Stantec Inc (STN) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Stantec's Fourth Quarter and Year End 2019 Earnings Results Conference Call. Leading the call today are Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Theresa Jang, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's call is webcast, and Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation, which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com. All information provided during this conference call is subject to the forward-looking statement qualification set out on Slide 2, detailed in Stantec's Management's Discussion and Analysis and incorporated in full for the purpose of today's call.

歡迎參加 Stantec 2019 年第四季及全年收益業績電話會議。今天主持電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Gord Johnston 和執行副總裁兼財務長 Theresa Jang。今天的電話會議將進行網路直播，Stantec 邀請撥入電話的與會者觀看幻燈片演示，該演示可在 stantec.com 的投資者關係部分找到。本次電話會議中提供的所有資訊均受第 2 頁幻燈片中列出的前瞻性聲明限制的約束，該限制在 Stantec 的管理層討論與分析中有詳細說明，並已完整納入今天的電話會議中。

With that, I am pleased to turn the call over to Mr. Gord Johnston.

接下來，我很高興將電話交給戈德約翰斯頓先生。

Good morning and thank you for joining us. I'll begin our call today with an overview of 2019 and our fourth-quarter performance. Theresa will provide details on our results and then I'll review our operations in more detail.

早安，感謝各位的參與。今天，我將先概述2019年及第四季的業績。Theresa 將詳細介紹我們的結果，然後我將更詳細地審查我們的營運情況。

2019, our 65th anniversary, was a year of reinvigoration for Stantec. We continued to enhance our competitive position as a Top 10 global design firm. Our vision is to maximize long-term sustainable value for our clients, employees and shareholders.

2019 年是 Stantec 成立 65 週年，也是 Stantec 重振旗鼓的一年。我們繼續鞏固了自身作為全球十大設計公司之一的競爭地位。我們的願景是為客戶、員工和股東創造最大的長期永續價值。

In particular, we took the following actions in 2019. We strengthened our alignment with shareholders by introducing relative total shareholder return and discontinuing our stock option program. We replaced options with restricted share units which are full value units that better align with shareholder interests and reduce dilution. With a renewed focus on earnings per share growth we made tremendous efforts to reshape our organization to be leaner and more efficient, achieving the $40 million to $45 million of annualized cost savings we set as our target. And we've clarified our commitment to rigorous and disciplined capital allocation. These steps represent a renewed focus on delivering value and form the basis of our recently launched 3-year strategic plan.

特別是，我們在 2019 年採取了以下行動。我們透過引入相對股東總回報和終止股票選擇權計劃，加強了與股東的利益一致性。我們以限制性股票單位取代了選擇權，這些股票單位具有完全價值，能夠更好地與股東利益保持一致，並減少股權稀釋。我們重新聚焦於每股盈餘成長，並付出了巨大的努力來重塑我們的組織，使其更加精簡高效，實現了我們設定的每年節省 4000 萬至 4500 萬美元成本的目標。我們已明確表示將嚴格、自律地進行資本配置。這些舉措體現了我們對創造價值的重新重視，並構成了我們最近推出的三年策略計畫的基礎。

In 2019 we delivered adjusted diluted earnings of $2.02 per share, an 11% increase over 2018. This was driven by our success in delivering solid organic and acquisition net revenue growth, exceptional project execution and operational efficiencies. As a result, we achieved an 8.8% return on invested capital. Over the course of 2019 we returned $105 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. And yesterday our board approved a 6.9% increase in our dividend to an annualized $0.62 per share.

2019 年，我們實現了調整後稀釋每股收益 2.02 美元，比 2018 年增長了 11%。這得益於我們在實現穩健的內生成長和收購淨收入成長、卓越的專案執行以及營運效率方面的成功。因此，我們實現了 8.8% 的投資回報率。2019 年，我們透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了 1.05 億美元。昨天，我們的董事會批准將股息提高 6.9%，達到每股年化股息 0.62 美元。

Moving to the quarter, we drove a 7.8% year-over-year increase in net revenue, driven in large part by 5.3% organic growth. Each of our regions and businesses generated organic growth in the quarter. In particular, our U.S. operations continued to benefit from a strong economy, achieving net revenue organic growth of 9.6%. Acquisitions delivered a 2.8% increase in net revenue in the quarter. At the end of the year our contract backlog increased 2% year-over-year to $4.3 billion, which is approximately 11 months of work.

本季度，淨收入年增 7.8%，其中大部分是由 5.3% 的內生成長推動的。本季度，我們各個地區和業務部門都實現了內生成長。尤其值得一提的是，我們的美國業務持續受益於強勁的經濟情勢，實現了9.6%的淨收入有機成長。收購使本季淨收入增長了 2.8%。年底，我們的合約積壓量年增 2%，達到 43 億美元，約相當於 11 個月的工作量。

I'll now hand the call over to Theresa to review our results in a little more detail.

現在我將把電話交給特蕾莎，讓她更詳細地回顧我們的結果。

Thanks, Gord. Well, as we did throughout 2019, we've presented our results on both a before and after basis for the adoption of IFRS 16, and happy to say that this will be the last time we need to do this. You'll find a reconciliation of our statements in our MD&A, the Appendix to the slide presentation and the supplemental information posted on the Investors section of our website.

謝謝你，戈爾德。就像我們在 2019 年所做的那樣，我們已經分別展示了採用 IFRS 16 前後的結果，很高興地說，這將是我們最後一次需要這樣做。您可以在我們的管理層討論與分析、幻燈片簡報的附錄以及我們網站投資者關係部分發布的補充資訊中找到我們聲明的調節表。

Adjusted net income for the quarter increased 14.9% to $52.3 million and adjusted earnings per share increased 17.5% to $0.47 per share. This was largely due to a 7.8% increase in net revenue, improved gross margins and lower admin and marketing expenses, driven by our cost reduction initiatives.

本季調整後淨利成長 14.9% 至 5,230 萬美元，調整後每股收益成長 17.5% 至每股 0.47 美元。這主要歸功於淨收入成長 7.8%、毛利率提高以及行政和行銷費用降低，而這些都得益於我們的成本削減措施。

As Gord outlined earlier, Q4 net revenue grew organically by 5.3%. Gross margin for the quarter increased 8.2% to $486.3 million. As a percentage of net revenue, gross margin increased 20 basis points to 54%. And this reflects our continued focus on improving project execution and our diverse mix of projects.

正如戈爾德之前概述的那樣，第四季度淨收入實現了5.3%的有機成長。本季毛利成長 8.2%，達到 4.863 億美元。毛利率佔淨收入的百分比提高了 20 個基點，達到 54%。這體現了我們對提升專案執行水準的持續關注以及我們專案的多樣化組合。

Admin and marketing costs were $348.5 million, representing 38.7% of net revenue. And that includes a 0.4% impact from severances associated with our reshaping initiative. It's noteworthy that on an apples-to-apples basis, that is on a pre-IFRS-16 basis, and after adjusting both periods for nonrecurring items, Q4 admin and marketing costs decreased by 1.3% as a percentage of net revenue compared to the same period last year. And this is the result of our drive for operational efficiencies and a focused reduction on discretionary spending.

行政和行銷費用為 3.485 億美元，佔淨收入的 38.7%。其中還包括因重組計劃而產生的遣散費，佔總成本的 0.4%。值得注意的是，在同等條件下（即在 IFRS-16 實施之前），並且在對兩個期間的非經常性項目進行調整後，第四季度的管理和營銷成本佔淨收入的百分比比去年同期下降了 1.3%。這是我們努力提高營運效率並專注於削減可自由支配支出的結果。

Adjusted EBITDA increased 69.6% to $142.8 million, representing 15.8% of net revenue. Excluding IFRS 16, adjusted EBITDA increased 25.4% compared to Q4 '18.

調整後 EBITDA 成長 69.6% 至 1.428 億美元，佔淨收入的 15.8%。剔除 IFRS 16 的影響，調整後的 EBITDA 比 2018 年第四季成長了 25.4%。

Looking at our full year results, we were within our target ranges for all our measures.

從全年業績來看，我們各項指標均達到了目標範圍。

I'd also like to touch on our days sales outstanding, or DSO, which is not presented on this slide. We closed out the year with our DSO at 94 days, or 79 days including deferred revenue, outperforming our target of 98 days and significantly improving upon the first 9 months of 2019, when DSO hovered around 103 days. And this is the result of the full court press we made throughout the year to improve our billing and collection efforts. We're pleased that our results have broken through our target, but our improved DSO also benefited from the receipt of certain milestone-based payments which, as I've spoken of in previous quarters, is lumpy in nature.

我還想談談我們的應收帳款週轉天數（DSO），該數據未在此投影片中顯示。我們以 94 天的應收帳款週轉天數 (DSO) 結束了這一年，如果包括遞延收入，則為 79 天，超過了我們 98 天的目標，並且比 2019 年前 9 個月的 DSO 有了顯著改善，當時 DSO 徘徊在 103 天左右。這是我們全年全力以赴改善帳單和收款工作的成果。我們很高興業績突破了目標，但我們改善的應收帳款週轉天數也得益於收到某些里程碑付款，正如我在前幾個季度中提到的，這些付款的性質是波動性的。

Moving on to liquidity and capital resources, in 2019 we saw significant improvement in our operating cash flows from continuing operations, which increased 119% to $449.9 million. Excluding the effects of IFRS 16, operating cash flows increased 62.4% to $333.2 million. This is mainly attributed to increased cash receipts from clients, partly offset by higher supplier and employee costs related to acquisition growth.

接下來談談流動性和資本資源，2019 年，我們持續經營業務的經營現金流顯著改善，成長了 119%，達到 4.499 億美元。剔除 IFRS 16 的影響，經營現金流成長 62.4% 至 3.332 億美元。這主要歸因於客戶現金收入的增加，但部分被與客戶成長相關的供應商和員工成本的增加所抵消。

For investing activities, we used $135.2 million of cash this year, or $84.8 million excluding IFRS 16. The decrease relative to 2018 is mainly a result of lower spend on CapEx. That's leasehold improvements as well as engineering equipment and on software purchases.

今年，我們在投資活動中使用了 1.352 億美元現金，若不計入 IFRS 16，則為 8,480 萬美元。與 2018 年相比的下降主要是由於資本支出減少所致。這包括租賃物業改良、工程設備以及軟體採購。

We used $286 million for net financing activities, or $219.7 million excluding IFRS 16, which is mostly comprised of $80 million used to repay drawings on our revolving credit facility and $105 million returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

我們用於淨融資活動的資金為 2.86 億美元，若不計入 IFRS 16，則為 2.197 億美元，其中 8,000 萬美元用於償還循環信貸額度的提款，1.05 億美元透過股利和股票回購返還給股東。

With our improved cash from operations we continued to strengthen our balance sheet over the course of the year. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.1x at the end of the year, which is at the lower end of our internal range of 1x to 2x. Our liquidity remains strong. At the end of the year we had $286 million in undrawn capacity on our credit facility.

隨著經營活動現金流的改善，我們全年持續增強了資產負債表。年末淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 1.1 倍，處於我們內部 1 倍至 2 倍範圍的下限。我們的流動性依然強勁。截至年底，我們的信貸額度還有 2.86 億美元未提取。

We provided our 2020 guidance in December when we launched our 3-year strategic plan and we have not made any changes to this guidance. I'd like to remind callers today to remember to incorporate the seasonality guidance we've provided wherein we expect 40% of our earnings in the first and last quarters of the year and 60% of our earnings in quarters 2 and 3.

我們在去年 12 月發布三年戰略計劃時提供了 2020 年的業績指引，並且我們至今沒有對該指引做出任何修改。今天我想提醒各位來電者，請記住我們已提供的季節性指導意見，即我們預計每年第一季和最後一季的收益將佔全年收益的 40%，第二季和第三季的收益將佔全年收益的 60%。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Gord for highlights from operations.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給戈爾德，讓他為大家帶來行動中的精彩亮點。

Thank you, Theresa.

謝謝你，特蕾莎。

Our Canadian operations achieved net revenue organic growth of 1.6% in Q4. Organic growth continued in our Environmental Services business and Transportation sector, partly offset by revenue retraction in our Power sector and Water business. New mining projects as well as the commencement of the TransMountain expansion project, spurred growth in our Energy & Resources business.

我們在加拿大的業務在第四季度實現了1.6%的淨收入有機成長。環境服務業務和交通運輸業務的有機成長持續，但部分被電力業務和水務業務的收入下滑所抵消。新的採礦項目以及跨山輸油管擴建項目的啟動，刺激了我們能源與資源業務的成長。

For the full year, Canada's muted economic growth resulted in a 0.1% organic increase in net revenue. Acquisitions drove an additional 1.9% increase in net revenue this year.

全年來看，加拿大經濟成長乏力，導致淨收入有機成長僅 0.1%。今年，收購活動推動淨收入額外成長了 1.9%。

This quarter our U.S. operations achieved net revenue organic growth of 9.6%, with growth across all of our businesses. Our Transportation sector continued to perform well, with progress made on our transit and rail projects. Growth in Environmental Services was driven by the renewables, hydropower and damn markets. Our U.S. Water business grew as a result of our efforts to expand into California, Texas and the Northwest U.S. market. Growth in Energy & Resources was driven by a ramp up of new renewable projects in Power and upstream projects in Oil & Gas.

本季度，我們在美國的業務實現了9.6%的淨收入有機成長，所有業務均實現成長。我們的交通運輸部門繼續表現良好，公共交通和鐵路項目均取得了進展。環境服務業的成長是由再生能源、水力發電和水壩市場推動的。由於我們努力拓展加州、德州和美國西北部市場，我們的美國水務業務得以成長。能源與資源產業的成長主要得益於電力領域新的再生能源項目以及石油天然氣上游項目的加速推進。

For the year, our U.S. operations continued to generate solid growth. Net revenue increased 9.8% in 2019, reflecting 7% organic revenue growth and positive results from the strengthening of the U.S. dollar compared to the Canadian dollar.

今年，我們在美國的各項業務持續保持穩健成長。2019 年淨收入成長 9.8%，其中有機收入成長 7%，美元兌加幣走強也帶來了正面影響。

Our Global operations achieved net revenue growth of 14.5% in the quarter, driven by acquisition growth of 16.9% in our Buildings business. We saw a slight retraction in organic growth. Declining commodity prices impacted our Mining projects. We had a large project wind-down in the Waterpower & Dams and a slowdown in our U.K. Transportation sector. Our Environmental Services business continued to drive growth. Our U.K. Water business saw steady work volume as we advanced major projects associated with the latest asset management program regulatory cycle. The ramp-up of a transmission project in the fall also resulted in growth in our Power sector.

本季度，我們的全球業務淨收入成長了 14.5%，這主要得益於建築業務收購成長 16.9%。我們看到有機成長略有放緩。大宗商品價格下跌對我們的採礦項目造成了影響。我們在水力發電和水壩領域有一個大型計畫逐步結束，英國交通運輸領域的業務也放緩了。我們的環境服務業務持續推動成長。隨著我們推進與最新資產管理計劃監管週期相關的重大項目，我們在英國的水務業務的工作量保持穩定。秋季輸電計畫的啟動也帶動了我們電力產業的成長。

Full year net revenue in our global operations increased 32.7% to $654.2 million in 2019 compared to 2018. On an organic basis, net revenue grew 4.7% in our global operations in 2019.

2019 年，我們全球業務的全年淨收入比 2018 年成長了 32.7%，達到 6.542 億美元。2019 年，我們全球業務的淨收入以有機成長計算成長了 4.7%。

As I mentioned earlier, we launched our 3-year strategic plan in December to grow and diversify sustainably, for the benefit of all of our stakeholders. Our strategy is illustrated in the figure on the left-hand side of the slide. Our clients are at the center of everything that we do. The 4 value creators which surround our client-centric model serve to enhance our ability to deliver great solutions to our clients, provide fulfilling careers to our employees and drive long-term shareholder value.

正如我之前提到的，我們在 12 月啟動了為期 3 年的策略計劃，旨在實現永續成長和多元化，從而造福我們所有的利害關係人。我們的策略如圖所示（請參閱投影片左側）。客戶是我們一切工作的核心。圍繞著我們以客戶為中心的模式的 4 個價值創造者，有助於增強我們為客戶提供卓越解決方案的能力，為員工提供充實的職業生涯，並推動股東的長期價值。

To measure our success and to drive alignments, we've introduced 2 new financial metrics for the end of 2022. These are a compound annual growth rate for adjusted earnings per share of more than 11% and a return on invested capital of more than 10%. With a focus on solid execution and disciplined capital allocation, I'm confident that we'll achieve these targets.

為了衡量我們的成功並推動協調一致，我們推出了 2 個新的財務指標，將於 2022 年底生效。這些指標包括：調整後每股盈餘複合年增長率超過 11%，投資資本報酬率超過 10%。只要我們專注於穩健執行和嚴謹的資本配置，我相信我們一定能夠實現這些目標。

Before turning the call over for questions I'd like to address the COVID-19 coronavirus, its impact on our operations and our response. Shortly after news emerged about this new pathogen we activated our Pandemic Committee [and] immediately implemented a staged pandemic response plan.

在將電話轉給提問環節之前，我想談談新冠病毒疫情、它對我們營運的影響以及我們的應對措施。這種新型病原體的消息傳出後不久，我們就啟動了疫情應變委員會，並立即實施了分階段的疫情應對計畫。

As part of our plan, all Stantec travel to and through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea has been prohibited until further notice. In China we have a total of 50 staff between our Environmental Services office in Shanghai and our design and drafting group in Shenzhen. These offices were closed for a period of time at the direction of the local authorities and we're closely watching conditions in the region.

作為我們計劃的一部分，所有 Stantec 員工前往或途經中國大陸、香港、澳門和韓國的旅行均被禁止，直至另行通知。在中國，我們共有 50 位員工，分佈在上海的環境服務辦公室和深圳的設計繪圖團隊。根據地方當局的指示，這些辦事處已關閉一段時間，我們正在密切關注該地區的情況。

In Italy we have 150 staff in Milan, with all but 7 people currently working from home. Staff are avoiding public transit and public venues.

我們在義大利米蘭有 150 名員工，目前除 7 人外，其餘員工都在家工作。員工們正在避免乘坐公共交通工具和前往公共場所。

To our knowledge, no employees have been infected or are exhibiting symptoms at this time. We've activated self-quarantine protocols for employees who have recently visited an area of active transmission or have been in contact with someone from one of those areas and will remain vigilant in doing everything we can to protect the wellbeing of our employees. This has not had a material negative impact on our financial results.

據我們所知，目前尚無員工被感染或出現症狀。我們已經啟動了針對近期到訪過疫情活躍傳播地區或與來自這些地區的人員有過接觸的員工的自我隔離方案，並將繼續保持警惕，盡一切努力保護員工的健康。這並未對我們的財務表現造成實質負面影響。

And with that, we'll open up the call to questions. Operator?

接下來，我們將開始接受提問。操作員？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Jacob Bout with CIBC.

謝謝。（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自加拿大帝國商業銀行 (CIBC) 的 Jacob Bout。

When I'm looking at your backlog, up 1.9% year-on-year, I think down quarter-on-quarter, how should we be thinking about that translating to growth in 2020? Slightly slower or . . .

當我查看你們的積壓訂單時，雖然同比增長了 1.9%，但環比卻有所下降，我們應該如何看待這種情況在 2020 年轉化為增長？稍慢一些，或者…

Yes. We still feel, Jacob, in the quarter we were selected for a number of significant projects that we haven't fully contracted yet. So those have not showed up in the backlog. So I'm less concerned about the Q3 to Q4 backlog in looking at the general trend over the year, which is up 2%. But I think going into Q1 we'll see some additional adds to the backlog that will position us well for 2020.

是的。雅各布，我們仍然覺得，在本季度，我們被選中參與了一些重要的項目，但我們還沒有完全簽約。所以這些還沒有出現在積壓工作上。因此，考慮到全年整體趨勢（成長 2%），我不太擔心第三季到第四季的積壓訂單。但我認為進入第一季後，我們的訂單積壓量將會增加，這將使我們為 2020 年做好充分準備。

And then the admin and marketing guidance that you've given, I think 37% to 39%, you're at the top end range for 2019. What are some of the moving parts there to get you into that range, or to the lower end of that range?

至於您提供的行政和行銷指導，我認為 37% 到 39% 已經是 2019 年的最高水準了。有哪些因素會影響價格水平，使其達到該範圍或該範圍的下限？

So a couple of things that we are focused on. Of course we had a lot of activity around our reshaping initiative. We have taken $40 million to $45 million of labor cost out of the system and so that will help to drive down our admin and marketing costs. A couple of things that we've spoken of over the next couple of years that we're going to focus on, beginning of course in this year, is around efficiency in our occupancy costs and again, trying to maintain the lower level of discretionary spend that we achieved in the second half of 2019 as well. So those are some of the things that are going to help us to achieve that target range.

所以，我們目前關注的重點有兩件事。當然，我們圍繞著重塑計劃開展了許多活動。我們已經從系統中削減了 4000 萬至 4500 萬美元的勞動力成本，這將有助於降低我們的行政和行銷成本。在接下來的幾年裡，我們將重點關注兩件事，當然，從今年開始，那就是提高入住成本的效率，以及努力保持我們在 2019 年下半年實現的較低可自由支配支出水平。所以，這些因素將有助於我們實現目標範圍。

There's always movement in our A&M, so it depends on where we are in the cycle as well. We'll expect it to be toward, or slightly even above, the higher end of our range in Q1. That's typically because this is a slower season for us. It's when we do our training and it takes a little bit longer to get out to the field to work in the first quarter in Canada and the U.S. So we will see some fluctuation over the course of the year, but we do believe that by the end of the year we'll achieve that range.

我們A&M的情況總是在變化，所以這也取決於我們所處的週期階段。我們預計第一季業績將接近甚至略高於我們預期範圍的上限。這通常是因為這是我們業務的淡季。這是我們進行訓練的時間，在加拿大和美國，第一季到實地工作需要更長的時間。因此，在這一年中我們會看到一些波動，但我們相信到年底我們將達到這個範圍。

Maybe my last question here is just on the M&A pipeline. How aggressive -- what does that pipeline look like? And then how aggressive do you expect to be in the next, say, 6 months or over the next [few] years?

我最後一個問題可能是關於併購流程的。規模有多大？這條管道規劃是什麼樣的？那麼，您預計在接下來的6個月或幾年內會採取多積極的策略？

Yes, we certainly see great opportunities in the M&A pipeline, Jacob. Primarily looking, again, in the U.K., the Nordics, Western Europe and down in Australia, New Zealand. In fact, I'm leaving right following our meetings here today to go down to New Zealand and Australia for some time. It's approaching the 1-year anniversary for Wood & Grieve Engineers as well as to meet with staff there, but also to chat with other potential firms that might want to join us down there.

是的，我們確實看到了併購領域的巨大機遇，雅各。主要關注點仍然是英國、北歐、西歐以及澳大利亞和紐西蘭。事實上，我今天在這裡開會後就要離開，前往紐西蘭和澳洲待一段時間。Wood & Grieve Engineers 即將迎來成立一周年紀念日，我們不僅要與那裡的員工見面，還要與其他可能想加入我們在那裡的潛在公司進行交流。

So it's a busy time for us. I think we'll see 2020 we'll be putting a few more acquisitions up on the board than we did in 2019.

所以這段時間我們都很忙。我認為，2020 年我們將比 2019 年多進行一些收購。

Our next question comes from Mona Nazir with Laurentian Bank.

我們的下一個問題來自勞倫森銀行的莫娜·納齊爾。

So firstly, just on the organic growth, you had significant double-digit growth in both the Environmental and the U.S. division. I'm just wondering if you could speak a little bit about the specific items that were driving such. And I know that we're early into 2020, but how is it trending thus far?

首先，就有機成長而言，環境部門和美國部門都實現了兩位數的顯著成長。我只是想請您談談導致這種情況的具體原因。我知道現在才2020年初，但到目前為止趨勢如何？

You're right. Our Environmental Services business has been very strong, putting up double-digit growth really Q2, Q3 and Q4 of this year. And that's pretty broad based, both U.S. and in Canada. And we're seeing good continued backlog for that group. So I think that it will continue strong into 2020, our Environmental group. Will it be double digits each quarter? That's hard to predict, but certainly we see good opportunities there.

你說得對。我們的環境服務業務表現非常強勁，今年第二、三、第四季均實現了兩位數的成長。而且這種情況在美國和加拿大都相當普遍。我們看到該群體的訂單積壓情況持續良好。所以我認為，我們的環保組織在2020年將繼續保持強勁勢頭。每季都會是兩位數嗎？這很難預測，但我們確實看到了那裡的良好機會。

The U.S. operations, as you say, were very strong for us throughout 2019. And our backlog there continued to grow from the end of 2018 to 2019, the backlog in the U.S. So we're optimistic about continued organic growth in the United States in 2020.

正如你所說，我們在 2019 年的美國業務表現非常強勁。從 2018 年底到 2019 年，我們在美國積壓的訂單持續成長。因此，我們對 2020 年美國業務的持續自然成長持樂觀態度。

And just to confirm, it was really just broad-based growth across both the U.S. and the Environmental Services?

再次確認一下，這真的是美國和環境服務領域的全面成長嗎？

Yes. And in particular, Environmental Services pretty broad-based across all of our sectors in both the U.S. and Canada.

是的。特別是環境服務，其業務範圍相當廣泛，涵蓋了我們在美國和加拿大的所有行業。

And secondly, just turning to utilization, which I believe you spoke about with Q2 results and that kind of commenced some of the rightsizing initiatives, I'm just wondering; how is utilization trending currently in the different verticals or geographies.

其次，關於利用率，我相信您在第二季業績報告中提到過，並且這在某種程度上啟動了一些調整規模的舉措，我想知道：目前不同垂直領域或地區的利用率趨勢如何。

So I think what we're seeing in utilization, Mona, is that we're seeing improvement, as you noted, because of the reshaping initiatives that we did last year. But the other dynamic we're seeing now is because of growth in [referencing] and the growth in our backlog, we've won a number of significant projects, and so with that comes hiring of staff. And until those projects really kind of hit their stride we tend to see a little bit higher indirect labor costs and slightly lower utilization, again, as people are being onboarded and waiting for those projects to really hit their stride. So it's a bit of a mix that way. But again, we do expect over the course of the year that that will even its way out.

所以，莫娜，我認為我們在利用率方面看到的是，正如你所指出的，我們正在看到改善，因為我們去年實施了重組計劃。但我們現在看到的另一種動態是，由於[參考文獻]的成長和我們積壓訂單的成長，我們贏得了許多重要的項目，因此也需要招募員工。在這些計畫真正步入正軌之前，我們往往會看到間接人工成本略高，利用率略低，這是因為人們需要入職培訓，並且需要等待這些計畫真正步入正軌。所以從某種程度上來說，情況比較複雜。但我們預計，經過一年的時間，這種情況會逐漸趨於平衡。

And just lastly for me, I know that you just spoke about the M&A pipeline. But has the current environment opened up additional targets for you at all? And I know that there have been peers in the U.S. that have had some company-specific challenges and they have construction exposure currently. Is that something that you would potentially shy away from post-MWH? Or that remains open?

最後，我知道您剛才談到了併購管道。但目前的環境是否為你創造了新的目標？我知道美國的一些同行也遇到了一些公司特有的挑戰，他們目前也涉足建築業。在MWH之後，你會不會對這類事情有所迴避？或者說，這個機會仍然開放？

Through our construction experience with MWH, I think really our conclusion is that construction isn't -- we don't see that being a core part of our business going forward. So as we look at acquisition targets that have a construction component to it or a turnkey component to it, those are considerably less attractive for us. And in fact we would typically withdraw from that process.

透過我們與 MWH 的合作經驗，我認為我們的結論是，建築業並非如此——我們認為它不會成為我們未來業務的核心部分。因此，當我們審視那些包含建造部分或交鑰匙工程部分的收購目標時，這些目標對我們來說吸引力就小得多。事實上，我們通常會退出這個過程。

Our next question comes from Benoit Poirier with Desjardins Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自德斯賈丁資本市場的貝努瓦·波里耶。

First question on the DSO. Could you talk a little bit about what drove the strong improvement in DSO in the quarter and whether the target of 90 days is still the same or you could even do better going forward?

關於DSO的第一個問題。您能否談談本季應收帳款週轉天數 (DSO) 大幅改善的驅動因素，以及 90 天的目標是否仍不變，或者未來還能做得更好？

Sure. So we were very pleased that our DSOs came in as well as it did at the end of the year. And it's really a reflection of the effort that has been throughout the course of the year. You've heard me talk every quarter about the stepped-up effort, the increased focus, the discussions all through the organization about tightening our DSO. And as we saw improvement in various places over the course of the year, it finally felt like at the end of the year it all kind of came together. And so we did see broad improvements both in [reference] to the invoicing number of days as well as in the receivables piece. So that was really important.

當然。因此，我們對年底的DSO（分散式電源指令）結果非常滿意。這確實反映了我們一年來所付出的努力。每個季度你都會聽到我談到我們加大了力度，更加重視，並在整個組織內展開了關於縮短應收帳款週轉天數的討論。隨著一年中各方面取得進步，到了年底，感覺一切都水到渠成了。因此，我們在發票天數和應收帳款方面都看到了廣泛的改善。所以這一點非常重要。

But I do want to note as well that I've talked about milestone big payments. They are a number of larger payments that we don't necessarily always have control over the timing of those receipts. But we did benefit from collecting on some of those at the end of the year as well. So that was helpful. So it is going to be somewhat lumpy. But I would say certainly we're not going to let up on our focus now that we have driven our DSO down to the level that we achieved at the end of the year. We've chosen not to change the guidance at this point, but I would tell you that internally everyone is going to do their best to keep it where it is now.

但我還要指出，我也談到了里程碑式的大額付款。其中有些款項金額較大，我們不一定總是能控制這些款項的到帳時間。但我們也從年底收回其中一些款項中獲益。那很有幫助。所以表面會有些凹凸不平。但我想說的是，既然我們已經將應收帳款週轉天數 (DSO) 降至年底所達到的水平，我們肯定不會放鬆對 DSO 的關注。我們目前選擇不改變指導方針，但我可以告訴大家，公司內部每個人都會盡力維持現狀。

That's great color. And from an M&A standpoint, could you maybe provide some colors on the key factor that were preventing you to strike some M&A deals since 2019, whether it's more valuation, cultural fit or are there any changes in the M&A criteria, Theresa?

顏色真好看。從併購的角度來看，您能否具體說明自 2019 年以來阻礙您達成一些併購交易的關鍵因素，例如估值、文化契合度，或者併購標準是否有任何變化，Theresa？

So, I'll start, Benoit. We're continually talking to M&A targets throughout North America and outside North America. And really just in 2019 the ones that we were talking to we either couldn't come to a conclusion on valuation, because we're still being very diligent from a valuation perspective, or there was some sort of a cultural issue that had popped up, an employee retention issues or so on. So there really was no one reason why these things didn't close for us in 2019, other than all the firms that we were talking to we just didn't get them across the line.

那麼，我先來，貝努瓦。我們一直在與北美及其他地區的併購目標進行洽談。而實際上，在 2019 年，我們接觸的那些公司要么無法就估值達成一致，因為我們仍然從估值的角度非常謹慎，要么出現了一些文化問題、員工留任問題等等。所以，2019 年這些專案沒能完成，其實並沒有什麼單一的原因，只是我們和很多公司談過，但最後都沒能達成協議。

So we're going to continue to be aggressive here in the first half of 2020 and through 2020. So I do think we'll -- I'm hopeful that, assuming these projects, or these discussions, come to fruition that we'll close a few this year.

因此，我們將在 2020 年上半年以及整個 2020 年繼續保持積極進取的態度。所以我認為——我希望，假設這些項目或討論能夠取得成果，我們今年能夠完成幾個項目。

And when I look at the international or global segment, that's the only segment that posted a negative organic growth. And when I look at the gross margin, it was also softer versus a year ago. Would it be fair to say, Theresa, that the negative organic growth was the main factor to drive lower gross margin? And any color on what drove the negative performance on international?

當我查看國際或全球市場時，發現只有該市場出現了負成長。而且，從毛利率來看，也比去年同期下降。特蕾莎，是否可以說負的內生成長是導致毛利率下降的主要因素？關於導致國際業務表現不佳的原因，您有什麼看法？

Sure. I can start on the negative, on the revenue side, and then Theresa can chime in as appropriate. So couple things happened in Q4 for us there. Certainly in the U.K. we're doing some work on HS2, the highspeed rail HS2. And then we were expecting even additional work to come in Q4, but as you know, they did a review of HS2 in Q4, so the additional work didn't come together. We saw a little bit of slowness there. But certainly they came out in mid-February there a couple of weeks ago and recommended proceeding. So we anticipate that that work will ramp up a little bit more for us.

當然。我可以先從負面方面，也就是收入方面說起，然後特蕾莎可以根據情況補充說明。所以，第四季我們那邊發生了兩件事。當然，在英國，我們正在進行一些關於高速鐵路 HS2 的工作。然後我們原本預計第四季度會有更多工作要做，但正如你所知，他們在第四季度對 HS2 進行了審查，所以額外的工作並沒有完成。我們發現那裡的速度有點慢。但就在幾週前的二月中旬，他們確實出來建議繼續前進。因此，我們預計這項工作將會進一步增加。

In Chile, with the civil unrest there we had our offices closed for 3 full days and then we were working shortened days for another 3 weeks. So that was a bit of a drag on the operations in Latin America. So just a few things in different locations I think that contributed to the revenue retraction. But we see those things sort of coming around and we're feeling more positive about them coming now into 2020.

在智利，由於當地發生內亂，我們的辦公室關閉了整整 3 天，然後我們又縮短了工作時間，持續了 3 週。所以這對我們在拉丁美洲的業務運作造成了一定的拖累。所以，我認為導致收入下降的因素有很多，而且分佈在不同的地方。但我們看到這些事情逐漸好轉，我們對它們在 2020 年的發展前景更加樂觀。

I'll just sort of pick up from there. We did see quarter-over-quarter in Global, although it was small, it was 0.6% organic growth in our global business. But we did have some offsets from the FX that brought the revenue piece down a little.

我就從那裡開始吧。雖然全球業務環比成長幅度不大，但我們全球業務實現了 0.6% 的有機成長。但外匯波動抵消了一些影響，導致收入略有下降。

And so the other piece you're asking about from a gross margin perspective, so there are a few things that are occurring, particularly in the U.K., that are maybe not normal course. And one of those is that we have talked about the implementation of our Oracle systems there. That is taking up a lot of time. It's a pretty big effort. And so that is having some impact on just the utilization of our employees that are very focused right now on getting that system up and running.

至於你從毛利率角度詢問的另一部分，目前出現了一些情況，尤其是在英國，這可能並非正常現象。其中一點就是，我們已經討論過在那裡實施我們的 Oracle 系統。這很耗時。這是一項相當大的工程。因此，這在一定程度上影響了我們員工的利用率，他們目前正全力以赴地讓該系統投入運作。

The other piece of it, too, is we are of course kind of at the end of the AMP6 cycle and building up for AMP7. And so as we continue to bid for those contracts we're in a bit of that trough season right now. So those are some of the things that would be contributing to the slight reduction we saw in gross margin there.

另一方面，我們當然也處於 AMP6 週期的尾聲，並為 AMP7 做準備。因此，在我們繼續競標這些合約之際，我們現在正處於一個相對低迷的時期。所以，這些因素導致了我們看到的毛利率略有下降。

So when we look at the cost reduction initiatives, you're well underway, obviously, for the $40 million, $45 million that you disclosed earlier. Could you talk about the further efficiencies that you could bring at Stantec over 2020 and maybe give a little update on the ERP implementation on the status?

所以，當我們審視成本削減計劃時，顯然，你們已經取得了長足的進展，實現了之前披露的 4000 萬美元到 4500 萬美元的目標。您能否談談您在 2020 年能為 Stantec 帶來的進一步效率提升，並簡要介紹 ERP 系統實施的最新進展？

Yes, sure. So we are largely done with the reshaping initiative. There was a big effort in the second half of 2019. And so we're going to maintain our focus on staying lean as an organization. But that $40 million to $45 million, as we disclosed, we have achieved that. So going forward we will expect to see that reduction in our overall cost structure. So as we move into 2020, again, some of the things that we are looking at in terms of our efficiency is, again, to maintain a lower spend on our discretionary costs. We did a lot of that work, again, in 2019, so it's maintaining a focus on that throughout this coming year.

當然可以。因此，我們的重塑計劃基本上已經完成。2019年下半年投入了大量精力。因此，我們將繼續專注於維持組織精簡且有效率。但正如我們之前透露的，我們已經實現了 4000 萬至 4500 萬美元的目標。因此，展望未來，我們預期整體成本結構將會降低。因此，隨著我們進入 2020 年，我們在提高效率方面關注的一些事項仍然是，要保持較低的可自由支配成本。我們在 2019 年也做了很多這方面的工作，所以接下來一年我們將繼續專注於此。

And as well, looking at, as I mentioned earlier, whether it's our occupancy costs, which are our second-largest cost, and looking for ways that we can be more efficient in how we use space is another thing that we are looking at. So there's any number of things that we are looking at from a cost structure perspective that will help us to achieve that 37% to 39% range in our admin and marketing costs.

此外，正如我之前提到的，我們也正在考慮如何提高空間利用效率，這同樣是我們的第二大成本。因此，從成本結構的角度來看，我們正在考慮許多因素，以幫助我們實現行政和行銷成本控制在 37% 到 39% 的範圍內。

Congratulations for the strong quarter.

恭喜公司本季業績出色。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Michael Tupholme with TD Securities.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 TD Securities 的 Michael Tupholme。

Just wanted to circle back on the organizational reshaping. Theresa, you just mentioned that it's largely done now. I just wanted to clarify, though. Was that completion of that reshaping, those efforts, was that completed in the first part of this year, such that sort of on a quarterly run rate basis we should see that as a step up in Q1 in terms of the benefits relative to what you saw in Q4? Or were the full run-rate benefits realized in the fourth quarter?

想再跟大家談談組織架構重組的問題。特蕾莎，你剛才提到這件事現在基本上已經完成了。我只是想澄清一下。這項重塑工作是否已於今年上半年完成？也就是說，從季度運行率來看，我們應該會在第一季看到收益比第四季有所提升嗎？或者說，全部的運行率效益是在第四季實現的？

No. I think you'll start to see that full run-rate benefit starting this quarter. The changes that we made in our cost structure really were completed toward the end of 2019. So we should see that over the course of 2020 spread pretty evenly.

不。我認為從本季開始，你就會開始看到全部的運行率收益。我們成本結構的調整其實在 2019 年底就完成了。因此，我們應該會看到，在 2020 年期間，這種情況會相當均勻地蔓延開來。

I guess the one thing that I should mention as it comes to our overall labor cost is, as I mentioned earlier, that as we are seeing in our cost structure this reduction in costs for the reshaping initiative, the business isn't static, so as we continue to win work and hire in those regions where we are growing, it's not perfectly linear where you'll see a direct drop in costs. As we're bringing people on and getting them ready to go out into the field and to be deployed, that utilization ramps up over some period of time. And so we're going to see some of that, I think, in the first quarter.

關於我們的整體勞動力成本，我想提一點，正如我之前提到的，雖然我們在成本結構中看到了重組計劃帶來的成本下降，但業務並非一成不變，因此，隨著我們不斷贏得業務並在增長的地區招聘員工，成本下降並非完全呈線性關係。隨著我們不斷招募人員，並讓他們做好上崗部署的準備，這種利用率會在一段時間內逐步提高。所以我認為，我們會在第一季看到一些這樣的情況。

I think the other thing, just as we think about what our cost structure is going to look like for the year, and we are confident we'll be within our 37% to 39% range, but we do have a couple of things going on, as I mentioned, that are a little bit unusual this year. This focus on getting our systems implemented in the U.K., that's going to have an impact on our overall indirect labor costs, not hugely material, but it has an impact. And as I touched on earlier, just the efforts now as we're bidding for work on the App7 cycle in the U.K. means pretty heavy marketing activity. And so those are costs that are a little bit higher than we would normally see for our admin and marketing costs.

我認為還有一點，正如我之前提到的，當我們考慮今年的成本結構時，我們有信心將成本控制在 37% 到 39% 的範圍內，但今年確實有一些不同尋常的事情發生。我們專注於在英國實施我們的系統，這將對我們的整體間接人工成本產生影響，雖然影響不大，但確實會產生影響。正如我之前提到的，我們現在正在競標英國 App7 週期的工作，這意味著我們需要進行大量的行銷活動。因此，這些成本比我們通常的行政和行銷成本要高一些。

So there's a couple of things like that, that just sort of make it slightly different than what you would typically see. But overall, again, for the year we're confident we'll be in the 37% to 39% range.

所以，像這樣的一些事情，讓它與你通常看到的情況略有不同。但總的來說，我們仍然有信心今年的收益率將達到 37% 至 39%。

And when you talk about the opportunity to possibly consolidate office locations and achieve better efficiencies in reducing lease costs, I know sometimes those types of things can take some time. So is that something you're now working on, but the benefits of that is likely more to come either later this year or even into next year as opposed to something that would really benefit you in 2020?

當您談到整合辦公地點、提高效率、降低租賃成本的機會時，我知道有時這類事情需要一些時間。所以這是你目前正在努力的方向，但其好處可能要到今年晚些時候甚至明年才會顯現，而不是在 2020 年就能真正讓你受益？

That's right. It does take some time to work through that. And over the next 3 years that's a focus of ours. So we may see some benefits toward the latter part of this year. And the other thing of course that comes with consolidating office space is the accounting requirements. Potentially it could take what used to be called the lease (inaudible) -- I think it's like a lease asset impairment, or something like that, so a nontax charge when you make changes to your occupancy and consolidate offices. And so, again, we're just sort of mindful of what all that, what the impact is. But really from a cash cost perspective, that's what our focus is, is how do we become more efficient in how we use space and reduce the amount of cash outflow that relates to our occupancy costs.

這是正確的。這確實需要一些時間來解決這個問題。未來三年，這將是我們的工作重點。因此，我們可能會在今年下半年看到一些好處。當然，合併辦公空間帶來的另一個問題是會計方面的要求。它可能會對以前所謂的租賃（聽不清楚）產生影響——我認為這就像租賃資產減損之類的，所以當你改變佔用情況和合併辦公室時，會產生一項非稅費。所以，我們再次意識到這一切意味著什麼，會產生什麼影響。但從現金成本的角度來看，我們的重點在於如何更有效地利用空間，並減少與佔用成本相關的現金流出。

And then just on the gross margins, if we look at the full year gross margins for 2019 and 2018, both right around the 54% level, so that's sort of the middle of your target range. But it you actually, on Page -- I think it's M5 of your disclosure document, there's a 2017 year shown as well. And the gross margins in that year were quite a bit higher, 55.5%. Just wondering if there's an opportunity -- or what would potentially drive you toward the upper end of that range? Is there an opportunity to see that happen? Or should we really be thinking about the middle of that range based on the way the business is right now?

然後就毛利率而言，如果我們看一下 2019 年和 2018 年的全年毛利率，都在 54% 左右，所以這差不多是你目標範圍的中間值。但實際上，在你的揭露文件的第 M5 頁（我認為是 M5 頁）上，也顯示了 2017 年。而那一年的毛利率要高得多，達到了 55.5%。我只是想知道是否存在這樣的機會——或者說，什麼因素可能會促使你接受該價格區間的高端？是否有機會看到這種情況發生？或者，根據公司目前的經營狀況，我們是否應該考慮該範圍的中間值？

Looking at the middle of the range is probably most appropriate, Michael. But certainly we're trying to find anything that we can do to drive that margin -- to increase that margin. And so that's looking for more innovative ways of really selling value more so than selling hours, and looking for ways to do that. Looking for ways through our new Chief Innovation Officer and the work that he's doing to be able to deliver projects more efficiently. So we are continuing to look for incremental ways to increase the gross margin. But I think in the -- and those things will take some time. So I think probably modeling in that middle of the range, around that 54%, is appropriate.

邁克爾，或許查看範圍的中間值是最合適的。但我們當然會想辦法提高利潤率。因此，我們需要尋找更具創新性的方式來真正銷售價值，而不是銷售工時，並尋找實現這一目標的方法。我們正在尋求透過新任首席創新長及其工作，更有效率地交付專案的方法。因此，我們將繼續尋找逐步提高毛利率的方法。但我認為——而這些事情需要一些時間。所以我認為，將模型設定在中間範圍，大約 54% 左右，可能是合適的。

And then just if I look at Canada on a full year basis the organic growth in Canada was fairly flat. I think you were up in the fourth quarter a little bit. But just wondering if you could talk a bit more about the outlook for Canada from an organic growth perspective in 2020.

然後，如果我從全年來看加拿大，加拿大的有機成長相當平緩。我覺得你們在第四節一度領先。我想問一下，您能否再談談2020年加拿大有機成長的前景？

Sure. So in Canada, as you looked at the year, we were a bit flat in Q1, our organic growth dropped in Q2. And at that point we had said that we hoped that with our plan that we could kind of get back up above the line by year-end. And we just did, just barely snuck our head above the line there at 0.1%. And so as we look at Canada going forward, we have some good project work there, long-term project work. But we do see the opportunities in Canada to be a bit more muted than we're seeing in a lot of areas in the United States. Certainly a lot of great public transit opportunities and we're very involved in those where they're -- and those are sort of spread across the company. And we did announce some projects last year, the federal labs project and buildings. And so I think there's some good long-term sustainable projects for us there. But we're hoping for a little bit better than flat for Canada for 2020. But it will certainly nowhere approach the growth that we'll see in the United States.

當然。所以，回顧加拿大這一年，我們第一季業績略顯平淡，第二季有機成長有所下降。當時我們曾表示，希望透過我們的計劃，到年底能夠重回正軌。我們剛剛做到了，僅僅勉強超過了 0.1% 的門檻。因此，展望加拿大未來的發展，我們在那裡有一些不錯的專案工作，一些長期專案工作。但我們認為，加拿大的機會可能比美國許多領域的機會少一些。當然，有很多很棒的公共交通機會，我們非常積極地參與其中——而且這些機會遍布公司的各個角落。去年我們確實宣布了一些項目，包括聯邦實驗室項目和建築項目。所以我認為那裡有一些適合我們進行的長期可持續發展項目。但我們希望加拿大2020年的經濟情勢能比「持平」略好一些。但它肯定遠不及美國將要看到的成長速度。

Our next question comes from Chris Murray with AltaCorp Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 AltaCorp Capital 的 Chris Murray。

Thinking about your longer-term goal on return on invested capital, can you kind of walk us through how you're thinking about how you get to your 10% target? You're 8.8% for the year, so fairly decent. But I mean, how much of this is going to be driven by kind of a natural growth rate, assuming your hit your kind of 10% net revenue growth number? And how much do you think comes from having to manage the balance sheet? Lot of moving pieces. I'm just trying to think about how you guys are going to be seeing it.

考慮到您長期的投資報酬率目標，您能否簡要介紹一下您是如何考慮實現 10% 的目標的？你今年的殖利率是 8.8%，還不錯。但我的意思是，假設你實現了 10% 的淨收入成長目標，那麼其中有多少成長是由自然成長率驅動的呢？你認為其中有多少是來自於資產負債表的管理？牽涉的環節很多。我只是想想想你們會怎麼看待這件事。

Sure. So Chris, it really is a combination of the things that you just mentioned. As we look at what our growth aspirations are, if we're able to achieve that, if we're able to deploy capital in ways that will create the best returns for us, it's those things combined that we believe will drive us to achieve our likely targets. As we continue to look for ways to be more efficient and we've said that we want to see a 50-basis-point improvement in our adjusted EBITDA margin over the course of a few years -- so again, those things collectively we believe will get us to that target.

當然。所以克里斯，這確實是你剛才提到的那些因素的綜合體現。當我們審視自身的成長目標時，如果我們能夠實現這些目標，如果我們能夠以能夠為我們創造最佳回報的方式部署資本，我們相信，正是這些因素的結合將推動我們實現可能的目標。我們一直在尋找提高效率的方法，我們說過，我們希望在幾年內將調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率提高 50 個基點——所以，我們相信這些措施加在一起將使我們實現這一目標。

And then, I don't know who wants to take this, but just thinking about the acquisition pacing, and I think about where you're at right now, certainly balance sheets in great shape. You're at the bottom of your range. Feels like the DSOs should be positive through this year. But Gord, thinking about, call it, low single-digit kind of organic, just even to get to hit those sort of numbers that kind of implies you're going to have to pick up the pace on acquisitions this year. How are you feeling about the pipeline at this particular point? I think you alluded to the fact that you've got some discussions maybe coming into view in the next little while. But do you think you're comfortable in being able to hit that number? I mean, we're already kind of moving into deep into Q1 at this point.

然後，我不知道誰想接手，但考慮到收購的步伐，以及你們目前的狀況，資產負債表肯定非常穩健。你的報價已降至最低。感覺今年各大博彩公司（DSO）的股價應該都會上漲。但戈爾德認為，即便只是達到個位數的自然成長，也意味著今年必須加快收購步伐。您目前對這條輸油管有何看法？我想你暗示過，接下來一段時間可能會有一些討論會提上日程。但你覺得自己有信心達到這個數字嗎？我的意思是，現在我們已經算是進入第一季後期了。

Yes. As we look at the overall M&A, really we see it as being a bit of it's a long-term game for us. We're always talking to firms, looking for the right ones to join us. We're being much disciplined on those that we'll bring in the door. So we're hopeful, with a number of the firms that we're chatting with right now, seems to be great cultural fit, great alignment with our vision for the future and theirs. And the valuations seem to be reasonable. And so with that in mind, like we said, I certainly hope to be able to close a few more here in 2020 than we did in 2019. Of course that was a pretty slow year for us.

是的。從整體來看併購，我們認為這其實是一場長期的遊戲。我們一直在與各公司洽談，尋找合適的公司加入我們。我們對招募人員的篩選非常嚴格。因此，我們抱持著希望，目前我們正在洽談的幾家公司似乎在文化上非常契合，與我們和他們各自的未來願景都非常一致。而且估值似乎也比較合理。因此，考慮到這一點，正如我們所說，我當然希望在 2020 年能夠比 2019 年完成幾筆交易。當然，那一年對我們來說相當清淡。

But you're right. The balance sheet is in good shape, but certainly with that being in good shape we want to continue to maintain our discipline. And we will not stray outside the zones where we're comfortable just to do one.

但你說得對。資產負債表狀況良好，但即便如此，我們仍希望繼續保持自律。我們不會為了做一件事而偏離我們感到舒適的領域。

Is there anything that you're finding that's holding up actually closing some of these transactions? Is there something around seller expectations or is this some concern on their part that you're seeing?

您發現有哪些因素阻礙了這些交易的最終完成？這是賣家預期的問題，還是他們本身存在的某種顧慮？

No. No. For us, though, a lot of them have been either more of just about as we got close to the finish line related to valuation, or early on in the discussions related to the commitment of the ownership team to stay with us and to transition their clients and their staff over to us. If someone just wants to take the money and run, that's really -- that doesn't help us build our business for the long term. So the cultural fit is important. The valuation is important. And so we just didn't get the right folks in 2019, but we're more hopeful for 2020.

不。不。但對我們來說，很多時候，要么是在估值接近尾聲時才出現，要么是在討論初期就討論所有權團隊是否願意繼續與我們合作，以及是否願意將他們的客戶和員工轉移到我們這裡。如果有人只想拿了錢就跑，那真的——這對我們長期發展業務沒有任何幫助。所以文化契合度很重要。估值很重要。所以，我們在 2019 年沒能找到合適的人選，但我們對 2020 年更有希望。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Mark Neville with Scotiabank.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自加拿大豐業銀行的馬克·內維爾。

Maybe just a few follow-up questions, maybe just first on the DSO. Theresa, it felt like it was sort of just 3, 6 months ago where you were sort of softening maybe your language around your ability to get it down. And then we see Q4 there's a big improvement. And I appreciate there's milestone payments, but I'm just curious. Was there any sort of internally -- any major changes made or structural changes in the business or how you're working the accounts that could explain some of this improvement?

或許只是幾個後續問題，或許只是DSO的第一個問題。特蕾莎，感覺好像就在3到6個月前，你還在委婉地表達自己能夠把它記下來。然後我們看到第四季有了很大的改善。我知道會有階段性付款，但我只是好奇而已。公司內部是否有任何重大變革或結構性變化，或者在帳戶處理方式上是否有任何可以解釋這種改善的因素？

Well, it is interesting because it did obviously kind of pop at the end of the year. But really the structural changes we've made throughout the course of the year, starting this time last year, just driving people to be more proactive, to identify what's getting in your way. What are the challenges, whether it's related to our systems and our ability to invoice and all of those things? So it really has been an effort over the course of the year.

嗯，這很有意思，因為它顯然在年底的時候突然火了起來。但實際上，我們從去年這個時候開始，在過去一年中進行了一系列結構性改革，旨在促使人們更加積極地找出阻礙自己前進的因素。我們面臨的挑戰是什麼？是與我們的系統、開票能力以及其他相關方面有關的問題嗎？所以這確實是一整年的努力。

And you're right. It was kind of disappointing as we closed each quarter in 2019 and we weren't seeing meaningfully sustained improvements. But as I said, it really felt like that as we got to the end of the year that things did sort of work together in our favor. And so I think, again, as we move into 2020, it's why we're not taking our foot off the gas. We need to continue to focus and to be aggressive in our invoicing and in our collections. And we still have in certain pockets some challenges with our invoicing capabilities, just because of the complexity of some of the projects that we work on and the way that we do our billings. And so there are some areas that we will have to still make improvements. So I think the goal is not just to keep it where it is, recognizing that there was some uplift from these milestone payments.

你說得對。2019 年每季結束時，我們都沒有看到實質的持續改善，這有點令人失望。但正如我所說，到了年底，我們確實感覺到事情開始朝著對我們有利的方向發展了。所以我認為，隨著我們邁入 2020 年，這就是為什麼我們不會放鬆警惕的原因。我們需要持續集中精力，積極主動地進行開立發票和收款工作。在某些方面，我們的開票能力仍然面臨一些挑戰，這主要是因為我們所從事的一些專案的複雜性以及我們的計費方式。因此，在某些方面我們仍需改進。所以我認為目標不僅僅是維持現狀，要認識到這些里程碑付款確實帶來了一些提升。

Maybe on the workforce reshaping, there's been a few questions on that, but maybe if I ask it another way. I'm just trying to understand sort of what's worked through the P&L thus far and what's left to sort of roll into 2020 based on what's been done. I don't know whether it's a dollar amount or basis points, but help us sort of frame that, if that was clear.

關於勞動結構重塑，可能已經有一些問題了，但也許如果我換個方式問的話。我只是想了解到目前為止損益表中哪些方面做得不錯，以及根據已經完成的工作，哪些方面需要延續到 2020 年。我不知道這是美元金額還是基點數，但如果我的意思表達清楚了，請幫我們大致說明一下。

Yes. So the goal was to achieve annualized $40 million to $45 million in labor cost reduction. And that is what we expect to see through 2020. And it should be evenly spread through the year because those costs are now taken out of the system. And so that's the expectation. The comments I made earlier were some of the other dynamics that may reflect in increases or ebbs and flows in our admin and marketing costs. But as it pertains to that reshaping initiative, that is a permanent reduction in our cost structure that we've made and should be seen evenly over the course of this year.

是的。因此，目標是每年減少 4,000 萬至 4,500 萬美元的勞動成本。這就是我們預計在2020年將會看到的趨勢。而且這些費用應該要均勻分攤到全年，因為這些成本現在已經從系統中剔除了。這就是人們的預期。我之前提到的一些因素，可能會反映在我們的行政和行銷成本的增減波動中。但就這項重組計畫而言，這是我們對成本結構的永久性削減，應該會在今年內逐步顯現出來。

I guess my question was how much incremental savings in 2020 versus 2019 from that initiative? Again, I'm just trying to understand how much we've already seen versus what's left to sort of work its way through the P&L.

我想問的是，與 2019 年相比，這項措施在 2020 年能帶來多少額外的節省？我只是想了解我們已經看到了多少，還有多少需要透過損益表來體現。

Okay. Well, I guess when we put out our guidance in the middle of the year we expected that we would have saved maybe $15 million to $20 million for 2019. So I guess you could think of it as being -- that's about how much we took out. Probably less than half of that $40 million to $45 million we've seen in 2019. Does that help?

好的。嗯，我想我們在年中發布業績指引時，預計 2019 年我們可能會節省 1500 萬至 2000 萬美元。所以我覺得你可以把它理解為——我們大概取出了這麼多。可能不到 2019 年我們看到的 4000 萬至 4500 萬美元的一半。這樣有幫助嗎？

Yes. That's exactly it. Thank you. Maybe just one last one just on the buyback, notice that you did buy some shares in Jan, I think Feb as well. Just curious sort of thoughts around that, whether it's opportunistic, if you actually have some sort of program in place where you're buying back X amount of shares per day. Just general thoughts on that.

是的。正是如此。謝謝。最後再補充一點關於股票回購的問題，請注意，您在 1 月份購買了一些股票，我想 2 月份也買了一些。只是好奇想問，這算不算投機取巧，你們是不是真的有某種計劃，每天回購一定數量的股票？一些關於這方面的整體想法。

Sure. So we have not set some kind of a target or a cap on, whether dollars or numbers of shares to be purchased over the course of the year. It is opportunistically based. But one of the things that we introduced last year coming out of the year was an [AFPT] program. So that's a program that we kind of set some parameters as we go into blackout and it's locked in over that blackout period. So that's a bit of a new dynamic and so we've been in blackout really since the start of the year as we've completed our year-end reporting. And you don't have an ability to alter your parameters once you go into blackout. And so that's a piece that is a little bit different. So the opportunity to be opportunistic, let's say, in those blackout periods is restricted by those parameters that you've set.

當然。因此，我們沒有設定任何目標或上限，無論是金額或股票數量，規定一年內要購買的金額或數量。它是機會主義的。但去年年底我們推出的其中一項措施是 [AFPT] 計畫。所以這是我們在進入停電狀態時設定一些參數的程序，並且在停電期間會鎖定這些參數。所以這是一種新的動態，從年初到現在，我們一直處於資訊封鎖狀態，因為我們完成了年終報告。一旦進入斷電狀態，你就無法改變參數。所以這部分內容有點不一樣。所以，比如說，在這些停電期間，投機取巧的機會就受到你設定的那些參數的限制。

But other than that, no. We're just going to continue to, as we look at the capital available to us, as we look at the different ways that we can be deploying it, the share buybacks will factor certainly into how we think about deploying our capital.

除此之外，沒有其他原因了。我們將繼續審視我們可用的資本，以及我們可以採取的不同部署方式，股票回購肯定會影響我們對資本部署的考慮。

Great job and great quarter.

幹得漂亮，這個季度表現出色。

There are no further questions in the queue at this time. I would now turn the conference back over to Mr. Gord Johnston.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題了。現在我將把會議交還給戈德·約翰斯頓先生。

Great. Well, thank you for joining the call today. We look forward to speaking with you during our Q1 earnings call certainly, if not before then. So thanks very much, everyone.

偉大的。謝謝您今天參加電話會議。我們期待在第一季財報電話會議上與您交流，如果可能的話，在此之前也會有機會。非常感謝大家。

Thank you again for joining the call today. You may now disconnect.

再次感謝您今天參加電話會議。您現在可以斷開連線了。