Stantec Inc (STN) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Stantec's First Quarter 2023 Earnings Results Webcast and Conference Call. Leading the call today are Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Theresa Jang, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

歡迎參加Stantec 2023年第一季財報網路直播及電話會議。今天主持會議的是總裁兼執行長Gord Johnston和執行副總裁兼財務長Theresa Jang。

Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com. Today's call is also webcast. (Operator Instructions)

Stantec邀請所有撥入電話會議的來賓查看幻燈片演示文稿，該演示文稿可在stantec.com網站的「投資者」欄位中找到。今天的電話會議也提供網路直播。 （操作說明）

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 purposes of today's call. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts discussed in today's call are expressed in Canadian dollars and are generally rounded.

本次電話會議中提供的所有資訊均受投影片2所述的前瞻性聲明限制的約束，該限制已在Stantec管理層討論與分析中詳細闡述，並已全文納入本次電話會議。除非另有說明，本次電話會議中討論的金額均以加幣表示，並通常進行四捨五入。

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 today. I'm happy to report that we are off to an excellent start for the year. We delivered net revenue growth for the first quarter of 17%, reaching $1.2 billion. This was driven by over 12% organic growth. Market dynamics remained very favorable over the quarter and through strong operational performance, we were able to deliver double-digit organic net revenue growth in each of our geographic regions.

早安，感謝各位今天蒞臨。我很高興地向大家報告，今年我們開局良好。第一季淨收入成長17%，達到12億美元。這主要得益於超過12%的內生成長。本季市場情況依然非常有利，憑藉強勁的營運表現，我們在所有地區都實現了兩位數的內生淨收入成長。

We also delivered solid organic growth in each of our business segments, most notably in Water, which generated over 24% organic growth, 11% in Buildings, and 16% in Energy & Resources. These results reflect our strong market positioning as we continue to build on the macro themes of aging infrastructure, climate change and re-shoring of domestic production.

我們在各個業務板塊均實現了穩健的內生成長，其中水務板塊表現尤為突出，內生成長率超過24%，建築板塊成長11%，能源與資源板塊成長16%。這些業績反映了我們強大的市場地位，我們將繼續圍繞基礎設施老化、氣候變遷和國內生產回流等宏觀主題展開策略性佈局。

Looking at our operating regions, net revenue in the U.S. increased 21% with organic net revenue growth of 14%. Robust public and private sector spending continues to drive growth. We also benefited from the strong U.S. dollar in the quarter, which contributed approximately 7% of the increase in net revenue. We saw double-digit growth in Water, Buildings and Energy & Resources.

從我們的營運區域來看，美國地區的淨收入成長了21%，其中有機淨收入成長14%。強勁的公共和私營部門支出持續推動成長。此外，本季美元走強也對我們有所益處，貢獻了約7%的淨收入成長。水務、建築以及能源與資源業務均實現了兩位數成長。

Our Water business continues to be a leader in the U.S., achieving significant wins across all megatrends, including water reuse, climate resiliency, and large-scale water security projects. Buildings continues to be very active based on momentum from investments in healthcare, civic, industrial and the science and technology sectors and Energy & Resources continue to drive growth through the acceleration of mining and significant reservoir and dam projects.

我們的水務業務在美國持續保持領先地位，在所有大趨勢領域都取得了顯著成就，包括水資源再利用、氣候適應能力和大型水安全專案。建築業務在醫療保健、市政、工業以及科技領域的投資推動下，持續保持強勁增長勢頭；能源與資源業務則透過加速採礦業發展以及大型水庫和大壩項目，繼續推動業務成長。

In community development, demand for industrial and residential units built specifically for rental have spurred growth. Overall, the U.S. had a very strong quarter with the key themes that we've spoken about previously, continuing to play out.

在社區發展方面，對專門出租的工業和住宅單元的需求推動了成長。總體而言，美國本季表現非常強勁，我們之前討論過的關鍵主題仍在持續。

In Canada, we achieved 11% organic net revenue growth. Environmental Services was driven by project permitting, archeological investigations, environmental impact assessment work in the renewable energy sector.

在加拿大，我們實現了11%的有機淨收入成長。環境服務業務的成長主要得益於再生能源領域的專案許可、考古調查和環境影響評估工作。

Our Water business continue to provide services for climate change resilience, including work surrounding Toronto's basement flooding program. Both Environmental Services and Water achieved close to 20% organic net revenue growth.

我們的水務業務持續提供應對氣候變遷的服務，包括參與多倫多地下室防洪計畫。環境服務和水務業務的有機淨收入均實現了近20%的成長。

Energy & Resources delivered double-digit growth, with strong activity related to the energy transition, including projects in power transmission and distribution as well as a large renewable energy project in Western Canada.

能源與資源業務實現了兩位數的成長，其中與能源轉型相關的活動十分活躍，包括輸配電項目以及加拿大西部的一個大型再生能源項目。

Our Global operations delivered another quarter of solid revenue growth. Net revenue grew 15%, with organic growth of over 10% and acquisition growth of 5%.

我們的全球業務連續第二個季度實現了穩健的收入成長。淨收入成長了15%，其中內生成長超過10%，收購成長5%。

Our Water business continues to capitalize on long-term water framework agreements and public sector investments in the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia.

我們的水務業務繼續利用英國、紐西蘭和澳洲的長期水務框架協議和公共部門投資。

Energy & Resources delivered robust organic growth through heightened levels of activity driven by the ongoing demand for copper and other metals that support the increasing imperative for the energy transition.

能源與資源業務透過提高業務活躍度實現了強勁的內生成長，這得益於對銅和其他金屬的持續需求，這些金屬滿足了能源轉型日益增長的迫切需求。

Before turning the call over to Theresa, I want to share that our Buildings group was recently ranked #2 overall in modern healthcare's top construction and design firms. Modern Healthcare is the industry's leading source of healthcare business and policy news, research and information. And this is a global ranking, and it clearly demonstrates the great work our building team is doing in healthcare.

在將電話轉給特蕾莎之前，我想分享一下，我們建築團隊最近在《現代醫療保健》雜誌評選的頂級建築和設計公司中排名第二。 《現代醫療保健》是業界領先的醫療保健商業和政策新聞、研究和資訊來源。這是一項全球排名，充分展現了我們建築團隊在醫療保健領域所做的出色工作。

And now I'll turn the call over to Theresa to review our financial results in 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財務表現。

Thank you, Gord. Good morning, everyone. As Gord noted, we delivered solid first quarter results. We grew both gross and net revenue by 17% to $1.5 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. Project margin for Q1 was 53.7%, in line with our expectations. Project margin in Canada and the U.S. remained strong, while we experienced a few challenges in our Global operations, none of which were individually material. We expect project margin in Global to strengthen in the coming quarters.

謝謝戈爾德。大家早安。正如戈爾德所說，我們第一季業績穩健。總營收和淨收入分別成長17%，達到15億美元和12億美元。第一季專案利潤率為53.7%，符合預期。加拿大和美國的專案利潤率保持強勁，而我們在全球業務中遇到了一些挑戰，但這些挑戰本身並不構成重大影響。我們預計未來幾季全球項目利潤率將進一步提升。

Adjusted EBITDA margin was 14.6%, a 10 basis point increase over Q1 2022. As a result of very strong share price appreciation in Q1, we did have a significant mark-to-market expense related to the revaluation of our long-term incentive plan. Without this, our adjusted EBITDA margin would have been 15.2%.

經調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 14.6%，較 2022 年第一季成長 10 個基點。由於第一季股價大幅上漲，我們產生了一筆與長期激勵計畫重估相關的重大市值調整費用。若不計入這筆費用，我們的經調整 EBITDA 利潤率應為 15.2%。

Strong revenue growth and lower admin and marketing expenses as a percentage of net revenue drove first quarter diluted EPS of $0.59 compared with $0.40 in the prior year and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.73 compared with $0.61 last year, an increase of 20%. Excluding the mark-to-market [LTIP] revaluation expense, adjusted diluted EPS would have been $0.78 and would have resulted in an increase of 28% over the prior year.

強勁的營收成長以及行政和行銷費用佔淨營收比例的下降，推動第一季稀釋後每股收益為0.59美元，高於去年同期的0.40美元；調整後稀釋後每股收益為0.73美元，高於去年同期的0.61美元，較去年同期成長20%。若不計入以市值計價的長期激勵計畫（LTIP）重估費用，調整後稀釋後每股收益將為0.78美元，較去年同期成長28%。

Looking at our liquidity and capital resources. Operating cash flow for the quarter came in at $37 million, an increase of $31 million over Q1 '22. Operating cash flow was driven by the strong revenue growth we achieved this quarter, partly offset by our short-term employee incentive payments, which always occur in the first quarter.

從流動性和資本資源來看，本季經營現金流為3,700萬美元，較2022年第一季增加3,100萬美元。經營現金流的成長主要得益於本季強勁的營收成長，但部分被我們通常在第一季支付的短期員工激勵金所抵銷。

DSO at the end of March was 81 days, consistent with year-end '22, and our net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.6x in the middle of our target range and also consistent with year-end 2022.

截至 3 月底，應收帳款週轉天數為 81 天，與 2022 年底的情況一致；淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 1.6 倍，處於目標範圍的中間水平，也與 2022 年底的情況一致。

Before I hand it back to Gord for final remarks, I'd like to draw your attention to our 16th Annual Sustainability Report, which we released last month. Our sustainability report is a wonderful resource that reviews all of the amazing work we're doing to achieve our ESG ambitions.

在將發言權交還給戈爾德總結發言之前，我想提請各位注意我們上個月發布的第十六份年度永續發展報告。這份報告是一份極好的資源，回顧了我們為實現ESG目標所做的所有卓有成效的工作。

We're particularly proud to report that for the fourth straight year, we've increased the portion of our gross revenue, that's aligned with the UN sustainable development goals. For 2022, we determined this to be 60%, up from 53% in 2021, a 13% increase. We also achieved our goal of operational carbon neutrality across our entire business, but there is so much more information contained in this report. I encourage you to take some time and look through it.

我們特別自豪地宣布，連續第四年，我們提高了符合聯合國永續發展目標的營業收入佔比。 2022年，我們確定這一比例為60%，高於2021年的53%，增幅達13%。此外，我們也實現了整個業務營運的碳中和目標。這份報告包含的資訊遠不止這些，我建議您花點時間仔細閱讀。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Gord.

這樣，我就把電話轉回給戈爾德了。

Thanks, Theresa. In Q1, we grew backlog to $6.2 billion, in line with our previous all-time high. This is an increase of 15% from Q1 2022 and an increase of 6% since the end of last year. Our U.S. segment delivered over 9% organic growth in backlog this quarter, with most of that growth in Environmental Services, Water and Buildings.

謝謝，特蕾莎。第一季度，我們的積壓訂單成長至 62 億美元，與先前的歷史最高水準持平。這比 2022 年第一季成長了 15%，比去年年底成長了 6%。本季度，我們美國業務的積壓訂單實現了超過 9% 的有機成長，其中大部分成長來自環境服務、水務和建築領域。

Growth in Environmental Services backlog stems from strong tailwinds in the marketplace, augmented by robust cross-selling and collaboration with our other business units to provide services such as environmental permitting and archeological work for large infrastructure projects.

環境服務積壓訂單的成長源自於市場強勁的順風，再加上與其他業務部門的積極交叉銷售和合作，為大型基礎設施項目提供環境許可和考古工作等服務。

Backlog in water was driven by wins related to wastewater treatment solutions and water requirements for power generation that will support the energy transition.

水務方面的積壓是由於與廢水處理解決方案和發電用水需求相關的成功案例所致，這些案例將支持能源轉型。

Buildings also had strong backlog growth in the quarter, generated through wins in advanced manufacturing, education and healthcare.

本季建築業的積壓訂單也實現了強勁成長，這主要得益於先進製造業、教育和醫療保健領域的訂單成長。

Our backlog represents approximately 13 months of work. As our backlog demonstrates, momentum continues to build based on investments spurred by government stimulus around the world. Looking at some of our major project wins, each of these follows the key trends that we've been discussing.

我們目前的積壓項目大約相當於13個月的工作量。正如我們的積壓項目所示，在全球各國政府刺激政策推動的投資下，業務成長動能持續增強。縱觀我們贏得的一些重大項目，每個項目都符合我們一直在討論的關鍵趨勢。

In Q1, we won additional work on semiconductor fabs and in advanced manufacturing, including the Q-Cells project, which we mentioned back in February. The Coire Glas 1,500-megawatt pumped storage project in Scotland is the first large-scale pumped storage project to be developed in the U.K. in more than 40 years with more than double current existing storage capacity, greatly supporting the energy transition and the climate change and sustainability imperative.

第一季度，我們在半導體晶圓廠和先進製造領域贏得了更多項目，包括我們二月提到的Q-Cells項目。位於蘇格蘭的Coire Glas 1500兆瓦抽水蓄能項目是英國40多年來首個大型抽水蓄能項目，其儲能容量是現有儲能容量的兩倍以上，極大地支持了能源轉型以及應對氣候變遷和實現可持續發展的迫切需求。

The Veterans Memorial Bridge in Kentucky was constructed back in 1936, and it currently carries more than twice its intended daily capacity. The redesign of this bridge will strengthen the aging infrastructure and provide safe, multimodal crossing for vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. And just last week, we announced our appointment to the Homes England development and regeneration technical services framework. We expect this appointment will bring us significant amount of work over the next 4 years in community development as we continue to support Homes England in building sustainable and resilient communities.

肯塔基州的退伍軍人紀念橋建於1936年，目前日通行量已超過其設計通行能力的兩倍。這座橋樑的改造將加強老化的基礎設施，並為車輛、自行車和行人提供安全、多模式的通行條件。就在上週，我們宣布被任命為英格蘭住房署（Homes England）發展和重建技術服務框架的合作夥伴。我們預計，在未來四年裡，隨著我們繼續支持英格蘭住房署建立可持續發展的韌性社區，這項任命將為我們帶來大量社區發展的工作。

These are just a few examples that demonstrate the continued momentum that's driving public and private investments.

以上僅是幾個例子，足以說明推動公共和私人投資的持續勢頭。

Looking at the rest of the year, we remain confident that we will achieve the financial targets that we set out in February. This includes delivering mid to high single-digit organic net revenue growth, driven primarily from our significant position in the U.S.

展望今年剩餘時間，我們仍有信心實現二月所訂定的財務目標。這包括實現中高個位數的有機淨收入成長，這主要得益於我們在美國市場的重要地位。

While the U.S. remains as our top growth market for the year, we continue to expect solid growth in our Global segment and high levels of activity in Canada. And we're focused on driving bottom line growth that meets or exceeds our top line growth. 2023 is shaping up to be another excellent year for Stantec.

儘管美國仍是我們今年成長最快的市場，但我們預計全球業務部門將保持穩健成長，加拿大市場也將保持高水準的活躍度。我們將專注於實現淨利潤成長，使其達到或超過營收成長。 2023年有望成為Stantec的另一個輝煌之年。

And with that, I'll turn the call back to the operator for questions. Operator?

那麼，我就把電話轉回給接線生，回答大家的問題。接線生？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Chris Murray with ATB Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 ATB Capital Markets 的 Chris Murray。

Gord, maybe turning back to your comments about organic growth and the backlog obviously, the U.S. is very, very strong. But in the quarter, anyway, Canada was pretty weak and so was Global. Can you talk a little bit about your thoughts around what we should be seeing as we move further into the year and maybe each of those regions outside the U.S.? And is there anything -- any cause for concern here or anything particularly odd happening? Or is this just maybe a timing issue?

戈德，回到你之前關於有機成長和積壓訂單的評論，顯然，美國市場非常強勁。但至少在本季，加拿大市場表現疲軟，全球市場也是如此。你能否談談你對今年稍後以及美國以外其他地區市場走勢的看法？是否存在任何值得擔憂的地方，或有什麼特別異常的情況發生？還是這只是時間上的問題？

Yes. I think it's mostly a timing issue, Chris. We had strong organic growth in both of those regions, both over 10%. And there's going to be a little bit of lumpiness when you look between organic growth and backlog. So we're not really concerned. In Global, we had a -- the backlog was a bit retracted a touch there, primarily due to the timing of (inaudible) in the U.K. So we're not really concerned with backlog in other locations. We're really confident in our projections for 2023. We think we have a considerable number of opportunities really that we're working on in all of our regions.

是的。克里斯，我認為這主要是時機問題。我們在這兩個地區都實現了強勁的自然成長，兩者都超過10%。自然成長和積壓訂單之間難免會有一些波動。所以我們並不太擔心。在全球範圍內，我們的積壓訂單略有減少，主要是因為英國（聽不清楚）的時機問題。因此，我們並不太擔心其他地區的積壓訂單。我們對2023年的預測非常有信心。我們認為，在所有地區，我們都有很多機會正在爭取。

So just, even though the Global backlog is going a little bit negative, you don't feel like you're going to burn the backlog faster than you can replace it at least in the medium term, right?

所以，即使全球積壓訂單略有減少，你也不覺得至少在中期內，積壓訂單的消耗速度會超過訂單的補充速度，對吧？

No, we're feeling actually really good about that Global business as well.

不，我們對全球業務也感到非常樂觀。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Sabahat Khan with RBC.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 RBC 的 Sabahat Khan。

I guess -- just looking, I guess, closer at the U.S. market, can you maybe give a little bit of color around where you are with the backlog, which end markets are contributing most? And more importantly, I guess, at this point in the macro environment and with some of the bills pending, where are you seeing opportunities as it relates to your backlog stuff that might not already be in there?

我想－仔細看看美國市場，能否簡單介紹一下您目前的積壓訂單狀況，以及哪些終端市場貢獻最大？更重要的是，在當前的宏觀經濟環境下，考慮到一些待處理的法案，您認為在積壓訂單方面有哪些尚未被考慮的機會？

Yes. Thanks, Saba. So in the U.S., we did have over 9% backlog growth organically in the quarter, and we saw backlog growth in all of our business operating units. The strongest backlog growth in Water, Buildings & Environmental Services, both well into double digits, all of those. So -- but we're seeing a pretty broad-based across all of the groups. And so we're really bullish on the U.S. growth. A lot of the IIJA work has not yet come or has not yet fully baked in or built into the -- into our backlog there. We see that starting to come more and more.

是的，謝謝薩巴。在美國，我們本季的積壓訂單有機成長超過9%，而且所有業務營運部門的積壓訂單都成長了。其中，水務、建築及環境服務部門的積壓訂單成長最為強勁，均達到兩位數。所以，我們看到所有業務部門的成長都相當普遍。因此，我們對美國市場的成長非常樂觀。 IIJA的許多工作尚未完成，或尚未完全納入我們的積壓訂單中。我們預計這種情況會越來越明顯。

You may have seen a recent announcement that the EPA has now funded roughly $7 billion spend out to the Water group. $6 billion of that came from IIJA. So that's going to just further strengthen the backlog growth in Water going forward as well.

您可能已經看到最近美國環保署宣布已向水務部門撥款約70億美元，其中60億美元來自國際工業和工業協會（IIJA）。因此，這無疑將進一步加劇水務部門的積壓工作。

And then just looking, I guess, on the M&A front, I didn't see a lot of mention of Cardno assuming the integration there is largely done. How are you looking sort of at the M&A horizon right now? One of the things we've noticed across the industry is some of the medium to large-sized transactions have quieted a bit. Is it just the valuations aren't at the right place? Is there more of the company such as yourself in the integration phases? Kind of what are you seeing on the M&A horizon? Curious where the private sector multiples are at and just your appetite for a transaction at this point looking beyond Cardno.

然後，就併購方面而言，我沒看到太多關於Cardno的報道，可能是因為該公司的整合工作基本上已經完成。您目前如何看待併購前景？我們注意到，整個行業中一些中大型交易的活躍度有所下降。是因為估值不合理嗎？還是像您這樣的公司還有更多處於整合階段的企業？您對併購前景有何看法？我很想知道目前私人企業的估值倍數是多少，以及除了Cardno之外，您目前對其他交易的興趣如何。

Yes. So in addition to focusing on backlog growth, operational efficiency, we're really focused on our M&A program. And you said that and you're right, there's been a little bit of slowness in some of these transactions, but I think that's just timing issues. The market remains quite robust. The M&A funnel also quite full. So I think that we're continuing to stay active. You can see we've got some dry powder that's ready to take action when the right opportunity comes along for us. Again, we're maintaining our discipline. But yes, we're ready to transact when the right opportunity comes along.

是的。除了專注於訂單成長和營運效率之外，我們還非常重視併購項目。您剛才也提到了這一點，確實，部分交易進展稍顯緩慢，但我認為這只是時機問題。市場依然強勁，併購機會也相當充足。因此，我認為我們會繼續保持積極性。您可以看到，我們手頭上有一些資金，一旦合適的時機出現，我們就會立即採取行動。再次強調，我們會保持謹慎。是的，一旦合適的時機出現，我們就會立即進行交易。

And then just one last quick one for me. I guess, given your U.S. exposure, obviously, there is a bit of noise on the U.S. side with the government potentially hitting a bit of a wall on the debt ceiling side. The organic growth there looks good. The backlog is building. But I guess as you look over the medium-term, is that something that could potentially be an issue? Or given the funding that's in the system, you don't necessarily see it as a near-term concern given all the bills, et cetera, that are already in the works?

最後還有一個問題想請教您。鑑於您在美國的業務，美國政府在債務上限方面可能會遇到一些阻力，這無疑會引發一些爭議。美國的自然成長看起來不錯，積壓的債務也在增加。但我想，從中長期來看，這是否會成為一個潛在的問題？或者考慮到目前體系內的資金狀況，以及正在製定中的各項法案等等，您認為這並非近期內需要擔憂的問題？

Yes. I think that last part you mentioned, Saba, is where we are at. So we don't see that there would be any short-term impact. The projects that are underway are funded, funds have been disbursed. And so it's a bit of a question around if there is a shutdown, how long will that last? And our expectation is that it wouldn't be prolonged. And so there might be a slight impact over the medium or longer-term with respect to projects that are coming to market, but we really don't anticipate that there would be any significant impact to us.

是的。薩巴，我認為你提到的最後一點正是我們目前的情況。所以我們預計短期內不會有任何影響。正在進行的專案資金已經到位，款項也已經撥付。因此，問題在於如果停工，會持續多久？我們預計不會持續太久。所以，對於即將上市的專案來說，中長期來看可能會受到一些輕微影響，但我們預計不會對我們造成任何重大影響。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Ian Gillies with Stifel.

（操作說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Stifel 公司的 Ian Gillies。

Gord, the employee count corporately has kind of been around 26,000 employees as reported for the last 3 quarters. Can you maybe talk about some of the dynamics with respect to adding people and what's transpiring there and how it pertains to backlog growth and revenue, et cetera, and how you're managing that dynamic?

戈德，根據過去三個季度的報告，公司員工總數一直穩定在26,000人左右。您能否談談人員成長方面的動態，以及目前的情況，還有這與積壓訂單成長和收入等方面的關係，以及您是如何應對這種動態變化的？

Yes. Yes. We continue to hire far more people than leave -- than are leaving us. And so our headcount continues to grow. In fact, we had the highest hiring quarter ever in Q1 of this year. So we continue to see that growth. We often -- the number will come up in the summer. We're typically over 27,000 in the summer because we have our seasonal staff and it drops down to 26,000 as those folks go back to college and university. So I think we are feeling good about our ability to both recruit and retain employees. And I think that will help us to continue to service the backlog.

是的，沒錯。我們招募的員工人數一直遠遠超過離職人數。因此，我們的員工總數持續成長。事實上，今年第一季我們的招募人數創下歷史新高。所以我們一直保持著這種成長勢頭。通常情況下，夏季員工人數會超過27,000人，因為我們有季節性員工，而隨著這些員工返校，人數會下降到26,000人。所以我認為我們對自身的招募和留住員工的能力都很有信心。而且我認為這將有助於我們繼續處理積壓的工作。

We are seeing that -- we're not seeing as much wage pressure as we've seen previously. We're not -- we're seeing that the pendulum may be swinging back a little bit from where it was very much in favor of the employee. A year or 2 ago, we're seeing it come back little bit more of a balanced situation. And our voluntary turnover rates really have tapered off and settled over the last couple of quarters. So we're actually feeling pretty good about from a headcount perspective.

我們看到，薪資壓力不像以前那麼大了。我們看到，天平似乎正在略微向有利於員工的方向傾斜。一兩年前，雙方的立場明顯趨於平衡。而且，在過去幾個季度，我們的員工自願離職率也確實有所下降並趨於穩定。所以，從員工人數的角度來看，我們目前的情況相當不錯。

We continue to grow in our offices, our delivery centers in Pune, India. We're up well over 700 people there now might be approaching 750. So that's only almost a doubling of the size of that group over the last couple of years, and we see continued opportunities for -- to grow there. So no, I think we're feeling pretty good about the -- from a staffing perspective. We still talk about it every day, of course, because that's our #1 asset, but we're feeling in pretty good shape with it.

我們在印度浦那的辦公室和交付中心持續發展壯大。目前那裡的員工人數已超過700人，可能接近750人。這意味著在過去幾年裡，該團隊的規模幾乎翻了一番，而且我們看到了持續成長的機會。所以，從人員配置的角度來看，我們感覺相當不錯。當然，我們每天都在討論這個問題，因為這是我們最重要的資產，但我們目前感覺狀況良好。

Maybe switching gears to Canada. Q1 organic growth was very strong. Guidance obviously hasn't really moved there. You've reiterated your confidence. But is there potential that there's revenue or contraction as we move into the back half of the year in that region? I'm just trying to tell you what happened in Q1 versus what may transpire for the remainder of the year.

或許我們可以把話題轉向加拿大。第一季的有機成長非常強勁。顯然，我們對該地區的業績指引並沒有做出太大調整。您也重申了您的信心。但是，隨著我們進入下半年，該地區的收入是否有下滑的可能性呢？我只是想告訴您第一季的情況與今年剩餘時間可能發生的情況有何不同。

Yes. I mean, I think what we saw in Q1 was certainly positive, and we're really pleased with the performance there. And I think what we saw was some carryover effect from the momentum we saw in Q4 and some projects a little bit less sensitive to seasonality or the cold weather. And so that was very helpful for Canada. And so we haven't changed our guidance for the rest of the year. It's still early in the year. And we do have some projects that are kind of reaching that run down phase and others that are -- we're expecting to ramp up in the year. So that always causes a little bit of slowdown and restart.

是的。我的意思是，我認為第一季的業績無疑是正面的，我們對第一季的表現非常滿意。我認為這部分得益於第四季的成長動能延續，以及一些項目對季節性因素或寒冷天氣的敏感度較低。這對加拿大市場來說非常有利。因此，我們沒有改變今年剩餘時間的業績預期。現在還處於年初。我們有一些專案正處於逐步退出階段，而另一些專案——我們預計這些專案將在年內加速推進。所以，這種情況總是會導致專案進度出現一些放緩和重啟的跡象。

So it is currently our expectation that we will see that growth moderate a bit over the course of the rest of this year. But we'd be happy to just see it continue to be as strong as it was in Q1. So we'll see how it plays out.

因此，我們目前預計今年剩餘時間內成長速度會略有放緩。但我們樂見其保持第一季的強勁勢頭。讓我們拭目以待。

Our next question is the follow-up question from Sabahat Khan.

我們的下一個問題是來自 Sabahat Khan 的後續問題。

I guess maybe this one is for Theresa. Just given where your share price is at currently, we talked a bit about M&A earlier, just curious how you're looking at capital allocation at this point for the remainder of the year given kind of the options out there?

我想這封郵件可能是寫給Theresa的。鑑於你們目前的股價，我們之前也聊過併購，我只是好奇，考慮到目前市場上的各種選擇，你們是如何看待今年剩餘時間的資本配置的？

Yes. I mean the philosophy really hasn't changed, Saba. Of course, we're pretty happy with where the share price is trading at. But overall, M&A remains our top focus in terms of capital deployment. And so that's -- there is really no altering of the approach there. We want to be doing accretive M&A transactions. We will go into the market when we see that there's some dislocation there and be opportunistic about that approach. But we're also focused on maintaining solid leverage, so keeping our cash flow deployed toward paying down our revolver every opportunity we get. So again, not a change there in strategy.

是的。我的意思是，薩巴，我們的理念其實並沒有改變。當然，我們對目前的股價相當滿意。但總的來說，併購仍然是我們資本配置的首要重點。所以，這方面我們的做法並沒有改變。我們希望進行能夠帶來增值收益的併購交易。當市場出現一些錯位時，我們會抓住機會進入市場。但我們也專注於維持穩健的槓桿率，因此我們會抓住一切機會，將現金流用於償還循環貸款。所以，再次強調，我們的策略沒有改變。

And then there's a bit of discussion earlier around the U.S. side. I want to switch a bit more over to U.K., the AMP programs obviously are contributing for you, but I'm curious how the demand trends and the outlook is for some of the other end markets in that region where you operate?

之前也討論過美國方面的情況。我想多談談英國的情況，AMP計畫顯然對你們有所貢獻，但我很好奇你們在該地區其他一些終端市場的需求趨勢和前景如何？

Sure. Well, you mentioned the AMP program. So we're in the middle of AMP7, certainly, and we're robust growth there. We continue to hire to service the AMP7 demands. But we're beginning to see some clients beginning to re-compete for AMP8 and we've been successful in securing those.

當然。您剛才提到了AMP項目。我們目前正處於AMP7階段，而且成長勢頭強勁。我們仍在持續招募以滿足AMP7的需求。但我們也開始看到一些客戶重新參與AMP8的競標，並且我們已經成功拿下這些項目。

Other areas of the U.K., we -- there's a lot of discussion about the U.K. housing market. And if you're reading in the papers lately, some people have said they're going to take off the numbers that they need to continue to build, others just said, we need to put those back on. But I think -- so we're seeing a little bit of softness there. But I think we've mentioned before the permitting process for housing in the U.K. is quite onerous and takes quite some time. So once you begin to develop a project, you typically keep going through until you get your permitting. And I think we feel particularly good with that U.K. housing market with our appointment to that Homes England 4-year framework that we talked about.

英國其他地區——關於英國住房市場的討論很多。如果你最近有在關注報紙，你會發現有人說要減少所需的住房數量，而有些人則說需要恢復這些數量。但我認為——所以我們看到市場略顯疲軟。不過，我們之前也提到過，英國的住房審核流程相當繁瑣，而且耗時很長。所以一旦你開始開發一個項目，通常就得一直走流程，直到你獲得許可為止。我認為，我們對英國住房市場的前景感到非常樂觀，這得益於我們之前提到的「英格蘭住房署」四年框架計畫。

Homes England is really looking to push increasing housing stock there. So that's going to, I think, be very, very positive for us for the next 4 years. So those would be our 2 largest end markets there would be the community development group that we talked about and Water.

英格蘭住房署正大力推動那裡的住房供應量成長。我認為這對我們未來四年來說將是非常非常積極的。那裡的兩大終端市場將是我們之前提到的社區發展團體和水務公司。

On the transportation side, we have some good wins there with Highways England that continue to deliver. So I think we're feeling okay about the U.K., but we're certainly keeping an eye on it, absolutely.

在交通運輸方面，我們與英國高速公路局取得了一些不錯的進展，他們一直在努力推動相關工作。所以我覺得我們對英國的整體情況比較樂觀，但我們當然會密切關注事態發展，這一點毋庸置疑。

And just one last one for me. On the U.S. side, obviously, the other big bill out there is the IRA. I think you've announced a large solar project win there. Just curious, what are some of the other buckets within the IRA where you're pursuing projects or opportunities, whether span market or type of project, just some color there, please?

最後一個問題。就美國方面而言，顯然，另一項重要的法案是IRA（投資和再投資法案）。我想你們已經宣佈在該法案下贏得了一個大型太陽能計畫。我很好奇，在IRA的其他領域，你們還在積極尋求哪些計畫或機會？無論是市場範圍還是專案類型，能否簡單介紹一下？

Yes. The IRA really is supportive of sort of a transition to green and more renewable power. So there's a number of different projects that we're talking to our clients about. There's opportunity. There's an extension of project start dates and production tax credits for wind and solar and geothermal, biomass, hydrocarbon, sorry hydropower projects, carbon sequestration. So we're in discussion with clients on all of these.

是的。 IRA確實非常支持向綠色和再生能源轉型。因此，我們正在與客戶探討許多不同的項目。這其中蘊藏著機會。風能、太陽能、地熱能、生質能、碳氫化合物、水力發電計畫以及碳封存計畫都獲得了計畫啟動日期延長和生產稅收抵免的政策支持。所以，我們正在與客戶就所有這些方面進行討論。

There's -- the IRA has expand credits for clean hydrogen, renewable fuels, EV charging infrastructure. So there's a lot of opportunities there, and we're in discussion with clients on really any number of these projects.

愛爾蘭投資發展局（IRA）擴大了對清潔氫能、再生燃料和電動車充電基礎設施的信貸額度。因此，這方面有很多機會，我們正在與客戶就其中許多項目進行洽談。

Our next question comes from Frederic Bastien with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Raymond James 公司的 Frederic Bastien。

Just question -- big picture here. If all else equal, where would you look to deploy your next dollar on M&A? And secondly, I mean if we fast forward 5 years out, does the revenue profile of Stantec look different from here in terms of geographic exposure?

我只是問一個問題——從宏觀角度來看。如果其他條件不變，您會把下一筆併購投資投向哪裡？其次，我的意思是，如果我們展望五年後，Stantec 的收入結構（就地理分佈而言）會與現在有所不同嗎？

Yes. So we're -- we've talked about before there's a number of opportunities that we have around the world. But I think some of the biggest opportunities we still have are in the United States. So as we're looking for opportunities, we're certainly in discussion with folks in the U.S. But that doesn't, in any way, negate the continued discussions that we'd be having in Canada and from a global perspective. So you're right, if I had $1, I'd probably spend it on buying a company in the U.S. right now. But as you know, we're in a pretty good shape. Our leverage -- so we have more than $1. So we continue to have multiple discussions with firms around the world.

是的。我們之前也討論過，我們在世界各地有很多機會。但我認為，我們最大的機會仍在美國。所以，在尋找機會的同時，我們當然也在與美國的業內人士洽談。但這絕不意味著我們會忽視在加拿大以及全球範圍內進行的持續磋商。你說得對，如果我有1美元，我現在很可能會用它來收購一家美國公司。但你也知道，我們目前的財務狀況相當不錯。我們的槓桿－所以我們手邊的資金遠不止1美元。因此，我們會繼續與世界各地的多家公司進行洽談。

And then from overall, what would the -- what would be revenue profile look like. I think we're pretty comfortable with where we are with those taking advantage of the big programs, that are coming in Infrastructure, Water, Buildings and so on, Environment certainly. So we're going to continue to focus on the megatrends, but I would not expect our revenue -- our net revenue profile to be significantly different in the -- if we look out 5 years from now.

那麼從整體來看，我們的收入結構會是什麼樣的呢？我認為我們對目前的狀況相當滿意，因為那些利用大型專案（例如基礎設施、水利、建築以及環境等領域的專案）的企業都從中受益。因此，我們將繼續關注大趨勢，但我預計，展望未來五年，我們的淨收入結構不會有顯著變化。

And I'm not showing any further questions at this time. I'd like to turn the call back over to Gord for any closing remarks.

目前我不再回答任何問題。現在我想把電話交還給戈爾德，請他作總結發言。

Great. Well, thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. We're really pleased with our Q1 results and are very optimistic about the remainder of 2023. So thanks again for joining us, and we look forward to catching up with you as the year progresses.

太好了。感謝各位今天上午的參與。我們對第一季的業績非常滿意，並且對2023年剩餘時間充滿信心。再次感謝各位的參與，我們期待在今年餘下的時間與大家繼續交流。

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's presentation. You may now disconnect, and have a wonderful day.

女士們、先生們，今天的演講到此結束。您可以斷開連接，祝您有美好的一天。