Stantec Inc (STN) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

welcome to Stantec's Second 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. Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation, which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com.

歡迎收看 Stantec 2023 年第二季獲利結果網路廣播和電話會議。今天主持會議的是總裁兼執行長 Gord Johnston；執行副總裁兼財務長 Theresa Jang。 Stantec 邀請撥入電話的人士觀看幻燈片演示文稿，該幻燈片可在 stantec.com 的投資者部分中找到。

Today's call is also webcast. Please be advised that if you have dialed and while also viewing the webcast, you should mute your computer as there is a delay between the call and the webcast. 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. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts discussed in today's call are expressed in Canadian dollars and are generally rounded.

今天的電話會議也是網路直播的。請注意，如果您在撥打電話的同時觀看網路廣播，則應將電腦靜音，因為通話和網路廣播之間存在延遲。本次電話會議期間提供的所有資訊均受投影片 2 中列出的前瞻性聲明的限制，這些資訊在 Stantec 管理層的討論和分析中進行了詳細說明，並已完整納入今天的電話會議中。除非另有說明，今天電話會議中討論的美元金額均以加元表示，並且通常會四捨五入。

With that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Mr. Gord Johnston. Please go ahead.

至此，我很高興將電話轉給戈德·約翰斯頓先生。請繼續。

Good morning and thank you for joining us today. Stantec has delivered another quarter of strong performance. We continue to execute on our strategy and drive excellent results with solid project execution across all areas of the business. We're delivering some of our highest organic growth rates ever with market fundamentals and demand for our services as strong as I've ever seen them, in my 35-year career. It's the expertise and commitment of our employees that drive Stantec's ability to capitalize on the favorable market environment.

早安，感謝您今天加入我們。 Stantec 又一個季度表現強勁。我們繼續執行我們的策略，並透過在所有業務領域紮實的專案執行來推動卓越的成果。我們正在實現有史以來最高的有機成長率，市場基本面和對我們服務的需求是我 35 年職業生涯中從未見過的強勁。正是我們員工的專業知識和奉獻精神推動了 Stantec 充分利用有利市場環境的能力。

As we continue to lead into our core value of putting people first, I'm very pleased that our recent employee survey shows that Stantec's employee engagement continues to strengthen. Corresponding with this, is the continued downward trend for voluntary turnover, which is settling back to normalized pre-pandemic levels. Similar to the first quarter, Q2 was one of our busiest quarters ever for hiring, and we are now at over 28,000 employees strong. With a highly engaged workforce and robust outlook in our markets, I'm very excited about the second half of this year and beyond.

隨著我們繼續實踐以人為本的核心價值觀，我很高興我們最近的員工調查顯示 Stantec 的員工敬業度持續增強。與此相對應的是，自願營業額持續下降，正在恢復到疫情前的正常水準。與第一季類似，第二季是我們有史以來招募最繁忙的季度之一，目前我們擁有超過 28,000 名員工。憑藉著高度敬業的員工隊伍和強勁的市場前景，我對今年下半年及以後的前景感到非常興奮。

And I'd also like to make special mention of 2 other highlights from the quarter. On June 30, we continued to execute on our growth strategy as we closed the acquisition of Environmental Systems Design and I'd like to welcome our new colleagues to the Stantec team. ESD brings their expertise in mission-critical facilities and data center design to Stantec, deepening our strength in smart building engineering capabilities that support the workplace of the future and the emerging trends of decarbonization, building repositioning and adaptive reuse.

我還想特別提及本季的另外兩個亮點。 6 月 30 日，我們完成了對 Environmental Systems Design 的收購，繼續執行我們的成長策略，我歡迎我們的新同事加入 Stantec 團隊。 ESD 將他們在關鍵任務設施和資料中心設計方面的專業知識帶到Stantec，加深了我們在智慧建築工程能力方面的實力，支持未來的工作場所以及脫碳、建築重新定位和適應性再利用的新興趨勢。

Next, I want to say how proud I am of Stantec's continued recognition as one of the best corporate citizens in Canada. This stems from our commitment to doing what's right and continuously advancing our environmental, social and governance practices. We've been recognized by Corporate Knights for the 14th time, being ranked first in the engineering and construction category and fifth overall for Canada's Best 50 Corporate Citizens.

接下來，我想說的是，我對 Stantec 持續被公認為加拿大最佳企業公民之一感到多麼自豪。這源自於我們致力於做正確的事情並不斷推動我們的環境、社會和治理實踐。我們已第 14 次獲得 Corporate Knights 認可，在工程和建築類別中排名第一，在加拿大最佳 50 家企業公民中排名第五。

Turning to our second quarter results. I'm very pleased to report that we've outperformed our expectations as we continue to capitalize on strong drivers while delivering disciplined project execution and operational efficiency. We grew our net revenue by 15% to $1.3 billion, with organic growth of 11%. Our teams across the entire business continued to deliver significant value, with solid double-digit growth in Water, Environmental Services and Energy & Resources and high single-digit growth in Infrastructure and Buildings. We've now grown organic net revenue in each of our regions and business operating units for 6 consecutive quarters.

轉向我們第二季的業績。我很高興地報告，我們的表現超出了我們的預期，因為我們繼續利用強大的驅動力，同時提供嚴格的專案執行和營運效率。我們的淨收入成長了 15%，達到 13 億美元，有機成長 11%。我們整個業務的團隊繼續創造巨大的價值，在水、環境服務和能源與資源領域實現了兩位數的穩健成長，在基礎設施和建築領域實現了個位數的高成長。現在，我們每個地區和業務營運部門的有機淨收入已連續 6 個季度成長。

We also continued to drive solid margins resulting in a 19% increase in adjusted EPS. On the strength of our performance to date and our expectations of continued favorable tailwinds, we've raised our guidance for net revenue and adjusted EPS for the year. And Theresa will speak more about this a little later on in the presentation.

我們也持續推動穩健的利潤率，導致調整後每股收益成長 19%。鑑於我們迄今為止的業績表現以及對持續有利因素的預期，我們上調了今年的淨收入指引並調整了每股收益。特蕾莎稍後將在演講中詳細討論這一點。

Looking at the U.S., our teams delivered net revenue growth of 18% in the quarter with 12% organic growth and we achieved organic growth in each business line. Water, Buildings and Energy & Resources all delivered solid double-digit organic growth. Water was driven by projects related to advanced manufacturing, drought resilience planning, water security and water reuse. And we're also seeing a ramp-up of PFAS projects, supporting water utilities as they proactively work towards solutions to the upcoming U.S. EPA regulations.

看看美國，我們的團隊本季淨收入成長 18%，有機成長 12%，我們在每個業務線都實現了有機成長。水務、建築和能源與資源業務均實現了兩位數的有機有機成長。水是由與先進製造業、抗旱規劃、水安全和水回用相關的項目所驅動的。我們也看到 PFAS 計畫不斷增加，支持水務公司積極致力於解決即將到來的美國 EPA 法規。

In Buildings, organic growth was driven by strong demand in health care, industrial and advanced manufacturing. Work in the commercial and science and technology subsectors also helped drive strong results in buildings. And our Energy & Resources business continues to see significant activity related to power transmission and reservoir and dam projects. So our U.S. business continues to perform extremely well. In Q2, Canada achieved 10% organic net revenue growth with double-digit growth in Environmental Services, Infrastructure and Water.

在建築領域，有機成長是由醫療保健、工業和先進製造業的強勁需求所推動的。商業和科技子行業的工作也有助於推動建築領域的強勁業績。我們的能源和資源業務持續進行與輸電、水庫和大壩計畫相關的重大活動。因此，我們的美國業務繼續表現出色。第二季度，加拿大實現了 10% 的有機淨收入成長，其中環境服務、基礎設施和水務領域實現了兩位數成長。

Environmental work accelerated for permitting and archeological services to support energy midstream and transportation projects, while significant bridge and highway work in British Columbia and major roadworks in Alberta were the primary drivers for the growth in infrastructure. In Water, growth was driven by major projects like the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in BC and the basement flooding program in Toronto.

環境許可和考古服務工作加速，以支持能源中游和交通項目，而不列顛哥倫比亞省的重要橋樑和高速公路工程以及阿爾伯塔省的主要道路工程是基礎設施增長的主要驅動力。在水領域，成長是由不列顛哥倫比亞省愛奧那島污水處理廠和多倫多地下室洪水計畫等重大計畫所推動的。

Energy & Resources continued to see growth driven by work related to power transmission and distribution projects and renewable energy. Year-to-date, Canada has had higher growth than expected and our teams have been able to capitalize on this dynamic. Our global operations also delivered another quarter of solid revenue growth. Net revenue increased 12%, with almost 11% from organic growth. Double-digit organic growth was achieved in Water and Energy & Resources.

能源與資源業務持續在輸配電項目和再生能源相關工作的推動下實現成長。今年迄今為止，加拿大的成長速度高於預期，我們的團隊已經能夠利用這一動態。我們的全球業務也實現了另一個季度的穩健收入成長。淨收入成長 12%，其中近 11% 來自有機成長。水和能源與資源業務實現了兩位數的有機成長。

Our leading global water team continues to deliver significant value, supporting long-term framework agreements and investment in water infrastructure in the U.K., New Zealand and Australia. Energy & Resources increased their net revenue through work on the Coire Glas pumped storage project in the U.K. as well as through mining activities for copper and other metals in Latin America, which will support the energy transition.

我們領先的全球水務團隊持續創造巨大價值，支持英國、紐西蘭和澳洲的長期框架協議和水務基礎設施投資。能源與資源公司透過英國 Coire Glas 抽水蓄能計畫以及拉丁美洲銅和其他金屬的採礦活動增加了淨收入，這將支持能源轉型。

And now I'll turn the call over to Theresa to review our financial results in more detail.

現在我將把電話轉給特蕾莎，以更詳細地審查我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Gord and good morning, everyone. As Gord mentioned, we did deliver another very solid quarter. In Q2, we grew gross revenue by 19% and net revenue by 15%, achieving $1.6 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. Project margin increased 30 basis points to 54.3% and was up quarter-over-quarter in all of our business regions demonstrating our strong project execution.

謝謝你，上帝，大家早安。正如戈德所提到的，我們確實交付了另一個非常穩定的季度。第二季度，我們的總營收成長了 19%，淨收入成長了 15%，分別實現了 16 億美元和 13 億美元。我們所有業務區域的專案利潤率成長了 30 個基點，達到 54.3%，環比成長，證明了我們強大的專案執行力。

In Q2, we again saw a material increase in our share price and this drove a further upward revaluation in our long-term incentive plan which amounted to $7.3 million of additional admin and marketing expense and 60 basis points of EBITDA margin. Even with this headwind, adjusted EBITDA margin was 16.9% for the quarter, up 20 basis points from Q2 last year and margin would have been 17.5% without this noncontrollable expense.

在第二季度，我們的股價再次大幅上漲，這推動了我們長期激勵計畫的進一步上調，其中額外管理和行銷費用達 730 萬美元，EBITDA 利潤率提高了 60 個基點。即使面臨這種不利因素，本季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 16.9%，比去年第二季上升 20 個基點，如果沒有這項不可控制的費用，利潤率將達到 17.5%。

As we noted last quarter, when this dynamic also occurred, our guidance target for adjusted EBITDA margin excludes this LTIP revaluation impact. But either way you look at it, our EBITDA margin reflects our success on relentlessly driving operational efficiency. Our Q2 diluted EPS was $0.79 compared to $0.55 in Q2 last year and adjusted diluted EPS increased 19% to $0.99 compared with $0.83 last year. Without the LTIP revaluation expense, adjusted diluted EPS would have been $1.04.

正如我們上季所指出的，當這種動態也發生時，我們調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的指導目標排除了 LTIP 重估的影響。但無論從哪個角度來看，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率都反映了我們在不斷提高營運效率方面所取得的成功。我們第二季的稀釋每股收益為 0.79 美元，而去年第二季的稀釋每股收益為 0.55 美元，調整後的稀釋每股收益比去年的 0.83 美元增長了 19%，達到 0.99 美元。如果沒有 LTIP 重估費用，調整後的稀釋每股收益將為 1.04 美元。

Looking at our liquidity and capital resources, our strong revenue growth and operating efficiencies led to positive operating cash flow of $68 million for the year-to-date compared to $2 million from the same period last year. Recall that last year's operating cash flow was lower, driven primarily by the Cardno financial system integration. DSO at the end of June was 81 days, consistent with the last couple of quarters, as net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA was 1.8x, up slightly from last quarter, mainly due to funding the Environmental Systems Design acquisition, which closed on June 30.

從我們的流動性和資本資源來看，我們強勁的營收成長和營運效率導致今年迄今的正營運現金流達到 6,800 萬美元，而去年同期為 200 萬美元。回想一下，去年的營運現金流較低，主要是因為卡德諾金融系統整合所致。 6 月底的 DSO 為 81 天，與過去幾季一致，淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 為 1.8 倍，較上季略有上升，主要是由於為環境系統設計收購提供了資金，該收購於 6 月完成30.

I'll turn it back to Gord now.

我現在就把它還給戈德。

Thanks, Theresa. Our backlog grew to an all-time high of $6.6 billion in the second quarter, an increase of over 11% from December 2022. Backlog for each of our geographic regions has grown organically and this has been most pronounced in the U.S. and Canada, both of which delivered 12% organic growth, coming predominantly from Water, Buildings and Environmental Services. Backlog in Water continues to increase with wins around water security, wastewater treatment solutions and water requirements for power generation to support the energy transition.

謝謝，特蕾莎。第二季度，我們的積壓訂單增長至 66 億美元的歷史新高，較 2022 年 12 月增長了 11% 以上。我們每個地理區域的積壓訂單都實現了有機增長，這在美國和加拿大最為明顯其中實現了12% 的有機成長，主要來自水、建築和環境服務。隨著水安全、廢水處理解決方案和支持能源轉型的發電用水需求的勝利，水資源積壓持續增加。

AMP7 in the U.K. continues to see record levels of investment and we are already securing backlog for AMP8. Buildings grew backlog through wins in almost all of their subsectors, particularly in healthcare and industrial. Buildings also benefits from the backlog brought in through the acquisition of ESD. Environmental Services backlog reflects additional project wins related to environmental assessments, including natural resource surveys, regulatory permitting and environmental monitoring for construction projects.

英國的 AMP7 投資繼續創紀錄水平，我們已經為 AMP8 做好了積壓工作。建築物透過幾乎所有子行業的勝利而增加了積壓，特別是在醫療保健和工業領域。建築物也受益於收購 ESD 帶來的積壓訂單。環境服務積壓反映了與環境評估相關的額外項目勝利，包括自然資源調查、建設項目的監管許可和環境監測。

Our backlog represents approximately 13 months of work, remaining consistent with last quarter. Our major project wins in Q2 continue to follow the key trends of aging infrastructure, reshoring of domestic production and climate change. Our Water group continues to drive significant growth, being selected for a number of new projects, including the Queensway Sewer and Watermain project in the Regional Municipality of [PO] Ontario; and the Apache Junction water reclamation facility expansion in Arizona. Our infrastructure team was recently selected to provide engineering services for the steel repair and corrosion protective coating program for the Macdonald Bridge in Halifax, Nova Scotia. And we're also selected for major design work for Deerfoot Trail in Calgary, which is the busiest freeway in Alberta.

我們的積壓工作相當於約 13 個月的工作量，與上季保持一致。我們在第二季贏得的主要項目繼續遵循基礎設施老化、國內生產回流和氣候變遷的主要趨勢。我們的水務集團繼續推動顯著成長，並被選中參與許多新項目，包括安大略省 [PO] 地區市的 Queensway Sewer 和 Watermain 項目；以及亞利桑那州阿帕奇樞紐水回收設施擴建工程。我們的基礎設施團隊最近被選中為新斯科細亞省哈利法克斯麥克唐納大橋的鋼結構修復和防腐塗層項目提供工程服務。我們也被選為卡加利 Deerfoot Trail 的主要設計工作，這是艾伯塔省最繁忙的高速公路。

Our Energy & Resources team continues to build on our success with yet another major pumped storage hydro project. Through our joint venture, Water2Wire, we were selected to provide the front-end engineering and design for the Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro project in Queensland, Australia. At 5 gigawatts, this is expected to be the largest pumped storage project in the world. The energy transition continues to be a strong driver of growth. At the end of July, we were selected by Pattern Energy as the owner's engineer for the SunZia Transmission Project. This project is part of one of the largest clean energy infrastructure initiatives in the U.S. and will deliver 3,000 megawatts of clean power to communities in the Southwest region. Although this is not receiving IRA funding, it's a great example of investment being made towards renewable energy with or without government funding.

我們的能源與資源團隊繼續在另一個大型抽水蓄能水力專案的成功基礎上再接再厲。透過我們的合資企業 Water2Wire，我們被選中為澳洲昆士蘭州的 Pioneer-Burdekin 抽水蓄能專案提供前端工程和設計。容量為5吉瓦，預計將成為全球最大的抽水蓄能計畫。能源轉型仍然是成長的強勁推動力。 7月底，我們被Pattern Energy選為SunZia輸電專案的業主工程師。該項目是美國最大的清潔能源基礎設施計劃之一的一部分，將為西南地區的社區提供 3,000 兆瓦的清潔電力。儘管這沒有獲得愛爾蘭共和軍的資助，但它是在有或沒有政府資助的情況下對再生能源進行投資的一個很好的例子。

And we've been engaged to provide advisory services in the development of proposals for the regional clean hydrogen hubs in the U.S. The Department of Energy expects to select approximately 10 hydrogen hubs, which would be allocated a combined total of up to $7 billion in IIJA funding. Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the energy transition and Stantec is well positioned to capture further opportunities here.

我們一直致力於為美國區域清潔氫中心的提案製定提供諮詢服務。能源部預計將選擇約 10 個氫中心，IIJA 將為這些中心分配總計高達 70 億美元的資金。氫預計將在能源轉型中發揮關鍵作用，而 Stantec 已做好充分準備以抓住更多機會。

So now turning to our outlook for the year. With a great start to the year and continued favorable market fundamentals, we remain confident in our ability to deliver another very strong year of financial performance. As such, we've revised several components of our outlook for the full year. We've raised our net revenue growth target for the year to 10% to 13% and now expect organic revenue growth to be in the high single digits.

現在轉向我們對今年的展望。憑藉今年的良好開局和持續有利的市場基本面，我們仍然對我們有能力實現另一個非常強勁的財務業績充滿信心。因此，我們修改了全年展望的幾個部分。我們已將今年的淨收入成長目標提高至 10% 至 13%，現在預計有機收入成長將達到較高的個位數。

In the U.S., we're raising our expectation for organic net revenue growth to be in the low double digits. This growth is being propelled by continued -- the continued imperative to solve water scarcity challenges, protect against severe weather events and transition to a net zero future. We are starting to see government's stimulus funding flow and this is beginning to form in our backlog. We expect continued opportunities to arise with momentum increasing in the second half of this year and a ramp-up in revenues beginning next year.

在美國，我們將有機淨收入成長的預期提高到低兩位數。這種成長是由解決水資源短缺挑戰、防範惡劣天氣事件和向淨零未來過渡的持續迫切需求所推動的。我們開始看到政府的刺激資金流，而這開始在我們的積壓中形成。我們預計，隨著今年下半年動能的增強以及明年開始收入的增加，機會將持續出現。

In Canada, we're raising our guidance to mid-single-digit organic growth. This is on the strength of our year-to-date performance and our confidence in sustained high levels of activity for the balance of this year. We do have very high comps to measure against from the second half of last year, so we anticipate our annual growth rate will moderate but remain very robust, nonetheless. In Global, we continue to expect mid- to high single-digit organic net revenue growth for the year with strong momentum driven by water and energy resources. Our performance for the first half of this year and confidence in our ability to maintain operational excellence has led to narrowing the range of our target EBITDA margin to 16.3% to 16.7%. And we're raising our guidance for adjusted diluted EPS growth to 12% to 15%, which results in a range of $3.50 to $3.60 per share.

在加拿大，我們將有機成長的指導上調至中個位數。這是基於我們今年迄今的業績以及我們對今年餘下時間持續高水準活動的信心。從去年下半年開始，我們確實有非常高的比較來衡量，因此我們預計我們的年增長率將放緩，但仍然非常強勁。在全球範圍內，我們繼續預計今年有機淨收入將實現中高個位數成長，這得益於水和能源資源的強勁成長動能。我們今年上半年的業績以及對維持卓越營運能力的信心使我們的目標 EBITDA 利潤率範圍縮小至 16.3% 至 16.7%。我們將調整後稀釋每股盈餘成長指引提高至 12% 至 15%，即每股 3.50 美元至 3.60 美元。

Again, I would reiterate that our target ranges have effectively been normalized to exclude the revaluation of our share-based compensation, which is largely beyond our control. In other words, our target margin range should be thought of as being comparable to the 17.5% we achieved in Q2. Likewise, our target adjusted EPS range of $3.50 to $3.60 would be comparable to our Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.04.

我再次重申，我們的目標範圍已有效標準化，以排除我們基於股票的薪酬的重估，這在很大程度上超出了我們的控制範圍。換句話說，我們的目標利潤率範圍應該被認為與我們在第二季度實現的 17.5% 相當。同樣，我們調整後每股收益的目標範圍為 3.50 美元至 3.60 美元，與第二季調整後每股收益 1.04 美元相當。

So as Gord stated at the beginning of this call, we are very excited about the second half of this year and well beyond. And we believe that we have the right team in place to continue delivering superior results. And with that, I'll turn the call back to the operator and we'll take your questions.

正如戈德在本次電話會議開始時所說的那樣，我們對今年下半年及以後的日子感到非常興奮。我們相信我們擁有合適的團隊來繼續交付卓越的成果。然後，我會將電話轉回給接線員，我們將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Benoit Poirier with Desjardins.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Desjardins 的 Benoit Poirier。

Yes. And congratulations for the solid results and very nice to see the strong fundamentals across the board. Just first question, with respect to the impact of the LTIPs, how should we be thinking about the potential for margin improvement beyond 2023? You've been calling out a new guidance of 16.3% to 16.7%. And assuming 14.9% for the year, it looks like there is a 30 bps impact from the LTIPs from a full year basis.

是的。祝賀取得了堅實的成果，很高興看到全面強勁的基本面。第一個問題，關於 LTIP 的影響，我們該如何考慮 2023 年後利潤率改善的潛力？您一直在呼籲 16.3% 至 16.7% 的新指導。假設今年為 14.9%，那麼 LTIP 似乎對全年產生了 30 個基點的影響。

So I'm just wondering, looking at 2024, if you -- we should build on the middle of the range of, let's say, 16.5% plus 30 bps of LTIPs, assuming no movement in the share price. And just curious about the sensitivity for LTIPs related to the stock price and if there's some options to neutralize the impact.

所以我只是想知道，展望 2024 年，我們是否應該以 16.5% 加上 30 個基點的 LTIP 為基礎，假設股價沒有變動。只是好奇 LTIP 與股價相關的敏感性，以及是否有一些選項可以抵消影響。

Sure. Well, there's a lot in that, Benoit but I'll do my best to cover it all. I'll start with the end of your question, which was around the opportunity to mitigate some of that volatility. And we have, in fact, hedged a portion of our long-term incentives. So the numbers that we are reporting around the revaluation is already net of the effect of having some swaps on our performance share units or sorry, our restricted share units. So that is something that we are already doing.

當然。嗯，其中有很多內容，Benoit，但我會盡力涵蓋所有內容。我將從你問題的結尾開始，這個問題是關於減輕部分波動性的機會。事實上，我們已經對沖了部分長期激勵措施。因此，我們報告的有關重估的數字已經扣除了對我們的業績股票單位進行一些掉期的影響，或者抱歉，我們的限制性股票單位。這就是我們已經在做的事情。

With respect to expectations for EBITDA margin growth beyond this year, certainly our objective to continue driving operational efficiencies. I mean, you've seen in the last couple of years how we have gradually but sustainably raised our EBITDA margin. And that really is to the credit of all of our workforce that has -- is focused on this and really delivered on the various strategies that we have in place.

就今年以後 EBITDA 利潤率成長的預期而言，我們的目標當然是繼續提高營運效率。我的意思是，您已經看到在過去幾年中我們如何逐步但可持續地提高 EBITDA 利潤率。這確實值得我們所有員工的讚揚，他們專注於此，並真正實施了我們制定的各種策略。

And so it would be our goal to continue to execute on those strategies. As you know that we are in the midst of developing our next 3-year strategic plan. And in that, we will roll out new EBITDA targets. But again, certainly, we would expect that will continue to drive more margin enhancement in the coming years.

因此，我們的目標是繼續執行這些策略。如您所知，我們正在製定下一個三年策略計劃。為此，我們將推出新的 EBITDA 目標。但同樣，我們預計這將在未來幾年繼續推動利潤率的進一步提高。

Okay. That's great color, Theresa. And just on the M&A front, you disclosed in the MD&A, a cash consideration of $76 million for ESD, which looks higher than typical matrix based on price paid for employees. So I was just wondering if there's anything else to better understand, either with respect to the opportunities going forward, whether the valuation is higher than usual. And maybe if you could comment about the M&A environment and the opportunities you see these days for larger-size deals?

好的。這顏色真棒，特蕾莎。就併購而言，您在 MD&A 中揭露了 ESD 的現金對價為 7,600 萬美元，看起來高於基於員工支付價格的典型矩陣。所以我只是想知道是否還有什麼可以更好地理解的，無論是關於未來的機會，還是估值是否比平常更高。也許您可以評論一下併購環境以及您最近看到的較大規模交易的機會？

Yes. Great questions, Benoit. We do find multiples vary based on the type of business that you're acquiring, based on their profitability and certainly based on size and so on. ESD was a very profitable firm. And the data center market that they're -- the mission-critical environment that they're in, is a very attractive market. And certainly, I'm sure you've read a lot in the papers lately about the tailwinds supporting that for the next couple of years.

是的。很好的問題，伯努瓦。我們確實發現倍數會根據您所收購的業務類型、獲利能力以及規模等而有所不同。 ESD 是一家非常賺錢的公司。他們所在的資料中心市場——他們所處的關鍵任務環境，是一個非常有吸引力的市場。當然，我相信您最近在報紙上讀到了很多關於未來幾年支持這一趨勢的順風車。

So on a per head basis, it might have penciled out to be a little higher but also the profitability for that firm was higher as well. For the M&A market, in general, we do find it to be very robust in different lines of business, really around the world. I'm spending a lot more time really focused on those discussions. And we're, as we always are, in all sorts of levels of discussions from initial conversations about cultural fit to anywhere in different parts through the process.

因此，以人均計算，它可能會更高一些，但該公司的獲利能力也更高。總的來說，對於併購市場，我們確實發現它在不同的業務領域都非常強勁，實際上是在世界各地。我花了更多的時間真正專注於這些討論。我們一如既往地進行各種層次的討論，從最初關於文化契合度的對話到整個過程中不同部分的任何地方。

But to your point on size, there is a number of 3,000, 5,000, 7,000 firms that are either on the market now or will be coming soon. So you supplement that with our sort of the typical 1,000 person and less. And I think we're moving into a pretty robust period for M&A activity.

但就您的規模而言，有 3,000、5,000、7,000 家公司現在或即將上市。因此，您可以用我們典型的 1,000 人或更少的人來補充這一點。我認為我們正在進入併購活動相當強勁的時期。

Okay. That's great color. And last one for me. Some of your engineering peers have reported a cash drag this year coming from the U.S. Section 174 tax law which eliminates the option to deduct R&D expense in the year and requires to be amortized. So just given your elevated exposure to the U.S. region, are you seeing any negative cash impact from this?

好的。那顏色真棒。最後一張給我。您的一些工程同行報告稱，今年的現金拖累來自美國稅法第 174 條，該法取消了當年扣除研發費用的選項，並要求進行攤銷。那麼，考慮到您在美國地區的風險敞口增加，您是否看到了這方面的負面現金影響？

Yes, absolutely, that has been a factor. And there's a couple of pieces to that. You're right, given our higher earnings there, we will drive higher tax component. But the other element around that is -- it becomes a bit technical. But even though the rules came into play in 2022, there was an opportunity to take a, what we called, a safe harbor approach, which was to pay less than what you thought in the event that perhaps those regulations didn't actually come to pass.

是的，絕對是一個因素。其中有幾個部分。你是對的，鑑於我們在那裡的收入較高，我們將推動更高的稅收成分。但與之相關的另一個因素是——它變得有點技術性。但是，即使這些規則在 2022 年開始生效，我們仍然有機會採取一種我們所說的安全港方法，即如果這些規則實際上並未實施，則支付的費用比您想像的要少。經過。

And so they, of course, did come to pass and what we found then was we had to do a catch-up payment in Q2 of this year. So just as an example, for the year-to-date of 2023, we would have paid out in cash about USD 34 million under Section 174. Last year for that same period, it was less than USD 8 million. So it has had an impact for sure.

當然，它們確實實現了，然後我們發現我們必須在今年第二季進行追加付款。舉個例子，從 2023 年至今，我們將根據第 174 條以現金支付約 3,400 萬美元。去年同期，這筆金額還不到 800 萬美元。所以它肯定產生了影響。

Our next question will come from Yuri Lynk with Canaccord Genuity.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Canaccord Genuity 的 Yuri Lynk。

Yes, just want to go back on the EBITDA margin discussion. Is it fair to say that the momentum in the margin improvement is slowing a bit. I mean it looks like you did -- ex LTIP, you did about 16.6% in the -- 16.4% in the first half, that implies 16.6% in H2. That would be about 20 bps lower than the back half of last year. So I know the back half of last year was a bit wonky in some ways. So is that just a tough comp? Or is there additional costs creeping in that would be kind of slowing the momentum a bit.

是的，我只想回到 EBITDA 利潤率討論。可以公平地說，利潤率改善的勢頭正在放緩。我的意思是，看起來你做了——前 LTIP，你在上半年做了大約 16.6%——16.4%，這意味著下半年有 16.6%。這將比去年​​下半年低約 20 個基點。所以我知道去年下半年在某些方面有點不穩定。那麼這只是一場艱難的比賽嗎？或者是否有額外的成本增加，這會稍微減緩這一勢頭。

It's a fair question. And I would say the answer is no. We don't see a slowing of momentum. It's something that we are very trained on and seeing very good success. So there were certainly some things last year -- in the last half of the year that were favorable to EBITDA that we would not necessarily expect to recur.

這是一個公平的問題。我想說答案是否定的。我們沒有看到勢頭放緩。我們在這方面訓練有素，並且取得了巨大的成功。因此，去年下半年肯定有一些有利於 EBITDA 的事情，但我們不一定會期望再次發生。

We also had, in the first half of this year, we made a mention in our MD&A certain things that in the admin and marketing that were supportive and perhaps had in the first half of this year maybe a couple of basis points higher than we would typically have seen in the first half of the year. But we always say that the margin improvement that we are driving is really intended to be sustainable and we are continuing to see it grow. So I think we're very comfortable with the target and that beyond this year, we continue to push to grow.

今年上半年，我們也在 MD&A 中提到了管理和行銷方面的某些支援性內容，也許今年上半年比我們預期的要高幾個基點通常出現在上半年。但我們總是說，我們正在推動的利潤率改善確實是為了永續，我們將繼續看到它的成長。因此，我認為我們對這個目標非常滿意，並且在今年之後，我們將繼續推動成長。

That's fair. Do you still expect Q2 and Q3 to drive 55% to 60% of your net income?

這還算公平。您是否仍預計第二季和第三季將為您帶來 55% 至 60% 的淨利潤？

Well, it is typically higher -- slightly higher in the second half of the year. I am just doing math in my head because typically, we talk about Q2, Q3 being about 55% and the shorter quarters being 45%. And I think that, that still holds true. But we do typically see that the third quarter is generally our highest earning quarter and then it moderates a bit in the fourth quarter.

嗯，它通常會更高——下半年會略高。我只是在腦子裡做數學，因為通常我們會談論第二季、第三季約 55%，較短的季度為 45%。我認為，這仍然是正確的。但我們通常會看到第三季度通常是我們獲利最高的季度，然後在第四季度略有放緩。

Yes. No, I was just asking 55%, 60% because that was the guidance given at the beginning of the year. And I didn't see a mention of it. So I just wanted to make sure it was still in effect. That's helpful. I'll turn it over.

是的。不，我只是問 55%、60%，因為這是年初給的指導。而且我沒有看到提及它。所以我只是想確保它仍然有效。這很有幫助。我會把它翻過來。

Our next question will come from Jacob Bout with CIBC.

我們的下一個問題將來自 CIBC 的 Jacob Bout。

Very positive commentary and guidance on organic growth. How do you think things play out in 2024? Do you expect the momentum to continue? And then maybe just kind of a secondary question. If we look across the industry, most firms are raising guidance. And what do you think has changed in the past 3 months to drive this?

對有機成長非常正面的評論和指導。您認為 2024 年會如何？您預計這種勢頭會持續下去嗎？然後也許只是一個次要問題。如果我們放眼整個產業，大多數公司都在提高指導意見。您認為過去 3 個月發生了什麼變化推動了這個趨勢？

I do think, as you look at forward, we've talked about the sort of just these -- I mentioned in the prepared remarks, like in 35 years of doing this, we've never seen everything lined up the way that it is from an infrastructure perspective, the government funding. When you look at things like an IIJA, for example. These things are always slower, of course, to take off and you think but we're looking at -- once that ramps up in the latter part of this year into next year, it's going to continue up till 2028, 2029, that's sort of a range. IRA gets going for the next several years. So we're just seeing a lot of these -- and that's just in the U.S., lot of big drivers, other places as well. So it just really feels like there's robust support for Stantec certainly but for our overall industry. And so I think that's where you've seen some of our competitors raising guidance as well and everyone is feeling pretty good about the next 3 to 5 years in our space.

我確實認為，當你展望未來時，我們已經討論過這些——我在準備好的發言中提到過，就像在這樣做的35 年裡，我們從未見過一切都按照現在的方式排列起來從基礎建設的角度來看，政府資助。例如，當您查看 IIJA 之類的東西時。當然，這些事情的起飛總是比較慢，你想，但我們正在考慮——一旦這種情況在今年下半年進入明年，它將持續到 2028 年、2029 年，就這樣一個範圍的。 IRA 將在未來幾年繼續發展。所以我們看到了很多這樣的情況——而且這只是在美國，有很多大司機，其他地方也是如此。因此，確實感覺 Stantec 確實得到了強有力的支持，但對於我們整個行業來說也是如此。因此，我認為您也看到我們的一些競爭對手提出了指導意見，每個人都對我們領域的未來 3 到 5 年感覺非常好。

Okay. And then just in Canada here, you guided to mid-single-digit growth for the remainder of the year or for the full year. But implies that second half is going to be relatively muted. Is there just a level of conservatism there? Or is there something we should be watching for?

好的。然後就在加拿大，您指導今年剩餘時間或全年實現中個位數成長。但這意味著下半年將相對平靜。是否存在一定程度的保守主義？或者有什麼我們應該注意的嗎？

Yes. I don't think it's a level of conservatism because again, as we said in our remarks that the level of activity is going to remain very high in Canada. And certainly, when we started the year, there was probably a bit of conservatism because we came in pretty strong. And there was just a question about how robust the Canadian economy could be and what it could support.

是的。我不認為這是某種程度的保守主義，因為正如我們在發言中所說，加拿大的活動水準將保持非常高。當然，當我們年初的時候，可能會有一些保守主義，因為我們的表現相當強勁。唯一的問題是加拿大經濟能夠有多強勁以及它能夠支持什麼。

Now as work is continuing, there are a couple of dynamics that we see, is that there are some projects that are winding down or have been winding down in the middle part of this year and that as we begin the ramp-up of new projects. Of course, the revenue always takes a while to pick up on those larger projects. But again, we point people to 2022 where in the second half of the year, Canada had 7.5% and 11.5% organic growth in Q3 and Q4.

現在，隨著工作的繼續，我們看到了一些動態，有些專案正在結束或已經在今年中期結束，而當我們開始增加新專案時。當然，那些大型專案的收入總是需要一段時間才能回升。但我們再次向人們指出 2022 年下半年，加拿大第三季和第四季的有機成長分別為 7.5% 和 11.5%。

And so the question is, can Canada stack double-digit growth on top of what was already double-digit growth last year. And I would say that, that feels very optimistic, not impossible but pretty optimistic. So for us, as we look at the level of activity and what we see coming, the backlog is really strong. But how the math works in terms of the actual growth rate, we think it will moderate a little bit.

所以問題是，加拿大能否在去年已經實現兩位數成長的基礎上再實現兩位數成長。我想說，這感覺非常樂觀，不是不可能，但相當樂觀。因此，對我們來說，當我們觀察活動水準和我們預期的未來時，積壓的訂單量確實很大。但從實際成長率的角度來看，我們認為它會有所放緩。

We have a question from Frederic Bastien with Raymond James.

弗雷德里克·巴斯蒂安向雷蒙德·詹姆斯提出了一個問題。

To get a better understanding of where the 11% organic growth is coming from, obviously, very good. But just curious if it's more weighted to higher employee count, increased utilization, pricing power or a little bit of everything.

顯然，能夠更了解 11% 的有機成長來自何處，這是非常好的。但只是好奇它是否更注重增加員工數量、提高使用率、定價能力或所有方面。

It's really a combination of all of those things. We see just really strong market dynamics for us as we look forward and continuing. So I mean, I just finished saying that in Canada, can it stack double-digit growth on top of what was double-digit growth at the end of last year and probably unlikely. But in the U.S., it's absolutely doable just given the amount of work that is flowing, what we're seeing in our backlog, et cetera. So we've grown, as Gord noted in his comments, I mean we had the highest hiring quarter, we've ever had in the second quarter. Voluntary turnover is certainly back to that sort of prepandemic level where we have been leaders in maintaining our staff. So it is a bit of all of those things that you mentioned. .

它實際上是所有這些東西的組合。當我們展望未來並繼續前進時，我們看到了非常強勁的市場動態。所以我的意思是，我剛剛說過，在加拿大，它能否在去年年底兩位數增長的基礎上實現兩位數增長，而且可能不太可能。但在美國，考慮到正在進行的工作量、我們在積壓中看到的情況等等，這絕對是可行的。所以我們已經成長，正如戈德在他的評論中指出的那樣，我的意思是我們在第二季度經歷了有史以來最高的招募季度。自願離職率肯定回到了疫情前的水平，我們在維持員工方面一直處於領先地位。所以這就是你提到的所有這些事情的一部分。 。

Great. And given the positive momentum you have with hiring and the retention, you have no concern whatsoever as to your ability to handle on that growth that's coming ahead. Correct?

偉大的。鑑於您在招募和留任方面的積極勢頭，您不必擔心自己應對未來成長的能力。正確的？

No, no, not at all.

不，不，一點也不。

We're feeling pretty good about it, Frederic. In addition to that, we're expanding our delivery center in Pune and continuing to add resources really in all of our regions.

我們對此感覺很好，弗雷德里克。除此之外，我們正在擴大我們在浦那的交付中心，並繼續在我們所有的地區增加資源。

Cool. Great. And then since you offered it earlier, you are both in London, any special reason why you're there?

涼爽的。偉大的。既然你們之前提出了這個要求，你們都在倫敦，你們在那裡有什麼特殊原因嗎？

No. Just as we move our Board meetings around, every couple of years we like to take the Board to one of our office locations and working with them. We selected the U.K. this time around. So we have our whole Board here with us.

不會。就像我們經常更換董事會會議一樣，每隔幾年我們都會邀請董事會到我們的一個辦公地點並與他們一起工作。這次我們選擇了英國。所以我們整個董事會都和我們在一起。

(Operator Instructions) It comes from Devin Dodge with BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）它來自 BMO 資本市場的 Devin Dodge。

I think this question will probably be for Theresa. But when I look at the guidance framework you provided and we kind of exclude that LTIP revaluation figures, it implies roughly even distribution of adjusted EBITDA between H1 and H2, despite -- when we look historically, I think H2 has accounted for a bit more than that, 50% share of full year EBITDA. Just can you provide any color for why the EBITDA contributions in the second half of this year may be a bit lower just compared to that seasonal pattern?

我想這個問題可能會問特蕾莎。但是，當我查看您提供的指導框架時，我們排除了LTIP 重估數據，這意味著H1 和H2 之間調整後EBITDA 的分佈大致均勻，儘管- 當我們回顧歷史時，我認為H2 佔了更多除此之外，佔全年 EBITDA 的 50%。您能否提供任何解釋，說明為什麼今年下半年的 EBITDA 貢獻可能比季節性模式低？

Yes. It's actually -- when you push through the math, the implied range for the second half of the year would be 16.2% to 17%. So it is -- we're heavily weighted towards there being more upside in the second half of the year. And it is a range that largely is somewhat dependent on, again, how quickly or how slowly some of these projects roll out of the U.S. as the biggest driver. But we do expect that the second half EBITDA will likely fall to the, sorry, not fall, will likely be higher in the second half as it typically is.

是的。實際上，當你進行數學計算時，下半年的隱含範圍將是 16.2% 到 17%。事實就是如此——我們非常看重今年下半年會有更多上漲空間。這個範圍很大程度上取決於這些項目作為最大推動力從美國推出的速度有多快或多慢。但我們確實預計下半年 EBITDA 可能會下降到（抱歉，不是下降），下半年可能會像通常情況一樣更高。

Okay. Okay. It just seems like on a dollar basis, it's a little bit more evenly distributed, not so much on the margins. But anyway, we'll touch base maybe offline here. Just, if you're in the U.K., maybe an AMP question here but there's been some reports in the media regarding some potential financial distress amongst some U.K. water utilities. I think Thames Water, in particular. Just wondering, have you seen any change in behavior from your U.K. water clients in terms of pulling back on some work? And has Stantec adjusted how it manages its payables for these customers?

好的。好的。看起來只是以美元為基礎，它的分佈更加均勻，而不是邊緣太多。但無論如何，我們可能會在這裡離線接觸基地。只是，如果您在英國，可能會遇到 AMP 問題，但媒體上有一些報告稱英國一些水務公司可能面臨財務困境。我認為泰晤士水務尤其如此。只是想知道，您是否看到英國水務客戶在取消某些工作方面的行為發生了任何變化？ Stantec 是否調整了為這些客戶管理應付帳款的方式？

Yes. We actually -- so firstly, we've seen no issues with payables for any of these customers. And we also have seen no change in behavior from them. We -- these AMP programs are set like on a 5 years cycle. And with a certain spend, then they're able to get certain results or certain rates and so on. So no, we haven't seen any -- they have to move forward with that work. So we haven't seen any change in behavior. And it's interesting, as we're here, certainly and chatting with our folks, we've been providing water and wastewater services for London and the Thames Valley for almost 200 years with any way that the -- this -- the (inaudible) client has been organized, what their name might be public, private, the water and wastewater services need to continue to be provided. The regulatory environment is strengthening here, not weakening. And so we don't -- regardless of how the things may shake out, we don't see any reduction in the amount of work that needs to be done in the U.K. water and wastewater industry going forward.

是的。實際上，首先，我們並沒有發現這些客戶的應付帳款有任何問題。我們也沒有看到他們的行為有任何改變。我們這些 AMP 計畫的週期為 5 年。透過一定的支出，他們就能夠獲得一定的結果或一定的利率等等。所以不，我們還沒有看到任何東西——他們必須繼續推進這項工作。所以我們沒有看到行為有任何改變。有趣的是，當我們在這裡與我們的朋友聊天時，近 200 年來我們一直在為倫敦和泰晤士河谷提供供水和廢水處理服務，無論哪種方式——這——（聽不清楚）客戶已經組織起來，他們的名字可能是公共的、私人的，需要繼續提供供水和廢水處理服務。這裡的監管環境正在加強，而不是減弱。因此，無論事情如何發展，我們都認為英國水和廢水處理產業未來需要完成的工作量不會減少。

And our next question will come from Chris Murray with ATB Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題將來自 ATB 資本市場的 Chris Murray。

So maybe, Gord, just turning back, you made some interesting comments about Canada, about the fact that it's actually performing a little bit better than expected. Just wondering, if there's something external that's maybe contributed to that, any sort of new legislation or funding or maybe just resources. Just trying to understand what it is or if it's maybe more tied to project. Any sort of color on where this is at and if there's anything that maybe drives it more into '24 as well?

所以也許，戈德，剛剛回頭，你對加拿大做了一些有趣的評論，關於它實際上表現比預期好一點的事實。只是想知道，是否有外部因素促成了這一點，任何新的立法或資金，或者可能只是資源。只是想了解它是什麼，或者它是否與項目更相關。任何關於這個位置的顏色以及是否有任何東西可能推動它進一步進入'24？

We've seen a lot of work coming forward in our -- in transportation. We talked about some of the work that we've been doing in BC, Deerfoot Trail coming in Calgary, lot of opportunities in transportation and bridges and so on. Lot of work also in our ES group. They're supporting archeological work and permitting work really across the Canada, a lot in BC right now.

我們已經看到在交通領域取得了許多進展。我們討論了我們在 BC 省所做的一些工作、卡加利的 Deerfoot Trail、交通和橋樑方面的許多機會等等。我們的 ES 團隊也做了很多工作。他們支持考古工作，並允許在加拿大各地進行考古工作，目前大部分在不列顛哥倫比亞省。

So it's pretty widespread, our Water group. We've talked about in previous quarters some of the work that we're doing in Saskatchewan, on the Buffalo Pound plant in Regina, some work in Ontario, Newbury, certainly the -- one of the largest capital programs for Metro Vancouver, the Iona project, where we're program manager. So whether it's water, transportation or environmental services, the energy sector and some transition -- energy transition type work, it's pretty broad-based, actually. And it's -- the year has held up really well and we're seeing still positive momentum going forward.

所以我們的水集團的情況相當普遍。我們在前幾個季度談到了我們在薩斯喀徹溫省、里賈納的Buffalo Pound 工廠所做的一些工作，以及在安大略省、紐伯里的一些工作，當然還有——大溫哥華地區最大的資本計劃之一， Iona 項目，我們是該項目的專案經理。因此，無論是水、交通或環境服務、能源部門和一些轉型——能源轉型類型的工作，實際上基礎相當廣泛。這一年的表現非常好，我們看到未來仍然有正面的動力。

Okay. That's helpful. And then, Theresa, just quickly, cleanup question. I don't think -- and maybe I missed it. I think one of the folks asked, what actually is the sensitivity based on where you have the hedge position on the LTIP at this particular point? And I guess just kind of a second part of this question, given the volatility and kind of the noise it's causing, is it fair to think that as you evaluate maybe 2024 that we kind of changed the presentation just to maybe get rid of this?

好的。這很有幫助。然後，特蕾莎，請快速提出清理問題。我不認為——也許我錯過了。我想有人問過，根據您在這一特定點上對沖頭寸的 LTIP 位置，敏感度實際上是多少？我想這只是這個問題的第二部分，考慮到波動性和它所引起的噪音，當你評估也許到 2024 年時，我們改變簡報只是為了擺脫這個問題是否公平？

Yes. That's -- it's a really good question. Let me answer that one first. We've given that a fair bit of consideration this year. And your share price always moves around and to the extent that a portion of it is hedged as we've got it, it should have even less of an effect. We've just never seen this rapid movement in either direction of our share price in such a short period of time.

是的。這是一個非常好的問題。讓我先回答這個問題。今年我們對此給予了相當多的考慮。而且你的股價總是在波動，如果按照我們的方式對沖其中一部分，那麼它的影響應該會更小。我們從未見過我們的股價在如此短的時間內向任何一個方向快速波動。

And so it's particularly pronounced and that's why we're calling it out. Would we change our EBITDA presentation, as we considered it this year, it would have required that we went back and restated our prior comparative quarters. And again, like, we'd love to see if the share price continues to rise at this rate and whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. And so to go back and kind of restate your adjusted numbers, we're not really sure if that's value added and really felt that it would be cleaner just to continue to report on a consistent basis, so you knew that's how we calculated it and then call out this one piece.

所以它特別明顯，這就是我們呼籲它的原因。如果我們改變 EBITDA 的表達方式，就像我們今年考慮的那樣，就需要我們回去重述先前的比較季度。再說一遍，我們很想看看股價是否繼續以這種速度上漲，而這種情況是否會發生還有待觀察。因此，返回並重述調整後的數字，我們不太確定這是否增加了價值，並且確實認為繼續在一致的基礎上進行報告會更乾淨，所以您知道這就是我們的計算方式，然後呼出這一塊。

And you may expect that it would be a little bit more muted in terms of volatility as we go forward. And in terms of sensitivity then, it's very hard to model because our LTIP includes both the share price piece but it's also heavily weighted towards our relative total shareholder return. And so in order to do that calculation, it gets run through a Monte Carlo simulation, which makes it really quite difficult to predict. And that's what makes it hard to kind of provide that kind of a sensitivity. So that does make it difficult and kind of precludes me from being able to give you any kind of a rule of thumb on it.

您可能會預計，隨著我們的前進，波動性會更加溫和。就敏感度而言，建模非常困難，因為我們的 LTIP 既包含股價部分，又非常重視我們的相對股東總回報。因此，為了進行該計算，需要透過蒙特卡羅模擬來運行，這使得預測變得非常困難。這就是很難提供這種敏感性的原因。所以這確實讓事情變得困難，並且有點妨礙我為你提供任何經驗法則。

Our next question will come from Michael Tupholme with TD Securities.

我們的下一個問題將來自道明證券的 Michael Tupholme。

With the demand environment sounding like it continues to be very healthy, wondering if you can comment on what you've been seeing in general terms regarding price increases on new work in recent quarters and how that would compare to the sort of pricing gains you've seen over the last several years?

需求環境聽起來仍然非常健康，想知道您是否可以評論一下您所看到的有關最近幾季新作品價格上漲的一般情況，以及與您的定價收益相比如何？過去幾年見過？

I do think with the overall market being very busy, the industry is very busy that, this is always a competitive market. We're all going to always have some price competition. But I think we're seeing a little bit less competition on price and more clients are checking with their consultants, can you get the work done? Do you have the people? Can you get it done with quality and in this time frame? Price is always important. But I do think, Michael, it's less price sensitive than it's historically been in the last several years.

我確實認為，隨著整個市場非常繁忙，整個行業也非常繁忙，這始終是一個競爭激烈的市場。我們總是會有一些價格競爭。但我認為我們看到價格競爭減少，越來越多的客戶正在諮詢他們的顧問，你能完成工作嗎？你有人嗎？你能在這個時間範圍內保質完成嗎？價格始終很重要。但我確實認為，邁克爾，與過去幾年相比，它對價格的敏感度降低了。

Okay. That's helpful. And then secondly, Gord, you mentioned that this seems to be the first time in 35 years or so where all sectors are really firing on all cylinders, which is great to hear. It doesn't sound like there any areas of major sort of concern or risks. But is there anything that you are watching as you look at potentially to next year? I know there's been some concern around the outlook for commercial buildings activity. Just curious if there's anything that you kind of got and keeping a closer eye on as far as potential changes to what you're seeing now?

好的。這很有幫助。其次，戈德，你提到這似乎是 35 年來第一次，所有部門都真正開足馬力，這真是太好了。聽起來似乎沒有任何重大問題或風險的領域。但是，當你展望明年時，有什麼是你正在關注的嗎？我知道人們對商業建築活動的前景有些擔憂。只是好奇您是否獲得了任何東西，並密切關注您現在所看到的內容的潛在變化？

Yes. Well, the one area that we are keeping an eye on and in fact, we're here in the U.K. is on the private development work in the U.K. Certainly, there's been some softening of the economy here because of Brexit and high interest rates and -- or sorry, high inflation and so on. So there's a huge backlog of housing here but we're having trouble in the U.K. getting it through the permitting cycle and getting it built.

是的。嗯，我們正在關注的一個領域，事實上，我們在英國的私人開發工作。當然，由於英國脫歐和高利率，這裡的經濟出現了一些疲軟。 ——或者抱歉，高通膨等等。因此，這裡有大量的住房積壓，但我們在英國很難通過許可週期並建造它。

So we're watching our planning teams here, certainly looking for some weakness. And we've seen a bit of a slowdown. But again, here in the U.K., well over half of our revenue is generated in the water business and we haven't seen any slowdown there. There's always areas and it's a good question. That's one of the ones that we're looking at right now, is that planning and community development work here in the U.K.

因此，我們正在觀察我們的規劃團隊，當然是尋找一些弱點。我們看到了一些放緩。但同樣，在英國，我們一半以上的收入來自水業務，我們沒有看到任何放緩。總有一些領域，這是一個很好的問題。這是我們現在正在考慮的問題之一，就是英國的規劃和社區發展工作。

Okay. Perfect. And then maybe just on commercial real estate or commercial buildings activity, I mean I think your buildings practice is fairly diversified and there are other areas that have been performing well but specifically on commercial buildings, what are you seeing there right now.

好的。完美的。然後也許只是在商業房地產或商業建築活動上，我的意思是，我認為你們的建築實踐相當多元化，還有其他領域表現良好，但特別是在商業建築方面，你們現在看到了什麼。

Yes. So that -- our commercial building segment is only about 4% of our overall corporate net revenue. And while we're not seeing a notable slowdown in the sector, there's always going to be -- it's slowing a little bit. But what's interesting for us, even within that commercial segment that we have, again, 4% of our net revenue, we have a number of subsectors. So we have multifamily residential. So a lot of that is purpose-built residential units. And we're seeing -- we're still seeing some of that coming.

是的。因此，我們的商業建築業務僅占公司整體淨收入的 4% 左右。雖然我們沒有看到該行業明顯放緩，但總會有一點放緩。但對我們來說有趣的是，即使在我們佔淨收入 4% 的商業細分市場中，我們也有許多子行業。所以我們有多戶住宅。所以其中很多都是專門建造的住宅單元。我們看到——我們仍然看到其中一些即將發生。

Certainly, there's a lot of discussion on that in Ontario, where you are these days about how we can get more multifamily residential to help break the backlog of housing shortage. We also have in there retail and hospitality but that's a pretty small subsector for us. So while we keep monitoring the sector, there's some -- there's also here repurposing industrial, underutilized office buildings. That's the type of work that we're doing. We've talked with, I think, in previous quarters of, what we call it, adaptive reuse. So even within that 4%, there are some areas like that adaptive reuse that are still thriving. Others that are a little bit slower. So we're keeping an eye on it but it's not really material to the overall success of the company.

當然，在安大略省，現在有很多關於這個問題的討論，討論如何獲得更多的多戶住宅，以幫助解決積壓的住房短缺問題。我們也有零售和酒店業，但這對我們來說只是一個很小的子行業。因此，在我們繼續監控該行業的同時，也有一些工業、未充分利用的辦公大樓被重新利用。這就是我們正在做的工作類型。我想，我們在前幾個季度已經討論過我們所說的適應性重用。因此，即使在這 4% 之內，自適應重用等一些領域仍然蓬勃發展。其他的則稍慢一些。所以我們正在密切關注它，但這對公司的整體成功並不真正重要。

(Operator Instructions) We have a question from Ian Gillies with Stifel.

（操作員說明）Ian Gillies 向 Stifel 提出了一個問題。

I was just curious, organic backlog growth year-to-date is 10% or net organic revenue growth looks like it's kind of mid- to high single digits in the back half of the year. Is there anything unique or changing happening with the conversion of backlog into revenue, i.e., is there often lulls or those are getting a bit longer. It's just -- I'm trying to tie out those 2 items, acknowledging they don't always work perfectly together.

我只是很好奇，年初至今的有機積壓訂單成長率為 10%，或者說今年下半年的淨有機收入成長看起來是中高個位數。在積壓訂單轉化為收入的過程中是否發生了任何獨特或變化，即是否經常出現間歇期或間歇期變得更長一些。只是——我試圖將這兩個項目聯繫起來，承認它們並不總是完美地協同工作。

I don't know if there's anything fundamentally that's changed, Ian. And certainly, when we were talking to our business leaders, we are always asking about cancelations, delays and we're not seeing or hearing any evidence of that by any significant measure. One of the things that we have a little bit of is, as we get through that sort of contracting process and get the projects ramped up, in the U.S. in particular, that there are pockets where we're seeing projects slow watch a little bit.

我不知道是否有什麼根本性的改變，伊恩。當然，當我們與企業領導人交談時，我們總是詢問取消、延誤的情況，但我們沒有看到或聽到任何重大措施的證據。我們遇到的一件事是，當我們完成這種承包流程並加快專案進度時，尤其是在美國，我們發現有些專案進展緩慢。

And I think the team is very -- want to be really be clear about that, slow watch does not mean delayed, does not mean cancelled but it's just the clients are taking a bit longer to turn things around, to improve things, to get things moving. And I don't know that, that what you would be referring to in terms of what you're seeing converting into revenue but that is a bit of a dynamic we're seeing. But other than that, we're not really seeing or hearing anything dramatically different.

我認為團隊非常想要明確這一點，緩慢的觀察並不意味著延遲，也不意味著取消，而只是客戶需要更長的時間來扭轉局面、改進事情、獲得成功。事物在移動。我不知道你所說的轉化為收入的情況，但我們看到的是一種動態。但除此之外，我們並沒有真正看到或聽到任何明顯不同的東西。

Okay. No, that's helpful. And then the other thing I wanted to ask about was employee utilization. It's come up on a number of calls and conversations. I'm just curious how you're feeling about your staff utilization, how much room do you have left to maybe increase those and how close you are to effective full utilization of your staff?

好的。不，這很有幫助。我想問的另一件事是員工利用率。它出現在許多電話和談話中。我只是好奇您對員工利用率有何看法，您還有多少空間可以增加員工人數，以及您距離有效充分利用員工還有多遠？

Yes. And it currently varies amongst the group but I will say in general -- and this is what you're seeing in our results, that utilization is very high. To the extent where, for instance, in our Water group, which is very busy, there's a lot of sort of importing of talent from other geographies, even from some of our business lines where there are potentially folks that can support projects in the Water group. So we are seeing that as well. And again, one of the things I pointed out in previous calls is, where there is a bit of latency in our utilization does relate to our infrastructure group where -- as we continue to hold those and wait for some of these IIJA projects to really ramp up and get rolling, we are not as fully utilized there yet, but want to make sure that we are managing our staff and have them available and ready to go when those projects do come on.

是的。目前各組的情況各不相同，但我會說一般而言 - 這就是您在我們的結果中看到的，利用率非常高。例如，在我們非常繁忙的水集團中，有許多來自其他地區的人才，甚至是我們的一些業務線，那裡有潛在的人員可以支持水務計畫團體。所以我們也看到了這一點。再說一次，我在之前的電話會議中指出的一件事是，我們的利用率存在一些延遲，這確實與我們的基礎設施組有關——因為我們繼續持有這些項目，並等待其中一些IIJA 項目真正落地。加速並開始滾動，我們在那裡還沒有充分利用，但希望確保我們正在管理我們的員工，並讓他們在這些項目真正開始時做好準備。

Our next question will come from Sabahat Khan with RBC.

我們的下一個問題將由加拿大皇家銀行的 Sabahat Khan 提出。

I guess just a question on the outlook commentary. You've taken up the organic growth guidance for the U.S. and Canada. Just wondering if you can maybe share a bit of granularity around how we should think about end markets within the context of that guidance? Should we think the ones that you called out as having double-digit organic growth? Do those continue for the back half year in the same manner or is it a bit more bigger? Just trying to understand how we should think about it on a end market basis.

我想這只是關於展望評論的問題。您已經接受了美國和加拿大的有機成長指導。只是想知道您是否可以分享一些關於我們應該如何在該指南的背景下思考終端市場的細節？我們是否應該認為您所說的那些具有兩位數有機成長的企業？下半年這些情況會以同樣的方式繼續還是會更大一些？只是想了解我們應該如何在終端市場的基礎上思考它。

Yes. I think it's a little bit -- it's a bit of both actually. It sort of depends on the geography. So for instance, we've had very high levels of activity and high organic growth in Canada around, like our water business and those projects that Gord mentioned, Iona (inaudible) -- those will continue to be very busy.

是的。我認為有一點——實際上兩者都有一點。這在某種程度上取決於地理位置。舉例來說，我們在加拿大各地的活動水平非常高，有機增長也很高，例如我們的水業務和戈德提到的那些項目，Iona（聽不清楚）——這些項目將繼續非常繁忙。

And so we'll continue -- we expect to see continued high growth there. Areas like our mining practice where perhaps things will slow down a little bit relative to the first half of this year. In the U.S., I think you're going to see continued strong growth really across all sectors. And global, again, we always talked about our water practice and that should continue to show very good growth, maybe a bit of slowing in the land development as Gord described and potentially being offset by growth in buildings. So it is a bit of a mix. But I would say that for the most part, by geography, in terms of the ranges we've provided would be probably the right way to think about where that growth is coming from.

因此，我們將繼續——我們預計那裡將繼續保持高成長。像我們的採礦業這樣的領域，相對今年上半年來說，情況可能會有所放緩。在美國，我認為您將看到所有行業都持續強勁成長。在全球範圍內，我們總是談論我們的水實踐，這應該會繼續顯示出非常好的增長，也許正如戈德所描述的那樣，土地開發會有所放緩，並可能被建築物的增長所抵消。所以它有點混合。但我想說的是，在很大程度上，從地理位置來看，我們提供的範圍可能是思考成長來自何處的正確方法。

Great. And then just on the kind of the longer-term outlook, I think 2-part question. One, your peers are calling out sort of a '26 to '28 -- 2026 to '28 peak for the IIJA funding. Based on where you're sitting, do you sort of agree with that time line? Or what are you seeing? And then second part, one of the questions that we're getting, given some of the organic numbers we've seen across the space is, what's kind of the momentum in the pipeline? How long does this sustain? So I'm just curious, based on your vantage point, what is sort of the medium-term outlook for broader engineering demand from your perspective given the funding that's in the pipeline?

偉大的。然後就長期前景而言，我認為問題分為兩部分。第一，你的同行呼籲 IIJA 資金將在 26 至 28 年——2026 至 28 年達到高峰。根據您的立場，您同意這個時間表嗎？還是你看到了什麼？然後第二部分，考慮到我們在整個領域看到的一些有機數字，我們遇到的問題之一是，管道中的動力是什麼樣的？這種情況能持續多久？所以我很好奇，根據您的觀點，考慮到正在籌措的資金，從您的角度來看，更廣泛的工程需求的中期前景是什麼？

Yes. So firstly, with regards to IIJA, yes, I would agree with that. The time line ramping up through a little bit this year into '24, peaking in that '26 to '28 period are certainly being highly sustained during that period. I think it should be pretty evenly distributed. So that's going to be good long-term support. In terms of the organic growth, we really do see, and as I'm talking with my industry CEO colleagues as well, sort of that 3- to 5-year time line of really solid support for the overall business. So I think we feel good about it this year and we feel good about our organic growth prospects for the next several years.

是的。首先，關於 IIJA，是的，我同意這一點。今年的時間線略有加快，進入 24 年，並在 26 至 28 年期間達到頂峰，在此期間肯定會高度持續。我認為分佈應該相當均勻。所以這將是良好的長期支持。就有機成長而言，我們確實看到了，正如我與行業執行長同事們交談的那樣，3 到 5 年的時間線對整體業務提供了真正堅實的支持。所以我認為我們今年感覺很好，我們對未來幾年的有機成長前景也感覺良好。

Okay. Great. And then, just, I guess, on the market in U.K., and that's probably where most of your European exposure is. You called out Water is about half of revenue. Maybe a bit of color. Are there any ebbs and flows in the rest of your European presence or even in Europe, just given what's going on in the macro. Just curious kind of outside of Water, how some of the end markets are doing there?

好的。偉大的。然後，我想，就在英國市場，這可能是您在歐洲的大部分風險敞口所在。您指出水約佔收入的一半。也許有點顏色。考慮到宏觀情況，您在歐洲的其他業務甚至歐洲是否存在任何起伏。只是好奇水之外的一些終端市場表現如何？

Yes. So outside of the U.K., we have operations in both Belgium and the Netherlands here. And Belgium is primarily a, we do a lot of work there for the European Bank of reconstruction development, a lot of the EU Commission and funding agencies, that work is continuing. And in fact, if anything is ramping up a little bit as well, we're seeing a lot of energy transition work and policy work. That's the type of projects that we undertake in Belgium.

是的。因此，在英國以外，我們在比利時和荷蘭都有業務。比利時主要是一個，我們在那裡為歐洲重建發展銀行、許多歐盟委員會和資助機構做了很多工作，這些工作仍在繼續。事實上，如果有什麼事情也有所進展的話，那就是我們看到了大量的能源轉型工作和政策工作。這就是我們在比利時開展的計畫類型。

In the Netherlands, we do a lot of environmental work, GIS, in general for underground utilities and so on. That work is also very busy in our Netherlands operations, we feel very good about. Here in the U.K., in addition to the Water business, which we see very, very robust now and as we move into AMP8, we're even looking for an increase in AMP8 spending over AMP7. And the actual quantum of that has not yet been determined. And so we hear different numbers, whether it's 15%, 25% or more increase in AMP8 funding.

在荷蘭，我們做了很多環境工作、GIS、地下公用設施等。我們荷蘭業務的這項工作也非常繁忙，我們對此感覺非常好。在英國，除了我們現在看到非常非常強勁的水業務之外，隨著我們進入 AMP8，我們甚至希望 AMP8 支出比 AMP7 增加。其實際數量尚未確定。因此，我們聽到了不同的數字，無論是 AMP8 資金增加 15%、25% 還是更多。

But it's the other parts of the U.K. economy that we're watching closely. We did mention the planning and housing development and so on, we're watching closely. We do some environmental work here that remains busy. We do some transportation work that remains busy, good funding support is there. And Buildings is showing some growth in global as well, both whether it's here in the U.K. with some of the work we're doing on some high-performance laboratories and so on or certainly down in Australia and New Zealand, where we're seeing some growth there as well. So in general, we feel pretty good about things.

但我們正在密切關注的是英國經濟的其他部分。我們確實提到了規劃和住房開發等等，我們正在密切關注。我們在這裡做一些仍然忙碌的環境工作。我們做一些交通工作，仍然很忙，有很好的資金支持。建築在全球範圍內也呈現出一些增長，無論是在英國，我們在一些高性能實驗室等方面所做的一些工作，還是在澳大利亞和新西蘭，我們都看到那裡也有一些增長。所以總的來說，我們對事情感覺很好。

And maybe just one last quick one. Obviously, there's been some headlines around the water stuff in Europe and there's a question earlier on one of the utilities. I guess what do you think the government response is to that over the next AMP cycle? Could it be a net positive that they have to spend more to fix things? Or how do you think they sort of address AMP8 given some of those headlines around the utilities, either not keeping up their end of the bargain or some of the financial issues they're having.

也許只是最後一件事。顯然，歐洲有一些關於水務的頭條新聞，並且早些時候有一個關於其中一家公用事業公司的問題。我想您認為政府在下一個 AMP 週期對此有何反應？他們必須花更多錢來修復問題，這是否是淨積極因素？或者考慮到公用事業公司的一些頭條新聞，您認為他們如何解決 AMP8 問題，要么沒有履行協議，要么遇到一些財務問題。

Yes. We do see -- because of the regulatory environment, recall, last summer here in the U.K., there was a lot of water shortage issues. You've been reading a lot about sewage spills during overflow events. You've been reading about the bathing waters or the beaches and so on being closed due to contamination. So there's a lot of push here both from society and from the regulators to clean up and continue to drive forward with improvements to the water and wastewater systems.

是的。我們確實看到，由於監管環境的原因，去年夏天英國出現了許多缺水問題。您已經閱讀了很多有關溢流事件期間污水溢出的內容。您已經閱讀過有關沐浴水或海灘等因污染而關閉的資訊。因此，社會和監管機構都在大力推動清潔工作，並持續推動供水和廢水處理系統的改善。

So I think that's where we're seeing these projections of AMP8 being considerably higher than AMP7. And I see that happening. A lot of that will be built into the water rates. So that's where a lot of that trade-off will come, is that certainly the society in general and the regulators want to see this improved performance. But it comes at a capital cost. And so how much can we build into the rate structure to drive that forward. And so I think that -- those are the trade-offs that we'll be seeing discussed here over the next 1 year to 18 months as the AMP8 programs are being set.

所以我認為這就是我們看到 AMP8 的預測遠高於 AMP7 的地方。我看到這種情況正在發生。其中很大一部分將計入水費中。因此，這就是很多權衡的地方，整個社會和監管機構肯定希望看到這種績效的改善。但這是有資本成本的。那麼我們可以在費率結構中建立多少內容來推動這項進程。因此，我認為，隨著 AMP8 計劃的製定，我們將在未來 1 年到 18 個月內看到在這裡討論的權衡。

We have a question from Maxim Sytchev with National Bank Financial.

我們有來自 National Bank Financial 的 Maxim Sytchev 的提問。

I just had a quick follow-up question. In terms of the comment that Theresa made in relation to margin advancement, sort of on a prospective basis and I guess it's a question for both Gordon and Theresa. So it's not just how we should be thinking about utilization rates and so forth. But it's more, maybe potentially going after the right projects, so you can more effectively amortize your sort of marketing spend and all these things. Do you mind maybe going a little bit in that direction in terms of how you think sort of the strength of the market is benefiting you from that perspective? I'm just curious to hear your thoughts or your comments..

我只是有一個快速的後續問題。就特蕾莎關於利潤提升的評論而言，有點前瞻性，我想這對戈登和特蕾莎來說都是一個問題。因此，這不僅僅是我們應該如何考慮利用率等問題。但更重要的是，也許有可能追求正確的項目，這樣你就可以更有效地攤銷你的行銷支出和所有這些事情。從您認為市場的強勢如何從這個角度使您受益的角度來看，您是否介意朝這個方向稍微前進一點？我只是想聽聽你的想法或評論。

Yes. Absolutely, Maxim. So as we're in this environment where the industry is busy, we are busy, we're really focusing our marketing and the business development spend on projects that will both generate a higher gross margin project type in general. But also on client selection, some clients are better to work for than others. Others -- some will pay fairly for change orders that they want to put forward. Others will try to get away from paying [an artist's fare on that]. So we're selecting -- we're focusing on what clients that we'll select. We're focusing on the projects that we select in order to optimize that -- optimize both our marketing and business development spend and then gross margin that we could generate for the projects that we assume.

是的。絕對是的，馬克西姆。因此，當我們處於行業繁忙的環境中時，我們很忙，我們真正將行銷和業務開發支出集中在總體上會產生更高毛利率的專案類型上。但在客戶選擇方面，有些客戶比其他客戶更適合工作。其他人——有些人會為他們想要提出的變更單支付公平的費用。其他人會試圖避免支付[藝術家的費用]。所以我們正在選擇——我們關注的是我們將選擇哪些客戶。我們專注於我們選擇的項目，以優化我們的行銷和業務開發支出，然後優化我們可以為我們假設的項目產生的毛利率。

And Theresa, I don't know, do you have any color maybe on your win rates, how those metrics have evolved over time or it's hard to track specifically?

特蕾莎，我不知道，你對你的勝率有什麼看法嗎？這些指標是如何隨著時間的推移而演變的，或者很難具體追蹤？

We do track win rates, Max, both by number of pursuits that we chase as well as by the dollar value of those pursuits so that you can get a feel for -- are you winning the big ones or losing the big ones. So we track that by geography. We track that by business line. We track that actually by marketing or account management leader so that we can tell who's being effective in their spend and who isn't. And so then who needs additional training, additional supports and so on. So we do track that. It's not a piece of information that we disclose because it is so variable by type of work and geographies and so on. But know that, certainly that is something that we track and review on a monthly basis.

麥克斯，我們確實透過我們追求的追求的數量以及這些追求的美元價值來追蹤獲勝率，這樣你就可以感受到——你是贏得了大勝利還是失去了大勝利。所以我們透過地理來追蹤。我們按業務線進行追蹤。我們實際上是透過行銷或客戶管理負責人來追蹤這一點，以便我們可以判斷誰的支出有效，誰的支出無效。那麼誰需要額外的訓練、額外的支援等等。所以我們確實對此進行了跟踪。這不是我們披露的信息，因為它因工作類型和地理位置等而異。但要知道，這當然是我們每個月追蹤和審查的事情。

I'm showing no other questions in the queue. I'd like to turn the call back to Gord Johnston for closing remarks.

我在隊列中沒有顯示其他問題。我想將電話轉回給戈德·約翰斯頓，讓其致閉幕詞。

Great. What's only to say, thanks again for joining us today. We are really pleased with our performance this quarter and with the solid backdrop that we see for the rest of the year. So I hope you all have a great day and bye for now.

偉大的。我只想說，再次感謝您今天加入我們。我們對本季的表現以及今年剩餘時間的堅實背景感到非常滿意。所以我希望大家度過愉快的一天，現在再見。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。