TrueBlue Inc (TBI) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the TrueBlue Fourth Quarter 2023 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode, a brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded at this time, I want to remind everyone that today's call and slide presentation contain forward-looking statements, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties, and management assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, some of which are described in today's press release and SEC filings could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

您好，歡迎參加 TrueBlue 2023 年第四季財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於僅聽模式，正式演示之後將進行簡短的問答環節。如果有人在會議期間需要接線員協助，請按下電話鍵盤上的星號零。提醒一下，本次會議此時正在錄製，我想提醒大家，今天的電話會議和幻燈片演示包含前瞻性陳述，所有這些陳述都存在風險和不確定性，管理層不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務。前瞻性陳述。這些風險和不確定性（其中一些在今天的新聞稿和美國證券交易委員會文件中進行了描述）可能會導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異。

Management uses non-GAAP measures when presenting financial results. If you are encouraged to review the non-GAAP reconciliations in today's earnings release or at trueblue.com under the Investor Relations section for a complete very complete understanding of these terms and their purpose. Any comparisons any comparisons made today are based on a comparison to the same period in the prior year unless otherwise stated or lastly, a copy of the Company's prepared remarks will be provided on TrueBlue's investor website at the conclusion of today's call. And a full transcript and audio replay will be available soon after the call.

管理階層在公佈財務績效時使用非公認會計準則衡量標準。如果您被鼓勵查看今天的收益發布中或 trueblue.com 投資者關係部分中的非 GAAP 調節表，以完全非常全面地了解這些條款及其目的。今天進行的任何比較都是基於與去年同期的比較，除非另有說明，否則最後，公司準備好的評論副本將在今天的電話會議結束時在 TrueBlue 的投資者網站上提供。電話會議後不久將提供完整的文字記錄和音訊重播。

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Taryn Owens, President and Chief Executive Officer.

現在我很高興將電話轉給總裁兼執行長 Taryn Owens。

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to today's call. I am joined by our Chief Financial Officer, Carlos, whilst we appreciate you being here with us, the economic environment that we and many of our customers are operating in continues to be challenging uncertainty led to a greater focus on reducing costs, leading many companies to ask for more from their internal teams to be more selective in the temporary and full-time positions they choose to build these dynamics resulted in reduced market demand across the staffing industry.

謝謝接線員，歡迎大家參加今天的電話會議。我們的財務長卡洛斯也加入了我的行列，同時我們感謝您與我們在一起，我們和我們的許多客戶所處的經濟環境繼續充滿挑戰，不確定性導致人們更加註重降低成本，從而導致許多公司要求內部團隊更多地選擇他們選擇的臨時和全職職位來建立這些動態，導致整個人力資源行業的市場需求減少。

Revenue for the quarter was $492 million, down 12% compared to the prior year as economic uncertainty persisted, constraining business spend and impacting hiring trends. We are managing through this market cycle with agility and discipline, meeting our clients' current needs and ensuring we are favorably positioned to capitalize on opportunities as conditions improve. Our teams are highly focused on growing sales, providing excellent service and responding to our clients' immediate and evolving needs. As companies hesitate to make long-term workforce commitments. We are leveraging our short duration and flexible offerings to satisfy current needs and ensure we are ready to support clients as their needs change or expand. Additionally, we continue to seek opportunities in high-growth and attractive end markets with targeted expansion in areas such as renewable energy and skilled trades. While most sectors reflect softened demand the long term staffing outlook remains positive. We are well positioned to fill some of the structural staffing shortages we see as baby boomers retire, work-from-home trends continue and shortages and skilled trades expand. We understand the current market dynamics and the needs of our customers, and we also understand the urgency to see improvement in our results. We are committed to maintaining a dialogue with you and providing transparency about our efforts and progress as we enter 2024, we are laser focused on leveraging our inherent strengths to capture market share and managing our cost structure with discipline to enhance our long-term profitable profitability. One of the core components of this strategy is positioning our contingent staffing business to compete in a digital forward future we continue to advance the digital transformation of our business, positioning us to drive efficiencies and expand our reach through a differentiated experience that combines our technology with our expansive market presence and expertise. We recently achieved a significant milestone with the initial launch of our new proprietary JobStack app. This new version of the platform allows us to control our road map, implement competitive enhancements and quickly address evolving user needs. We are excited to continue the rollout of this technology over the next year as acceleration of our digital transformation remains a key strategic priority to strengthen our market position.

由於經濟不確定性持續存在，限制了業務支出並影響了招聘趨勢，該季度收入為 4.92 億美元，比上年下降 12%。我們正在以敏捷和自律的方式管理這個市場週期，滿足客戶當前的需求，並確保我們處於有利地位，可以在條件改善時抓住機會。我們的團隊高度專注於成長銷售、提供卓越的服務並回應客戶即時和不斷變化的需求。由於公司猶豫是否做出長期勞動力承諾。我們正在利用我們的短期和靈活的產品來滿足當前的需求，並確保我們準備好在客戶的需求發生變化或擴大時為他們提供支援。此外，我們繼續在高成長和有吸引力的終端市場中尋找機會，並在再生能源和技術貿易等領域進行有針對性的擴張。儘管大多數行業反映需求疲軟，但長期人員配置前景仍然樂觀。隨著嬰兒潮世代退休、在家工作趨勢持續、短缺和科技產業擴大，我們有能力填補一些結構性人員短缺。我們了解目前的市場動態和客戶的需求，也了解改善績效的迫切性。進入2024 年，我們致力於與您保持對話，並提供關於我們的努力和進展的透明度，我們專注於利用我們的固有優勢來佔領市場份額，並嚴格管理我們的成本結構，以提高我們的長期盈利能力。該策略的核心組成部分之一是使我們的臨時員工業務能夠在數位化的未來中競爭，我們將繼續推進業務的數位轉型，透過將我們的技術與技術相結合的差異化體驗來提高效率並擴大我們的影響力。我們廣泛的市場影響力和專業知識。最近，我們首次推出了新的專有 JobStack 應用程序，實現了一個重要的里程碑。這個新版本的平台使我們能夠控制我們的路線圖，實施競爭增強並快速滿足不斷變化的用戶需求。我們很高興在明年繼續推出這項技術，因為加速我們的數位轉型仍然是鞏固我們市場地位的關鍵策略重點。

Another key strategic priority is our expansion in high growth, less cyclical and underpenetrated end markets to capitalize on secular growth opportunities. We already have a proven track record of success with renewable energy work and a strong position to capture further growth opportunities in that market. We also see an opportunity to explore ways to expand our presence in other key end markets such as skilled trades, healthcare and hospitality. Within RPO, we are focusing our efforts towards diversifying into higher skill placements and more specialized product offerings in attractive verticals like health care. An important element of this plan is enhanced focus and profitability through a simplified organizational structure. While we will continue to go to market under our current well-established brands, streamlining our organization will create opportunities to drive efficiencies and bring our teams closer to our clients and associates, enabling greater focus on operational excellence, cross-selling and innovation. We have already made strides in this area with the sale of our on-demand labor business in Canada, which allows increased focus on our US operations, where we are an industry leader with a more focused structure, we will be better able to reduce cost and leverage our strengths and assets to deliver long-term profitable growth.

另一個關鍵的策略重點是我們在高成長、週期性較小和滲透不足的終端市場的擴張，以利用長期成長機會。我們在再生能源工作方面已經擁有良好的成功記錄，並且在捕捉該市場的進一步成長機會方面處於有利地位。我們也看到了探索擴大我們在其他關鍵終端市場（例如技術貿易、醫療保健和酒店業）的影響力的機會。在 RPO 範圍內，我們的重點是在醫療保健等有吸引力的垂直領域實現更高技能的安置和更專業的產品供應。該計劃的一個重要組成部分是透過簡化的組織結構來增強重點和盈利能力。雖然我們將繼續以現有的知名品牌進入市場，但精簡我們的組織將為提高效率創造機會，並使我們的團隊更接近客戶和員工，從而更加註重卓越營運、交叉銷售和創新。透過出售加拿大的按需勞動力業務，我們已經在這一領域取得了長足的進步，這使得我們能夠更加關注我們的美國業務，我們是行業領導者，結構更加集中，我們將能夠更好地降低成本並利用我們的優勢和資產實現長期獲利成長。

While today's operating environment continues to present challenges, we are energized by the evolution and workforce needs that plays to our strengths and creates compelling long-term opportunities for our business. This optimism is evident in the broad insider buying of company shares on the part of management and the Board during the fourth quarter, we have clear strategic priorities that we are confident will help us capitalize on the growth opportunities ahead, enhance shareholder value and advance our mission to connect people and work building on our tremendous strengths in assets, our people, our tools, our experience and our market presence. We are committed to execute with the discipline and focus, it will take to return to profitable growth.

儘管當今的營運環境繼續帶來挑戰，但我們的發展和勞動力需求使我們充滿活力，這發揮了我們的優勢，並為我們的業務創造了令人信服的長期機會。這種樂觀情緒在第四季度管理層和董事會廣泛的內部購買公司股票中得到了體現，我們有明確的戰略重點，我們相信這將幫助我們利用未來的成長機會，提高股東價值並推動我們的發展。我們的使命是利用我們在資產、人員、工具、經驗和市場影響力方面的巨大優勢，將人員和工作聯繫起來。我們致力於以紀律和專注來執行，這將恢復獲利成長。

I will now pass the call over to Carl, who will share further details around our financial results and outlook.

我現在將把電話轉給卡爾，他將分享有關我們財務業績和前景的更多細節。

If you turn on a comparable 13-week basis, revenue was down 15% at the high end of our outlook due to strong performance in renewable energy work. Our fiscal fourth quarter included an extra 14th week versus the 13 weeks in the prior year period, adding incremental revenue of $20 million and driving reported revenue for the quarter of $492 million or decline of 12%. Renewable energy work more than doubled, delivering its sixth straight quarter of revenue growth. Strength in this vertical helped to offset overall softness in market demand as economic uncertainty continues to weigh on businesses, driving greater focus on cost cutting and restricting hiring trends. While the tight labor market emphasizes the importance of retaining talent cost pressures are causing businesses to ask more from their teams and be more selective in the positions they fill, leading to lower overall demand in the staffing market.

如果以可比較的 13 週為基礎，由於再生能源工作的強勁表現，我們的預期上限的收入下降了 15%。我們第四財季的營業時間比去年同期的 13 週增加了 14 週，增加了 2,000 萬美元的收入，推動本季報告收入達到 4.92 億美元，下降了 12%。再生能源工作量增加了一倍多，營收連續第六個季度成長。由於經濟不確定性持續給企業帶來壓力，促使人們更加關注削減成本並限制招聘趨勢，這一垂直領域的優勢有助於抵消市場需求的整體疲軟。儘管勞動市場緊張凸顯了留住人才的重要性，但成本壓力卻導致企業對團隊提出更高的要求，並對所填補的職位更加挑剔，從而導致人才市場的整體需求下降。

Gross margin was 26.1% for the quarter, down 40 basis points. The decline was driven by unfavorable revenue mix due to the increase in PeopleReady renewable energy work, which carries a lower gross margin than general on-demand business due to more pass through travel costs as well as the decline in the revenue mix of our highest margin business. Peoplescout. These factors were partially offset by disciplined pricing in our PeopleReady business, which delivered its 11th consecutive quarter of positive spread between bill and pay rate inflation. We were able to reduce SG&A by 8% on a comparable 13-week basis with the extra 14th week contributing $7 million of additional expense, resulting in a reported decline of 3% for the quarter, we adjusted our cost structure to better align with client demand, and we remain focused on managing costs to enhance our profitability. These actions are balanced with maintaining our operational strength to ensure we are well positioned for the rebound. We reported a net loss of $3 million for this quarter versus net income of $7 million last year. Included in our results for the quarter are $3 million of costs associated with our executive leadership transitions and an income tax benefit of $5 million due to the favorable impact of job tax credits.

該季度毛利率為 26.1%，下降 40 個基點。下降的原因是 PeopleReady 再生能源工作的增加導致不利的收入組合，由於更多的轉乘旅行成本以及我們最高利潤率的收入組合的下降，該業務的毛利率低於一般按需業務商業。人民偵察兵。這些因素被我們 PeopleReady 業務嚴格的定價所部分抵消，該業務連續 11 個季度實現賬單與工資通膨之間的正利差。我們能夠在可比較的13 週基礎上將SG&A 減少8%，其中額外的第14 週貢獻了700 萬美元的額外費用，導致本季度報告下降3%，我們調整了成本結構以更好地與客戶保持一致需求，我們仍然專注於管理成本以提高獲利能力。這些行動與維持我們的營運實力相平衡，以確保我們為反彈做好準備。我們報告本季淨虧損 300 萬美元，而去年淨收入為 700 萬美元。我們本季的業績包括與高階主管領導層換屆相關的 300 萬美元成本，以及由於工作稅收抵免的有利影響而獲得的 500 萬美元所得稅優惠。

Adjusted net income was $3 million versus $13 million last year, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $5 million versus $21 million last year.

調整後淨利為 300 萬美元，去年為 1,300 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 下降至 500 萬美元，去年為 2,100 萬美元。

Now let's turn to the specifics of our segments. Peopleready revenue decreased 9%, while segment profit decreased 65% and segment profit margin was down 430 basis points. On a comparable 13-week basis, revenue decreased 13% with the extra week, adding incremental revenue of $12 million. As we've mentioned, our renewable energy work outperformed this quarter, growing 126% and partially offsetting the general decline in market demand. Client volumes declined across most verticals with the largest being in retail, hospitality and service industries. From a margin perspective, the contraction was largely driven by lower operating leverage as revenue declined, as well as increased revenue mix from renewable energy work, which includes more pass-through costs. These factors were partially offset by disciplined pricing, which delivered another quarter of favorable spread between bill and pay rate inflation with bill rates up 8%, pay rates up 7%. Peoplescout revenue decreased 31%, while segment profit increased 16% and segment profit margin was up 260 basis points. On a comparable 13-week basis, revenue declined 32% with the extra week, adding incremental revenue of $1 million the decline in demand was driven by lower client volumes as businesses continue to navigate in an uncertain environment, clients are being more selective to the roles in which they choose to fill with some implementing hiring freezes and others adopting elongated hiring processes as businesses see less churn in their employee base and remain uncertain around their workforce needs. Hiring volumes have declined to a level where some are relying more heavily on internal resources to fill jobs. While the decline in revenue resulted in lower operating leverage.

現在讓我們談談細分市場的具體情況。Peopleready 營收下降 9%，部門利潤下降 65%，部門利潤率下降 430 個基點。在可比較的 13 週基礎上，額外一週的收入減少了 13%，增加了 1,200 萬美元的收入。正如我們所提到的，我們的再生能源工作本季表現出色，成長了 126%，部分抵消了市場需求的整體下降。大多數垂直行業的客戶數量均出現下降，其中最大的是零售、酒店和服務業。從利潤率的角度來看，收縮主要是由於收入下降而導致營運槓桿下降，以及再生能源工作的收入組合增加，其中包括更多的轉嫁成本。這些因素被嚴格的定價所部分抵消，這使得帳單和薪資通膨之間的利差又實現了四分之一，帳單利率上漲了 8%，工資率上漲了 7%。Peoplescout 營收下降 31%，而部門利潤成長 16%，部門利潤率上升 260 個基點。在可比較的 13 週基礎上，額外一周的收入下降了 32%，增加了 100 萬美元的增量收入。隨著企業繼續在不確定的環境中前進，客戶數量減少，導致需求下降，客戶對他們選擇填補的職位有一些實施招聘凍結，而另一些則採取延長招聘流程，因為企業發現員工流失率減少，而且勞動力需求仍然不確定。招聘量已經下降到一些人更加依賴內部資源來填補職位空缺的水平。而收入下降導致經營槓桿下降。

Peoplescout segment profit margin expanded due to cost actions taken this year as well as the revenue reserve adjustment recorded last year. Peoplemanagement revenue decreased 8%, while segment profit decreased 33%. In the segment profit margin was down 70 basis points on a comparable 13-week basis. Revenue decreased 13% with the extra week, adding incremental revenue of $8 million. Demand decline in both on-site and commercial driving services consistent with the macro conditions evident in the verticals we serve, such as retail and transportation margin contraction was driven by lower operating leverage as revenue declined.

由於今年採取的成本行動以及去年記錄的收入準備金調整，Peoplescout 部門的利潤率有所擴大。人員管理收入下降 8%，部門利潤下降 33%。該部門的利潤率與 13 週相比下降了 70 個基點。額外一週的收入減少了 13%，增加了 800 萬美元的收入。現場和商業駕駛服務的需求下降與我們所服務的垂直行業中明顯的宏觀狀況一致，例如零售和運輸利潤率收縮，這是由於收入下降導致營運槓桿下降所致。

Now let's turn to the balance sheet. We finished the quarter with no debt, $62 million in cash and over $80 million of borrowing availability. With the recent renewal of our 5-year credit facility effective February 9, we have increased our borrowing availability to roughly $140 million. Our balance sheet is in excellent shape, providing a strong liquidity position and great flexibility to support future growth opportunities.

現在讓我們轉向資產負債表。本季結束時，我們沒有任何債務，現金為 6,200 萬美元，可用借款超過 8,000 萬美元。最近我們更新了 5 年期信貸額度，並於 2 月 9 日生效，我們已將可用借款增加至約 1.4 億美元。我們的資產負債表狀況良好，提供強大的流動性狀況和巨大的靈活性來支持未來的成長機會。

Turning to our outlook. For the first quarter of 2024, we expect a revenue decline of 16% to 10%. While this reflects an improvement to the comparable decline in Q4, primarily driven by a less challenging prior-year comparison. As current market conditions are expected to continue into the first quarter, we expect gross margin to be down roughly 200 basis points due to the changes in business mix, with continued strength expected in renewable energy work as well as prior year Workers' Comp concession reserve adjustments that are not expected to repeat. While we expect lower operating leverage with the revenue decline in Q1, our lean cost structure will drive improved margins as we move through the year it's important to note that Q1 is seasonally our lowest revenue quarter, which creates a more pronounced impact on year-over-year profitability relative to other quarters. Our effective tax rate is highly sensitive in periods of low profitability where tax credits can drive significant movement. We expect a statutory income tax rate before job tax credits of 24% to 28% for the year with job tax credits of $5 million to $9 million. Additional information on our outlook can be found in the earnings presentation shared on our website today before we open the call for questions. I wanted to turn it back over to Karen for some closing remarks.

轉向我們的展望。對於 2024 年第一季度，我們預計營收將下降 16% 至 10%。雖然這反映了第四季度可比下降的改善，主要是由於去年比較的挑戰性較小。由於目前的市場狀況預計將持續到第一季度，由於業務組合的變化，我們預計毛利率將下降約 200 個基點，預計可再生能源工作以及上年工人補償特許儲備將繼續強勁預計不會重複的調整。雖然我們預計隨著第一季營收下降，營運槓桿將會降低，但我們的精實成本結構將在全年中推動利潤率提高，但值得注意的是，第一季是我們季節性收入最低的季度，這對同比產生了更明顯的影響相對於其他季度的年盈利能力。我們的有效稅率在獲利能力較低的時期非常敏感，在這種時期，稅收抵免可以推動重大變動。我們預計今年工作稅收抵免前的法定所得稅率為 24% 至 28%，工作稅收抵免為 500 萬至 900 萬美元。有關我們前景的更多信息，請參閱今天在我們開始提問之前在我們網站上分享的收益演示。我想把它轉回給凱倫做一些結束語。

Thank you, Carl. Before we wrap up, I want to reiterate that while current market conditions are challenging we are taking decisive actions to preserve and enhance our strength to deliver long-term value. We are entering 2024 with a strong balance sheet and clear strategic priorities, positioning us well to capitalize on growth opportunities and capture market share as conditions improve. We are confident that these strategic priorities, combined with our many strengths and assets, will enable us to advance our mission to connect people and work while delivering long-term value.

謝謝你，卡爾。在結束之前，我想重申，雖然當前的市場狀況充滿挑戰，但我們正在採取果斷行動，以保持和增強我們實現長期價值的實力。進入 2024 年，我們擁有強勁的資產負債表和明確的戰略重點，這使我們能夠在條件改善時充分利用成長機會並佔領市場份額。我們相信，這些策略重點與我們的眾多優勢和資產相結合，將使我們能夠推進我們的使命，將人員和工作聯繫起來，同時提供長期價值。

This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the call now for questions.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，請立即撥打電話詢問問題。

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. And if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is on the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please while we poll for questions.

謝謝。我們現在將進行問答環節。如果您想提問，請按電話鍵盤上的星號一。確認音將表示您的線路已在問題佇列中。如果您想從佇列中刪除您的問題，可以按二號星。對於使用揚聲器裝置的與會者，可能需要在按星號鍵之前拿起聽筒。請稍等一下，我們進行投票提問。

Thank you. Our first question is from Jeff Silber with BMO Capital Markets. Please proceed with your question.

謝謝。我們的第一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Jeff Silber。請繼續你的問題。

Thanks so much. I wanted to focus on your outlook for the first quarter. Is it possible to get a little bit more color on the revenue side by your different segments?

非常感謝。我想重點談談您對第一季的展望。是否有可能透過不同的細分市場在收入方面獲得更多的色彩？

Yes. Thanks, Bob. Thanks, Jeff, for the question here. The revenue decline on a midpoint was 13%. The midpoint for PeopleReady is around 11%, PeopleManagement around minus 6% and PeopleScout minus 35%. A slight improvement from Q4 is really tied to a less challenging prior year comparison. As we think about kind of into hope they don't think about companies for the quarter January trends were slightly lower due to the renewables piece, but it's in line with expectations for where our outlooks are.

是的。謝謝，鮑伯。謝謝傑夫在這裡提出問題。收入中點下降了 13%。PeopleReady 的中點約為 11%，PeopleManagement 約為負 6%，PeopleScout 約為負 35%。較第四季的輕微改善實際上與去年相比挑戰性較小有關。當我們考慮希望他們不會考慮公司一月份的趨勢時，由於再生能源的影響略有下降，但這與我們對前景的預期一致。

Okay, that's great. And is it safe to assume that at least on a reported basis, none of segments will be profitable in the first quarter. I understand it's seasonality, but is that correct?

好的，太好了。可以肯定的是，至少在報告的基礎上，第一季沒有一個部門能夠獲利。我知道這是季節性的，但這是正確的嗎？

Yes, that's a good way to think about it but I guess.

是的，這是一個很好的思考方式，但我想。

You mentioned the renewable business and it's great to see how much it's ground. Can you quantify how large it is right now and roughly what the gross margin differences between your other businesses in this business?

您提到了再生能源業務，很高興看到它的落地情況。您能否量化一下它現在有多大以及您在該業務中的其他業務之間的毛利率差異大致是多少？

So yes, so if we kind of look back at the fourth quarter, as I said in the prepared remarks, our business mix and the unfavorable mix. There was about 130 basis points for renewable energy in the PeopleReady business. And that really carries a lower gross margin due to our than our lower general on-demand business, really due to more pass-through travel costs.

所以，是的，如果我們回顧第四季度，正如我在準備好的發言中所說，我們的業務組合和不利的組合。PeopleReady 業務中的再生能源大約有 130 個基點。由於我們的一般按需業務較低，實際上由於更多的轉嫁旅行成本，這確實帶來了較低的毛利率。

As we look at Q1, Jeff, it's about 140 basis points for renewable, but we'll continue to that will begin to normalize as we lapse year over year comparisons. Just keep in mind at the gross margins lower for renewable vertical and carries high pass-through costs due to remote geographies have many of these projects, if you exclude those pass-through costs, GM is really in line with other large accounts, and it's really an attractive business for us for the quarter. A little north and about $50 million in renewables.

傑夫，當我們看第一季時，再生能源的價格上漲約 140 個基點，但我們將繼續這一趨勢，隨著我們逐年比較的推移，這一趨勢將開始正常化。請記住，再生能源垂直行業的毛利率較低，並且由於偏遠地區有許多此類項目，因此轉嫁成本較高，如果排除這些轉嫁成本，通用汽車確實與其他大型客戶一致，而且它是本季度對我們來說確實是一項有吸引力的業務。再往北一點，再生能源價值約 5,000 萬美元。

And if I could add, you know, certainly we're seeing significant success in our renewable business and we are expecting that to continue to grow double digits as we move through as we move through this year.

如果我可以補充一點，您知道，我們的再生能源業務當然取得了巨大的成功，並且我們預計隨著今年的進展，這項業務將繼續以兩位數的速度成長。

Sorry, just to clarify that a little north of $50 million --$50million of eCERA.

抱歉，我只是想澄清一下，eCERA 的金額略高於 5000 萬美元——5000 萬美元。

$50 million for the quarter.

本季 5000 萬美元。

Yes, I appreciate the color. I'll jump back in the queue.

是的，我很欣賞這個顏色。我會跳回到隊列中。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Thank you. Our next question is from Mark Marcon with Baird. Please proceed with your question.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題是馬克·馬爾孔和貝爾德提出的。請繼續你的問題。

But Jeff asked a lot of my questions as well in terms of the renewables, just in terms of just the on what sort of bill rates does that typically run and how big is the pass through a component?

但傑夫也問了我很多關於再生能源的問題，例如通常採用什麼樣的帳單費率以及通過一個組件的規模有多大？

We don't share specific bill rates on a kind of as I just mentioned, it's comparable. If you remove those pass-through costs, it's comparable to our large accounts, our PeopleReady business will occur.

正如我剛才提到的，我們不分享具體的帳單費率，這是可比的。如果去掉這些轉嫁成本，就等於我們的大客戶，我們的 PeopleReady 業務就會出現。

How big is the is the pass through component. So the $50 million what percentage of that is customer?

直通元件有多大。那麼這 5,000 萬美元中客戶所佔的比例是多少呢？

I don't have those numbers in front of me. I can get that back to you after the call.

我面前沒有這些數字。我可以在通話後回覆給您。

Okay. Thanks, Carl. And then on on PeopleScout on you're projecting down 35%, if there are do you see, you know, we you see anything on the horizon that would say, hey, if it's going to stabilize or do you think as long as the as long as job churn stays relatively low on and there's still a lot of uncertainty out there and we're probably going to be in this pattern.

好的。謝謝，卡爾。然後在 PeopleScout 上，你預計會下降 35%，如果你看到，你知道，我們看到任何即將出現的東西會說，嘿，如果它會穩定下來，或者你認為只要只要工作流失率保持相對較低，並且仍然存在著許多不確定性，我們可能會處於這種模式。

Yes, hi, Mark. This is Darren. Thanks for the question. You know, certainly our customers in the PeopleScout space, they're really focused on reducing costs and they have lower hiring volumes. And so what we're seeing is that they're relying more on their internal resources as to fill positions. So while we've remained engaged with our customers, they are definitely have lower lower hiring volume. And in many cases, they're able to handle those themselves with the asset with the talent acquisition teams that they have. And one of the things that we're doing to help drive our revenue during this challenging time is our customers aren't making as many hires as we're offering some flexible solutions to them that they can utilize where they may not be prepared to outsource and all are part of their hiring function as they're trying to keep their internal teams busy. So an example of that is our recruiter on demand offerings that we provide to help supplement their their recruiting teams when they when they need some excess capacity. Just an example of that to bring to life. There is a customer that we were providing that recruiter on demand service to and that customer actually split their company into two divisions and they needed some consulting support in terms of helping them develop their talent acquisition strategy and their recruitment technology solution. And so PeopleScout was able to provide that solution to them. And ultimately that recruiter on demand offering as well as that consulting service that we provided resulted in a multiyear RPO contract award. So that's just an example of some of the things that we're doing to stay close to our customers and make sure that we're meeting their current needs. So that we're well positioned to grow to help them expand when they do have increased tendering.

是的，嗨，馬克。這是達倫。謝謝你的提問。您知道，當然是 PeopleScout 領域的客戶，他們真正專注於降低成本，招募量較低。因此，我們看到的是，他們更依賴內部資源來填補職缺。因此，雖然我們仍然與客戶保持聯繫，但他們的招募量肯定會減少。在許多情況下，他們能夠利用自己擁有的人才招募團隊的資產來處理這些問題。在這個充滿挑戰的時期，我們為幫助增加收入所做的事情之一是，我們的客戶並沒有像我們為他們提供一些靈活的解決方案那樣僱用那麼多員工，他們可以在他們可能不准備的地方使用這些解決方案外包和所有這些都是他們招募職能的一部分，因為他們試圖讓內部團隊保持忙碌。一個例子就是我們的招募人員按需提供的服務，當他們需要一些多餘的能力時，我們提供這些服務來幫助補充他們的招募團隊。這只是一個生動的例子。我們向一位客戶提供招募人員按需服務，該客戶實際上將他們的公司分為兩個部門，他們需要一些諮詢支援來幫助他們制定人才獲取策略和招募技術解決方案。因此 PeopleScout 能夠為他們提供該解決方案。最終，我們提供的招聘人員按需服務以及諮詢服務贏得了多年的 RPO 合約。這只是我們為與客戶保持密切聯繫並確保滿足他們當前需求而採取的一些措施的一個例子。這樣，當他們確實增加了招標時，我們就可以很好地成長，幫助他們擴大規模。

Right. So can I take it? You know, with the vast majority of the clients even if they're reducing the work, it's not like you've complete. It's not like they've terminated their relationship with you. Just to to take greater clarity on that, Mike, in January of this year, like what percentage of the clients from January of last year did you retain on the PeopleScout side?

正確的。那我可以接受嗎？你知道，對絕大多數客戶來說，即使他們減少了工作量，也不像是你已經完成了。他們並沒有終止與你的關係。為了更清楚地說明這一點，麥克，今年 1 月份，您在 PeopleScout 方面保留了去年 1 月份的客戶比例是多少？

Yes. So we are retaining our customers. It's really around the volume in which they're utilizing us on some have gone to zero, but we're under contract and we remain engaged perhaps again with alternative solutions to help them right now. But I'm definitely not a client retention issue as much as this is a hiring volume challenge on their side.

是的。所以我們正在留住我們的客戶。實際上，他們在某些方面使用我們的數量已經為零，但我們有合同，我們可能會再次參與替代解決方案來幫助他們。但我絕對不是客戶留任問題，而是他們的招募量挑戰。

Okay. And then with regards to PeopleReady, can you just give us any regional differences or and if we think about some of the areas that were hardest hit, anything on the horizon that you would see in terms of stabilization? So for example, with retail on in terms of PeopleReady, what do you how would you think about the balance of the year there?

好的。然後，關於 PeopleReady，您能否告訴我們一些地區差異，或者如果我們考慮一些受災最嚴重的地區，您會在穩定方面看到什麼？舉例來說，隨著 PeopleReady 零售業的發展，您如何看待今年的剩餘時間？

Yes. I would say if we kind of look back on the quarter on that we've seen kind of a similar results as we've reported of retail, obviously was the most challenging end market for us, which has continued through this year, followed by kind of services and transportation, particularly in the PeopleReady business.

是的。我想說，如果我們回顧本季度，我們會看到與我們報告的零售業類似的結果，這顯然是我們最具挑戰性的終端市場，這種情況一直持續到今年，其次是類型的服務和運輸，特別是在PeopleReady 業務中。

And you might ask me just asking about fee trends. Those look pretty close to the overall and the end markets as well as what we've seen in January. Just as a reminder, kind of our biggest geographic opportunities in PeopleReady, California, Florida, Texas, those make up just over 30% of our ATM business. There are people right now.

您可能會問我只是詢問費用趨勢。這些看起來非常接近整體市場和終端市場以及我們在一月份看到的情況。提醒一下，我們最大的地理機會位於加州、佛羅裡達州、德州的 PeopleReady，它們占我們 ATM 業務的 30% 以上。現在就有人了。

And just to add to that, in Q4, our PeopleReady wins were really dominated in construction and hospitality, and that has trend has continued as we've entered the first quarter here.

除此之外，在第四季度，我們的 PeopleReady 勝利確實在建築和酒店業中占主導地位，隨著我們進入第一季度，這種趨勢仍在繼續。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Our next question is from Will brew Newman with Northcoast Research. Please proceed with your question.

我們的下一個問題來自 Will Brewing Newman 和 Northcoast Research。請繼續你的問題。

Hey, guys. I just wanted I was wondering if you could provide a little bit more color, are you guys seeing any changes in the competitive environment?

大家好。我只是想知道你們是否可以提供更多的色彩，你們看到競爭環境有什麼改變嗎？

And has the demand environment for the PeopleScout business changed at all?

PeopleScout 業務的需求環境是否改變了？

In terms of the competitive environment, I wouldn't say we've seen a change there. You know, certainly, as we look at our people ready business, we compete with both small regional players and us and larger staffing firms. And we continue to compete well there with a combination of both our technology that we have to offer as well as our expansive market presence and certainly we've made some good advancements there with the launch of our new JobStack app. And I would say similarly in our other businesses, the competitive landscape has it remains pretty consistent.

就競爭環境而言，我不會說我們看到了改變。當然，您知道，當我們審視我們的人才業務時，我們既與小型區域企業競爭，也與我們和較大的人力資源公司競爭。我們繼續憑藉我們提供的技術以及廣泛的市場影響力在該領域保持良好的競爭，當然，隨著我們新的 JobStack 應用程式的推出，我們已經在該領域取得了一些良好的進展。我想說的是，在我們的其他業務中，競爭格局仍然相當一致。

Thank you, guys.

感謝你們。

Thank you. Our next question is from Marc Riddick with Sidoti & Company. Please proceed with your question.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Marc Riddick。請繼續你的問題。

Hi, good evening, Mark and I so I was wondering if you could and given the announcement this morning, if you could maybe shed a little light on the transaction and sort of how that or how that might our register with the outlook commentary? And then I have a quick follow-up after that.

嗨，晚上好，馬克和我，所以我想知道你是否可以，並考慮到今天早上的公告，你是否可以稍微透露一下這筆交易，以及我們如何將其納入展望評論中？之後我會進行快速跟進。

Mark, thank you for asking that question. If we just take a step back and look at what we're focused on as an organization. You know, number one are focused on growth execution and client delivery. Now as we navigate this challenging cycle with the agility and discipline that we've been talking about. But in addition to that, we have three clear strategic priorities. First is to simplify our organization structure and the sale of the on-demand business for PeopleReady in Canada. It's really part of that. And secondly, advancing our digital transformation across the enterprise. And then finally, expanding our market presence into high-growth and underpenetrated markets.

馬克，謝謝你問這個問題。如果我們退後一步，看看我們作為一個組織的重點是什麼。您知道，第一個重點是成長執行和客戶交付。現在，當我們以我們一直在談論的敏捷性和紀律來應對這個充滿挑戰的周期時。但除此之外，我們還有三個明確的戰略重點。首先是簡化我們的組織架構以及加拿大 PeopleReady 按需業務的銷售。這確實是其中的一部分。其次，推動整個企業的數位轉型。最後，將我們的市場份額擴展到高成長和滲透率不足的市場。

If we if we look at the focus around simplifying our org structure. And we've made a number of strides here and the sale of our on-demand labor business in Canada really is allowing us to focus on our US operations, where we are an industry leader and make sure that we are focusing our on both the outgoing to Phoenix financials and human capital on our highest growth opportunities in addition to that, we've made some other strides in this area. We've brought together our on-site businesses with CMOs and staff management under single leadership to really help us maximize some of the synergistic opportunities between those two business businesses.

如果我們把重點放在簡化我們的組織結構。我們在這裡取得了許多進步，出售加拿大的按需勞動力業務確實使我們能夠專注於我們的美國業務，我們是行業領導者，並確保我們將重點放在除此之外，我們在這一領域還取得了一些其他進展。我們將現場業務與行銷長和員工管理人員集中在單一領導下，以真正幫助我們最大限度地利用這兩個業務部門之間的協同機會。

And then finally, we're really working hard to better leverage the technology assets that we have across the entire organization. So an example of that is we just started utilizing the technology that we have in our onsite business to support the growth and scale that we're seeing in renewables. So and that sale of the Canadian business was really about just making sure we're remaining laser-focused on them. I'm simplifying the organization and are in areas where we see long-term growth opportunities.

最後，我們確實正在努力更好地利用我們在整個組織中擁有的技術資產。一個例子是，我們剛開始利用我們在現場業務中擁有的技術來支持我們在再生能源領域看到的成長和規模。因此，出售加拿大業務實際上只是為了確保我們繼續專注於他們。我正在簡化組織，並專注於我們看到長期成長機會的領域。

And then Mark, just to add on to what turn turns out. The Canadian operations are material to go through Blue and top priorities operations from an outlook perspective as we close the deal here in Q1 we'll share more going forward.

然後馬克，只是為了補充結果。從前景的角度來看，加拿大業務對於 Blue 和最優先業務至關重要，隨著我們在第一季完成交易，我們將在未來分享更多資訊。

Yes, great. And then I was wondering if you could on a given the strength of the balance sheet, especially as you finished the year, I was wondering if you could sort of the sort of give us a bit of an update as far as views on use of cash prioritization and whether or not in our acquisitions or the Leica is potentially on the table given the given the state of the industry?

對，很好。然後我想知道您是否可以在給定的資產負債表實力的情況下，特別是當您結束這一年時，我想知道您是否可以就使用資產負債表的觀點向我們提供一些最新信息現金優先順序以及考慮到行業現狀，我們的收購或徠卡是否有可能被列入考慮範圍？

Thanks.

謝謝。

Yes, I think in the current economic cycle, we're focused on balancing ample liquidity making our strategic investments and we'll return excess capital to shareholders via share repurchases. Just as a reminder, we've got $55 million under our current authorizations, but as those that we've talked about kind of the strategic investments, virtually all those are still in capital investments in our technology. And then I'd also say our marketing right now, we're not actively pursuing acquisitions but we're interested in targets that can help diversify our hiring mix and as we enter, you know, high-growth and resilient and market verticals.

是的，我認為在當前的經濟週期中，我們的重點是平衡充足的流動性進行策略性投資，我們將透過股票回購將多餘的資本回饋給股東。提醒一下，根據我們目前的授權，我們已經獲得了 5500 萬美元，但正如我們所討論的戰略投資，實際上所有這些仍然是對我們技術的資本投資。然後我還要說一下我們現在的行銷，我們並沒有積極尋求收購，但我們對有助於實現招募組合多元化的目標感興趣，當我們進入高成長、有彈性的垂直市場時。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the floor back to Terren Owen for closing comments.

目前沒有其他問題。我想將發言權交還給特倫歐文 (Terren Owen) 以供結束發言。

Great. Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. I do want to take this opportunity to thank the entire TrueBlue team for their resilience and dedication to fulfilling our mission to connect people and work. We look forward to speaking with you at upcoming investor events and our next and on our next quarterly call, if you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much and have a great evening.

偉大的。謝謝運營商，也謝謝大家今天加入我們。我確實想藉此機會感謝整個 TrueBlue 團隊的韌性和奉獻精神，以完成我們連結人員和工作的使命。我們期待在即將舉行的投資者活動以及下一次和下一次季度電話會議上與您交談，如果您有疑問，請隨時與我們聯繫。非常感謝，祝您有個愉快的夜晚。

This concludes today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束，您現在可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。