Stantec Inc (STN) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Stantec's Fourth Quarter and Year-End 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.

歡迎參加Stantec公司2021年第四季及全年業績電話會議。今天主持會議的是總裁兼執行長Gord Johnston和執行副總裁兼財務長Theresa Jang。

Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation, which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com. Today's call is also webcast. Please be advised that if you have dialed in while also viewing the webcast, you should mute your computer as there is a delay between the call and the webcast.

Stantec邀請所有撥入電話會議的來賓查看幻燈片演示文稿，該演示文稿可在stantec.com網站的“投資者關係”欄中找到。今天的電話會議也同時進行網路直播。請注意，如果您在撥入電話會議的同時觀看網路直播，請將電腦靜音，因為電話會議和網路直播之間存在延遲。

All information provided during this conference call is subject to the forward-looking statement qualification set out on Slide 2, detailed in Stantec management's discussion and analysis and incorporated in full for the purposes of today's call. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts discussed in today's call are expressed in Canadian dollars and are generally rounded.

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

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

那麼，我很高興把電話交給戈德約翰斯頓先生。請您發言，先生。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. We're very pleased to report our Q4 and full year 2021 results which reflect the solid execution of our multiyear strategy. We grew our global employee base by around 15% through strategic acquisitions. We saw an increase in our employee engagement scores from pre-pandemic levels and our financial performance was strong.

早安，感謝各位今天蒞臨。我們非常高興地向大家報告2021年第四季及全年業績，這些業績反映了我們多年策略的有效執行。透過策略收購，我們的全球員工人數成長了約15%。員工敬業度評分較疫情前有所提升，財務業績也表現強勁。

For the year, we delivered record earnings per share, both on an adjusted and on an as reported basis on stronger margins, the ongoing execution of our 2023 real estate strategy and lower taxes. Net revenue of $3.6 billion approximately the prior year and on a constant currency basis increased by roughly 3%. Excluding Trans Mountain, every one of our business operating units had flat or positive organic growth in Q4. And sequentially, we had improving organic growth in each quarter of the year, with Q3 and Q4 returning to positive organic growth as expected.

本年度，我們實現了每股盈餘創歷史新高，無論按調整後數據還是按報告數據計算，均得益於利潤率的提升、2023年房地產戰略的持續推進以及稅收的降低。淨收入約36億美元，以固定匯率計算成長約3%。除跨山輸油管項目外，我們所有業務營運部門在第四季度均實現了持平或正成長。此外，各季度有機成長均有所改善，第三季和第四季也如預期般恢復了正成長。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin increased to a record 15.8%. And we entered '22 having built our backlog to a record $5.1 billion, representing 13 months of work. And this is a 17% increase from 2020. We significantly advance our growth ambitions in 2021 through the completion of 6 acquisitions, deploying more than $700 million of capital and adding more than 200 employees to drive synergistic revenue growth. Each of these acquisitions are consistent with our strategy of pursuing targets small to medium sized firms that bolster Stantec's presence in key business lines and geographies.

我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率成長至創紀錄的 15.8%。進入 2022 年，我們的積壓訂單金額達到創紀錄的 51 億美元，相當於 13 個月的工作量，較 2020 年成長 17%。 2021 年，我們透過完成 6 項收購，大幅推動成長目標，投入超過 7 億美元的資金，並新增 200 多名員工，以推動綜效帶來的營收成長。這些收購均符合我們的策略，即收購中小型企業，以增強 Stantec 在關鍵業務領域和地區的市場地位。

In doubling the size of our footprint in Australia, and materially boosting our Environmental Services offerings in the U.S., we strengthen our ability to address the growing demand in both of these markets. The Cardno integration is going well. And a particular note, we're pleased to announce that Susan Reisbord, Cardno CEO, is taking over the leadership of our Environmental Services business in the second quarter of 2022.

透過在澳洲擴大一倍業務規模，並大幅提升我們在美國的環境服務能力，我們增強了滿足這兩個市場日益增長的需求的能力。與 Cardno 的整合進展順利。特別值得一提的是，我們很高興地宣布，Cardno 執行長 Susan Reisbord 將於 2022 年第二季接手我們的環境服務業務。

Moving to our results by region. Our U.S. business delivered net revenue of $440 million in the fourth quarter and $1.8 billion for 2021. As we noted throughout 2021, the stronger Canadian dollar was a headwind and recovery in the U.S. was slower to start than in other regions. Our U.S. backlog achieved 10% organic growth through the year to a record $3 billion with our U.S. Environmental Services business, recording more than 50% organic backlog growth. The momentum we're seeing in backlog growth, coupled with significant infrastructure stimulus and economic expansion are all strong indicators that the U.S. recovery has begun. And while it may take another quarter or so to wrap up, we're confident that our U.S. business will deliver a strong performance in 2022.

接下來我們來看各地區的業績。美國業務第四季淨收入為4.4億美元，2021年全年淨收入為18億美元。正如我們在2021年全年所指出的，加幣走強構成了不利因素，且美國經濟復甦的啟動速度慢於其他地區。美國業務全年訂單積壓量實現了10%的有機成長，達到創紀錄的30億美元，其中美國環境服務業務的訂單積壓量有機增長超過50%。訂單積壓量的成長勢頭，加上大規模的基礎設施刺激計劃和經濟擴張，都強烈地表明美國經濟復甦已經開始。雖然復甦可能還需要一個季度左右的時間才能完全結束，但我們相信美國業務在2022年將取得強勁的業績。

This growing momentum is evident in our buildings business. Where in addition to the healthcare and ecommerce work that we've discussed in previous quarters, we recently won our largest contract ever for this team. The Denver International Airport Great Hall project, with fees in excess of US$100 million will transform the main terminal, improve security and help our client achieve their goal to accommodate 100 million passengers. The drive for greater sustainability is also creating opportunities for us to design for the adaptive reuse of built environments, such as a 2 million square foot L Street Station Redevelopment pictured here. The use of existing building stock is gaining favor among our clients as a way to preserve heritage properties and to reduce new construction carbon emissions.

這種成長勢頭在我們的建築業務中尤其明顯。除了前幾季我們討論過的醫療保健和電子商務項目外，我們團隊最近還贏得了迄今為止最大的合約。丹佛國際機場大廳項目，費用超過1億美元，將改造主航站樓，提升保全水平，並協助客戶實現接待1億旅客的目標。對更高永續性的追求也為我們創造了機會，讓我們能夠設計適應性再利用的建築環境，例如圖中所示的200萬平方英尺的L街車站改造計畫。利用現有建築資源正日益受到客戶的青睞，這不僅能保護歷史建築，也能減少新建建築的碳排放。

The need to bolster supply chain security is also creating increased opportunities for Stantec. We're seeing a push to retrench domestic production facilities in the U.S. as global supply chain disruptions have highlighted the need for onshore manufacturing capability. One example of this is our growing work on domestic vaccine production with a major pharmaceutical company in the United States, where we recently began work on a new facility in California.

加強供應鏈安全的需求也為史坦泰克公司創造了更多機會。隨著全球供應鏈中斷凸顯了本土生產能力的重要性，我們看到美國國內生產設施正在縮減規模。例如，我們與美國一家大型製藥公司在本土疫苗生產方面的合作日益密切，最近我們在加州啟動了一個新工廠的建設。

Our Canadian business delivered $260 million in net revenue for the fourth quarter and $1.1 billion for the year, generally consistent with last year and better than we expected taking into consideration the descoping of the Trans Mountain contract. Growth was solid in virtually every sector due to strong demand in healthcare, transit systems and land development in Western Canada. And we see the continued strength in these markets as reflected in the project wins that we've highlighted on the slide.

我們的加拿大業務第四季淨收入為2.6億美元，全年淨收入為11億美元，與去年基本持平，考慮到跨山輸油管項目合約的縮減，這一業績超出預期。由於加拿大西部醫療保健、公共交通系統和土地開發領域的強勁需求，幾乎所有業務板塊均實現了穩健成長。我們在幻燈片中重點介紹的項目中也體現了這些市場的持續強勁勢頭。

There's also a growing demand for our expertise as a result of the increased frequency of extreme weather events, like what we saw in British Columbia in 2021. We're being called upon to assist with remediation efforts and for future readiness as we draw upon new technologies developed by our innovation center. A prime example is our floodplain predictor, which is a cloud-based machine learning application that significantly reduces lead times for accurate flood prediction. And similar to the reshoring efforts underway in the United States, we're working with clients to strengthen the supply of pharmaceutical grade radioactive isotopes for cancer treatment through the development of manufacturing facilities in Canada. Education, both in K-to-12 and post-secondary continues to be a strong driver for our buildings business. And the picture on the slide highlights our work on the design of the Students Association building at the MacEwan University in Edmonton.

由於極端天氣事件（例如2021年不列顛哥倫比亞省的極端天氣）的頻繁發生，對我們專業知識的需求也日益增長。我們被邀請協助進行災後重建工作，並利用創新中心開發的新技術做好應對未來災害的準備。一個典型的例子是我們的洪水預測器，這是一個基於雲端的機器學習應用程序，能夠顯著縮短洪水預測的提前期。與美國正在進行的製造業回流計畫類似，我們正與客戶合作，透過在加拿大建造生產設施，加強用於癌症治療的藥用級放射性同位素的供應。中小學和高等教育仍然是我們建築業務的重要驅動力。幻燈片上的圖片展示了我們參與設計的埃德蒙頓麥克尤恩大學學生會大樓。

Our Global business performed very well and delivered $216 million in net revenue in the fourth quarter, a 39% increase compared to the same period last year. For the year, net revenue increased by 18% to $768 million. This net revenue growth reflects roughly equal contribution from both acquisition and organic growth. Specifically, we saw the strongest growth in our water and transportation sector in the U.K. and New Zealand, while strong commodity prices drove revenue growth in our mining business. We also saw increased opportunities from both public and private clients in our buildings business in Australia.

我們的全球業務表現非常出色，第四季淨收入達2.16億美元，較去年同期成長39%。全年淨收入成長18%，達到7.68億美元。淨收入的成長主要得益於收購和內生成長的貢獻大致相當。具體而言，我們在英國和紐西蘭的水務和交通運輸領域實現了最強勁的成長，而強勁的大宗商品價格則推動了我們礦業業務的收入成長。此外，我們在澳洲的建築業務也獲得了更多來自公共和私人客戶的機會。

Private investment due to high commodity prices and economic expansion is being supplemented by infrastructure stimulus programs. The U.K. government has committed more than GBP 130 billion to the national infrastructure strategy, which will focus spending on transportation, energy and utilities. This is expected to lead to additional transportation projects like the A19 2 Tees crossing in the U.K. that we've recently been awarded and the transportation planning services contract we recently won in Scotland. In addition to this funding, the U.K. government has committed GBP 26 billion to the green industrial revolution and GBP 96 billion to the integrated rail strategy.

由於大宗商品價格高漲和經濟擴張，私人投資不斷增長，同時基礎設施刺激計劃也為之提供了補充。英國政府已承諾投入超過1,300億英鎊用於國家基礎設施戰略，該戰略將重點投資於交通、能源和公用事業領域。預計這將促成更多交通項目，例如我們近期中標的英國A19公路和蒂斯河大橋項目，以及我們近期在蘇格蘭贏得的交通規劃服務合約。除上述資金外，英國政府還承諾投入260億英鎊用於綠色工業革命，並投入960億英鎊用於綜合鐵路戰略。

Australia, $110 billion has been spent over 10 years funding energy, transportation, water, waste and social programs. All of these drivers contributed to global backlog increasing over 19% during the year to a new record level. And we continue to expect strong performance from our global operations in 2022, backed by strong macroeconomic factors and continued investments in infrastructure.

澳洲在過去十年中投入了1100億美元用於能源、交通、水務、廢棄物處理和社會項目。所有這些因素共同導致全球積壓訂單在年內成長超過19%，創下歷史新高。我們預計，在強勁的宏觀經濟因素和持續的基礎設施投資的支撐下，2022年我們的全球業務將繼續保持強勁的業績。

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

現在我將把工作交給特蕾莎，讓她更詳細地審查我們的財務表現。

Thank you Gord and Good morning everyone. Before I dive into the details, we have made some minor presentation changes in order to comply with the new National Instruments on non-GAAP measures. You'll note that we're also using the new term project margin for what we used to call gross margin. There is no difference in how it's calculated.

謝謝Gord，大家早安。在深入講解細節之前，我們做了一些小的列報調整，以符合美國國家儀器公司（National Instruments）關於非GAAP財務指標的新規定。您會注意到，我們用“專案利潤率”這個新術語來指以前所說的“毛利率”。計算方法沒有任何變化。

As Gord mentioned the change in the Canadian/U.S. exchange rate has a substantial impact on our U.S. earnings this year, and it was particularly pronounced in the first 9 months of the year. We've summarized the impact on our key financial line items on this slide for your reference.

正如戈爾德所提到的，加元/美元匯率的變動對我們今年的美國收益產生了重大影響，尤其是在今年前九個月。我們已在本頁投影片中總結了匯率變動對我們主要財務項目的影響，供您參考。

For the fourth quarter we reported EPS of $0.15 compared to $0.13 last year, and adjusted EPS of $0.57 compared with $0.60 last year. Operating performance was stronger than Q4 last year. But recall that last year's results included the favorable recovery of claim costs and resolution of certain tax matters. Net revenue grew by 6.3%, with 2.0% organic growth and 6.7% acquisition growth, partially offset by a 2.4% reduction due to foreign exchange. Project execution was very strong in the fourth quarter, increasing project margins by $51.6 million and by 250 basis points as a percentage of net revenue to 55.3%.

第四季每股收益為0.15美元，高於去年同期的0.13美元；調整後每股收益為0.57美元，高於去年同期的0.60美元。營運業績較去年第四季有所改善。但要注意的是，去年的業績包含了索賠成本的有利回收以及某些稅務問題的解決。淨收入成長6.3%，其中內生成長2.0%，收購成長6.7%，部分被匯率波動導致的2.4%的下降所抵銷。第四季專案執行情況非常強勁，專案利潤率提高了5,160萬美元，佔淨收入的比例提高了250個基點，達到55.3%。

Adjusted EBITDA increased $142.1 million, representing a 15.5% margin. The decrease from Q4 last year is mainly due to increased share based compensation expense, which translated to 146 basis points of margin. Decreased margin also reflects lower utilization in the U.S., as well as previously mentioned recovery of certain claim costs recorded last year. Our Q4 net income on an as reported basis also reflects an aggregate pretax $37.3 million in impairment and onerous contract costs arising from the ongoing execution of our 2023 real estate strategy.

經調整的 EBITDA 成長 1.421 億美元，利潤率為 15.5%。與去年第四季相比有所下降，主要原因是股權激勵費用增加，導致利潤率下降 146 個基點。利潤率下降也反映了美國業務利用率降低，以及先前提及的去年提列的部分索賠成本的收回。以報告基準計算，我們第四季的淨利潤也反映了因持續執行 2023 年房地產策略而產生的稅前減損和虧損合約成本總計 3,730 萬美元。

For the full year, we reported EPS of $1.80 and adjusted EPS of $2.42, both of which are records for Stantec. Full year net revenue was $3.6 billion, a 2.6% increase on a constant currency basis, driven by acquisition growth of 3.9%, partly offset by a slight organic attraction, with the effects of foreign exchange net revenue retracted by 3.2%. Project margin increased $32.8 million, delivering a 160 basis points increase as a percentage of net revenue $54.0. Adjusted EBITDA approximated amounts generated last year, and margins increased by 10 basis points to a record 15.8%, despite an 83 basis point reduction due to increased share-based compensation expense.

全年每股收益為1.80美元，調整後每股收益為2.42美元，均創下Stantec公司歷史新高。全年淨收入為36億美元，以固定匯率計算成長2.6%，主要得益於收購帶來的3.9%的成長，但部分被內生成長略微抵消，外匯影響導致淨收入減少3.2%。專案利潤增加3,280萬美元，佔淨收入54.0%的比例提高了160個基點。調整後EBITDA與去年基本持平，利潤率提高了10個基點，達到創紀錄的15.8%，儘管由於股權激勵費用增加導致利潤率下降了83個基點。

Our record earnings also reflect the ongoing success of our 2023 real estate strategy, which contributed more than $0.18 per share in cost savings to as reported EPS or $0.15 to adjusted EPS. On a pre-IFRS 16 basis, we estimate the cumulative impact of this initiative would have increased 2021 adjusted EBITDA margin by more than 100 basis points. We remain on track for our target of a 3% reduction in real estate footprints by the end of 2023 relative to our 2019 baseline and expect to deliver a further $0.20 to $0.25 per share by the end of 2023.

我們創紀錄的獲利也反映了我們2023年房地產策略的持續成功，該策略為報告每股盈餘（EPS）貢獻了超過0.18美元的成本節約，為調整後每股盈餘貢獻了0.15美元的成本節約。在未採用國際財務報告準則第16號（IFRS 16）的情況下，我們估計此措施的累積影響將使2021年調整後EBITDA利潤率提高100個基點以上。我們仍有望實現2023年底房地產規模較2019年基準水準減少3%的目標，並預計2023年底將進一步實現每股收益0.20至0.25美元的收益。

Our balance sheet remains strong. At December 31, net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 1.8x within our expected leverage range. We anticipate reducing leverage over the course of 2022 on the strength of our cash flow generation. Days sales outstanding was 75 days at year-end, consistent with year-end 2020.

我們的資產負債表依然穩健。截至12月31日，淨負債與調整後EBITDA之比為1.8倍，位於我們預期的槓桿水準範圍內。我們預計，憑藉強勁的現金流，將在2022年降低槓桿率。截至年末，應收帳款週轉天數為75天，與2020年末持平。

Our 2021 cash flow generation was strong, although it did decrease relative to 2020. 2020 cash from operations was elevated due to the success of our efforts to significantly reduce DSO and due to the deferral of certain tax payments under government introduced pandemic measures. 2021 cash from ops reflects the stabilized lower level of DSO, the outflow of those deferred tax payments and the substantial effect of the stronger Canadian dollar.

儘管與2020年相比有所下降，但我們2021年的現金流表現依然強勁。 2020年經營活動產生的現金流較高，主要得益於我們成功大幅降低了應收帳款週轉天數（DSO），以及政府推出的疫情管控措施允許部分稅款延期繳納。 2021年的營運活動現金流反映了DSO的穩定下降、延期稅款的支出以及加幣走強帶來的顯著影響。

Beyond operating cash flow, we deployed $703 million to fund acquisitions and returned $123 million to shareholders through dividends and the repurchase of shares through our normal course issuer bid. Our Board of Directors yesterday increased our annualized dividend by 9.1% for 2022. This is the ninth consecutive year our Board has increased our dividend and it reflects our confidence in our ongoing cash flow generation and commitment to return capital to our shareholders.

除了經營現金流外，我們還投入了7.03億美元用於收購，並透過股息和正常發行人要約回購的方式向股東返還了1.23億美元。董事會昨日將2022年度股利提高了9.1%。這已是董事會連續第九年提高股息，體現了我們對持續現金流的信心以及對股東回報資本的承諾。

I'll now turn things back to Gord to review our outlook for 2022.

現在我將把話題交還給戈爾德，讓他回顧我們對 2022 年的展望。

Thanks Theresa. As we enter 2022 with a record 13 months of confirmed backlog on our books, we see a number of macro trends that Stantec is particularly well positioned to capitalize on in the years to come. Much has already been said about the magnitude of infrastructure stimulus spending that's occurring around the world and that we're well positioned to capitalize on. However, a growing component of this infrastructure spend will be directed towards disadvantaged communities, which is an area where Stantec community focus is a particular benefit to our clients. Our multidisciplinary expertise and our supplier diversity and equity team helps to align funding to strengthen the resilience of these communities and is a competitive advantage for us.

謝謝Theresa。 2022年伊始，我們已確認的積壓訂單量達到創紀錄的13個月，我們看到了一些宏觀趨勢，而Stantec在未來幾年將憑藉這些趨勢佔據優勢，從而更好地把握機遇。關於全球範圍內大規模的基礎設施刺激支出，以及我們能夠從中獲益，已經有很多討論。然而，這些基礎設施支出中越來越多的部分將用於弱勢群體，而Stantec對社區的關注正是我們為客戶帶來獨特優勢的領域。我們擁有多學科的專業知識，我們的供應商多元化和公平團隊能夠幫助我們合理分配資金，增強這些社區的韌性，這正是我們的競爭優勢所在。

In addition, we have over 150 funding specialists that work with communities across North America. Collaborating with community leaders, technical staff and other partners, this team is focused on helping communities access public funding for infrastructure with an eye towards long-term sustainability. This is a further benefit to our clients as they look for additional sources of funding for their projects. So these are just 2 great examples of the full breadth of our service offering that continues to create our competitive advantage.

此外，我們擁有超過150名資金專家，服務於北美各地的社區。該團隊與社區領袖、技術人員和其他合作夥伴緊密協作，致力於幫助社區獲得公共資金用於基礎設施建設，並專注於長期永續發展。這為我們的客戶在尋找專案其他資金來源時提供了另一個優勢。以上僅是我們全面服務範圍的兩個絕佳例證，而正是這些服務不斷鞏固了我們的競爭優勢。

A major takeaway from the pandemic for governments around the world has been how fragile the global supply chain is. And the exposure this creates for domestic economies if access to critical products or resources is curtailed. As I mentioned earlier, we're seeing growing investment in domestic manufacturing capability for strategic or essential products like vaccines, radioactive isotopes, solar panels and electric vehicle batteries, and we're actively involved on all of these fronts.

世界各國政府從新冠疫情中學到的一個重要教訓是，全球供應鏈極為脆弱。一旦關鍵產品或資源的供應中斷，各國經濟將面臨巨大風險。正如我之前提到的，我們看到各國正在加大對國內戰略性或必需品（例如疫苗、放射性同位素、太陽能電池板和電動汽車電池）製造能力的投資，而我們也在積極參與所有這些領域的建設。

Another great example of this domestic supply chain strengthening involves the more than $80 billion that's been announced related to semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. We're currently engaged in design work on multiple semiconductor fabrication and related supply chain facilities in the U.S., and these draw on the full suite of Stantec service offerings from water and wastewater treatment, to industrial buildings, site development, power and environmental services.

加強國內供應鏈的另一個很好的例子是，美國已宣布投資超過 800 億美元用於半導體製造。我們目前正在參與美國多個半導體製造及相關供應鏈設施的設計工作，這些設施將利用 Stantec 的全套服務，包括水和廢水處理、工業建築、場地開發、電力和環境服務。

The extreme weather events experienced globally in 2021 serve as critical reminders that global action must be taken to improve infrastructure resilience, and we're engaged with clients around the world to harden their assets against increasingly frequent in-store and severe events. Stantec is currently involved in responding to over 20 climate disasters, each with losses exceeding $1 billion that have occurred around the world.

2021年全球極端天氣事件的發生，再次有力地提醒我們，必須採取全球行動來提升基礎設施的韌性。我們正與世界各地的客戶攜手合作，幫助他們加固資產，以應對日益頻繁的極端天氣事件。目前，Stantec正在參與應對全球20多起氣候災害，每起災害造成的損失超過10億美元。

The energy transition is driving growth in our Energy & Resources business, where we continue to work on the largest solar energy project in Canada, the first large-scale renewable diesel facility in Canada and multiple wind projects globally. And with the heightened awareness of the effect climate change has on global water supply, governments are prioritizing spending towards addressing water scarcity. And Stantec is currently working on some of the largest water security project in the world. For example, in California, our teams are involved on every large flagship advanced water treatment project currently underway, which will meaningfully improve water supply security in the region.

能源轉型正在推動我們能源與資源業務的成長，我們持續推動加拿大最大的太陽能專案、加拿大首個大型再生柴油工廠以及全球多個風電專案。隨著人們對氣候變遷對全球水資源供應影響的認識不斷提高，各國政府正優先增加用於解決水資源短缺問題的支出。目前，Stantec 正在參與一些全球規模最大的水安全計畫。例如，在加州，我們的團隊參與了所有正在進行的大型旗艦級先進水處理項目，這些項目將顯著改善該地區的供水安全。

Of course, our ability to capitalize on the opportunities ahead is heavily dependent on our ability to attract and retain a talented workforce. And with the majority of our staff continuing to work from home, I'm grateful to their collective resilience and perseverance. By prioritizing the health, safety and wellbeing of our people, we've improved our employee engagement score by 6% relative to pre-pandemic levels. And while the competition for talent continues in all sectors, we're seeing top industry talent migrate to Stantec in recognition of our culture and future prospects.

當然，我們能否掌握未來的機遇，很大程度上取決於我們能否吸引並留住優秀人才。目前，我們大部分的員工仍在居家辦公，我由衷感謝他們所展現的集體韌性和毅力。透過優先保障員工的健康、安全和福祉，我們的員工敬業度較疫情前水準提高了6%。儘管各行各業的人才競爭依然激烈，但我們看到，眾多行業頂尖人才正因認可我們的企業文化和未來發展前景而選擇加入Stantec。

You've heard me describe the tenfold increase in the value of our U.S. federal IDIQ framework. And this progress started with a strategic hire, who's been a catalyst for building out our federal team. Similarly, we've recently completed several other key growth related hires in California, Texas and in our Water business. In these strategic hires and our broad portfolio of large-scale iconic projects are precipitating revenue growth and follow-on talent movement in our direction.

您已經聽我描述過，我們美國聯邦無限期交付/無限期數量（IDIQ）框架的價值增加了十倍。這項進展始於一位策略性人才的引進，他/她一直是我們聯邦團隊建設的催化劑。同樣，我們最近在加州、德州以及水務業務部門也完成了其他幾項與成長相關的關鍵人才招募。這些策略性人才引進以及我們廣泛的大型標誌性專案組合正在推動收入成長，並吸引人才向我們靠攏。

We expect the strong trends that I just talked about and our recent acquisition to drive net revenue growth in the range of 18% to 22% for 2022, with organic net revenue growth in the mid to high single digits weighted to the second half of the year. Organic growth in the U.S. is expected to be in the high single digits, driven by growing momentum as evidenced by our record high U.S. backlog and project opportunities arising from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure stimulus bill. After a year of robust organic growth in Canada in 2021, we expect to maintain high levels activity driving the 2022 organic growth in the low single digits. Organic growth in Global is expected to achieve high single to low double-digit growth, propelled by strong economic growth, continued demand in stimulus and infrastructure sectors.

我們預計，我剛才提到的強勁趨勢以及我們近期的收購將推動2022年淨收入成長18%至22%，其中有機淨收入成長將達到中高個位數，主要集中在下半年。在美國，有機成長預計將達到高個位數，這得益於我們不斷增長的勢頭，例如我們創紀錄的美國積壓訂單以及1.2萬億美元基礎設施刺激法案帶來的項目機會。在2021年加拿大實現了強勁的有機成長之後，我們預計將保持高水準的業務活動，從而推動2022年有機成長達到低個位數。在全球範圍內，受強勁的經濟成長以及刺激計劃和基礎設施領域持續需求的推動，有機成長預計將達到高個位數至低兩位數。

As we continue to make discipline in project execution and operational efficiency, our adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of net revenue, is expected to range between 15.3% to 16.3%. This range reflects investments we're making to support growth by bolstering our internal resources and the commercialization of our new innovations and technologies. Strong EBITDA margins and the ongoing execution of our real estate strategy are expected to drive our adjusted net income margin to be at or above 7.5%, and adjusted EPS growth in the range of 22% to 26%. And we expect to deliver an adjusted return on invested capital above 10.5%. With a favorable market backdrop, an engaged workforce, a full M&A pipeline and a healthy balance sheet, we are very optimistic for the years ahead.

隨著我們持續提升專案執行效率和營運效率，預計調整後 EBITDA 佔淨收入的百分比將在 15.3% 至 16.3% 之間。這一區間反映了我們為支持成長而進行的投資，包括加強內部資源以及推動創新成果和新技術的商業化。強勁的 EBITDA 利潤率和房地產策略的持續推進預計將推動調整後淨利潤率達到或超過 7.5%，調整後每股收益將成長 22% 至 26%。我們預計調整後投資報酬率將超過 10.5%。憑藉有利的市場環境、積極敬業的員工隊伍、充足的併購專案儲備以及穩健的資產負債表，我們對未來幾年充滿信心。

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

那麼，我就把電話轉回給接線生，回答大家的問題。接線生？

(Operator Instructions) We will now take our first question from Jacob Bout from CIBC.

（操作員說明）現在我們來回答來自加拿大帝國商業銀行 (CIBC) 的 Jacob Bout 的第一個問題。

Yes. First question is on margins. So 2022 EBITDA, you're saying 15.3% to 16.3% range, 2023 at 16% to 17%. I'm assuming that's still valid. Maybe just comment on some of the moving parts in your 2022 guidance. I mean, I think SG&A moves higher with reopening and there's going to be higher labor costs with inflation, I guess you offset as mix and I guess, better reduced real estate footprint. So that's on 2022. And then maybe on '23, just talk about the bridge how you get from your guidance on '22 to '23.

是的。第一個問題是關於利潤率的。您預測2022年的EBITDA在15.3%到16.3%之間，2023年則在16%到17%之間。我假設這個預測仍然有效。能否請您談談2022年業績指引中一些不確定因素？我的意思是，我認為隨著重新開放，銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）會上升，而且通貨膨脹也會導致勞動力成本上漲，我想您可以透過產品組合優化和減少房地產佔用面積來抵消這些影響。以上是關於2022年的情況。然後，關於2023年，能否請您談談如何從2022年的業績指引過渡到2023年的業績指引？

Sure. So you've outlined really nicely, actually, Jacob, the -- what we are expecting in 2022 and where we expect to come out for the year. As we move into 2023, a part of that underlying expectation is that the investments we are making in 2022 to really strengthen our internal resources, whether it is on the back office front, HR, accounting, IT systems and so on. And the investments we're making in innovation, the expectation is that as we move into 2023, we'll continue to see growing benefit from that. Because we see such a strong multiyear cycle coming ahead of us for 2020 and beyond that, that productivity and efficiency should just continue into 2023. So that's not in a large part, we're expecting.

當然。雅各布，你確實把我們對2022年的預期以及預期的最終結果概述得非常清楚。展望2023年，我們預期2022年用於加強內部資源的投資，包括後台、人力資源、會計、IT系統等各個方面，以及我們在創新方面的投資，都將在2023年繼續帶來收益。因為我們預計2020年及以後將迎來一個強勁的多年周期，生產力和效率的提升應該會延續到2023年。所以，這在很大程度上是我們預期的。

We're also thinking about continuing to work toward our goals on synergies and integration savings through the Cardno acquisition, continuing to grow our pruning operation, which we have grown substantially in 2022 and continue to focus on where we can grow that delivery center and now determine how much we can grow the Manila operations that came with Cardno as well. So there's a number of things. And as I've always said, there is just 1 or 2 key things that we can do to really change the margin. But it is a number -- a multiple of things that we'll drive towards.

我們也考慮繼續推動透過收購Cardno實現協同效應和整合節約的目標，繼續發展我們的修剪業務（該業務在2022年已實現大幅增長），並繼續關注如何擴大配送中心，以及如何進一步發展Cardno帶來的馬尼拉業務。所以有很多事情要做。正如我一直所說，我們只需要做一兩件關鍵的事情就能真正改變利潤率。但利潤率是一個數字——我們將努力實現多個目標。

And in your mind, what's the biggest risk as far as actually achieving these 2023 targets?

在你看來，實現這些 2023 年目標的最大風險是什麼？

I guess we have talked about the -- everyone is talking about the labor shortage. You've heard Gord described why, although we're not going to be immune to that, why we feel good about our positioning with the culture that Stantec has drawn people to us. But that remains a bit of a risk just because of the unknown elements of that. Will we be able to hire the people -- to hire the people that we need to address the growth that is kind of coming towards the back end of this year and into next? And I think as much as we are very confident in our abilities to integrate acquisitions, Cardno is a large one. And it is complicated. So we -- as it's progressing, we feel good about the progress we're making and are confident that we'll be successful in that integration, but there's always risk associated with the timing and how disruptive that kind of activity can be to a firm that you've acquired. So those are a couple of things that we're watching.

我想我們已經討論過——大家都在談論勞動力短缺的問題。你們也聽戈爾德解釋過，雖然我們無法完全避免這個問題，但我們對史坦泰克的企業文化充滿信心，因為這種文化吸引了人才。但這仍然存在一定的風險，因為其中存在一些未知因素。我們能否招募足夠的人才來應對今年年底和明年即將到來的成長？儘管我們對整合收購的能力非常有信心，但卡德諾的收購規模龐大，情況也比較複雜。隨著收購的推進，我們對目前的進展感到滿意，並相信能夠成功完成整合，但時機以及此類收購活動對被收購公司可能造成的衝擊始終存在風險。因此，這些都是我們正在關注的問題。

Last question here. Any exposure? Or how are you thinking about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and implications for Stantec?

最後一個問題。您對此有何看法？或者您如何看待俄烏衝突及其對史坦泰克的影響？

We -- as the temperature began to increase in the Ukraine last fall, we researched any project that we might have ongoing in the Ukraine. We did have an EU-funded project, a development project that was ongoing. We withdrew our people from the Ukraine late last year and this year, as the temperature continued to increase in January, we met with our clients and we wrapped the project up, wrote our final report. So we really haven't had historically very much exposure to the Ukraine other than through some EU development projects. And certainly -- so all of our people are out, all of our people are safe, and we don't see at this point it to be a significant impact on us one way or the other.

去年秋天烏克蘭氣溫開始上升時，我們調查了所有可能在烏克蘭開展的計畫。我們確實有一個歐盟資助的發展計畫正在進行中。去年年底，我們已將人員撤離烏克蘭。今年一月，隨著氣溫持續升高，我們與客戶會面，完成了專案收尾工作，並撰寫了最終報告。因此，除了歐盟的一些發展項目外，我們歷史上與烏克蘭的聯繫並不多。當然，我們所有人員都已撤離，所有人員都很安全，目前我們認為這不會對我們造成任何重大影響。

We will now take our next question from Jean-Francois Lavoie from Desjardins Capital Markets.

接下來，我們將回答來自德斯賈丁資本市場的讓-弗朗索瓦·拉瓦提出的問題。

So I know it's still early in the integration process, but I was wondering if you could talk about what's your vision for the margin profile of Cardno's as you have Pacific business over the next 2 to 3 years, please?

我知道現在還處於整合過程的早期階段，但我想請您談談您對 Cardno 未來 2 到 3 年在太平洋地區的業務利潤率有何展望？

Certainly. As we talked about when we announced the acquisition, overall, we expect Cardno's margin profile to be largely consistent with ours and to continue to improve over time as we're driving within legacy Stantec. And we have noted that between the U.S. business and the Australia business, the margin profile is different. In the U.S., where it is largely focused on environmental services work is that, that does tend to be a higher margin business. And so that portion of Cardno will generate stronger than average Stantec margins.

當然。正如我們在宣布收購時所談到的，總體而言，我們預計 Cardno 的利潤率將與我們基本一致，隨著我們對原 Stantec 業務的整合，利潤率將持續提升。我們也注意到，美國業務和澳洲業務的利潤率有所不同。在美國，Cardno 主要專注於環境服務，而環境服務通常利潤率較高。因此，Cardno 的這部分業務將產生高於 Stantec 平均水平的利潤率。

In Australia, where the business is more focused on transportation and other sectors that are still consistent with Stantec's businesses, but not as high as ES. We would say that those margins will continue to be a little bit lower than our average. So all in all, it's kind of a distress why it was such a good fit for us, very consistent margin profile to our specific sectors and opportunities to continue to streamline and expand margins as we continue those initiatives within Stantec.

在澳大利亞，業務更專注於交通運輸和其他與Stantec業務相符的行業，但規模不如ES。我們認為，這些行業的利潤率將繼續略低於我們的平均水平。總而言之，令人遺憾的是，澳洲市場對我們來說如此契合，其利潤率與我們特定行業的利潤率非常匹配，隨著我們在Stantec內部繼續推進相關舉措，我們有機會進一步優化流程並提高利潤率。

Okay. That's really helpful. And then I was wondering if you could talk a bit more about your M&A strategy. You mentioned that the pipeline was full, but considering that the integration is on its early phase, should we expect more of a tuck-in approach in the near term for 2022? Or is there still some opportunities that could materialize later this year?

好的，這很有幫助。接下來我想請您再詳細談談貴公司的併購策略。您提到目前併購專案儲備充足，但考慮到整合尚處於早期階段，我們是否應該預期在2022年短期內貴公司會採取更溫和的整合方式？或者說，今年稍晚是否還會出現一些機會？

Yes. So firstly, our primary focus is to ensure the smooth integration of the teams that are joining us from Cardno. So we're working hard on that.

是的。首先，我們的首要任務是確保從Cardno加入我們的團隊能夠順利整合。所以我們正在為此努力。

To your point, that said, our balance sheet remains really strong even after the Cardno transaction. The pipeline of potential firms is really robust. So we're continuing to look for firms. We're in active discussions as we are at any time with firms in different geographies. Primarily right now, we're looking at firms in Canada, the United States, the U.K., Western Europe, New Zealand, primarily looking at firms water, transportation, buildings, environment and so on.

沒錯，即便完成Cardno交易後，我們的資產負債表依然非常穩健。潛在收購對象的儲備非常充足。因此，我們仍在繼續尋找合適的收購對象。我們一如既往地與不同地區的公司保持著積極的洽談。目前，我們主要關注加拿大、美國、英國、西歐和紐西蘭的公司，並專注於水務、交通運輸、建築、環境等領域的公司。

And so while we're continuing to look in Australia, the teams there, we've almost doubled the size of our group there. So we wouldn't want to layer on another significantly sized acquisition in Australia. I think certainly within the first half of this year until we kind of get over the hump with the overall integration there.

因此，儘管我們仍在澳洲尋找機會，而且我們在那裡的團隊規模幾乎已經翻了一番，但我們並不希望在澳洲再進行一次較大的收購。我認為至少在今年上半年，在我們完成整體整合之前，我們不會進行任何收購。

So I think the pipeline is still very full. Our appetite is still very strong. And our ability to integrate additional firms, we still have the capacity to do that. We could do it in Australia as well, but I think it just would be probably too much to later on an additional one there, because remember, in Australia in 2021, we acquired GTA, Engenium and then Cardno. So we're really in the process of integrating 3 firms into our One Stantec philosophy in Australia. So we want to give a good chance for that to settle and ensure we're getting the success of that before we layer on too much more.

所以我認為我們的業務儲備依然非常充足。我們仍然有很強的收購意願。而且我們仍然有能力整合更多的公司。我們也可以在澳洲這樣做，但我認為之後再在那裡收購一家公司可能會負擔過重，因為別忘了，我們在2021年收購了GTA、Engenium和Cardno。所以我們目前正在澳洲將這三家公司整合到我們的「一個Stantec」策略中。因此，我們希望給這三家公司一個穩定的發展環境，確保它們成功後再考慮進行更多的收購。

Okay. That's great. And the last one for me, on the -- you mentioned in the press release the investment you're making for commercialization of the technology. I was wondering if you could provide a bit more detail about that and the impact it might have on margin in 2023 and beyond.

好的，太好了。最後一個問題，您在新聞稿中提到了您為這項技術的商業化所做的投資。我想請您詳細說說這方面的情況，以及它可能對2023年及以後的利潤率產生的影響。

Yes. So within our innovation group, we're working on a number of things. Firstly, we're working on systems and processes that can make ourselves more efficient internally so that we'll be able to develop projects -- to deliver projects faster, be able to increase the net revenue generation per employee per FTE. And so we're working on a number of things there to automate and expedite the design process. But externally, we're working with clients to develop a number of systems that will meet their needs. And so I mentioned in the prepared remarks, the floodplain predictor model that helps us to assess where there might be flooding events where we might see landslides and these sorts of things.

是的。在我們的創新團隊內部，我們正在進行多項工作。首先，我們正在改善內部系統和流程，以提高效率，從而加快專案開發速度，交付更快的項目，並提高每位全職員工的淨收入。因此，我們正在努力實現設計流程的自動化和加速。同時，我們也在與客戶合作，開發一系列能夠滿足他們需求的系統。正如我在準備的演講稿中提到的，我們正在開發一個洪水預測模型，它可以幫助我們評估哪些地區可能發生洪水、山體滑坡等災害。

We have other products that we've developed and have 60 or more clients using it, which is like a financial management system that helps clients automate their capital planning process. And the beauty of that is that it -- both is a sort of a software as a service and annual renewal -- software renewal type of an agreement, but then we're often hired as well on our consultative practice to help them work with the software and deliver it. So those are just a few examples of the types of things we're doing both internally and externally. So we are investing in those things this year.

我們開發了其他一些產品，目前已有 60 多家客戶在使用。這些產品類似財務管理系統，可以幫助客戶實現資本規劃流程的自動化。它的優點在於，它既是一種軟體即服務 (SaaS)，也採用年度續約模式。此外，我們也經常受聘提供諮詢服務，幫助客戶使用和交付軟體。以上只是我們內部和外部業務的一些例子。今年，我們將加大對這些領域的投入。

We've also talked previously about some of the investments that we're making in third-party firms like BlueSky Resources that are getting -- that are underway and will add additional benefit to our clients. So as an example, BlueSky Resources that we've talked about previously, uses remote sensing information to provide information on -- concentrations of contaminants in the atmosphere, and it can be used really anywhere around the world to provide some of our multinational clients with understandings of, are they meeting their regulatory requirements in terms of pollutants and things in different locations. So these are the types of things that we're delivering, investing in now, but a number of them are bearing fruit already for us. So we're really pleased with the progress in that area.

我們之前也談到我們對第三方公司（例如BlueSky Resources）的一些投資，這些投資正在進行中，並將為我們的客戶帶來更多好處。例如，我們之前提到的BlueSky Resources利用遙感資訊提供大氣污染物濃度訊息，這項技術幾乎可以在世界任何地方使用，幫助我們的一些跨國客戶了解他們在不同地區的污染物排放等方面是否符合監管要求。這些正是我們目前正在投資的項目類型，其中一些已經初見成效。因此，我們對這方面的進展感到非常滿意。

We will now take our next question from Yuri Lynk from Canaccord.

接下來，我們將回答來自 Canaccord 的 Yuri Lynk 提出的問題。

Wondering, I don't know who wants to take it, but just wondering if you could talk about your expectations for utilization in 2022 versus last year.

我不知道誰願意回答這個問題，但我想問您能否談談您對 2022 年利用率與去年相比的預期。

Sorry, Yuri, -- would you -- just you were really soft there. I couldn't quite hear, did you ask utilization?

抱歉，尤里，－－你－－你剛才聲音太輕了。我沒聽清，你問的是利用率嗎？

Utilization for 2022 over 2021. Yes.

2022 年的使用率高於 2021 年。是的。

Yes. Okay. Excellent. From a utilization perspective, as you've seen reflected in our results for 2021 and the guidance we've given for 2022, the U.S., we said a lot has -- was slower to come up and recovered than we expected. And so as much as we have been managing our workforce in the U.S., there is some latency there because as we look at the size of our backlog and notified awards and then the momentum we expect to continue to build when infrastructure spending starts to flow. We've maintained a good portion of that workforce, which in 2021 was not as highly utilized as we would typically want or expect.

是的，好的，太好了。從利用率的角度來看，正如您在我們2021年的業績和2022年的業績指引中所看到的，美國市場復甦的速度比我們預期的要慢。因此，儘管我們一直在努力管理美國的員工隊伍，但由於積壓訂單和已通知的授標數量，以及我們預計在基礎設施支出開始流動後將持續增長的勢頭，仍然存在一些滯後。我們保留了相當一部分員工，但他們在2021年的使用率並沒有達到我們通常希望或預期的水平。

And so as we go into next year, we do think and we're seeing in Q1 that is continuing to be slow in terms of that ramp-up. And so U.S. utilization will probably be, again, a little bit lower. And that's why we're saying that our EBITDA margin in Q1 is probably going to be at the low end or maybe even a bit below the low end of our range for seasonal reasons, it's typically a little bit lower. But coupled with the lower utilization in the U.S. that we expect to really build as we get past the first quarter into the second and beyond.

因此，展望明年，我們認為（並且從第一季的情況來看），產能爬坡速度仍將較為緩慢。因此，美國的產能利用率可能會再次略低。正因如此，我們預計第一季的 EBITDA 利潤率可能會處於預期範圍的低端，甚至略低於低端，這主要是由於季節性因素造成的，通常情況下都會略低一些。但再加上我們預期美國產能利用率較低，而隨著我們進入第二季及以後，產能利用率將會顯著提升。

So that's the situation we expect to improve. And, of course, in light of the labor shortage and the very technical and skilled employees that we need, we believe it's the right thing to retain those employees so that we have that were, of course, available to address the growth that is coming.

所以我們預計這種情況會有所改善。當然，考慮到勞動力短缺以及我們急需技術嫻熟的員工，我們認為留住這些員工是正確的做法，這樣我們才能有充足的人手來應對即將到來的成長。

So not -- on the whole, maybe not a big change in utilization in '22?

所以，整體而言，2022 年的利用率可能不會發生太大變化？

I think as we get towards the second half of the year, we expect a significant improvement. But I think Q1 maybe not so much.

我認為隨著下半年的到來，我們預計情況會顯著改善。但第一季可能不會有太大變動。

Yes. Okay. And correct me if I'm wrong, but utilization would be one of the biggest drivers of your project margin?

是的。好的。如果我理解有誤請指正，但利用率應該是影響專案利潤率的最大因素之一吧？

Not project margin, but EBITDA margin because to the extent that project margin is your revenue minus direct labor, that we expect to just continue to be quite strong, but it's when you have a workforce that isn't chargeable that goes into your admin and marketing costs, and that will cause those expenses to be a little bit higher. So it will be more reflected in our EBITDA margin and not in project margin.

不是專案利潤率，而是 EBITDA 利潤率，因為專案利潤率是指收入減去直接人工成本，我們預計這部分利潤率會繼續保持強勁勢頭。但是，如果員工的薪水不能計入管理費和行銷費，這些費用就會略高一些。因此，EBITDA 利潤率比專案利潤率更能反映出這些因素的影響。

Okay. And second one, just digging in on the first quarter, why would your organic growth be back half weighted when you're facing really, really easy comps in the first quarter, it was down almost 7.5% last year.

好的。第二個問題，深入分析第一季度，為什麼在第一季面臨非常非常低的基數的情況下，你的有機成長率會恢復一半（去年同期下降了近7.5%）。

I think as we're looking into the first quarter, we continue to see in the U.S. and somewhat in global as well. But these larger projects that we are winning and are in our backlog, so that gives us confidence that the backlog -- the work is there. We are finding it is taking a little bit longer to complete the processes and get the work started. There we're winning larger sized projects. They're more complex. And so the early work that we have to do is not labor-intensive. It's a handful of specialists kind of dealing with the client to get the specific scoped out in the work orders issued. And then as those projects ramp up, it's really when we can deploy large numbers of our staff to really get those projects up and running. So that's what we're seeing in the first quarter. And despite Q1 being an easy comp, I would say that, that's probably the biggest factor is just that lag in getting the backlog converted into task orders and work orders that we can actually deploy large portions of our workforce towards.

我認為，展望第一季度，我們繼續看到美國市場以及全球範圍內的一些情況。我們贏得的大型專案目前都在我們的待辦事項清單中，這讓我們對待專案——也就是工作量——充滿信心。我們發現，完成流程並啟動工作所需的時間稍長。這些項目規模更大，也更複雜。因此，我們早期需要完成的工作並非勞動密集型，只需要少數專家與客戶溝通，確定工作單中的具體範圍即可。隨著這些專案的推進，我們才能真正調動大量員工，確保專案順利啟動。這就是我們在第一季看到的情況。儘管第一季相對容易比較，但我認為，最大的影響因素可能是將待辦事項轉換為任務單和工作單所需的時間，而這些任務單和工作單是我們能夠調動大量員工的。

Okay. And last one, why wouldn't that bleed into the second quarter?

好的。最後一個問題，為什麼這種情況不會延續到第二季​​？

It may. I think our expectation is that given what's in our backlog and that sort of early work that as we get towards the second quarter, that we will largely have passed that hurdle and have those projects up and running. That's our expectation.

有可能。我認為，鑑於我們目前的積壓項目和早期工作進展，我們預計到第二季末，我們將基本克服這個障礙，讓這些項目順利啟動並運行。這是我們的預期。

And I think another factor there too, Yuri, is the environmental services backlog. And then that typically really gets rolling in the second quarter, particularly in Northern United States and in Canada, when we can put those people out in the field. And you've seen in our U.S. ES backlog up by 50% organically, add on that, the Cardno folks. And so I think -- which, of course, won't show up in organic growth for the first year. But I think we see pretty robust growth in our Environmental Services business, and that really ramps up in quarters 2 and 3.

尤里，我認為另一個因素是環境服務積壓訂單。通常情況下，環境服務積壓訂單會在第二季真正開始成長，尤其是在美國北部和加拿大，那時我們才能派人到現場工作。正如你所看到的，我們在美國的環境服務積壓訂單自然增長了50%，再加上卡德諾團隊的貢獻。所以我認為——當然，這不會在第一年體現在自然成長中——但我認為我們的環境服務業務將實現相當強勁的成長，並且在第二季和第三季會真正加速成長。

We will now take our next question from Michael Tupholme from TD Securities.

接下來，我們將回答來自道明證券的邁克爾·圖普霍爾姆提出的問題。

Maybe just to build on one of Yuri's last questions there, just with respect to organic growth guidance in 2022. Are you able to provide just sort of a little bit more detail about the cadence and the progression through the year, I guess, overall, but also across the regions, the various regions, Global, Canada and U.S.

也許可以接著尤里剛才提出的最後一個問題，關於2022年的有機成長預期。您能否更詳細地說明全年的成長節奏和進展情況，包括整體情況，以及各個地區的情況，例如全球、加拿大和美國？

Yes. So sure, I'll start with that and perhaps Theresa can dive in when it's appropriate. So -- maybe I'll start with Global. We had a really strong year in Global, almost 9% organic growth in 2021. And we really, with the backlog that we've got, we see that coming in good backlog growth. We mentioned high single to low double-digit growth in 2022. So we're seeing a lot of transportation work. I mentioned in the prepared results in the U.K. -- certainly, Australia and New Zealand, we're seeing some buildings work down there. We've talked about the Footscray Hospital and others. And so -- and we talked about the amount of infrastructure stimulus, U.K., Australia and so on. Also, we're getting support from high copper and some of the other commodity prices in our mining businesses in South America and Western Australia. So I think we feel pretty good about our Global organic growth. Even though it was strong, in 2021, we feel it's going to be pretty strong and robust in 2022 as well.

好的。那我就先從這方面說起，等時機合適，Theresa 可以再補充。那麼——或許我先從全球業務說起。 2021 年全球業務表現非常強勁，實現了近 9% 的有機成長。而且，鑑於我們目前的積壓訂單，我們預計未來訂單成長將保持良好勢頭。我們之前提到過，2022 年的成長率將達到個位數到兩位數的低段。目前我們看到很多交通運輸方面的項目。我在之前的業績報告中提到過，在英國——當然還有澳大利亞和紐西蘭——我們也看到一些建築項目正在進行中。我們之前討論過 Footscray 醫院和其他一些項目。此外，我們也談到了英國、澳洲等地的基礎設施刺激計畫。同時，我們在南美和西澳大利亞的礦業業務也受惠於銅價和其他一些大宗商品價格的上漲。因此，我認為我們對全球有機成長前景相當樂觀。儘管 2021 年它已經很強勁了，但我們認為它在 2022 年也會相當強勁和穩健。

Then maybe talking about Canada. Excluding Trans Mountain -- and we'll be so happy that we don't have to ever mention that again after this quarter, the impact on revenue of that project. Excluding that, we had organic growth this year in Canada, just over 5%. And so Canada came out of the gates pretty quick as did Global in 2021. And -- so we expect good performance still in 2022. But because a lot of Canada sort of came out of the gate in 2021, we see organic growth in Canada in that low single digits in 2022.

接下來或許可以談談加拿大市場。撇開跨山輸油管計畫不談——我們非常高興本季結束後就不用再提及該計畫對營收的影響了。剔除此計畫後，我們今年在加拿大實現了略高於5%的內生成長。因此，加拿大市場和全球市場一樣，在2021年都迅速取得了開門紅。我們預計2022年業績依然良好。但由於加拿大市場的大部分業務在2021年就已經啟動，我們預計2022年加拿大市場的內生成長率將維持在個位數低點。

U.S. is interesting because you've seen the organic growth that we've got there, 10% organic growth in the U.S. And when you add in our acquisition backlog, U.S. backlog is up over 23% to a record of CAD 3 billion. So pretty significant there. Strong backlog as we go into 2021, the tailwind from infrastructure stimulus, and I think will be a second half of the year. We're starting to see some of those RFPs hit the street now from the bipartisan infrastructure law that is anticipated to come. We're seeing some state and local work coming out in anticipation of it. In water, lead service line replacement, transportation. Interesting, we've responded to 5 EV charging network RFQs in the past 2 weeks alone. So there's a lot of work coming out in those areas, too. We talked about semiconductors, where we're working on a number of these facilities already. And certainly, there's more to come.

美國市場的情況很有意思，因為我們在美國實現了10%的內生成長。加上我們的收購訂單，美國訂單總額成長超過23%，達到創紀錄的30億加幣。所以成長相當顯著。進入2021年，強勁的訂單儲備將持續，基礎設施刺激計畫也將帶來利好，我認為下半年將會是成長的高峰。我們已經開始看到一些與即將出台的兩黨基礎設施法案相關的招標書（RFP）發布。我們也看到一些州和地方政府的計畫正在陸續推出，以配合法案的實施。例如，在供水、鉛製供水管更換和交通運輸領域。值得一提的是，光是過去兩週，我們就收到了5份電動車充電網路專案的詢價函（RFQ）。所以這些領域也有很多項目正在湧現。我們之前也談到了半導體產業，我們已經在多個相關設施的建設上開展工作。當然，未來還會有更多項目推出。

So we do feel pretty good about organic growth in the U.S. But I think you -- many of our other multi-sector global peers have talked about the first part of the year being a little slower than the second part. And I think what we're feeling is consistent with that.

所以，我們對美國市場的有機成長感覺相當不錯。但我認為，您——以及我們許多其他跨行業的全球同行——都提到過，今年上半年的成長速度會比下半年稍慢一些。我認為我們目前的感受也與此相符。

Okay. Gord, that's very helpful. Just shifting over to your margin, your EBITDA margin guidance. In the release, you talked about the guidance reflecting investments in internal growth resources to support the growth in the business and the commercialization of new innovations and technologies as being factors that are going to weigh on the margins. Can you just elaborate on the investments you're making and what you're doing in those areas?

好的，Gord，這很有幫助。接下來我想談談您的利潤率，也就是您的 EBITDA 利潤率預期。在新聞稿中，您提到該預期反映了對內部成長資源的投資，以支持業務成長以及新創新和技術的商業化，這些因素將對利潤率產生影響。您能否詳細說明您正在進行的投資以及您在這些領域採取的措施？

Sure. So again, there are a couple of components to it. But as I mentioned earlier, the growth that we see coming, coupled with some disruption in overall labor that everybody is experiencing. We are seeing a need, for instance, to bolster our internal resources and human resources because we need the talent acquisition people, to hire the people to deploy to these projects. And that's a really hot market right now. And so hiring additional people in HR, hiring additional people on our other back office teams to support the growth is something that we have been quite brutal on in the last couple of years and just believe that in order for us to be able to achieve the growth that we see coming, we need to now kind of loosen those per strings a little bit.

當然。這其中包含幾個面向。正如我之前提到的，我們預見的成長，加上目前每個人都面臨的勞動市場整體波動，都帶來了一些問題。例如，我們需要加強內部資源和人力資源，因為我們需要人才招募人員來招募人員參與這些專案。而這方面的市場需求目前非常旺盛。因此，過去幾年我們在人力資源部門和其他後台團隊的招募方面一直非常嚴格，但為了實現預期的成長，我們現在需要稍微放鬆一下這些限制。

Cybersecurity continues to be an area that requires just constant investment, and we see some of that coming. And as well, our IT system to support -- we've talked about the increased work we're doing on -- both U.S. and Canadian federal and there are requirements there around your IT systems, the increased IDIQ work that Gord has been referencing, it requires us to put some investment toward our IT systems to meet the regulations and the requirements of that particular client. So those are the kinds of things that we are focused on internally.

網路安全領域需要持續不斷的投入，我們也看到了這方面的一些進展。此外，為了支持我們的IT系統——我們之前也提到過，我們正在加強支持美國和加拿大聯邦政府的相關工作——這些工作對IT系統都有相應的要求。正如Gord所提到的，IDIQ（無限期交付/無限期數量）合約的增加，也要求我們對IT系統進行投資，以滿足相關法規和特定客戶的要求。這些都是我們目前內部關注的重點。

And from an innovation standpoint, it is around ensuring that we are not penny-wise and pound foolish when it comes to innovation, but that we are really critically determining where to put our capital dollars toward what innovation activities that will either create opportunities with our clients in terms of new services or make them stickier to us through as an entry way and add on other services to it, or in our ability to deliver our work such that we can be more efficient and can either drive to more competitive pricing or greater margin expansion that we're able to keep. So that's kind of the general suite of things that we're looking at.

從創新角度來看，關鍵在於確保我們在創新方面不會因小失大，而是要認真思考如何將資金投入到能夠為客戶創造新服務機會、增強客戶黏性（例如透過提供新服務來拓展客戶群）或提升工作效率的創新活動中。這些創新活動旨在提高我們的工作交付能力，從而實現更具競爭力的價格或更大的利潤成長。以上就是我們目前關注的重點。

Okay. And then maybe just one last one, probably for you as well, Theresa. Just sticking with the subject of your EBITDA margin guidance. I know you said you've not made any assumptions around the impact of share price movements since year-end as it relates to stock-based comps. But what have you baked into your 2022 adjusted EBITDA margin guidance with respect to stock-based compensation relative to what you would have expensed in 2021.

好的。最後還有一個問題，可能也是問你的，Theresa。還是關於你的 EBITDA 利潤率預期。我知道你說過，你沒有對年末以來股價波動對股票選擇權的影響做任何假設。但是，相對於 2021 年的支出，你在 2022 年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率預期中，考慮到了股票選擇權費用，你做了哪些調整？

So what we have baked in is an assumption that we -- that the share price remains stable as of where it was at the end of the year. So given market activity today and how long it lasts, it may help or hurt us as we go forward.

因此，我們已將一個假設納入考量，即股價將保持在年底時的穩定水平。鑑於當前的市場走勢及其持續時間，未來可能會對我們有利，也可能不利。

One thing I will mention with respect to our stock-based comp and it's in our MD&A, and I suspect we haven't gotten to those pages yet in our public disclosures. But we did at the end of the year enter into a swap for a portion of our stock-based compensation to try and mitigate some of the volatility that we saw this year. And so in aggregate, about 35% of the units that we have outstanding have been hedged effectively, and we should have -- we should be able to then offset volatility in the share price movement for that portion of the units we have outstanding. The balance remains subject to share price fluctuations, but those swaps will help to mitigate it somewhat.

關於我們的股票選擇權激勵計劃，我想提一點，這部分內容在我們的管理層討論與分析（MD&A）中有所提及，我估計我們在公開披露文件中還沒有提到這些內容。我們在年底確實就部分股票選擇權激勵計畫進行了互換，以試圖緩解今年出現的一些波動。因此，我們已發行股票選擇權中約有35%已得到有效對沖，我們應該能夠抵銷這部分股票選擇權因股價波動而受到的影響。剩餘部分仍會受到股價波動的影響，但這些互換將有助於在一定程度上緩解這種影響。

Okay. I'll take a look at that and follow up.

好的，我會查看並跟進。

We will now take our next question from Frederic Bastien from Raymond James.

接下來，我們將回答來自 Raymond James 公司的 Frederic Bastien 提出的問題。

Have you seen the coming together of Cardno and Stantec drive new revenue opportunities that might not have been attainable prior to the combination?

您是否注意到 Cardno 和 Stantec 的合併帶來了合併前可能無法實現的新收入機會？

Yes. I think what's been interesting with combining Cardno and Stantec, Frederic, is that while we are working through the process, doing the due diligence, certainly it was only the executive level that was aware of the transaction and we're chatting about it. And we felt that there was really good synergy in clients and with some of the individuals. But when we announced that the transaction, the -- just the outpouring of folks from both Cardno and Stantec who said, we work with this group on a project here or I worked with them previously at their company or this company, just the amount of synergy between the employees has been fantastic. So without question, that has driven more excitement and more opportunities, I think, in terms of -- than we actually thought that there was initially. So it's been a pleasant surprise for us.

是的。弗雷德里克，我認為卡德諾和史坦泰克合併最有趣的地方在於，在我們推進合併流程、進行盡職調查的過程中，只有高階主管知曉這筆交易，我們也一直在討論。我們當時就覺得，雙方在客戶和一些員工方面有著非常好的綜效。但當我們宣布這筆交易時，卡德諾和斯坦泰克的員工紛紛表示：“我們之前在這個項目上和這個團隊合作過”，或者“我之前在他們公司或那家公司和他們共事過”，員工之間的協同效應之強令人驚嘆。毫無疑問，這帶來了比我們最初預想的更多的興奮和機會。所以，這對我們來說是一個驚喜。

I don't like asking that question, but were there anything that surprised you from more of a cautionary example or something that may not have been super pleasant about the acquisition? Or is overall everything pretty good to go.

我不太喜歡問這個問題，但這次收購過程中有沒有什麼讓你感到驚訝、需要警惕或不太愉快的事情發生？還是說一切都進展順利？

We -- through the due diligence, we had really searched hard to unearth any concerns that we might have from tax and project due diligence, IT due diligence and so on. So no, there's actually been no real downside surprises because we had unearthed those things during due diligence.

我們透過盡職調查，認真仔細地審查了稅務、專案、IT等方面的所有潛在問題，力求找出所有可能的隱患。因此，實際上並沒有出現任何意外的不利情況，因為我們在盡職調查過程中已經發現了這些問題。

Okay. Super. Where do you expect the leverage to finish by the end of this year, assuming you don't do any major acquisitions? Is it possible that you go towards the low end of your target range?

好的，太好了。假設你們不進行任何重大收購，你們預計到今年年底槓桿率會達到多少？有可能接近你們目標範圍的下限嗎？

Yes. That is my expectation, assuming that if we don't pay around any assumptions around acquisitions, we should be towards the low end of our range.

是的。我的預期也是如此，假設我們不考慮任何與收購相關的假設因素，那麼我們的價格應該會接近預期範圍的下限。

We will now take our next question from Ian Gillies from Stifel.

接下來，我們將回答來自 Stifel 公司的 Ian Gillies 提出的問題。

Can you elaborate a little bit on how you've factored in a rate hiking cycle and the impacts it may have on the buildings portion of your business, whether it be on the commercial side and/or on the residential side?

您能否詳細說明您是如何將利率上漲週期考慮在內，以及它可能對貴公司建築業務（無論是商業建築還是住宅建築）產生的影響？

So as we've been talking with our clients, they haven't really been too -- we haven't seen a lot of sensitivity in our discussions at this point to rate hikes. Where we have seen more sensitivity from some of our commercial buildings clients has been with regards to inflation in terms of supplies. And if the cost of the building increases by a certain amount, how can we value engineer it to kind of get the cost back down in line with where things might be. So yes, so the discussions that we've been having so far have been less about rate hikes and more about just inflationary pressures overall.

所以，在我們與客戶的溝通中，他們似乎對利率上漲並不太敏感——至少目前為止，我們在討論中還沒有感受到他們對利率上漲的太多關注。相反，我們的一些商業建築客戶對建材價格上漲的通膨問題更為敏感。如果建築成本上升到一定程度，我們該如何進行價值工程，才能將成本控制在合理的範圍內？因此，到目前為止，我們討論的重點更多地放在了整體通膨壓力上，而不是利率上漲本身。

Okay. That's helpful. And the other thing I wanted to ask about with respect to the infrastructure bill in the U.S., you're already starting to see some commentary that proponents or people are going to participate or moving to smaller projects rather than larger projects, given inflationary pressures. I mean, does Stantec have any preference on whether we're working on small or large projects with respect to this bill? Or is it kind of all equal?

好的，這很有幫助。關於美國的基建法案，我還想問一下，目前已經有一些評論指出，鑑於通膨壓力，支持者或相關人士將傾向於參與小型計畫而非大型計畫。我的意思是，Stantec公司對於參與小型項目還是大型項目，在法案實施過程中是否有偏好？還是說所有項目都一樣？

Yes. I think that's one of the beauties actually of the Stantec model is that we work on projects from $5,000 in fees to several hundred millions of dollars in fees. And we've kind of scaled our whole operation from the smaller community ones to those larger sort of global class type projects. So no, I think we're okay. However, our clients decide to put out the projects will be just fine with us.

是的。我認為史坦泰克模式的優勢之一在於，我們承接的專案費用從5,000美元到數億美元不等。我們已經將業務規模從小型社區專案擴展到大型全球級專案。所以，我認為我們沒問題。無論客戶如何決定，我們都能勝任。

Our next question comes from Maxim Sytchev from National Bank Financial.

我們的下一個問題來自國家銀行金融公司的馬克西姆·西切夫。

Gord, just a quick question in terms of the U.S. potential benefiting from Biden stimulus in the back half. I think when we look at some of the peers, people are sort of pointing to 2023. So just wondering what gives you sort of the confidence about that inflection point maybe a little bit earlier. Yes. So I guess any comment there?

戈德，關於美國能否在下半年受益於拜登的經濟刺激計劃，我有個問題想請教一下。我覺得，如果我們看看其他國家的情況，大家普遍認為要等到2023年才會出現這種情況。所以，我想知道是什麼讓你對這個轉捩點抱有信心，或許會提早一些？好的。所以，你對此有什麼看法嗎？

Yes. Yes. No, great point, Maxim. It's interesting. One of the ones that came out earlier this week, they were talking about 2023. I think their 2023 starts in our Q4. So as they're talking about 2023, it's kind of maybe even back half to us. So I do think because we're starting to see some of the projects hit the streets now that -- this won't be a Q1 story for us or I think we'll start to see some revenue generated in Q3. But I do think this will be a Q3, Q4 story for us and certainly providing strong, strong tailwinds as we go into calendar year 2023 also.

是的，是的，沒錯，馬克西姆，你說的話很有道理。這很有意思。本週稍早發布的一份報告提到了2023年。我認為他們所說的2023年是從我們第四季開始的。所以，他們說的2023年，對我們來說可能都已經是下半年了。因此，我認為，由於我們現在開始看到一些項目陸續上市，這不會是我們第一季的業績，或者說，我認為我們會在第三季開始看到一些收入。但我確實認為，這會是我們第三、第四季的業績，而且肯定會在2023年全年為我們帶來強勁的推動作用。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just one last question. In terms of expectations of sellers, obviously, we have seen a deflation of multiples in the public market, but wondering if the conversation that you have right now with the potential private targets, if you are seeing any change in the bottom line, which -- or it's still kind of pretty sticky. So maybe just any color there.

好的，這很有幫助。最後一個問題。關於賣家的預期，顯然，我們看到公開市場的估值倍數有所下降，但我想知道，您目前與潛在的私募目標公司進行的對話中，您是否看到任何關於最終結果的變化——或者說，最終結果仍然相當不穩定？所以，您能否提供一些資訊？

Yes. Some of the discussions that we've been having, certainly, in the latter part of last year, expectations of sellers from a multiple perspective crept up as in concert, the public company multiples were creeping upwards as well. So it's been -- since the beginning of the year that we've seen some of the public multiples come down a little bit. So we -- the firms that we're talking to, I think the academically, they understand that there's a certain accretive delta between that we need to hold on to. So we've had some discussions on it, on those with some sellers. And I think they're just waiting to see kind of what happens with things.

是的。去年下半年，我們進行的一些討論確實涉及了這一點。當時，隨著上市公司估值倍數的同步上漲，賣方對估值倍數的預期也隨之上升。但從今年年初開始，我們看到一些上市公司的估值倍數有所回落。因此，我們——也就是我們正在洽談的公司——我認為，從學術角度來看，他們都明白我們需要維持一定的增值空間。所以我們和一些賣方就此進行了一些討論。我認為他們只是在觀望事態的發展。

So I think everyone is being reasonable, but this response in the public market since the beginning of the year, has it quite crept into some of these private firms yet. But I think it will, if things stay where they are, but we haven't seen any transactions since the beginning of the year to really know how that all plays out.

所以我認為大家的做法都很理性，但自年初以來公開市場的這種反應，尚未完全滲透到一些私人企業。不過，如果情況持續下去，我認為最終會蔓延開來。但自年初以來，我們還沒有看到任何交易，所以我們無法真正了解最終結果。

Right. Okay. That's very helpful.

好的，這很有幫助。

We will now take our next question from Mark Neville from Scotiabank.

接下來，我們將回答來自加拿大豐業銀行的馬克·內維爾提出的問題。

2 questions. First, just to be clear, do you expect the business to put up some organic growth in Q1.

兩個問題。首先，為了確認一下，您預期公司第一季會達到一定的內生成長嗎？

Yes, absolutely. We sort of -- Theresa and I were looking at each other in terms of who is going to respond. But we do expect organic growth in Q1, just strengthening quarter-over-quarter as we go into the latter part of the year.

是的，當然。我和特蕾莎當時互相看了看，琢磨著誰先回覆。但我們預計第一季會有自然成長，而且隨著進入下半年，季度環比成長會越來越強勁。

Okay. Got it. In terms of the investments that you've laid out, Theresa and Gord, I appreciate the color. But is there any -- could you maybe provide sort of a quantum of the size of that investment, just to understand sort of the impact that's having this year?

好的，明白了。關於你們列出的投資項目，Theresa 和 Gord，我很欣賞你們的分析。但是，能否——能否提供這些投資的規模，以便了解它們今年的影響？

It's effectively embedded in the adjusted EBITDA range that we've put out, the 15.3% to 16.3%. So our assumptions around where that spending will go coupled with some increased spending. I think the one -- actually, the one area that I haven't hit on. I talked about HR IT is our marketing and business development activities. So that assumption is baked into that EBITDA margin, and we haven't provided sort of specific dollar ranges for what those additional costs might be explicitly.

這實際上已經包含在我們公佈的調整後 EBITDA 區間（15.3% 至 16.3%）中了。因此，我們對這分支出去向的假設，加上一些增加的支出，都已包含在內。我認為，實際上，我還沒有提到的一個領域，就是我們的行銷和業務拓展活動。我之前談到了人力資源資訊技術，所以這部分假設也已經計入 EBITDA 利潤率中，但我們還沒有明確提供這些額外成本的具體金額範圍。

Okay. No, that's fine. Maybe just last question, just on free cash flow. I mean the expectation sort of grows in line with earnings. Is there anything sort of to think about in terms of CapEx or working Cap or I don't know.

好的。沒關係。最後一個問題，關於自由現金流。我的意思是，預期值會隨著獲利的成長而成長。在資本支出或營運資本方面，有什麼需要考慮的嗎？我不知道。

Well, I would say that I agree with you. The expectation is that free cash flow will grow along with our earnings. So that should be pretty robust this year. CapEx is never a huge part of our overall spend. It will probably notch up a little bit next year just because through the pandemic, we've been pretty careful in camping back cost for capital spending. It won't be outsized by any stretch, but it will probably creep up a little bit relative to this year.

嗯，我同意你的看法。我們預計自由現金流會隨著獲利成長而成長，所以今年應該會相當強勁。資本支出在我們整體支出中所佔比例一直不大。明年可能會略有上升，因為在疫情期間，我們一直非常謹慎地控制資本支出成本。雖然不會大幅增加，但相對於今年來說可能會略有成長。

Got it. All right.

明白了。好的。

We will now take our next question from Sabahat Khan from RBC Capital.

接下來，我們將回答來自加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的薩巴哈特·汗提出的問題。

Great. I guess there's been a bit of discussion on the U.S. and the infrastructure build contribution. I just trying to get an idea of when you think about sort of building a buffer, the mid- to high single-digit organic growth guidance, is this some of the spend from the infrastructure bill does get pushed into '23. Is that what maybe pushes the organic growth into sort of the mid single digit range for the year for total company. Just want to understand kind of the buffering or how much contribution you may be reflected in the guide for this year.

好的。我想大家已經討論過美國和基礎建設的貢獻了。我只是想了解一下，當你們考慮建立緩衝機制，並給出中高個位數有機成長預期時，基礎設施法案的部分支出是否會推遲到2023年？這是否會將公司全年的有機成長推至中個位數區間？我只是想了解一下這種緩衝機制，或者說，你們的貢獻會在今年的業績預期中反映多少。

Yes. So there -- as we put our thoughts together on what our expectations were for the U.S., the things that we're starting to see both from what's in our backlog to the level of activity on the marketing front is embedded in that mid to high single digit organic growth. And you're right. I mean some of it is -- there's always a component of revenue that you think you're going to win, but maybe isn't explicitly identified 2 projects yet. And so that is embedded in that mid to high single-digit range. And as we've talked about in Q1 with a bit of a slower uptick, again, how the year unfolds and how quickly we get actually moving and getting utilization up and getting those projects up and running towards the end of the year, whether that pushes us towards the higher end, it remains to be seen. But those are the assumptions that would be embedded in that range.

是的。所以，當我們整理對美國市場的預期時，我們發現，無論是積壓訂單還是行銷方面的活動，都預示著中高個位數的自然成長。你說得對。我的意思是，總是會有一部分收入是你預期會拿下的，但可能還沒明確確定到具體項目。所以這部分收入也包含在中高個位數的成長範圍內。正如我們在第一季討論的那樣，成長速度略有放緩。今年的發展情況，以及我們實際推動專案的速度，還有待觀察。這些因素能否推動我們更高的成長，最終取決於年底前能否提高產能利用率，讓專案順利啟動。但這些假設都包含在上述成長範圍內。

Okay. Great. And I guess just one related to kind of the real estate rationalization strategy. And I think it looks like from your income statement buildup, there's a non-cash impairment related to some of the leasehold assets on your balance sheet. It looks like there was one last. I just want to make sure I understand that. Is that really just being able to sublet space that you might be operating in at a lower rate than maybe what you might have gotten? I just want to make sure we understand the accounting here.

好的，太好了。我還有一個關於房地產合理化策略的問題。從你們的損益表來看，資產負債表上的一些租賃資產似乎有非現金減損。看起來最後還有一筆。我只是想確認一下我的理解是否正確。這是否意味著你們能夠以低於原租金的價格轉租你們正在使用的辦公空間？我只是想確保我們對這方面的會計處理理解正確。

And then also if you can comment on if you are subletting space, is that going to be recognized as maybe an offset to your SG&A costs? Or where would that kind of flow into your income statement? Just a bit of clarity on those -- the line items, please?

另外，如果您有轉租空間的情況，能否說明一下這部分費用是否會被計入銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）中？或者它會在損益表中如何體現？能否請您詳細說明一下具體項目？

Yes, sure. So I mean, if anyone can crack the nut on IFRS 16, they deserve a metal. It is very convoluted and complex. So let's talk about the lease impairments first. And so we did take a large impairment last year and not related to space that we identified that we could both downsize and then make available to sublet or leases that we could exit at that time. And so as we advance through this year, the lease impairment that we took in 2021 made up of 2 pieces.

當然。我的意思是，如果有人能搞懂 IFRS 16，那他絕對應該得獎。它非常複雜，錯綜複雜。所以我們先來談談租賃減損。去年我們確實提了一大筆減損準備，但這與我們當時確定可以縮減規模並轉租的空間，或者可以終止的租賃合約無關。所以，隨著我們進入今年，2021 年提列的租賃減損準備由兩部分組成。

One is the further identification of spaces that we could rationalize and the second relates to some of the space that we impaired last year. There's all kinds of modeling that goes into the determination of the value of those leases and what you write-off. And for some of that space, market conditions in 2021 ended up to be outside to the low end of what we would have modeled. So we had to take a further impairment on those spaces.

一是進一步確定我們可以合理化的空間，二是處理去年我們已減損的部分空間。確定這些租賃的價值以及需要註銷的金額，需要運用各種模型。而對於部分空間而言，2021年的市場狀況最終超出了我們模型預測的下限。因此，我們不得不對這些空間提列進一步的減損準備。

So then as we look forward into what that means, it does mean that there's going to be a combination of cost savings from having exited spaces that we are no longer paying for or spaces that we have rationalized and are subleasing and that will result in some inflow of earnings and cash. And so as far as I can see, that inflow of cash will not flow through our admin and marketing expenses. I think the majority of it is going to still be outside of our EBITDA calculation. And it will -- if this cash flow, of course, it will show up in our cash flow statement. But it is a little convoluted and a bit tough to pick apart. But the effects of leasing now really largely reside outside of the EBITDA calculation.

所以，展望未來，這意味著我們將透過一系列方式節省成本：一是不再支付租金的已退出辦公空間，二是優化並轉租的已出租空間，這些都將帶來一定的收益和現金流入。據我所知，這筆現金流入不會計入我們的行政和行銷費用。我認為其中大部分仍將不計入我們的 EBITDA 計算。當然，如果這筆現金流入最終出現在我們的現金流量表中，只是略微複雜，難以一一分析。但租賃的影響目前主要體現在 EBITDA 計算之外。

Okay. No. I appreciate the color and definitely a bit convoluted. And I guess in terms of just the work towards, it seems like a good chunk of the savings already came in '21. Is there just, I guess, a bit more of this subleasing exiting of leases remaining, or maybe just in terms of the amount of leg work left to get those savings done for the next year or so.

好的。不。我很欣賞這種色彩搭配，但確實有點複雜。而且我覺得，就目前的工作量而言，2021年似乎已經節省了相當大一部分成本。是不是還有一些轉租、終止租約之類的工作要做，或者說，是不是還需要做一些前期準備工作，才能在未來一年左右的時間裡實現這些節省？

We have identified a good portion of the space that we have both impaired or sort of available for subleasing. There's still a bit to go. But I think from an identification perspective, we have done a lot of that land work. But it's being managed pretty carefully. And so the potential that there might be some spaces that become available or that we identified that we hadn't initially paid is always possible. But we would continue to say again $0.20 to $0.25 over the next 2 years of EPS uplift from this initiative.

我們已經確定了相當一部分空間，這些空間要不是已經受損，就是可以轉租。雖然還有一些空間需要處理，但從識別的角度來看，我們已經做了很多土地方面的工作。而且，這些土地都在進行非常謹慎的管理。因此，未來可能會出現一些我們之前沒有支付租金的空間，或者一些我們之前發現但尚未支付租金的空間。但我們仍然認為，這項舉措將在未來兩年內為每股收益帶來0.20至0.25美元的提升。

We will now take our final question from Devin Dodge from BMO Capital Markets.

現在我們來回答BMO資本市場的Devin Dodge提出的最後一個問題。

I wanted to start with the Global segment. And can you help us understand that, that really strong net revenue growth figure that you reported. I just don't see -- I don't recall seeing an organic revenue growth number that high before. Were there some favorable closeouts or settlements? Or is this a true reflection of the underlying demand.

我想先談談全球業務板塊。您能否幫我們解讀一下您報告的那個非常強勁的淨收入成長數據？我印像中以前從未見過這麼高的內生性收入成長。是不是有一些有利的結算或和解？還是說這真實反映了潛在的市場需求？

Go ahead.

前進。

In Q4, there was some collection of previously provided for reserves, not material enough to kind of swing things, but there was a bit of that in Q4. But overall, for the year, what we saw was just really strong performance in Australia and New Zealand, some pretty large projects that we were successful in winning and that we're executing on. Mining was really strong as we -- especially as we talk towards the back half of the year and some of the community development and transportation work we were doing in the U.K., was also pretty strong. So the AMP program in the U.K. is in full swing, and that is also being really supportive from a revenue organic growth standpoint.

第四季度，我們收回了一些先前提列的儲備金，雖然不足以扭轉局面，但確實有所斬獲。不過，就全年而言，我們在澳洲和紐西蘭的業績表現非常強勁，成功得標並正在推進一些大型專案。採礦業務尤其強勁，尤其是在下半年。此外，我們在英國開展的一些社區發展和交通運輸計畫也取得了顯著成效。英國的AMP計畫正在如火如荼地進行，這也對收入的自然成長起到了很大的推動作用。

So those 2 regions, in particular, Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. is where much of the growth occurred. And really as we look into next year, what we would continue to expect is really, really strong macro factors in those regions that will drive growth.

因此，澳洲、紐西蘭和英國這兩個地區尤其成為成長的主要來源。展望明年，我們預計這些地區仍將存在強勁的宏觀經濟因素，這些因素將持續推動成長。

And it's interesting, as I go back and look at the organic growth each quarter this year, we did have a retraction in Q1, but Q2 and Q3 organic growth were both in plus or minus the 10% range. And then so we finished the year at 9%. It's certainly like -- it's kind of reflective of what we've seen sort of in the mid part of the year, a little higher in Q4. But overall, that 9%, 10% is sort of what we've been seeing.

有趣的是，回顧今年每季的有機成長率，第一季確實出現了下滑，但第二季和第三季的有機成長率都維持在10%左右。最終，我們以9%的成長率結束了全年。這與我們年中觀察到的情況基本吻合，第四季略有上升。但整體而言，9%到10%的成長率基本上符合預期。

Okay. Have you been -- I'm just trying to understand, have you -- is a lot of this, let's say, internal hires that you guys have been able to accommodate that work? Or is it more subcontractors coming on? Or I guess, how should we think with that because, obviously, that kind of plays into how the next year -- 2022 unfolds in that Global segment?

好的。我只是想了解一下，你們公司目前主要透過內部招募來承擔這些工作嗎？還是更聘請了分包商？或者我們應該如何看待這個問題呢？因為很明顯，這會影響2022年全球業務的發展。

Yes. We have been actively hiring in the majority of our regions from a Global perspective. And it's certainly a robust labor market out there. The one thing that I think we've been able to do is we continue to be able to move our work around. So for example, we can send project work from the U.K. over to Australia and vice versa and then into Canada and so on. So I think that's certainly been beneficial. I think the one benefit that we have going into 2022 is that a lot of the -- the size of our workforce in Australia and New Zealand is influenced by in ground migration as well. And really, in 2021, there was very little to none of that because the borders were sealed in those locations.

是的。從全球範圍來看，我們一直在大部分地區積極招募。而且，目前的勞動市場確實非常強勁。我認為我們做得比較好的一點是，我們能夠繼續靈活調配工作。例如，我們可以把專案從英國轉移到澳大利亞，反之亦然，然後再轉移到加拿大等等。我認為這無疑是有益的。我認為我們進入2022年的一個優勢是，我們在澳洲和紐西蘭的員工規模很大程度上也受到當地移民的影響。而實際上，在2021年，由於這些地區的邊境關閉，幾乎沒有移民。

And so now that we're starting to see those borders open again, I think that will give us an additional source of individuals that we can draw from as we hire people into Australia, hire people into New Zealand. That will certainly help in those locations as well, something that we did not have really in 2021.

現在隨著邊境重新開放，我認為這將為我們提供更多人才來源，方便我們在澳洲和紐西蘭招募員工。這無疑也會對這些地區有所幫助，而這正是我們在2021年所缺乏的。

Okay. Okay. Maybe just to close off here, the cadence of EPS in 2022. Part of the guidance was pointing to 40% EPS in Q1 and Q4. You're pointing to a stronger second half, so presumably will take more -- a greater share of that 40%. So I usually don't like to get too granular on this stuff, but I just wanted to give you an opportunity to frame the consensus numbers here. So do you expect to improve earnings sequentially, so from Q4 into Q1 despite a full quarter contribution from Cardno.

好的。好的。最後再補充一點，關於2022年每股盈餘(EPS)的成長節奏。先前的指引中提到第一季和第四季的EPS成長40%。您認為下半年業績會更強勁，所以預計會占到這40%成長的更大比例。我通常不太喜歡深入討論這些細節，但我只是想給您一個機會來闡述市場普遍預期。那麼，您預計獲利能否環比成長，也就是從第四季度到第一季度，即使Cardno貢獻了整整一個季​​度的業績？

Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. The 40/60 split is what we'll expect for the shoulder quarters and the second and third quarter being stronger than that, that will be the case just because of the -- that's when we can be most productive. But you're absolutely right. Typically, we expect Q1, Q4 to be roughly even part of it because of weather, probably because your ramp-up in Q1, Q4 is very happy with holiday and time away. But in 2022, we do expect that Q4 will be stronger than Q1. So that 40% overall, you should not expect -- we don't think that to be easily split between Q1 and Q4, it should be more weighted towards the fourth quarter.

是的，謝謝您提出這一點。我們預計第一季和第四季的業績佔比將達到 40/60，而第二季和第三季的業績會更強，這是因為——那段時間我們的生產效率最高。但您說得完全正確。通常情況下，我們預期第一季和第四季的業績佔比大致相當，這主要是因為天氣因素，也可能是因為您在第一季和第四季的產能爬坡階段，假期和休假時間對你們來說非常有利。但在 2022 年，我們預期第四季的業績將強於第一季。因此，您不應該指望整體業績佔比達到 40%——我們認為這部分業績不會輕易地在第一季度和第四季度之間平分，第四季度的業績佔比應該會更高。

There are no further questions in the queue at this time. I'd like to turn the call back to your speakers for any additional or closing remarks.

目前隊列中沒有其他問題了。我想把通話轉回給發言人，請他們補充或作總結發言。

Great. Well, thanks again, everyone, for joining us on the call today, and we look forward to continuing to speak with you throughout the year about our continued progress, a year that we're pretty excited about. So thanks again, everyone. Have a good day.

太好了。再次感謝各位今天參加我們的電話會議，我們期待在今年繼續與大家交流，分享我們所取得的進展——我們對新的一年充滿期待。再次感謝大家。祝大家今天愉快。

Thank you. That will conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. Ladies and gentlemen, you may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。女士們、先生們，現在可以掛斷電話了。