Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. The Roper Technologies Conference Call will now begin. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

早安。Roper Technologies 電話會議現在開始。今天的電話會議將被錄音。（接線員指示）

I would now like to turn the call over to Zack Moxcey, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想把電話交給投資人關係副總裁 Zack Moxcey。請開始。

Good morning, and thank you all for joining as we discuss the first quarter 2024 financial results for Roper Technologies. Joining me on the call this morning are Neil Hunn, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jason Conley, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Brandon Cross, Vice President and Principal Accounting Officer; and Shannon O'Callaghan, Vice President of Finance.

早安，感謝各位加入我們，一同討論 Roper Technologies 2024 年第一季財務結果。今天早上與我一同參與電話會議的有：總裁兼執行長 Neil Hunn；執行副總裁兼財務長 Jason Conley；副總裁兼首席會計主管 Brandon Cross；以及財務副總裁 Shannon O'Callaghan。

Earlier this morning, we issued a press release announcing our financial results. The press release also includes replay information for today's call. We have prepared slides to accompany today's call, which are available through the webcast and are also available on our website.

今天稍早，我們發布新聞稿公布財務結果。新聞稿亦包含今天電話會議的重播資訊。我們已準備投影片搭配今天的電話會議，可透過網路直播取得，亦可在我們的網站上查看。

Now if you please turn to Page 2. We begin with our safe harbor statement. During the course of today's call, we will make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties as described on this page, in our press release and in our SEC filings. You should listen to today's call in the context of that information.

現在請翻到第 2 頁。我們先從安全港聲明開始。在今天的電話會議過程中，我們將作出前瞻性陳述，該等陳述受本頁、我們的新聞稿以及我們向 SEC 提交之文件中所述的風險與不確定性影響。您應在該等資訊的脈絡下收聽今天的電話會議。

And now please turn to Page 3. Today, we will discuss our results primarily on an adjusted non-GAAP and continuing operations basis. For the first quarter, the difference between our GAAP results and adjusted results consists of the following items: amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets; financial impacts associated with minority investments; and lastly, transaction-related expenses associated with the completed acquisitions. Reconciliations can be found in our press release and in the appendix of this presentation on our website.

接著請翻到第 3 頁。今天我們將主要以調整後的非 GAAP 以及持續經營業務基礎來討論我們的結果。就第一季而言，我們的 GAAP 結果與調整後結果之差異包含以下項目：與收購相關之無形資產攤銷；與少數股權投資相關之財務影響；以及最後，與已完成收購相關之交易費用。對帳表可在我們的新聞稿以及本簡報網站版本的附錄中找到。

And now if you please turn to Page 4, I'll hand the call over to Neil. After our prepared remarks, we will take questions from our telephone participants. Neil?

現在請翻到第 4 頁，我將把電話交給 Neil。在我們的準備發言之後，我們將接受電話與會者的提問。Neil？

Thank you, Zack, and thanks to everyone for joining our call. We're looking forward to sharing our first quarter results and our increased outlook for the year.

謝謝你，Zack，也感謝各位加入我們的電話會議。我們期待分享第一季的結果，以及我們對今年提高後的展望。

As we turn to Page 4, you can see the topics we'll cover today. I'll start by highlighting our strong performance in Q1. Jason will then go through our financial results in more detail, review our balance sheet, including our M&A capacity; and finally, our notable cash flow performance. Then I'll walk through our segment highlights and discuss our increased guidance for the full year and initiate our Q2 guidance. After our closing remarks, we'll open the floor for your questions.

翻到第 4 頁，您可以看到今天將涵蓋的主題。我會先強調我們在第一季的強勁表現。接著 Jason 會更詳細說明財務結果，檢視資產負債表（包括我們的併購能力），最後也會談到我們顯著的現金流表現。然後我會帶大家看各事業部門的重點，並討論我們上調的全年指引，以及提出第二季指引。在結語之後，我們將開放提問。

So let's go ahead and get started. Next slide, please. As we turn to Page 5, 3 key takeaways for today's call. First, we delivered another strong quarter results. Second, we're increasing our full year outlook. And third, we continue to be very well positioned relative to capital deployment. We double-click a bit. We grew total revenue by 14%, organic revenue by 8% and EBITDA by 16%, with EBITDA margin expanding by 60 basis points to 40.2%.

那我們就開始吧。請下一張投影片。翻到第 5 頁，今天電話會議有 3 個關鍵重點。第一，我們再度交出強勁的季度成果。第二，我們上調全年展望。第三，就資本配置而言，我們仍處於非常有利的位置。再深入一點說：總營收成長 14%，有機營收成長 8%，EBITDA 成長 16%，EBITDA 利潤率擴張 60 個基點至 40.2%。

We grew DEPS by 13% to $4.41 beating our guidance range. We grew free cash flow 15% year-over-year with free cash flow margins of 31%. We also completed the acquisition of Procare Solutions, a leading provider of software and integrated payments for the early childhood education market for $1.75 billion. Procare is a great addition to Roper. We remain very excited about the business and are especially pleased with the initial results and progress we've made during the onboarding process.

我們的 DEPS 成長 13% 至 4.41 美元，優於我們的指引區間。自由現金流年增 15%，自由現金流利潤率為 31%。我們也完成收購 Procare Solutions，以 17.5 億美元取得其在幼兒教育市場提供軟體與整合式支付的領先地位。Procare 是 Roper 的絕佳補強。我們對這項業務仍非常振奮，並對導入整合流程期間所取得的初步成果與進展感到特別滿意。

We're also increasing our full year 2024 guidance for total revenue, organic revenue and DEPS reflecting our strong momentum and continued confidence in our outlook. And we continue to be very active in the M&A market, an environment that continues to improve and one where we have a very large pipeline of high-quality and attractive opportunities.

我們也上調 2024 年全年總營收、有機營收與 DEPS 指引，反映我們強勁的動能以及對展望的持續信心。同時我們在併購市場仍非常積極；該環境持續改善，而我們也擁有非常龐大、由高品質且具吸引力機會所構成的案源管線。

Net-net, we're quite bullish about our ability to be active on the M&A front this year. As you can see, we had a great start to 2024, and we're well positioned to deliver yet another strong year of performance and growth. Now let me turn the call over to Jason. Jason?

總而言之，我們對今年在併購方面保持活躍的能力相當樂觀。如您所見，我們在 2024 年有個很好的開局，也已就位以再度交出強勁的年度表現與成長。現在我把電話交給 Jason。Jason？

Thanks, Neil. Let's dive right in on Slide 6. Q1 was an excellent first installment to 2024. Revenue was 14% over prior year to $1.68 billion. Organic growth of 8% was led by double-digit growth at our TEP segment and solid mid-single-digit growth across our application software and network software segments.

謝謝，Neil。讓我們直接看第 6 張投影片。第一季是 2024 年非常出色的第一個篇章。營收較去年同期成長 14% 至 16.8 億美元。有機成長 8%，主要由我們 TEP 事業部的雙位數成長帶動，應用軟體與網路軟體事業部也都有穩健的中個位數成長。

Of note, organic recurring revenue grew 7% and despite known headwinds at our Freight Match and Foundry businesses. Acquisitions contributed 6 points of growth led by Syntellis, which is a large bolt-on for our Strata platform that closed in Q3 of last year, and Procare, which closed at the end of February.

值得注意的是，儘管我們的 Freight Match 與 Foundry 業務面臨已知逆風，有機經常性收入仍成長 7%。收購案貢獻了 6 個百分點的成長，主要由 Syntellis 帶動；Syntellis 是我們 Strata 平台的一項大型補強式收購，於去年第三季完成交割；以及 Procare，於 2 月底完成交割。

Regarding Procare, integration is going really well, and we're excited to work with [Joe and Kinzel] and her team to drive continued growth and innovation in the attractive early childhood education market. EBITDA was $676 million, which was 16% over prior year. EBITDA incremental margin of 44% translated into EBITDA margin of 40.2% and represented 60 basis points of expansion. This was fueled by gross margin expansion of 100 basis points to 70.3%.

關於 Procare，整合進展非常順利，我們也很期待與 [Joe and Kinzel] 及其團隊合作，在具吸引力的幼兒教育市場推動持續成長與創新。EBITDA 為 6.76 億美元，較去年同期成長 16%。EBITDA 增量利潤率為 44%，帶動 EBITDA 利潤率達 40.2%，擴張 60 個基點。這主要受惠於毛利率擴張 100 個基點至 70.3%。

Our market-leading businesses compete on customer intimacy and deliver demonstrable value to their customers which we consistently realize in our high gross margin profile. Debt of $4.41 was above our guidance of $4.30 to $4.34. Importantly, free cash flow was strong at $513 million, up 15% over prior year and our trailing 12-month free cash flow surpassed $2 billion for the first time in Roper's history.

我們的市場領先業務以貼近客戶為競爭核心，並為客戶提供可量化的價值，這也一貫反映在我們高毛利率的特性上。DEPS 4.41 美元，高於我們 4.30 至 4.34 美元的指引。更重要的是，自由現金流表現強勁，達 5.13 億美元，較去年同期成長 15%；而過去 12 個月的自由現金流也首次在 Roper 歷史上突破 20 億美元。

Looking over a 4-year horizon, revenue and EBITDA CAGRs are 13% on a quarterly basis. For free cash flow, we take a broader lens and a review on a trailing 12-month basis, which generated an 11% CAGR over this period. Adjusting for cash tax payments related to Section 174 which went into effect and impacted the period -- the current period's free cash flow by $80 million.

以 4 年期間來看，營收與 EBITDA 的年複合成長率（CAGR）在季度基礎上為 13%。就自由現金流而言，我們採用更廣的視角，以過去 12 個月為基礎檢視，在此期間產生 11% 的 CAGR。若調整與第 174 條（Section 174）相關、已生效並影響該期間的現金稅款支付——使本期自由現金流減少 8,000 萬美元。

The normalized CAGR is 13% over this period. For 2024, we still expect free cash flow margins of 30% or more. With that, we can turn to Slide 7 to talk about our balance sheet. Following our Procare acquisition, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio came in at 2.9x at quarter end. Our revolver, which provides us with $3.5 billion of immediate liquidity was utilized to fund the Procare acquisition, bringing the drawn balance to $1.75 billion.

在常態化後，該期間的 CAGR 為 13%。對 2024 年而言，我們仍預期自由現金流利潤率為 30% 或更高。接著我們可以看第 7 張投影片，談談資產負債表。在完成 Procare 收購後，季末淨負債對 EBITDA 比率為 2.9 倍。我們的循環信貸額度（revolver）提供 35 億美元的即時流動性，用於資助 Procare 收購，使已動用餘額達 17.5 億美元。

With strong, consistent cash generation and a well-positioned balance sheet, we have the capacity to deploy $4 billion or more towards high-quality acquisitions. And I'll reiterate our commitment to remain a solid investment-grade issuer as access to investment-grade capital markets is fundamental to Roper's strategy. In terms of what we're seeing in deal markets, our pipeline of acquisition opportunities is growing and quite attractive. As always, we will remain patient and disciplined in allocating capital to opportunities with highest risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders.

憑藉強勁且穩定的現金創造能力，以及配置得宜的資產負債表，我們有能力將 40 億美元或更多資金投入高品質收購。我也再次強調，我們承諾維持穩健的投資等級發行人地位，因為進入投資等級資本市場是 Roper 策略的基石。就交易市場而言，我們的收購機會管線正在擴大且相當具吸引力。一如既往，我們將保持耐心與紀律，把資本配置到能為股東帶來最高風險調整後報酬的機會上。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Neil to talk through our segment detail and updated guidance.

接下來我把電話交回 Neil，請他說明各事業部門細節與更新後的指引。

Thanks, Jason. As we turn to Page 9, let's review our Application Software segment results. Revenues here grew by 18% in total and organic revenue grew by 6%. EBITDA margins were 43.3%. We experienced strong performance across this portfolio of businesses.

謝謝，Jason。翻到第 9 頁，我們來檢視應用軟體（Application Software）事業部的結果。此處營收總計成長 18%，有機營收成長 6%。EBITDA 利潤率為 43.3%。我們在這個業務組合中各項業務均有強勁表現。

We'll start with Deltek. Our enterprise software business survey the government contracting, architecture, engineering and construction contractor markets. Deltek continued to grow at SaaS solutions, especially within their private sector markets. Importantly, in the quarter, Deltek launched a new GenAI-powered digital assistant Dela which will be integrated across Deltek's core software applications. We also welcome Bob Hughes as the new CEO of Deltek. Bob brings a wealth of software and leadership experience to the role having most recently served as the Chief Customer and Strategy Officer at UKG. Bob, we're thrilled to be working with you.

我們先從 Deltek 開始。我們的企業軟體業務服務政府承包、建築、工程與營造承包商市場。Deltek 的 SaaS 解決方案持續成長，尤其是在其民間部門市場。重要的是，本季 Deltek 推出新的 GenAI 驅動數位助理 Dela，將整合至 Deltek 的核心軟體應用中。我們也歡迎 Bob Hughes 出任 Deltek 新任執行長。Bob 最近擔任 UKG 的首席客戶與策略長，為此職務帶來豐富的軟體與領導經驗。Bob，我們很高興能與你合作。

We also welcome Mike Corkery into his new role as a full-time group executive within Roper. For those who do not know, Mike was Deltek's CEO for nearly 12 years, more than standing our entire ownership period. Mike, thank you for building a tremendous market-leading company. Not only is Deltek grown multifold during their leadership tenure, the underlying quality has massively improved and the culture has never been better. Thank you for everything you've accomplished and we're very much looking forward to working with you in your new leadership capacity at Roper.

我們也歡迎 Mike Corkery 在 Roper 擔任新的全職集團高階主管職務。對於不熟悉的人而言，Mike 擔任 Deltek 的執行長將近 12 年，時間甚至超過我們整個持有期間。Mike，感謝你打造了一家卓越、在市場上領先的公司。Deltek 不僅在你任內實現了倍數成長，其內在品質也大幅提升，企業文化也從未如此出色。感謝你所完成的一切，我們非常期待你以 Roper 新的領導身分與我們合作。

Aderant continues to perform incredibly well in the market and had another great quarter with continued SaaS momentum and GenAI-focused innovation. Vertafore also performed well with solid growth in their ARR base.

Aderant 持續在市場上表現極為出色，本季再度交出亮眼成績，SaaS 動能延續，並推出聚焦 GenAI 的創新。Vertafore 也表現良好，其 ARR 基礎實現穩健成長。

Turning to PowerPlan. Our financial planning and tax software business serving the heavy fixed asset industries, PowerPlan was impressive in the quarter and grew its ARR with strong customer retention and adoption of its new SaaS solution. Great job here. Our healthcare IT businesses led by Strata and Data Innovations were also strong in the quarter. We're especially pleased to see the solid go-to-market execution at both businesses.

接著談 PowerPlan。我們服務重資產產業的財務規劃與稅務軟體業務 PowerPlan 本季表現令人印象深刻，憑藉強勁的客戶留存以及新 SaaS 解決方案的採用，推動 ARR 成長。這裡做得很好。我們以 Strata 與 Data Innovations 為首的醫療保健 IT 業務本季也表現強勁。我們尤其樂見兩項業務在 go-to-market 執行上都很扎實。

Finally, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, we completed the acquisition of Procare Solutions, which is off to a good start and complements this segment with a higher organic growth profile. For the remaining 3 quarters of the year, we expect to see mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for this segment.

最後，如同我幾分鐘前提到的，我們完成了對 Procare Solutions 的收購；目前開局良好，並以更高的有機成長特性補強了本分部。對於今年剩餘的 3 個季度，我們預期本分部的有機營收成長將落在中個位數區間。

Please turn with us to Page 10. Revenues in our Network Software segment grew 5% in total and 4% on an organic basis despite the fact we continue to experience pressure with our Freight Matching businesses and the impact on Foundry related to the recent actor strike and writer strike. EBITDA margins continue to be strong at 55.9% and grew about 10% and year-over-year. As we dig into the details of it, we'll start with our Freight Matching businesses, DAT & Loadlink which declined slightly as expected due to the challenging freight market conditions that affected each of these businesses.

請與我們翻到第 10 頁。我們的 Network Software 分部營收總計成長 5%，以有機基礎計成長 4%，儘管我們的 Freight Matching 業務仍持續承受壓力，且近期演員罷工與編劇罷工對 Foundry 造成影響。EBITDA 利潤率仍維持強勁，達 55.9%，並年增約 10%。在深入細節時，我們先從 Freight Matching 業務談起：DAT 與 Loadlink 如預期小幅下滑，原因在於艱困的貨運市場環境影響了這兩項業務。

As is typical for Roper, we invest for long-term sustainable and improving levels of organic growth. In DAT's case, we're leading the industry with GenAI-enabled fraud detection and prevention tools. As many know, fraud across the transport ecosystem remains a cause of great concern and economic loss.

如同 Roper 一貫作風，我們為了長期可持續且持續改善的有機成長水準而投資。以 DAT 為例，我們以 GenAI 賦能的詐欺偵測與防範工具引領產業。眾所周知，運輸生態系中的詐欺仍是重大關切與經濟損失來源。

Turning to Foundry, which continues to innovate at an impressive clip both in terms of major product enhancements and customer productivity-based AI/ML innovations. That said, Foundry declined a bit in the quarter as expected, given the recent industry strikes. Notwithstanding the headwinds of DAT, Loadlink and Foundry, we grew 4% organically in this segment based on the strength across the balance of this portfolio.

接著談 Foundry，其在重大產品強化以及以客戶生產力為導向的 AI/ML 創新方面，仍以令人印象深刻的速度持續推進。不過，考量近期產業罷工，Foundry 本季如預期略有下滑。儘管 DAT、Loadlink 與 Foundry 面臨逆風，本分部仍在投資組合其餘業務的強勁表現帶動下，實現 4% 的有機成長。

Specifically, iPipeline, our life insurance and annuities network software business had strong renewals, customer expansions and market activity, especially in the annuities market. ConstructConnect continued its solid mark but improved financial results and enhanced its network value with GenAI-powered solutions. And MHA had a strong quarter, benefiting from increased operational focus and rigor revenue timing related to one of MHA's data partnerships and improvement in senior care occupancy rates.

具體而言，我們的人壽保險與年金網路軟體業務 iPipeline 續約表現強勁、客戶擴張與市場活動活絡，尤其是在年金市場。ConstructConnect 延續穩健表現，財務成果改善，並以 GenAI 驅動的解決方案提升其網路價值。MHA 本季也表現強勁，受惠於營運聚焦與紀律提升、與 MHA 某項資料合作夥伴關係相關的營收認列時點，以及高齡照護入住率的改善。

For the balance of the year, although we did a touch better than expected in the first quarter, we continue to expect to see low single-digit organic revenue growth for this segment based on the continued difficult freight market conditions and our view that foundries recovery will be extended through this year.

就今年剩餘期間而言，雖然第一季表現略優於預期，但基於貨運市場環境仍然艱困，以及我們認為 Foundry 的復甦將延續至今年，我們仍預期本分部的有機營收成長將為低個位數。

Now please turn to Page 11, and let's review our TEP segment's results. Revenues here grew 17% on an organic basis and EBITDA margins remained strong at 34.3%. Neptune continued to see notable customer demand, in particular for their ultrasonic meters and meter data management software. In short, Neptune delivered another quarter of growth. Verathon had very strong growth across all 3 of its product families and executed at an exceptional level in the quarter.

現在請翻到第 11 頁，我們來檢視 TEP 分部的業績。本分部營收以有機基礎計成長 17%，EBITDA 利潤率仍維持強勁，為 34.3%。Neptune 持續看到顯著的客戶需求，特別是其超音波水表與抄表資料管理軟體。簡言之，Neptune 再度交出一季成長。Verathon 在其三大產品線皆實現非常強勁的成長，且本季執行表現極為出色。

Of note, Verathon had a record number of large account wins further demonstrating their market momentum. Great job by team Verathon. We also had strong execution and growth led by healthcare end markets from CIVCO, Inovonics, IPA and rf IDEAS.

值得一提的是，Verathon 創下大型客戶得標數的紀錄，進一步展現其市場動能。Verathon 團隊做得很好。我們也在 CIVCO、Inovonics、IPA 與 rf IDEAS 的帶動下，於醫療保健終端市場展現強勁的執行力與成長。

As we turn to the outlook for the balance of the year, let us remind you that we expected to have a stronger first quarter, which we delivered. That said, for the balance of the year, we expect to see organic revenue for this segment to be in the high single-digits area.

展望今年剩餘期間，我們提醒各位，我們原本就預期第一季會較強，而我們也做到了。不過，就今年剩餘期間而言，我們預期本分部的有機營收成長將落在高個位數區間。

Now please turn to Page 13. Now let's review our increased full year 2024 guidance and discuss our Q2 outlook. Based on our strong Q1 results, enterprise momentum and our confidence in our outlook, we are raising our guidance for 2024. For the full year, we now expect total revenue to grow in the 12% area, up from our initial guide of 11% to 12%. Organic revenues to grow about 6%, up from 5% to 6% originally and adjusted DEPS to be in the range of $18.05 and $18.25, up from $17.85 to $18.15 previously.

現在請翻到第 13 頁。我們來檢視上調後的 2024 全年指引，並討論第二季展望。基於第一季強勁的業績、企業動能以及我們對展望的信心，我們上調 2024 年指引。就全年而言，我們目前預期總營收成長約 12%，高於原先 11% 至 12% 的指引；有機營收成長約 6%，高於原先 5% 至 6%；調整後 DEPS 預期介於 18.05 美元至 18.25 美元，高於先前的 17.85 美元至 18.15 美元。

Our guidance continues to assume a full year effective tax rate in the 21% to 22% range. For Q2, we expect adjusted DEPS to be in the range of $4.42 and $4.46. Now please turn it to Page 14, and we'll open it up for your questions. As per custom, we'll conclude with the same key takeaways with which we started.

我們的指引仍假設全年有效稅率介於 21% 至 22%。就第二季而言，我們預期調整後 DEPS 介於 4.42 美元至 4.46 美元。現在請翻到第 14 頁，我們將開放提問。依照慣例，我們將以與開場相同的重點摘要作結。

First, we delivered another strong quarter results. Second, we're increasing our outlook for the full year. And third, we are very well positioned relative to capital deployment. For the quarter, we delivered double-digit growth in revenue, EBITDA, adjusted DEPS and free cash flow with margin expansion and very strong cash flow conversion. Also in the quarter, we completed the acquisition of Procare Solutions, which is a great addition to our enterprise and our application software segment.

第一，我們再度交出一季強勁的業績。第二，我們上調全年展望。第三，在資本部署方面，我們具備非常有利的定位。本季我們在營收、EBITDA、調整後 DEPS 與自由現金流皆實現雙位數成長，同時利潤率擴張且現金流轉換非常強勁。此外，本季我們完成對 Procare Solutions 的收購，這是對我們企業與應用軟體分部的絕佳補強。

And we're increasing our full year 2024 guidance for total revenue, organic revenue and DEPS reflecting our confidence in our outlook and continued momentum. Finally, we continue to maintain a strong financial position with $4 billion plus of capacity for capital deployment. The M&A markets are very active. We have a very robust pipeline of attractive acquisition opportunities that we're excited to pursue with our unbiased and disciplined approach.

我們上調 2024 全年總營收、有機營收與 DEPS 指引，反映我們對展望的信心與持續動能。最後，我們仍維持強健的財務狀況，具備超過 40 億美元的資本部署能力。併購市場非常活躍。我們擁有非常強健的、具吸引力的收購機會管線，並期待以我們客觀且嚴謹的方式加以推進。

We're quite bullish about our ability to execute this part of our strategy over the course of 2024. Now as we turn to your questions, and if you could flip to the final slide, our strategic flywheel, we'd like to remind everyone that what we do at Roper is simple. We compound cash flow over a long arc of time by operating a portfolio of market-leading application-specific and vertically oriented businesses. Once the company is part of Roper, we operate a decentralized environment, so our businesses can compete and win based on customer intimacy. We coach our businesses on how to structurally improve the organic growth rates and underlying business quality.

我們對於在 2024 年期間執行這部分策略的能力相當樂觀。現在進入提問環節；若各位可以翻到最後一張投影片—我們的策略飛輪—我們想提醒大家，Roper 所做的事情其實很簡單：透過經營一組在各自市場領先、應用特定且垂直導向的企業組合，在長期時間軸上複利累積現金流。一旦企業成為 Roper 的一部分，我們採取分權的營運環境，使各事業能以貼近客戶的方式競爭並勝出。我們也協助各事業在結構上提升有機成長率與底層業務品質。

Finally, we run a centralized process-driven capital deployment strategy that focuses on finding the next great business to add to our cash flow compounding flywheel. Taken together, we compound our cash flow over a long arc of time in the mid-teens area.

最後，我們以集中化、流程驅動的資本部署策略運作，聚焦於尋找下一家能加入我們現金流複利飛輪的優秀企業。綜合而言，我們在長期時間軸上以約中十位數的水準複利累積現金流。

With that, we'd like to thank you for your continued interest and support and open the floor to your questions.

最後，感謝各位持續的關注與支持，現在開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Julian Mitchell from Barclays.

（接線員指示）第一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Julian Mitchell。

Maybe just a first question on the network software division. So the freight markets, I think there was a fairly sort of down the outlook from some of the U.S. trucking companies in the past couple of weeks. It sounds like that business for you on Freight Matching is playing out as expected.

也許先問一個關於網路軟體事業部的問題。就貨運市場而言，我想在過去幾週，一些美國卡車運輸公司的展望相當偏弱。聽起來你們在 Freight Matching 的業務發展符合預期。

Are we expecting sort of down-low single digits for the balance of the year in the freight match business? Is that what you're kind of dialing in? And any comments on where we are on the sort of carrier consolidation?

那麼，我們是否預期今年剩餘期間貨運撮合業務會是下滑的低個位數？這是你們目前大致的假設嗎？另外，能否評論一下我們在承運商整併方面的進展？

Why don't you take Jason the first one, I'll say the second one.

你何不先回答第一個關於 Jason 的問題，我來回答第二個。

So Julian, it's -- like you said, it's about playing out as we expected, down low singles for the year. Not much change from our perspective last quarter. So yes, that's kind of the current guiding assumption.

所以 Julian，就像你說的，整體走勢大致符合我們的預期，今年是低個位數成長。從我們的角度看，和上季相比沒有太大變化。所以，是的，這就是目前的指引假設。

And as far as on the carrier side, it's actually been pretty stable for the last several months. It hasn't improved. It has been stable. And when you take that stability and you put it against the prior year comp, that's what drives to the outlook for the year.

至於電信業者端，過去幾個月其實相當穩定。沒有改善，但也維持穩定。而當你把這種穩定性與去年同期的比較基期放在一起看，就會推導出我們對今年的展望。

That's helpful. And then just dialing in on the second quarter EPS guide. I think normally, you'd have maybe sort of a 3%, 4% type sequential increase in earnings in the second quarter, looks like it's basically flat at the guide midpoint for this Q2, is there anything going on sort of sequentially with any of the segment sales or margins that's abnormal or something below the line that's weighing on that?

這很有幫助。接著想更聚焦在第二季 EPS 指引。我想一般來說，第二季獲利通常會有大概 3%、4% 的季增，但看起來這次 Q2 指引中位數基本持平；是否有任何分部銷售或毛利在季比上出現不尋常的狀況，或是有什麼業外項目在拖累？

No, not really. I mean we feel good about our guidance being raised for the full year. And if you look -- we look back a quarter ago, our Q2 guidance is consistent with what we thought 90 days ago. So I think if you go back to like '21 and '22, we were actually flat Q1 to Q2 on like a segment EBITDA basis. And that's usually the normal motion for us. Last year, we did move up sequentially, but that was driven by some (inaudible), there were some strong deliveries led by Verathon and then this year, Verathon is coming out strong out of the gate. So we don't have that dynamic this year.

沒有，並不是真的有。我們對全年指引上調感覺良好。而且如果你回頭看——我們回看一季前，我們對 Q2 的指引其實和 90 天前的想法一致。所以我認為如果回到 '21 和 '22 年，我們在分部 EBITDA 的基礎上，Q1 到 Q2 其實是持平的。那通常是我們的正常節奏。去年我們確實有季增，但那是由一些（聽不清楚）所帶動，當時有一些強勁的交付，主要由 Verathon 帶動；而今年 Verathon 一開始就表現強勁，所以今年沒有那種動態。

And then usually, AS steps down a little bit in earnings due to some Vertafore timing, but we didn't have that dynamic last year. So I think we feel good about sort of the progression from Q1 to Q2 on an operating basis. And in terms of the second half, we'll start to see the accretion of Procare with this -- it's got sequential growth throughout the year and then we'll have, of course, reduced interest expense as we pay down the revolver. So I feel pretty good about the progression going throughout 2024.

另外，AS 通常會因為一些 Vertafore 的時點因素而在獲利上略為下滑，但去年沒有出現那種情況。所以我認為我們對 Q1 到 Q2 在營運面上的推進感覺良好。至於下半年，我們會開始看到 Procare 的增益——它在全年會呈現逐季成長；此外，隨著我們償還循環信貸（revolver），利息費用也會降低。所以我對 2024 年整體的推進節奏相當有信心。

Your next question comes from Deane Dray with RBC Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Deane Dray。

Since it's the newest addition to the team on Procare, just some data points. So what was the contribution in the quarter? And reminds us about any kind of seasonality on the cash flow because it is tied to education. So we know that it tends to be seasonal. And any sort of like first 100-day plans for the business?

既然 Procare 是團隊最新加入的成員，想請教一些數據點：本季的貢獻是多少？另外也請提醒我們，因為它與教育相關，現金流是否有任何季節性——我們知道它往往具有季節性。以及對這項業務是否有任何前 100 天的計畫？

Yes. So if I can hit that, Deane. So it was about what we expected. We had a couple more days in, but it was a little over $20 million of revenue came in sort of about as we expected in terms of EBITDA margin in the mid-30s or so. And then I think what we -- from a cash flow perspective, it's more of a monthly sort of payment stream. So we don't get -- it's not like a frontline where they've got big renewals and the schools are paying them.

好的，Deane，我來回答。整體大致符合我們的預期。我們多併入了幾天，但營收略高於 2,000 萬美元；就 EBITDA 利潤率而言，大約在 30% 中段左右，也符合預期。然後我想——從現金流角度看，它更像是按月的付款流。因此我們不會——它不像 Frontline 那樣有大型續約、學區一次性付款。

This is childhood education centers that are just sort of paying on a monthly basis, of course, there's a payment stream there, too, that we get that comes on a monthly basis. So it's more consistent throughout the year. And I think we're just off to a really good start in terms of the integration work.

這是幼兒教育中心按月付款，當然也有一條我們按月取得的支付（payments）收入流。所以全年更為一致。我認為在整合工作方面，我們也有一個非常好的開局。

Of course, teams are quickly up and running from a financial standpoint. We're working through all the normal integration points around insurance and cyber and things like that. And then beyond that, we've been engaged in weekly conversations on progress against some defined value creation levers that we had around growth, and those are going really well. And super collaborative teams digging in and we're really on track for the milestones we agreed upon right after close. So just feeling really good about the momentum there.

當然，從財務面來看，團隊很快就上軌道。我們正在處理所有常見的整合事項，包括保險、資安（cyber）等。除此之外，我們每週都在就一些已定義的價值創造槓桿（value creation levers）進行進度討論，主要圍繞成長，而進展非常順利。團隊合作非常緊密、深入推進，我們也確實按著交割後不久所同意的里程碑在前進。所以對那邊的動能感覺非常好。

And the normal cadence for the monthly is revenue cadence is approximately what?

那按月的正常節奏——營收節奏大概是怎樣？

It's consistent, right? So it's just -- if you think about software is obviously consistent month-to-month. And then the payments, they might get a little bit more at the beginning of the year, but it's modest. It's pretty consistent throughout the year. Of course, they're growing, right? So it's going to -- it will ramp up sequentially throughout the year. But just overall, in terms of a business model, it's pretty consistent throughout the year, not a lot of seasonality.

它是穩定的，對吧？也就是——如果你想像軟體收入，顯然是每月都很一致。至於支付（payments），年初可能會稍微多一點，但幅度不大；全年相當一致。當然，他們在成長，對吧？所以全年會逐季拉升。但整體而言，就商業模式來說，它全年相當穩定，季節性不強。

If you're comparing this to front line, where most of the cash flow comes in Q3, this is not that. This is much more linear throughout the course of the year.

如果你拿它跟 Frontline 比較——Frontline 的大部分現金流是在 Q3 進來——這個不是。這個在全年過程中更接近線性。

That's great. And then just a follow-up on the fastest growth platform right now is surprisingly on the tech-enabled products, Neptune is just how -- what's expectations for this growth rate? How much of this -- because we see similar numbers at like Badger meter. So it looks in line, but how much of this is market growth versus any sort of share gains that you might be realizing?

很好。接著追問一下：目前成長最快的平台，令人意外地是在技術賦能（tech-enabled）的產品上，Neptune——對這個成長率的預期是什麼？其中有多少是市場成長、又有多少是你們可能正在實現的市占提升？因為我們在像 Badger Meter 也看到類似的數字，所以看起來一致。

Yes. So for a long -- Deane, as you know, Neptune over a long arc of time is a slow and steady share gainer for sure. I think it proves out in all the market data we see and continues to research it. Relative short-term performance, we think it's a combination of a couple of things.

是的。Deane，正如你所知，從長期來看，Neptune 的確是穩健、持續的市占提升者。我想這在我們看到的所有市場數據中都得到驗證，我們也持續做研究。就短期表現而言，我們認為是幾個因素的組合。

First is there has been -- they're working through an unprecedented amount of backlog. So that has certainly happened. But then when COVID happened and the Northeast, in particular, where a lot of the meter sets or inside people's homes versus outside, there was basically a stall of that activity yet the customers -- our customers still have obligations to stay on their maintenance schedules.

第一，他們正在消化一個前所未有的積壓訂單（backlog），這確實發生了。其次，COVID 發生時，尤其在美國東北部，很多水表是裝在住戶家中而不是戶外，因此那段時間基本上停滯了相關作業；但我們的客戶仍然有義務遵循其維護排程。

So if there was 1 year, 1.5 years of slower maintenance schedule sort of execution, that's being deployed now. We think that's happening over a 3-, 4-year period. So if you will, maybe 5 or 5.5 years demand squeezed into 4. So that's the market dynamic that's driving some of the growth that we're very much in the midst of. We expect that to continue well in the next year.

所以如果有 1 年到 1.5 年的維護排程執行較慢，現在正在被補做。我們認為這會在 3 到 4 年的期間內逐步釋放。換句話說，可能把 5 年或 5.5 年的需求擠進 4 年完成。這就是推動我們目前所處成長的一個市場動態。我們預期這種情況在明年仍會持續。

Final thing I'd say is there's just nice momentum on the new technologies that Neptune has in the field, both in terms of solid state ultrasonic meters, both on the resi side and large commercial side as well as just the cellular and the meter data management software that we have that really helps our customers have better network connectivity.

最後我想說的是，Neptune 在新技術方面也有很好的動能，包括現場部署的固態超音波水表（solid state ultrasonic meters），不論是住宅端（resi）或大型商用端；以及我們的蜂巢式連線（cellular）與水表資料管理軟體（meter data management software），確實能幫助客戶提升網路連線能力。

Your next question comes from Joe Vruwink with Baird.

下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Joe Vruwink。

When you consider the businesses that serve clients in the public sector, how are they planning for the balance of the year, just particularly around the election and then the end of stimulus in certain cases? And I ask about stimulus not because a business like frontline has benefited from that. But does just the shifting of revenue sources for a school district perhaps cause a pause in their decision-making?

當你們考量服務公共部門客戶的業務時，他們對今年剩餘時間的規劃如何，特別是圍繞選舉，以及在某些情況下刺激資金（stimulus）的結束？我問刺激資金不是因為像 Frontline 這樣的業務曾從中受益；而是學區的收入來源轉移，是否可能讓他們在決策上暫停一下？

Yes. So we got -- it depends on which part of the market you're talking about. Education, our frontline business was not and has not been a meaningful beneficiary of [ESR] funding. And so as that is coming to an end, we've not been a direct beneficiary of that. There might be some secondhand or thirdhand benefit by that, just having school districts having a lot of money over the last years and feeling good about life.

是的。所以我們——這取決於你談的是市場的哪一部分。教育方面，我們的 Frontline 業務並不是、也一直不是 [ESR] 資金的重大受益者。因此當這些資金走向結束時，我們並未直接受益。可能會有一些第二層或第三層的間接受益，例如過去幾年學區資金充裕、整體感覺比較寬裕。

But we've not -- none of what -- we don't believe anything that we sell has been directly funded by ESR funding. So the pipeline coverage -- first of all, frontline had a very solid first quarter booking. Pipeline on the second quarter is very good. And so we're cautiously optimistic there.

但我們沒有——就我們所知，我們銷售的產品沒有任何一項是直接由 ESR 資金所支應的。所以在管線覆蓋（pipeline coverage）方面——首先，Frontline 第一季的簽單（booking）非常穩健；第二季的管線也非常好。因此我們對那邊保持審慎樂觀。

The other part of the market that we've talked about is on U.S. Federal Government contractors, the enterprise class, the largest customers, the largest government contractors just with the uncertainty of government spending that has been a more tepid macro environment and slower on the bookings front on the largest of the customers. The SMB portion of that market actually has been quite strong for Deltek. So if you want to talk about other parts of portfolio happy to do it. But Jason, anything you want to add to that?

我們談到的市場另一部分是美國聯邦政府承包商，也就是企業級客戶、最大的客戶、最大的政府承包商；由於政府支出不確定性，宏觀環境較為溫和，最大客戶端在訂單（bookings）方面也較為放緩。相較之下，該市場的中小企業（SMB）部分對 Deltek 其實一直相當強勁。所以如果你想談投資組合的其他部分，我很樂意。Jason，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes, yes. No, those are the 2 that I had in mind. And then if I can ask, I guess this is a pretty targeted segment level question. But the reoccurring revenue sources for application software really look like they jumped this period, maybe about 2 points more in growth contribution than typically you see there. Just what drives that particular part of the business?

是的，是的。不，這就是我想到的那兩個。然後如果我可以再問一個，我想這是一個相當聚焦在分部層級的問題。應用軟體的經常性收入來源看起來在這一期有明顯跳升，可能在成長貢獻上比你們通常看到的高了大約 2 個百分點。是什麼在驅動這一塊業務？

Yes. Joe, that's the Procare business coming online, right? So we talked about 75% or so of their revenue is payments. And so that's showing up in the recurring line.

是的。Joe，那是 Procare 業務開始併入了，對吧？所以我們提過他們大約 75% 左右的營收來自支付（payments）。因此這會反映在經常性收入那一行。

Your next question comes from Scott Davis with Melius Research.

下一個問題來自 Melius Research 的 Scott Davis。

I think this was more positive in tone on the M&A side commentary wise, and I think we usually get from you guys. You're never really that bearish. But talk to us about -- a couple of things, a little bit more color there. Is it the number of deals? Is it the valuations have gotten more interesting? Is it the competition on the buy side has gotten a little bit better? I mean just drill down a little bit into that, it would be helpful. And kind of a natural secondary is you say $4 billion of fire price, is that enough? And would you consider tapping equity markets if the deal flow was going to be even more robust?

我覺得你們在併購（M&A）方面的評論語氣更偏正面，比我們以往從你們那裡聽到的更正面。我知道你們其實從來也不算特別悲觀。但請跟我們談談——幾件事，提供更多細節。是交易數量嗎？是估值變得更有吸引力嗎？是買方端的競爭變得稍微好一些嗎？我的意思是，能否再深入拆解一下，會很有幫助。然後一個很自然的延伸問題是：你說有 40 億美元的「火力」（firepower），夠嗎？如果交易流（deal flow）會更強勁，你們會考慮進入股權市場籌資嗎？

A lot in there, Jason and I'll do our best to cover all points, if we don't cover one pull us, I'll bring it back to it. So we're very optimistic at the moment. I think it's for really all the reasons you talk about. So there are a very large number of deals in the market and coming to the market.

裡面問題很多，Jason，我會盡力把每一點都涵蓋到；如果有哪一點沒講到，提醒我們，我會再回來補上。我們目前非常樂觀。我認為原因基本上就是你提到的那些。所以市場上有非常大量的交易，而且還在持續進入市場。

We have very good instrumentation relationships with both the sponsors and all the investment banker intermediaries, the bankers, pipelines are full. And so there is just a lot of stuff coming. So why is that? There was essentially not a lot of stuff for [18] or so months prior. So in the private equity world, it's all about DPI and getting money back to the LPs.

我們與贊助方（sponsors）以及所有投資銀行中介（investment banker intermediaries）都有非常好的關係與資訊掌握；銀行端的案源管線（pipelines）很滿，所以確實有很多案子正在來。那為什麼會這樣？因為在此前大約 18 個月左右，市場上基本上沒有太多案子。在私募股權（private equity）世界裡，重點在於 DPI，把資金返還給 LP。

The LP pressure is mounted to the point where they want the capital return. And so we're just going to compress 2.5 years worth of deals in 1 year, 1.5 years. And so there's going to be a lot of activity. Relative to the competition point, because of this -- this is our belief, my belief for a window of time here that the asset class of private equity that we compete with is going to be a net seller of assets versus a net buyer here for a period of time.

LP 的壓力已經累積到他們希望資本回收的程度。因此我們將在 1 年到 1.5 年內，壓縮完成約 2.5 年份的交易量，所以活動會非常多。至於競爭這點，因為這樣——這是我們的看法、也是我的看法——在接下來一段時間裡，我們所競爭的私募股權這個資產類別，將會在一段期間內成為資產的淨賣方，而不是淨買方。

So Procare is an indication for what's to come, then the competition is less. It's not without competition, but it is less than we've seen for in prior periods, which leads to valuation. I mean if you look at the Procare valuation, I mean that was a very high growth, very high quality business at a very reasonable price. I think it's really a combination of the volume of deals that maybe our view on competition. We'll also I mean any of this -- the number of deals is almost for sure going to happen.

所以如果 Procare 是未來趨勢的指標，那麼競爭會更少。不是沒有競爭，但比我們在過去期間看到的要少，這也會影響估值。我的意思是，如果你看 Procare 的估值，那是一個高成長、品質很高的業務，但價格非常合理。我認為這真的是交易量，以及我們對競爭態勢的看法兩者的組合。另外，我是說，這些之中——交易數量幾乎可以確定會發生。

This concept of competition could change at any moment. But that's our -- that's what's fueling sort of our optimism. To your point about this $4 billion enough, we're just always about the cash flow compounding of the enterprise being investment grade, using the leverage and being unbiased and disciplined in our approach. And so we're going to stay true to that and look at every deal on a deal-by-deal basis.

至於競爭這個概念，隨時都可能改變。但這就是——這就是在推動我們樂觀情緒的因素。你提到 40 億美元是否足夠，我們一向重視企業現金流的複利成長（cash flow compounding）、維持投資級（investment grade）、運用槓桿，並且在方法上保持客觀與紀律。因此我們會持續遵循這些原則，並以逐案（deal-by-deal）的方式來評估每一筆交易。

Your next question comes from Brent Thill with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Brent Thill。

This is David on for Brent. I wanted to ask around there was increased commentary, I think, versus prior quarter around some of the companies and what they're doing around AI. Just if you could just give us an update on the broader AI strategy? And if you guys are charging for any of these AI products, any color there would be helpful on how AI could possibly help with the organic growth of some of your assets in the long term, that would be helpful.

我是代替 Brent 的 David。我想問一下，我覺得相較於上一季，你們對一些公司在 AI 方面的作為有更多評論。能否請你們更新一下更廣泛的 AI 策略？以及你們是否對任何這些 AI 產品收費？如果能提供一些細節，說明 AI 長期如何可能幫助你們部分資產的內生成長（organic growth），會很有幫助。

Yes. We'll certainly give you an update on that. So we continue to grind away at this. So we have done a lot of work engaging with all 28 of our businesses, both on the internal productivity-based applications around R&D, customer for live customer support go-to-market, admin, HR, finance, regulatory, et cetera, have a call at lunch with a large group of our leaders today on just that topic.

好的。我們當然可以更新。我們持續在這方面扎實推進。我們已經與旗下 28 家業務都做了大量工作與交流，涵蓋內部生產力導向的應用，例如研發（R&D）、即時客戶支援、行銷與銷售（go-to-market）、行政、HR、人資、財務、法規遵循等等；今天中午我們也會和一大群領導團隊就這個主題開會。

We're starting to see some early wins on productivity, like most of us are in code assistance, marketing content generation, things like that. So cautiously optimistic about productivity enhancements. As it relates more directly to your question around products and the market and monetization. This is going to be a slow and steady race about how do you use these tools to create incremental value for our customers.

我們開始看到一些早期的生產力成果，跟大多數人一樣，像是程式碼輔助、行銷內容生成之類。因此對生產力提升我們保持審慎樂觀。至於更直接回到你關於產品、市場與變現（monetization）的問題，這會是一場穩健、循序漸進的長跑：如何運用這些工具為客戶創造增量價值。

Again, you know we compete on intimacy. That intimacy leads us to know very specific problems and very specific questions that need to be addressed. We have a new technology set to be able to do that. Companies that have products in the market today using GenAI, Aderant, Deltek, DAT, ConstructConnect and Foundry by our account, there may be a few others. Two quarters ago, I think that the count was 0. And so we like the momentum in that regard.

再說一次，你知道我們的競爭優勢在於貼近客戶（intimacy）。這種貼近讓我們能夠了解非常具體的問題，以及需要被解決的非常具體的提問。我們現在有一套新的技術工具可以做到這件事。目前在市場上已經有使用 GenAI 的產品的公司，包括 Aderant、Deltek、DAT、ConstructConnect，以及我們所統計的 Foundry；可能還有幾家。兩季前，我記得這個數字還是 0。所以我們喜歡這方面的動能。

In terms of monetization, it's still early days. Our belief -- like for the moment at least, we're monetizing the GenAI investments by having -- by adding that toolset and capability to our existing products in unique ways and then that is creating more value in the products, which is driving in almost all cases, bookings acceleration with those products, and in some cases, higher price points because of the value that's achieved through the tools.

就變現而言，仍然是早期階段。我們的看法是——至少目前——我們是透過把 GenAI 的投資，以獨特的方式把這套工具與能力加入既有產品中來實現回報；這會讓產品創造更多價值，而在幾乎所有情況下，這會推動這些產品的訂單（bookings）加速；在某些情況下，因為工具帶來的價值，也能支撐更高的定價。

So that's where I leave it. Happy to follow up, say, if you want to add, Jason.

所以我先講到這裡。如果需要我也很樂意再補充。Jason，你想補充什麼嗎？

Your next question comes from Terry Tillman with Truist Securities.

下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Terry Tillman。

Maybe just the first question because it is the most recent addition to the portfolio, and I think you all calculated the opportunity here maybe to continue buying high-quality assets, but maybe even some better growth profiles, good valuations. I'm curious, just an update on where you see kind of on a go-forward basis, the Procare Solutions revenue compounding growth rate where you see that? And then as you've had a little bit of time here, where do you see one of the most untapped growth engines for that? And then I had a quick follow-up for Jason.

也許先問第一個問題，因為這是投資組合中最新加入的項目，而且我想你們也評估過這裡的機會，可能可以持續收購高品質資產，甚至是一些成長曲線更好的資產、估值也不錯。我很好奇，能否更新一下你們對未來 Procare Solutions 營收複利成長率（revenue compounding growth rate）的看法？然後在你們已經有一點時間之後，你們認為其中最未被充分開發的成長引擎會是哪一個？之後我還有一個給 Jason 的簡短追問。

Yes. So on Procare when we announced the deal, we talked about how we believe, this is going to be a mid-teens organic growth business. The market is growing 10% or a little north of that. Procare is about 1.5x relative market share. And so with that leadership position and market growth, broker has the right to win that big share and grow above market.

好的。關於 Procare，在我們宣布交易時，我們談到我們相信這會是一個有機成長（organic growth）中段十位數（mid-teens）的業務。市場本身成長約 10% 或略高於此。Procare 的相對市占大約是 1.5 倍。因此憑藉其領導地位與市場成長，Procare 有條件贏得更大的份額並且高於市場成長。

In terms of your question, Terry, is bolt-on activity inside of Procare, there's a couple of areas that Janet and her team with the leadership team at Procare are exploring, we. Tuck in a couple of bolt-on type products that sell into the network. But I think at Procare, the bolt-ons are going to be modest on a go-forward basis.

至於你的問題，Terry，關於在 Procare 內部進行附加收購（bolt-on）的活動，有幾個領域 Janet 與她的團隊、以及 Procare 的領導團隊正在探索。我們可能會併入幾個向其網路（network）銷售的 bolt-on 類型產品。但我認為就未來而言，Procare 的 bolt-on 會是相對溫和的。

Got it. Okay. And then just a quick follow-up. I think it was 5% to 6% organic growth and now you've firmly set 6%, so that's good to see. Jason, if you had to think about like what is the biggest driver or maybe it's just a bunch of little things. What is the biggest swing factor in just tightening that and effectively raising the organic?

了解。好的。接著我再快速追問一下。我記得原本是 5% 到 6% 的有機成長，現在你們明確訂在 6%，這點很樂見。Jason，如果你要想一下最大的驅動因素是什麼——或許只是很多小因素加總——在把區間收斂、等於提高有機成長這件事上，最大的擺動因子是什麼？

Yes. I mean, obviously, we had a really strong Q1. So part of that is just carrying that through and a lot of that was at TEP and then we had some various small beats across software. So I think it's mainly what we saw in Q1 and then just the confidence that we're going to be able to sort of maintain our prior guidance for the out quarters.

是的。我的意思是，很明顯我們第一季表現非常強勁。所以其中一部分就是把這個動能延續下去，而很大一部分來自 TEP；另外在軟體業務上也有一些零星的小幅超預期。所以我認為主要是我們在第一季看到的表現，以及我們有信心能夠大致維持先前對後續季度的指引。

Your next question comes from Joe Giordano with TD Cowen.

下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Joe Giordano。

Just curious on the jobs in the country, like you look at the jobs data and they're pretty good, but it's generally been like an erosion of white collar type jobs replaced by like part-time blue-collar jobs. And I'm just curious like on a longer term, what are the implications on some of your software businesses that are more headcount driven? Is that trend? I know you won't see it like immediately, but is that -- are you starting to see the implications of that like an outlook basis?

我只是好奇國內的就業情況：你看就業數據其實相當不錯，但整體上似乎是白領類型工作在流失，被兼職的藍領工作所取代。我想問的是，從較長期來看，這對你們一些較受人頭數驅動的軟體業務有什麼影響？我知道你們不會立刻看到，但就展望的角度，你們是否開始看到這種趨勢的影響？

So I would say no, but perhaps the reason is very -- there's some, but very little of our revenue is seat-based pricing. There's some, like I said, -- and where that exists, we're transitioning to a different metric. So as you get more disruption with GenAI or the knowledge workers sort of get more productive, we certainly want to benefit by that, not be penalized by that. But it's not been something that's been brought up by any of our companies in any of our operating or strategy reduce.

所以我會說沒有，但原因可能很——確實有一些，但我們的營收中以席位（seat）計價的比例非常小。有一些，如我所說——而在有這種情況的地方，我們正在轉向不同的衡量指標。因此，當 GenAI 帶來更多顛覆、或知識工作者變得更有效率時，我們當然希望能從中受益，而不是因此受罰。但這並不是我們任何一家子公司在任何營運或策略檢討中提出過的議題。

Interesting. Okay. And then just to follow up on the AI discussion in terms of like deployments and the products you're launching here. Has that been like table stakes now? Or is your competition doing the same? Or do you feel like deploying these tools has been a differentiation for your businesses?

有意思。好的。那再追問一下 AI 的討論：就你們在部署以及推出產品這方面而言，這現在已經是入場門檻（table stakes）了嗎？還是你們的競爭對手也在做同樣的事？或者你們覺得部署這些工具對你們的業務來說是一種差異化？

So far, it's been very differential. I think the expectation is the competitors will have their response for sure. I'm just double-click on that a bit, though, which is we tend -- we are across all 20 of our businesses, we operate in these very small markets, and we are the largest player in the small market.

到目前為止，這是非常有差異化的。我認為競爭對手肯定會有他們的回應。不過我想再深入一點說明：我們——在我們 20 家業務中——通常是在非常小的市場裡運作，而我們是這些小市場中最大的玩家。

So we have that advantage around scale in these small markets to be able to do more product development, do more research and development, do more -- invest more and go to market to get these tools there. And so that is a long-term advantage that we have and why we select the businesses we do to be part of the portfolio. The other thing is when you compete on intimacy with Generative AI, all these verticals that we have, we obviously have the knowledge and the content and the data. And that's only half the question. The other half the problem. The other half of the problem, though, is we are so -- we compete on intimacy so we actually know what questions to answer. So we have the content, the data and the question and now the Generative AI, it's just another tool in the toolkit about how to solve those problems. So we like our long-term competitive positions.

因此，我們在這些小市場裡具備規模優勢，能做更多產品開發、做更多研發、做更多——投入更多資源並推向市場，把這些工具帶到客戶那裡。所以這是我們的長期優勢，也是我們選擇哪些企業納入投資組合的原因。另一點是，當你以「貼近客戶」（intimacy）來競爭並結合生成式 AI 時，我們在所有這些垂直領域裡，顯然擁有知識、內容與數據。而那只解決了一半的問題。另一半的問題是：我們非常——我們以貼近客戶來競爭，所以我們其實知道該回答哪些問題。於是我們有內容、有數據、有問題，再加上生成式 AI，它只是工具箱裡的另一個工具，用來解決那些問題。因此我們很看好我們的長期競爭地位。

Just on that, if I could just sneak in a follow-up on that. Like is this an area -- I know generally, once you acquire a business that kind of runs on its own, but is this an area where like the corporate can flex a little bit because these solutions tend to be expensive to deploy.

就這點，如果我可以再偷偷追問一下：這是否是一個——我知道一般來說，一旦你們收購一家公司，它就會相對獨立運作——但這是否是一個企業總部可以更有彈性介入的領域？因為這些解決方案通常部署成本不低。

So is this an area where like Roper corporate could be like all we are making a decision to kind of allocate capital to the businesses that need this specifically outside of the natural free cash flow dynamics of that specific firm?

也就是說，Roper 總部是否可以做出決策，把資本配置到特別需要這些工具的業務上，而不是只依賴該公司自身的自然自由現金流動態？

So these tools are not free, but they are substantially less expensive than these large language models that have to be developed, right? And so there is the research and development part of the application of the LLM and what we're doing, and then there's the operational costs. Jason did a teach-in a couple of months ago about the ROI case studies and all of this stuff.

這些工具不是免費的，但它們的成本遠低於那些必須自行開發的大型語言模型，對吧？所以這裡有一部分是 LLM 應用層面的研發，也就是我們正在做的事情；另一部分是營運成本。Jason 幾個月前做過一場教學分享，談到 ROI 個案研究以及所有這些內容。

So far, we've not seen an ROI case study that's been challenged in any meaningful way on this front. I'm sure that will happen as you start to work down the curve of opportunities. But we're not -- at the moment, we're not going to try to do a one-size-fits-all Roper Generative AI solution because it would just not work because of the 28 different applications. Jason, anything you want to add.

到目前為止，我們還沒有看到任何 ROI 個案研究在這方面受到任何有意義的挑戰。我相信當你開始沿著機會曲線往下做時，這種情況會發生。但目前我們不會嘗試做一個一體適用（one-size-fits-all）的 Roper 生成式 AI 解決方案，因為那根本行不通，畢竟有 28 種不同的應用。Jason，你還想補充什麼嗎？

Yes. No, that's right. I mean we do have benefits and scale with some of the agreements with our large cloud service providers. So that's been beneficial for companies to do some experimentation at a very low cost. And then we're just allocating a lot of mind share towards that, so we can collectively get better. But in terms of like allocating capital that just hasn't been front-centered out. The company has a really compelling value proposition. We're always going to entertain that, but that's not what we're seeing today.

是的。沒錯。我的意思是，我們確實在與大型雲端服務供應商的一些協議上享有規模效益。所以這讓各公司能以非常低的成本做一些實驗，這很有幫助。然後我們也把很多心力投入在這上面，讓我們能夠集體變得更好。但就像你說的那種資本配置，目前還沒有被放到最核心的位置。公司若有非常有吸引力的價值主張，我們一向都會考慮，但這不是我們今天看到的情況。

Your next question comes from Joe Ritchie with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的 Joe Ritchie。

So in your prepared comments, Neil, you referenced how some of your new SaaS-based offerings were helping certain businesses. I'm just curious as you kind of think a look at the portfolio as a whole, like how far along are you in terms of rolling out additional new platforms? And how much room is there to go from here? And if there are any examples that you want to highlight, that would be great across the portfolio.

Neil，在你們的事先準備發言中，你提到一些新的 SaaS 型產品正在幫助某些業務。我想問的是，當你從整個投資組合的角度來看，你們在推出更多新平台方面目前進展到哪個階段？接下來還有多少成長空間？如果你願意分享一些你想強調的例子——跨整個投資組合——那就太好了。

So I just want to make sure we understand it or answering the question you're asking is that essentially how far along are we on our SaaS journey? And what's that look like?

所以我想先確認我們理解你的問題、以及我們要回答的是你在問的內容：你基本上是在問我們的 SaaS 旅程目前走到哪裡？以及那看起來是什麼樣子？

Yes, that's exactly right. And if there are examples across the portfolio where you think you're -- you have like additional opportunity, I'd love to just hear about some of those examples.

是的，完全正確。如果投資組合中有一些例子，你認為你們——還有額外機會，我也很想聽聽其中一些例子。

So Jason why don't you take on the first part, I'll take the second part.

Jason，你先回答第一部分，我來回答第二部分。

Yes. At the macro level, we're a little over $900 million of maintenance today, maintenance revenue and if you go back maybe in the last 5 years, we've converted the base of maintenance probably like in the mid- to high single-digit area. So we still have a lot of room left, and we convert that maintenance revenue at 2 to 2.5x when we go to SaaS. And so that's kind of where we're at today.

好的。從宏觀層面來看，我們目前大約有超過 9 億美元的維護收入（maintenance revenue）。如果你回頭看過去大概 5 年，我們把維護收入的基礎轉換（convert）到 SaaS 的比例，大概是在中到高個位數的區間。所以我們還有很大的空間；而當我們轉向 SaaS 時，這些維護收入通常可以以 2 到 2.5 倍的倍數轉換。這大概就是我們目前的狀況。

And there's a -- Neil can talk about the specific businesses. There's a handful of businesses that are transitioning. I'd say Aderant is one that's probably had the biggest migration over the last 3 or 4 years, which happened right at co -- that was an industry that was reluctant to move to the cloud and then all of a sudden, once a few firms when they all win. So they're right in the in the thick of things in terms of that cloud migration. But Neil, do you want to talk about some other.

至於——Neil 可以談具體的業務——有幾家正在轉型。我會說 Aderant 是過去 3 到 4 年遷移幅度最大的一家，這剛好發生在——那是一個原本對上雲很抗拒的產業，但突然之間，一旦有幾家事務所——當他們都贏了之後——所以他們現在正處於雲端遷移的核心階段。Neil，你要不要再談談其他一些？

As Jason said, I mean, it is this $900 million of on-premise maintenance is concentrated in a handful of businesses. The examples we give would start with Deltek. It's both on the cost point, which is our government contracting core product and Vantage Point, which is their private sector, their engineering, architecture product.

如 Jason 所說，這 9 億美元的地端（on-premise）維護收入集中在少數幾家業務。若要舉例，我們會先從 Deltek 開始。它同時包含 Costpoint（我們的政府承包核心產品）以及 Vantagepoint（他們面向民間部門、工程與建築設計領域的產品）。

You might have seen, for instance, on cost point, this quarter, Deltek achieved FedRAMP Moderate ready status. So there is a requirement the government puts on for security. It's a meaningful checkpoint for cost point in the cloud, almost all net new for the private sector part of Deltek's book is sole and Vantage Point, which is in the cloud and SaaS enabled. Jason talked about Aderant, 80-plus percent of all of Aderant bookings today are in the cloud, talked about PowerPlan. PowerPlan has one, a handful of core applications. I would say their #2 application is cloud-enabled and being deployed today. So we're definitively rolling through that book in that product set and building into this long-term SaaS business.

你可能有看到，例如在 Costpoint 方面，本季 Deltek 已達成 FedRAMP Moderate ready 狀態。因此政府對資安有一項要求；這對 Costpoint 上雲而言是一個重要的里程碑。至於 Deltek 業務中民間部門的部分，幾乎所有淨新增（net new）都在售賣 Vantagepoint，而它是在雲端、並以 SaaS 形式提供。Jason 也提到 Aderant，目前 Aderant 今日所有訂單（bookings）中有 80% 以上是在雲端；也提到 PowerPlan。PowerPlan 有幾個核心應用，我會說他們的第 2 大應用已具備雲端能力，且正在部署中。所以我們確實正在把那本業務逐步推進，在那套產品組合上持續建構成長期的 SaaS 業務。

Got it. That's super helpful. I'll just leave it there.

了解。這非常有幫助。我就先到這裡。

Your next question comes from Brad Hewitt with Wolfe Research.

下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Brad Hewitt。

So you talked about the strength that pipeline in the quarter. I saw you announced a new CFO for that business with a focus on kind of driving the long-term growth strategy. Just wondering if you could update us on kind of the normalized growth profile of that business and what you see as kind of the biggest opportunities to perhaps accelerate growth in that business going forward.

你們談到本季管線的強勁表現。我看到你們宣布該業務任命了一位新 CFO，重點在於推動長期成長策略。想請你們更新一下該業務的常態化成長輪廓，以及你們認為未來在該業務中、可能加速成長的最大機會是什麼。

Yes, I'll take the first part. I'll let Jason talk about the growth outlook. So -- it's not -- I mean, we have a new president there, Pat McDonald. He is just hired as new CFO, as you referenced, really like the leadership mindset, the competitive orientation, the learning orientation, the building capability to be able to take long term, in that short term that the new leader brings to iPipeline.

是的，我先回答第一部分，成長展望我讓 Jason 來談。所以——這不是——我的意思是，我們那邊有一位新總裁 Pat McDonald。正如你提到的，他剛聘任了一位新 CFO；我非常喜歡那種領導心態、競爭導向、學習導向，以及建立能力，能夠把新領導帶到 iPipeline 的長期視角與短期執行結合起來。

His predecessor (inaudible), he's been a long-term Roper leader, did a great job for a couple of years setting that business up. Retention is super strong, love sort of the market -- this company is really poised for market share gains. It's good market focus. The competitive environment, one, is tilting our direction for sure. The business has network effects. So I really like the momentum and what we're poised to do in that business. And then, Jason, I will let you take the growth question.

他的前任（聽不清）一直是 Roper 長期的領導者，過去幾年做得非常好，為這項業務打下基礎。留存率非常強勁，我也很喜歡這個市場——這家公司確實已經蓄勢待發，有望提升市占率。市場聚焦做得很好。競爭環境也確實正朝著對我們有利的方向傾斜。這項業務具有網路效應。所以我很喜歡目前的動能，以及我們在這項業務上準備要做的事。接著，Jason，我把成長問題交給你。

Yes. I mean I think it's playing out as we thought it would when we acquired it back in 2018, 2019 area, it's in the high single-digit plus range and maybe it tilt a little higher down the road. But that's sort of where it's tracking. And just Adam Boone was added to the team a month ago, and we're excited about him joining along with Pat. So we're excited about the process for our pipeline.

是的。我的意思是，我認為它的發展正如我們在 2018、2019 年左右收購時所預期的那樣，處於高個位數以上的區間，未來可能會再略微往上。大致上就是這樣的追蹤表現。另外，Adam Boone 一個月前加入團隊，我們很期待他與 Pat 一起加入。我們對我們的 iPipeline 推進流程感到很興奮。

Okay. Great. And then it looks like growth in network in Q1 was maybe a few points better than expected. Your guidance for the rest of the year kind of implies revenue flattish sequentially on an absolute basis.

好的，很好。接著看起來 Network 在第一季的成長可能比預期高了幾個點。你們對今年其餘時間的指引，似乎暗示營收在絕對值上按季大致持平。

I would assume most of the businesses in that segment would see kind of modest sequential growth throughout the year. So just kind of trying to understand if there are any potential offsets that maybe if that's DAT. Just any thoughts on kind of sequentials relative to Q1 levels in network.

我原本以為該分部的大多數業務會在全年呈現溫和的逐季成長。所以想了解一下，是否有任何可能的抵銷因素——也許是 DAT？對於 Network 相對於第一季水準的逐季變化，你們有什麼看法？

Yes, sure. So we talked a little bit about MHA had a really strong quarter, and we think they're still -- they're going to continue to grow this year. But Q1 was especially strong as they had a contract renegotiations. So we got a little bit of a bump in organic growth in the first quarter. And then DAT & Loadlink, they'll continue to be down this year. And so maybe a touch lower than Q1. So that's what's driving the sort of low single digits throughout the rest of the year.

好的，當然。我們稍早提到 MHA 本季表現非常強勁，我們認為他們今年仍會持續成長。但第一季特別強，因為他們進行了合約重新談判，所以第一季的有機成長有一點點拉抬。接著 DAT 與 Loadlink 今年仍會下滑，因此可能會比第一季再低一些。這就是推動今年其餘時間維持低個位數成長的原因。

Your next question comes from Patrick Baumann with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自 JPMorgan 的 Patrick Baumann。

Lot of ground been covered. Just a couple of cleanups here. Sticking with the Network Software segment, it's seen really good margin expansion for a couple of quarters now. Could you remind us what's driving that? And if this 56%, 57% is sustainable and could potentially move up further in coming quarters?

很多面向都已經談過了。我這裡只做幾個釐清。延續 Network Software 分部，過去幾季的利潤率擴張表現很好。能否提醒我們主要驅動因素是什麼？以及這個 56%、57% 是否可持續，並且在未來幾季有機會再往上？

Yes. So we touched on this last year, just DAT getting ahead of where they saw the market was going and taking some of the fixed costs out of the business. And so we're just realizing that through the first 3 quarters of this year. We think the margins in that -- I don't think it's going to get -- it's going to expand further. We're sort of in the 55%, 56% range. We expect that to continue throughout the year.

是的。我們去年有提到，DAT 在判斷市場走向上採取了更超前的作法，並把部分固定成本從業務中移除。因此我們在今年前三季逐步體現這些效益。我認為那個——我不覺得利潤率會再進一步擴張。我們大概在 55%、56% 的區間，預期全年會維持在這個水準。

Okay. Got it. And then lastly, just the second quarter. Any color you could give us on organic growth expectations? I know you gave it for 2Q to 4Q. Any difference between second quarter and that 2Q to 4Q guide? And then also on free cash flow, typically lumpy from quarter-to-quarter. So wondering if you could give any kind of color on that relative to the first quarter.

好的，了解。最後想問第二季。你們能否提供一些有機成長預期的補充說明？我知道你們給了 2Q 到 4Q 的指引。第二季與你們 2Q 到 4Q 的指引之間是否有差異？另外，自由現金流通常按季會有波動，所以也想請你們談談相對於第一季的情況。

Yes. I mean I think the organic growth expectations are the same in the second quarter as they are for the year. So no real big swings there. And then cash flow on the second quarter, it's always the quarter that we make to federal tax payments. So it's always the lowest of the year. So that's really the only dynamic I would point out there. If you look over prior years, that's always our low point, but still expect to grow, of course.

是的。我的意思是，我認為第二季的有機成長預期與全年一致，所以不會有什麼大幅波動。至於第二季的現金流，通常那一季我們會支付聯邦稅款，所以一向是全年最低的季度。這是我唯一想指出的動態。如果你回看過去幾年，那一直是我們的低點，但當然我們仍預期會成長。

Your next question comes from Alexander Blanton with Clear Harbor Asset Management.

下一個問題來自 Clear Harbor Asset Management 的 Alexander Blanton。

I noticed that you're forecasting or guiding to organic growth of 6% for the year, correct? But you had 8% in the first quarter. So are you factoring in some economic weakness in the U.S. in that forecast?

我注意到你們預測或指引今年的有機成長為 6%，對嗎？但第一季是 8%。所以你們在這個預測中是否納入了美國經濟走弱的因素？

No. I mean, I think it all plays out, Alex, in our products segment and our TEP segment over the first quarter, we just had a better compare and just the ramp that we had in Neptune last year, it's sort of the comps sort of normalize out in the balance of the year. So it's really just that. It's no more complicated than that. And so that's why Q1 was -- and that's -- when we came into the year, that's what we had indicated that Q1 was going to be the kind of the high mark in terms of organic unless things change in our assumptions.

沒有。我的意思是，Alex，我認為這主要反映在我們的產品分部與 TEP 分部：第一季的比較基期較有利，加上我們去年在 Neptune 的爬坡效應，到了今年其餘時間比較基期就會趨於正常。就只是這樣，沒有更複雜。因此第一季會——而且——我們在年初就已經指出，除非我們的假設有變，第一季在有機成長上會是相對高點。

And I would just add, Alex, to what Jason said, we assume that there is the freight conditions and whatnot that, that is muted, but we've assumed that all the way through, it's not a new assumption, but there is definitely back half macroeconomic weak impacts in that part of our business. That did not change, but it's embedded from our original guidance.

我再補充 Jason 的說法，Alex：我們假設貨運景氣等因素仍然偏弱，但我們一直都是這樣假設的，並不是新的假設；不過在我們業務的那一部分，確實存在下半年宏觀經濟走弱的影響。這點沒有改變，而是從我們最初的指引就已經內含在內。

And which part of the business? I missed that.

是哪一部分的業務？我剛剛沒聽清楚。

The transportation part, the DAT & Loadlink inside of network, the Freight Matching business.

運輸那一部分，也就是 Network 裡的 DAT 與 Loadlink，貨運撮合（Freight Matching）業務。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. We will now return back to Zack Moxcey for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我們現在把時間交還給 Zack Moxcey，請他做結語。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We look forward to speaking with you during our next earnings call.

謝謝各位今天的參與。我們期待在下一次財報電話會議中再與各位交流。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

本次電話會議到此結束。感謝各位出席今天的簡報。您現在可以中斷連線。