Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP) 2022 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) I would now like to turn the call over to Zack Moxcey, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

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）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 us as we discuss the first quarter financial results for Roper Technologies. Joining me on the call this morning are Neil Hunn, President and Chief Executive Officer; Rob Crisci, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Jason Conley, Vice President and Chief 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 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 Rob Crisci；副總裁兼首席會計長 Jason Conley；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。新聞稿也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，也可在我們的網站上查看。

Now if you'll 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。在今天電話會議過程中，我們將作出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受本頁、我們的新聞稿以及我們向 SEC 提交文件中所述之風險與不確定性影響。請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. Unless otherwise noted, we will discuss our results and guidance 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 and purchase accounting adjustments to commission expense. Reconciliations can be found in our press release and in the appendix of this presentation on our website. And now if you please turn to Page 4, I will hand the call over to Neil. After our prepared remarks, we will take questions from our telephone participants. Neil?

接著請翻到第 3 頁。除非另有說明，我們將以調整後的非 GAAP 以及持續營運基礎來討論我們的業績與指引。第一季 GAAP 結果與調整後結果之差異包含以下項目：併購相關無形資產攤銷，以及對佣金費用的購買會計調整。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。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提問。Neil？

Thanks, Zack, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. As I'm sure many of you have already noticed, we are introducing Roper's new logo on today's call. Our new logo better reflects our transformation journey while paying honor and respect to our legacy. As a fun fact, our legacy logo was first introduced in 1977.

謝謝你，Zack，各位早安。感謝大家加入我們。相信各位很多人已經注意到，我們在今天的電話會議上推出 Roper 的新標誌。我們的新標誌更能反映我們的轉型歷程，同時也向我們的傳承致敬並表達尊重。補充一個有趣的事實：我們的傳承標誌最早於 1977 年推出。

So with that, let's turn to Page 4 and review today's agenda. As usual, we start with our quarterly highlights, followed by our segment by segment overview, then go through our increased outlook for guidance expectations and leave plenty of time to address all your questions.

那麼，請翻到第 4 頁，回顧今天的議程。如同往常，我們先從季度重點開始，接著逐一概述各事業部門，然後說明我們上調後的展望與指引預期，並保留充足時間回答各位的問題。

Next slide, please. As we turn to Page 5, the main takeaways from today's call are: first, we continue to increase the quality, predictability and durability of the underlying business models and revenue streams; second, we continue to deliver strong organic growth and operating results, enabling us to increase our organic growth outlook and DEPS guidance for the year; and third, we have substantial M&A capacity, given our rapid deleveraging and completion of our TransCore divestiture.

請看下一張投影片。翻到第 5 頁，今天電話會議的主要重點是：第一，我們持續提升底層商業模式與營收來源的品質、可預測性與耐久性；第二，我們持續交出強勁的有機成長與營運成果，使我們得以上調今年的有機成長展望與 DEPS 指引；第三，鑑於我們快速去槓桿以及完成 TransCore 出售案，我們具備可觀的併購（M&A）能力。

As it relates to the first quarter, we're delighted to report another strong quarter of execution and positive momentum across the portfolio. Specifically, we grew revenue on an organic basis, 11% in the quarter. This growth was broad-based across each of our 4 segments. Not only did we grow nicely in the quarter, but the quality of the underlying business also improved as we saw double-digit organic increases in our recurring revenue base.

就第一季而言，我們很高興回報本季再次展現強勁的執行力，且整體投資組合動能正向。具體而言，本季我們的有機營收成長 11%。此成長在我們 4 個事業部門皆呈現廣泛的貢獻。不僅本季成長亮眼，底層業務品質也有所提升，因為我們看到經常性收入基礎出現兩位數的有機增長。

In addition to our strong software growth, our product businesses performed quite nicely in the quarter as well, experiencing very high levels of demand and record levels of backlog. Also during the quarter, we completed the divestiture of our project-based TransCore business. As you'll note, we now have $3.2 billion of cash on our balance sheet. When combined with our borrowing capacity, we have over $5 billion of available capital deployment firepower, which when deployed will further help drive cash flow and shareholder value compounding. So with this, definitely a solid start to the year.

除了強勁的軟體成長之外，我們的產品型業務本季表現也相當不錯，需求水準非常高，未交訂單（backlog）也創下新高。此外，本季我們完成了以專案為主的 TransCore 業務出售。如各位所見，我們目前資產負債表上有 32 億美元現金。結合我們的借款能力，我們可動用的資本部署火力超過 50 億美元；一旦部署，將進一步推動現金流與股東價值的複利成長。因此，今年開局確實相當穩健。

Now let me turn the call to Rob, who will walk through our financial summary. Rob?

現在我把電話交給 Rob，由他帶大家回顧財務摘要。Rob？

Thanks, Neil. Good morning, everyone. Turning to Page 6 and covering some of the Q1 financial highlights. Total revenue increased 11% to $1.53 billion. As Neil mentioned, organic revenue also increased 11% with broad-based strength across our 4 reporting segments. Application Software grew 9% organically, Network Software grew 16%; our MAS segment grew 7%; and finally, our smallest segment, Process Technologies, was up 18%. EBITDA margin was 37.8% for the quarter, resulting in EBITDA increasing 8% to $577 million.

謝謝你，Neil。各位早安。請翻到第 6 頁，我將說明第一季的一些財務重點。總營收成長 11%，達 15.3 億美元。如 Neil 所提，有機營收同樣成長 11%，且在我們 4 個申報部門皆展現廣泛的強勢表現。Application Software 有機成長 9%，Network Software 成長 16%；MAS 部門成長 7%；最後，我們規模最小的 Process Technologies 成長 18%。本季 EBITDA 利潤率為 37.8%，使 EBITDA 成長 8% 至 5.77 億美元。

Notably, that $577 million of Q1 EBITDA on a continuing operations basis is actually higher than the Q1 EBITDA we reported last April, when we still own and, of course, consolidated TransCore and the other 2 divested businesses. Adjusted DEPS for the quarter was 3.77%, which was well above our guidance range of $363 million to $367 million. Free cash flow was $459 million, with solid EBITDA cash conversion of 80%. That's above the Q1 conversion levels we experienced in 2019 and 2020 but below last year's exceptionally strong Q1 conversion of 96%.

值得注意的是，這 5.77 億美元的第一季 EBITDA（以持續營運口徑）實際上高於我們去年 4 月所報告的第一季 EBITDA；當時我們仍持有並且當然也合併了 TransCore 以及另外兩項已出售的業務。本季調整後 DEPS 為 3.77%，明顯高於我們 3.63 億至 3.67 億美元的指引區間。自由現金流為 4.59 億美元，EBITDA 現金轉換率穩健，達 80%。這高於我們在 2019 與 2020 年第一季的轉換水準，但低於去年第一季異常強勁的 96% 轉換率。

To that end, there are 2 discrete cash items that combined to create an $80 million Q1 headwind versus prior year. As discussed on last April's call, last year's Q1 included $40 million of accelerated payments to CliniSys.

就此而言，有兩項獨立的現金項目合計造成相較去年第一季約 8,000 萬美元的不利影響。如同去年 4 月電話會議所討論，去年第一季包含對 CliniSys 的 4,000 萬美元加速付款。

Furthermore, this year's Q1 reflects a $40 million increase in incentive compensation as a result of our strong 2021 performance compared to the pandemic year of 2020. So stepping back, we are, of course, focused on long-term compounding here at Roper. In the 3 blue bars at the bottom of our page, you can see our 3-year compounding from Q1 2019 for revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow was 10%, 13% and 17%, respectively. So in summary, an excellent start to the year.

此外，今年第一季反映因我們 2021 年強勁表現而使獎勵性薪酬增加 4,000 萬美元，相較之下 2020 年為疫情年度。退一步來看，我們在 Roper 當然聚焦於長期複利成長。在本頁底部的 3 個藍色長條中，各位可以看到自 2019 年第一季起的 3 年複利成長：營收、EBITDA 與自由現金流分別為 10%、13% 與 17%。總結而言，今年開局非常出色。

Next slide. Turning to Page 7, which is an update on our financial position. Turning to the balance sheet. As Neil mentioned, we have a very large cash balance, which is the result of closing the TransCore divestiture during the quarter and receiving the gross proceeds. We have yet to pay the approximately $650 million of taxes related to the divestitures and which will be paid during the final 3 quarters of 2022. As of March 31, as Neil mentioned, our cash balance stood at $3.2 billion, which brings our net debt down to $4.2 billion or approximately 1.9x our TTM EBITDA from continuing ops.

下一張投影片。請翻到第 7 頁，這是我們財務狀況的更新，先看資產負債表。如 Neil 所提，我們持有非常可觀的現金餘額，這是因為本季完成 TransCore 出售並收到總價款。我們尚未支付與出售案相關約 6.5 億美元的稅款，該稅款將於 2022 年最後三個季度支付。截至 3 月 31 日，如 Neil 所述，我們的現金餘額為 32 億美元，使我們的淨負債降至 42 億美元，約為持續營運口徑 TTM EBITDA 的 1.9 倍。

So with our healthy combination of balance sheet cash, continued strong free cash flow generation and our investment-grade leverage capacity, we are very well positioned to deploy $5 billion or more of capital. So with that, I'll turn it back over to Neil to cover our segments in greater detail.

因此，憑藉我們健康的資產負債表現金組合、持續強勁的自由現金流創造能力，以及投資級的槓桿承擔能力，我們非常有利於部署 50 億美元或更多的資本。那麼，我把電話交回給 Neil，請他更詳細地說明各事業部門。

Thanks, Rob. Let's turn to Page 9 and walk through the Q1 highlights for our Application Software segment. Revenues here were $632 million, up 9% on an organic basis, and EBITDA margins were 44.1%. Across this segment, we saw recurring revenue, which is a touch north of 75% of the revenue for this segment increased 10% in the quarter. This recurring revenue growth is enabled by strong customer retention, continued migration to our SaaS delivery models, cross-selling activity and new customer adds. Across this group of companies, the financial strength was quite broad. As we highlight a few businesses, we'll start with Vertafore. Vertafore had an excellent quarter, which was highlighted by strong ARR bookings activity and revenue growth. In addition, during the quarter, Vertafore released its new commercial submissions product line. To remind everyone, Vertafore's strategy is to help tech-enabled workflows for their P&C agent customers. This new product is a meaningful step in this direction as it allows agents to quote multiple carriers in a simple automated workflow. Great stuff from the Vertafore team.

謝謝你，Rob。讓我們翻到第 9 頁，帶大家回顧我們應用軟體（Application Software）部門第一季的重點。該部門營收為 6.32 億美元，有機成長 9%，EBITDA 利潤率為 44.1%。在此部門中，我們看到經常性收入（約占該部門營收的 75% 以上）於本季成長 10%。這項經常性收入成長得益於強勁的客戶留存、持續移轉至我們的 SaaS 交付模式、交叉銷售活動以及新增客戶。就這一組公司而言，財務表現的強勁相當全面。接下來我們將重點提到幾項業務，先從 Vertafore 開始。Vertafore 本季表現非常出色，亮點包括強勁的 ARR 訂單（bookings）活動與營收成長。此外，在本季，Vertafore 發布了其新的商業投保提交（commercial submissions）產品線。提醒大家，Vertafore 的策略是協助其 P&C（財產與意外險）代理人客戶打造科技賦能的工作流程。這項新產品是朝此方向邁出的重要一步，因為它讓代理人能在簡單的自動化流程中對多家保險公司進行報價。Vertafore 團隊做得非常棒。

Turning to Deltek. They posted another great quarter with strength across all end markets served. Deltek continues to gain momentum, driving adoption to their cloud-based product offerings. Deltek also continues to be benefited by having favorable secular tailwinds. CliniSys and Data Innovations continue to exhibit strong demand and operational strength. Specifically, CliniSys continued its market share gains in the U.K. As a reminder, CliniSys is one of 4 strategic IT vendors to the National Health Service. DI was awesome in the quarter with continued strength, driven by their direct go-to-market approach and large wins within the VA system.

接著談 Deltek。他們再度交出非常亮眼的一季，在所服務的所有終端市場皆展現強勁動能。Deltek 持續加速成長，推動客戶採用其雲端產品組合。Deltek 也持續受惠於有利的長期結構性趨勢（secular tailwinds）。CliniSys 與 Data Innovations 也持續展現強勁需求與營運韌性。具體而言，CliniSys 在英國持續提升市占率。提醒大家，CliniSys 是英國國民保健署（National Health Service）的 4 家策略性 IT 供應商之一。DI 本季表現也非常出色，持續強勁的動能來自其直接的市場進入（go-to-market）策略，以及在 VA 系統內取得的大型訂單。

Aderant continues to be a solid performer for Roper, extending their share gains in the large law space. Also in the quarter, licensing activity tied to seed expansions was very strong. They also continue to see a meaningful shift towards our cloud offerings, driving substantial increases to the recurring revenue base. Strata whose cloud-based software helps hospitals plan, budget and manage their operations continues to execute their cross-selling strategy with TTM net retention north of 110%.

Aderant 仍是 Roper 的穩健表現者，並在大型律師事務所市場持續擴大市占。此外，本季與 seed 擴張相關的授權活動非常強勁。他們也持續看到客戶明顯轉向我們的雲端產品，推動經常性收入基礎大幅提升。Strata 的雲端軟體可協助醫院進行規劃、預算編列與營運管理，並持續執行其交叉銷售策略，TTM 淨留存率超過 110%。

Of note, we are in the midst of an orderly leader transition at Strata, Dan Michelson, who has led Strata for the last 10 years is retiring. As an element of Roper's talent offense, Strata has been developing its next CEO, John Martino, for the past several years. As part of John's development, he started in the CFO function then led commercial and go-to-market functions and then became the company's COO. Strata's future is secure given the successful succession planning. Big thanks to Dan for all your leadership and accomplishments at Strata. John, we are super confident with you at the helm, your new role is well earned. Congrats.

值得一提的是，Strata 正在進行一項有序的領導交接。過去 10 年帶領 Strata 的 Dan Michelson 即將退休。作為 Roper 人才攻勢（talent offense）的一環，Strata 在過去幾年一直培養下一任 CEO——John Martino。作為 John 的培育歷程之一，他先從 CFO 職能起步，接著領導商務與市場進入（go-to-market）職能，之後成為公司的 COO。由於接班規劃成功，Strata 的未來相當穩固。非常感謝 Dan 在 Strata 的領導與成就。John，我們對你掌舵充滿信心，你的新角色實至名歸。恭喜。

Finally, PowerPlan posted a strong double-digit growth quarter, driven by recurring revenue adds and higher services utilization. They also have a substantial new product road map slated for this year, which we're looking forward to discussing on subsequent calls.

最後，PowerPlan 本季繳出強勁的雙位數成長，主要由經常性收入新增與更高的服務使用率所帶動。他們今年也規劃了相當可觀的新產品路線圖，我們期待在後續的電話會議中進一步討論。

Looking to the outlook for 2022 in the segment, we expect to see mid-single-digit growth for the balance of the year, driven by continued strong ARR momentum. With that, let's turn to the next slide.

展望該部門 2022 年的前景，我們預期今年剩餘期間將呈現中個位數成長，主要由持續強勁的 ARR 動能所驅動。接著，讓我們看下一張投影片。

Turning to Page 10. As a reminder, the financial performance for this segment as well as the X2, MAS and PT are shown on a continuing ops basis. Revenue in the first quarter for our Network segment was $369 million, up 16% on an organic basis and EBITDA margins were strong at 51.2%. The 16% organic growth is underpinned by 16% growth in recurring revenue, which is roughly 80% of the segment's revenue base. As we dig into business-specific performance, our U.S. and Canadian freight matching businesses continue to be super strong during the quarter. The market conditions continue to be quite favorable, which led to record levels of network adds again, especially on the carrier side of the network. In addition, DAT continues to do a nice job of increasing revenue per user by both adding features and improving value capture.

翻到第 10 頁。提醒大家，本部門的財務表現以及 X2、MAS 與 PT 皆以持續營運（continuing ops）基礎呈現。我們網路（Network）部門第一季營收為 3.69 億美元，有機成長 16%，EBITDA 利潤率強勁，達 51.2%。這 16% 的有機成長由經常性收入 16% 的成長所支撐；經常性收入約占該部門營收基礎的 80%。進一步看各業務表現，我們美國與加拿大的貨運媒合（freight matching）業務本季持續非常強勁。市場環境仍相當有利，使得網路新增（network adds）再次創下紀錄，尤其是在承運商（carrier）端。此外，DAT 也持續透過新增功能與提升價值變現（value capture），在提高每位用戶收入方面做得很好。

Over the longer arc of time, our freight matching businesses continue to be well positioned to enable the digitization of the spot freight markets.

從更長期的角度來看，我們的貨運媒合業務仍具備良好定位，可推動零擔即期（spot）貨運市場的數位化。

Moving to Foundry. Our software business that enables the combination of live action filming and computer-generated graphics to be combined into a single frame, had record bookings, revenue and EBITDA for the first quarter. Net retention is north of 110% and ARR grew double digits. Foundry success is rooted in their fast-paced innovation capability in favorable long-term market conditions. iTrade, our network food supply chain business and iPipeline, our life insurance SaaS business helping to tech enable the quoting and underwriting processes each had strong customer additions, which helped drive strong ARR growth in the quarter.

接著談 Foundry。我們的軟體業務可將實景拍攝（live action filming）與電腦生成圖像（computer-generated graphics）合成於同一畫面（single frame），第一季創下訂單（bookings）、營收與 EBITDA 的新高。淨留存率超過 110%，ARR 亦呈雙位數成長。Foundry 的成功根基在於其快速創新的能力，以及長期有利的市場環境。iTrade（我們的網路型食品供應鏈業務）與 iPipeline（我們的人壽保險 SaaS 業務，協助報價與核保流程的科技賦能）本季也各自新增了強勁的客戶數，帶動 ARR 在本季強勁成長。

Finally, RF IDeas had record orders with growth coming from secure print and identity management applications. Turning to the outlook for the balance of the year. We expect to see high single-digit organic growth for this segment, driven by a combination of strong recurring revenue momentum and favorable market tailwinds.

最後，RF IDeas 訂單創下新高，成長主要來自安全列印（secure print）與身分識別管理（identity management）應用。接著談今年剩餘期間的展望。我們預期該部門將實現高個位數的有機成長，動能來自強勁的經常性收入趨勢與有利的市場順風（tailwinds）的組合。

Kindly turn to the next slide. As we turn to Page 11, revenues in our MAS segment were $392 million, up 7% on an organic basis. EBITDA margins for the segment were 31.5% for the quarter. Again, these results are on a continuing ops basis. Before getting into business-specific details across this segment, demand continues to be very strong and product backlogs continue to be at record levels. Also, each of these businesses are navigating the current supply chain complexities.

請翻到下一張投影片。來到第 11 頁，我們 MAS 部門營收為 3.92 億美元，有機成長 7%。該部門本季 EBITDA 利潤率為 31.5%。同樣地，這些結果是以持續營運（continuing ops）基礎呈現。在進入本部門各業務細節之前，需求仍然非常強勁，產品積壓訂單（backlogs）也持續維持在歷史高位。此外，這些業務都正在應對當前供應鏈的複雜性。

While margins were in line with our expectations, they were negatively impacted versus prior year and are impacted by the availability and pricing of raw material components as well as expediting freight costs. As our businesses increased price actions take hold throughout the year, margins should improve as we get into the second half. As it relates to our business-specific commentary, we'll start with Neptune, which had record orders, revenue and quarter ending backlog.

雖然利潤率符合我們的預期，但相較去年受到不利影響，並且受到原物料零組件的供應可得性與價格，以及加急運輸成本的影響。隨著我們各項業務的漲價措施在全年逐步反映，進入下半年後利潤率應可改善。就各業務評論而言，我們先從 Neptune 開始；Neptune 創下訂單、營收與季末積壓訂單的新高。

Neptune has been able to gain market share by being successful in keeping product lead times at industry-leading terms and releasing new products, both in terms of cellular connectivity and static meter reading technology. Verathon, Northern Digital and each of our medical product franchises remain super solid. Verathon continues to see strong demand and market share gains in their single-use bronchoscope category and NDI sees the same in both our optical and electromechanical measurement capabilities. These businesses are beneficiaries of long-term and favorable market tailwinds. As it relates to our industrial businesses, demand throughout the quarter was quite strong, given the improving end market and capital spending conditions. As it relates to the outlook for the balance of the year, we expect to see high single-digit growth for this segment, underpinned by strong demand and backlog levels, but somewhat constrained by the current supply chain environment. Net-net, we expect a very strong balance of the year for this group -- for the balance of the year for this group.

Neptune 透過成功將產品交期維持在業界領先水準並推出新產品，得以提升市占率；新產品涵蓋蜂巢式連線（cellular connectivity）與靜態抄表（static meter reading）技術。Verathon、Northern Digital 以及我們各項醫療產品事業群仍然非常穩健。Verathon 在一次性支氣管鏡（single-use bronchoscope）品類持續看到強勁需求與市占提升；NDI 在我們的光學與機電量測能力方面也呈現相同趨勢。這些業務皆受惠於長期且有利的市場順風。至於我們的工業業務，本季需求相當強勁，主要因終端市場與資本支出環境改善。展望今年剩餘期間，我們預期該部門將實現高個位數成長，基礎來自強勁需求與積壓訂單水位，但會在一定程度上受到當前供應鏈環境的限制。總而言之，我們預期這一組業務在今年剩餘期間將有非常強勁的表現——在今年剩餘期間，這一組業務將有非常強勁的表現。

Now let's turn to our final segment, Process Tech. As we turn to Page 12, revenue on our Process Tech segment were $134 million in Q1, up 18% on an organic basis. EBITDA margins were 32.5% in the quarter. These results are also reported on a continuing ops basis. The story here is we continue to see improving end market conditions across virtually every one of our businesses in this segment and very strong demand. Cornell continues to perform well for us delivering record orders in backlog in the quarter. The strength is partially based on market conditions, but also based on Cornell's product innovation as they're seeing very nice demand tick up for their IoT connected pumping solutions and the share gains they are doing as a result of their niche-focused go-to-market teams.

現在讓我們進入最後一個部分：流程技術（Process Tech）。翻到第 12 頁，流程技術部門第一季營收為 1.34 億美元，以有機基礎計算成長 18%。本季 EBITDA 利潤率為 32.5%。這些結果同樣以持續營運（continuing ops）基礎呈報。這裡的重點是，我們持續看到該部門幾乎所有業務的終端市場狀況改善，且需求非常強勁。Cornell 持續表現出色，本季在手訂單（backlog）中的訂單量創下紀錄。這股強勁部分來自市場狀況，但也來自 Cornell 的產品創新；他們的 IoT 連網泵浦解決方案需求明顯上升，並且透過其聚焦利基市場的 go-to-market 團隊帶動市占提升。

Also, our upstream oil and gas businesses saw strength in the quarter. Similar to that, our MAS product businesses, these businesses are also being impacted by supply chain challenges, but continue to navigate well through the issues. As we turn to the outlook for the balance of 2022, we expect high-teens organic growth based on strong levels of backlog and solid market conditions. Now please turn to Page 14, and we'll talk through our 2022 increased guidance outlook.

此外，我們的上游油氣業務本季也展現強勁表現。與此類似，我們的 MAS 產品業務也受到供應鏈挑戰影響，但仍持續良好地因應並穿越這些問題。展望 2022 年剩餘期間，我們預期在手訂單水準強勁且市場狀況穩健的支撐下，有機成長可達高十位數。現在請翻到第 14 頁，我們將說明 2022 年上調後的指引展望。

Based on a solid start to Q1, strong growth in our software recurring revenue base and record levels of product demand and backlog, we are increasing our full year 2022 DEPS guidance to be in the range of $15.50 and $15.75 up from our original guidance of $15.25 and $15.55. Underpinning this DEPS guidance is our increased organic revenue growth expectation of 7% to 9% for the year. We expect a steady tax rate in the 21% to 22% range.

基於第一季穩健開局、軟體經常性收入基礎的強勁成長，以及產品需求與在手訂單創紀錄的水準，我們將 2022 全年 DEPS 指引上調至 15.50 至 15.75 美元區間，高於原先的 15.25 至 15.55 美元。支撐此 DEPS 指引的是我們上調後的全年有機營收成長預期 7% 至 9%。我們預期稅率將維持在 21% 至 22% 的區間。

As we look to the second quarter, we're establishing DEPS guidance to be in the range of $3.80 and $3.84, again, on a continuing ops basis. Now our concluding comments, and we'll get to your questions.

展望第二季，我們建立的 DEPS 指引為 3.80 至 3.84 美元區間，同樣以持續營運（continuing ops）基礎計算。接下來是我們的結語，之後將進入問答。

As we turn to Page 15 in our closing remarks, we want to leave you with the same 3 points we started with: One, as we grow, we are increasing the quality of the underlying business and business model; two, we had a strong start to the year; and three, we have substantial M&A capacity available to us. As it relates to a strong start, we grew revenues organically 11% and EBITDA 8%. More so, we have grown our cash flow 17% on a 3-year compounded basis. We are lifting our full year organic growth and DEPS guidance based on the factors outlined during this call, specifically strong recurring revenue growth, record demand for our product businesses and generally favorable market conditions.

在第 15 頁的結語中，我們想以與開場相同的三點作結：第一，隨著我們成長，我們正在提升底層業務與商業模式的品質；第二，我們今年開局強勁；第三，我們具備可觀的併購（M&A）能力。就強勁開局而言，我們有機營收成長 11%，EBITDA 成長 8%。此外，我們的現金流在三年複合基礎上成長 17%。基於本次電話會議中所述因素，特別是經常性收入的強勁成長、產品業務創紀錄的需求，以及整體有利的市場狀況，我們上調全年有機成長與 DEPS 指引。

Finally, we have reloaded our balance sheet and continue to have an active and engaged pipeline of M&A opportunities. We have north of $5 billion of available M&A firepower. So as we turn to your questions, we would like to highlight that our inaugural ESG report was published to our website earlier today. This report outlines our commitment to ESG and our sustainability principles. And with that, let's open it to your questions.

最後，我們已重新強化資產負債表，並持續擁有活躍且投入的併購機會管線。我們可用的併購火力超過 50 億美元。在進入提問之前，我們也想強調，我們的首份 ESG 報告已於今日稍早發布於公司網站。該報告闡述我們對 ESG 的承諾以及永續原則。那麼，現在開放各位提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Christopher Glynn with Oppenheimer.

（接線員指示）我們的第一個問題來自 Oppenheimer 的 Christopher Glynn。

I was curious about the double-digit recurring software revenue in aggregate. I forgot what the comparison was, but I don't think it was particularly light. So just curious about were you surprised by that metric in the quarter? And any implications on how the overall execution and strategic throughput is flowing?

我對整體而言達到雙位數的軟體經常性收入成長感到好奇。我忘了比較基期是什麼，但我不認為基期特別低。所以想請教，你們對本季這個指標感到意外嗎？以及這對整體執行力與策略推進的節奏有何意涵？

Yes. Thanks for the question. As we look back over to recurring revenue growth over the last 5 quarters. I think 4 of the 5 have been in the low double digits. And so we were not surprised by it, but it's certainly encouraged by strength, also encouraged by the breadth of the strength that wasn't isolated in 1 or 2 businesses really quite broad-based against everything. And we also, just as of Q1, there was a lighter comp from a year ago.

是的，謝謝你的問題。回顧過去 5 個季度的經常性收入成長，我想其中有 4 個季度都在低雙位數。因此我們並不意外，但確實受到強勁表現的鼓舞，也受到強勁表現的廣度所鼓舞——並非只集中在 1、2 個業務，而是相當廣泛、幾乎全面性的強勁。另外，就第一季而言，與一年前相比的比較基期也較低。

Okay. And for my follow-up, just curious, as you look at the pipeline, curious if any comments on the mix of platform deals versus bolt-on variety, if they're both well represented.

了解。那我的追問是，當你們看併購管線時，能否評論一下平台型交易（platform deals）與加掛式併購（bolt-on）的組合？兩者是否都有相當比例？

Yes. They're certainly both well represented. If you go back over, I think, the last 15 years, something like 90% of the capital deployed at Roper is spent on platform deals and 10% on bolt-ons. It's not a budget. It's just a historical reference to platform versus bolt-ons. If we were guessing it might tilt a little bit more towards bolt-ons in the next 10 years because we have more things to bolt things into. But the preponderance of the capital deployment will be on platform deals, and the pipeline is well weighted across both of those.

是的，兩者確實都有相當比例。回顧過去大約 15 年，Roper 部署的資本大概有 90% 用於平台型交易、10% 用於加掛式併購。這不是預算分配，只是平台型交易與加掛式併購的歷史參考。如果要猜測，未來 10 年可能會稍微偏向加掛式併購，因為我們有更多平台可以讓加掛式併購「加進去」。但資本部署的主要部分仍會用在平台型交易，而目前的管線在這兩類上都配置得很均衡。

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

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

Can you start with Process Technologies. This is where -- if we were going to see big pressures on the industrial side, supply chain, you really didn't see that. It came through, especially on organic revenue growth. But just give us any specifics regarding the supply chain challenges? And where -- is there a big ramp? Are you seeing it yet in CapEx that with greater focus on increasing U.S. shale?

能否先從流程技術（Process Technologies）談起？如果工業端會出現較大壓力，例如供應鏈，你們其實沒有看到那樣的情況，尤其在有機營收成長上表現得很明顯。不過能否提供一些供應鏈挑戰的具體細節？另外——是否有明顯的加速？你們是否已在資本支出（CapEx）上看到因更聚焦提升美國頁岩油而帶來的變化？

Dean, it's Rob. Yes, we're still seeing, of course, the impact like everyone else of supply chain. I mean you can see it in our MAS segment, probably more so than in process but the businesses have done a really, really good job of working through it. And so that allows us to have great organic growth and then the margins, which were down a little bit in MAS on supply chain should incrementally improve moving forward. So I think overall, the businesses are doing a great job of handling what everyone else is also having to deal with.

Deane，我是 Rob。是的，我們仍然像其他人一樣看到供應鏈的影響。我的意思是，你可以在我們的 MAS 部門看到，可能比在流程技術更明顯一些，但各個業務在因應方面做得非常、非常好。因此我們得以維持很好的有機成長；而利潤率方面，MAS 因供應鏈而略有下滑，未來應會逐步改善。總體而言，我認為各個業務在處理大家都必須面對的問題上做得很出色。

And Dean, this is Neil. The only thing I'd add to that. We said it a number of times in the prepared remarks, is the level of order activity throughout the quarter and the backlog we entered the quarter with and left the quarter with are just -- are quite robust to give us quite a bit of confidence for the balance of the year.

Deane，我是 Neil。我唯一想補充的是——我們在事先準備的講稿中提過很多次——整個季度的接單活動水準，以及我們進入季度時與離開季度時的在手訂單，都非常強勁，讓我們對今年剩餘期間更有信心。

That's all good to hear. And then on the M&A front, you've got the balance sheet fully reloaded -- but there -- what's the tone of the market right now? Has -- with so much macro uncertainty, are sellers just holding back now? Is there any pause in activity? And just what's the expectations over the next couple of quarters?

這些都很令人欣慰。接著談併購（M&A），你們的資產負債表已完全補強——但目前市場氛圍如何？在宏觀不確定性這麼高的情況下，賣方是否開始觀望？活動是否有任何停頓？以及未來幾個季度的預期如何？

Yes, hard to predict exactly how things will unfold in the near term, but the activity in the market and the activity that we're involved with is at very high at or above where it's been on -- if you looked at the last 5 years sort of average pace, we're at or above that in terms of the number of deals we're seeing, the number of management meetings we're doing, the number of processes we're involved in. Ultimately, how many of those transact based on uncertainty on the valuation market is still very much to be determined, but encouraged by the level of activity currently in the market.

是的，短期內事情會如何發展很難精準預測，但市場上的活動量，以及我們所參與的活動量，都處於非常高的水準，至少與過去 5 年的平均節奏相比是持平或更高——就我們看到的交易數量、進行的管理層會議數量、以及參與的流程數量而言都是如此。最終有多少能成交，仍很大程度取決於估值市場在不確定性下的變化，這點還有待觀察；但我們對目前市場活動的水準感到鼓舞。

Our next question comes from Julian Mitchell with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Julian Mitchell。

This is Kiran Patel-O'Connor on for Julian. So just looking at operating leverage for 2022, I know you guys had previously talked about approximately 40%. Is that -- do you guys still feel good about that number? And where do you think we should land for Q2?

我是代替 Julian 的 Kiran Patel-O'Connor。想請教一下 2022 年的營運槓桿，我知道你們先前談到大約 40%。那個數字——你們現在仍然對這個數字有信心嗎？以及你們認為 Q2 應該落在什麼水準？

Yes. I think that's a pretty good number for the year. Overall, for the company, we're still looking at sort of EBITDA margins relatively flat year-over-year. And so again, it's sort of a little bit of improvement throughout the year as some of the supply chain stuff starts to get a little bit better. Again, the software businesses with this really strong organic growth, you get great leverage there, and it's really about our reinvesting in order to make sure there's more growth in the future. So our businesses are reinvesting at a pretty high level, which is great to see, and that will continue to drive more organic. And that's really what moves you from 40% or 45% leverage or 50% or whatever it is, it's really about the investments that we continue to make.

是的。我認為就全年來看，那是個相當不錯的數字。整體而言，就公司層面，我們仍預期 EBITDA 利潤率年對年大致持平。因此同樣地，隨著部分供應鏈問題開始稍微改善，全年會有一些逐步的改善。再者，軟體業務有非常強勁的內生成長，在那裡你會得到很好的槓桿效益，而重點其實在於我們再投資，以確保未來有更多成長。所以我們的業務正以相當高的水準再投資，這點很令人欣慰，而且這將持續推動更多內生成長。而真正讓你從 40% 或 45% 槓桿、或 50% 或不管是多少往上走的，關鍵就在於我們持續進行的投資。

Our next question comes from Rob Mason with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Baird 的 Rob Mason。

Yes. Just as you think about your product-centric businesses, both MAS and Process Tech, again, you've said it that you expect some sequential improvement as we go through the year in revenue with supply chain helping out some. But could you tease out how much of the revenue growth sequentially is coming from better supply chain versus perhaps price aiding a little more? You made the reference in MAS. So that was one question. And then just around supply chain. What specifically gets better? I mean, is it around chips, electronics or is it other components? I just want to drill into that a little bit.

是的。當你們思考以產品為核心的業務（MAS 與 Process Tech）時，你們也提到，隨著供應鏈在某種程度上提供幫助，你們預期今年營收會逐季改善。但你能否拆解一下，逐季的營收成長有多少來自供應鏈改善、又有多少可能是價格帶來更多助益？你在 MAS 有提到這點。這是第一個問題。第二個是關於供應鏈：具體來說是哪些地方會變好？是晶片、電子元件，還是其他零組件？我想再深入了解一下。

Yes, it's Neil. Let me take a crack at both of those, price versus volume, if you will, and then the nature of -- or characterize the supply chain challenges, and then maybe ask Rob if he has any follow-up behind that. So on the price versus volume, it's very hard for us to track with precision how much of the revenue rolled up at the Roper level in the product businesses is price versus units. That said, we would characterize it that we put a lot -- there's -- every one of our companies has taken pricing action or actions. We're certainly not the backstop for global inflation, so we're passing that to our customers. .

是的，我是 Neil。我先嘗試回答這兩個問題：如果用「價格對比數量」來說，以及供應鏈挑戰的性質——或說如何描述供應鏈挑戰——然後再看看 Rob 是否有任何後續補充。關於價格與數量，我們很難精準追蹤在產品型業務中、彙總到 Roper 層級的營收到底有多少來自價格、多少來自出貨單位數。不過，我們會這樣描述：我們做了很多——我們旗下每一家公司都採取了一項或多項的調價行動。我們當然不會替全球通膨買單，所以我們會把這些成本轉嫁給客戶。.

But it does take time for that price to get in. And so for instance, in Q1, in the MAS segment, there was a bit of margin pressure because a lot of the revenue booked was from orders that were in the fourth quarter or the second half of last year, that was at a lower price point than the orders are booked this year. So it takes a little bit of time for that pricing to get into the system. But that's more of a commentary about margins than it is about revenue growth. It's just hard to break out.

但價格反映到營收需要時間。例如在 Q1 的 MAS 部門，利潤率有一些壓力，因為入帳的許多營收來自第四季或去年下半年接到的訂單，那些訂單的價格水準低於今年接單的價格。因此，調價需要一點時間才能在系統中反映出來。但這更多是對利潤率的評論，而不是對營收成長的評論；只是很難拆分。

As it relates to characterizing the supply chain challenges, it's not a thing, and it's not even a thing at a company. A company might have a chip problem for a quarter or a few months and then it might become a glass problem for computer screens and it might become a caster problem for a cart. And it really is a little bit of a whack a mole at the individual company level and nothing sort of pan Roper that we would characterize it as a single supply chain threat, if you will. Rob, anything you want to add to that?

至於供應鏈挑戰的描述，它不是單一問題，甚至在同一家公司也不是單一問題。一家公司可能某一季或幾個月遇到晶片問題，接著可能變成電腦螢幕玻璃的問題，然後又可能變成推車腳輪的問題。這在個別公司層級有點像打地鼠，並沒有什麼我們會在整個 Roper 範圍內把它描述成單一供應鏈威脅的情況。Rob，你有什麼想補充的嗎？

Yes. So for MAS, we had 7% organic in Q1, and we're calling for HSD for the rest of the year. So I mean, really gradual improvement. We've got very strong order performance. We've got, of course, record backlogs. We've got great book-to-bill -- and so again, a little bit of improvement, we're not assuming that the supply chain improves dramatically anytime soon.

是的。就 MAS 而言，我們在 Q1 的內生成長是 7%，而我們對今年剩餘期間的指引是高個位數（HSD）。所以，基本上就是非常漸進的改善。我們的接單表現非常強勁，當然也有創紀錄的在手訂單（backlog）。我們的接單出貨比（book-to-bill）也很漂亮——因此同樣地，只是些微改善；我們並不假設供應鏈會在短期內大幅改善。

I see. Okay. That's helpful. And just as a follow-up, again, you've made the comments that your industrial-focused businesses continue to see -- saw good strength through the end of the quarter. But I know you don't have a lot of international or European exposure specifically, but Struers is one business that touches that area. Just specifically to Europe, I was just curious what you saw as you finished out the quarter and into April.

了解。好的，這很有幫助。再追問一下，你們提到以工業為主的業務在季度末仍持續看到——也確實看到不錯的強勁態勢。但我知道你們在國際或歐洲的曝險不算大，不過 Struers 是一個會接觸到那個區域的業務。就歐洲而言，我想請教你們在季度結束、以及進入四月時看到了什麼？

So Struers was -- had a great quarter as they saw, I mean, Struers is tied partially to global industrial GDP and also global auto. And so Struers really picked up nicely because of the global automotive demand. All markets are strong at Struers ex China, for instance, in the quarter. So anything you want to add more broadly on Europe, but...

Struers 的表現——這一季非常好。Struers 部分與全球工業 GDP 相關，也與全球汽車產業相關。因此，因為全球汽車需求，Struers 的動能明顯回升。以本季來看，Struers 除了中國以外，各市場都很強勁。你還想更廣泛地補充歐洲的情況嗎？不過……

No. I mean I think overall, we're seeing -- still seeing pretty good strength across the world.

沒有。我認為整體而言，我們仍然看到全球各地都有相當不錯的強勁態勢。

Our next question comes from Andrew Shlosh with Vertical Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Vertical Research 的 Andrew Shlosh。

So I can appreciate the color around the supply chain challenges. And obviously, that's not unique to you. But when we think about margins in measurement and analytical and process from Q1 to Q2, just given the commentary you've given us, do you think that margins would be flattish sequentially Q1 to Q2 in both of those segments? Or do you even think we could see some expansion there?

我理解你們對供應鏈挑戰的補充說明，顯然這也不是你們獨有的問題。但當我們思考 measurement and analytical 以及 process 這兩個部門從 Q1 到 Q2 的利潤率時，基於你們剛才的評論，你認為這兩個部門的利潤率在 Q1 到 Q2 會逐季大致持平嗎？還是你甚至認為我們可能會看到一些擴張？

Yes. I think sequentially a little bit of expansion Q1 to Q2. Not a ton.

是的。我認為從 Q1 到 Q2 逐季會有一點點擴張，但不會很多。

Okay. That makes sense. And on Vertafore, you kind of cited some strength there. Do you know how much that business was up in the quarter?

好的。這很合理。再問一下 Vertafore，你提到那邊有一些強勁表現。你知道那個業務本季成長了多少嗎？

We know precisely how much that business is up in the quarter.

我們非常清楚那個業務本季成長了多少。

Yes. As we said when we bought the business, it's a solid mid-single-digit organic growth business and it's certainly done that since we've owned it.

是的。正如我們收購該業務時所說，它是一個穩健的中個位數內生成長業務，而且自從我們持有以來，它確實一直維持那樣的表現。

It was better than that -- better mid- meaningfully better mid-singles in the quarter.

本季表現比那更好——比中個位數更好，且明顯更好。

Our next question comes from Joe Giordano with Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen 的 Joe Giordano。

Sorry, I had to jump on late, so apologies if this was asked. Just curious in the -- just like the overall M&A landscape right now, just given what's going on in the markets, like are you seeing more of a willingness of maybe private companies to sell now? Or are they still trying to like, "Hey, we'll get back to where we were." Like what's the mindset of a seller now? And where are you -- like are things more or less actionable than they were like 3 months ago?

抱歉我比較晚才加入，如果這題已經有人問過先說聲抱歉。我只是好奇——就目前整體併購（M&A）環境而言，考量市場正在發生的事情，你們是否看到更多私營公司現在更願意出售？還是他們仍然抱持著「我們會回到之前的水準」的想法？也就是說，現在賣方的心態是什麼？以及你們看到的——相較於大約 3 個月前，現在的案子是更容易推進、還是更不容易推進？

Yes. So what we see is the activity level, the number of processes, the number of companies that we're meeting with, the number of diligent streams is above trend level in terms of that level of activity. I think it's still -- your question is still yet to be ultimately determined. I think we'll know more over the course of the next quarter or 2 as we see if these processes actually conclude based on if they're willing to accept the price where the market is, -- and so a little bit of a partial answer to your question. I think we just need a little bit of time for that to unfold.

是的。我們看到的是活動水準——流程數量、我們正在接觸的公司數量、以及盡職調查的工作流數量——都高於趨勢水準，就活動量而言是偏高的。我認為你的問題最終仍有待觀察。我想我們會在接下來一到兩季更清楚，看看這些流程是否真的能夠完成，取決於賣方是否願意接受市場目前所在的價格——所以這算是對你問題的一個部分回答。我們需要一點時間讓情況發展。

And you guys obviously made a lot of portfolio moves within the last year, maybe some very company-specific, specific opportunities. But as you look at your total portfolio, do you see more opportunities still ahead of you to kind of prune and kind of find more appropriate owners if you don't think you're the right one for some of the businesses?

而且你們顯然在過去一年裡做了很多投資組合調整，可能有些是非常公司特定、針對特定機會的。但當你們看整體投資組合時，你們是否仍看到更多機會在前方，去做一些修剪，並在你們認為自己不是某些業務的最佳擁有者時，為它們找到更合適的擁有者？

If you just take that question and you sort of elevate it a touch. I mean our strategy has been for 20 years and continues to be how do we increase not just the size of the business, but more importantly, the quality of the business. That is the whole punch line of our cash return on investment model is how do you improve the quality. And so we've been doing that for 20 years on the buy side, recurring revenue, organic growth, less cyclicality, more asset lightness. As you saw in the last really 3 years, there's been a little bit on the sell side. And so the management team and the Board looks -- our charter is to do that is to improve the quality of the business principally through the buy side and here recently on the sell side.

如果把這個問題稍微拉高一個層次來看。我們的策略在過去 20 年一直是、也將持續是：我們如何不僅擴大業務規模，更重要的是提升業務品質。這正是我們「現金投資報酬率」模型的核心結論：如何改善品質。因此，過去 20 年我們在併購端一直在做這件事——提高經常性收入、提升有機成長、降低景氣循環性、提高輕資產程度。正如你在最近大約 3 年看到的，我們在出售端也做了一些動作。因此，管理團隊與董事會的工作——我們的使命——就是透過併購端為主、以及近期在出售端，來提升業務品質。

Our next question comes from Steve Tusa with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通（JPMorgan）的 Steve Tusa。

Congrats on the execution this quarter.

恭喜你們本季的執行表現。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Can you guys just give a little more color on how free cash flow should trend over the course of the year? Maybe a little bit of a -- I know you're not giving like explicit guidance there. I might have missed it. I was on another call, but maybe just some high-level guide on cash?

你們能否再多補充一些今年自由現金流在全年走勢上的細節？也許給一點——我知道你們不會提供很明確的指引。我可能漏聽了；我剛在另一通電話上。但能否就現金流給一些高層次的方向？

Yes. So sure. So high level, total cash flow is going to be driven by organic revenue and organic EBITDA growth first, which is looking great for this year. And then basically timing of capital deployment and how big the deals are. And so that's why we don't guide free cash flow because we're always going to be -- it's always going to be based on what our total deployment, which, of course, we're very patient and disciplined. And as we mentioned, on Q1, the performance on a conversion basis was very good versus history, obviously, lower than last year given the one-timers that we outlined earlier on the call.

可以。高層次來說，總現金流首先會由有機營收與有機 EBITDA 成長所驅動，而今年看起來非常不錯。接著基本上取決於資本部署的時點以及交易規模。因此我們不對自由現金流提供指引，因為它總是會取決於我們的總部署金額；當然，我們非常有耐心且紀律嚴明。如我們提到的，第一季在轉換率（conversion）表現上相較歷史非常好；但顯然比去年低，因為去年有我們在電話會議前面提到的一次性項目。

Right. So I guess you're saying that it depends on what kind of deals you do, ultimately, where the cash ends up? Like the accretion -- deployment?

了解。所以我想你是在說，這取決於你們最終做了什麼樣的交易，現金最後會落在哪裡？像是增厚——部署？

Yes. So the Roper model, right, is about double-digit long-term cash flow compound in the combination of organic growth and capital deployment. So in '20, we grew our free cash flow 15%. In '21, it was 19%. And if you look at the 3-year Q1 CAGR, it's at 17%. And so we'll continue to do that moving forward as a combination of organic and capital deployment.

是的。Roper 的模型，對吧，是關於長期雙位數的現金流複合成長，來自有機成長與資本部署的結合。2020 年我們的自由現金流成長 15%。2021 年是 19%。如果你看三年第一季的年複合成長率（CAGR），是 17%。因此往後我們也會持續以有機成長加上資本部署的組合來做到這點。

Next question comes from Alex Blanton with Clear Harbor Asset Management.

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

The first question is about compressor controls. Could you give us an update on how that's going and what the outlook is there and what the backlog is?

第一個問題是關於壓縮機控制（compressor controls）。你能否更新一下目前進展如何、那邊的展望如何，以及目前的在手訂單（backlog）是多少？

Sure. So CCC had a very good quarter coming off a great Q4. Order growth was nothing short of spectacular in Q1. And in fact, it was the largest Q1 in a decade for greenfield activity at CCC.

當然。CCC 在第一季表現非常好，延續第四季的強勁。第一季的訂單成長可說是非常驚人。事實上，這是 CCC 十年來綠地（greenfield）活動最強的一個第一季。

And does this have to do with the oil price?

這跟油價有關嗎？

No. I mean think of CCC as much longer cycle than that. I mean these are, for the most part, gigantic infrastructure LNG projects that are planned out, in some cases, greenfield decade out. And so there was just a lot of -- in this case, a lot of greenfield activity. And then further, if you want to just break -- simplify CCC, you basically have the services book of the business and the projects, services for callbacks, meaning coming in for maintenance was strong, services for new commissions, meaning tied to new activity was strong. We just talked about how greenfield project work was very good, orders and brownfield has been consistent. So it's sort of on the 2x2 grid, all 4 part of that boxes are green for CCC in the quarter.

沒有。我是說，把 CCC 想成比那更長週期的業務。這些多半是規模巨大的基礎建設 LNG 專案，規劃期很長，有些綠地專案甚至是以十年為尺度來規劃。所以這次就是有很多——在這個情況下，有很多綠地活動。此外，如果你想把 CCC 簡化拆解，你基本上有服務（services）這本業務，以及專案（projects）。服務方面的回訪（callbacks），也就是進場做維護的需求很強；新投產（new commissions）相關的服務，也就是與新活動綁定的需求也很強。我們剛談到綠地專案工作非常好；訂單方面，棕地（brownfield）也一直很穩定。所以如果用 2x2 的矩陣來看，這一季 CCC 的四個象限全部都是綠燈。

Doing more LNG projects to take gas to Europe would help you? Is that correct?

如果做更多 LNG 專案把天然氣運到歐洲，會對你們有幫助？這樣理解對嗎？

As a general matter, if there is, yes. I mean if there's LNG compression happening, CCC is benefited by that.

一般來說，如果有的話，是的。也就是說，只要有 LNG 壓縮在進行，CCC 就會因此受益。

Okay. Second question is regarding the $5 billion. Could you just reassure us that there are businesses out there to be acquired that are large enough that are of the kind that Roper has traditionally purchased that are large enough to enable your growth to continue at the past rate for how long?

好的。第二個問題是關於那 50 億美元。你能否再讓我們放心：市場上確實有可收購的企業，而且規模夠大、類型也符合 Roper 過去一貫收購的標的，並且大到足以讓你們的成長能以過去的速度持續多久？

Yes. I appreciate the question. I mean that's always an important investor question. And the answer is resoundingly yes. We've talked about the size of our broad pipeline. It's very, very large. There are many opportunities we'll have no issue continued compounding cash flow for many, many more years based on the availability. Now the challenge, as we talk about, right, is sort of valuations, which remain relatively elevated compared to history. And so the idea is to do the best deal for the best price and by the highest quality business. And so we're working hard on that. But no, we're in no way concerned about the availability of assets. We are very, very busy working on many things, and we feel great about our chances to be very successful.

是的。我很感謝這個問題。這一直都是投資人很重要的問題。答案非常明確：是的。我們談過我們廣泛的案源管線（pipeline）規模非常、非常大。機會很多；就可得性而言，我們完全不會有問題在未來很多很多年持續讓現金流複利成長。當然，挑戰如我們所說，是估值（valuations）相對歷史仍偏高。因此我們的想法是：用最好的價格做最好的交易，並買進最高品質的企業。我們正在為此努力。但我們完全不擔心資產供給。我們非常非常忙，正在推進很多事情，也對我們能非常成功的機會感到很有信心。

And these are the same kind of quality that you've been able to acquire in the past?

而且這些標的品質，跟你們過去能收購到的品質是同一類嗎？

Yes. Very similar, if you look at our last -- yes, our last decade of acquisitions, right, decade plus, it's very similar asset quality to all those businesses, the Vertafores, the Delteks and all the great things we've done.

是的。非常相近。如果你看我們過去——是的，我們過去十年、甚至十多年來的收購，資產品質與那些企業非常類似，例如 Vertafores、Delteks，以及我們做過的所有很棒的交易。

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.

感謝各位今天的參與。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。