emphasizes a really key point is quite a bit of confidence can be gained in the platform. This collection of businesses that was built up when you think about the underwriting of outcomes, both short and long term. But when you isolate any one of the divisions over a short period of time, inevitably, there could be some gyration that's expected and frankly unexpected.

從承保的角度來看，這可能會變得困難。然而，我認為這強調了一個真正關鍵的一點，那就是可以在平台上獲得相當多的信心。當您考慮短期和長期結果的承保時，建立了這一系列業務。但是，當你在短時間內孤立任何一個部門時，不可避免地會出現一些意料之中的、坦白說是意料之外的波動。

So sorry, if it's a little bit too much or not enough, Alex, but I hope that answers your question.

很抱歉，如果有點太多或不夠，亞歷克斯，但我希望這能回答你的問題。

And lastly, balance sheet is pretty strong. So quick thoughts on capital allocation priorities?

最後，資產負債表相當強勁。對資本配置優先事項有如此快速的思考嗎？

Yes. Look, we've always tried to play this down the middle and just be very open-minded and flexible and be in a position to move opportunistically. So not necessarily manage the balance sheet to anyone, quote, optimal capital structure, but to be nimble and flexible and be in a position to also manage a risk profile and keep it relatively low.

是的。看，我們一直試圖在中間發揮作用，並且保持非常開放和靈活的態度，並能夠抓住機會採取行動。因此，不一定要向任何人管理資產負債表、報價、最佳資本結構，而是要保持敏捷和靈活，並能夠管理風險狀況並將其保持在相對較低的水平。

So with respect to share buybacks, obviously, we've been very active over the last several years. Well over 40% of the company at this point has been retired. At the same time, opportunities on the M&A front, it continues to be -- the pipeline continues to strengthen. But we're not going to deviate from our baseline plan with respect to evaluating opportunities that we can bolt on to the platform that we believe we can grow substantially and have an alignment and culture and vision with the existing base. So we always say 1 plus 1 equals 5.

因此，在股票回購方面，顯然，我們在過去幾年中一直非常活躍。目前，公司超過 40% 的員工已經退休。同時，併購方面的機會仍在不斷加強。但在評估我們可以利用的平台的機會時，我們不會偏離我們的基線計劃，我們相信我們可以在這個平台上實現大幅增長，並與現有基礎保持一致、文化和願景。所以我們總是說1加1等於5。

Over, call it, the near term in terms of the opportunity set, the ones I think are probably most relevant are in engineering. But that can change, too. So on the capital allocation front, like as you said, we've been pretty consistent under $1 million one turn of EBITDA of leverage. It's not that we're led to that mark, but that seems to be right where we've -- things have fallen nicely in the place as far as the model.

總而言之，就機會集而言，近期我認為最相關的可能是工程領域。但這也可能改變。因此，在資本配置方面，正如您所說，我們在每輪 EBITDA 槓桿為 100 萬美元的情況下一直非常穩定。這並不是說我們已經達到了這個目標，但這似乎就是我們所處的位置——就模型而言，事情已經很好地完成了。

Very helpful. Thank you very much. Nice quarter.

非常有幫助。非常感謝。不錯的季度。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Bill Sutherland, Benchmark.

比爾‧薩瑟蘭，《基準》。

Thanks. Hey, guys. Brad, you mentioned a 54% increase in new hires I think for first half. And I guess just if you could clarify if that's the time frame and whether it's all o-f engineering?

謝謝。嘿，夥計們。Brad，您提到上半年新進員工人數增加了 54%。我想您能否澄清一下這是否是時間範圍以及是否全部都是工程問題？

Yes, that's aerospace. Frankly, aerospace was a little bit more sluggish than we anticipated as a whole in the first half. However, our confidence and the crystallization of that pipeline is improving. So those remarks are relative to the aerospace.

是的，那就是航空航天。坦白說，上半年航空航太業的整體表現比我們預期的要低迷一些。然而，我們的信心和管道的結晶正在改善。所以這些言論是與航空航太相關的。

Okay, thanks. A little dip quarter-on-quarter and/or more pronounced than you usually see in life size, is that just project timing?

好的，謝謝。季度環比略有下降和/或比您通常在實際尺寸中看到的更明顯，這只是專案時間安排嗎？

Yes, good guess. That's a little bit of timing. So we have a particular high-margin project come to an end in Q2 of last year. And basically, what we're going to -- what we're backfilling will start a little bit later in Q3. So we actually think as you get into the back half of Q3 and into Q4, there should be a very healthy uptick in that business.

是的，猜得不錯。這有點時機。因此，我們有一個特別的高利潤項目在去年第二季結束。基本上，我們要回填的內容將在第三季稍後開始。因此，我們實際上認為，當進入第三季後半段和第四季時，該業務應該會出現非常健康的成長。

Okay. And when you -- or maybe Kevin refers to school districts in the pipe, are those ready? I mean, those are signed and just it's an implementation pipeline. Or is this a --?

好的。當你——或者凱文提到即將到來的學區時，這些學區準備好了嗎？我的意思是，這些都已簽署，只是一個實施管道。或者這是一個——？

So we have a significant number of school districts that are signed over 20 actually. And we think we'll -- we're hopeful we'll sign over 30 new school districts heading into next year. And that's a pretty significant -- it's a really significant number.

因此，我們實際上簽署了 20 多個學區。我們認為明年我們將簽署 30 多個新學區。這是一個非常重要的數字——這是一個非常重要的數字。

Now on the flip side, I have to caution you because we just -- we get into these schools and sometimes we're pretty disappointed with the number of reps that we get. But we've never been sitting here in July with the number of new school districts that we have for next year.

現在，另一方面，我必須警告你，因為我們只是——我們進入這些學校，有時我們對我們得到的代表數量感到非常失望。但我們從來沒有在七月坐在這裡討論過明年新學區的數量。

So hopefully, we can penetrate, I don't know, meaningfully 10 of them, maybe more. We'll just have to see how it all plays out, but it's a real exciting time for the healthcare business.

所以希望我們能夠深入（我不知道）其中 10 個，甚至更多。我們只需要看看這一切會如何發展，但這對醫療保健產業來說確實是一個令人興奮的時刻。

So just to be clear, the 20 you got signed up for more than 20, that's for the '24 -- I'm sorry, for the 2025-2026 full year?

所以需要明確的是，您註冊的 20 多個項目是 24 週年——抱歉，是 2025-2026 全年？

No. For 2024-2025, they're starting in August, September. I mean, we're recruiting for some of these schools right now.

不。2024-2025 年，他們將於 8 月、9 月開始。我的意思是，我們現在正在為其中一些學校招募。

Okay. Okay.

好的。好的。

When I say 2024-2025, just to be clear, in different schools in different parts of the country started different times. They start anywhere from early August to early September, and they end anywhere from early May to late June, right? So when I talk about school years, I'm talking about our third and fourth quarter added to our first and second quarter for a school year.

當我說 2024-2025 年時，需要明確的是，全國不同地區的不同學校的開始時間不同。它們從八月初到九月初開始，從五月初到六月下旬結束，對嗎？因此，當我談論學年時，我指的是學年第一和第二季度中添加的第三和第四季度。

Right. And then last just looking at the cash flow end seeing that second quarter in terms of operating cash flow is pretty much in line with the first quarter, should we think about the back half being like the first half?

正確的。最後看看現金流端，發現第二季的經營現金流與第一季基本一致，我們是否應該認為下半年與上半年一樣？

I hope it's better. I expect the third quarter should be strong because we have a drop in revenue due to seasonality. So that naturally is going to boost cash flow. Obviously, the revenue spikes back up in Q4, which will hurt cash flow. But we're working hard to improve our DSOs in Q4 to offset some of that.

我希望它會更好。我預計第三季應該會很強勁，因為我們的收入由於季節性而下降。因此，這自然會增加現金流。顯然，第四季收入回升，這將損害現金流。但我們正在努力改進第四季度的 DSO，以抵消其中的一些影響。

So when we look at the second half versus the first half, I expect second half cash flow when you take Q3 and Q4 and add them together to be better than Q1 and Q2. I'll be disappointed if it's not. And that's cash flow from operations, obviously.

因此，當我們比較下半年與上半年時，我預計，當你將第三季和第四季的數據加在一起時，下半年的現金流將優於第一季和第二季。如果不是的話我會很失望。顯然，這是來自營運的現金流。

Okay. Thanks, both.

好的。謝謝，兩位。

All right. And at this time, there are no further questions.

好的。而此時，已經沒有其他問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Frank Kelly.

（操作員說明）弗蘭克凱利。

Gentlemen, great quarter, certainly, seems to be on the right trend little bit improvement in AR. But can you shed some light, Kevin, on the SG&A line item? Year over year, it's up over 6% and revenue obviously are not. But last year at this time when we were on the call, we said, oh, well, we're investing. We're investing in infrastructure and whatnot and staff. And we've been doing that now obviously for the last year. What drives that additional 6% plus in SG&A? And what are we doing to keep it?

先生們，偉大的季度，當然，AR 領域似乎正處於正確的趨勢，略有改善。但凱文，您能否透露一下 SG&A 訂單項目的情況？年比增長超過 6%，但收入顯然沒有增長。但去年的這個時候，當我們接到電話時，我們說，哦，好吧，我們正在投資。我們正在投資基礎設施等以及員工。顯然去年我們一直在這樣做。是什麼推動 SG&A 額外增加 6%？我們正在做什麼來保留它？

There's really two general drivers of this or three, I would say. One is just natural inflation of costs, right? Labor goes up, cost of technology goes up, rent goes up in some areas. So that's one.

我想說，實際上有兩個或三個一般驅動因素。一是成本的自然膨脹，對吧？勞動力上漲，技術成本上漲，某些地區的租金上漲。這就是其中之一。

Two is we're making a big investment in technology. And we're -- particularly cybersecurity is an area where we've had to put a lot of money into it. Just to keep up with making sure our company doesn't get taken down by cyber threats. And there's a lot of money that's been invested in cybersecurity and other IT initiatives.

二是我們正在對科技進行大量投資。我們——特別是網路安全是我們必須投入大量資金的領域。只是為了跟上確保我們的公司不會受到網路威脅的打擊。並且在網路安全和其他 IT 計劃上投入了大量資金。

And of course, just investing in infrastructure to support the growth that we expect to come, especially on the healthcare side. I mean if we over hire a little bit in healthcare, we'll figure it out later. But we'll hire as many recruiters and healthcare as we can find.

當然，只是投資基礎設施來支持我們預期的成長，特別是在醫療保健方面。我的意思是，如果我們在醫療保健領域過度僱用一點人手，我們稍後會解決這個問題。但我們將僱用盡可能多的招募人員和醫療保健人員。

Just as an area, we're continually investing in SG&A. By the same token, because you followed the company a long time, we continually look to prune SG&A as well. So we'll continue to look for opportunities to bring -- there are certain areas where you just can't bring it down. And you just like the cost of being a public company, for instance, has just gone up incredibly over the last couple of years like way above double digits. But we'll continue to look for opportunities.

正如一個領域一樣，我們不斷投資於銷售、管理和管理 (SG&A)。出於同樣的原因，因為您關注公司很長時間，我們也不斷尋求削減 SG&A。因此，我們將繼續尋找機會——在某些領域是你無法阻止的。例如，你喜歡成為一家上市公司的成本，在過去幾年裡難以置信地上漲了兩位數以上。但我們會繼續尋找機會。

For instance, Brad mentioned something about opening up an office in the Philippines. And we're going to continue to leverage some of the talent over there that is a lot cheaper than it is here. So we'll continue to look to ways to grow our gross profit in an amount that significantly exceeds the growth in SG&A. And that's the way we looked at it, Frank. I don't pay attention as much to the revenue growth relative to SG&A. I look at the growth in gross profit versus SG&A. And we can continue to improve that ratio and we will.

例如，布拉德提到了在菲律賓開設辦事處的事情。我們將繼續利用那裡的一些人才，這些人才的成本比這裡便宜得多。因此，我們將繼續尋找方法使我們的毛利成長顯著超過銷售管理費用的成長。弗蘭克，我們就是這麼看的。我不太關注相對於 SG&A 的營收成長。我比較了毛利與銷售管理費用的成長。我們可以繼續提高這一比率，我們會的。

Yes. So Frank, one thing I'd just add real quick, it's starting to think about the company more as a $500 million company and a $1 billion company. So naturally, when you look at RCM historically, the infrastructure -- we underinvest a little bit, frankly, in infrastructure. And that was in our existing state. Now when you start to think forward, towards building a much larger company, an international company, inevitably, in addition to catching up on some of that investment, that brings a whole another profile of infrastructure.

是的。弗蘭克，我要快速補充一件事，那就是開始更多地將公司視為一家價值 5 億美元的公司和一家價值 10 億美元的公司。因此，很自然地，當你回顧 RCM 的歷史時，我們會發現基礎設施——坦白說，我們在基礎設施方面的投資有點不足。那是我們現有的狀態。現在，當你開始向前思考時，為了建立一家更大的公司，一家國際公司，除了追趕一些投資之外，不可避免地會帶來完全不同的基礎設施概況。

And look, the good news is it's well underway. As always, we're measured and thoughtful about how we add dollars into our cost structure. So, so far, so good. I mean as revenue grew up and GP accelerate, naturally, the fall-through should as well.

看，好消息是它正在順利進行中。一如既往，我們對如何將資金添加到成本結構中進行了衡量和深思熟慮。所以，到目前為止，一切都很好。我的意思是，隨著收入的成長和 GP 的加速，自然也會出現下滑。

Right. Great. Understood. And things like bricks and mortar spot locations that are becoming more and more unnecessary at this point, I'm sure we're looking at those as well to bring down some of that expensive SG&A.

正確的。偉大的。明白了。諸如實體地點之類的東西在這一點上變得越來越不必要，我確信我們也在考慮這些以降低一些昂貴的銷售管理費用。

For sure. But our bricks-and-mortar costs have come down over the last couple of years back, which is obviously not going to be a surprise to you. But we do think that depending on the business, having bricks and mortar is really important. We don't need the same amount of space on a like per square foot per person that we needed six, seven years ago. But we still think it's really important to have bricks and mortar space for people who come to the office a couple of days a week, and again, it depends on the business.

一定。但我們的實體成本在過去幾年中有所下降，這顯然不會令您感到驚訝。但我們確實認為，根據業務的不同，擁有實體確實很重要。我們不再需要像六、七年前那樣每人每平方英尺的空間。但我們仍然認為，為每週來辦公室幾天的人提供實體空間非常重要，而且取決於業務。

There are some businesses that we have that are pretty much 95% remote and there's others that aren't. But we'd like to have space where our employees want to come to work, and they want to collaborate and they want to learn, and they want to get trained. It's important to us to have that space.

我們的一些企業幾乎 95% 都位於偏遠地區，而有些企業則不然。但我們希望有一個空間，讓我們的員工願意來工作，他們想要合作，他們想要學習，他們想要接受訓練。擁有這樣的空間對我們來說很重要。

So we're not ever going to move to a fully remote company. But we're always looking to keep those costs down. You know I love some leases, and we have a couple of those that are pretty cheap. And we just continue to look to drive those costs down anywhere we can.

所以我們永遠不會搬到一家完全遠端的公司。但我們始終致力於降低這些成本。你知道我喜歡一些租賃，而且我們有一些非常便宜的。我們只是繼續尋求盡可能降低這些成本。

Yes. Frank, next time you're in Pensilhawkin, why don't you stop by HQ and you'll feel pretty good about the leases that we're investing in. And when you think about some of our higher leases, they tend to resemble more training centers being much more functional. As you walk through the facilities, it's pretty clear that there's an ROI associated with those investments.

是的。弗蘭克，下次您來彭西爾霍金時，為什麼不順便來一下總部，您會對我們投資的租賃感到非常滿意。當你想到我們的一些更高的租約時，它們往往類似於更多的培訓中心，功能更加強大。當您瀏覽這些設施時，很明顯這些投資會帶來投資回報。

Great. Will do.

偉大的。會做。

Thanks, Frank.

謝謝，弗蘭克。

Ladies and gentlemen, there are no final questions in the queue.

女士們先生們，隊列中沒有最後一個問題。

Thank you for attending RCN's second-quarter conference call. We look forward to our next update in November.

感謝您參加 RCN 第二季電話會議。我們期待 11 月的下一次更新。

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude your call. You may now disconnect your lines. And thank you again for joining us today.

女士們、先生們，你們的通話到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。再次感謝您今天加入我們。