Resources Connection Inc (RGP) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Resources Connection Inc. conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.

下午好，女士們先生們，歡迎參加 Resources Connection Inc. 電話會議。（操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音。

At this time, I would like to remind everyone that management will be commenting on results for the fourth quarter ended May 25, 2024. They will also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. An explanation and reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the press release issued today. Today's press release can be viewed in the Investor Relations section of RGP's website and filed today with the SEC.

此時，我想提醒大家，管理階層將對截至2024年5月25日的第四季業績發表評論。他們也將參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標。今天發布的新聞稿中包含了這些措施與最具可比性的公認會計準則財務措施的解釋和調節。今天的新聞稿可以在 RGP 網站的投資者關係部分查看，並在今日向 SEC 提交。

Also during this call, management may make forward-looking statements regarding plans, initiatives, and strategies and the anticipated financial performance of the company. Such statements are predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially.

此外，在這次電話會議中，管理層可能會就公司的計劃、舉措和策略以及預期財務業績做出前瞻性陳述。此類陳述屬於預測，實際事件或結果可能有重大差異。

Please see the Risk Factors section in RGP's report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 27, 2023, for a discussion of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the company's business, results of operations, and financial condition to differ materially from what is expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made during this call. Such discussion will also be included in the Risk Factors section in RGP's report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 25, 2024, which will be filed on July 19, 2024.

請參閱 RGP 截至 2023 年 5 月 27 日的 10-K 表格報告中的「風險因素」部分，以了解可能導致公司業務、經營業績和財務狀況出現差異的風險、不確定性和其他因素的討論實質上來自本次電話會議期間所做的前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示的內容。此類討論也將包含在 RGP 截至 2024 年 5 月 25 日的年度 10-K 表格報告的風險因素部分中，該報告將於 2024 年 7 月 19 日提交。

I'll now turn the call over to RGP's CEO, Kate Duchene.

我現在將把電話轉給 RGP 執行長 Kate Duchene。

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining today. I welcome Bhadresh Patel to this call as it is his first as our Chief Operating Officer. Following my remarks, Bhadresh will comment on the execution of our strategy to drive performance with our new operating structure and leadership team in place. Jenn Ryu, our CFO, will then provide a detailed review of our financial performance for Q4, key operational metrics, and the outlook for Q1 fiscal '25.

謝謝你，接線生。大家下午好，感謝您今天的加入。我歡迎 Bhadresh Patel 參加這次電話會議，因為這是他第一次擔任我們的營運長。在我發表演說後，巴德雷什將評論我們透過新的營運結構和領導團隊來推動績效的策略執行情況。然後，我們的財務長 Jenn Ryu 將詳細審查我們第四季度的財務業績、關鍵營運指標以及 25 年第一季的財務前景。

In Q4, our business stabilized as we exceeded the top end of our revenue and gross margin outlook. On revenue, we performed almost 4% above the top end of our range while also continuing to deliver strong cash flow conversion. By driving cost discipline and operating efficiency, we also outperformed the favorable end of our run rate SG&A outlook and delivered an 11% decrease in run rate expense from last year.

第四季度，我們的業務穩定下來，超過了收入和毛利率預期的上限。在收入方面，我們的表現比我們的範圍上限高出近 4%，同時也持續實現強勁的現金流轉換。透過推動成本控制和營運效率，我們的表現也超出了 SG&A 預期運行率的有利結果，運行率費用比去年下降了 11%。

Our balance sheet remains pristine with no outstanding debt. The current outlook on the global economy presents a mix of cautious optimism and challenge, and we're focusing our business pursuits in areas where clients are investing to improve their operating performance and drive transformation.

我們的資產負債表保持原始狀態，沒有未償債務。當前的全球經濟前景既謹慎樂觀又充滿挑戰，我們將業務重點集中在客戶投資以提高營運績效和推動轉型的領域。

During the quarter, client engagement extensions and retention were strong, with new projects starting to convert more consistently in certain pockets. We see increasing opportunity around ERP cloud migration, preparation for AI adoption, and digital workflow implementations and optimizations.

本季度，客戶參與度擴展和保留強勁，新專案開始在某些領域實現更一致的轉換。我們看到 ERP 雲端遷移、人工智慧採用準備以及數位工作流程實施和優化方面的機會越來越多。

At the same time, our core solution supporting the operational needs of the CFO and CHRO will stabilize further as talent shortages, automation, and change initiatives present growing opportunity.

同時，隨著人才短缺、自動化和變革措施帶來了越來越多的機會，我們支持財務長和人力資源長營運需求的核心解決方案將進一步穩定。

The summer quarter which we're in is always impacted by seasonality due to holidays and project start dates pushing to September. But we remain cautiously optimistic that the macro buying environment, while still choppy, will improve as we move through the current fiscal year, and we'll be ready with capabilities aligned to marketplace needs.

由於假期和專案開始日期推遲到九月，我們所處的夏季總是受到季節性的影響。但我們仍然謹慎樂觀地認為，宏觀購買環境雖然仍然不穩定，但隨著本財年的推進，將會有所改善，並且我們將準備好符合市場需求的能力。

For fiscal '25, which launched in June, we've prioritized the following strategies to propel us forward as the macroenvironment improves. First, we have evolved our business into three core engagement models: on-demand talent, consulting, and outsourced services. By offering all three within one enterprise, we can more effectively deliver what clients want today: transparency, value, and integrated service solutions.

對於 6 月啟動的 25 財年，我們優先考慮了以下策略，以隨著宏觀環境的改善推動我們前進。首先，我們將業務發展為三種核心參與模式：按需人才、諮詢和外包服務。透過在一個企業內提供這三項服務，我們可以更有效地提供客戶當今想要的東西：透明度、價值和整合服務解決方案。

This year, we will clarify and operationalize these models and unlock the cross-sell of our diversified capabilities throughout our blue chip, loyal, and longstanding client base. The new structure will enable us to better serve our clients where they need us along their transformation journey with a combination of targeted skill sets, high-value consulting services, and outsourced delivery.

今年，我們將澄清和實施這些模型，並在我們的藍籌、忠誠和長期客戶群中釋放我們多元化能力的交叉銷售。新的結構將使我們能夠結合有針對性的技能、高價值諮詢服務和外包交付，在客戶轉型過程中需要我們時更好地為他們服務。

We bring flexibility, leverage best of breed technology, and combine human-centered design with functional subject matter expertise. We will grow our consulting business by leveraging on-demand talent to help us scale with greater financial flexibility and better skill set alignment.

我們帶來靈活性，利用最好的技術，並將以人為本的設計與功能主題專業知識相結合。我們將透過利用按需人才來發展我們的諮詢業務，幫助我們透過更大的財務靈活性和更好的技能組合來擴大規模。

With respect to our outsourced services business. We've expanded Countsy's total addressable market beyond the startup ecosystem to now serve the finance, accounting, and HR needs around spin outs or carve outs. Reorganizing the business for improved clarity and focus ensures that we're strongly positioned to execute and win as the macroenvironment recovers.

關於我們的外包服務業務。我們已將 Countsy 的整體潛在市場擴展到新創生態系統之外，現在可以滿足圍繞分拆或分拆的財務、會計和人力資源需求。重組業務以提高透明度和重點，確保我們在宏觀環境復甦時能夠強有力地執行並獲勝。

Second, for fiscal Q1, we will launch externally our new enterprise brand to better educate all stakeholders on how our offerings and go-to-market approach differentiates us from the competition. We have a superb value proposition for today's marketplace. We're building new websites to launch this fall to reflect this value, so stakeholders understand what we do, who we serve, when to call us, and the impact we deliver.

其次，對於第一財季，我們將對外推出新的企業品牌，以更好地教育所有利益相關者，讓他們了解我們的產品和上市方式如何使我們在競爭中脫穎而出。我們為當今市場提供了卓越的價值主張。我們正在建立新網站，將於今年秋季推出，以反映這一價值，以便利益相關者了解我們的業務、我們為誰服務、何時打電話給我們以及我們提供的影響。

We routinely win against the Big Four, partly because we are purposely built to deliver differently. We believe we can further increase the win rate by ensuring we're better understood; that we can deliver on our clients' needs with lower cost, faster impact, global reach, and greater flexibility. Furthermore, our growing consulting capability provides us with deeper visibility into our clients' transformation agendas to enable us to be part of a larger ecosystem of execution work.

我們經常戰勝四大巨頭，部分原因是我們生來就是為了提供不同的服務。我們相信，透過確保我們得到更好的理解，我們可以進一步提高勝率；我們能夠以更低的成本、更快的影響力、全球影響力和更大的靈活性來滿足客戶的需求。此外，我們不斷增長的諮詢能力使我們能夠更深入地了解客戶的轉型議程，使我們能夠成為更大的執行工作生態系統的一部分。

Third, we're building and bringing to market more technology, digital, and data capabilities in all we do across the business units. Specifically, we are adding skilled on-demand and consulting professionals in technology migration, cybersecurity, data modernization, and data privacy and user experience to proactively meet evolving client needs.

第三，我們在各個業務部門所做的一切工作中，正在建立更多的技術、數位和數據功能，並將其推向市場。具體來說，我們正在增加技術遷移、網路安全、資料現代化、資料隱私和使用者體驗熟練的按需和諮詢專業人員，以主動滿足不斷變化的客戶需求。

This is a growth opportunity as today's CFO is not just about the numbers. She must be a technologist. data expert, change agent, and people manager. The increased adoption of digital tools, remote work styles, gen AI, and globalization is driving new areas of need in our client base, and we are in a superior position to serve.

這是一個成長機會，因為當今的財務長不僅僅關注數字。她一定是個技術專家。數據專家、變革推動者和人員經理。數位工具、遠距工作方式、人工智慧和全球化的日益普及正在推動我們的客戶群出現新的需求領域，而我們在服務方面處於優勢地位。

We have approximately 1,700 master service agreements and can provide services across the many buying centers within our clients. In June, we convened an in-person fiscal '25 kickoff meeting with go-to-market personnel in North America. We rallied around RGP strategy and focused the team on execution. The team fully embraced the strategy, which is grounded in client feedback, prioritizes attracting and retaining A-plus talent, and building exceptional global delivery.

我們擁有約 1,700 個主服務協議，可在客戶的多個購買中心提供服務。6 月，我們與北美行銷人員舉行了 25 財年面對面啟動會議。我們圍繞著 RGP 策略團結起來，並將團隊的重點放在執行上。該團隊完全接受該策略，該策略以客戶回饋為基礎，優先考慮吸引和留住一流人才，並建立卓越的全球交付能力。

Related to the growth of technology, data, and digital consulting capabilities, I'm pleased to confirm that we closed the Reference Point acquisition earlier this month. As a reminder, Reference Point is a management consulting firm focused on helping financial services organizations transform and optimize technology infrastructure, manage risk, and comply with regulations.

與技術、數據和數位諮詢能力的成長相關，我很高興地確認我們已於本月初完成了對 Reference Point 的收購。請注意，Reference Point 是一家管理顧問公司，專注於幫助金融服務組織轉型和優化技術基礎設施、管理風險並遵守法規。

The financial services industry, which has the largest consulting services spend, was one of the first sectors we invested in, and it's been a top three industry vertical for RGP since inception. This highly strategic acquisition will expand our portfolio of high-value on-trend advisory services. It also aligns well with our strategic path forward of building consulting capabilities that can scale rapidly with on-demand talent.

諮詢服務支出最大的金融服務業是我們最早投資的產業之一，自成立以來一直是 RGP 的三大垂直產業。這項高度策略性的收購將擴大我們的高價值趨勢諮詢服務組合。它也與我們建立可透過隨選人才快速擴展的諮詢能力的策略路徑非常吻合。

Reference Point has built its business with this blended bench and agile approach. As we introduce the business to RGP's existing and expansive financial services client base, we are well positioned to deliver more for this important client set across diversified buying centers.

Reference Point 透過這種混合工作台和敏捷方法來建立其業務。當我們向 RGP 現有且廣泛的金融服務客戶群介紹該業務時，我們已做好充分準備，能夠為跨多元化購買中心的這一重要客戶群提供更多服務。

Before turning the call to Bhadresh, I'd like to highlight findings from our recent marketplace research. As I've shared in the past, we regularly conduct original research around the macroeconomic factors and labor market trends that are impacting workforce decisions. In this survey, we sought to determine where finance decision makers will invest over the next 12 months when interest rates decline and investment confidence improves.

在打電話給 Bhadresh 之前，我想強調一下我們最近的市場研究的結果。正如我過去所分享的，我們定期圍繞影響勞動力決策的宏觀經濟因素和勞動力市場趨勢進行原創研究。在這項調查中，我們試圖確定未來 12 個月，當利率下降和投資信心改善時，財務決策者將在哪裡進行投資。

We had more than 200 US-based director-level or above respondents. The four key takeaways are as follows. First, 81% of organizations plan to increase overall investment in workforce development, specifically investing in re-skilling and upskilling and engaging outside talent for skill set gaps. Second, 80% of organizations are currently executing digital transformation initiatives and are experiencing widening skill set gaps, which will require blending in external talent.

我們有超過 200 位美國董事級或以上的受訪者。四個關鍵要點如下。首先，81% 的組織計劃增加對勞動力發展的整體投資，特別是投資於再培訓和技能提升以及聘請外部人才來彌補技能差距。其次，80% 的組織目前正在執行數位轉型計劃，並且正在經歷不斷擴大的技能差距，這需要整合外部人才。

Third, 47% of respondents said that the growing urgency to better leverage AI and automation will have the biggest impact on their organization's investment and workforce development over the next 12 months. And fourth, with respect to the finance function, respondents across the board said that they will be using more consulting and on-demand support because of the ongoing accountant shortage.

第三，47% 的受訪者表示，更好地利用人工智慧和自動化的日益緊迫性將對其組織未來 12 個月的投資和勞動力發展產生最大影響。第四，在財務職能方面，所有受訪者都表示，由於會計師持續短缺，他們將使用更多諮詢和按需支援。

This research informs our strategic moves to deepen RGP's digital and technology capabilities, to provide value with on-demand experts by building blended talent teams with our clients, and to create a differentiated professional home for expert talent, especially finance and accounting professionals, who want to work in a more flexible, transparent, and choice-driven model. In addition, the key findings affirm that we're well positioned to grow as budgets open and clients push go.

這項研究為我們的策略舉措提供了信息，以加深RGP 的數位和技術能力，透過與客戶建立混合型人才團隊來為按需專家提供價值，並為專家人才（尤其是財務和會計專業人士）創造一個差異化的專業家園。此外，主要調查結果證實，隨著預算的開放和客戶的推動，我們已經做好了發展的準備。

I'll now turn the call over to Bhadresh.

我現在將把電話轉給 Bhadresh。

Thank you, Kate, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm excited to be speaking with you in my new role as COO. As Kate outlined in her remarks, we have been evolving our organization over the past several months to simplify our operating model and better align our capabilities to marketplace needs.

謝謝凱特，大家下午好。我很高興能夠以首席營運長的新身分與您交談。正如凱特在演講中所概述的那樣，在過去的幾個月裡，我們一直在發展我們的組織，以簡化我們的營運模式並更好地使我們的能力適應市場需求。

This work will bring greater clarity to our clients, our people, and the market at large and position us to win as our clients' cautious optimism begins to drive more tangible opportunity. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, we've organized our business into three core categories of engagement models, on-demand talent consulting, and outsource services.

這項工作將使我們的客戶、我們的員工和整個市場更加清晰，並使我們能夠在客戶的謹慎樂觀開始帶來更多切實的機會時獲勝。從 2025 財年開始，我們將業務分為三個核心類別：參與模式、隨選人才諮詢和外包服務。

Our on-demand talent engagement model will continue to helping enterprises thrive by providing global specialized talent and on-demand skill sets to accelerate their transformation, initiatives, and support operational needs. This area of our business is foundational to our heritage, dating back to our spinoff from Deloitte 20-plus years ago.

我們的按需人才參與模式將繼續透過提供全球專業人才和按需技能組合來幫助企業蓬勃發展，以加速其轉型、舉措和支援營運需求。我們的這項業務領域是我們傳統的基礎，可以追溯到 20 多年前我們從德勤分拆出來的時候。

I am excited to welcome Michael Lane as President of our on-demand talent organization. Michael is a business executive with more than 20 years of diverse industry experience. He brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record of success in professional services organizations.

我很高興歡迎 Michael Lane 擔任我們按需人才組織的總裁。Michael 是一位擁有 20 多年多元化產業經驗的企業主管。他帶來了豐富的知識和在專業服務組織中取得成功的良好記錄。

He joins us from Eliassen Group, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer and played a key role in transforming the sales and delivery organization. In prior roles, Mike led the efforts to grow sales and delivery muscle for both on-demand talent and consulting business models. We're excited that his expertise, leadership, and commitment to excellence will greatly contribute to our future success and growth.

在加入我們之前，他在 Eliassen Group 擔任首席營收官，在銷售和交付組織轉型中發揮了關鍵作用。在先前的職位中，Mike 領導了按需人才和諮詢業務模式的銷售和交付能力的提升工作。我們很高興他的專業知識、領導力和對卓越的承諾將為我們未來的成功和發展做出巨大貢獻。

Our newly formed consulting services engagement model merges our project consulting services group and our digital consulting services capabilities into a single service offering under the Veracity brand. This unification will allow us to manage this offering with the focus suited for a consulting business.

我們新形成的諮詢服務參與模式將我們的專案諮詢服務團隊和數位諮詢服務能力合併為 Veracity 品牌下的單一服務產品。這種統一將使我們能夠以適合諮詢業務的重點來管理此產品。

A combined consulting services offering will operate with a traditional bench model, bringing in depth and methodology, qualifications, case studies, certifications, and repeatability. Additionally, it leverages our on-demand talent business to rapidly scale delivery teams while mitigating financial risk associated with a full bench consulting model.

綜合諮詢服務將採用傳統的基準模型運作，帶來深度和方法、資格、案例研究、認證和可重複性。此外，它還利用我們的按需人才業務快速擴大交付團隊，同時降低與全員諮詢模式相關的財務風險。

This consolidation better aligns our consulting services with our go-to-market organization. It also highlights the unique strengths of RGP's on-demand talent services, offering the capabilities and flexible scalability our clients' demand.

此次整合使我們的諮詢服務與我們的行銷組織更能保持一致。它還凸顯了 RGP 按需人才服務的獨特優勢，提供客戶需求的功能和靈活的可擴展性。

Our consulting service offerings address modern-day problems with the depth and industry and functional expertise, brand experience, and technical skills. We help our clients enhance their engagement with their customers, create operational efficiency to streamline how they serve their customers, and reduce the cost to serve as they become more competitive in their target markets.

我們的諮詢服務透過深度、產業和職能專業知識、品牌經驗和技術技能來解決現代問題。我們幫助客戶增強與客戶的互動，提高營運效率以簡化他們為客戶提供服務的方式，並降低服務成本，讓他們在目標市場上更具競爭力。

Our consulting service offerings are focused in the areas of finance and accounting, risk assurance, digital data and AI, supply chain, as well as implementation expertise in SaaS platforms such as ServiceNow, Akumina, Uniform, SAP, Oracle, and Workday.

我們的諮詢服務主要集中在財務和會計、風險保障、數位資料和人工智慧、供應鏈以及 ServiceNow、Akumina、Uniform、SAP、Oracle 和 Workday 等 SaaS 平台的實施專業知識領域。

I'm happy to share that Jon Bohlman has been appointed to the new role of President of Veracity. Jon has spent his entire 28-year career in the consulting space and is ideally suited to lead this business forward. John and I worked in close partnership at Ironworks Consulting before co-founding Veracity nine years ago.

我很高興地告訴大家，喬恩·博爾曼 (Jon Bohlman) 已被任命擔任 Veracity 總裁的新職位。Jon 在顧問領域度過了 28 年的職業生涯，是領導這項業務發展的理想人選。九年前，約翰和我共同創立 Veracity 之前，曾在 Ironworks Consulting 密切合作。

His extensive background in management and digital consulting, coupled with change management and transformation, will be invaluable as we scale the core service offerings within our consulting business. Our outsourced services engagement model builds upon the foundation established by our Countsy brand.

當我們擴展諮詢業務中的核心服務產品時，他在管理和數位諮詢方面的廣泛背景，加上變革管理和轉型，將非常寶貴。我們的外包服務參與模式建立在我們 Countsy 品牌建立的基礎上。

Countsy is the preferred outsource partner for finance, accounting, and HR solutions for startups, scale-ups, and spinouts. It is currently experiencing the strongest demand since the pandemic, and we're eager to see Countsy become a more significant contributor to RGP's growth. Countsy will continue to be led by Mairtini Ni Dhomhnaill, who was the original founder of the business.

Countsy 是新創公司、擴張企業和分拆企業的首選財務、會計和人力資源解決方案外包合作夥伴。目前，它正在經歷自大流行以來最強勁的需求，我們渴望看到 Countsy 成為 RGP 成長的更重要貢獻者。Countsy 將繼續由該公司的原始創始人 Mairtini Ni Dhomhnaill 領導。

Venkat Ramaswamy will continue to lead our international business, including Europe and the Asia Pacific region, partnering closely with North America teams in selling and delivering our core service offerings. Venkat has been a critical member for the RGP family for nearly 10 years and has served in leadership roles since 2022.

Venkat Ramaswamy 將繼續領導我們的國際業務，包括歐洲和亞太地區，與北美團隊密切合作，銷售和提供我們的核心服務產品。近 10 年來，Venkat 一直是 RGP 家族的重要成員，並自 2022 年起擔任領導職務。

I look forward to collaborating with Mike, Jon, Mairtini, and Venkat to develop and implement tailored strategies to grow each business unit. We believe these internal structural enhancements will help drive focus on our core offerings, foster cross-selling, and promote ownership and accountability. The segmentation strategy is also intended to create clarity for both internal and external stakeholders as we execute distinct strategies for each business unit.

我期待與 Mike、Jon、Mairtini 和 Venkat 合作，制定並實施量身定制的策略，以發展每個業務部門。我們相信這些內部結構的增強將有助於推動我們對核心產品的關注，促進交叉銷售，並促進所有權和責任感。當我們為每個業務部門執行不同的策略時，細分策略也旨在為內部和外部利害關係人創造清晰度。

I'd like to share some recent successful examples of cross selling that highlight how our organization, with a focus on leveraging our engagement models, is already demonstrating success. For a large biopharmaceutical company that has been a client of RGP since the early 2000s, we were able to engage with the new buying center by showcasing our digital and technology capabilities.

我想分享一些最近的交叉銷售成功範例，這些範例強調了我們的組織如何透過專注於利用我們的參與模型來展示成功。對於一家自 2000 年代初以來一直是 RGP 客戶的大型生物製藥公司來說，我們能夠透過展示我們的數位和技術能力來與新的採購中心進行互動。

What began as a request for an on-demand talent resource quickly evolved into an invitation to participate in an RFP for the client's employee internet experience strategy. We were awarded the project, competing successfully against the Big Four and similar-sized firms. Based on our deep functional expertise in HR, these are experience capabilities for designing employee experiences in a strong proficiency in ServiceNow. This one is now positioned as for a significant multi-year implementation to support the client's strategic goals.

一開始是對按需人才資源的請求，很快就演變成了參與客戶員工網路體驗策略 RFP 的邀請。我們與四大公司和類似規模的公司成功競爭，贏得了這個項目。基於我們在人力資源方面深厚的職能專業知識，這些是在 ServiceNow 中熟練設計員工體驗的經驗能力。該專案現在被定位為一項重要的多年實施，以支援客戶的策略目標。

Another example builds upon a 20-year relationship with a current controller of an $8 billion leading food service provider. RGP was brought on to offer trusted insights into the roadmap for the transformation of a large merger.

另一個例子建立在與價值 80 億美元的領先食品服務提供商的現任控制人長達 20 年的合作關係之上。RGP 的任務是為大型合併的轉型路線圖提供值得信賴的見解。

We provided an integrated solution for the CSO, who needed to stand up a finance transformation office with a strong team of experienced consultants to lead the program and its multiple workstreams across internal audit, supply chain, and finance and accounting consolidation.

我們為 CSO 提供了整合解決方案，他們需要建立一個由經驗豐富的顧問組成的強大團隊的財務轉型辦公室來領導該計劃及其跨內部審計、供應鏈以及財務和會計整合的多個工作流程。

The hybrid team of on-demand and consulting services experts we put together allowed us to provide a blended solution with both compelling expertise and the flexibility the client was seeking. As yet another example, leveraging our outsourced services engagement model by Countsy, we're actively engaged in discussions with the portfolio company of a private equity firm to support a significant carve-out project.

我們組建的由按需服務專家和諮詢服務專家組成的混合團隊使我們能夠提供既具有引人注目的專業知識又具有客戶所尋求的靈活性的混合解決方案。再舉一個例子，利用 Countsy 的外包服務參與模式，我們積極與一家私募股權公司的投資組合公司進行討論，以支持一個重要的分拆專案。

We aim to provide comprehensive outsourcing services for their accounting organization and technology functions. This multi-million-dollar deal is a result of our increasing efforts to cross-sell our capabilities to our clients. These three client examples showcase successful cross-selling in action.

我們的目標是為其會計組織和技術職能提供全面的外包服務。這項價值數百萬美元的交易是我們不斷努力向客戶交叉銷售我們的能力的結果。這三個客戶範例展示了交叉銷售的成功實踐。

We recognize that our clients have diverse buying preferences. Our organizational enhancements aim to clarify our capabilities and accommodate our clients' preferred ways of purchasing while allowing us to better connect the dots internally to ensure we're bringing forth the many capabilities we can offer to our clients.

我們認識到我們的客戶有不同的購買偏好。我們的組織增強旨在闡明我們的能力並適應客戶首選的採購方式，同時使我們能夠更好地在內部連接各個點，以確保我們能夠為客戶提供許多能力。

Alongside our work to effectuate these organizational changes, we have continued to invest in technology and digital transformation to create greater efficiency in our processes and provide best-in-class digital experience for our employees.

除了努力實現這些組織變革之外，我們還繼續投資於技術和數位轉型，以提高流程效率，並為員工提供一流的數位體驗。

We have completed wave one of our implementation, which included new talent acquisition software, contract management software, and optimization of Salesforce for our go-to-market team. We're on track to deliver a new financial system later this calendar year. Following that, we will migrate our international and other businesses onto our new platform.

我們已經完成了第一波實施，其中包括新的人才招募軟體、合約管理軟體以及針對我們的上市團隊的 Salesforce 最佳化。我們預計在今年稍後推出新的金融系統。之後，我們將把我們的國際和其他業務遷移到我們的新平台上。

Last, I've spent time getting to know our operational structure and have met many incredible people. I am confident the core foundation of our business is strong. We have talented, highly capable, and committed individuals who share a growth mindset aligned to RGP's culture and values. Our future is bright given our growth strategy, organic and inorganic, the evolution of our operating structure, and an enhanced focus on execution to capitalize on the secular tailwinds according to our business model.

最後，我花了時間了解我們的營運結構，並結識了許多令人難以置信的人。我相信我們業務的核心基礎是強大的。我們擁有才華橫溢、能力強、忠誠的個人，他們擁有與 RGP 文化和價值觀相一致的成長心態。鑑於我們的有機和無機成長策略、營運結構的演變以及根據我們的業務模式更加註重執行以利用長期順風，我們的未來是光明的。

I will now turn the call over to Jenn.

我現在將把電話轉給 Jenn。

Thank you, Bhadresh, and good afternoon, everyone. During the fourth quarter, we achieved $148.2 million of revenue and a 40.2% growth margin, both considerably above the high end of the outlook ranges provided in April.

謝謝巴德雷什，大家下午好。第四季度，我們實現了 1.482 億美元的收入和 40.2% 的成長率，均遠高於 4 月份提供的展望範圍的上限。

Our run rate SG&A of $46.5 million was also significantly better than the favorable end of the outlook range provided. As a result, we generated sequentially improved adjusted EBITDA of $13.1 million, or an 8.8% adjusted EBITDA margin during the quarter and delivered $21 million of free cash flow in fiscal '24.

我們的 SG&A 營運費用為 4,650 萬美元，也明顯優於所提供的前景範圍的有利端。因此，本季我們的調整後 EBITDA 連續改善為 1,310 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 8.8%，並在 24 財年實現了 2,100 萬美元的自由現金流。

Compared to the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year, revenue declined by 20% on a same-day constant currency basis. Demand in North America and Europe continue to be in a holding pattern as clients await more macroeconomic confidence before re-accelerating staffing and project spending. However, we did see a few bright spots such as Countsy and Veracity.

與上一財年第四季相比，以當日固定匯率計算，營收下降了 20%。北美和歐洲的需求持續處於停滯狀態，因為客戶在重新加速人員配置和專案支出之前等待宏觀經濟信心增強。然而，我們確實看到了一些亮點，例如 Countsy 和 Veracity。

Countsy grew revenue year over year, and Veracity had the best top-line performance in Q4 since joining RGP in 2019. Similarly, we are pleased to see a steady rebound in our Asia Pacific region with 9% growth in revenue year over year and 4% growth sequentially from the third quarter on a same-day constant currency basis.

Countsy 營收逐年成長，Veracity 在第四季度實現了自 2019 年加入 RGP 以來最好的營收表現。同樣，我們很高興看到亞太地區的營收穩定反彈，以當日固定匯率計算，營收年增 9%，較第三季環比成長 4%。

Markets such as India and the Philippines continue to perform well, primarily attributable to project opportunities with our large multinational clients as they establish global centers of excellence in these regions. Operationally, the growth pipeline as of the fourth quarter softened a bit from earlier in the fiscal year, although we are seeing a rebound in recent weeks.

印度和菲律賓等市場持續表現良好，這主要歸功於我們的大型跨國客戶在這些地區建立全球卓越中心的專案機會。從營運角度來看，截至第四季的成長管道較本財年早些時候有所放緩，儘管最近幾週我們看到了反彈。

The velocity of converting new opportunities to actual engagements has not changed notably from previous quarters. We continue to drive sales productivity to build our growth pipeline and target solution areas where clients are focusing their spend, including ERP and digital transformation projects, project management, and risk and compliance. In addition, we also remain keenly focused on extensions of existing engagements.

將新機會轉化為實際參與的速度與前幾季相比沒有顯著變化。我們持續提高銷售效率，以建立我們的成長管道和目標解決方案領域，客戶專注於其支出，包括 ERP 和數位轉型專案、專案管理以及風險與合規性。此外，我們也持續密切關注現有業務的擴展。

Growth margin in the fourth quarter was 40.2%, easily exceeding our 37.5% to 38% outlook range, reflecting a more favorable pay-bill ratio and better leverage of our indirect cost of service. Nonetheless, growth margins in the quarter continue to reflect a heavier mix of business in Europe and Asia-Pacific compared to a year ago, where we tend to see lower growth margins.

第四季的成長率為 40.2%，輕鬆超出了我們 37.5% 至 38% 的預期範圍，反映出更有利的支付帳單比率和更好的間接服務成本槓桿。儘管如此，本季的成長利潤率繼續反映出歐洲和亞太地區的業務組合比一年前更為豐富，而我們往往會看到歐洲和亞太地區的成長利潤率較低。

The pricing environment across the globe remained competitive in the fourth quarter. Enterprise average bill rate was $120 constant currency, down from $129 a year ago. However, our US standalone average bill rate was up 1% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal '23. We will continue to optimize our overall operating results by effectively balancing pricing and volume growth.

第四季全球定價環境仍具有競爭力。企業平均帳單費率以固定匯率計算為 120 美元，低於一年前的 129 美元。然而，與 2023 財年第四季相比，我們的美國獨立平均帳單利率上升了 1%。我們將透過有效平衡定價和銷售成長來繼續優化整體經營業績。

Now onto SG&A. Our run rate at G&A expense for the quarter was $46.5 million, an 11% improvement from Q4 of the prior fiscal year, primarily driven by lower fixed and variable management compensation costs. We have actively managed our costs throughout the fiscal year and will continue to align our cost structure with the demand environment to maximize our financial performance.

現在討論SG&A。本季的一般管理費用運作率為 4,650 萬美元，比上一財年第四季提高了 11%，這主要是由於固定和可變管理薪酬成本下降。我們在整個財年積極管理成本，並將繼續根據需求環境調整我們的成本結構，以最大限度地提高我們的財務表現。

Turning to liquidity, we continue to generate healthy, free cash flow despite the macro environment. Our balance sheet remains pristine with $109 million of cash and cash equivalents and zero outstanding debt. We distributed $4.7 million worth of dividends in the quarter and repurchased $3 million worth of shares at an average price of $12 per share.

談到流動性，儘管宏觀環境嚴峻，我們仍持續產生健康、自由的現金流。我們的資產負債表保持原始狀態，現金和現金等價物為 1.09 億美元，未償債務為零。我們在本季派發了價值 470 萬美元的股息，並以每股 12 美元的平均價格回購了價值 300 萬美元的股票。

With total available financial liquidity of $283 million, we will continue to focus on investing in the most impactful areas of the business, including completing our technology transformation project and pursuing a disciplined M&A strategy to accelerate long-term growth and profitability while continuing to return cash to shareholders through dividends and by opportunistically repurchasing shares under our share repurchase program, which have $42 million remaining at the end of the fourth quarter.

憑藉總可用財務流動性 2.83 億美元，我們將繼續專注於投資最具影響力的業務領域，包括完成我們的技術轉型項目和推行嚴格的併購策略，以加速長期增長和盈利能力，同時繼續返還現金透過股利和根據我們的股票回購計畫機會性地回購股票，向股東提供回報，截至第四季末，該計畫還剩4,200 萬美元。

As Bhadresh stated earlier, we're in the final stretch of our technology implementation project in North America, currently on track to deliver the new financial systems around the end of the calendar year. At the end of Q4, $16 million related to this project has been capitalized on the balance sheet.

正如 Bhadresh 先前所說，我們正處於北美技術實施專案的最後階段，目前預計在今年年底左右交付新的金融系統。截至第四季末，與該項目相關的 1,600 萬美元已在資產負債表上資本化。

On the M&A front, as Kate mentioned, we closed the acquisition of Reference Point, a strategic advisory firm serving the financial services industry. The deal was structured with an upfront cash payment and a deferred retention pool, expected to be paid in a combination of cash and restricted stock over a period of four years.

在併購方面，正如 Kate 所提到的，我們完成了對 Reference Point 的收購，這是一家服務於金融服務業的策略顧問公司。此交易的結構包括預付款現金和延期保留池，預計將在四年內以現金和限制性股票的形式支付。

Total cash purchase price paid upon close was $23.8 million. We're very excited about the opportunities ahead as we join forces with Reference Point, accelerate growth, and better serve our financial services clients.

成交時支付的現金購買總價為 2,380 萬美元。我們對未來的機會感到非常興奮，因為我們與 Reference Point 攜手合作，加速成長並更好地為我們的金融服務客戶提供服務。

I'll now close with our first-quarter outlook. So far in the first quarter, we are seeing the typical summer seasonality as both clients' workforces and our own consultants take holidays. In addition, the operating environment continues to be choppy, impacting project starts on a number of large engagements.

我現在將結束我們對第一季的展望。到目前為止，第一季度，我們看到了典型的夏季季節性，因為客戶的員工和我們自己的顧問都在休假。此外，營運環境仍然不穩定，影響了許多大型專案的啟動。

As a result, early first-quarter weekly revenue run rate has been softer than the end of the fourth quarter. We project full-quarter revenue to be in the range of $135 million to $140 million, including around $2.5 million of revenue from Reference Point since the close of the acquisition on July 1.

因此，第一季初的周收入運行率低於第四季末。我們預計全季營收將在 1.35 億美元至 1.4 億美元之間，其中包括自 7 月 1 日收購結束以來 Reference Point 的約 250 萬美元收入。

Growth margin in Q1 will reflect the expected summer seasonality and similar global revenue mix with a higher proportion of revenue coming from Europe and Asia Pacific. We estimate gross margin in Q1 to be in the range of 37.5% to 38.5%.

第一季的成長幅度將反映預期的夏季季節性和類似的全球收入組合，其中較高比例的收入來自歐洲和亞太地區。我們預計第一季毛利率在37.5%至38.5%之間。

We expect our first-quarter run-rate SG&A expense to be in the range of $49 million to $51 million, again, including operating expenses from Reference Point post closed. Non-run-rate and non-cash expenses for the first quarter will consist of technology transformation cost and stock compensation expense, totaling approximately $5 million.

我們預計第一季的 SG&A 費用將在 4,900 萬美元至 5,100 萬美元之間，包括參考點關閉後的營運費用。第一季的非營運費用和非現金費用將包括技術改造費用和股票補償費用，總計約500萬美元。

In closing, fiscal 2024 has undoubtedly been a challenging year, given the sluggish macro environment. However, we were able to control the controllables, streamlining our cost structure, maintaining healthy liquidity, investing in technology, pursuing highly strategic acquisitions, and evolving our operating model, all of which has strengthened our readiness for recovery and growth as macro conditions begin to stabilize.

最後，鑑於宏觀環境低迷，2024 財年無疑是充滿挑戰的一年。然而，我們能夠控制可控因素，精簡成本結構，保持健康的流動性，投資技術，追求高度策略性的收購，並發展我們的營運模式，所有這些都增強了我們在宏觀條件開始好轉時復甦和增長的準備。

As we begin to operate under the new brand and business unit structure in fiscal '25, we are excited about bringing improved clarity around the strength of our business to our clients and shareholders. This concludes our prepared remarks, and we will now open the call for Q&A.

隨著我們在 25 財年開始在新的品牌和業務部門結構下運營，我們很高興能夠向客戶和股東進一步明確我們的業務實力。我們準備好的演講到此結束，現在我們將開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Joe Gomes, NOBLE Capital.

（操作員指令）Joe Gomes，NOBLE Capital。

Good afternoon, and thanks for taking the questions.

下午好，感謝您提出問題。

Sure. Hi, Joe.

當然。嗨，喬。

So one thing I wanted to touch on, last call, you mentioned you had launched the talent management and the contract management systems in North America. I'm just wondering how that rollout has gone, and do you see it being launched in other geographical areas anytime soon?

我想談一件事，上次通話時，您提到您已經在北美啟動了人才管理和合約管理系統。我只是想知道該推出的進展如何，您認為它很快就會在其他地理區域推出嗎？

Yes, so I'll start, and then I'm going to hand it to Bhadresh, who's been co-leading Project Phoenix along with Jenn. I would say our launch was outstanding and we've seen a lot of efficiency. And I think in our talent acquisition and management function, the team did a great job around change management as well and the strong utilization of our own consultants to play a role in both the implementation and the rollout. I'll let Bhadresh respond to what's our roadmap.

是的，所以我會開始，然後我會把它交給 Bhadresh，他與 Jenn 一起共同領導鳳凰計劃。我想說我們的發布非常出色，並且我們看到了很高的效率。我認為在我們的人才獲取和管理職能中，團隊在變革管理方面也做得很好，並且充分利用我們自己的顧問在實施和推廣中發揮作用。我會讓 Bhadresh 回答我們的路線圖。

From a roadmap perspective, we are planning to roll it out to international as well as our additional business units as per our [Wave 2] plan. We are focused currently on rolling out our financial management system later this year. In parallel, we're starting to plan the rollout of bringing the other entities onto the Average

從路線圖的角度來看，我們計劃根據我們的 [Wave 2] 計劃將其推廣到國際以及我們的其他業務部門。我們目前的重點是在今年稍後推出我們的財務管理系統。同時，我們開始計劃將其他實體納入平均水平

We are planning to roll it out to international as well as our additional business units as per we have to plan for focused currently on rolling out our financial management system later this year. And in parallel, we're starting to plan the rollout of bringing the other entities onto the Avature platform as well as our CPI platform.

我們計劃將其推廣到國際以及我們的其他業務部門，因為我們目前必須計劃重點在今年稍後推出我們的財務管理系統。同時，我們開始計劃將其他實體引入 Avature 平台以及我們的 CPI 平台。

Okay, great. Thanks for that. And I know -- the summer obviously is historically a little seasonal there. You ended the year with just under 2,600 consultants. It was down kind of almost 600 from the end of last year. I just wanted to kind of get your view or how well positioned are you if we see this upturn sooner than what customers are expecting?

好的，太好了。謝謝你。我知道——從歷史上看，那裡的夏天顯然有點季節性。年底，您的顧問數量略低於 2,600 名。比去年年底下降了近600。我只是想聽聽您的看法，或者如果我們比客戶期望的更早看到這種好轉，您的定位如何？

Yes. So I think, Joe, there are really two main engines -- well now, three main engines in our business. We have revenue as an engine, and that means account development and account pursuit. We have talent acquisition and management as an engine. And now as we're really building consulting in the right way, we have delivery as an engine.

是的。所以我認為，喬，我們的業務實際上有兩個主要引擎——現在是三個主要引擎。我們以收入為引擎，這意味著客戶開發和客戶追求。我們以人才獲取和管理為引擎。現在，當我們真正以正確的方式建立諮詢服務時，我們將交付作為引擎。

And all three of those I think are primed to respond as quickly as we need them to. Our talent organization has always been exceptional at both pipelining talent for needs and we're starting to do a much better job of that with some of our new technology, but also hitting just-in-time recruiting.

我認為所有這三個人都準備好按照我們需要的那樣迅速做出反應。我們的人才組織在輸送人才以滿足需求方面一直表現出色，我們開始利用一些新技術在這方面做得更好，而且還實現了及時招募。

And remember that a large contingent of our talent gets referred by existing employees. So we're always mining those relationships and our alumni channels to be ready when the faucet turns.

請記住，我們的一大批人才都是由現有員工推薦的。因此，我們一直在挖掘這些關係和校友管道，以便在水龍頭轉動時做好準備。

Okay, one more from me, if I may. Buyback, $3 million, I think you said you spent on the buyback in the quarter. Still a significant amount available. You've got the cash. Kind of maybe give us what your feelings are about possibly being a little more aggressive on the buybacks.

好的，如果可以的話，我再來一張。回購，300萬美元，我想你說過你在本季的回購上花了錢。仍有大量可用。你有現金了。請告訴我們您對可能在回購方面更加積極一點的看法。

Yes. Hi, Joe. This is Jenn. Look, we feel that our stock price is very attractive at the current level for buybacks and obviously have ample liquidity to be able to do so. We'll continue to approach buybacks opportunistically, but at the current price, as I said, is very attractive and we could very well kick up the buyback pace.

是的。嗨，喬。這是詹。看，我們認為我們的股價在目前的回購水準上非常有吸引力，顯然有充足的流動性能夠做到這一點。我們將繼續機會主義地進行回購，但正如我所說，目前的價格非常有吸引力，我們很可能會加快回購步伐。

Great. Thanks for taking the questions. I'll get back in queue, thank you.

偉大的。感謝您提出問題。我會回去排隊的，謝謝。

Thank you, Joe.

謝謝你，喬。

Andrew Steinerman, JPMorgan.

安德魯‧史坦納曼，摩根大通。

Hi. Two questions. The first one is for Jenn. My question is the midpoint of the guide on revenue for first quarter, what's the organic constant currency same-day revenue year over year?

你好。兩個問題。第一個是給 Jenn 的。我的問題是第一季營收指南的中點，以固定匯率計算的當日有機收入年比是多少？

My second question is it seems like the company is waiting for a stronger macro, but really, over the last two years, '23 and 24, real GDP in the US has actually been pretty good, in excess of 2%. And it's really the second half of this calendar year that's just slow from a real GDP standpoint. Do you feel like your business is on a different trajectory than US real GDP?

我的第二個問題是，該公司似乎正在等待更強勁的宏觀政策，但實際上，在過去的兩年裡，即23年和24年，美國的實際GDP實際上相當不錯，超過了2% 。從實際 GDP 的角度來看，今年下半年的成長速度確實很慢。您是否覺得您的企業正處於與美國實際 GDP 不同的軌道上？

Hi, Andrew. This is Jenn. Yes, I'll address your first question, which is our full quarter guide. At the midpoint of the guide, on a constant currency basis, we're down roughly around 20%. At the high end -- at 140, at the high end of the range, we're down about 18% year over year on the same-day basis.

嗨，安德魯。這是詹。是的，我將解決您的第一個問題，這是我們完整的季度指南。在指南的中點，以固定匯率計算，我們大約下降了 20% 左右。在高端——140，在該範圍的高端，我們在同日同比下降了約 18%。

Got it.

知道了。

Yes, and Andrew, I'll take this second question. It's Kate. Thank you for your questions. I don't think -- I mean, this has been a very unusual, I think, macroenvironment with the GDP going one way and the labor market going a different way. And so I think we have really mixed signals out there. And I think clients are experiencing that. In recent discussions with our clients, and remember, we're serving the Fortune 500 and beyond, they're waiting for interest rate decline.

是的，安德魯，我將回答第二個問題。是凱特。謝謝您的提問。我不認為——我的意思是，我認為這是一個非常不尋常的宏觀環境，國內生產總值朝一個方向發展，而勞動力市場朝另一個方向發展。所以我認為我們的訊號確實很複雜。我認為客戶正在經歷這一點。在最近與我們的客戶的討論中，請記住，我們為財富 500 強及其他公司提供服務，他們正在等待利率下降。

That's going to give them more confidence in capital spend. And we've also seen in our client base because of the uncertainty. And it seems like GDP keeps getting revised upward, but after the fact. So you have to marry what's happening in real time with decision making with then what gets revised afterwards.

這將使他們對資本支出更有信心。由於不確定性，我們也看到了我們的客戶群。GDP 似乎一直往上修正，但這是事後的事。因此，你必須將即時發生的事情與決策結合起來，然後再進行修改。

And those lenses can be very different. I can tell you we're doing everything we can to build pipe right now. We are very focused on execution, getting in front of clients, getting those in-person meetings in order to drive opportunity for the future.

這些鏡頭可能非常不同。我可以告訴你，我們現在正在盡一切努力建造管道。我們非常注重執行、站在客戶面前、進行面對面的會議，以便為未來創造機會。

I do feel like activity is increasing, and I do feel after we get through, we've just gotten through the European elections, we still -- there are still clients saying, we want to get through this election cycle. I think if the Fed starts reducing interest rates in the fall, we're going to see a little more confidence, and that will serve us well in all parts of our business, on demand and consulting.

我確實覺得活動正在增加，而且我確實覺得在我們結束之後，我們剛剛結束了歐洲選舉，我們仍然 - 仍然有客戶說，我們希望度過這個選舉週期。我認為，如果聯準會在秋季開始降息，我們將看到更多的信心，這將有利於我們業務的各個部分，無論是需求還是諮詢。

Sounds good, Kate. Thank you.

聽起來不錯，凱特。謝謝。

You're welcome.

不客氣。

(Operator Instructions) Mark Marcon, Baird.

（操作員說明）Mark Marcon，Baird。

Hey, good afternoon, and thanks for taking my questions. With regards to the outperformance that you had, were there any specific sectors that drove the outperformance relative to your guide? And I'm talking about from two components. One would be the revenue side. And then secondly, SG&A was materially better than expected. So I'm wondering, what drove that? Thank you.

嘿，下午好，感謝您回答我的問題。關於您的優異表現，是否有任何特定行業推動了相對於您的指導的優異表現？我正在談論兩個組成部分。其中之一是收入方面。其次，SG&A 明顯優於預期。所以我想知道，是什麼推動了這一點？謝謝。

Hi, Mark. From a Q4 performance standpoint, North America in Q4 reached a level of stabilization in the second half of the quarter, so it performed better than we had forecasted, particularly in healthcare and financial services sectors. And outside of North America, Asia Pac also performed a bit better than we expected. And overall, as I said, in India, Philippines, business is pretty strong there.

嗨，馬克。從第四季度業績來看，北美地區在下半季度達到了穩定水平，因此表現優於我們的預期，特別是在醫療保健和金融服務領域。在北美之外，亞太地區的表現也比我們預期的要好一些。總的來說，正如我所說，在印度、菲律賓，那裡的業務相當強勁。

We're also seeing a little bit of more stabilization in China as well. And China has experienced some challenges since COVID, and we're really starting to see that overall region stabilize because we are tapping into local businesses to expanding our target client base outside of just US or multinational clients. So that's really starting to pay dividends.

我們也看到中國的情況更加穩定。自新冠疫情以來，中國經歷了一些挑戰，我們確實開始看到整個地區趨於穩定，因為我們正在利用本地企業，將我們的目標客戶群擴展到美國或跨國客戶之外。所以這確實開始帶來紅利。

So that's the revenue side, overall performance, Q4 compared to what we forecasted. And on the SG&A side, we had -- as you know, we're a self-insured medical provider to our employees. And Q4, our experience, was more favorable than we had expected. And also, we had some attrition in the business that we are very carefully controlling our costs from a fixed-cost standpoint. So that's what's driving the favorability from an SG&A standpoint.

這就是第四季的營收、整體業績與我們的預測相比。在 SG&A 方面，如您所知，我們是為員工提供自我保險的醫療服務提供者。第四季度，我們的經驗比我們預期的要好。而且，我們的業務存在一些損耗，因此我們從固定成本的角度非常謹慎地控製成本。因此，從 SG&A 的角度來看，這就是推動人們青睞的原因。

Can you quantify the attrition, Jenn?

Jenn，你能量化一下損耗嗎？

I mean, I would say, we always have natural attritions in the business. And as attritions happened in Q4, we just didn't -- I mean, I probably placed it up in a given quarter probably not overly material. But that's one of the factors why we came in more favorable.

我想說的是，我們的業務總是存在自然損耗。由於第四季度發生了人員流失，我們只是沒有——我的意思是，我可能把它放在一個給定的季度，可能不會太重要。但這也是我們獲得更有利的原因之一。

Yes. And Mark, the one thing I'd add -- it's Kate -- is that we're looking very carefully at leverage in all of our functions in order to drive the return that we want to deliver for shareholders. So as Jenn talks about attrition, then we're not greenlighting the replacement but really carefully evaluating what capacity we currently have.

是的。馬克，我要補充的一件事——我是凱特——是，我們正在非常仔細地考慮我們所有職能的槓桿作用，以推動我們希望為股東帶來的回報。因此，當 Jenn 談論人員流失時，我們不是為替代者開綠燈，而是真正仔細評估我們目前擁有的能力。

And Mark, also, across the board, we're just being very disciplined with our costs and with our spend.

馬克，從整體來看，我們對成本和支出非常嚴格。

And then just -- but it does sound like for the first fiscal quarter, the expectation is $49 million and $50 million in SG&A. So what would be the areas where you would increase the spending?

然後，聽起來確實像第一財季的SG&A 預期為 4,900 萬美元和 5,000 萬美元。那麼你會在哪些領域增加支出呢？

Yes, sure, I understand your question. So in Q1's SG&A guide, you remember in fiscal '24, because of our lower performance compared to some of our variable compensation targets, we are paying out much less variable compensation as a company. So starting in Q1, there's a reset of that bonus accrual. That's what's really driving the increase in terms of run rate from Q1 if you compare that to Q4.

是的，當然，我理解你的問題。因此，在第一季的 SG&A 指南中，您還記得在 24 財年，由於我們的業績低於我們的一些可變薪酬目標，因此我們作為一家公司支付的可變薪酬要少得多。因此，從第一季開始，應計獎金將被重置。如果與第四季相比，這才是真正推動第一季運行率成長的因素。

Got it. Great. And then with regards to -- you did make some comments with regards to in recent weeks there was a little bit of a drop-off. And certainly, there are all sorts of things that are occurring from a geopolitical perspective that would drive some uncertainty. But were there specific areas or specific sectors that were more impacted than others? And can you talk a little bit more about the pipeline and the realization on cadence that you would expect?

知道了。偉大的。然後關於——你確實就最近幾週的情況發表了一些評論，情況有所下降。當然，從地緣政治角度來看，正在發生的各種事情都會帶來一些不確定性。但是否有特定領域或特定部門受到的影響比其他領域更大？你能多談談你所期望的管道和節奏的實現嗎？

Sure. Growth pipe is a bit softer, as I said, at the end of Q3 -- I mean, I'm sorry, at the end Q4 compared to last quarter. But we still feel like pipeline is relatively stable compared to our revenue trend. Top-of-the-funnel activities are still intact.

當然。正如我所說，在第三季末，成長管道有點軟——我的意思是，對不起，與上個季度相比，在第四季末。但與我們的收入趨勢相比，我們仍然認為管道相對穩定。漏斗頂部的活動仍然完好無損。

As Kate said, we're trying to -- we're driving productivity as much as we can to maintain, if not build, and build our growth pipeline. But the deals tend to stay in each stage of the pipeline longer until we get to a close. And that trend hasn't really changed notably over the last year, I would say.

正如凱特所說，我們正在努力 - 我們正在盡可能地提高生產力，以維持（如果不是建立的話）和建立我們的成長管道。但這些交易往往會在管道的每個階段停留更長時間，直到我們結束。我想說，這種趨勢在去年並沒有真正顯著改變。

I would say something that we've just analyzed, though, Mark, is what leakage have we seen from closed one that is moving from Q1 for us into Q2. And that, we are seeing that leakage as clients push to start projects in September. Our consultants, some of them are on holiday. Clients are on holiday. And I think to get optimum productivity, they're saying, let's just launch in September.

不過，馬克，我想說的是，我們剛剛分析過的事情是，我們從封閉的洩漏中看到了哪些洩漏​​，該洩漏正在從第一季轉移到第二季。而且，隨著客戶推動在 9 月啟動項目，我們看到了洩漏。我們的顧問，其中一些正在度假。客戶放假了。他們說，我認為為了獲得最佳生產力，我們就在 9 月啟動吧。

Got it. Great. Thank you very much.

知道了。偉大的。非常感謝。

You're welcome. Thank you, Mark.

不客氣。謝謝你，馬克。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call back over to Kate Duchene for any closing remarks.

謝謝。我現在想將電話轉回給凱特·杜興 (Kate Duchene)，讓其發表結束語。

Well, I'd just like to thank everyone for your attention and covering our company. I can tell you we're working very hard, and we look forward to talking to you again after we close Q1 of fiscal '25. Thanks very much and enjoy the summer.

好吧，我只想感謝大家對我們公司的關注和報導。我可以告訴您，我們正在非常努力地工作，我們期待在 25 財年第一季結束後再次與您交談。非常感謝，祝你夏天愉快。

Thank you. This concludes the conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。