Stantec Inc (STN) 2021 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Stantec's First Quarter 2021 Earnings Results Conference Call. Leading the call today are Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Theresa Jang, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation, which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com.

歡迎參加Stantec 2021年第一季財報電話會議。今天主持電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Gord Johnston 和執行副總裁兼財務長 Theresa Jang。Stantec邀請所有撥入電話會議的人士觀看幻燈片演示，該演示可在stantec.com網站的投資者關係部分找到。

Today's call is also a webcast. Please be advised that if you're dialed in, while also viewing the webcast, you should mute your computer as there is a 20 second delay between the call and the webcast.

今天的電話會議也進行網路直播。請注意，如果您在撥打電話的同時觀看網路直播，則應將電腦靜音，因為通話和網路直播之間有 20 秒的延遲。

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 discussion and analysis and incorporated in full for the purposes of today's call.

本次電話會議中提供的所有資訊均受第 2 頁幻燈片中列出的前瞻性聲明限制的約束，該限制在 Stantec 的管理層討論和分析中有詳細說明，並已完整納入今天的電話會議中。

Dollar amounts discussed in today's call are expressed in Canadian dollars and are generally rounded.

今天電話會議中討論的美元金額以加幣表示，並且通常會進行四捨五入。

With that, I'm 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。

Well, good morning, and thank you for joining us. Stantec delivered solid performance in the first quarter as we continue to execute on our strategic plan. Our focus on excellence delivered increased earnings, improved margin and strong cash flows. As we look forward, we're seeing solid signs of recovery, with outstanding backlog growth across all of our business units and a book-to-burn ratio of 1.2 for the quarter. Altogether, backlog grew organically by 5.8% from the end of 2020 and now sits at $4.6 billion.

早安，感謝各位的收看。Stantec在第一季取得了穩健的業績，我們持續推動策略計畫的實施。我們專注於追求卓越，從而實現了獲利成長、利潤率提高和強勁的現金流。展望未來，我們看到了穩健的復甦跡象，所有業務部門的積壓訂單均實現了顯著增長，本季訂單消耗率達到 1.2。整體而言，積壓訂單較 2020 年底自然成長了 5.8%，目前達到 46 億美元。

Our business development pipeline continues to be very active, and we're confident in our ability to deliver on our organic growth expectations over the balance of the year. We also continue to drive acquisition growth in the quarter.

我們的業務拓展管道依然非常活躍，我們有信心在今年剩餘的時間內實現我們的有機成長預期。本季我們也將持續推動收購成長。

We completed 2 acquisitions in Australia that together at more than 300 employees and increased our presence there by roughly 20%. With these 2 acquisitions, we've rounded out our ability to deliver services across all of our key sectors and to deliver upon our growth ambitions in the region.

我們在澳洲完成了兩項收購，總計擁有 300 多名員工，使我們在澳洲的業務規模擴大了約 20%。透過這兩項收購，我們完善了在所有關鍵領域提供服務的能力，並實現了我們在該地區的成長目標。

Turning now to our results by key geography. As anticipated, U.S. revenue retracted organically, largely due to our buildings and transportation businesses.

現在我們以主要地理位置來看我們的研究結果。正如預期的那樣，美國的收入出現了自然下滑，這主要是由於我們的建築和運輸業務所致。

The good news is that the significant increase in wins through Q1 is driving organic backlog growth in U.S. buildings. And as a result, we expect this business to swing back to organic growth in the third and fourth quarters.

好消息是，第一季訂單量的顯著增長正在推動美國建築業的自然成長。因此，我們預計該業務將在第三季和第四季恢復內生成長。

In transportation, we continue to wind down several major alternative delivery projects, which affected both net revenue and margins this quarter. However, overall, our infrastructure business is holding its own as a result of the breadth and depth of both the transportation and the community development business. And in addition to the significant projects that are already in our backlog, we expect U.S. infrastructure stimulus to become a significant tailwind in future quarters.

在運輸方面，我們繼續逐步停止幾個主要的替代交付項目，這影響了本季的淨收入和利潤率。然而，總體而言，由於交通運輸和社區發展業務的廣度和深度，我們的基礎設施業務保持了自身的優勢。除了我們目前積壓的重大項目外，我們預計美國基礎設施刺激計畫將在未來幾季成為重要的利多因素。

We continue to see solid growth in our water business and see growing momentum for increased spending in water from the $350 billion from the America rescue plan that are being appropriated for state and local governments, and they can be used for, among other things, water and wastewater infrastructure. The recent $35 billion drinking water dinky water and wastewater infrastructure act that's passed the Senate, and a $6.5 billion water infrastructure finance and innovation act that's been released by the USEPA. So altogether, we see great momentum for increased water spending going forward.

我們的水務業務持續穩定成長，隨著美國救助計畫撥款 3500 億美元給州和地方政府，水務支出勢頭日益強勁，這些資金可用於（除其他外）供水和污水處理基礎設施建設。最近參議院通過了一項價值 350 億美元的飲用水、小型水和廢水基礎設施法案，以及美國環保署發布的一項價值 65 億美元的水基礎設施融資和創新法案。總而言之，我們看到未來水資源支出將呈現強勁成長動能。

Mining activity in the U.S. is also increasing with improved commodity prices. And our U.S. business development pipeline continued to be very active during the first quarter, driving our backlog up 7.4% organically since year-end 2020. This was driven in part by multiple contracts worth up to $102 million in work supporting the maintenance and enhancement of California's electrical grid. This work will be delivered through our energy and resources and environmental services business units, where our organic backlog growth approached 40% and 25%, respectively, during the quarter.

隨著大宗商品價格上漲，美國的採礦活動也增加。第一季度，我們的美國業務拓展管道依然非常活躍，自 2020 年底以來，我們的積壓訂單自然增長了 7.4%。這部分是由於多項價值高達 1.02 億美元的合同，這些合約旨在支持加州電網的維護和改進。這項工作將透過我們的能源與資源和環境服務業務部門來完成，這兩個部門在本季的有機積壓訂單成長分別接近 40% 和 25%。

Canadian revenue retracted organically due almost entirely to the reduced scope of our role of the Transmountain Expansion Project. This dynamic, which has been incorporated into our guidance, will continue to be a headwind for organic growth in 2021. Offsetting this, however, is growth in our Canadian Buildings business. The investments being made in Canadian Healthcare facilities is unprecedented and has led to a record backlog in the sector.

加拿大收入自然減少，幾乎完全是由於我們在跨山輸油管擴建項目中的角色範圍縮小所致。這項動態已納入我們的指導方針，並將繼續對 2021 年的有機成長構成不利影響。然而，加拿大建築業務的成長抵消了這一影響。加拿大對醫療保健設施的投資是前所未有的，這導致該行業積壓病例數創下歷史新高。

This drove organic growth in our buildings business during the quarter, and we continue to win new projects like the Cariboo Memorial Hospital redevelopment in British Columbia. Also during the quarter, we generated year-over-year organic growth in infrastructure from both community development and transportation projects, and we expect continued momentum in infrastructure as a result of recent project wins like the Queens Quay East extension and the Waterfront East Light Rail Transit projects in Toronto.

這推動了我們本季建築業務的自然成長，我們繼續贏得新項目，例如不列顛哥倫比亞省的卡里布紀念醫院重建項目。本季度，我們在社區發展和交通項目方面實現了基礎設施的同比增長，我們預計隨著近期中標的項目，如多倫多皇后碼頭東延伸段和濱水區東輕軌交通項目，基礎設施建設將繼續保持增長勢頭。

Strong account management and business development has driven our Canadian backlog up 7.6% organically since year-end 2020, with backlog growth across all of our businesses. And as in the U.S., energy and resources and environmental services were particularly strong, with organic backlog growth approaching 35% and 20%, respectively, during the quarter. We're also seeing continued strength in Canada's water business, partly as a result of our work on Saskatchewan's Westside irrigation project.

自 2020 年底以來，強大的客戶管理和業務拓展推動了我們在加拿大的訂單積壓量自然增長 7.6%，我們所有業務的訂單積壓量均有所增長。與美國的情況類似，能源與資源以及環境服務業表現尤為強勁，本季有機積壓訂單成長分別接近 35% 和 20%。我們也看到加拿大水務產業持續保持強勁勢頭，部分原因是我們在薩斯喀徹溫省西區灌溉計畫中所做的工作。

This project is expected to irrigate up to 500,000 acres and more than double the irrigable land in Saskatchewan, and it's also the largest public works project in the province's history.

該計畫預計將灌溉多達 50 萬英畝土地，使薩斯喀徹溫省的可灌溉土地面積增加一倍以上，也是該省歷史上最大的公共工程項目。

As expected, global revenue retracted organically compared to the prepandemic first quarter of last year, and this was largely due to the impact of the pandemic on our buildings business. Our global water business helped to offset the retraction with solid organic growth in the quarter. The AMP7 programs in the U.K. and the water frameworks in Australia and New Zealand are running at full tilt, and we are actively onboarding new employees to meet project needs.

正如預期的那樣，與去年疫情爆發前的第一季相比，全球收入出現了自然下滑，這主要是由於疫情對我們的樓宇業務造成了影響。本季度，我們全球水務業務憑藉穩健的內生成長，幫助抵消了業務下滑的影響。英國的 AMP7 專案以及澳洲和紐西蘭的水務框架正在全力推進，我們正在積極招募新員工以滿足專案需求。

Stimulus funding in the U.K. and New Zealand continues to fuel organic growth in transportation. And during the quarter, additional work was awarded to our transportation team as part of the ongoing Otaki to North Levin Expressway project in New Zealand. During the quarter, we announced the acquisition of GTA consultants. And then on April 30, we closed our acquisition of Engenium, and we're already seeing the benefit of combining our teams in Australia in terms of client interest and project opportunities.

英國和紐西蘭的刺激資金持續推動交通運輸業的內生成長。本季度，我們的運輸團隊還獲得了紐西蘭奧塔基至北萊文高速公路項目正在進行中的額外工作。本季度，我們宣布收購 GTA 顧問公司。4 月 30 日，我們完成了對 Engenium 的收購，我們已經看到，在客戶興趣和專案機會方面，合併我們在澳洲的團隊帶來了好處。

Backlog declined organically in our global operations by about 1.6%, primarily due to buildings projects as a result of pandemic-related challenges. We also saw a slight retraction in water backlog as we began to work through the longer-term frameworks that we won last year. I'll now turn things over to Theresa to review the quarter in more detail.

由於疫情帶來的挑戰，建築項目受到影響，我們全球業務的積壓訂單自然下降了約 1.6%。隨著我們開始落實去年贏得的長期框架協議，我們也看到水資源積壓問題略有緩解。現在我將把工作交給特蕾莎，讓她更詳細地回顧本季的情況。

Thank you, Gordon. Q1 earnings were slightly ahead of our expectations, with adjusted net income from continuing operations increasing 3% to $56 million, which represented 6.4% of net revenue. Adjusted earnings per share increased 2% to $0.50 per share. Our adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 14.7% as a result of improved gross margin and lower discretionary spending.

謝謝你，戈登。第一季財報略高於我們的預期，持續經營調整後淨收入成長 3% 至 5,600 萬美元，佔淨收入的 6.4%。調整後每股收益成長 2% 至每股 0.50 美元。由於毛利率提高和可自由支配支出減少，我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率上升至 14.7%。

I would note that our Q1 stock-based compensation expense increased by $11 million due to the increased valuation of our share price. This has had a 125 basis point impact on our adjusted EBITDA margin. In other words, excluding this noncash fair value adjustment, adjusted EBITDA margin would have been 15.9%.

需要指出的是，由於我們股價的估值上漲，我們第一季的股票選擇權費用增加了 1,100 萬美元。這對我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率產生了 125 個基點的影響。換句話說，如果排除這項非現金公允價值調整，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將為 15.9%。

Continued strong cash flow generation meant that no draws were required on our revolving credit facility in the first quarter, which led to a year-over-year decrease in interest expense. Earnings also reflected the benefit of the implementation of our 2023 real estate strategy, which is on track to deliver $0.10 per share and adjusted EPS by the end of 2021.

持續強勁的現金流量意味著第一季無需動用循環信貸額度，從而導致利息支出年減。收益也反映了我們 2023 年房地產策略實施的益處，該策略預計在 2021 年底實現每股 0.10 美元的收益和調整後每股收益。

Our balance sheet remains strong as a result of strong cash flow generation and cash management. At March 31, net debt to adjusted EBITDA remained below our targeted range of 0.8x. Days sales outstanding was 75 days at quarter end, which is consistent with Q4 2020 and is down 11 days compared to the same time last year.

由於現金流充裕和現金管理得當，我們的資產負債表依然穩健。截至 3 月 31 日，淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率仍低於我們設定的 0.8 倍的目標範圍。截至季末，應收帳款週轉天數為 75 天，與 2020 年第四季持平，比去年同期減少了 11 天。

We generated $14 million in free cash flow in the first quarter, when operating cash flows are traditionally an outflow. This represents a $99 million increase over Q1 2020. And while half of this increase can be attributed to the timing of our payroll in the quarter, the improvement in operating cash flow is significant. As I mentioned earlier, our $800 million credit facility is currently undrawn, giving us significant dry powder to the growth through acquisitions.

我們在第一季產生了 1,400 萬美元的自由現金流，而通常情況下，第一季的經營現金流都是現金流出。這比 2020 年第一季增加了 9,900 萬美元。雖然這部分成長的一半可以歸因於本季薪資發放的時間安排，但經營現金流的改善是顯著的。正如我之前提到的，我們目前還有 8 億美元的信貸額度尚未動用，這為我們透過收購實現成長提供了充足的資金。

With that, I'll turn it back to Gordon to wrap up.

接下來，我將把麥克風交還給戈登，讓他來總結一下。

Thanks, Theresa. Today, we reaffirmed our guidance and targets for 2021. Our projected low to mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for the year is underpinned with our expectation that Q1's organic retraction should turn the corner in Q2. And for Q3 and Q4, we expect a strong shift to growth.

謝謝你，特蕾莎。今天，我們重申了2021年的業績指引和目標。我們預計今年有機收入將低至中等個位數成長，這項預測是基於我們預期第一季的有機收入下滑將在第二季出現轉機。我們預計第三季和第四季將強勁轉向成長。

Bear in mind that we have not incorporated the proposed U.S. infrastructure stimulus into our revenue expectations because it hasn't yet been finalized or passed. And we think it will take roughly 1 to 2 quarters once this package is approved for revenue to materialize in a meaningful way. So we see this as a tailwind potentially for the last quarter of this year, but more realistically for 2022 and subsequent years.

請注意，我們尚未將擬議的美國基礎設施刺激計劃納入我們的收入預期，因為該計劃尚未最終確定或通過。我們認為，一旦該方案獲得批准，大約需要 1 到 2 個季度才能產生實質的收入。因此，我們認為這可能會成為今年最後一個季度的利好因素，但更現實的情況是，它將對 2022 年及以後的幾年產生利好作用。

Before concluding, I'd like to draw your attention to our recently released 2020 sustainability report, which is available for download through the interactive sustainability section on Stantec's website. This report is a fantastic resource that describes our commitments and actions towards achieving our ESG goals. One metric we're particularly proud of is the degree to which our revenues support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

在結束之前，我想提請大家注意我們最近發布的 2020 年永續發展報告，該報告可透過 Stantec 網站上的互動永續發展部分下載。這份報告是一份極好的資源，它描述了我們為實現 ESG 目標所做的承諾和採取的行動。我們特別引以為傲的一項指標是我們的收入在多大程度上支持了聯合國永續發展目標。

We continue to lead the industry in providing this data, which for 2020 amounted to $2.3 billion. This represents 49% of our 2020 gross revenue that's aligned with the UN SDGs, up 7% from 2019, underscoring the key role, our skills and expertise play in the global pursuit of a more sustainable future. And there's also a few areas where we've augmented our disclosure, including enhanced ESG metrics aligned to the sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the task force on climate-related financial disclosures.

我們在提供此類數據方面繼續保持行業領先地位，2020 年的數據總額達到 23 億美元。這占我們 2020 年總營收的 49%，與聯合國永續發展目標相符，比 2019 年成長了 7%，凸顯了我們的技能和專業知識在全球追求更永續的未來中所發揮的關鍵作用。此外，我們還在一些領域加強了資訊揭露，包括加強了與永續發展會計準則委員會和氣候相關財務資訊揭露工作小組一致的 ESG 指標。

On the innovation front, last week, we launched our integrated approach to digital services, branded as stantec.io. Our unified platform combines technologies like machine learning, digital twins and parametric design, with our subject matter experts to accelerate and enhance our solution delivery.

在創新方面，上週我們推出了整合式數位服務方案，品牌名為 stantec.io。我們的統一平台結合了機器學習、數位孿生和參數化設計等技術，以及我們的領域專家，以加速和增強我們的解決方案交付。

Finally, we continue to support our global employee base in every way we can as the pandemic continues to evolve. And I just want to take the moment to thank all of our employees for their continued commitment and diligence in supporting our clients and colleagues around the world.

最後，隨著疫情的持續發展，我們將繼續盡一切可能支持我們的全球員工。我謹藉此機會感謝我們所有員工，感謝他們一直以來對全球客戶和同事的支持和奉獻。

So to wrap up, the quarter delivered as we had expected. Net revenue retracted compared to a pre-pandemic Q1 '20 as we've been messaging for the past few quarters, our EBITDA margin improved, adjusted EPS was up, free cash flow generation was very strong, and our balance sheet is in great shape, and organic backlog grew 5.8%, all of which supports the reaffirmation of our 2021 guidance.

總而言之，本季業績符合我們的預期。與疫情前的 2020 年第一季度相比，淨收入有所下降，正如我們過去幾個季度一直在傳達的信息，但我們的 EBITDA 利潤率有所提高，調整後的每股收益有所增長，自由現金流產生非常強勁，資產負債表狀況良好，有機積壓訂單增長了 5.8%，所有這些都支持我們重申 2021 年的業績指引。

This coupled with a strengthening global economy and the potential for additional infrastructure stimulus, we believe, provides a solid tailwind for the remainder of 2021 into 2022. And with that, we'll open the call up to questions. Operator?

我們認為，再加上全球經濟走強和潛在的額外基礎設施刺激措施，將為 2021 年剩餘時間和 2022 年提供強勁的順風。接下來，我們將開放提問環節。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Benoit Poirier with Desjardins Bank (sic) [Desjardins Capital Markets].

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Desjardins 銀行（原文如此）[Desjardins 資本市場] 的 Benoit Poirier。

Just with respect to organic growth, obviously, in Q1, this's been a tougher compare versus last year. Would you expect organic growth to become positive in Q2? And with respect to organic growth for energy and resources, could you maybe quantify the impact of TMX on organic growth?

就有機成長而言，顯然，第一季與去年同期相比，情況更加艱難。您認為第二季有機成長會轉正嗎？至於能源和資源領域的有機成長，您能否量化一下 TMX 對有機成長的影響？

Yes. Thanks, Benoit. The -- firstly, as we think about Q2, as we said in the prepared remarks there, I think that Q2, from a net revenue perspective, again, it will be compared to Q2 '20, which was a pandemic influence quarter. I think it's going to be flat to slightly positive in Q2. And then we'll see, I believe, good organic growth in Q3 and Q4 based on the backlog and those things that we are talking about. And that should then result in that low to mid-single-digit organic growth that we've been talking about for the year.

是的。謝謝你，貝努瓦。首先，當我們考慮第二季度時，正如我們在準備好的發言稿中所說，我認為從淨收入的角度來看，第二季度將再次與 2020 年第二季度進行比較，而 2020 年第二季度是受疫情影響的季度。我認為第二季業績將持平或略有成長。我相信，基於積壓訂單和我們正在討論的那些因素，我們將在第三季和第四季看到良好的內生成長。這樣一來，就應該能實現我們今年一直在談論的個位數低至中等水平的有機增長。

And it's interesting, as you mentioned, E&R, like the backlog growth in E&R this quarter was truly exceptional. The impact of the TransMountain job, it's interesting. In Q1, while we saw that Canada had about a 7.6% retraction in net revenue. If we had taken out the impact of the revenue that we had generated from TransMountain in Q1 the previous year, Canada would have been flat.

正如您所提到的，E&R 的積壓訂單成長在本季度確實非常出色，這很有趣。TransMountain計畫的影響很有趣。第一季度，我們看到加拿大淨收入下降了約 7.6%。如果我們剔除上年第一季 TransMountain 專案帶來的營收影響，加拿大市場將保持穩定。

And it would have taken roughly -- overall for the company, would have been about 5.4% instead of 7.4% retraction. So from a net revenue perspective, it's significant. And we see that about 2% as a headwind that we'll see even for the full year. From a company perspective, we'll see on a 2% headwind in organic growth because of the removal of that revenue from TransMountain. But even factoring that in, we reaffirm our commitments to that low to mid-single-digit organic growth for the year.

而且，對公司整體而言，大約需要撤資 5.4% 而不是 7.4%。因此，從淨收入的角度來看，這意義重大。我們認為，大約 2% 的不利因素將持續到全年。從公司角度來看，由於 TransMountain 的收入減少，我們將面臨 2% 的有機成長逆風。但即便考慮到這一點，我們仍然重申我們對今年實現個位數低至中等有機成長的承諾。

Okay. That's very good color, Gord. And now for Theresa, in terms of capital deployment. You were not active in Q1 despite having a leverage ratio well below your targeted levels and showing strong free cash flow number. So I'm just wondering how should we read into it? And could be explained by big aspiration on the M&A front or more because the stock is at certain level in Q1?

好的。戈爾德，這顏色真不錯。現在來說說特蕾莎的資金部署情況。儘管槓桿率遠低於目標水平，且自由現金流數據強勁，但你在第一季並沒有積極開展業務。所以我想知道我們應該如何解讀這件事？這或許可以用併購方面的巨大雄心來解釋，或者更確切地說，是因為該股在第一季達到了某個水平？

Yes. The capital allocation strategy remains consistent from what I've stated in the past. And so we really are focused on directing our capital towards M&A growth. Gord will tell you that there's a lot of activity there. The pipeline remains full for various targets that we are looking at. And so from that perspective, retaining that capital for that purpose is our priority.

是的。資本配置策略與我過去所說的話保持一致。因此，我們確實專注於將資金投入併購成長。戈德會告訴你，那裡非常熱鬧。我們正在關注的多個目標項目目前都處於滿載運轉狀態。因此，從這個角度來看，保留這筆資金用於該目的就是我們的首要任務。

The share price was pretty strong in the first quarter. And so overall, we continue to look for opportunities to purchase shares that to the extent we see a bit of a dislocation in the market.

第一季股價表現相當強勁。因此，總的來說，我們將繼續尋找機會購買股票，只要我們看到市場出現一些錯位。

And so that remains as well an opportunity for us when we believe the timing is right. But it really is around acquisitions that we'll be looking to allocate our capital.

所以，當我們認為時機成熟時，這仍然是我們的機會。但我們真正會把資金投入收購方面。

Okay. That's great. And last one for me. Free cash flow typically is negative in Q1. It seems the good performance was driven by better working capital movements in Q1. So would -- is it a fair statement? And what should we expect in terms of working capital movement for the full year versus the plus $79 million reported for 2020 at [reserve]?

好的。那太棒了。這是我最後一個問題。第一季的自由現金流通常為負值。看來，良好的業績主要得益於第一季營運資金的良好流動。那麼——這種說法公平嗎？那麼，與 2020 年 [儲備金] 報告的 7,900 萬美元盈餘相比，我們應該對全年營運資金變動抱持怎樣的預期呢？

Yes. So Q1 had to have a couple of interesting things occur. And you're right. This is, I think, the first time in -- I remember that Q1 has been cash flow positive from an operating standpoint, typically because of seasonality, it drives to being a net outflow. And so we do want to point out that it was $99 million of increase year-over-year, that about half of that just was attributed to timing of payroll that went home the day after quarter end.

是的。所以第一季必然會發生一些有趣的事情。你說得對。我認為，這是——我記得第一季從經營角度來看是現金流為正的第一次，通常由於季節性因素，第一季會變成淨流出。因此，我們想指出，與上年同期相比，增長了 9,900 萬美元，其中大約一半是由於工資發放時間的原因，工資是在季度末的第二天發放的。

And so we don't want to take credit for all of that increase. But the remaining half is reflective of better working capital management. And the fact that our discretionary spending has gone down dramatically in -- on a comparative basis. And so that has also given our working capital a boost.

因此，我們不想把所有的成長都歸功於自己。但剩下的一半則反映了更好的營運資金管理。而事實上，與以往相比，我們的可自由支配支出已經大幅下降。因此，這也提升了我們的營運資金。

So I would expect that it's going to remain strong throughout the rest of the year because operations are solid. We're not seeing any headwinds from an operations perspective that will disrupt our cash flows. The focus on DSO remains, and our team is just doing a fantastic job of being focused and continuing to find opportunities, to keep DSO at the level that it's at now. So overall, I think it should be positive for the year.

因此，我預計其在今年剩餘時間內將保持強勁勢頭，因為營運狀況穩健。從營運角度來看，我們沒有看到任何會擾亂我們現金流的不利因素。我們仍然專注於 DSO，我們的團隊也做得非常出色，他們專注於此，不斷尋找機會，以保持 DSO 目前的水平。所以總的來說，我認為今年的情況應該是正面的。

Our next question comes from Yuri Lynk with Canaccord.

我們的下一個問題來自 Canaccord 的 Yuri Lynk。

Gord, I wanted to chat a bit on the American jobs act. Obviously, the -- it featured pretty prominently in your prepared remarks, if it gets passed. I mean, what do you -- how do you feel the industry and Stantec, in particular, is equipped to meet what looks to be double-digit growth and end market demand, given just the size of the program. So you said you might -- you anticipate some impact within 1 or 2 quarters of it being passed. So how do you see growth going forward and where Stantec plays in that?

戈爾德，我想和你聊聊美國的就業法案。顯然，如果該法案獲得通過，它將在你的發言稿中佔據相當重要的位置。我的意思是，考慮到該專案的規模，您認為整個產業，特別是 Stantec 公司，是否有能力滿足兩位數的成長和終端市場需求？所以你說過你可能會——你預計該法案通過後一到兩個季度內會產生一些影響。那麼，您如何看待未來的成長，以及Stantec在其中扮演的角色？

Yes. So we've been giving a lot of thought to. You're right, there's the American jobs plan. But even in some of the other ones, the American Rescue plan has $350 billion in direct funding to state and local government that they can use on a number of COVID-related things, but one of which, of course, is water and sewer infrastructure. There's some of the other potential stimulus as well. So with the American jobs plan layered on top of that, we see that as a really, really strong tailwind. It's the latter part of this year, but certainly even into 2022.

是的。所以我們一直在認真思考這個問題。你說得對，這就是美國的就業計畫。但即便在其他一些方案中，「美國救援計畫」也向州和地方政府提供了 3,500 億美元的直接資金，可用於許多與新冠疫情相關的事項，其中之一當然是供水和污水處理基礎設施。還有其他一些潛在的刺激因素。因此，再加上美國的就業計劃，我們認為這是一個非常非常強勁的順風。雖然現在已經是今年下半年了，但肯定會持續到 2022 年。

So we've been spending a lot of time thinking about how would we -- as a company, we're very good at moving work to different locations. How would we even continue to improve on that. So how do we share work even better with Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the U.K., how do we ramp up our operations in Pune in India to help support a lot of these things because we do think we're seeing it now. The labor market is beginning to get tight already, which is one of the reasons why we spent so much time early on in the pandemic, investing and communicating with our employees.

所以我們花了很多時間思考，作為一家公司，我們非常擅長將工作轉移到不同的地點，我們該如何做。我們又該如何在此基礎上繼續改進呢？那麼，我們如何才能更好地與加拿大、澳洲、紐西蘭和英國共享工作？我們如何在印度浦那擴大業務規模，以幫助支持這些事情？因為我們確實認為我們現在正在看到這種情況。勞動市場已經開始變得緊張，這也是我們在疫情初期投入大量時間與員工溝通和投資的原因之一。

We've seen a decrease in voluntary turnover rates. But we really wanted to make sure that our staff feel valued. They feel that Stantec has treated them right through the pandemic. So that when we all collectively emerge from this, we'll be a net beneficiary of bringing stuff into Stantec rather than being an exporter of staff. So that, combined with our ability to move work around to our various global operations. I think are some of the things that we're looking at as a way to be able to staff up for what we believe is quite a wave of opportunity to come.

我們發現員工自願離職率下降。但我們真心希望確保我們的員工感到自己受到重視。他們認為，在疫情期間，Stantec 對他們的服務很周到。這樣，當我們最終走出困境時，我們將成為史坦泰克人才引進的淨受益者，而不是人才輸出者。因此，再加上我們能夠將工作調配到我們在全球各地的各個營運機構。我認為這些是我們正在考慮的一些方法，以便能夠為即將到來的機會浪潮做好準備，並增加人手。

Yes. Just on that, I mean, given the size of what's being contemplated in that Act, if it were to be passed in its current form, do you envision a time where your U.S. business, particularly your water business would be growing at double digits organically?

是的。就這一點而言，我的意思是，考慮到該法案所設想的規模，如果它以目前的形式獲得通過，您是否設想過您的美國業務，特別是您的水務業務，在未來某個時候能夠實現兩位數的有機增長？

All of the various programs that have yet to roll out, but you can see already our water was -- has been up every quarter over the last couple of years, 3.7% again here. So to stretch to double digits is possible in water. I would also see transportation as a net beneficiary where we could see some significant growth in transportation, public transit, coastal resilience, a lot of these things. So I think from my gut, that those will be the 2 net beneficiaries, in addition to some of the clean energy work that we're getting out of our power group and our Environmental Services group to support those.

各種項目尚未全面推出，但你可以看到，過去幾年我們的水價每季都在上漲，今年又上漲了 3.7%。所以，在水中伸展到兩位數是可能的。我認為交通運輸也是淨受益者，我們可以看到交通運輸、大眾運輸、沿海地區韌性等許多面向都將迎來顯著成長。所以，我直覺認為，除了我們電力集團和環境服務集團正在進行的一些清潔能源工作來支持他們之外，這兩位將是最終的受益者。

Okay. And last one before I turn it over. Just continuing on this theme. I mean how would you -- what do you have to do to prepare for potentially double-digit growth in some of these end markets versus how you're positioned now?

好的。翻頁前最後一個。繼續這個話題。我的意思是，為了因應某些終端市場可能出現的兩位數成長，與你目前的市場定位相比，你需要做些什麼準備？

Yes. So a couple of things that we've talked about for 2021 is that this was a year that we came into really focusing on growth. So certainly, growth from an M&A perspective, but also growth from an organic perspective. And so what we want to ensure is that we're going to get our fair share and then more and grow market share through as these things come out. So again, it's really cranking up our organic growth machine in terms of -- some of these will come out in P3. So talking about contractors about teaming up already.

是的。所以我們談到 2021 年的幾件事之一是，這一年我們將真正專注於成長。所以，成長既包括併購帶來的成長，也包括內生成長。因此，我們希望確保的是，我們能夠獲得應有的份額，然後隨著這些產品的推出，獲得更多份額並擴大市場份額。所以，這確實極大地推動了我們的有機成長——其中一些將在 P3 中推出。所以現在就討論承包商們合作的事情吧。

As we begin to think about what some of the projects we're already in, talking to some of the clients about that. As we chatted about just earlier on there, really thinking about how do we begin to share work amongst the various geographies. So these things are all under active discussion now, just to make sure that we're ready to take advantage of this when it comes.

當我們開始思考我們已經參與的一些專案時，我們會和一些客戶討論這些專案。正如我們剛才討論的那樣，我們真的在思考如何開始在不同地區之間分擔工作。所以這些事情現在都在積極討論中，以確保我們做好準備，在機會來臨時能夠抓住它。

Our next question comes from Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的薩巴哈特·汗。

Great. Just on the U.S., I guess. One of the themes we heard coming out of Q4 reporting was some of the clients in those end markets were just being cautious until they better understood the priorities of the new administration. Can you maybe give us some insight into the conversations you're having, understanding some of these builds have in the past.

偉大的。我想應該只針對美國吧。我們從第四季報告中聽到的一個主題是，一些終端市場的客戶在更了解新政府的優先事項之前，都比較謹慎。您能否為我們介紹一下您正在進行的對話，並了解一下這些版本過去的情況？

Where are you seeing movements, which end markets are still being a little bit cautious? Just some color on the pipeline and the conversations you're having.

您認為哪些領域出現了趨勢？哪些終端市場仍保持謹慎態度？簡單介紹一下管道狀況和你們正在進行的討論。

Yes. I do think that there's a lot of optimism amongst our clients there. When you look at different transportation agencies, both roadways and public transit, certainly water some of the state and local governments. There's a huge backlog right now of opportunities that we've got out in the transportation space already. But there are some agencies that are waiting to see a little bit what's happening from a funding perspective.

是的。我認為我們那裡的客戶普遍抱持樂觀態度。當你審視不同的交通運輸機構，包括公路和公共交通時，你會發現一些州和地方政府都在為此努力。目前我們在交通運輸領域積壓了大量機會。但有些機構還在觀望，想看看資金方面的狀況如何。

So -- but that said, our backlogs in water and transportation overall as a company, are strong and will carry us through the remainder of 2021, in any event, really even absent significant additional projects coming in the door. So as we talked about, I see the organic revenue strengthening to flat to slightly positive in Q2 and then continued growth through Q3, Q4 and just really a solid tailwind as we go into 2022.

所以——儘管如此，我們公司在水務和交通運輸方面的積壓訂單總體上都很充足，無論如何，即使沒有其他重大項目進入，這些訂單也能讓我們順利度過 2021 年剩餘的時間。正如我們之前討論的，我認為有機收入將在第二季度趨於平穩甚至略有增長，然後在第三季度和第四季度繼續增長，並在進入 2022 年時獲得強勁的順風。

Okay. Great. And then just on your water comments there. I think you mentioned in your commentary earlier that you are working on some of those larger wins. I guess to kind of replace some of that pipeline over the 12-, 24-month period, would it have to be some of this funding going into some of these U.S. water projects? Where do you see sort of the opportunity in the water space as you kind of cycle through some of the framework agreements you want in the U.K.?

好的。偉大的。然後就是你對水的評論。我想你之前在評論中提到過，你正在努力爭取一些更大的勝利。我想，要在 12 到 24 個月內更換部分管道，是否需要將部分資金投入美國的某些水利工程？您認為在英國推進一些框架協議的過程中，水資源領域的機會在哪裡？

Yes. So a lot of those, the U.K. and the Australia/New Zealand frameworks have been awarded. They've been contracted. So we see that in backlog already. We're continually getting new awards, and they will continue to grow backlog. But the big backlog growth opportunities really are in North America. A lot of great coastal resilience opportunities down in the U.S., particularly in the Gulf area.

是的。因此，英國和澳大利亞/紐西蘭的許多框架協議都已授予。他們已經簽訂了合約。我們已經在待辦事項清單中看到了這一點。我們不斷獲得新的獎項，這將導致積壓訂單持續增加。但真正的大訂單成長機會其實在北美。美國有許多增強沿海地區韌性的絕佳機會，尤其是在墨西哥灣沿岸地區。

A lot of work related to shoreline hardening, shoreline strengthening, a lot of treatment work as well, PFAS and these sorts of things, we're seeing more and more discussion related to how can we treat for those things. So I think, overall, the market is pretty robust. We'll see good growth in water. And I do believe we'll see good backlog growth in transportation through the remainder of this year as well.

很多工作都與海岸線加固、海岸線強化有關，還有很多處理工作，例如 PFAS 等問題，我們看到越來越多的討論是關於如何處理這些問題的。所以我覺得，整體而言，市場相當穩健。水資源領域將出現良好成長。而且我相信，今年剩餘時間裡，交通運輸業的積壓訂單也會有良好的成長。

Okay. And then just the last one for me. Just digging into the commentary around having to maybe add on staff. I guess, if you can give us some color about end market. Where in the U.S., across your end markets, are you well staffed? Where do you see the need to maybe hire more people given what the opportunities are? I guess I just want to get an understanding of where you'll be hiring.

好的。最後，就剩我一個了。我正在深入研究有關可能需要增加人手的評論。我想，如果您能為我們介紹一下終端市場的情況就太好了。在美國，在你們的各個終端市場中，哪些地區的員工配備充足？考慮到現有機遇，您認為在哪些方面需要招募更多員工？我想了解你們的招募地點。

Yes. So we're actively recruiting. When you look at our number of open postings, we're up well over 1,000 from this time last year. So we're actively recruiting in Canada, the United States, U.K., Australia, New Zealand, all of those locations. But in North America, as we've talked about, for us, a big part of it is how do we share work between different geographies.

是的。所以我們正在積極招募。從我們目前的招募職位數量來看，比去年同期增加了1000多個。因此，我們正在積極在加拿大、美國、英國、澳洲、紐西蘭以及所有這些地區招募人才。但正如我們之前討論過的，在北美，對我們來說，很大一部分問題是如何在不同地區之間共享工作。

So we're primarily looking for the right people. And if we can get them in some of the growth geographies, Texas, the coast, we'd love to get them there. But if we can get them in other locations, we'll take them there as well with our ability to share work around. We just are more interested in getting the right people.

所以我們主要在尋找合適的人才。如果我們能把它們引入一些增長型地區，例如德克薩斯州、沿海地區，我們非常樂意把它們引入那裡。但如果我們可以在其他地方找到他們，我們也會利用我們共享工作的能力把他們帶到那裡。我們更感興趣的是找到合適的人。

And then, of course, geography would be secondary to where we look. So we're looking to hire additional people in water, in transportation, in buildings. Certainly, our power sector is very actively looking for additional staff as well as our Environmental group. So we're seeing -- as we see organic growth ramping up through Q2, Q3, Q4, our hiring will be ramping up to support that.

當然，地理位置在我們關注的重點領域中就顯得次要了。因此，我們計劃在水務、交通運輸和建築領域招募更多人員。當然，我們的電力部門和環境部門都在積極招募更多員工。因此，我們看到——隨著第二季、第三季、第四季有機成長的加速，我們的招募也將隨之加速以支持這一成長。

Sorry, if I could just squeeze in one more. Just on a comment around sharing some of this work, I guess, what some of these builds, do you foresee there might be some of this made in U.S. element? Or do you have enough staff in the U.S. and then you can send some periphery work out to some of these centers? Just as an industry, I guess, you see that as a potential concern with more government dollars coming into the industry?

不好意思，我能否再加一個？關於分享這些作品，我想問一下，在這些作品中，您是否預見到會有一些美國製造的元素？或者，你們在美國有足夠的員工，可以將一些輔助性工作外包給這些中心嗎？我想，就整個行業而言，您是否認為隨著更多政府資金流入該行業，這會是一個潛在的問題？

Yes. We -- when you look at some of the buy American provisions, they seem to be mostly related to products and less related to the services industry. Now there are some work that we do for the U.S. Navy and other armed forces groups that have a requirement for a certain number of U.S. citizens to be involved in their security requirements and so on. But in general, that doesn't seem to be a significant impediment to us being able to move work around.

是的。我們—當你查看一些「購買美國貨」的條款時，你會發現它們似乎主要與產品有關，而與服務業的相關性較小。現在，我們為美國海軍和其他武裝部隊團體做一些工作，這些工作要求一定數量的美國公民參與他們的安全保障等工作。但總的來說，這似乎並沒有對我們調配工作造成重大阻礙。

Our next question comes from Jacob Bout with CIBC.

我們的下一個問題來自加拿大帝國商業銀行的 Jacob Bout。

I had a question on the -- your new digital solutions platform, the stantec.io. How big of a revenue driver do you think this will be? Do you plan on breaking this out into a separate division? And what percentage of this platform do you think will be a recurring revenue type model? I see that you're offering a subscription services as well as part of this division.

我有一個關於你們的新數位解決方案平台 stantec.io 的問題。你認為這將帶來多大的收入成長？你打算把它拆分成一個單獨的部門嗎？你認為這個平台有多少比例會採用經常性收入模式？我看到你們這個部門也提供訂閱服務。

Absolutely right. Yes. So we do see that software as a service and these annual subscriptions. I think that we'll be in every evolving and increasing amount of work -- amount of revenue generation in a number of spaces. Certainly, in the water industry, we see it being good opportunities there through some of the financial analysis models that we've got through some of the models that we're using, working with clients as they're modeling stream flow, down breaks and all these sorts of things.

完全正確。是的。所以我們確實看到了軟體即服務和這些年度訂閱模式。我認為我們將在各個領域不斷拓展和增加工作量——創造收入。當然，在水務行業，我們看到了一些很好的機會，這要歸功於我們使用的一些財務分析模型，這些模型可以幫助客戶模擬河流流量、斷流以及所有這些情況。

So in terms of how big could it get, we're still just exploring that, I think, Jacob, and we see that it will take -- that will be something that will evolve over time. But now we've got -- we've brought together roughly 40 different platforms that we had. Some are much larger than others, of course. But bringing it together allows us to co-brand it, I think, to give us the opportunity to even more cross-selling and for everyone to understand what we have and what we can offer to our client base.

所以，就它能發展到多大而言，我認為我們還在探索這個問題，雅各布，而且我們看到，這將需要——這將是一個隨著時間推移而發展的事情。但現在我們已經整合了大約 40 個不同的平台。當然，有些比其他的要大得多。但將它們整合在一起，我認為可以讓我們進行聯合品牌推廣，從而給我們更多交叉銷售的機會，並讓每個人都了解我們擁有什麼以及我們可以為客戶群提供什麼。

So I think it's an important step. I think it's going to be become even more important from a revenue-generating perspective as we move forward. But we're still, I think, determining what percentage of revenue it could be because it will be different by water versus buildings versus transportation and so on. So little early for us to maybe come up with those projections now. But we do see it to be an important part of our strategy in the years to come.

所以我認為這是重要的一步。我認為，隨著時間的推移，從創造收入的角度來看，它將變得更加重要。但我認為，我們仍在確定它可能佔收入的百分比，因為水利、建築、交通等不同行業的情況會有所不同。現在做出這些預測可能還為時過早。但我們認為，在未來幾年，這將是我們策略的重要組成部分。

So our plan is that also that we won't break it out separately. The products that we have that are related to water will still be revenue generated within water, goes in transportation, still revenue generation within transportation. So it wasn't our intention to break it out sort of as a 5th business operating unit at this point.

所以我們計劃也不將其單獨拆分。我們與水相關的產品仍將在水務領域產生收入，進入運輸領域，仍將在運輸領域產生收入。所以，我們當時並沒有打算把它拆分出來，作為第五個業務營運部門。

And do you have a stand-alone group that provides this digital solutions platform? Or is it more of an integrated type model that you're using?

貴公司是否有一個獨立的團隊提供這種數位化解決方案平台？或者您使用的是整合式模型？

We do. It's really coming as part of our overall innovation team. We have a couple of folks that are helping to pull this together, looking at how we can design these common platforms going forward. So it is a dedicated group.

是的。它實際上是我們整體創新團隊的一部分。我們有幾位同事正在協助整合這些資源，研究如何設計未來的通用平台。所以這是一個充滿奉獻的團隊。

Okay. And then the impact of the wind down of a number of these large-scale U.S. transportation projects. How much of a headwind will that be in the second quarter?

好的。然後是許多美國大型交通項目逐步停止所帶來的影響。第二季這將造成多大的不利影響？

It's interesting. If you look at infrastructure and the organic retraction over the last number of quarters, each quarter, the organic retraction becomes less. And so I think that that's what we'll see going forward that these things have a tail. Sometimes it's a long tail, but it does get a little bit less of an impact each quarter. And we're still -- as we're doing this work, we are submitting change orders. So that change order negotiation process will take some time. And will we get everything we ask for, likely not, of course. But we do see the opportunity for some pickups.

很有意思。如果你觀察過去幾季的基礎設施和自然萎縮情況，你會發現每季自然萎縮的幅度都在減少。所以我認為，未來我們會看到，這些事情都有後續發展。有時這種影響會持續很長時間，但每季其影響都會略有減弱。而且，在我們進行這項工作的同時，我們仍在提交變更訂單。因此，變更訂單的協商過程需要一些時間。我們想要的一切都會得到滿足嗎？當然，很可能不會。但我們確實看到了一些提車的機會。

And we hope we see that in 2021, but likely more so into 2022, we'll see a pickup as a result of some of the costs we've already incurred as we negotiate those change orders and get paid, we should get some inflows subsequent quarters.

我們希望在 2021 年看到這種情況，但更有可能在 2022 年看到這種情況，由於我們在協商變更訂單和收到付款時已經產生的一些成本，我們將看到一些回升，我們應該會在接下來的幾個季度獲得一些收入。

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。

Gord, I was intrigue by your comment on the unprecedented investment levels in Canadian health care facilities. And probably because many super hospitals have already been built. So I was wondering which segments that particular market are you seeing momentum?

戈爾德，你關於加拿大醫療保健設施前所未有的投資水平的評論引起了我的興趣。很可能是因為已經建造了許多超級醫院。所以我想知道，您認為該特定市場中的哪些細分領域發展勢頭強勁？

Yes. Certainly, your neck of the woods, Frederic. There's the St. Paul's Hospital that we're engaged with in Calgary. We're working on the Calgary Cancer Center. In Toronto, there's a number of new hospitals we were awarded there. We talked about the, let's say, the Cariboo Regional up in British Columbia there.

是的。當然，那是你那邊的事，弗雷德里克。那裡有聖。我們在卡加利與聖保羅醫院有合作關係。我們正在籌建卡加利癌症中心。我們在多倫多獲得了一些新建醫院的建設項目。我們談到了，比如說，不列顛哥倫比亞省的卡里布地區賽。

So those -- plus just the number of opportunities that we see coming. It's from both a Canadian and also an Australian perspective is where we really see significant uptick in the health care business. And so we've got some additional awards as well that we haven't yet put into backlog or disclosed. So we just see that great opportunities coming in the health care space that certainly is keeping our Canadian groups busy. And we're sharing work at this point with our U.S. group. But some good awards, as we mentioned in the prepared remarks, in the U.S. as well, that I think is going to turn our U.S. buildings business into positive of organic growth in the last half of -- on a quarterly basis on the last half of the year also.

所以，這些——再加上我們預見到的未來機會數量。從加拿大和澳洲的角度來看，我們確實看到了醫療保健產業的顯著成長。因此，我們還有一些額外的獎項尚未列入待辦事項清單或對外公佈。因此，我們看到醫療保健領域湧現出巨大的機會，這無疑讓我們的加拿大團隊非常忙碌。目前我們正在與美國團隊共同開展工作。但正如我們在準備好的發言稿中提到的，我們在美國也獲得了一些不錯的獎項，我認為這將使我們在美國的建築業務在下半年——以及下半年的季度——實現正的內生增長。

Good. And you're hearing governments pretty much everywhere talking up long-term care and how much money that you're going to put into that sector. Are you well positioned to participate in any of the growth that might result from that?

好的。而且你幾乎可以聽到世界各地的政府都在大力宣傳長期護理，以及將在該領域投入多少資金。您是否已做好充分準備，參與由此可能產生的任何成長？

Absolutely. Whether it's health care overall, whether it's long-term care facilities or larger or smaller hospitals. Our health care group is very, very strong, and so very well positioned for that really -- from a global perspective. So we're looking forward to some of those opportunities coming along as well.

絕對地。無論是整體醫療保健，或是長期照護機構，亦或是規模較大的醫院或小型醫院。我們的醫療保健集團實力非常雄厚，從全球角度來看，我們在這方面確實處於非常有利的地位。所以我們也期待這些機會的到來。

Our next question comes from Chris Murray with ATB Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 ATB Capital Markets 的 Chris Murray。

So just maybe thinking a little bit about the product portfolio going forward. In your Energy & Resources business. So this has been one of the more cyclical parts of the business, I guess, for a few years now. And it certainly sounds the TMX is going to shrink a little bit. Can you just talk a little bit about how you think you want to shape the Energy & Resources business going forward? And I'm also thinking about things like carbon capture, storage, hydrogen and some of your other ESG goals in that context.

所以，或許可以稍微考慮一下未來的產品組合。在您的能源與資源業務中。所以，我想，這幾年來，這一直是這個產業週期性波動較大的部分之一。聽起來TMX的規模確實會稍微縮小一些。您能否簡單談談您希望如何塑造能源與資源業務的未來發展方向？我同時也在思考碳捕獲、儲存、氫能以及你們的其他一些 ESG 目標在這個背景下的意義。

Yes. So it's -- as we saw this quarter, with changing our contractual relationship on TransMountain, we're really -- we're just not running all the independent contractors through Stantec. That's why the revenue has decreased from an oil and gas perspective. We're still doing all the other work that we were doing previously. But we see a real pivot on the power side. We've talked before about the work that we're doing in renewables, in solar, in wind, in pump storage and so on. And we talked in the U.S., this quarter, we got up to $100 million project to strengthen the grid in California.

是的。所以——正如我們本季所看到的，隨著我們改變與 TransMountain 的合約關係，我們實際上——我們不再讓所有獨立承包商都透過 Stantec 進行管理。這就是石油和天然氣行業收入下降的原因。我們仍然在做之前做的所有其他工作。但我們看到電力方面出現了真正的轉變。我們之前討論過我們在再生能源、太陽能、風能、抽水蓄能等領域所做的工作。我們在美國談到，本季我們獲得了高達 1 億美元的專案資金，用於加強加州的電網。

So we're seeing a pivot really on the power side, particularly to clean power. In mining, we're seeing certainly do the increase in commodity prices, copper, iron ore are at -- certainly at significant peaks from where they have been over the last number of years. But we're also seeing our mining products pick up into other areas that do support the long-term transition also to cleaner energy sources. We're doing some work on lithium mines in Central and South America required, of course, for battery storage.

所以我們看到電力方面正在發生真正的轉變，特別是向清潔能源轉型。在採礦業，我們確實看到大宗商品價格上漲，銅、鐵礦石的價格肯定達到了過去幾年來的顯著高峰。但我們也看到，我們的礦業產品正在其他領域應用，這些領域也支持向更清潔能源的長期轉型。我們正在中美洲和南美洲進行一些鋰礦方面的工作，這當然是電池儲能所必需的。

So I see that over time that the power group will continue to grow. Our mining group, particularly with -- as we talked about with Engenium and some of the opportunities that they have. That transition to sustainable mining and so on as well as our WaterPower & Dams group will continue to grow, and we're seeing that already.

所以我認為，隨著時間的推移，這個權力集團將會繼續壯大。我們的礦業集團，特別是與 Engenium 的合作，以及他們所擁有的一些機會。向永續採礦等領域的轉型，以及我們的水力發電和水壩集團的發展，都將繼續成長，我們已經看到了這一點。

So I think just over time, we're not planning in any way to divest or get out of oil and gas, but I just see the other groups probably growing at a higher rate than we'd see in the oil and gas sector.

所以我認為，隨著時間的推移，我們沒有任何計劃剝離或退出石油和天然氣行業，但我認為其他行業的成長速度可能會比石油和天然氣行業更快。

All right. Fair enough. And then going back to M&A and your original comments, I think, earlier this year to thinking about how you wanted to see growth, I guess, for the full year. Certainly, we've seen some really neat little tuck-in acquisitions. But I guess going back to thinking about the rate of growth that you want to be able to achieve. I guess a couple of pieces of this. I mean, one, I'm assuming you're still thinking about that, that's what you want to try to get to this year. But two, how is the M&A process been evolving now that in a lot of ways we're moving past some of the call it, COVID complications with getting some of the overview and transactions done?

好的。很公平。然後回到併購以及您今年早些時候的評論，我想，您當時正在思考您希望看到全年的增長情況。當然，我們也看到了一些非常巧妙的小型收購。但我想，最終還是要回到思考你希望達到的成長率。我想應該是其中的幾個部分。我的意思是，第一，我假設你還在考慮這件事，那就是你今年想要努力達到的目標。但第二，在許多方面，隨著我們逐漸克服了新冠疫情帶來的種種複雜情況，併購流程是如何演變的？這些複雜情況包括一些概覽和交易的完成。

Yes. We're still very active. Certainly, in the M&A space, we've seen our balance sheet is really strong, of course. But if we really are continuing with our strategy as it is, we're being very disciplined as we're reviewing firms, certainly looking because we need these to be successful from a long-term perspective.

是的。我們仍然非常活躍。當然，在併購領域，我們已經看到我們的資產負債表非常強勁。但如果我們真的要繼續執行目前的策略，我們在審查公司時會非常謹慎，當然，這是因為我們需要這些公司從長遠角度取得成功。

So we're sticking to the geographies that we talked about, Canada, even more so the United States, looking into the U.K., the Nordics, Denmark and Australia, New Zealand and so on. And the pipeline of firms that's come to market right now is really, really strong.

所以我們堅持我們之前討論過的地區，加拿大，尤其是美國，同時也在關注英國、北歐國家、丹麥、澳洲、紐西蘭等等。目前進入市場的公司陣容非常強大。

And there are some larger firms as well that are beginning to come to market. Some of them are PE exiting at the end of their investment horizon. So we're having a good look at all of these things as others are as well. While they spend to PE again, will they come out to a strategic, these are all decisions that are things that we'll have to continue to assess.

也有一些規模較大的公司開始進入市場。其中一些是私募股權基金，在投資期間結束時退出。所以，我們和其他人一樣，正在仔細研究所有這些事情。雖然他們會再次投資私募股權，但他們最終會採取策略性措施嗎？這些都是我們需要繼續評估的決定。

But certainly, our appetite for continued M&A growth is strong. Our balance sheet is strong. And so we are -- we will participate in having a look at these acquisitions, whether they're in our typical sweet spot of less than 1,000 firms -- less than 1,000 people, but some of the larger ones as well. But it's really, for us, it's maintaining that continued discipline as we move forward.

但可以肯定的是，我們對併購業務持續成長的需求依然強勁。我們的資產負債表狀況良好。因此，我們將參與審查這些收購案，無論它們是否屬於我們通常偏好的規模小於 1000 人的公司，但也包括一些規模較大的公司。但對我們來說，真正重要的是在前進的過程中保持這種持續的自律。

Okay. And has your ability to do due diligence improve did any, in any way, shape in the last maybe few months?

好的。在過去的幾個月裡，您的盡職調查能力是否有所提高，或在任何方面有所改善？

I think over the pandemic, and even before that, we were really looking at how to improve our opportunity to diligence these potential acquisition targets from a global perspective. So I think our organization is much more mature now in terms of our U.K. and European operations in terms of our Australia and New Zealand operations. So we have the ability to diligence those potential acquisitions, using local are certainly in any event, regional resources, and we don't have to send people from north America to do that. So I think that's been maturing and a strengthening of the overall organization, certainly, maturing and strengthening of it from an M&A and a diligence perspective.

我認為在疫情期間，甚至在此之前，我們一直在認真思考如何從全球視角更好地對這些潛在的收購目標進行盡職調查。所以我認為，就我們在英國和歐洲的業務運營，以及在澳洲和紐西蘭的業務運營而言，我們公司現在都更加成熟了。因此，我們有能力對這些潛在的收購進行盡職調查，利用當地或區域資源，我們不必從北美派人去做這件事。所以我認為這標誌著整個組織的成熟和加強，當然，從併購和盡職調查的角度來看，組織的成熟和加強是毋庸置疑的。

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

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

I was hoping you could provide an update on the progress you've made in terms of your real estate footprint optimization.

我希望您能提供您在房地產佔地面積優化方面取得的進展。

Sure. I guess what I'd say is that we are a couple of months into a 3-year planned execution. So with still a large portion of our workforce working from home, there hasn't been a lot of movement, per se, in terms of folks coming back to the office. What we have done over the last couple of months is communicated with our staff, who have been very welcoming of this possible workplace arrangement and having discussions with staff around at the individual level, what's appropriate for them, given their role, given where they are and starting to map that out. So everything is on track, but it is early days.

當然。我想說的是，我們目前正處於一項為期三年的計劃執行的幾個月中。因此，由於我們仍有很大一部分員工在家辦公，就員工返回辦公室而言，並沒有出現太多變化。在過去的幾個月裡，我們與員工進行了溝通，他們對這種可能的工作場所安排表示非常歡迎。我們與員工進行了個人層面的討論，探討了考慮到他們的職位和位置，什麼對他們來說是合適的，並開始製定計劃。一切進展順利，但現在下結論還為時過早。

Okay. Next question is just, I guess, somewhat of a follow-up related to M&A, which you've already touched on, Gord. Just a question about the Australian market. You've been fairly active there with acquisitions. I'm wondering if you can just comment on how you feel about your footprint in that market now and how much more additional acquisitions in that market you think you may or may not need if you're comfortable with where you're at now? Or it's a continued focus region for you in terms of further M&A?

好的。下一個問題，我想，算是對併購的後續問題吧，你已經談到了這一點，戈爾德。我有一個關於澳洲市場的問題。你在那邊的收購活動相當活躍。我想請您談談您目前在該市場的地位如何，以及如果您對目前的狀況感到滿意，您認為還需要在該市場進行多少額外的收購？或者，就未來的併購而言，該地區仍是您持續關注的重點區域？

It is a region of continued focus for us. I think now we have a good water platform there. We have a good transportation platform. Certainly, mining is good. Buildings are strong. But we have continued opportunities to grow in environment, certainly, continued opportunities to continue to grow in transportation, even in water. So really, the majority of our business groups there, we could continue to grow. And we do see Australia, and, to a lesser extent, New Zealand has a great opportunity for us to continue to deploy some capital towards M&A.

這是我們將持續關注的地區。我認為我們現在在那裡有了一個不錯的水上平台。我們擁有良好的交通運輸平台。當然，採礦是好事。建築物很堅固。但我們在環境領域仍有發展的機會，當然，在交通運輸領域，甚至在水利領域，仍有發展的機會。所以實際上，我們那裡的大多數業務部門都可以繼續成長。我們看到澳大利亞，以及在某種程度上紐西蘭，為我們繼續在併購領域投入一些資本提供了絕佳的機會。

Okay. And have you started to realize some cross-selling benefits as you've been there now for some time and layered in additional acquisitions?

好的。隨著您在那裡工作一段時間並逐步增加收購項目，您是否開始意識到交叉銷售帶來的好處？

Absolutely. Yes. The -- with bringing on Engenium in the mining space, in both on the East and West Coast, we have an environmental presence as well. And so we see great opportunities to tie that environmental group in with the client base that Engenium had. We're seeing a lot of cross-selling even between our transportation business and water and buildings. So we're really getting the benefit of adding these additional resources down there. And so that's why I think it's so attractive for us to continue to grow through M&A to sort of fill out our space there a bit.

絕對地。是的。隨著 Engenium 進入採礦領域，無論是在東海岸還是西海​​岸，我們也在環保領域有所作為。因此，我們看到了將這個環保組織與 Engenium 的客戶群連結起來的絕佳機會。我們看到，即使在我們的運輸業務與水務和建築業務之間，也存在大量的交叉銷售。因此，我們確實從增加這些額外資源中受益匪淺。所以我覺得，透過併購繼續發展壯大，填補我們在該領域的空白，對我們來說非常有吸引力。

Okay. That's helpful. Just a question regarding organic growth. I know you had been calling for a retraction in Q1, and you reiterated your full year organic growth target range. I'm just wondering, though, if your assessment of risks around being towards the top end of your organic range for the full year versus the bottom end if that assessment has evolved at all since last quarter considering sort of the start you had to the year with organic growth.

好的。那很有幫助。關於有機成長，我有個問題想請教一下。我知道你曾呼籲在第一季度進行業績下滑，並且重申了你的全年有機成長目標範圍。不過，我只是想知道，考慮到今年年初有機增長的勢頭，你對全年有機增長範圍限制與下限之間風險的評估，自上個季度以來是否有所改變。

Yes. I think we still see that we would target it guide into that low to mid organic growth. With the also the caveat that as we mentioned early on there, that and taking out the revenue that we had generated from TransMountain is about just approaching a 2% headwind to that organic growth. I'll -- for the year already. So while we say low to mid, we're reaffirming that, even with that approaching 2% headwind from TransMountain.

是的。我認為我們仍然會將其目標鎖定在中低水平的有機增長上。但需要注意的是，正如我們之前提到的，扣除我們從 TransMountain 獲得的收入後，有機成長將面臨接近 2% 的阻力。我已經——今年就到此為止了。所以，儘管我們說的是低到中等水平，但我們重申這一點，即使面臨來自 TransMountain 的接近 2% 的逆風。

Okay. Got it. And then lastly, Theresa, you had talked a little bit about stock-based compensation and the increase year-over-year. What had you included in your 2021 EBITDA margin guidance range for stock-based comp when you set that range?

好的。知道了。最後，特蕾莎，你剛才談到了股票選擇權激勵以及逐年成長的情況。您在設定2021年以股票為基礎的薪酬EBITDA利潤率預期範圍時，其中包含了哪些內容？

We would have based it on sort of the prevailing share price at the time that we were preparing our budget and our forecast. So we've seen, as you know, a pretty significant increase in the share price since January, February. And so that's kind of what's driven to the range of that. And our path is to not trying to predict where it's going to go in the year, which are based on what the prevailing price is. So that increase was a fun of surprise, but did create a headwind on our EBITDA margin.

我們當時會根據編列預算和預測時的市場股價來制定計畫。如您所知，自一月、二月以來，股價出現了相當大的上漲。所以，這就是導致其範圍如此之大的原因。我們的做法是不要試圖預測它一年內的走勢，因為走勢取決於當前的市場價格。因此，這一增長令人驚喜，但也對我們的 EBITDA 利潤率造成了不利影響。

Okay. And so based on the price of the stock at the time that you've been developing the budget, would that have sort of led or like you to be forecasting kind of flattish stock-based comp year-over-year, whereas, in fact, now, it's at least the start of the year, it's coming in higher?

好的。因此，根據您制定預算時的股票價格，您是否會預測基於股票的薪酬同比將保持平穩，而實際上，現在至少是年初，薪酬卻在上漲？

Yes, that's right.

是的，沒錯。

We have no additional questions at this time. Mr. Johnston, I will now turn the conference back to you for any closing or additional remarks.

目前我們沒有其他問題。約翰斯頓先生，現在我將會議交還給您，請您作總結發言或補充說明。

Great. Well, I just wanted to say thanks, everyone, for joining our call today, and we look forward to continuing to connect with you in the near future and talk about our continued progress. So on behalf of Theresa and I, have a great day, everyone. And stay safe. Thank you.

偉大的。我只想對大家說謝謝，感謝大家今天參加我們的電話會議，我們期待在不久的將來繼續與大家聯繫，討論我們取得的持續進展。我謹代表特蕾莎和我自己，祝大家今天過得愉快。注意安全。謝謝。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

And this concludes today's call. Thank you all for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。