Stantec Inc (STN) 2022 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to Stantec's First Quarter 2022 Earnings Results Webcast and Conference Call. Leading the call today are Gord Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Theresa Jang, Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer.

歡迎參加Stantec 2022年第一季財報網路直播及電話會議。今天主持會議的是總裁兼執行長Gord Johnston和執行副總裁兼財務長Theresa Jang。

Stantec invites those dialing in to view the slide presentation, which is available in the Investors section at stantec.com. Today's call is also webcast. Please be advised 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. All information provided during this conference call is subject to the forward-looking statement qualifications set out on Slide 2, detailed in Stantec's Management's Discussion and Analysis and incorporated in full for the purposes of today's call. Unless otherwise noted, dollar amounts discussed in today's call are expressed in Canadian dollars and are generally rounded. With that, I am pleased to turn the call over to Mr. Gord Johnston.

Stantec邀請所有撥入電話會議的來賓查看幻燈片演示文稿，該文稿可在stantec.com網站的「投資者」板塊找到。今天的電話會議也同時進行網路直播。如果您在撥入電話會議的同時觀看網路直播，請注意將電腦靜音，因為電話會議和網路直播之間存在延遲。本次電話會議中提供的所有資訊均受投影片2中列出的前瞻性聲明限制的約束，這些限制已在Stantec的管理層討論與分析中詳細闡述，並已完整納入本次電話會議。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。接下來，我很高興將電話會議交給Gord Johnston先生。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. 2022 is off to a good start with strong operational and financial performance. It's also been a very productive quarter, and I'd like to touch on some of our key activities and milestones. This was the first quarter -- first full quarter after closing the Cardno acquisition, and I'm very pleased with the way our 2 organizations have come together. We really have validated how aligned our corporate cultures are. And as you've heard me say many times, getting the cultural fit right is critical to the success of any acquisition. Given the scale and complexity, the successful integration of Cardno is a top priority for Stantec in 2022. Transitions to our Oracle ERP system for Cardno's Australia, New Zealand, and U.S. businesses are in full flight and are anticipated to be completed by the end of Q3.

早安，感謝各位今天參加我們的會議。 2022年開局良好，營運和財務表現均表現強勁。本季也碩果累累，我想重點介紹我們的一些重要活動和里程碑。這是完成對Cardno收購後的第一個完整季度，我對我們兩家公司融合的進展非常滿意。我們充分驗證了雙方企業文化的高度契合。正如我多次強調的，文化契合對於任何收購的成功至關重要。鑑於Cardno的規模和複雜性，成功整合Cardno是Stantec在2022年的首要任務。 Cardno在澳洲、紐西蘭和美國的業務正在全面過渡到我們的Oracle ERP系統，預計將於第三季末完成。

From an operational and financial perspective, Cardno is on track to deliver the results that we initially communicated, and we feel very positive about achieving the expected performance in 2022 and beyond. And we are well on our way to delivering the expected annual run rate cost synergies of $10 million ahead of the 2-year time-line we initially projected. Most importantly, our teams are working exceptionally well together. We're already working on over 70 joint projects and are pursuing well over 100 additional projects together. Also in Q1, we announced the continued execution of our growth strategy through the acquisition of Barton Wilmore, a 300-person firm in the U.K. that brings our presence in the region to 2,500 team members. We closed that transaction on April 1. We're pleased to have the U.K.'s leading planning and design consulting firm join Stantec. Our teams have been collaborating on projects for many years and have already identified multiple new opportunities to work together.

從營運和財務角度來看，Cardno正按計畫實現我們最初公佈的業績目標，我們對2022年及以後的預期業績充滿信心。此外，我們預計提前兩年實現每年1000萬美元的成本協同效應，這是我們最初預測的年度目標。最重要的是，我們的團隊合作非常出色。我們目前已進行70多個聯合項目，並共同推動100多個其他項目。同樣在第一季度，我們宣布透過收購英國擁有300名員工的Barton Wilmore公司，繼續推進我們的成長策略，此次收購使我們在該地區的員工總數達到2500人。我們已於4月1日完成此交易。我們很高興英國領先的規劃和設計顧問公司加入Stantec。我們的團隊多年來一直在專案上合作，並且已經確定了多個新的合作機會。

Importantly, Barton Wilmar shares our passion in delivering sustainable and lasting projects and improving communities and strengthens the contributions we make towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. And this ties into the third item I want to highlight. On Earth Day, April 22, we released our 15th annual sustainability report. We're very pleased to report that our gross revenue aligned with the SDGs has continued to grow, increasing from 49% in 2020 to 53% in 2021. This is a reflection of the growing contribution we make to sustainability as we help our clients address challenges from extreme weather events to water scarcity to social and equity and everything in between. We also celebrated our achievement of carbon neutrality in the U.K., New Zealand and the EU, and we are on track to meet our commitment for enterprise-wide carbon neutrality on our path to net zero.

重要的是，巴頓威爾瑪與我們一樣，熱衷於交付可持續的長期項目，改善社區，並加強我們對聯合國永續發展目標（SDGs）的貢獻。這與我想強調的第三點密切相關。在4月22日地球日，我們發布了第15份年度永續發展報告。我們非常高興地報告，與永續發展目標相符的總收入持續成長，從2020年的49%成長到2021年的53%。這反映了我們為永續發展做出的日益增長的貢獻，我們幫助客戶應對從極端天氣事件到水資源短缺，再到社會公平等各種挑戰。此外，我們也慶祝了在英國、紐西蘭和歐盟實現碳中和，我們正朝著實現企業範圍內的碳中和目標穩步邁進，最終實現淨零排放。

Turning now to our Q1 results. We are pleased to have delivered a 22% increase in EPS in Q1 on the strength of organic net revenue growth in every one of our geographic regions and each of our business units. The organic growth we achieved in Q1 reflects our ability to capitalize on our sector's strong market fundamentals that continue to be spurred by robust public infrastructure spending and increasing private investment. While we still expect growth from infrastructure spending to be more heavily weighted toward the second half of this year, we're already delivering organic revenue growth from spending directed towards new health care facilities, public transit, and other infrastructure renewal and capacity expansion projects. Other primary drivers include growing project work related to the reshoring of strategic domestic production and sustainability. A common thread through many of these projects is the need for the skills of our Environmental Services business, which delivered a 53% increase in Q1 net revenue, of which 11% was from organic growth and 42% was generated by our recently completed acquisitions.

現在來看我們第一季的業績。我們很高興第一季每股收益成長了22%，這主要得益於我們所有地區和所有業務部門的有機淨收入成長。第一季的有機成長反映了我們能夠充分利用所在產業強勁的市場基本面，而強勁的公共基礎設施支出和不斷增長的私人投資持續推動著這個市場基本面的發展。雖然我們仍然預計基礎設施支出帶來的成長將更集中在今年下半年，但我們已經從用於新建醫療設施、公共交通以及其他基礎設施更新和擴容項目的支出中實現了有機收入成長。其他主要驅動因素包括與策略性國內生產回流和永續發展相關的專案工作量的成長。這些項目的一個共同點是需要我們環境服務業務的專業技能，該業務第一季淨收入成長了53%，其中11%來自有機成長，42%來自我們近期完成的收購。

Taking a closer look now at each of our geographic regions, the level of activity in our U.S. business has certainly increased relative to last year, and the trajectory is very positive. We're pleased to have delivered organic growth across all of our U.S. business units this quarter, particularly after a year of organic retraction. The roughly 4% organic growth was bolstered by 13% acquisition growth for an overall net revenue increase of 17%. Environmental Services was the biggest contributor to U.S. revenue growth and reflects the strong demand for our expertise in environmental assessment, permitting and ecological work.

現在我們更深入地了解各個地區的情況，美國業務的活躍度較去年同期顯著提升，且發展勢頭十分強勁。我們很高興本季所有美國業務部門都實現了內生成長，尤其是在經歷了去年的內生成長下滑之後。約4%的內生成長得益於13%的收購成長，最終使整體淨收入成長了17%。環境服務是美國收入成長的最大貢獻者，這反映了市場對我們在環境評估、授權審批和生態工作方面專業知識的強勁需求。

The services we provide are critical in the early phases of project development cycle and our clients are highly motivated to engage and help advance their project to the next stage gate. The addition of Cardno's environmental professionals has certainly been timely and strengthened our ability to address this burgeoning market. Our other business units are also responding to high demand for early planning work related to increased private and public spending. And Stantec is increasingly involved at the community level, helping public clients ensure how to best direct the spending and investment for the most significant impact, particularly as it relates to infrastructure equity and affordability.

我們提供的服務在專案開發週期的早期階段至關重要，我們的客戶也積極參與其中，幫助我們推進專案進入下一階段。卡德諾環境專業人員的加入可謂恰逢其時，增強了我們服務這一蓬勃發展市場的能力。我們的其他業務部門也積極回應因公共和私人支出增加而帶來的早期規劃工作需求。此外，史坦泰克也越來越多地參與社區層面的工作中，幫助公共客戶確保如何以最佳方式引導支出和投資，從而產生最大的影響，尤其是在基礎設施公平性和可負擔性方面。

Also noteworthy this quarter as U.S. buildings returned to organic growth after a challenging 2021. The COVID pandemic has highlighted the need for increased health care capacity. And similar to what we saw in Canada last year, the sector is now driving organic growth in the U.S. In Canada, net revenue grew organically by 7% in the quarter as increasing levels of private and public spending drove strong performances across our businesses. Consistent with the themes playing out in the U.S., our Environmental Services business in Canada had a very strong quarter, delivering double-digit growth on the strength of Archeological Services.

本季值得關注的是，美國建築業在經歷了充滿挑戰的2021年後，恢復了內生成長。新冠疫情凸顯了提升醫療保健能力的必要性。與去年加拿大的情況類似，該產業目前正推動美國內生成長。在加拿大，由於私人和公共支出水準的提高，推動了我們各項業務的強勁表現，本季淨收入實現了7%的內生成長。與美國的情況一致，我們在加拿大的環境服務業務在本季表現非常強勁，在考古服務業務的帶動下實現了兩位數的成長。

Infrastructure delivered growth arising from the strong housing market in Western Canada and public spending on various roadway and transportation projects in Montreal and the Greater Toronto area. Organic growth in our transportation sector also reflects our continued support of British Columbia's recovery efforts from the extreme flooding that occurred last year. Opportunities stemming from the energy transition drove organic growth in Energy & Resources, where we're designing Canada's first renewable diesel facility. This group is now -- is also now delivering on projects that address the renewed focus on global food security. And we're seeing continued robust momentum in our Buildings business where major public projects in health care as well as syndicate education sectors continue to drive growth.

基礎設施建設的成長得益於加拿大西部強勁的房地產市場以及蒙特婁和大多倫多地區在道路和交通項目上的公共支出。交通運輸領域的內生成長也反映了我們對不列顛哥倫比亞省從去年極端洪災中恢復工作的持續支持。能源轉型帶來的機會推動了能源與資源領域的內生成長，我們正在該領域設計加拿大首個再生柴油工廠。該團隊目前也正在交付一些項目，以應對全球糧食安全問題。此外，我們的建築業務也保持著強勁的成長勢頭，醫療保健和聯合教育領域的重大公共項目持續推動業務成長。

And rounding out our geographic regions is global, which also had a remarkably strong quarter. Net revenue in our global region grew by 46%. Like Canada and the U.S., every business unit in Global grew organically in Q1, delivered 13% organic growth. Recent acquisitions delivered a further 37% growth. Water continued its strong performance, delivering double-digit organic growth as the U.K. AMP7 program is in full swing. Stimulus funding is driving growth in our infrastructure business in New Zealand and the U.K. and in our Buildings business in Australia. And our mining sector delivered organic growth on the strength of high copper and other metal prices, client diversification, and the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Theresa to review our Q1 financial results in more detail.

最後要介紹的是全球業務，該業務板塊也取得了非常強勁的季度業績。全球業務板塊的淨收入成長了46%。與加拿大和美國業務板塊一樣，全球業務板塊的每個業務單位在第一季都實現了內生成長，內生成長率達到13%。近期收購又帶來了37%的成長。水務業務持續保持強勁勢頭，隨著英國AMP7計劃的全面推進，實現了兩位數的內生成長。刺激資金正在推動我們在新西蘭和英國的基礎設施業務以及在澳洲的建築業務的成長。而我們的礦業部門則受益於銅價和其他金屬價格的高企、客戶多元化以及疫情相關限制措施的解除，實現了內生成長。接下來，我將把電話會議交給Theresa，讓她更詳細地回顧我們第一季的財務表現。

Thank you, Gord, and good morning, everyone. As Gord noted, we had a very strong quarter with an overall 21% and 19% increase in gross and net revenue, respectively. Project margin grew by 22% and by 90 basis points as a percentage of net revenue, and this reflects our continued focus on project execution, our heightened diligence in project pursuits and overall project mix. We delivered an 18% increase in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the overall growth of our business.

謝謝Gord，大家早安。正如Gord所說，我們本季業績非常強勁，毛收入和淨收入分別成長了21%和19%。專案利潤率成長了22%，佔淨收入的比例也成長了90個基點，這反映了我們持續專注於專案執行、在專案招標過程中更加嚴謹以及整體專案組合的最佳化。調整後EBITDA成長了18%，反映了我們業務的整體成長。

Adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.5% was generally in line with Q1 '21 as higher project margin was offset by higher admin and marketing costs, which in turn was driven by higher business development efforts on major programs and bids, increased discretionary spending and investment in internal resources, partly offset by a $9 million reduction in share-based compensation expense. Net income and EPS decreased 12% and 13% to $45 million and $0.40 per share as increased EBITDA was offset by higher amortization of intangibles from our recent acquisitions. However, both adjusted net income and adjusted EPS increased 22% to $68 million and $0.61 per share, reflecting very strong earnings from our underlying operations.

經調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 14.5%，與 2021 年第一季基本持平。專案利潤率的提高被更高的管理和行銷成本所抵消，而管理和行銷成本的增加又源於在重大專案和投標方面加大業務拓展力度、增加可自由支配支出以及對內部資源的投資，部分被 900 萬美元的股權激勵費用減少所抵消。淨利潤和每股收益分別下降 12% 和 13%，至 4,500 萬美元和每股 0.40 美元，原因是 EBITDA 的成長被近期收購產生的無形資產攤銷增加所抵銷。然而，經調整後的淨利和經調整後的每股盈餘均成長 22%，至 6,800 萬美元和每股 0.61 美元，反映出我們基礎業務的強勁獲利能力。

In terms of cash flow, we generated $6 million from operating activities, a decrease from Q1 last year. Recall that it is more typical for Q1 operating activities to result in a cash outflow due to a lower level of activity in the winter season and the timing of the payment of our short-term incentive program. Positive operating cash flow in Q1 '22 was driven by acquisitions completed late last year and improved market conditions. This was offset by higher cash paid to employees, reflecting our increased workforce and a higher wage environment relative to Q1 '21.

就現金流而言，我們從經營活動中產生了600萬美元的現金流，較去年第一季有所下降。需要注意的是，由於冬季業務活動較少以及短期激勵計劃的支付時間，第一季的經營活動通常會導致現金流出。 2022年第一季的經營現金流為正，主要得益於去年底完成的收購以及市場環境的改善。但部分正現金流被支付給員工的現金增加所抵消，這反映了我們員工人數的增加以及相對於2021年第一季更高的工資水平。

In addition to returning capital to shareholders through the payment of our quarterly dividend, we were active with our share buyback program in Q1, repurchasing 460,000 shares for $29 million. This, along with funding of our recent acquisitions contributed to our net debt to adjusted EBITDA remaining at 1.8x. Leverage remains within our target range of 1x to 2x, and I'm confident in our ability to reduce leverage over the course of this year with our operating cash flows. DSO came in at 75 days, consistent with Q1 '21 and with year-end '21. And before leaving this page, I want to bring to your attention the expected impact to our Q2 and Q3 cash flows arising from the Cardno integration.

除了透過支付季度股息向股東返還資本外，我們在第一季積極推進股票回購計劃，以2900萬美元回購了46萬股股票。加上近期收購的資金投入，使得我們的淨債務與調整後EBITDA比率維持在1.8倍。槓桿率仍維持在1倍至2倍的目標範圍內，我對今年利用營運現金流降低槓桿率的能力充滿信心。應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）為75天，與2021年第一季及2021年年底的數據一致。最後，我想提請各位注意Cardno整合預計將對我們第二季和第三季現金流產生的影響。

As with all our acquisitions, there will be a delay in converting Cardno's revenue to cash while we're switching financial systems. This hasn't been noticeable with our smaller acquisitions, but given how material Cardno is to our overall business, the delay in invoicing during the systems integration will dampen operating cash flows from Cardno's businesses over this period. It will also cause DSO to rise slightly, but we do expect this to normalize by the end of the year. And we closed the quarter with record backlog of $5.4 billion, which grew by 6% since the end of '21, 6.8% organically. Like net revenues, we achieved organic backlog growth in every geographic region and business operating units. Our U.S. operations led with almost 10% organic growth. Infrastructure and Energy & Resources achieved double-digit organic growth, and Environmental Services $1.1 billion backlog has never been higher. Our backlog represents approximately 14 months of work, which is also a high watermark for us. And with that financial overview, I'll turn the call back to Gord.

與我們所有收購項目一樣，在切換財務系統期間，Cardno的收入轉化為現金將會延遲。對於規模較小的收購項目，這種延遲並不明顯，但鑑於Cardno對我們整體業務的重要性，系統整合期間的帳單延遲將抑制Cardno業務在此期間的營運現金流。這也會導致應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）略有上升，但我們預計到年底將恢復正常。本季末，我們的積壓訂單金額達到創紀錄的54億美元，較2021年底成長6%，其中有機成長6.8%。與淨收入一樣，我們所有地區和業務部門的積壓訂單金額均實現了有機成長。美國業務以近10%的有機成長領先。基礎設施和能源與資源業務實現了兩位數的有機成長，環境服務業務的積壓訂單金額達到11億美元，創歷史新高。我們的積壓訂單金額相當於約14個月的工作量，這也創下了我們歷史新高。有了這份財務概覽，我將把電話轉回給戈爾德。

Thanks, Theresa. As we look toward the rest of the year, we remain confident in our ability to deliver on our financial targets. Over a 12-month period, backlog has grown by almost $1 billion. We expect this record backlog and the ongoing ramp-up in infrastructure spending to drive accelerated organic growth. Beyond the drivers I've already noted, I want to highlight a relatively new adjacency for us, and that's in the food and agriculture business where rising cost and security of global supply and security of supply is a global concern. Stantec through expertise gained from acquiring Wink has grown our capabilities and market footprint in this sector. We're working on several confidential projects that are intended to strengthen food security while reducing carbon initiates.

謝謝，特蕾莎。展望今年餘下的時間，我們依然對實現財務目標充滿信心。過去12個月，積壓訂單增加了近10億美元。我們預計，創紀錄的積壓訂單以及基礎設施支出的持續成長將推動內生式成長加速。除了我之前提到的驅動因素之外，我還想重點介紹一個相對較新的領域，那就是食品和農業業務。在這個領域，不斷上漲的成本和全球供應安全問題已成為全球關注的焦點。 Stantec透過收購Wink累積的專業知識，增強了我們在該領域的實力和市場份額。我們正在進行幾個保密項目，旨在加強糧食安全，同時減少碳排放。

And we're also providing architecture and engineering services in the alternative protein space, notably to one of the largest insect facilities in North America, and we're providing digital solutions to clients in the agricultural technology sector. Our ability to meet the growing demand for our services is dependent on our highly skilled workforce. And as we're all acutely aware, the landscape for attracting and retaining talent is extremely competitive. While Stantec is not immune to the pressures of a tight labor market, our voluntary turnover rate has historically been 2% to 3% below industry average. We feel that we're well-positioned to retain staff and to continue attracting new employees on the strength of our reputation and our people-centric corporate culture.

此外，我們也為替代蛋白領域提供建築和工程服務，特別是為北美最大的昆蟲養殖場之一提供服務；同時，我們也為農業科技業的客戶提供數位化解決方案。我們能否滿足日益增長的服務需求，取決於我們高技能的員工隊伍。眾所周知，人才的吸引和留用競爭異常激烈。儘管Stantec也無法免受勞動市場緊張的壓力，但我們的員工自願離職率歷來比行業平均低2%至3%。我們相信，憑藉我們良好的聲譽和以人為本的企業文化，我們有能力留住現有員工，並持續吸引新員工。

In Q1, we continued to be a net importer of talent. As for wage inflation, we're monitoring the market to ensure we're providing a competitive compensation package for our employees. And we're having some success in achieving rate increases from our clients. So we haven't seen significant impacts to our margins to this point. Similarly, with respect to inflation and rising interest rates, to date, we are not seeing this translate to significant project delays or cancellations. In some cases, we're assisting our clients with value engineering their projects to provide solutions to the rising cost environment. There is some potential for clients to reassess the timing or scope of their projects. But again, to this point, we are not seeing this materialize in a significant way. So looking ahead, our outlook for the remainder of 2022 has not changed from the guidance we provided last quarter, and I believe Stantec remains very well positioned to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. And with that, I'll turn the call back to the operator for questions. Operator?

第一季度，我們持續保持人才淨進口。關於薪資通膨，我們正在密切關注市場，以確保為員工提供具有競爭力的薪資方案。同時，我們也成功地促使客戶提高了費率。因此，到目前為止，我們的利潤率尚未受到顯著影響。同樣，就通膨和利率上升而言，迄今為止，我們尚未看到這導致專案出現重大延誤或取消。在某些情況下，我們正在協助客戶進行專案價值工程，以應對不斷上漲的成本環境。客戶有可能重新評估專案的進度或範圍。但同樣，到目前為止，我們尚未看到這種情況發生。展望未來，我們對2022年剩餘時間的展望與上季提供的指引保持一致，我相信Stantec仍處於非常有利的地位，能夠把握未來的機會。接下來，我將把電話轉回給接線生，請各位提問。接線生？

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our first question from Jacob Bout with CIBC.

（操作員說明）我們首先來回答來自加拿大帝國商業銀行 (CIBC) 的 Jacob Bout 提出的問題。

I'd like to ask a similar question to what I asked one of your competitors this morning. The outlook that you provided very robust, but a lot of concern here in the stock market about impending recession or at least stagflation. And maybe just comment on is this coming up on the radar of your clients or any geographic areas that you're starting to see some cracks here. And then if you look at your backlog, what areas -- is there some risk?

我想問一個和今天早上問你們一位競爭對手類似的問題。你們給出的前景非常樂觀，但股市目前對即將到來的經濟衰退或至少是滯脹有很多擔憂。能否請你們談談，你們的客戶是否也開始關注這個問題？或者你們在某些地區發現了一些問題？另外，從你們的訂單儲備來看，哪些領域有風險？

So we -- as we were preparing for the call today and as we're -- as we meet with all of our business and geographic leaders, this was certainly a question that we addressed with all of them. And as we said in the prepared remarks, we haven't really seen it, Jacob, that projects dropping off. We're always chatting with our clients. And as we mentioned, we have had a number of cases where our clients have asked us to value engineer to go in and look at the design of a building or a facility and are there ways that we could bring it in less expensively.

所以，當我們準備今天的電話會議以及與所有業務和區域負責人會面時，這無疑是我們與他們討論過的問題。正如我們在準備好的演講稿中所說，雅各布，我們並沒有真正看到項目數量下降的情況。我們一直與客戶保持溝通。正如我們所提到的，我們遇到過很多客戶要求我們進行價值工程分析，審查建築或設施的設計，看看是否有更經濟的方案。

If there's a supply chain shortage of a particular type of material, can we change up that material and so on. So we haven't really seen it to date. It's certainly something that we're working on following very closely. The other thing to note, as we've discussed previously, is that we have a very diverse client base and project base with no one client or project making up more than 5% of our overall revenue. So we're certainly not hoping that we're going to see any of these project cancellations. But if there are, we don't view it at this point to be material to our ongoing performance.

如果某種特定材料的供應鏈出現短缺，我們可以更換替代材料嗎？目前為止，我們還沒有遇到這種情況。當然，我們會密切關注事態發展。另外要注意的是，正如我們之前討論過的，我們的客戶和專案非常多元化，沒有任何一個客戶或專案的收入佔比超過總收入的5%。因此，我們當然不希望出現任何項目取消的情況。但即便出現，我們認為目前來看，這不會對我們的持續業績產生重大影響。

Okay. And then my second question is just around margins. EBITDA margin was around, I think, 14.5% below the targeted range of the 15.3% to 16.3%. I know you called out higher admin expenses. Does that continue to roll into the second quarter? And then just given this current environment of higher inflation, wage inflation, are you thinking more the lower end of that range? Or how should we be thinking about that?

好的。我的第二個問題是關於利潤率的。 EBITDA利潤率約為14.5%，低於15.3%到16.3%的目標區間。我知道您提到了較高的管理費用。這種情況會延續到第二季​​嗎？考慮到目前通膨和薪資上漲的趨勢，您認為利潤率應該更接近目標區間的下限嗎？或者我們應該如何看待這個問題？

Yes. It's early to say, Jacob, whether it's going to be in the lower end of that range for the full year. I do want to remind you that first quarter is always typically outside of our range. It is the lowest EBITDA margin quarter that we have. So it was not surprising to us that we came in at 14.5%. It's actually right about where we expected it to be. And we do expect it to strengthen over the course of Q2 and Q3 that typically comes back a little bit in Q4. So that was not unexpected. As we think about things like wage inflation, we are having success, as Gordon noted in his comments, in getting those recovered in our rates. And so again, not seeing a material impact there.

是的。雅各布，現在就斷言全年利潤率是否會處於預期範圍的下限還為時過早。我想提醒你，第一季的利潤率通常都低於我們的預期範圍，因為它是全年EBITDA利潤率最低的季度。所以，我們最終的利潤率達到14.5%並不令人意外，實際上基本上也符合我們的預期。我們預計利潤率將在第二季和第三季有所提升，並在第四季略有回升。所以，這在意料之中。至於薪資通膨等因素，正如戈登在評論中提到的，我們已經成功地將這些因素反映在了我們的利率中。因此，我們預期這方面不會產生實質影響。

But as we look toward the rest of the year, where we are expecting to see strengthened margins is primarily around our U.S. operations where utilization is still a bit behind just given the projects are still ramping up. And so as utilization improves and increases, that will drive down the component of labor that sits in admin costs and should be up in gross margin and recoverable to our revenue. So that's the primary driver for where we expect to see strengthened EBITDA margin over the course of the year. And of course, a continued focus on all the things we talked about with staying disciplined on our spending.

展望今年剩餘時間，我們預期利潤率將主要提升美國業務，因為目前由於專案仍在推進中，產能利用率略有不足。隨著產能利用率的提高，管理成本中的人力成本佔比將會下降，毛利率也會提高，進而轉化為收入。這是我們預計今年 EBITDA 利潤率提升的主要驅動因素。當然，我們也會繼續關注先前提到的各項支出控制措施。

Just one quick follow-up here. It was -- I think your margin was down year-on-year. And these admin expenses that you're talking about, does that roll into second quarter and have a bit of a negative impact when we look at it from a year-on-year perspective?

這裡還有一個後續問題。我記得你們的利潤率較去年同期下降了。您提到的這些管理費用，是否會延續到第二季​​度，並從年比角度來看，對利潤率產生一些負面影響？

For year-on-year, yes, I mean, you are going to see, as we noted that we are spending more to strengthen our internal resources. And we saw that in the first quarter, our spending on IT increased as we put some dollars towards strengthening already very robust IT systems. But the increased focus on cybersecurity and so on means that there is a continued need to invest there. We increased the amount we spent on recruiting costs and that sort of thing. So there is going to be some higher costs around talent acquisition and then onboarding staff and those kinds of things. And so that will continue through the course of the year. But that, again, was really incorporated into the EBITDA range that we put out in our guidance.

是的，就同比而言，正如我們之前提到的，我們將加大投入以加強內部資源。第一季度，我們增加了IT支出，用來強化我們原本就非常強大的IT系統。但對網路安全等方面的日益重視意味著我們需要持續投資。我們增加了招聘等方面的支出。因此，人才招募、員工入職等方面的成本將會更高。這種情況將持續到年底。不過，這些都已計入我們先前發布的EBITDA預期範圍。

We'll take our next question from Frederic Bastien with Raymond James.

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

It was great to see the U.S. region, basically come back to organic growth in the quarter and also getting some momentum from the health care sector. And then we saw the backlog increased 10%. I mean how do you -- how do we expect organic growth to pick up further as you progress through the year?

很高興看到美國地區在本季度基本恢復了內生成長，並且醫療保健行業也帶來了一定的成長勢頭。此外，我們也看到積壓訂單增加了10%。我的意思是，隨著時間的推移，我們如何預期內生成長會進一步提升呢？

Yes. Our U.S. operations are really performing as we had expected. We've commented over the past several quarters that our backlog in the U.S. has continued to build, and then we really expected it to start converting in the coming quarters and it really has. And so really pleased to see our U.S. operations returning to organic growth in Q1, as you mentioned. So with the backlog that we've had, the projects that are starting to move forward, we do see continued strengthening over the remainder of the year. And so we're starting to see some of the infrastructure stimulus projects coming in. As an example, our book-to-burn and our transportation group in the U.S. was 2.0 in the quarter. And so that just bodes well for that continued strengthening in the second half of the year. So we feel really good about our guidance for that organic growth just to continue to strengthen in subsequent quarters.

是的。我們在美國的業務表現確實符合預期。過去幾季我們一直提到，我們在美國的積壓訂單持續成長，我們預計這些訂單會在接下來的幾季開始轉化為實際訂單，而事實也的確如此。正如您所提到的，我們非常高興地看到，我們在美國的業務在第一季恢復了內生成長。憑藉我們現有的積壓訂單以及正在推進的項目，我們預計今年剩餘時間業務將持續走強。我們也開始看到一些基礎設施刺激計畫陸續啟動。例如，我們在美國運輸集團的訂單完成率在本季達到了2.0。這預示著下半年業務將繼續走強。因此，我們對未來幾季內生成長的預期非常樂觀。

Moving to the U.K. You mentioned the AMP7 as one of your many bright spots during the quarter. Just curious if there are opportunities for Stantec to grow its share of the wallet during the current cycle? Or do you need to wait for the new AMP8 cycle to hopefully gain market share there. Any color would [helpful].

搬到英國後，您提到AMP7是本季眾多亮點之一。我很好奇，在目前的周期內，Stantec是否有機會擴大其市場佔有率？還是需要等到新的AMP8週期才能有望獲得市佔率？任何見解都將不勝感激。

Yes. So as we moved into the AMP7 cycle, we are already the #1 water firm by far there, but we did actually continue to grow market share through securing a contract with Irish water this year that we -- or this go around that we did not have before. So we're going to continue with that. We've actually already interestingly started to gear up, and I was in the U.K. about 6 weeks ago and met with some of our water utility clients already gearing up for AMP8. So we won't really be able to grow market share additionally over what we've already got in the AMP7 cycle, and we did -- again, we did grow our market share in AMP7 over AMP6, but we're already positioning now for AMP8, and that's when we'll have additional opportunity to grow market share again.

是的。進入AMP7週期後，我們已經遙遙領先於其他地區的水務公司，而且今年我們還通過與愛爾蘭水務公司簽訂了一份之前從未簽訂過的合同，進一步擴大了市場份額。我們將繼續保持這股勢頭。有趣的是，我們已經開始為此做準備。大約六週前，我去了英國，與一些水務客戶會面，他們也正在為AMP8做準備。因此，在AMP7週期內，我們無法在現有市場份額的基礎上進一步擴大。雖然我們在AMP7的市佔率確實比AMP6有所成長，但我們現在已經在為AMP8做準備，屆時我們將有機會再次擴大市場份額。

Great. And then just curious around your -- the revenues that are related to the U.S. sustainability development goals. Is there a target longer term that you'd like to get to? Or is -- as you continue to grow the business, we should naturally see it trend up.

好的。另外，我很好奇你們與美國永續發展目標相關的收入。你們是否有更長遠的目標？或者，隨著業務的不斷發展，我們自然會看到這個數字呈現上升趨勢？

Yes. So we don't have specific targets for that. One of the things we try to remind people is that the work we do related to the SDGs is really driven by our clients and the efforts that they have. So of course, we have a broad suite of offerings, and we work with our clients to identify those opportunities with them. But it's really up to where the clients want to take it. And the good news is that they're very focused on addressing climate change resiliency and things that support the SDGs. So we would not say that we have a specific target, but we are going to continue to support them, and we would expect that given the focus that this will naturally continue to increase over time.

是的。所以我們沒有設定具體目標。我們一直強調的是，我們與永續發展目標相關的工作實際上是由我們的客戶及其努力所驅動的。當然，我們提供廣泛的服務，並與客戶合作，共同尋找機會。但最終取決於客戶的意願。好消息是，他們非常關注應對氣候變遷的能力以及支持永續發展目標的各項措施。因此，我們不會說我們設定了具體目標，但我們會繼續支持他們，而且我們預計，鑑於他們目前的關注度，隨著時間的推移，這項工作自然會持續增長。

Okay. And you're at 53% in 2021, where would you estimate your peers are at?

好的。你們2021年的佔比是53%，你估計你們同業的佔比是多少？

That's a tough question. I don't know if I want to answer that one.

這是一個棘手的問題。我不知道我是否想回答這個問題。

And we'll take our next question from Devin Dodge with BMO Capital Markets.

接下來，我們將回答來自 BMO 資本市場的 Devin Dodge 的問題。

All right. I wanted to start with a question on the mining sector. Clearly, commodity prices are at a level that should support new or expanded projects. They haven't for some time. But can you talk about what you're seeing in this end market and where you're seeing the most optimism for projects either by region or commodity?

好的。我想先問一個關於採礦業的問題。顯然，大宗商品價格已經達到了足以支撐新建或擴建項目的水平。但這種情況已經持續了一段時間。您能否談談您在終端市場觀察到的情況，以及您認為哪些地區或哪些大宗商品的專案前景最為樂觀？

Yes. Certainly, we're seeing a lot of interest in the mining sector to your point there. Copper prices are good. We're seeing interest in the United States. We're seeing continued interest. We mentioned in the prepared remarks that some of the COVID restrictions were lifted and not really allowed us to get back in to work in South America. So that was very positive. And then certainly, our operations in Western Australia where we're supporting a number of the miners there. So it's pretty widespread geographically where we're seeing interest. So I think it's actually quite positive from that perspective.

是的。正如您所說，我們看到市場對採礦業非常關注。銅價不錯。我們看到美國市場對採礦業的興趣，而且這種興趣還在持續。我們在事先準備好的演講稿中提到，一些新冠疫情限制措施已經解除，這讓我們得以在南美洲復工。所以這非常積極。此外，我們在西澳大利亞的業務也在進行中，我們為當地多家礦業公司提供支援。因此，我們看到市場興趣的地域分佈相當廣泛。所以我認為，從這個角度來看，情況確實相當樂觀。

And then these things often take a little bit of time to get rolling. But once the mines are going, we're seeing existing mines are looking to expand their tailings bonds, for example. They're looking to -- our existing clients are looking to get into adjacencies like lithium and so on. So we see that once we're in with these clients, just that continued refreshment of work in -- certainly in good times, but even when times are a little tougher, we still see some of that great debt maintenance work that is ongoing.

這些事情通常需要一些時間才能步入正軌。但一旦礦山開始運營，我們看到現有礦山正在尋求擴大其尾礦保函，例如。他們——我們現有的客戶——正在尋求進入鋰礦等相關領域。因此，我們看到，一旦我們與這些客戶建立合作關係，持續的業務更新——當然，在經濟狀況良好的情況下，即使在經濟形勢稍顯艱難的時候，我們仍然可以看到一些重要的債務維護工作正在進行中。

Okay. The second question, I wanted to ask about private equity. They've been involved in the engineering and consulting space for a while now, but it does seem like it's attracted the interest of some -- the very large buyout firms. We saw Blackstone make an investment earlier this week. But there obviously, there are some deep-pocketed buyers. So the question for you is, do you see PE firms playing a bigger role in industry consolidation than they've been in the past?

好的。第二個問題，我想問關於私募股權的問題。他們涉足工程和諮詢領域已經有一段時間了，但似乎也吸引了一些——尤其是大型收購公司——的興趣。我們看到黑石集團本週稍早進行了投資。顯然，還有一些財力雄厚的買家。所以我想問的是，您認為私募股權公司在產業整合中扮演的角色是否比以往更大？

Yes. As we look at the number of acquisitions in our space that have gone to PE rather than strategics really in 2021 and 2022, there has been a lot of additional PE interest. This is an attractive industry. So you certainly can understand what our key is to stick to our netting to maintain our discipline in M&A. We're seeing some of these PE transactions transact at a fairly high multiple which -- and again, we're just trying to stay to our discipline. We're working with firms that want to be part of something bigger than what they were.

是的。縱觀2021年和2022年我們所在領域的收購案例，私募股權公司（PE）而非策略投資者所收購的數量顯著增加，這表明私募股權公司對該領域表現出了濃厚的興趣。這是一個極具吸引力的行業。因此，您當然可以理解，我們堅持淨額結算策略，以保持併購交易的嚴謹性。我們看到一些私募股權交易的估值倍數相當高——再次強調，我們始終堅持嚴謹的併購原則。我們與那些渴望成為更大事業一部分的公司合作。

And that's kind of always been our perspective is that we're looking for firms that have gotten to a certain size and they want to join a strategic like us to get better back-office support to get better opportunities for their clients, their employees and better services -- wider service offerings for their clients. Other firms just want to sell and keep doing what they're doing. And so there are cases where PE is maybe a better fit for some of these firms. So we're continuing to monitor it closely. But yes, I would say there absolutely is more PE interest and activity in our space than we would have seen 3 or 5 years ago.

我們一直以來的觀點是，我們尋找的是那些已經達到一定規模，並且希望加入像我們這樣的策略型公司，以獲得更好的後台支持，從而為他們的客戶、員工創造更多機會，並為客戶提供更優質的服務——更廣泛的服務範圍。而其他一些公司則只想出售，繼續維持現狀。因此，在某些情況下，私募股權投資可能更適合這些公司。所以我們會繼續密切關注這一領域。但的確，我認為私募股權投資對我們這個領域的興趣和活躍度比三、五年前要高得多。

Okay. And maybe just one quick follow-up. You've been targeting expansion in the Nordics for a little bit now. We've seen demand soften there a bit. It was a pretty strong market for a number of years. Do you think this could be an opportune time to enter into the Nordics? And are you seeing good opportunities there?

好的。還有一個後續問題。你們已經有一段時間將業務拓展到北歐市場了。我們看到那裡的需求有所放緩。北歐市場曾經非常強勁。您認為現在是進入北歐市場的良機嗎？您認為那裡有哪些好的機會？

Yes. We're -- through our M&A and our corporate development team, we're always looking for different opportunities. Certainly, if the Nordics continue to be an area of interest for us. And we're continuing to explore opportunities there. It is timing is maybe a positive there, and we'll just keep working on it, and we'll see what we can bring in the door.

是的。我們透過併購和企業發展團隊，一直在尋找各種機會。當然，如果北歐地區仍然是我們關注的重點，我們也會繼續探索那裡的機會。現在的時機或許不錯，我們會繼續努力，看看能達成什麼成果。

We'll take our next question from Benoit Poirier with Desjardins Capital Markets.

接下來，我們將回答來自德斯賈丁資本市場的貝努瓦·波里耶提出的問題。

Yes. Congrats on the great quarter. Yes. You mentioned some color at the beginning of your remarks with respect to the ability to pass through the cost increase to the customer. Could you maybe provide some thoughts about the timing of the typical increase in billing rates? And I'm just wondering whether it's more frequent these days with respect to the increase in billing rates.

是的，恭喜你們本季業績出色。是的，您在演講開始時提到了一些關於將成本上漲轉嫁給客戶的問題。您能否談談通常情況下，帳單費率上漲的時間安排？我只是想知道，如今帳單費率上漲的頻率是否更高了。

Yes. Yes. No, that's a great perspective. So typically, in a lot of our contracts, our -- for the vast majority of our employees, we have our salary review and the increase is for January 1. And so that's also when we target looking at our fee increases so that we can ensure that we're matching fee increases with salary increases. But those -- as some of our employees are coming to chat with us looking for potentially a midyear adjustment, we are going to some of our clients and having similar discussions. The clients that we've gone to over the past quarter and then even late last year, certainly, there's a higher degree of their -- them being accepting of salary increases just because everybody knows the environment is very active. So our beginning salary or fee increases in each case. I would say not in every case, but for the vast majority of clients that we're approaching, we are seeing those fee increases. And certainly, for our multiyear projects, the vast majority of those have the capability for a fee increase in them already.

是的。是的。不，這是一個很好的視角。通常情況下，在我們的大多數合約中，我們都會為絕大多數員工進行薪資審查，加薪日期定在1月1日。因此，我們也會同時考慮費用成長，以確保費用成長與薪資成長相符。但是，由於一些員工前來與我們溝通，尋求年中調整，我們也與一些客戶進行了類似的討論。在過去一個季度，甚至去年年底，我們拜訪過的客戶中，他們對薪資成長的接受度更高，因為大家都知道目前的市場環境非常活躍。因此，我們每次都會進行薪資或費用的調整。我想說，並非所有客戶都會調整，但對於我們接觸的絕大多數客戶而言，我們都看到了費用的成長。當然，對於我們的多年期項目，絕大多數項目本身就具備費用成長的條件。

Okay. Okay. That's a great color. And with respect to your organic growth, was there an impact from a change in your billable days as opposed to a year ago or it was similar billable?

好的，好的，這個顏色很棒。關於您的自然成長，與去年相比，您的計費天數是否有所變化，還是計費天數基本上保持不變？

No, it would be consistent with what we had last year, Benoit.

不，這和我們去年的做法是一致的，貝努瓦。

Okay. Okay. That's great. And last one for me. In terms of backlog, obviously, now reaching 14 months. It provides, obviously, great visibility for you. But is there any level where you would start to feel maybe more uncomfortable with respect to your ability to deliver? And is the strong visibility should translate into stronger organic growth or the contract duration is just longer?

好的，好的，太好了。最後一個問題。關於積壓訂單，顯然現在已經達到14個月了。這無疑讓你們對訂單的可見度大大提高。但是，是否存在某個階段，你們會開始對自身的交付能力感到擔憂？這種高度可見性是否應該轉化為更強勁的自然成長，還是僅僅意味著更長的合約期限？

Yes. That's a good point. A lot of the contracts that were -- that we have been receiving, a larger number of these are for multi-year awards. So we -- the full value of the award is entered into backlog when contracted, but the work will be delivered over several years. So we're seeing an increasing number of those. So I think that helps us feel positive about that. A couple of other things I think are interesting though.

是的，你說得對。我們收到的許多合約——其中許多都是多年期合約——都是在簽訂合約時一次性計入待辦事項清單，但實際工作將在幾年內完成。我們看到這類合約的數量正在增加，這讓我對未來充滿信心。不過，還有幾點值得關注。

We've talked before about how in previous -- in 2021, we've accepted a bit of a decrease in utilization in some of our businesses and geographies so that we have the staff in place that we could deliver on the wave of work that we saw coming. And we're seeing that bear fruit for us now. Backlog turning into revenue, utilization rates are increasing. So -- but we still have some capacity truly like in the United States, in particular. So while the backlog is trending upwards, we're -- at this point, we are not concerned with our ability to deliver. And that's something we talk about with our groups every day because we don't want to take work if we can't deliver it because that's not positive for us or our clients in the long run.

我們之前討論過，在2021年，我們接受了部分業務和地區的產能利用率略有下降，以便我們能夠安排足夠的人員來應對預期的工作量激增。現在我們看到，這種策略正在發揮成效。積壓訂單正在轉化為收入，產能利用率也在提高。所以，我們仍然擁有一定的產能，尤其是在美國。儘管積壓訂單呈上升趨勢，但目前我們並不擔心交付能力。我們每天都會和團隊成員討論這個問題，因為我們不想承接無法交付的工作，長遠來看，這對我們和客戶都沒有好處。

And we'll take our next question from Chris Goolgasian with Wellington.

接下來，我們將回答來自威靈頓的克里斯·古爾加西安提出的問題。

I just wanted to touch on a comment you made right toward the end on agriculture. And I think something on pests or insects too, can you just -- I know you said some of this is being kept confidential, so I appreciate that. But if you could just touch on maybe at a high level, what you're seeing on the ag side where I come from on the climate side, I'm super bullish on the intersection of climate change and ag meeting loss of solutions. So I was interested when you made those points.

我只是想就您在演講接近尾聲時提到的農業問題談談我的看法。另外，關於病蟲害，您能否也談談？我知道您說過有些內容要保密，我很理解。但如果您能從宏觀層面談談您在農業方面觀察到的情況就太好了。就我個人而言，我非常看好氣候變遷與農業發展之間的交集，以及由此帶來的解決方案的匱乏。所以，您提出的這些觀點讓我很感興趣。

Yes. So that -- in particular, that alternative protein relates to grasshoppers, crickets, these sorts of things. And so we have one client in particular, but others that we're working on that are really into this space and see it as a growing area of protein generation. Through the firm we acquired a couple of years ago, Wink, we also got into the P proteins. And now with this group is beginning to move into some of the seeds and generating oils and canola and these sorts of things. And so it increased -- we're seeing that this is a really rapidly growing area for us, Chris, and one I think we'll be talking about more in the future.

是的。特別是，這種替代蛋白與蚱蜢、蟋蟀之類的生物有關。我們有一位客戶，還有其他一些客戶，他們對這個領域非常感興趣，並認為這是一個蛋白質生產領域正在蓬勃發展的方向。透過我們幾年前收購的Wink公司，我們也涉足了P蛋白領域。現在，我們正開始利用一些種子生產油脂和油菜籽油等等。所以，我們看到，克里斯，這確實是一個快速成長的領域，我認為我們將來會更多地討論這個領域。

And then quickly, we've talked in the past about the net 0 retrofit secular cycle we're going to be in here at the building level. A massive amount of money is going to be spent to retrofit buildings. I know you guys have a lane in there. Can you just -- on what you're seeing there?

然後，我們之前也討論過，在建築層面，我們將進入一個淨零改造週期。屆時將有大量資金用於建築改造。我知道你們在這方面有發言權。你們能否談談你們觀察到的情況？

Yes. Certainly, a lot more interest in that energy efficiency in general and in some cases, going all the way to net 0. We're seeing more interest in net 0 at this point for a new build than we are for going all the way and net 0 in with existing. But certainly, a lot of energy efficiency, and we are in discussions with some clients about going all the way to take a little bit further from a retrofit perspective. But I think that's going to be a very, very robust area for us over the next several years as well.

是的。當然，人們對能源效率的興趣普遍高漲，在某些情況下，甚至追求淨零能耗。目前，我們看到新建築對淨零能耗的關注度高於現有建築的完全淨零能耗改造。但能源效率的提升毋庸置疑，我們正在與一些客戶探討如何從改造的角度更進一步。我認為，未來幾年，能源效率仍將是我們業務發展的一個非常強勁的領域。

We'll go to our next question from Michael Tupholme with 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。

My question is about the project margin percentage. So it was up nicely on an overall basis year-over-year, and you did see good growth in the United States and global, but the margin in Canada was relatively flat or actually down a touch. Just wondering if you can talk about what the difference is in terms of Canada not seeing the same kind of improvement you're seeing in the other regions?

我的問題是關於專案利潤率的。整體而言，專案利潤率年增率顯著，美國和全球市場也實現了良好的成長，但加拿大市場的利潤率卻相對持平，甚至略有下降。我想請您解釋一下，為什麼加拿大市場沒有像其他地區一樣出現類似的成長？

Sure. It does often come down to the mix of projects that we have. We did see a bit of a decrease in Canada and some of that related to the sectors where we have slightly lower margins. Energy and Resources tends to have slightly lower margins. But overall, I think we're really pleased that the community development sector really strong in Canada that tends to have really the highest margins. We often talk about environmental services, but community development does generate very high margins. Environmental Services continues to be strong in Canada. It's also -- we saw a lot of growth in transportation in Canada, which tends to be on the lower end. So it is that broad mix. We're not -- we're quite pleased with where -- sorry, I still call it gross margin, wherever that sits -- and expect that we'll be able to maintain the level that we're at through the opportunities available to us through a really, I think, heightened focus on pursuing higher margin work and just continued discipline around how we're pricing gross margin and then delivering on it.

當然。這通常取決於我們項目的組合。我們在加拿大確實看到一些下滑，部分原因在於我們利潤率略低的行業。能源和資源產業的利潤率往往略低。但總體而言，我們非常高興地看到加拿大的社區發展產業表現強勁，該產業通常擁有最高的利潤率。我們常談到環境服務，但社區發展確實能帶來非常高的利潤。環境服務在加拿大也保持強勁勢頭。此外，我們也看到加拿大交通運輸產業成長迅速，而該產業的利潤率通常較低。所以，這是一個多元化的組合。我們對目前的毛利率水平相當滿意——抱歉，我仍然稱之為毛利率，無論它處於什麼水平——並且預計我們將能夠通過各種機會保持目前的水平，我認為，我們將更加專注於追求高利潤率的項目，並繼續嚴格控制毛利率的定價和交付。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員指示）接下來，我們將回答來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Sabahat Khan 的問題。

Just I guess, on the top line, just looking a little bit further into your geographic region. There's a bit of variability on the organic rates on call it, kind of 3.5% to 13.5%. Can you -- is there kind of -- is that timing of projects? And also, can you maybe talk a little bit about how much pricing has been passed through in each of those regions. Just wondering if that contributed to some of the variance. You said the U.S. is probably going to be a bit more back-end weighted. But just curious on how much pricing was taken there versus kind of like the global where it's been good double-digit organic growth this quarter.

我想先從整體來看，再深入分析您所在地區的市場狀況。 Call It 的有機成長率有些波動，大概在 3.5% 到 13.5% 之間。您能否解釋一下，這是否與專案進度有關？另外，您能否談談各個地區定價的轉嫁比例？我想知道這是否是造成差異的原因之一。您提到美國市場可能更側重於後端開發。但我很好奇，與全球市場相比，美國市場的定價轉嫁比例是多少？全球市場本季實現了兩位數的有機成長。

Right. No. Great question. So when you look at even somewhere like the U.S., when we -- we've talked for a while about this kind of the wave of work was coming and we're ready for it to translate. We have been disciplined in the pricing that we've been using on projects to preserve our long-term margins. And we're beginning to get the ability to increase fees a bit in some fee expansion with a number of clients as well. So I think we're feeling good about what's in the backlog from a fee and from a margin perspective. But I think you're exactly right.

沒錯。問得好。即使像美國這樣的地方，我們——我們之前也討論過這波工作浪潮即將到來，我們已經準備好了。我們一直嚴格控制專案定價，以維持長期利潤率。而且，我們也開始有能力在一些客戶那裡進行費用調整，略微提高收費。所以，從收費和利潤率的角度來看，我們對目前的積壓項目都感到滿意。但你說的完全正確。

The U.S. was a little bit slower out the gate for us in 2021, but we're seeing that wave beginning to come here in Q1 of this year, and we see continued strengthening for the rest of the year. Global is just really working very positively for us. Our water group in global, very, very strong, particularly in the U.K. and down in Australia and New Zealand. Transportation is robust. We're seeing a lot of growth into renewables, some pump storage work that we're seeing in Scotland and so on and so. I think we're feeling pretty good just overall about what our organic growth rates, and I think we're -- and for our overall guidance for the year.

2021年，美國市場對我們來說起步稍慢，但我們看到今年第一季開始出現成長勢頭，並且預計全年將持續走強。全球市場整體表現非常正面。我們的水務業務在全球範圍內表現尤為強勁，尤其是在英國、澳洲和紐西蘭。交通運輸業務也十分穩健。我們看到再生能源領域成長迅速，在蘇格蘭等地也有一些抽水蓄能計畫正在推進。總的來說，我們對目前的有機成長率相當滿意，並且對全年的整體業績預期也充滿信心。

Okay. Great. And just a quick follow-up. I guess as you look to the back end of the year, is there really just some of the soft backlog, some of the conversations you're having that just firming up and coming through a backlog into organic growth? Or are there other -- is it just more along the lines of some of the projects that you won last year? I think you indicated that they probably get going a bit more in the back half just want to get a better understanding of the contributors through H2 of this year.

好的，太好了。還有一個後續問題。我想問的是，展望下半年，是不是有一些之前積壓的項目，比如一些正在進行的洽談，正在逐步落實，最終轉化為實際增長？還是說還有其他一些項目，像是去年拿下的項目？我記得您說過，這些項目可能會在下半年進展得更快一些。我想更了解一下今年下半年的貢獻者情況。

Yes. I think for the most part, it is a project that we already have committed. And you see that in our backlog that's so high that we're going to just start seeing that really strengthen as those existing projects begin to deliver in the second half of this year, are there more projects coming in the funnel? Absolutely. I mentioned that our U.S. transportation business had a book-to-burn of 2.0 in the quarter. So that's really not infrastructure work starting to come in the door. So I think just further supporting additional strengthening in the second half of the year.

是的。我認為大部分項目我們已經承諾過了。您可以看到，我們的積壓訂單非常多，隨著現有項目在今年下半年陸續交付，訂單量將會進一步增加。那麼，是否還有更多項目正在籌備中呢？當然有。我之前提到過，我們美國交通運輸業務本季的訂單完成率達到了2.0。這意味著基礎設施建設項目正在陸續進入我們的業務。因此，我認為下半年業務量將進一步成長。

Okay. And then just a quick one on kind of capital allocation side. Obviously, still integrating kind of Cardno. We bought back some shares over the last little while. How are you thinking about capital allocation, what we think over the rest of this year?

好的。接下來簡單問一下關於資本配置方面的問題。顯然，我們仍在整合 Cardno 的股份。最近我們回購了一些股票。您如何看待資本配置？我們對今年剩餘時間的規劃是什麼？

It's pretty much consistent with what the strategy has been for the last couple of years now, Saba. The balance sheet is still strong with the net debt to EBITDA of 1.8x, we still have room there to make acquisitions if we find the right one. And so that continues to be our primary target for capital allocation. We know that we can generate solid returns if we're disciplined in our pricing and we find the right acquisitions. Of course, share price has been pretty volatile the last little while, and it has given us an opportunity to go out and buy shares. And so that will remain opportunistic there and continue to use our NCIB where appropriate. So still acquisitions first, NCIB as there are opportunities, and that's -- it's kind of in that order.

薩巴，這與我們過去幾年的戰略基本一致。資產負債表依然穩健，淨債務與EBITDA之比為1.8倍，如果我們找到合適的收購目標，我們仍有空間進行收購。因此，收購仍然是我們資本配置的首要目標。我們知道，如果我們在定價方面保持謹慎，並找到合適的收購目標，就能獲得可觀的回報。當然，股價最近波動較大，這也給了我們買進股票的機會。因此，我們將繼續抓住機會，並在適當的時候繼續使用正常市場發行人回購計劃（NCIB）。所以，收購還是首要任務，NCIB則是在出現機會時使用，大致上就是這個順序。

We'll go to our next question from Ian Gillies with Stifel.

接下來，我們將回答來自 Stifel 公司的 Ian Gillies 提出的下一個問題。

I was curious if you could talk a little bit about some of the leading-edge commentaries you're having with your clients around domestic onshore and given things that have transpired from a geopolitical standpoint? And perhaps, if possible, maybe some of the price sensitivities that they're talking about and whether they're going to do this regardless of cost that needs to happen.

我想請您談談您與客戶就國內陸上石油開採問題進行的一些前沿探討，以及考慮到地緣政治方面發生的一些事情？如果可以的話，能否談談他們討論的價格敏感度，以及他們是否會不計成本地推進這些項目？

Yes. So we are having a lot of discussions with our clients with regards to onshore things like semiconductors, and I think we've talked about that in previous quarters as well. We see that continuing to move forward. And I don't know that -- that any client would say they'll do it at any price, but certainly, a lot of continued support for semiconductors. We've -- in the medical field, radioactive isotopes, we're doing some work there because there were shortages there in the past, and we see people wanting to onshore the production of those vaccines. We're working on our facilities there in California. So we do see just a lot of discussion about bringing back some of that self-reliance into the North American supply chain. And as I said, I don't think anyone -- is completely immune to price sensitivity. So we continue to work with these people about how we can value engineer but how we can keep things moving forward. And some of these plants, we've broken ground on them already, one of them even just this week. So things are moving forward, and we're moving into construction.

是的。我們正在與客戶就半導體等本土化生產進行大量討論，我想我們在之前的幾季也討論過這個問題。我們看到這方面的進展仍在繼續。我不確定是否有客戶會說他們會不惜一切代價，但可以肯定的是，半導體領域會持續獲得大量支援。在醫療領域，例如放射性同位素，我們也正在進行一些工作，因為過去這方面存在短缺，我們看到有人希望將疫苗生產轉移到國內。我們正在加州建設相關設施。因此，我們看到很多關於恢復北美供應鏈自給自足的討論。正如我所說，我認為沒有人能夠完全不受價格敏感性的影響。所以我們繼續與這些客戶合作，探討如何透過價值工程來推動專案進度。其中一些工廠我們已經破土動工，其中一個甚至本週破土動工。所以事情正在向前推進，我們正在進入施工階段。

Okay. That's helpful. On the community development side, I mean, the U.S. housing market is pretty clearly rolling over a little bit here. Can you remind us what your exposure is to that business and kind of how that's evolved over time?

好的，這很有幫助。就社區發展方面而言，我的意思是，美國房地產市場顯然正在經歷一段低迷期。您能否簡單介紹一下您在這個領域的投資情況，以及它隨著時間推移的發展歷程？

Yes. So our current -- when we look at our overall corporately, our community development business is about 10% of our overall revenue. But when we look at where it's come from back in the 2007, '08 time frame just before the financial crisis, we were about 35% in land development. So we've really derisked our exposure to that because that can be a bit of a cyclical industry. But we're seeing it different in different locations. Some places in Western Canada are still greenfield. When we look at the -- in the U.S., we're seeing -- there is still some greenfields, but a little bit less more urban redevelopment. And certainly, in the U.K., where we were before we even strengthened with Barton Wilmore, there's a huge shortage of housing stock in the U.K. So that's very, very busy and robust and will be for years to come there. So I think that land development business overall will still be cyclic, but less cyclic than maybe it was in the past, just because of this urban stock redevelopment and some of the locations like the U.K. that have a stated objective to continue to bring housing stock on to lessen their housing crisis.

是的。目前，從公司整體來看，社區發展業務約佔總收入的10%。但如果回顧2007、2008年金融危機前夕，土地開發業務曾占我們總收入的35%左右。因此，我們已經大幅降低了這方面的風險敞口，因為土地開發行業具有一定的周期性。但不同地區的情況有所不同。加拿大西部的一些地方仍然是未開發的綠地。在美國，雖然也有一些未開發的綠地，但城市改造計畫相對較少。當然，在英國，在我們收購Barton Wilmore之前，英國的房屋供應就嚴重短缺。因此，英國的房地產市場非常活躍且強勁，未來幾年也將如此。所以我認為，土地開發業務總體上仍將具有周期性，但周期性可能不如過去那麼強，這主要是因為城市存量重建，以及像英國這樣的一些地區明確表示要繼續增加住房存量以緩解住房危機。

No, that's really helpful context. I appreciate that. And last one for me. The revenue per employee, which I know is not a perfect metric, metric was up nicely year-over-year. But for the employees that were active in the quarter and kind of embedded in that project margin. Is there much incremental utilization you can get out of them at this point? Or do you think what else could perhaps happen there from an efficiency standpoint?

不，這確實是很有幫助的背景訊息，非常感謝。最後一個問題。我知道人均所得並非完美指標，但這個指標較去年同期成長顯著。不過，對於那些本季活躍且已融入專案利潤的員工來說，目前還能從他們身上挖掘多少潛力？或者從效率的角度來看，您認為還有哪些方面可以進一步提升？

Yes. So I think we have a little bit of upside from both perspectives. We do have some opportunities to continue to increase our utilization rates in the U.S. in particular. So we have a little bit of extra capacity there, which is good because with the way of work that's coming, we're going to be using it. But we're also using our innovation group to continue to expand the sort of the net revenue that we can generate per employee. And so some of the examples of things that we're doing there is we've developed internal systems for example, when you're doing the design to design the electrical conduit that you would have for the electrical system, we have an electrical conduit routing design system that we put together. We have a parametric design system using design parameters to detail out steel in floor slabs. We're just finalizing a parametric design system for pump station design to make that more efficient. So all of those things will continue to drive efficiencies and assist us in generating with additional net revenue per employee going forward.

是的。所以我認為從這兩個角度來看，我們都有一定的成長空間。尤其是在美國，我們確實有機會持續提高產能利用率。我們在那裡有一些額外的產能，這很好，因為隨著工作方式的轉變，我們將充分利用這些產能。同時，我們也利用創新團隊不斷提高每位員工的淨收入。例如，我們正在開發一些內部系統，例如在設計電氣系統所需的電線管時，我們開發了一套電線管佈線設計系統。我們也開發了一套參數化設計系統，利用設計參數來細化樓板中的鋼結構。我們正在最終確定一套用於泵站設計的參數化設計系統，以提高效率。所有這些舉措都將繼續提高效率，並幫助我們在未來創造更多的人均淨收入。

We'll go next to Maxim Sytchev with National Bank Financial.

接下來我們將採訪國家銀行金融公司的馬克西姆·西切夫。

Gord, I was wondering if it would be possible to get a bit of an update on how the Cardno integration is progressing, maybe some early wins, synergies and so forth. And correct if I'm wrong, some of the geographies had sort of lower margin profile relative to kind of an overall entity? And maybe if you can discuss some of the progress there.

戈爾德，我想了解Cardno整合的進展情況，例如一些早期成果、協同效應等等。如果我沒記錯的話，某些地區的利潤率相對於整體而言似乎較低？能否談談這方面的進展？

Sure. So in terms of the overall integration, it's proceeding as we would have anticipated. We've -- we're working -- we've done all the back office work in terms of harmonizing benefits, getting employee contracts put together. That sort of hygiene work is done. The IT integration is ongoing. We haven't interfaced our networks yet because we're just making sure everything is up to the same standards and so on. But even more importantly, then from a leadership perspective, I attended a meeting -- joint meeting of the Cardno and the Stantec Environmental Services leadership in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago, starting that process of how do we optimize the strengths of Cardno, the strength of Stantec to create something from a leadership perspective that's even stronger. And of course, we've mentioned that with the retirement of our current environmental services leader that Susan Reisbord, who leads -- who was the Cardno CEO, will take over our -- the leadership of our Environmental Services group. So that's coming together well.

當然。就整體整合而言，進展正如我們所預期的。我們已經完成了所有後台工作，包括協調福利、制定員工合約等等。這些基礎工作已經完成。 IT整合仍在進行中。我們還沒有對接網絡，因為我們還在確保所有系統都符合相同的標準等等。但更重要的是，從領導層的角度來看，幾週前我在溫哥華參加了卡德諾和斯坦泰克環境服務部門領導層的聯席會議，啟動瞭如何優化卡德諾和斯坦泰克各自優勢的流程，從而在領導層面打造一個更強大的團隊。當然，我們也提到過，隨著現任環境服務部門負責人退休，卡德諾前執行長蘇珊·雷斯伯德將接管我們環境服務部門的領導工作。所以，一切進展順利。

In Australia, we're working on the same thing from a leadership perspective, looking at harmonizing sort of the Stantec leadership in Australia. Cardno leadership -- Cardno strengthens us in a number of areas, water, transportation, all of these things are adding to make us even stronger there. So working through that. The Oracle integration is proceeding well, and I think it should all be wrapped up by the end of Q3. So we had stated that we wanted to get that done this year. So we should even perhaps be a quarter sooner than we had hoped based on where we currently sit. So -- but those things are always fluid. So I think we're feeling pretty good about it overall, Max. And then maybe, Theresa, if you want to talk about some of the margin things that we're seeing in both the U.S. and in Australia.

在澳大利亞，我們也在從領導階層的角度著手處理同樣的事情，那就是協調Stantec在澳洲的領導階層。 Cardno的加入－Cardno在水務、交通等多個領域增強了我們的實力，所有這些都讓我們在澳洲的實力更加強大。所以我們正在努力推進這項工作。 Oracle的整合進展順利，我認為應該能在第三季末完成。我們之前就說過希望今年能完成這項工作。根據我們目前的進展，我們甚至可能比預期提前一個季度完成。當然，這些情況總是瞬息萬變的。所以總的來說，我們感覺相當不錯，Max。 Theresa，如果你想談談我們在美國和澳洲看到的利潤率方面的情況，可以嗎？

Yes. I mean it's really unfolding as we expected. The margins are strong in the areas that we had talked about on acquisition, Environmental Services is really strong from a project margin perspective. And so that's all been really positive and really just in line with what we expected, maybe except for Australia, where I know on acquisitions, there were some questions about have they really completed their turnaround, where are we going to see margin improvement. And I would say that, that performance has been a little bit better than we expected in Australia. So pretty positive from that standpoint.

是的。我的意思是，一切都如我們預期般發展。在我們之前討論過的收購領域，利潤率都很強勁，環境服務項目利潤率尤其出色。所以，所有這些都非常積極，基本上符合我們的預期，可能除了澳洲。我知道在澳大利亞，收購方面存在一些疑問，例如他們是否真的完成了扭虧為盈，利潤率會在哪些方面有所提升。而我認為，澳洲的業績略優於我們的預期。所以從這個角度來看，情況相當樂觀。

Okay. That's so helpful. And actually, just can you made a comment in your prepared remarks around sort of the working capital and things like that. I just wanted to clarify. So we're going to see a bit of an inflection point in Q2, Q3 and then sort of full normalization by year-end? Or how should we think about it in terms of time.

好的，這很有幫助。實際上，您能否在準備好的發言稿中就營運資本之類的問題發表一下看法？我只是想確認一下。所以我們會看到第二季和第三季出現一個拐點，然後在年底前完全恢復正常嗎？或者我們應該如何從時間角度來看這個問題？

Yes, that's right. And so when we're changing financial systems, we are, of course, continuing to generate revenue, but we have to enter what we call a blackout period where we can't generate invoices because of that movement in the financial system. So Australia and then the U.S., Q2, and Q3 are going to cause some lag in getting those invoices out the door. And so we expect that, that will get caught up by the end of the year. And overall, for broader Stantec, we're thinking a couple of days of DSO slippage for impact to all of Stantec as a result and maybe a day or 2 more in Q3 as well. But we do expect that we'll put a big push once those integrations are -- or those migrations are done to get caught up by the end of the year.

是的，沒錯。所以，當我們更換財務系統時，我們當然會繼續創造收入，但由於財務系統的調整，我們必須進入所謂的“停運期”，在此期間我們無法產生發票。因此，澳洲以及美國在第二季和第三季的發票發出速度都會有所延遲。我們預計，到年底前這些問題都能解決。整體而言，對於整個Stantec公司來說，我們預期這次系統變更會導致DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）出現幾天的延遲，第三季可能還會再延遲一兩天。但我們預計，一旦這些整合或遷移完成，我們將全力以赴，爭取在年底前趕上進度。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then, Gord, just one last question. In terms of oil and gas, obviously, WTI at very healthy levels. Just curious to see what you're hearing from your clients on the ground.

好的，這很有幫助。戈爾德，最後一個問題。關於石油和天然氣，顯然，WTI原油價格處於非常健康的水平。我只是好奇你從客戶那裡了解到的情況。

Yes. And so our oil and gas business is really a midstream pipelining business. And so the projects that we have ongoing there are continuing to flow through. we're seeing with -- you're right with the price is high, not a lot of new capital flowing into the industry in terms of new capital projects. I think that a lot of -- you've seen some of the earnings have come out, these firms seem to be, for the most part, dealing with the inflow of funds in different ways rather than expanding their capital stock. But the projects that we have ongoing continue, but we're not hearing a lot about new opportunities for us in the pipelining space at this point.

是的。所以我們的油氣業務其實是中游管道業務。因此，我們目前正在進行的項目仍在繼續進行中。正如您所說，由於油價高企，流入該行業用於新資本項目的資金並不多。我認為，正如您所看到的，一些公司已經公佈了財報，這些公司似乎大多都在以其他方式應對資金流入，而不是擴大資本規模。但我們目前正在進行的項目仍在繼續，只是目前我們還沒有聽到太多關於管道領域新機會的消息。

We'll go to our next question from Troy Sun with Laurentian Bank.

接下來，我們將回答來自 Laurentian Bank 的 Troy Sun 提出的問題。

Maybe just a very quick follow-up on Max's question here. Just in terms of some of the early success that you have experienced with the Cardno integration. Just trying to get a sense of your ongoing M&A strategy, have you maybe started to think about potentially larger transactions just given your recent experience or still quite focused on small- to medium-sized deals.

我只想就Max的問題做一個簡短的後續。就您在整合Cardno方面取得的初步成功而言，我想了解一下您目前的併購策略，鑑於您最近的經驗，您是否開始考慮進行一些規模更大的交易，還是仍然專注於中小型交易？

Yes. We continue to -- our stated strategy is always still that sort of 1,000 person and less those base hits that we know we can get and integrate easily. But Cardno has been very successful for us. And so we're continuing to look at some of these other opportunities as they arrive. And I don't think that we would shy away from doing something larger if it was strategic, and it made sense for us from a long-term perspective. Certainly, we would have a good look at it.

是的。我們一直以來的策略仍然是專注於那些我們能夠輕鬆拿下並整合的、規模在1000人以下的小型企業。但Cardno對我們來說非常成功。因此，我們會繼續關注其他機會。如果某個規模較大的專案具有戰略意義，並且從長遠角度來看對我們有利，我認為我們不會迴避。當然，我們會認真考慮。

It appears there are no further questions at this time. I'll turn the call back for any additional or closing remarks.

目前看來沒有其他問題了。我將把電話轉回稍後回复，以便大家補充或作總結發言。

Great. Well, just quickly and wrap up, the year is unfolding as we had hoped. We appreciate all of you joining us this morning, and we look forward to chatting with you further as the quarter and the year goes on. So thanks very much, everyone.

太好了。那麼，簡單總結一下，今年一切都如我們所願地進展順利。感謝各位今天上午的參與，我們期待在接下來的季度和年中與大家繼續交流。非常感謝大家。

This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以斷開連線了。