TDCX Inc (TDCX) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the TDCX Q1 2023 Results Announcement. My name is Neil and I will be coordinating your call today. (Operator Instructions) I will now hand you over to your host, Jason Lim, Head of Investor Relations from TDCX to begin. Jason, please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，歡迎閱讀 TDCX 2023 年第一季度業績公告。我叫尼爾，今天我將協調您的電話。 （操作員指示）我現在將把您交給主持人，TDCX 投資者關係主管 Jason Lim 開始。傑森，請繼續。

Hello, everyone, and welcome to TDCX' First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Jason Lim, the Head of Investor Relations. Allow me to introduce management on the call. We have our Executive Chairman, Founder and CEO, Mr. Laurent Junique; our CFO, Mr. Chin Tze Neng; and our EVP of Corporate Development, Mr. Edward Goh.

大家好，歡迎參加 TDCX 2023 年第一季度收益電話會議。我叫 Jason Lim，投資者關係主管。請允許我在電話會議上介紹管理層。我們的執行主席、創始人兼首席執行官 Laurent Junique 先生；我們的首席財務官 Chin Tze Neng 先生；以及我們的企業發展執行副總裁 Edward Goh 先生。

Before we continue, I would like to remind you that we will make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may not be realized in the future. You should not place any reliance on any forward-looking statements.

在我們繼續之前，我想提醒您，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受到未來可能無法實現的風險和不確定性的影響。您不應依賴任何前瞻性陳述。

Also, this call includes the discussion of certain non-IFRS financial measures such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and constant currency revenue growth. For a reconciliation of the non-IFRS measures to the closest IFRS measures, please refer to the Form 6-K, which is available on our website.

此外，本次電話會議還討論了某些非國際財務報告準則財務指標，例如調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的淨利潤和恆定貨幣收入增長。有關非 IFRS 措施與最接近的 IFRS 措施的調節，請參閱我們網站上提供的表格 6-K。

We have prepared a convenient translation for the translation of Singapore dollars to the U.S. dollar. This was done at a rate of USD 1 to SGD 1.327. It should not be construed as representation that any Singapore dollar amount can be converted to USD at this or any other rate.

我們為新加坡元兌換美元準備了方便的翻譯。匯率為 1 美元兌 1.327 新元。不應將其視為任何新加坡元金額可以按此匯率或任何其他匯率兌換為美元的表示。

With that, let me hand over the call to Laurent. Laurent, please?

現在，讓我把電話轉給勞倫特。勞倫特，請嗎？

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us for TDCX' first quarter 2023 results briefing. Our team delivered a resilient set of Q1 results through continued focus on operational excellence and efficiency despite challenging market conditions. We'd like to thank the entire TDCX team spanning across 16 geographies for their efforts in keeping our forward momentum going. In particular, a warm welcome to our new TDCX colleagues at our newest locations of Brazil, Vietnam and Turkey, who have done an amazing job for our clients since we started. Also want to thank our clients, many with whom we've had long-standing relationships for their continued trust in us.

大家好，感謝您參加 TDCX 2023 年第一季度業績發布會。儘管市場條件充滿挑戰，我們的團隊仍持續關注卓越運營和效率，取得了富有彈性的第一季度業績。我們要感謝遍布 16 個地區的整個 TDCX 團隊為保持我們前進的動力所做的努力。特別是，熱烈歡迎我們在巴西、越南和土耳其等最新地點的 TDCX 新同事，自我們成立以來，他們為我們的客戶做了出色的工作。還要感謝我們的客戶，他們中的許多人與我們有著長期的合作關係，感謝他們對我們的持續信任。

Let me begin with some highlights of our performance. As a result of a great team effort, we delivered at the top end of our revenue guidance this quarter with USD 124 million representing an 8.2% year-on-year growth. The Singapore dollar has strengthened considerably against all our foreign subsidiaries' local currencies, notably across our Malaysian, Philippines, Thailand and Japan businesses.

讓我首先介紹一下我們表現的一些亮點。由於團隊的努力，本季度我們實現了 1.24 億美元的收入，同比增長 8.2%，達到了收入指導的最高水平。新加坡元兌我們所有外國子公司的當地貨幣大幅走強，特別是在我們的馬來西亞、菲律賓、泰國和日本業務中。

On a constant currency basis, revenue would have grown 13.1% against the same period last year. This was driven by increased revenues across our sales and digital marketing and omnichannel CX service lines.

按固定匯率計算，收入較去年同期增長 13.1%。這是由我們的銷售和數字營銷以及全渠道客戶體驗服務線收入增加推動的。

Earnings performance was robust as EBITDA grew 7% to $32 million, while profit for the period was up 22.5% to USD 21 million. The set of results included a net reversal equity-settled share-based payment expenses of USD 3.9 million. To recap, the targets for our Performance Share Program were set in November 2021, when the business and capital market environments were very different. The vesting criteria for the PSP program includes, among others, total shareholder return and earnings criteria. In this current market environment, some of the key performance conditions of our Performance Share Plan, not expected to be obtained, therefore, we had to reverse some previously accrued costs.

盈利表現強勁，EBITDA 增長 7%，達到 3,200 萬美元，同期利潤增長 22.5%，達到 2,100 萬美元。該組結果包括以權益結算的股份支付淨沖銷費用 390 萬美元。回顧一下，我們的績效分享計劃的目標是在 2021 年 11 月設定的，當時的業務和資本市場環境非常不同。 PSP 計劃的行權標準包括股東總回報和收益標準等。在當前的市場環境下，我們的業績分享計劃的一些關鍵業績條件預計無法實現，因此，我們不得不沖銷一些先前應計的成本。

Excluding the reversals, our adjusted EBITDA declined 16.2% to USD 30 million and adjusted margins declined to 24.2% from 31.2% last year. Our CFO will provide detailed reasons for this later.

排除沖銷，我們調整後的 EBITDA 下降 16.2%，至 3000 萬美元，調整後利潤率從去年的 31.2% 下降至 24.2%。我們的首席財務官稍後將提供詳細原因。

To a large extent, much of the margin compression is due to planned costs such as our geographic expansion, choosing to recruit in good time ahead of projected growth in the peak summer travel season and in keeping strong support and shared service staff ratios.

在很大程度上，利潤率壓縮是由於計劃成本造成的，例如我們的地域擴張、在夏季旅遊旺季預計增長之前選擇及時招聘以及保持強大的支持和共享服務員工比例。

We also continue to invest in initiatives such as the Digital CX Center of Excellence and TDCX AI, our in-house consulting arm. We run our business for the long term and believe these investments are necessary. Besides these, these are productivity measures and cost levers that we can pull to bring margins back nearer to our guidance levels over the course of the year. And our CFO will share more on this later.

我們還繼續投資數字 CX 卓越中心和我們的內部諮詢部門 TDCX AI 等舉措。我們長期經營我們的業務，並相信這些投資是必要的。除此之外，我們還可以採取這些生產力措施和成本槓桿，使利潤率在一年內恢復到接近我們的指導水平。我們的首席財務官稍後將分享更多相關內容。

We continue to execute well from a business perspective. Operationally, I'm very proud that we remain at the top end of performance tables for our clients, demonstrating that TDCX continues to execute at the very highest levels.

從業務角度來看，我們繼續表現良好。在運營方面，我非常自豪我們在客戶績效表中保持領先地位，這表明 TDCX 繼續以最高水平執行。

Our client count rose by a strong 55% to 85% as of March 2023. Our growth was broad-based, and we are excited that revenue from clients outside of top 5 rose 45% year-on-year. This included clients that we added from our Hong Kong subsidiary. As a result, we improved our revenue diversification as our top 5 clients contributed 76% of this quarter's revenue, down from 83% in the same period last year.

截至 2023 年 3 月，我們的客戶數量強勁增長了 55% 至 85%。我們的增長基礎廣泛，我們很高興來自前 5 名之外的客戶的收入同比增長了 45%。這包括我們從香港子公司添加的客戶。因此，我們改善了收入多元化，前 5 名客戶貢獻了本季度收入的 76%，低於去年同期的 83%。

Lastly, we want to highlight our strong returns, which reflects the underlying strength of our business. A return on equity of 19% keeps us ahead of many of our peers. Over the last 2 years, we've embarked on a strategic geographic expansion, and this has really started to contribute meaningfully. For example, Korea, Colombia, Romania all recorded revenue in Q1 2023, more than 4x what they contributed in Q1 2022.

最後，我們想強調我們強勁的回報，這反映了我們業務的潛在實力。 19% 的股本回報率使我們領先於許多同行。在過去的兩年裡，我們開始了戰略性的地域擴張，這確實開始做出有意義的貢獻。例如，韓國、哥倫比亞、羅馬尼亞在 2023 年第一季度的收入均是 2022 年第一季度的 4 倍以上。

Last year, we've added new geographies like Turkey, Vietnam and Hong Kong, which were not part of our footprint just a year ago. All in, revenue from new geographies was 10x in Q1 '23 compared to what it was in Q1 2022.

去年，我們增加了土耳其、越南和香港等新地區，而一年前這些地區還不屬於我們的足跡。總而言之，23 年第一季度來自新地區的收入是 2022 年第一季度的 10 倍。

Most recently, we announced the launch of our newest campus in Sao Paulo, Brazil in support of a key gaming client. We also opened our office in Jakarta in 2023, which further bolsters TDCX' Southeast Asia network.

最近，我們宣佈在巴西聖保羅啟動最新園區，以支持主要遊戲客戶。我們還於 2023 年在雅加達開設了辦事處，進一步加強了 TDCX 的東南亞網絡。

Indonesia is the largest Southeast Asian market with a population of 270 million with over 70% Internet penetration and a large ecosystem of international and regional tech companies. With a growing head count of over 18,400 employees globally, we are excited by our new wider geographic reach. This empowers us to serve more clients across the world.

印度尼西亞是東南亞最大的市場，擁有 2.7 億人口，互聯網普及率超過 70%，擁有龐大的國際和地區科技公司生態系統。全球員工數量不斷增加，已超過 18,400 名，我們對新的更廣泛的地理覆蓋範圍感到興奮。這使我們能夠為世界各地的更多客戶提供服務。

Moving into client highlights. As mentioned earlier, we continue to grow our client count steadily. While our client count stands at 85 as of March 2023, another 6 clients have been signed up but not yet launched. We look forward to kickstarting this campaign soon. As shared earlier, our higher client count and broad-based growth have contributed to the improved revenue diversification metrics.

進入客戶亮點。如前所述，我們的客戶數量繼續穩步增長。截至 2023 年 3 月，我們的客戶數量為 85 個，另有 6 個客戶已簽約但尚未啟動。我們期待盡快啟動這項活動。正如之前分享的，我們更多的客戶數量和廣泛的增長有助於改善收入多元化指標。

In terms of contribution from verticals, digital advertising and media remains our largest vertical at 51% of revenue in this quarter. The revenue contracted slightly year-on-year with a decrease in volumes from some of our clients partly offset by good growth from several other clients in this space.

就垂直行業的貢獻而言，數字廣告和媒體仍然是我們最大的垂直行業，佔本季度收入的 51%。收入同比略有收縮，部分客戶銷量的下降被該領域其他幾個客戶的良好增長所抵消。

Our second largest vertical was travel and hospitality at 24% of revenue. This vertical saw a strong growth of 34% year-on-year, driven by the strong rebound in cross-border travel with room for further recovery. We have started ramping up our hiring to meet the demand for the summer peak period as well as increased outbound Chinese travel in the second half.

我們的第二大垂直行業是旅遊和酒店業，佔收入的 24%。在跨境旅遊強勁反彈的推動下，該垂直行業同比強勁增長34%，並有進一步復甦的空間。我們已開始加大招聘力度，以滿足夏季高峰期的需求以及下半年中國出境游的增加。

We have always shared that TDCX' differentiator is our focus on more complex work. Now given the speed of development in tech and AI, the need for moving up the complexity ladder is all the more key strategic priority for us. And we intend to deliver this by attracting top talent, providing good training and optimizing our tools and processes.

我們一直認為 TDCX 的與眾不同之處在於我們專注於更複雜的工作。現在，鑑於技術和人工智能的發展速度，提升複雜性階梯的需求對我們來說更加重要的戰略優先事項。我們打算通過吸引頂尖人才、提供良好的培訓以及優化我們的工具和流程來實現這一目標。

Allow me to illustrate how we do this across our 3 lines of business. Sales and digital marketing, which represents 27% of our Q1 revenue mix, involves digital marketing experts focused on optimizing average revenue per account for SMB advertisers, campaign and life cycle management, agency management and onboarding, deep analytics, creative consulting and marketing operations on behalf of our digital advertising clients.

請允許我舉例說明我們如何在 3 個業務領域做到這一點。銷售和數字營銷占我們第一季度收入組合的 27%，涉及數字營銷專家，專注於優化中小企業廣告商每個帳戶的平均收入、活動和生命週期管理、代理管理和入職、深度分析、創意諮詢和營銷運營。代表我們的數字廣告客戶。

Our talent in this LOB are recruited from a diverse range of linguistic backgrounds with obvious higher qualifications and capabilities. On the content, trust and safety, which represents 13% of our revenue mix, it involves complex content moderation interventions that require human interpretation and nuanced knowledge of cultural and political norms. We also performed a wide range of complex trust and safety functions to ensure the authenticity and accuracy of listings for rental or sales, KYC procedures for some of our fintech clients as well as data annotation and labeling work.

我們此 LOB 的人才來自不同的語言背景，具有明顯更高的資歷和能力。內容、信任和安全占我們收入組合的 13%，它涉及復雜的內容審核干預措施，需要人工解釋以及對文化和政治規範的細緻了解。我們還執行了一系列複雜的信任和安全功能，以確保租賃或銷售列表的真實性和準確性、我們一些金融科技客戶的 KYC 程序以及數據註釋和標籤工作。

Lastly, our biggest service line remains omnichannel CX, which is 59% of our Q1 revenue mix. The vast majority of these are primarily complex B2B interactions or complex B2C discussions. For example, many of our clients have multiple tiers of complexity or escalation. We typically deal with the highest tiers and serve the most demanding or highest paying customers who require a wide global approach.

最後，我們最大的服務線仍然是全渠道 CX，占我們第一季度收入組合的 59%。其中絕大多數主要是複雜的 B2B 交互或複雜的 B2C 討論。例如，我們的許多客戶都具有多層複雜性或升級性。我們通常與最高層打交道，並為需要廣泛全球方法的最苛刻或最高付費的客戶提供服務。

Others such as escalations are time sensitive and require us to employ empathy and mediation skills to intervene. Our long-standing focus on new economy of clients has provided us with deep domain expertise and understanding of innovative verticals and client needs.

其他諸如昇級之類的問題則具有時間敏感性，需要我們運用同理心和調解技巧進行干預。我們對客戶新經濟的長期關注為我們提供了深厚的領域專業知識以及對創新垂直行業和客戶需求的理解。

We have doubled down on our consulting strategy to add even greater value to our clients. This January, we launched our Digital CX Center of Excellence to pilot and validate new CX models to support emerging technology architecture as well as to develop practical real-world use cases.

我們加倍加強我們的諮詢策略，為我們的客戶增加更大的價值。今年 1 月，我們推出了數字 CX 卓越中心，以試點和驗證新的 CX 模型，以支持新興技術架構並開發實際的實際用例。

By leveling up our consulting capabilities, we're able to showcase our domain expertise, obtain a seat at the strategic table and can, therefore, deepen our relationship with clients. I'm also happy to announce that we recently launched TDCX AI, a specialized consulting division, which leverages AI and CX applications and helps clients on their AI journey. The team is composed of 50 specialists with expertise in AI algorithms, data science and business analytics. We think these insights and tools will help clients deliver hyper-personalized customer experiences, which will allow clients to create tailored CX journeys, all targeted marketing strategies, which will, in turn, drive customer loyalty and revenue growth.

通過提高我們的諮詢能力，我們能夠展示我們的領域專業知識，在戰略桌上獲得一席之地，從而加深我們與客戶的關係。我還很高興地宣布，我們最近推出了 TDCX AI，這是一個專業諮詢部門，它利用 AI 和 CX 應用程序並幫助客戶踏上 AI 之旅。該團隊由 50 名在人工智能算法、數據科學和商業分析方面擁有專業知識的專家組成。我們認為這些見解和工具將幫助客戶提供超個性化的客戶體驗，從而使客戶能夠創建量身定制的客戶體驗旅程和所有有針對性的營銷策略，從而推動客戶忠誠度和收入增長。

We are also investing in generative AI tools to enhance internal productivity, which will free up our employees to focus on higher-value, more rewarding and fulfilling work. There are lots of fresh and exciting opportunities presented by this generative AI wave, and we are agile and nimble enough to pivot quickly to meet new demand. We will share more about developments in TDCX AI in due time.

我們還投資生成式人工智能工具來提高內部生產力，這將使我們的員工能夠專注於更高價值、更有價值和更有成就感的工作。這股生成式人工智能浪潮帶來了許多新鮮且令人興奮的機會，我們足夠敏捷，可以快速調整以滿足新需求。我們將適時分享更多有關 TDCX AI 發展的信息。

To sum up, with a solid presence in Asia, a globally expanding footprint, a culture aligned with new economic clients and continuous technological innovation, I believe TDCX has the right fundamentals, and we are well positioned to excel in this constantly evolving BPO market.

總而言之，憑藉在亞洲的穩固地位、全球擴張的足跡、與新經濟客戶保持一致的文化以及持續的技術創新，我相信 TDCX 擁有正確的基礎，並且我們有能力在這個不斷發展的 BPO 市場中脫穎而出。

Before I pass my time to Mr. Chin, who will bring you through our results and guidance in greater detail, I'd like to briefly touch upon outlook. Broadly speaking, the near-term macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain. Sales cycles have lengthened, and generally speaking, clients remain hesitant to commit into more business in the near term. On the other hand, a number of our largest clients have recently reported slightly more optimistic Q1 earnings. We are cautiously optimistic that business will improve into FY 2024.

在我向 Chin 先生介紹我們的結果和指導的更多細節之前，我想簡單談談展望。總體而言，近期宏觀經濟前景仍存在不確定性。銷售週期已經延長，一般來說，客戶仍然猶豫是否要在短期內開展更多業務。另一方面，我們的一些最大客戶最近報告的第一季度收益略顯樂觀。我們對 2024 財年業務將有所改善持謹慎樂觀態度。

With that, let me hand over to Mr. Chin.

接下來，請讓我將任務交給 Chin 先生。

Thank you, Laurent. For Q1 2023, revenue rose 8.2% on a reported basis. Had the Singapore dollar remained constant against our operating subsidiaries' currencies from Q1 2022, revenue would have risen by 13.1%. Notably, the exchange rates used for the translation of some of the local functional currencies of the Malaysian ringgit, Philippine peso, Thai baht, Japanese yen and renminbi depreciated between 4% to 16% against the group's presentation currency of Singapore dollar for the 3 months ended 31st March 2023 compared to the 3 months ended 31st March 2022.

謝謝你，洛朗。據報告，2023 年第一季度收入增長 8.2%。如果從 2022 年第一季度起新加坡元兌我們運營子公司的貨幣保持不變，收入將增長 13.1%。值得注意的是，馬來西亞林吉特、菲律賓比索、泰銖、日元和人民幣等部分當地功能貨幣的換算匯率在過去三個月內相對於集團的呈報貨幣新加坡元貶值了4%至16%截至2023年3月31日與截至2022年3月31日的三個月相比。

This quarter's earnings included a net reversal of the share-based payment expense of around USD 4 million, as Laurent had alluded to earlier on. This was because certain performance share plan awards are not expected to vest, reflecting the current macro and business environment. Largely as a result of this, EBITDA increased 7% to USD 32 million and net profit for the period grew 22.5% to USD 21 million.

正如 Laurent 早些時候提到的，本季度的收益包括約 400 萬美元的股份支付費用淨逆轉。這是因為某些績效股份計劃獎勵預計不會歸屬，反映了當前的宏觀和商業環境。很大程度上由於這一原因，EBITDA 增長了 7%，達到 3200 萬美元，淨利潤增長了 22.5%，達到 2100 萬美元。

With effect from January 1, 2023, the group has decided to include adjustments for net foreign exchange gains or losses and acquisition-related professional fees in the adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted EPS in addition to the adjustment for equity sector share-based payment expense or reversal that was included in prior periods.

自2023年1月1日起，集團決定除了股權部門股票調整外，還將淨外匯損益和收購相關專業費用的調整納入調整後的EBITDA、調整後淨利潤和調整後每股收益中。包括在前期的付款費用或沖銷。

Over the course of the previous year, we have identified such additional items as not indicative of our ongoing operating performance and that adjusting for such items renders a more meaningful understanding of the underlying performance of the business to the readers.

在過去的一年中，我們已確定此類附加項目並不代表我們持續的經營業績，並且對這些項目進行調整可以使讀者對業務的基本業績有更有意義的了解。

For like-for-like comparability, similar adjustments have been made on the adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for Q1 2022. While we believe that such non-IFRS financial measures provide useful information to readers, these have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the financial results as reported under IFRS.

為了實現同類可比性，對 2022 年第一季度調整後 EBITDA 和調整後淨利潤進行了類似調整。雖然我們認為此類非 IFRS 財務指標為讀者提供了有用的信息，但它們作為分析工具存在局限性，您不應孤立地考慮它們或將它們作為根據 IFRS 報告的財務結果分析的替代。

Back to the results. Adjusted EBITDA declined 16.2% to USD 30 million in Q1 2023 as margins contracted from 31.2% to 24.2% with largely higher costs incurred during the quarter. I will discuss this in further detail in a later slide.

回到結果。 2023 年第一季度，調整後 EBITDA 下降 16.2%，至 3000 萬美元，原因是利潤率從 31.2% 縮減至 24.2%，且本季度產生的成本大幅上升。我將在後面的幻燈片中更詳細地討論這一點。

Consequently, from the lower adjusted EBITDA, our adjusted net income declined 19.1% to USD 18 million. Earnings per share in Q1 2023 landed at USD 0.14, while adjusted EPS was USD 0.13.

因此，由於調整後的 EBITDA 較低，我們調整後的淨利潤下降了 19.1%，至 1800 萬美元。 2023 年第一季度每股收益為 0.14 美元，調整後每股收益為 0.13 美元。

Let me next provide some insights of our revenue by service verticals. Our revenue growth was led by a growth in our sales and digital marketing line of business followed by omnichannel CX services but partly offset by a decline in content, trust, and safety. Revenue from sales and digital marketing services increased by 23% to USD 33 million primarily due to the expansion of existing campaigns by our key digital advertising and media clients and volume contributions from new clients onboarded in the second half of 2022.

接下來讓我按服務垂直領域提供一些關於我們收入的見解。我們的收入增長主要由銷售和數字營銷業務線的增長帶動，其次是全渠道客戶體驗服務，但部分被內容、信任和安全性的下降所抵消。銷售和數字營銷服務收入增長 23%，達到 3300 萬美元，主要是由於我們的主要數字廣告和媒體客戶現有活動的擴大以及 2022 年下半年新客戶的數量貢獻。

Omnichannel CX revenue rose 9% to USD 74 million primarily due to increased business volumes from the expansion of existing campaigns by travel and hospitality clients as well as in the gaming, FMCG and technology verticals. Content, trust and safety revenue declined 17% year-on-year to USD 16 million due to lower volume requirements by decline in the digital advertising and media vertical. The mix from the different service lines has been shared by Laurent in an earlier slide.

全渠道客戶體驗收入增長 9%，達到 7400 萬美元，主要是由於旅遊和酒店客戶以及遊戲、快速消費品和技術垂直領域現有活動的擴展導致業務量增加。內容、信任和安全收入同比下降 17%，至 1600 萬美元，原因是數字廣告和媒體垂直領域的衰退導致銷量需求下降。勞倫特在之前的幻燈片中分享了不同服務線的組合。

Next, let me provide some details on the adjusted EBITDA margin movement from 31.2% in Q1 2022 to 24.2% in Q1 2023. There are 3 broad categories. Firstly, in Q1 2022, we had the COVID-19-related government aid grants largely from Singapore that did not recur in Q1 2023 of 0.7 percentage point. Secondly, there was a 1.9 percentage point impact due to the higher nonemployee wage attributable to infrastructure cost of expanded and new [site] capacities coupled with more business and operational traveling and recruitment costs.

接下來，讓我提供一些有關調整後 EBITDA 利潤率變動的詳細信息，從 2022 年第一季度的 31.2% 到 2023 年第一季度的 24.2%。有 3 大類。首先，在 2022 年第一季度，我們獲得的與 COVID-19 相關的政府援助贈款主要來自新加坡，在 2023 年第一季度沒有重複提供 0.7 個百分點。其次，由於擴大和新的[站點]產能的基礎設施成本以及更多的業務和運營旅行和招聘成本導致非僱員工資較高，因此產生了 1.9 個百分點的影響。

Thirdly, there was a 4.5 percentage point compression relating to higher employee benefit expenses, excluding the equity sector share-based payment expense reversal. This included higher group corporate costs to cope with compliance and listing requirements obligations since becoming public listed; higher proportion of deployed resources versus billable resources, which also drove up higher campaign support and shared service resource costs.

第三，不包括股權部門的股份支付費用沖銷，員工福利費用增加導致 4.5 個百分點的壓縮。這包括自公開上市以來集團公司應對合規和上市要求義務的成本增加；已部署資源與計費資源的比例較高，這也推高了活動支持和共享服務資源成本。

To elaborate, we have some excess agent headcount on our payroll to cater for higher volumes in 4 months planned by some of our key clients mainly in the travel and hospitality, gaming, digital advertising and fintech sectors. We also opted to retain, train and [experienced] program support resources such as quality assurance and team leaders for future business recoveries or ramp-ups.

詳細地說，我們的工資單上有一些多餘的代理人員，以滿足我們的一些主要客戶（主要是旅遊和酒店、遊戲、數字廣告和金融科技領域）計劃在 4 個月內增加的業務量。我們還選擇保留、培訓和[經驗豐富的]項目支持資源，例如質量保證和團隊領導，以應對未來業務的複蘇或提升。

As we roll forward this year, we are targeting 2 areas to recover some of the margin compression. Firstly, we are focusing on the impact of over-resourcing gap to be optimized by closer engagement with our clients for better projection, visibility of existing and new business volumes over the rest of the year. Secondly, part of the impact from higher overheads and nonemployee costs will be progressively reduced as we generate better economies of scale from our new geographies. These have been considered in our outlook for the year, which I will share in the next slide.

今年，我們的目標是在兩個領域恢復部分利潤率壓縮的情況。首先，我們重點關注資源過剩缺口的影響，通過與客戶更密切的接觸來優化，以便更好地預測今年剩餘時間現有和新業務量的可見性。其次，隨著我們在新的地區產生更好的規模經濟，較高的管理費用和非員工成本的部分影響將逐步減少。我們在今年的展望中考慮了這些因素，我將在下一張幻燈片中分享。

Next, let me provide an update on our full year 2023 outlook. We are reiterating our revenue growth guidance on constant currency terms at 3% to 8% for the full year 2023. We also maintained our adjusted EBITDA margin outlook of approximately 25% to 29%. This does not include investments such as our Digital CX Center of Excellence and our recently launched TDCX AI arm.

接下來，讓我介紹一下我們 2023 年全年展望的最新情況。我們重申，按固定匯率計算，2023 年全年收入增長指引為 3% 至 8%。我們還維持調整後 EBITDA 利潤率預期為約 25% 至 29%。這不包括我們的數字 CX 卓越中心和我們最近推出的 TDCX AI 部門等投資。

With that, let me hand over back to Laurent.

接下來，讓我把任務交還給洛朗。

All right. Thank you, Mr. Chin. Guys, we are ready for questions.

好的。謝謝你，秦先生。伙計們，我們準備好回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) We now have our first question from Varun Ahuja from Credit Suisse.

（操作員說明）現在我們收到瑞士信貸銀行 Varun Ahuja 提出的第一個問題。

I've got quick 3, 4 questions. First, I understand, Laurent, you gave a brief comment on the discussion that you're having with clients, but it will be helpful for investors if you can provide more color how is the visibility compared to, say, suppose a quarter ago when you gave the original guidance? Is the outlook over the last 3 months or 4 months has improved since you're -- obviously, you were at the peak early in the year. So how do you see as we move ahead in 2023?

我有 3、4 個問題。首先，我理解，勞倫特，您對與客戶進行的討論進行了簡短的評論，但如果您可以提供更多的信息，那麼與假設一個季度前相比，可見性如何，這對投資者會有幫助你給出了最初的指導嗎？過去 3 個月或 4 個月的前景是否有所改善，因為你——顯然，你在年初達到了頂峰。那麼您如何看待我們在 2023 年的前進？

Also, I understand AI, you started to have initial movements over there. But how do you see overall impact on AI on the business per se with segments, verticals you think will be impacted most? And how does these initiatives by you kind of help you mitigate some of those headwinds that may proceed? So that's number one on overall commentary on visibility and AI.

另外，我了解人工智能，你在那裡開始有初步的動作。但是，您如何看待人工智能對業務本身的整體影響，以及您認為受影響最大的垂直領域？您的這些舉措如何幫助您減輕可能出現的一些不利因素？所以這是對可見性和人工智能的總體評論的第一名。

Secondly, on margin side, Mr. Chin, I understand you gave more color on it, but it will be helpful if you can provide, going ahead, how should we think on the outlook given you're expecting an improvement. And the revenue guidance implies still a headwind in second half. So economies of scale, how do you want to achieve given the revenue may -- based on guidance may not be growing at the same rate as first quarter?

其次，在保證金方面，Chin 先生，我知道您對此提供了更多的色彩，但如果您能夠提供，鑑於您期望有所改善，我們應該如何看待前景，這將會有所幫助。收入指引意味著下半年仍面臨阻力。那麼，考慮到收入可能不會以與第一季度相同的速度增長，您希望如何實現規模經濟？

And secondly, if you can provide some colors on country-wise, I don't want a specific country, but how should -- over the countries which have been launched 2, 3 years ago, where they are in terms of your base case margin expectation? How far are they from what we should expect on a steady-state margin level? So those are the two.

其次，如果您可以提供一些國家/地區方面的顏色，我不想要特定的國家/地區，但應該如何提供 - 對於 2、3 年前推出的國家/地區，根據您的基本情況，它們位於何處利潤預期？它們距離我們預期的穩態利潤水平有多遠？這就是這兩個人。

Third, on the tax rate, if you can provide some color. This quarter was down. So is this a normal tax which should be assumed?

第三，關於稅率，是否可以提供一些說明。本季度有所下降。那麼這是應該承擔的正常稅嗎？

All right. Thank you, Varun. I'll take some of your questions. I'll defer some to Mr. Chin. Just touching lightly on the margin compression, and I think Mr. Chin will be giving you more details. I think a lot of the impact that you see is by design, if I may say, as we had to make decisions to adapt to the times but with the future in mind. So I think Mr. Chin will be a bit clearer here on the strategic decisions we make to keep our clients happy but also take into account the operational opportunities as well as the limitations to be the best partner to our clients but also to our employees and to our investors.

好的。謝謝你，瓦倫。我會回答你的一些問題。我會把一些交給欽先生。只是稍微談一下利潤率壓縮，我想 Chin 先生會給你提供更多細節。我認為你看到的很多影響都是設計造成的，如果我可以說的話，因為我們必須做出適應時代的決定，但要考慮到未來。因此，我認為陳先生在這裡會更清楚地了解我們為讓客戶滿意而做出的戰略決策，但同時也考慮到運營機會以及限制，成為我們客戶、員工和員工的最佳合作夥伴。給我們的投資者。

Going back to -- and then Mr. Chin will talk on this as well as the countries and the tax rate. You asked me about AI and the impact of AI on TDCX. So I think maybe it's a lot easier for me to reiterate how differentiated TDCX are and how we have anticipated this. And if you look back to our IPO paper, now a few years back, we were already discussing this topic. And we are doing much more complex work than a number of our peers. 51% of our business is in digital advertising. Close to 70% is in business to business. Not that we're immune to AI and the automation journey, but this is not something new to us. And obviously, we've been going through that process for a number of years.

回到——然後金先生將談論這個以及國家和稅率。你問我關於人工智能以及人工智能對 TDCX 的影響。因此，我認為重申 TDCX 的差異化以及我們對此的預期可能會更容易。如果你回顧一下我們的 IPO 文件，幾年前我們就已經在討論這個話題了。我們正在做比許多同行複雜得多的工作。我們 51% 的業務來自數字廣告。近 70% 是企業對企業。並不是說我們對人工智能和自動化之旅免疫，但這對我們來說並不是什麼新鮮事。顯然，我們已經經歷這個過程很多年了。

And we've discussed it before, but what the impact that this has on our work is that our work is becoming increasingly complex, and that's forcing us to hire more competent personnel, provide better training for them and retention are important topics. And the way clients look at it is exactly the same way. And the pressure usually right now, we feel, is on speed to proficiency, and clients are asking us to help them to get their specialists to a higher level of competency at a higher pace and work on retention.

我們之前已經討論過，但這對我們工作的影響是，我們的工作變得越來越複雜，這迫使我們僱用更多有能力的人員，為他們提供更好的培訓，保留是重要的話題。客戶看待它的方式也是完全一樣的。我們認為，現在的壓力通常在於加快熟練程度，客戶要求我們幫助他們以更快的速度讓他們的專家達到更高的能力水平，並致力於保留。

So hence, the launch of TDCX AI, where we are intending to respond to the increasing interest of clients in advisory services to guide them in their strategy. And we've been very successful with this recently, and we'll be continuing to press hard on TDCX AI to address the opportunity, we think, beyond the possible impact that is difficult to estimate. The opportunities are going to come with the fact that clients are all wanting to do something, but the resources are hard to come by, and that's exactly the way outsourcing works when it's hard to find resources, outsourcing as an opportunity to shine. So we intend to capitalize on this, and we've already made steps obviously towards that goal.

因此，我們推出了 TDCX AI，旨在滿足客戶對諮詢服務日益增長的興趣，以指導他們制定戰略。我們最近在這方面非常成功，我們將繼續大力推動 TDCX AI 來抓住機遇，我們認為，這超出了難以估計的可能影響。當客戶都想做某事，但資源卻很難獲得時，機會就會隨之而來，而這正是外包在資源難找時的運作方式，外包是一個發光的機會。因此，我們打算利用這一點，並且我們已經為實現這一目標採取了明顯的措施。

Now your question on the client discussions. Visibility has not improved dramatically. It's still a volatile environment both on the macroeconomic side of things. As you know, everybody is waiting to see what the Fed is going to do, whether there's going to be an impact on the economy. We've heard a lot of layoffs, especially recently. We hope that's the end of those layoffs and that clients are in a better position to make decisions. Especially coming towards the midyear, we anticipate clients will need to make decisions to make the year. So we hope those decisions will come a bit at an accelerated pace, but I cannot guarantee this.

現在你的問題是關於客戶討論的。能見度並沒有顯著改善。從宏觀經濟角度來看，這仍然是一個不穩定的環境。如您所知，每個人都在等待美聯儲將採取什麼行動，看看是否會對經濟產生影響。我們聽說過很多裁員的消息，尤其是最近。我們希望裁員就此結束，客戶能夠更好地做出決定。尤其是在年中之際，我們預計客戶將需要做出今年的決定。因此，我們希望這些決定能夠加快速度，但我不能保證這一點。

So the discussions with clients are ongoing. They're fruitful and meaningful, but I cannot say that our visibility has increased so far. So sorry for a long-winded response. I'll hand over to Mr. Chin to maybe get a bit clearer on the margin compression as well as other details that you've asked.

因此，與客戶的討論正在進行中。它們富有成效且有意義，但我不能說到目前為止我們的知名度有所提高。很抱歉冗長的回复。我將把問題交給 Chin 先生，以便更清楚地了解邊際壓縮以及您所詢問的其他細節。

Yes. Can you -- hello?

是的。你可以——你好嗎？

Yes, we can hear you, Mr. Chin. Maybe a bit -- yes.

是的，我們能聽到你的聲音，欽先生。也許有一點——是的。

So on the question on the margin, as was mentioned in the call a while ago, the cost that rose a bit more than what we had when we were newly listed in Q1 and around -- throughout the course of the -- of 2022. So I hope with the compliance and the listing since becoming listed ourselves in mid-2021, so that kind of came to a bit of a [high] level throughout 2022 that -- coming [into] Q1 2020, and there were some advisory work that also started in first quarter.

因此，關於邊際問題，正如不久前的電話會議中提到的，成本的上漲比我們在 2022 年第一季度和整個過程中新上市時的成本要高一些。因此，我希望自 2021 年中期上市以來能夠實現合規和上市，以便在 2022 年達到一定的[高]水平，即 2020 年第一季度，並且有一些諮詢工作這也是從第一季度開始的。

The second point about the margin opportunity from the deployment of resources against the billable headcount, that [definitely] drove the campaign support and shared service resources. So there were some additional offsets, agent headcount on our payroll to cater for certain volumes that were planned in the 4 months by some of our key clients in [particularly] gaming and strategy advertising sectors.

第二點是關於根據計費人員部署資源的利潤機會，這[肯定]推動了競選支持和共享服務資源。因此，我們的工資單上有一些額外的補償和代理人數，以滿足我們[特別是]遊戲和策略廣告領域的一些主要客戶在 4 個月內計劃的某些數量。

So in that sense, the (inaudible) in some of the new [geographies that are] on the new programs in the -- until a new (inaudible) in I think as well in Vietnam and Korea as well, we have some expansion there. So in advance of the billable phase of this headcount (inaudible) with this margin from [inclusion] arriving from this situation that we had.

因此，從這個意義上說，在一些新的[地區]的新計劃中（聽不清）——直到我認為越南和韓國也出現了新的（聽不清），我們在那裡進行了一些擴張。因此，在這個人數（聽不清）的計費階段之前，[包含]的利潤是從我們所遇到的情況中得出的。

And also, in essence, we also opted to bring as much of our trained and experienced [employees], QAs and TLs in [our discretion], future business and volume recovery and also as a [possible] new business, which we are aiming for -- on the new logos that we are quite confident to target. So on that front, going forward, I would say the -- as what you were saying, that the headwinds in the second half year will impact on our margins going forward.

而且，本質上，我們還選擇將盡可能多的訓練有素、經驗豐富的[員工]、QA 和 TL 納入[我們的判斷]、未來的業務和銷量恢復以及[可能的]新業務，這是我們的目標對於——關於我們非常有信心瞄準的新標誌。因此，在這方面，展望未來，我想說的是——正如您所說，下半年的逆風將影響我們未來的利潤率。

We will -- we actually started to focus on the -- focus on R&D (inaudible) demand [to this] the visibility of the volume. So we are having really close hand-in-hand engagement with our clients and working with that for better projection visibility for the existing and new [business] for the rest of the year.

我們實際上開始關注研發（聽不清）需求[對此]數量的可見性。因此，我們正在與客戶進行非常密切的攜手合作，並與客戶合作，以便更好地預測今年剩餘時間的現有和新[業務]。

And we probably -- we are actually -- will shift off the program's volume -- I mean, the headcount by seeing what they are like and they are maybe taking a bit of risk in addressing spikes of volumes if those happen. And also the (inaudible) and nonemployee costs, we will definitely optimize [for the future] when the sale of the new business and new sector start to increase over the remaining period of the year. Yes, that pretty much connect back to what we talk about, the margin, the (inaudible).

我們可能——我們實際上——會通過觀察項目的情況來調整項目的數量——我的意思是，人員數量，如果發生這種情況，他們可能會冒一點風險來解決數量激增的問題。還有（聽不清）和非員工成本，當新業務和新部門的銷售在今年剩餘時間內開始增加時，我們肯定會[為未來]進行優化。是的，這幾乎與我們談論的內容有關，邊際，（聽不清）。

As for the tax part, if I probably jump to that question first, there was this [revenue-wise effects] in one of the business units in Europe from the tax calculation that we [need, a revenue of some] projection of the profitability of that -- you need as well as the -- to a certain extent, the actions of the prosperity tax that started in -- happened in Malaysia in 2022 that did not happen in 2023.

至於稅收部分，如果我可能首先跳到這個問題，歐洲的一個業務部門在稅收計算中存在這種[收入方面的影響]，我們[需要，一些收入]對盈利能力的預測其中——你需要以及——在某種程度上，2022年馬來西亞開始實施繁榮稅的行動，但2023年並沒有發生。

So going forward, we will probably be lending at about 20-ish percentage [this year] for subsequent quarters, subject to any other tax rules, et cetera, that is -- law that is being implemented by any (inaudible). Did I cover all your questions, Varun? Is there any other?

因此，展望未來，我們可能會在接下來的幾個季度以大約 20% 左右的比例提供貸款，但須遵守任何其他稅收規則等，即任何（聽不清）正在實施的法律。我已經回答了你所有的問題了嗎，瓦倫？還有其他的嗎？

Yes. I think there is some problem with the audio, but most of it, I got it.

是的。我認為音頻有一些問題，但大部分我明白了。

We now have our next question from Vitt Pang from Goldman Sachs.

現在我們有高盛 Vitt Pang 提出的下一個問題。

A couple of questions from me. Maybe number one, going back to the revenue again. I understand that there are some headwinds that we are supposed to expect, but the constant currency basic revenue actually came in above 13% on a year-on-year versus your guidance of 5% to 8%. So particularly, can you actually highlight which quarters or in what time frame that we might actually see headwinds coming in and in the sector as well? Just wondering why do you keep a very conservative stance here as well despite seeing some of the improvement.

我有幾個問題。也許第一，再次回到收入。我知道我們預計會遇到一些阻力，但按固定匯率計算基本收入實際上同比增長了 13% 以上，而您的指導為 5% 至 8%。特別是，您能否真正強調哪些季度或在什麼時間範圍內我們實際上可能會看到該行業的逆風？只是想知道為什麼儘管看到了一些改進，你仍然保持非常保守的立場。

And number two, somewhat related to that as well. I think previously, you mentioned a part of the weak asset you are seeing because some of your digital advertisement clients see less willingness to spend overall. But given that some of these clients and the sector as well is actually seeing the results and basically numbers coming in better than expected in the first quarter, are you particularly seeing better demand indication from, let's say, the OCX sector, SDM sector from them? That's question #2.

第二點，也與此有關。我認為之前，您提到了您所看到的部分疲軟資產，因為您的一些數字廣告客戶整體支出意願較低。但考慮到其中一些客戶和行業實際上看到了第一季度的結果和基本數字好於預期，您是否特別看到來自 OCX 行業、SDM 行業的更好的需求指示？這是問題#2。

And last question, just wanted to ask about the new location that you just launched, Brazil and Indonesia. Can we have more color since you already have client locked in for these new locations? And if so, which segment should we see uplift and when?

最後一個問題，只是想問一下你們剛剛推出的新地點，巴西和印度尼西亞。既然您已經鎖定了這些新地點的客戶，我們可以提供更多顏色嗎？如果是這樣，我們應該在什麼時候看到哪個細分市場的增長？

Super, Pang. Thank you very much for all the questions. On the headwinds part where, yes, we grew in constant currency at 13% in first quarter, which looks pretty decent and the question is why do we -- are we not upping our guidance, I think it comes back to the visibility issue and really us taking as usual and as you know, as a conservative stance as we don't want to overexaggerate the opportunities that are in front of us. The market remains -- they remain jittery, uncertainty on the macroeconomic front, and that's not to be underestimated.

厲害了，龐非常感謝您提出的所有問題。在逆風部分，是的，我們第一季度按固定匯率計算增長了 13%，這看起來相當不錯，問題是我們為什麼不提高我們的指導，我認為這又回到了可見性問題，正如您所知，我們確實像往常一樣採取保守立場，因為我們不想過度誇大我們面前的機會。市場仍然緊張不安，宏觀經濟方面仍然存在不確定性，這一點不容低估。

Coming back to your question on digital advertising clients who have reported better quarters. It's great, but nonetheless, you can see that they are still looking for efficiencies. And sometimes, clients look at every single aspect of efficiencies, whether they are anticipating a slowdown or are they looking at improving their profitability as a trade-off to some investments they're making. We're not sure and at least we can see at this point a huge turnaround of confidence saying that the second half is going to be trading much, much stronger. So until then, we don't think we should change our guidance.

回到你關於數字廣告客戶報告季度業績較好的問題。這很棒，但儘管如此，您可以看到他們仍在尋求效率。有時，客戶會關注效率的各個方面，無論他們是預計經濟放緩，還是考慮提高盈利能力，作為他們正在進行的某些投資的權衡。我們不確定，但至少我們現在可以看到信心的巨大轉變，認為下半年的交易將會更加強勁。因此，在那之前，我們認為我們不應該改變我們的指導。

The new locations that we've launched, the most recent one, Vietnam is very busy at full capacity right now. Indonesia is a new site that we -- so we have those greenfield sites where we start with the client and some sites where we make an investment and wait to get clients as a strategic move. Indonesia is such an investment that we've made. As opposed to last year, we spent quite a bit of last year setting up sites that were really a greenfield operation, purpose built for our clients, and they started going straight away with business.

我們推出的新地點，即最近的一個，越南目前非常繁忙，滿負荷運轉。印度尼西亞是我們的一個新站點，因此我們有那些我們從客戶開始的綠地站點，以及我們進行投資並等待獲得客戶作為戰略舉措的一些站點。印度尼西亞就是我們所做的一項投資。與去年不同的是，我們去年花了相當多的時間建立了真正的綠地運營網站，專門為我們的客戶而建，他們立即開始開展業務。

So we try to make that trade-off between strategic location expansion versus really greenfield sites for clients to further our growth and quite happy to see how the strategy of growing our new offices has paid off for us or continues to pay off by driving some growth that is starting to be quite noticeable at this point. Thank you, Pang.

因此，我們嘗試在戰略位置擴張與客戶真正的綠地站點之間進行權衡，以促進我們的增長，並且很高興看到發展新辦事處的戰略如何為我們帶來回報或通過推動一些增長繼續獲得回報此時這一點開始變得非常引人注目。謝謝你，龐。

Let me add (inaudible) question that I think I omitted to answer to Varun, 1 of the 3 questions. On the new logos revenue as well as the margin -- op margin performance of those new sites that was set up by -- last 2, 3 years, basically, they are still operating at below the mature units as -- that were set up in much long ago. But on -- improve -- I mean, trading quite nicely in a sense that it is -- they are coming not so much as yet to a full (inaudible) but they are still finding their foot on running their programs because they are still young and a lot of handholding by mature units in Malaysia, Singapore in running those programs, the (inaudible) on a positive [traction] but yet to [hit the right] margins of the mature units.

讓我添加（聽不清）問題，我認為我忽略了回答 Varun，這是 3 個問題中的 1 個。關於新徽標的收入以及利潤率，過去 2、3 年設立的這些新站點的運營利潤率表現，基本上，它們的運營仍低於所設立的成熟單位在很久以前。但是在——改進——我的意思是，從某種意義上說，交易相當不錯——他們還沒有達到完全（聽不清）的程度，但他們仍然在運行他們的程序上找到了立足點，因為他們仍然在馬來西亞、新加坡的成熟單位在運行這些計劃時得到了年輕的和大量的幫助，（聽不清）具有積極的[牽引力]，但尚未[達到成熟單位的正確]利潤。

And Pang, I continue as well on the new geos. If you look at Colombia, Korea, Romania, our revenue was up 4x compared to Q1 2022, so it's quite significant in terms of growth. Overall, the new geos compared to last year's same quarter actually grew 6.5x. When we execute the Hong Kong operation, it's a lot more even if we add the Hong Kong operation. So it's starting to really contribute and more to come in that front for sure.

Pang，我也繼續研究新的地理。如果你看看哥倫比亞、韓國、羅馬尼亞，我們的收入比 2022 年第一季度增長了 4 倍，因此增長相當顯著。總體而言，新的 geos 與去年同期相比實際上增長了 6.5 倍。當我們執行香港業務時，即使加上香港業務，它的數量也更多。因此，它開始真正做出貢獻，並且肯定會在這方面做出更多貢獻。

We now have our next question from Ranjan Sharma from JPMorgan.

現在，摩根大通的蘭詹·夏爾馬 (Ranjan Sharma) 提出了下一個問題。

Just a couple of questions from my side. Firstly, coming back to the revenue guidance. If you're guiding for 3% to 8% growth on a constant currency basis, while the first quarter is at 13% growth, so should we think that the revenues might decline in the coming quarters despite the expansion in logos and then despite the expansion in geography?

我這邊有幾個問題。首先，回到收入指引。如果您的目標是在固定匯率基礎上實現 3% 至 8% 的增長，而第一季度的增長為 13%，那麼我們是否應該認為，儘管徽標有所擴張，但未來幾個季度的收入可能會下降地理上的擴張？

The second is like how are your hiring decisions evolving with gen AI? Are you looking to hire more to build capabilities? I know you talked about efficiencies, but also would like to understand if you're looking to provide some solutions based on LLMs as well and how that's affecting your hiring decisions.

第二個問題是，您的招聘決策如何隨著人工智能時代的發展而變化？您是否希望僱用更多人員來培養能力？我知道您談到了效率，但也想了解您是否也希望提供一些基於法學碩士的解決方案以及這如何影響您的招聘決策。

Thank you. On the revenue, we don't provide a per quarter guidance unfortunately. So as we mentioned, we're really sticking to our guidance in constant currency basis. And yes, so that's really how far I can go at this point. On the gen AI and I want to call it AI in general, if I may say, and beyond that, the consulting part of things, absolutely, we want to invest in that sector.

謝謝。不幸的是，關於收入，我們沒有提供每季度的指導。正如我們所提到的，我們確實堅持以固定匯率為基礎的指導。是的，這就是我目前能走多遠的地方。關於新一代人工智能，我想將其稱為一般人工智能，如果我可以說的話，除此之外，我們絕對希望投資該領域的諮詢部分。

It's still early days, yet TDCX has been in this business for years. Now our digital lab has been building AI models for the past 8 years, leveraging machine learning. Some of our revenue comes from data annotation as well, so it's -- we're absolutely in the business, but we want to take it to the next level and invest in resources and capabilities.

雖然現在還處於早期階段，但 TDCX 已涉足這一行業多年。現在，我們的數字實驗室在過去 8 年裡一直利用機器學習來構建人工智能模型。我們的一些收入也來自數據註釋，所以我們絕對參與這個業務，但我們希望將其提升到一個新的水平並投資於資源和能力。

We have to say right now we're quite overwhelmed in terms of the number of use cases we are working on and we are really looking for talent in that space to take it to the next level. And as we build that capability and continue to really do it at a very strategic level with our clients, there are 2 objectives: one, continue to nurture our relationship and buy that seat at the strategic table with our clients; but the second one is to look at how this can spice up our revenue and possibly our margins moving forward. But nothing to announce at this point. As we said, we just launched TDCX AI, and we'll be tracking it pretty closely in the coming months.

我們不得不說，目前我們正在處理的用例數量讓我們不知所措，我們確實在尋找該領域的人才，以將其提升到一個新的水平。當我們建立這種能力並繼續在非常戰略性的層面上與我們的客戶真正做到這一點時，我們有兩個目標：一是繼續培養我們的關係，並在與客戶的戰略談判中獲得席位；二是繼續與我們的客戶建立戰略關係。但第二個是看看這如何能夠增加我們的收入，並可能提高我們的利潤率。但目前沒有什麼可宣布的。正如我們所說，我們剛剛推出了 TDCX AI，我們將在未來幾個月內密切跟踪它。

We now have our next question from Han Tan from HSBC.

現在我們有來自匯豐銀行的 Han Tan 提出的下一個問題。

Could I ask what your employee utilization was this quarter as last year? You, of course, been hiring much faster than top line growth, so curious how this has affected sort of staff utilization.

請問本季度貴公司的員工利用率與去年相比是多少？當然，您的招聘速度遠遠快於營收增長速度，因此很好奇這對員工利用率有何影響。

I don't think we report really on employee utilization at this point. But the -- I think if you mentioned that our employee count has grown faster than our revenue growth, there's a recent -- I think Mr. Chin has explained around the margin compression and the fact that this misalignment between how quickly we scale down our headcount to reflect the new revenue forecast or the new revenue that is given to us by clients and the decisions that we make to hold on to some buffers to wait for the business rebound.

我認為我們目前還沒有真正報告員工利用率。但是——我想如果你提到我們的員工數量增長速度快於我們的收入增長速度，那麼最近——我認為Chin先生已經解釋了利潤率壓縮以及我們縮減規模的速度之間的這種不協調這一事實。員工人數，以反映新的收入預測或客戶給我們的新收入，以及我們為保留一些緩衝以等待業務反彈而做出的決定。

So you'll see that discrepancy possibly especially in Q1, but that's typical playbook, operational playbook that we use to mitigate between operational risk and client satisfaction and the financial performance. We try to find the right balance between those 3 and get to the right flavor of the moment where you are in a situation where your growth has slowed and we have capacity chasing growth as opposed to the [project]. So that's probably one of the main reasons that -- and I think Mr. Chin has already quite covered this topic already.

因此，您可能會看到這種差異，尤其是在第一季度，但這是典型的劇本，我們用來減輕運營風險、客戶滿意度和財務績效之間的運營劇本。我們試圖在這三者之間找到適當的平衡，並在您處於增長放緩的情況下找到正確的風格，而我們有能力追逐增長而不是[項目]。所以這可能是主要原因之一——我認為 Chin 先生已經詳細討論了這個話題。

Could you also comment on sort of levels of wage inflation in your key markets? How much did that impact employee costs in the first quarter?

您能否評論一下您的主要市場的工資通脹水平？這對第一季度的員工成本影響有多大？

Mr. Chin maybe can comment on this.

陳先生也許可以對此發表評論。

Regarding (inaudible) the wage inflation for current quarters has not been quite evident. We are making our wage decision internally to cut in cost, so we have help on that front. So far, I think we are managing it quite reasonably well. There are still movement -- market is still a bit high on that front. So far, I think the action level is still under decent control from the management. But I would say that wage adjustment is not a main factor in the current year.

關於（聽不清）當前季度的工資通脹並不十分明顯。我們正在內部做出工資決定以削減成本，因此我們在這方面得到了幫助。到目前為止，我認為我們管理得相當好。仍然有變動——市場在這方面仍然有點高。到目前為止，我認為行動水平仍然受到管理層的良好控制。但我想說的是，工資調整併不是今年的主要因素。

Final question for me. I noticed you incurred some due diligence fee on discontinued acquisition. So I wonder whether you could give us any color on why you decided not to pursue this opportunity.

對我來說最後一個問題。我注意到你們因停止收購而支付了一些盡職調查費用。所以我想知道您是否可以告訴我們您為什麼決定不尋求這個機會。

Yes. Han, Ed here. So I think you're aware, we said that we are actively pursuing and evaluating different opportunities out there, and they're all at different stages. At some point where we see the right opportunities that warrant a closer look, we would appoint professional advisers to help us conduct due diligence. And we did.

是的。漢，埃德在這裡。所以我想你知道，我們說過我們正在積極尋求和評估不同的機會，而且它們都處於不同的階段。當我們看到需要仔細觀察的合適機會時，我們會任命專業顧問來幫助我們進行盡職調查。我們做到了。

It's just, in this case, for reasons I can't disclose and which is quite difficult in M&A discussions, we decided not to pursue. So the talks was basically discontinued. I think we continue to take a very disciplined approach going forward and scan the entire landscape to look for the right fit and the right targets.

只是，在這種情況下，出於我無法透露的原因，而且這在併購討論中相當困難，我們決定不追究。於是談判基本中斷。我認為我們未來將繼續採取非常嚴格的方法，審視整個格局，尋找合適的人选和合適的目標。

We now have our last question from KC Ong from CGS-CIMB.

現在我們收到 CGS-CIMB 的 KC Ong 提出的最後一個問題。

Quickly on the revenue side of things. Looking at it on a Q-on-Q basis, revenue contribution from SDM [has scaled] up, while OCX was more flattish. Any reason for this? Because I imagine that SDM would typically be more resilient in times of -- for example digital advertising slowdown because clients are trying more collectively reach out to drive revenue growth. So how should we read into this?

快速關注收入方面。從環比來看，SDM 的收入貢獻有所增加，而 OCX 的收入貢獻則較為持平。這有什麼原因嗎？因為我認為 SDM 在數字廣告放緩等情況下通常會更具彈性，因為客戶正在嘗試更集體地推動收入增長。那麼我們應該如何解讀這一點呢？

No. Good question, KC. And I mean the sales and digital marketing is still more resilient. If you look at it from Q-to-Q, it looks like it's more acute in reduction. But if we look at it from Q2 last year, we've grown quite significantly on the sales and digital marketing. I think is around 25% up on the sales and digital marketing. So it's probably more of a quarter issue, but I don't want to underestimate as well the impact of macro on sales and digital marketing. As much as it's a bit more resilient, it is not immune to macro pressure, and digital advertising is obviously impacted, so we have to take that into account. But we're confident with that sector this year as one of the key drivers of our growth as well.

不，問得好，KC。我的意思是銷售和數字營銷仍然更具彈性。如果從環比來看，下降幅度似乎更大。但如果我們從去年第二季度來看，我們在銷售和數字營銷方面的增長相當顯著。我認為銷售額和數字營銷增長了 25% 左右。因此，這可能更多是季度問題，但我也不想低估宏觀對銷售和數字營銷的影響。儘管它的彈性更強一些，但它也不能免受宏觀壓力的影響，數字廣告顯然受到了影響，所以我們必須考慮到這一點。但我們對該行業今年也將成為我們增長的關鍵驅動力之一充滿信心。

KC, just to expand on Laurent's question, a long answer is that Q1 this year was a shorter working period as opposed to [on a like perspective] barring any other -- all else being equal. Q4 last year was a slightly longer work month -- work quarter in that October and November was a longer period of work months and where the sale was a bit more down as opposed to Q1 period where Jan and Feb and Feb was probably the -- had quite a bit of bridge in a short market, and January was kind of a start of the year where things are a bit -- the [engine] takes a bit of time to [regroup] before (inaudible) so that's where the number of workdays deviation in the [2] just had a little bit of effect to the new trending that you just mentioned.

KC，只是為了擴展 Laurent 的問題，一個長答案是，今年第一季度的工作時間較短，而不是[從類似的角度]排除任何其他時間 - 其他條件相同。去年第四季度是一個稍長的工作月——十月和十一月的工作季度是一個較長的工作月，與第一季度相比，銷售量下降更多，一月、二月和二月可能是——在空頭市場上有相當多的橋樑，一月份是一年的開始，情況有點——[引擎]需要一些時間來[重新組合]（聽不清），所以這就是數字[2] 中的工作日偏差只是對您剛才提到的新趨勢產生了一點影響。

Got it. So I guess just circling back to your full year guidance for revenue. Just wanted to confirm if the mix expectation internally is still the same compared to 3 months ago because I think back then guided that SDM segment growth should be stronger compared to OCX. So is that expectation still the same?

知道了。所以我想回到你的全年收入指引。只是想確認內部的組合預期與 3 個月前相比是否仍然相同，因為我認為當時 SDM 細分市場的增長應該比 OCX 更強。那麼這種期望還是一樣嗎？

Yes. Yes.

是的。是的。

Okay. But probably a bit more seasonality.

好的。但可能季節性更強一些。

Yes. No. Yes, we still expect sales and digital marketing to grow faster than the rest, but for the exact mix of the business lines, we don't provide forward guidance for the mix.

是的。不。是的，我們仍然預計銷售和數字營銷的增長速度將快於其他業務，但對於業務線的具體組合，我們不提供該組合的前瞻性指導。

Got it. And secondly, I guess, just again on M&A versus share buyback, noticed that this quarter, of course, we haven't managed to put your M&A target. But on the share buyback front, still also seems to be a bit lacking. I think the share buyback was only about USD 30,000 compared to last year at current share price levels. I think management was more proactive in share buybacks. So just wondering, yes, how should we read into this. Any more color would be helpful.

知道了。其次，我想，再次關於併購與股票回購，注意到本季度我們當然沒有設法設定併購目標。但在股票回購方面，似乎還顯得有些欠缺。我認為按照目前的股價水平，與去年相比，股票回購額僅為 30,000 美元左右。我認為管理層在股票回購方面更加積極主動。所以只是想知道，是的，我們應該如何解讀這一點。任何更多的顏色都會有幫助。

Sure, KC. I think multiple factors there in guiding us whether we activate the share buyback. I think, obviously, one is the current valuation versus peers. Number two is sort of always sensitive to sort of the float and the impact when we dip into the market. I think third is also the fact that there are regulatory sort of considerations including when we are in possession of price-sensitive information, which creates sort of restrictions on when we can go into the market. So we consider all the 3 I just mentioned before going to the market. I recognize that in the first Q, I come across as just relatively small in terms of the quantum, but going forward, I think we adopt the same sort of principle when looking at whether we can go into the market.

當然，KC。我認為有多種因素指導我們是否啟動股票回購。我認為，顯然，其中之一是當前的估值與同行相比。第二，當我們進入市場時，對流通量和影響總是很敏感。我認為第三個事實是，存在監管方面的考慮，包括我們何時掌握價格敏感信息，這對我們何時可以進入市場產生了某種限制。因此，在進入市場之前，我們會考慮我剛才提到的所有 3 個因素。我認識到，在第一個問題中，我認為在數量方面相對較小，但展望未來，我認為我們在考慮是否可以進入市場時會採用同樣的原則。

Thanks, KC. We've completed the calls on -- via the phone line. We have some questions online. Let me just read them out. This is from Jason Chiu to from UOB Kay Hian. Elaboration on professional fees for the acquisition, I think we've answered that. Second one, what is management's view on the macro environment affecting TDCX? Are new economy clients cutting back on their CX spending?

謝謝，KC。我們已經通過電話線完成了通話。我們有一些問題在線諮詢。讓我把它們讀出來。這是 Jason Chiu 發給大華繼顯的。關於收購的專業費用的詳細說明，我想我們已經回答了。第二個問題，管理層對影響TDCX的宏觀環境有何看法？新經濟客戶是否正在削減客戶體驗支出？

Yes. I think we, I think, addressed this as well but not specifically to new economy clients. But they're, again, not immune to the macro environment, and they are reacting with swift action, I would say, in terms of adapting to the scenarios that are in front of them. So no, I think new economy or not new economy, everybody is in the same boat looking at efficiencies and making some rationalization decisions or being impacted by the slowdown and having to adapt accordingly. So as a result of that, we're also not immune to the macro environment, and it's reflected in our guidance and the difference in our growth this year versus last year for sure.

是的。我認為我們也解決了這個問題，但不是專門針對新經濟客戶。但他們同樣無法免受宏觀環境的影響，而且我想說，他們正在迅速採取行動，以適應眼前的情況。所以，不，我認為新經濟與否，每個人都在同一條船上考慮效率並做出一些合理化決策，或者受到經濟放緩的影響而必須做出相應的調整。因此，我們也無法免受宏觀環境的影響，這肯定反映在我們的指導以及今年與去年的增長差異中。

Thanks, Laurent. Next question employee expense for Q1 is 64% of revenue with a historical average of around 60%. Will we taper down again? And is there any expected time line for this?

謝謝，洛朗。下一個問題是，第一季度的員工費用佔收入的 64%，歷史平均值約為 60%。我們會再次縮減規模嗎？對此有什麼預期的時間表嗎？

Mr. Chin or...

欽先生還是……

Yes, Mr. Chin can take out this piece.

是的，錢先生可以把這塊拿出來。

Yes. We were able to land back a debt ratio, but I would say it's quite a moving part (inaudible) so that's something that we are looking at a target. Probably in the near term, we will not land at those rates yet. But again, revenue [debt] productivity and the [hit] optimization are still in progress, are still worked on. So that's something we will try to attain.

是的。我們能夠降低債務比率，但我想說這是一個相當大的變化部分（聽不清），所以這是我們正在尋找的目標。也許在短期內，我們還不會達到這樣的速度。但同樣，收入[債務]生產力和[命中]優化仍在進行中，仍在進行中。這就是我們將努力實現的目標。

Thanks, Mr. Chin. I think that's all the questions we have now both online and on the webcast as well as the phone line, so thank you for dialing in.

謝謝，秦先生。我想這就是我們現在在網上、網絡廣播以及電話線上提出的所有問題，所以感謝您撥通電話。

Sorry, I think there's one last question from Jonathan, and we probably have time to take a last question. Operator, can we have Jonathan, please?

抱歉，我想喬納森有最後一個問題，我們可能有時間回答最後一個問題。接線員，請問喬納森可以嗎？

We now have Jonathan Woo from Phillip Securities.

現在請來了來自輝立證券的 Jonathan Woo。

Just actually only have one. Could you give us some -- I guess, based on your revenue growth for this quarter, how much of it came from new geographies from the last several years, maybe just in terms of revenue growth?

只是實際上只有一個。您能否給我們一些信息——我想，根據您本季度的收入增長，其中有多少來自過去幾年的新地區，也許只是收入增長方面？

Revenue growth from new geographies?

新地區的收入增長？

Yes, correct.

是，對的。

Around $8 million of revenue in Q1 was from new geographies, so around -- I think, around -- about -- just over $7 million of revenue growth is from new geographies.

第一季度大約 800 萬美元的收入來自新地區，所以大約——我認為，大約——大約——超過 700 萬美元的收入增長來自新地區。

Okay. I think that's it. We have answered all the questions. Please feel free to reach out to the IR team if you need anything else. Thank you for the time, and have a good day ahead.

好的。我想就是這樣。我們已經回答了所有問題。如果您需要任何其他信息，請隨時聯繫 IR 團隊。感謝您抽出寶貴的時間，祝您有美好的一天。

Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

非常感謝。女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。