WNS (Holdings) Ltd (WNS) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning and welcome to the WNS Holdings fiscal 2025 third quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After management's prepared remarks, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions for how to ask a question will follow at that time. As a reminder, this call is being recorded for replay purposes.

早安，歡迎參加 WNS Holdings 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。此時，所有參與者都處於只聽模式。在管理層發表準備好的發言後，我們將進行問答環節，屆時將提供有關如何提問的說明。提醒一下，本次通話正在錄音，以便重播。

Now, I'd like to turn the call over to David Mackey, WNS' Executive Vice President of Finance and Head of Investor Relations. David?

現在，我想將電話轉給 WNS 財務執行副總裁兼投資者關係主管 David Mackey。戴維？

Thank you and welcome to our fiscal 2025 third quarter earnings call. With me today on the call, I have WNS' CEO, Keshav Murugesh; and WNS' CFO, Arijit Sen. A press release detailing our financial results was issued earlier today. The release is also available on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.wns.com.

謝謝您，歡迎參加我們的 2025 財年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有 WNS 的執行長 Keshav Murugesh；以及 WNS 的財務長 Arijit Sen。今天早些時候，我們發布了一份詳細介紹財務表現的新聞稿。新聞稿也可在我們網站 www.wns.com 的投資者關係欄位中查閱。

Today's remarks will focus on the results for the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2024. Some of the matters that will be discussed on today's call are forward-looking. Please keep in mind that these forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in the company's Form 20-F. This document is also available on the company website.

今天的發言將重點討論截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的第三財季業績。今天的電話會議上將討論的一些事項是前瞻性的。請記住，這些前瞻性陳述受已知和未知的風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與此類陳述表達或暗示的結果有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於公司 20-F 表中列出的因素。該文件也可在公司網站上查閱。

During this call, management will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide useful information for investors. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP results can be found in the press release issued earlier today.

在本次電話會議中，管理階層將參考某些非公認會計準則財務指標，我們認為這些指標可以為投資者提供有用的信息。這些非 GAAP 財務指標與 GAAP 結果的對帳表可在今天稍早發布的新聞稿中找到。

Some of the non-GAAP financial measures management will discuss are defined as follows: net revenue is defined as revenue less repair payments. Adjusted operating margin is defined as operating margin excluding amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation, acquisition-related expenses or benefits and impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. We are also excluding costs related to our ADS program termination and costs associated with the transition to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms.

管理階層將討論的一些非公認會計準則財務指標定義如下：淨收入定義為收入減去維修費用。調整後營業利潤率定義為不包括無形資產攤銷、股權激勵、收購相關費用或福利以及商譽和無形資產減損的營業利潤率。我們也排除了與終止 ADS 計劃相關的成本以及與過渡到美國國內發行人表格自願報告相關的成本。

Adjusted net income or ANI is defined as profit excluding amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation, acquisition-related expenses or benefits, goodwill and intangible asset impairment, ADS program termination costs, the transition to voluntarily reporting on US domestic issuer forms and all associated taxes. These terms will be used throughout today's call.

調整後淨收入或 ANI 定義為不包括無形資產攤銷、股權激勵、收購相關費用或福利、商譽和無形資產減值、ADS 計劃終止成本、向美國國內發行人表格自願報告的過渡以及所有相關稅費。這些術語將在今天的通話中使用。

I would now like to turn the call over to WNS' CEO, Keshav Murugesh. Keshav?

現在我想將電話轉給 WNS 的執行長 Keshav Murugesh。凱沙夫？

Hey, thank you, David. Good morning, everyone. In fiscal Q3, WNS was able to reaccelerate sequential revenue growth, expand adjusted operating margin and generate strong cash flow. The company posted net revenue of $319.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 1% on a reported basis and flat on a constant currency basis after adjusting for foreign currency. Versus the prior quarter, net revenue increased by 2.7% on a reported basis and 3.2% on a constant currency basis.

嘿，謝謝你，大衛。大家早安。在第三財季，WNS 能夠重新加速連續收入成長、擴大調整後營業利潤率並產生強勁的現金流。該公司公佈的淨營收為 3.191 億美元，按報告基礎計算年增 1%，以固定匯率計算，調整外幣後持平。與上一季相比，淨收入按報告基礎計算增長了 2.7%，按固定匯率計算增長了 3.2%。

Sequentially, broad-based demand for digitally led business transformation as well as cost reduction initiatives in Q3 more than offset unfavorable currency movements and anticipated reductions in online travel volumes. In the third quarter, WNS added seven new logos and expanded 52 existing relationships.

從季度來看，第三季對數位化業務轉型的廣泛需求以及成本削減措施足以抵消不利的貨幣變動和預期的線上旅遊量減少的影響。第三季度，WNS 增加了 7 個新標誌，並擴展了 52 個現有關係。

From a pipeline perspective, demand for traditional process management deals remains stable as well as healthy. This pipeline is broad-based across verticals as well as service offerings growing at a healthy rate and includes both new client additions and expansions of existing relationships. We are also encouraged that over the past few quarters, we've not only seen any material changes in client decision-making or sales cycles for these traditional deals resulting from macro volatility, the US election or AI and GenAI.

從通路角度來看，對傳統流程管理交易的需求保持穩定且健康。此管道廣泛涵蓋垂直產業以及以健康速度成長的服務產品，包括新客戶的增加和現有關係的擴展。我們也感到鼓舞的是，在過去幾個季度中，我們不僅看到由於宏觀波動、美國大選或人工智慧和 GenAI 導致這些傳統交易的客戶決策或銷售週期發生重大變化。

Steady conversion of these opportunities, combined with no unusual headwinds should enable WNS to return to high single to low double-digit revenue growth in fiscal '26. In addition, our large deal pipeline remains both robust and healthy, and we continue to be excited about the potential for these transformational opportunities to help accelerate company growth.

這些機會的穩定轉換，加上沒有異常阻力，應該能夠使 WNS 在 26 財年恢復高個位數至低兩位數的收入成長。此外，我們的大型交易管道依然強勁而健康，我們繼續對這些轉型機會幫助加速公司成長的潛力感到興奮。

The large deal pipeline includes several strategic initiatives with captive carve-outs as part of the solution, which have the ability to expand WNS' vertical, horizontal and geographic capabilities and to ramp revenue much faster than traditional deals. Currently, the large deal pipeline remains healthy, with opportunities spread across all of our key verticals.

大型交易管道包括多項策略舉措，其中以專屬剝離作為解決方案的一部分，這些舉措能夠拓展 WNS 的垂直、水平和地理能力，並且比傳統交易更快地增加收入。目前，大型交易管道依然健康，機會遍布我們所有關鍵垂直領域。

We continue to work closely with client CEOs, CFOs and, in many cases, Board members to ensure their transformational requirements are met. WNS is making good progress moving these deals through the pipeline and remain confident that we are well positioned for long-term success.

我們繼續與客戶的執行長、財務長以及董事會成員密切合作，以確保滿足他們的轉型要求。WNS 在推動這些交易方面取得了良好的進展，我們堅信我們已準備好獲得長期成功。

As mentioned last quarter, given the strategic complex and disruptive nature of some of these engagements, the timing of deal signings as well as associated revenue contribution remains uncertain. As a result, we continue to exclude any large deal revenue contribution from our guidance until signed.

正如上個季度所提到的，鑑於其中一些項目的戰略複雜性和破壞性，交易簽署的時間以及相關的收入貢獻仍不確定。因此，在簽署協議之前，我們將繼續從指導中排除任何大額交易收入貢獻。

Today, clients and prospects are increasingly looking for partners to deliver the right combination of specialized domain expertise, data management skills, advanced analytics and digital solutions to address their business requirements. This includes AI and GenAI where we continue to expand our capabilities and move our innovative solutions into production.

如今，客戶和潛在客戶越來越多地尋求合作夥伴來提供專業領域專業知識、資料管理技能、高級分析和數位解決方案的正確組合，以滿足他們的業務需求。其中包括 AI 和 GenAI，我們將繼續擴展我們的能力並將我們的創新解決方案投入生產。

To date, WNS has created more than 30 GenAI use cases, which are tested and customer ready. In addition, we have built 13 unique digital assets, leveraging GenAI, which are reusable and configurable across clients. Examples include an automated freight management platform, which leverages GenAI to improve the accuracy of extracting, reading as well as processing shipping documents and a GenAI-powered knowledge processing engine, which enables WNS to access, query and analyze massive amounts of dispersed data to provide instant tailored customer responses across horizontals as well as verticals.

迄今為止，WNS 已經創建了 30 多個 GenAI 用例，這些用例已經過測試並可供客戶使用。此外，我們還利用 GenAI 建立了 13 種獨特的數位資產，這些資產可在客戶端之間重複使用和配置。例如，自動化貨運管理平台利用 GenAI 提高提取、讀取和處理貨運單據的準確性，以及基於 GenAI 的知識處理引擎，使 WNS 能夠存取、查詢和分析大量分散數據，以提供即時提供跨水平和垂直的客製化客戶響應。

We currently have 13 clients with GenAI solutions and production with another 20 either underway or committed. This includes a new US insurance client, which is projected to become a top 10 customer for WNS in fiscal '26. For this client, we have integrated three of our GenAI digital assets into an end-to-end solution to help improve compliance, accuracy and productivity in their policy administration and broker agent support processes. WNS also continues to invest in the training and upskilling of our employees on AI as well as GenAI.

我們目前有 13 位客戶擁有 GenAI 解決方案並投入生產，另有 20 位客戶正在實施或已承諾實施。其中包括一家新的美國保險客戶，預計將成為 WNS 26 財年十大客戶之一。對於該客戶，我們將三種 GenAI 數位資產整合到端到端解決方案中，以幫助提高其保單管理和經紀代理支援流程的合規性、準確性和生產力。WNS 也持續投資於員工在 AI 和 GenAI 的培訓和技能提升。

Our role-specific programs combined internal training with external learning programs in partnership with organizations like Carnegie Mellon University, KPMG, LinkedIn Learning and Oxford University. So far, we have now trained over 22,000 individual employees with more than 51,000 total training courses completed.

我們針對特定角色的課程將內部培訓與外部學習課程結合，並與卡內基美隆大學、畢馬威、領英學習和牛津大學等機構合作。到目前為止，我們已培訓了超過 22,000 名員工，共完成了超過 51,000 門培訓課程。

In summary, by combining the power of domain, data as well as digital, WNS is able to deliver impactful business outcomes for our clients by reducing cost, generating actionable insights to improve decision-making, enhancing customer experience, reducing business risk and enabling innovation and competitive differentiation.

總之，透過結合領域、數據和數字的力量，WNS 能夠透過降低成本、產生可操作的見解以改善決策、增強客戶體驗、降低業務風險和實現創新，為我們的客戶提供有影響力的業務成果和競爭差異化。

With respect to fiscal 2025 guidance, we continue to expect healthy sequential revenue growth and operating margin expansion for the second consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter. Sustaining this revenue momentum into fiscal 2026 should enable WNS to reach high single to low double-digit revenue growth with any large deal signings providing enhanced visibility and incremental opportunity.

對於 2025 財年指引，我們繼續預期第四季將連續第二季實現健康的連續收入成長和營業利潤率擴大。將這一收入動能維持到 2026 財年，將使 WNS 的收入達到高個位數至低兩位數的成長，並且任何大型交易的簽署都將提供更高的知名度和增量機會。

The company also remains committed to continuing our investments in domain expertise, data and analytics and technology-enabled offerings, leveraging AI and GenAI to ensure our ability to deliver long-term profitable growth as well as sustainable stakeholder value.

公司也將繼續致力於繼續投資於領域專業知識、數據和分析以及技術支援的產品，利用人工智慧和 GenAI 來確保我們能夠實現長期獲利成長以及可持續的利害關係人價值。

I would now like to turn the call over to our CFO, Arijit Sen, to further discuss our results as well as outlook. Arijit?

現在，我想將電話轉給我們的財務長 Arijit Sen，進一步討論我們的業績和前景。阿里吉特？

Thank you, Keshav. In the fiscal third quarter, WNS' net revenue came in at $319.1 million, up 1% from $315.9 million posted in the same quarter of last year and flat on a constant currency basis. Sequentially, net revenue increased by 2.7% on a reported basis and 3.2% constant currency. The quarter-over-quarter revenue growth was driven by broad-based demand across verticals and services, which more than offset unfavorable currency movements and anticipated volume reductions in online travel.

謝謝你，凱沙夫。第三財季，WNS 淨營收為 3.191 億美元，較去年同期的 3.159 億美元成長 1%，以固定匯率計算持平。與上一季相比，淨收入按報告基礎計算增長了 2.7%，按固定匯率計算增長了 3.2%。季度環比收入成長主要得益於垂直行業和服務領域的廣泛需求，足以抵消不利的貨幣變動和預期的線上旅遊數量減少的影響。

In Q3, WNS recorded $0.2 million of short-term high-margin revenue. Adjusted operating margin in Q3 was 19.3% as compared to 19.7% last year and 18.6% last quarter. Year-over-year, adjusted operating margins decreased as a result of lower employee utilization and increased investments in infrastructure and sales. These headwinds were partially offset by favorable currency movements. Sequentially, margin improvement was driven by operating leverage on higher volumes and favorable currency movements.

第三季度，WNS 錄得 20 萬美元的短期高利潤收入。第三季調整後營業利益率為 19.3%，去年同期為 19.7%，上季為 18.6%。與去年同期相比，由於員工利用率下降以及基礎設施和銷售投資增加，調整後的營業利潤率有所下降。有利的貨幣走勢部分抵消了這些不利因素。相較之下，利潤率的提高主要得益於銷售增加和有利的匯率變動所帶來的營業槓桿。

The company's net other expense was $0.9 million in the third quarter as compared to $0.6 million of net income in Q3 of fiscal 2024 and $1.4 million of net expense last quarter. Year-over-year, the unfavorable is the result of higher debt levels and lower cash balances driven primarily by our share repurchase. Sequentially, the payroll variance is a result of reduced interest expense driven by tax payments, which more than offset lower interest income on decreased cash balances.

該公司第三季的其他淨支出為 90 萬美元，而 2024 財年第三季的淨收入為 60 萬美元，上個季度的淨支出為 140 萬美元。與去年同期相比，不利的業績主要是由於債務水準上升和現金餘額減少，這主要歸因於我們的股票回購。依次類推，工資差異是由於納稅導致的利息支出減少，這超過了現金餘額減少導致的利息收入減少。

WNS' effective tax rate for Q3 came in at 22.8% as compared to 6.7% last quarter and 8.5% in the prior quarter. Both year-over-year and sequentially, the higher tax rate is primarily the result of non-recurring tax benefits of $9.5 million in Q3 of last year and $8.6 million last quarter associated with the reversal of deferred tax liabilities on intangibles. Other changes in the effective tax rate were driven by a geographical profit mix and the percentage of work delivered from tax incentive facilities.

WNS 第三季的有效稅率為 22.8%，而上一季為 6.7%，前一季為 8.5%。與去年同期和上一季相比，較高的稅率主要歸因於去年第三季950 萬美元和上一季860 萬美元的非經常性稅收優惠，這些優惠與無形資產遞延所得稅負債的沖銷有關。有效稅率的其他變化是由地理利潤組合和稅收激勵措施提供的工作百分比所驅動。

The company's adjusted net income for Q3 was $47 million, compared with $58.5 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2024 and $51.5 million last quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings were $1.04 per share in Q3, down from $1.19 in the third quarter of last year and from $1.13 last quarter.

該公司第三季的調整後淨收入為 4,700 萬美元，而 2024 財年同期為 5,850 萬美元，上季為 5,150 萬美元。第三季調整後攤薄收益為每股 1.04 美元，低於去年第三季的 1.19 美元和上季的 1.13 美元。

As of December 31, 2024, WNS' balances in cash and investments totaled $231.5 million and the company had $199.6 million in debt. In the third quarter, WNS generated $88.7 million of cash from operating activities, incurred $12.1 million in capital expenditures and made debt repayments of $58.4 million. DSO in the third quarter came at 34 days as compared to 35 days in Q3 of last year and 38 days last quarter.

截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日，WNS 的現金和投資餘額總計 2.315 億美元，公司負債 1.996 億美元。第三季度，WNS 從經營活動中產生了 8,870 萬美元的現金，發生了 1,210 萬美元的資本支出，並償還了 5,840 萬美元的債務。第三季的 DSO 為 34 天，而去年第三季為 35 天，上季為 38 天。

With respect to other key operating metrics, total headcount at the end of third quarter was 63,319 and attrition rate was 32% as compared to 29% reported in Q3 of last year and 34% in the previous quarter. We expect attrition to average in the low to mid-30% range, but the range would remain volatile quarter-to-quarter. Build seat capacity at the end of Q3 increased to 43,550 and WNS averaged 71% work from office during the quarter.

至於其他關鍵營運指標，第三季末的員工總數為 63,319 人，員工流動率為 32%，去年同期為 29%，上一季為 34%。我們預計員工流失率平均在 30% 左右，但該範圍在各個季度之間仍會有所波動。第三季末的座位容量增加到 43,550 個，WNS 本季平均 71% 的辦公時間為辦公室辦公。

In our press release issued earlier today, WNS provided our prevised full year guidance for fiscal 2025. Based on the company's current visibility levels, we expect net revenue to be in the range of $1.255 billion to $1.271 billion, representing a year-over-year range of minus 2% to minus 1% on a reported basis. On a constant currency basis, the guidance range is from minus 3% to minus 1%.

在我們今天稍早發布的新聞稿中，WNS 提供了我們對 2025 財年全年業績的預測。根據公司目前的可見度水平，我們預計淨收入將在 12.55 億美元至 12.71 億美元之間，相當於年減 2% 至 1%。以固定匯率計算，指導範圍為負 3% 至負 1%。

Our fiscal 2025 guidance assumes no revenue contribution from the large deal pipeline, continued reductions in online travel volumes and no improvement in discretionary project spend. Top line projections assume an average British pound to US dollar rate of [1.25] for Q4. Full year adjusted net income for fiscal 2025 is expected to be in the range of $205 million to $209 million based on a INR85.5 to US dollar exchange rate for Q4.

我們對 2025 財年的指引假設大型交易管道不會帶來任何收入貢獻、線上旅遊量將繼續減少，可自由支配的項目支出也不會有所改善。最重要的預測是假設第四季英鎊兌美元的平均匯率為 [1.25]。根據第四季 85.5 印度盧比兌 1 美元的匯率，預計 2025 財年全年調整後淨收入將在 2.05 億美元至 2.09 億美元之間。

Our ANI guidance includes a one-time benefit of $12.2 million in the fourth quarter, leading to a facility asset sale in India. Based on a diluted share count of approximately 45.9 million shares, adjusted EPS is expected to be in the range of $4.46 to $4.55. With respect to capital expenditures, WNS currently expects our requirements for fiscal 2025 to be up to $60 million.

我們的 ANI 指引包括第四季度的 1,220 萬美元一次性收益，導致印度的設施資產出售。基於約 4,590 萬股的稀釋股數，預計調整後每股收益在 4.46 美元至 4.55 美元之間。關於資本支出，WNS 目前預計 2025 財年的需求將高達 6,000 萬美元。

We will now open the call for questions. Operator?

我們現在開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Nate Svensson, DB.

（操作員指令）Nate Svensson，DB。

Good results and nice to hear about the expected revenue acceleration next year. So I know it's early, but I was hoping for a little more color on that fiscal '26 outlook for high single to low double-digit growth. I think on prior calls, you've talked about something like 10% to 11% in headwinds every time you enter a normal year and that's a combination of productivity commitments, projects, known ramp-downs, et cetera. So I guess given all the moving pieces that have impacted the business, I was hoping you could give an early read on how each of those headwinds are shaping up for next fiscal year versus maybe a normal year?

成績不錯，很高興聽到明年預計收入將加速成長。所以我知道現在還為時過早，但我希望對 26 財年的前景有更詳細的了解，即實現高個位數到低兩位數的增長。我想在之前的電話會議上，您談到每次進入正常年份時都會遇到 10% 到 11% 的逆風，這是生產力承諾、項目、已知的減產等因素的綜合作用。因此，我想，考慮到所有影響業務的因素，我希望您能提前了解這些不利因素對下一財年的影響以及與正常年份相比的影響如何？

Sure. Let me take that, Nate. I think, as you rightly mentioned, the typical headwinds that we expect walking into the year are in the 10% to 11% range and comprised of not only the productivity commitments that we give back to clients but also the falloff in project revenue, which is cyclical in nature as well as the fact that we typically expect some clients revenue loss on a year-over-year basis from things like bankruptcy or consolidation or M&A.

當然。讓我來接手吧，內特。我認為，正如您正確提到的那樣，我們預計今年的典型逆風在 10% 到 11% 的範圍內，不僅包括我們向客戶回饋的生產力承諾，還包括專案收入的下降，這具有周期性，而且我們通常預期由於破產、合併或併購等原因，有些客戶的收入會比去年同期出現損失。

If you look at currently where we sit relative to fiscal '26, the only unusual headwinds at this point in time that we have walking into the year are 1% related to the healthcare client, which will anniversary in the fiscal first quarter of next year and about a 1% year-over-year impact from the annualized effects of the online travel reductions during fiscal '25. So at this point in time, in terms of unusual headwinds walking into next year, we're probably looking at about 2%, which obviously is significantly below the headwinds that we've seen in both fiscal '24 and '25.

如果你看看我們目前相對於 26 財年的情況，我們目前唯一不尋常的逆風是與醫療保健客戶相關的 1%，這將在明年第一財季迎來週年紀念日而25財年期間在線旅遊減少的年化效應則比去年同期增加了約1%。因此，就明年面臨的異常阻力而言，我們目前預期的阻力可能在 2% 左右，這顯然遠低於我們在 24 財年和 25 財年看到的阻力。

Nate, just to add, if you look at our Q3 growth, we were at 3.2% constant currency. If you look at even our Q2 numbers, if you pair out the impact of the head client and the OTA clients, we again grew about 3% sequentially in Q2 as well. And if you look at our guidance, our guidance assumes a 2% sequential growth. So the good part is the run rate sequential growth also puts us in a very good place to enter FY 2026, so that's the other additional comfort that we can draw.

內特，補充一下，如果你看看我們第三季的成長，我們的固定匯率成長率是 3.2%。如果你看我們第二季的數據，如果將頭部客戶和 OTA 客戶的影響結合起來，我們在第二季度也再次實現了約 3% 的環比增長。如果你看我們的指導，我們的指導假設連續成長 2%。因此，好的方面是，運行率的連續增長也使我們在進入 2026 財年時處於非常有利的位置，這是我們可以獲得的另一個額外的安慰。

And I think that's consistent with the message that we've been carrying, right, that if you strip out the idiosyncratic challenges that the business has had over the last couple of years, what you'll see is that true underlying growth rate, and this is coming obviously from just the traditional $1 million, $3 million, $5 million types of deals, not the large deal pipeline, is that run rate really is sitting at high single, low double-digit rates.

我認為這與我們一直傳達的訊息是一致的，如果你去掉過去幾年企業遇到的特殊挑戰，你會看到真正的潛在成長率，這顯然只是來自傳統的100 萬美元、300 萬美元、 500 萬美元類型的交易，而不是大型交易管道，運行率確實處於高個位數到低兩位數的水平。

That's super helpful color. I appreciate the answer. So for the follow-up, I wanted to ask about operating margins. So margins up sequentially, down a little bit year-over-year. I think on the call last quarter, you had pointed to sort of low 20s adjusted operating margins in 4Q. So I wanted to see on if that still holds.

這是非常有用的顏色。我很感激你的回答。因此，為了後續問題，我想問一下營業利益率。因此利潤率比上一季上升，比上年略有下降。我認為在上個季度的電話會議上，您指出第四季度的調整後營業利潤率略低於 20%。所以我想看看這是否仍然成立。

And then two, maybe more importantly, can you talk about how you see the cadence of margins evolving as we move into '26, particularly in light of this expected revenue recovery. Again, really nice to take care of the high single, low double digit, but just wondering about year-over-year margin expansion on a full year basis and how that cadence looks like moving into the next year?

然後第二，也許更重要的是，您能否談談隨著我們進入26年，您如何看待利潤率的變化節奏，特別是考慮到預期的收入復甦。再次，很高興能看到高個位數和低兩位數的增長，但我只是想知道全年同比利潤率的增長情況以及這種節奏在明年會如何？

Yeah, Nate if you remember, last quarter, we had mentioned that as we get our revenue growth back due to operating leverage, our margin should improve. So if you see, in this quarter, we've actually improved the margins almost sequentially. And the fact is, as we mentioned last quarter, we have not scaled back our investment, right? Despite our revenue headwinds, we continue to scale up our investments in sales, in capacity. And that continues as is.

是的，Nate，如果你還記得的話，上個季度我們曾提到，隨著我們因經營槓桿而恢復收入成長，我們的利潤率應該會提高。所以如果你看到，在這個季度，我們的利潤率實際上幾乎是連續提高的。事實是，正如我們上個季度提到的，我們並沒有縮減投資，對嗎？儘管我們的收入面臨阻力，但我們仍在繼續增加對銷售和產能的投資。而這種情況一直持續下去。

So if you ask me in Q4, we are continuing to hold the guidance, we should be in the 20% range in Q4. And going forward, if you look at it from a run rate perspective, we should average on the higher 19 to 20 ranges going forward.

因此，如果您問我在第四季度的情況，我們是否會繼續維持指導意見，那麼第四季度的成長應該會在 20% 的範圍內。展望未來，如果從運行率的角度來看，我們未來的平均值應該在 19 到 20 的較高範圍內。

Yeah. And I think just to add a little color to that, Nate. The Q4 numbers, we're still holding relative to last year's guidance, as Arijit mentioned -- last quarter's guidance, sorry, north of 19% for the full year, which implies that we will probably do closer to 21% in the fiscal fourth quarter.

是的。我認為這只是為了給它添加一點色彩，內特。The Q4 numbers, we're still holding relative to last year's guidance, as Arijit mentioned -- last quarter's guidance, sorry, north of 19% for the full year, which implies that we will probably do closer to 21% in the fiscal fourth四分之一.

With respect to the cadence next year, we do expect to see some operating margin leverage across the full year. But remember, similar to what we've talked about in prior years, there should be a quarterly cadence where we will see a sequential reduction from Q4 to Q1 that relates to our annual wage increases and relates to the productivity commitments that we give to clients and that, that margin profile should build as we move across the last three quarters of the year.

就明年的節奏而言，我們確實預計全年會出現一些營業利潤率槓桿。但請記住，與我們前幾年談論的類似，應該有一個季度節奏，從第四季度到第一季度，我們將看到連續的減少，這與我們的年度工資增長有關，也與我們向客戶所做的生產力承諾有關而且，隨著今年最後三個季度的到來，利潤率將會不斷提高。

Bryan Bergin, TD Cowen.

布萊恩·伯金（Bryan Bergin），TD Cowen 公司。

I'll ask on the large deal. Can you just talk about the progress there that you called out as far as pipeline or progression for the pipeline of the large deals? Do any visibility to near-term closures and any learnings for you as they do progress through the pipeline?

我會詢問大宗交易。您能否談談您所提到的大型交易管道或進程的進展？隨著管道的不斷推進，您是否對近期的收尾工作有了新的認識？

Sure. Thanks for that question. So first and foremost, headline news is, we are super positive about the momentum that we are seeing on the large deal pipeline. And as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, they come across different areas.

當然。謝謝你的提問。因此，首先也是最重要的新聞是，我們對大型交易管道中看到的勢頭非常樂觀。正如我在準備好的發言中提到的，它們涉及不同的領域。

But I think what is critical and important for us to appreciate is the fact that as a company, we have got positioned in a different stratosphere, I believe, in terms of the interest that a number of companies are taking enough in terms of our core strategic message around helping them with their differentiation, their revenue accretion kind of issues, their cost leadership programs that they want to achieve. And more importantly, their long-term differentiation that they want to bring to the marketplace and the fact that WNS understands the business remains so well and has invested in so many programs across technology and horizontals is resonating very well.

但我認為，對我們來說，至關重要的是，作為一家公司，我們已經處於不同的層次，我相信，就我們的核心業務而言，許多公司已經獲得了足夠的關注。幫助他們解決差異化、收入成長等問題以及他們想要實現的成本領先計劃。更重要的是，他們希望帶給市場的長期差異化，以及 WNS 對業務的了解如此之深並在跨技術和橫向領域投資瞭如此多項目的事實，都引起了強烈反響。

More importantly, sometimes these messages have to be delivered at the highest levels on the other side. And this is where the uncertainty of timing takes place. So I must mention that we are delighted with the progress that we have been making on many of these deals. In fact, at this point in time, we probably have more than 20 of these large deals that are qualified and they are moving through the pipeline.

更重要的是，有時這些訊息必須傳達給對方的最高層。這就是時間的不確定性發生的地方。因此我必須說，我們對其中許多交易所的進展感到非常高興。事實上，目前我們可能有超過 20 筆符合條件的大型交易，並且正在審核中。

The uncertainty is around the fact that because of these deals being of such scale, size and impact and so disruptive in nature for the client, very often not only is the key stakeholder, the CEO and the CFO, but also their Risk Committees, their Board Members, and they have to go through some hoops in terms of getting comfort internally before they actually take a final decision. Sometimes they need to bring in an adviser from outside to help them navigate the entire potential of the deal and the contract and things like that. So that's where we are as far as this is concerned.

不確定性在於，由於這些交易的規模、規模和影響如此之大，對客戶而言具有如此大的破壞性，因此，通常不僅是關鍵利益相關者、首席執行官和首席財務官，而且他們的風險委員會、他們的董事會成員，他們必須經過一些環節才能獲得內部的安心，然後才能真正做出最終決定。有時他們需要聘請外部顧問來幫助他們了解交易、合約的全部潛力以及諸如此類的事情。就這一點而言，這就是我們所處的情況。

In terms of potential filings, we are confident that over the next one or two quarters, we are in a pole position to probably close something, right? But again, I want to just lay that out there and also say that when we actually close, we will update you.

就潛在的申請而言，我們有信心在接下來的一兩個季度內，我們很可能會完成一些交易，對嗎？但我再次強調，我只是想說清楚，當我們真正結束時，我們會向你們通報最新情況。

My follow-up, maybe double click on the verticals. Can you comment on how travel performed relative to your forecast? Just anything beyond the normal weak seasonality and the ramp downs you had known about. And then insurance showed nice sequential acceleration, so can you comment on maybe what you're seeing there? Just any change in that large captive plan?

我的後續行動可能是雙擊垂直方向。您能否評論一下相對於您的預測，旅遊業的表現如何？只是任何超出正常的季節性疲軟和您所知道的下滑的情況。然後保險顯示出良好的連續加速，那麼您能評論一下您所看到的情況嗎？那個大型自保計畫有什麼改變嗎？

Sure. Let me take that, Bryan. With respect to the travel, I would say that the overall volumes in Q3 and the guidance into Q4 remains consistent with what we talked about last quarter, but that does include reductions in those volumes sequentially, right? So we do have pressure in Q3 relative to Q2. We had big pressure relative to Q4 in.

當然。讓我來接手，布萊恩。關於旅行，我想說第三季的總體數量和第四季度的預期與我們上個季度談論的數量一致，但這確實包括這些數量的連續減少，對嗎？因此，相對於第二季度，我們在第三季度確實面臨壓力。我們相對於第四季面臨很大的壓力。

The good news is, from a risk perspective, right, the OTAs in Q3, for example, the online travel represented only 3% of company revenue. So we're kind of getting down to that level where the exposure and the potential risk is low, but we think we're kind of bumbled along the bottom here in terms of online travel volumes. And hopefully, as these clients make the shift to advanced digitized solutions towards AI and GenAI as opposed to traditional bots and traditional types of solutions, we should be in a very good position to help them with that journey.

好消息是，從風險角度來看，以第三季的 OTA 為例，線上旅遊僅占公司收入的 3%。因此，我們有點已經達到了這種水平，即曝光度和潛在風險都較低，但我們認為，就線上旅遊量而言，我們還是處於底部。並且希望，隨著這些客戶從傳統機器人和傳統類型的解決方案轉向人工智慧和 GenAI 等先進的數位化解決方案，我們應該能夠很好地幫助他們實現這一目標。

On the insurance side, good, healthy acceleration in two of our insurance relationships, including one of the large US clients that Keshav spoke about in his prepared remarks in terms of their policy administration journey and a digital policy administration journey, leveraging GenAI. But nothing in either the Q3 actuals or the Q4 guidance related to the large insurance captive. So this is actually coming from a completely different client.

在保險方面，我們與兩家保險公司的合作關係取得了良好、健康的發展，其中包括Keshav 在準備好的發言中提到的一家大型美國客戶，他們利用GenAI 進行了保單管理，並進行了數字保單管理。但第三季的實際數據和第四季的指引中均沒有任何內容與大型保險自保公司有關。所以這實際上來自一個完全不同的客戶。

Surinder Thind, Jefferies

Surinder Thind，傑富瑞

I'd like to start with the commentary around just the sales cycle and the idea that there hasn't been any real material change. Can you perhaps characterize what your view of the sales cycle is on the normal deals at this point? It sounds like it's healthy, but just maybe historical context in how you think you see that evolving over the next quarter or two?

我想先談談有關銷售週期的評論，以及尚未發生任何實質變化的想法。您能否描述一下您對目前正常交易的銷售週期的看法？這聽起來似乎是健康的，但也許只是歷史背景，您認為未來一兩個季度會如何發展？

I'll take that and I'll ask Dave and Arijit to add more color. I think the first thing is that in terms of sales cycle itself for the normal deals, there are two things happening. I think the normal deals, you have to assume the sales cycle is normally six to nine months, right? And particularly with first-time outsourcers, it also means the prospect getting a lot of comfort around the fact that the partner that they're looking to work with actually understands the business domains very well and more importantly, understand the subdomains, right?

我會接受這個，並會讓 Dave 和 Arijit 添加更多顏色。我認為首先，就正常交易的銷售週期本身而言，有兩件事發生。我認為正常交易你必須假設銷售週期通常為六到九個月，對嗎？特別是對於首次外包的人來說，這也意味著潛在客戶會感到非常安心，因為他們希望合作的合作夥伴實際上非常了解業務領域，更重要的是，了解子領域，對嗎？

And one of the things that is starting to help accelerate some of the momentum on these deals is the fact that a lot of new clients, in particular, or people who have not dipped their toes in this model are also concerned that they may be left out in terms of some of the changes that are happening in terms of the macro changes around technology and disruption that the whole world is talking about, whether it's AI, GenAI or whatever. And for people who have not yet dipped their toes in digital and transformation and cost leadership programs, for them to attempt the AI and GenAI journey becomes difficult unless they do the first. So that actually is adding momentum to our sales funnel and is actually helping many more deals come through the pipeline.

而加速這些交易勢頭的一個因素是，許多新客戶，尤其是那些還沒有嘗試過這種模式的人，也擔心自己可能會被拋棄就全世界都在談論的技術和顛覆性的宏觀變化而言，無論是人工智慧、GenAI 或其他什麼。對於尚未涉足數位化、轉型和成本領先計畫的人來說，除非他們先邁出第一步，否則嘗試人工智慧和 GenAI 之旅將會變得困難。因此，這實際上為我們的銷售管道增添了動力，並且實際上幫助了更多的交易透過管道達成。

I just want to also underline that with all the changes taking place in the world outside around the macroeconomics as well as the desire to be seen as the smartest companies in the space from a digital as well as the GenAI model point of view, domain specialism continues to be the most important reason for customers wanting to align with a partner, first and foremost. And in that area, WNS scores probably the highest from an industry point of view. You know that for years together, we have invested very strongly in end-to-end domain specialists.

我只是想強調的是，隨著外部世界在宏觀經濟方面發生的所有變化，以及從數位和 GenAI 模型的角度來看，人們渴望被視為該領域最聰明的公司，領域專業化仍然是客戶希望與合作夥伴結盟的首要原因。從行業角度來看，WNS 在該領域的得分可能是最高的。您知道，多年來，我們一直對端到端領域專家進行大量投資。

The second thing that we're seeing is that the use of technology and platforms as well as data analytics have now become par for the course. That is something that WNS has been investing very, very strongly, is a leader in the space and that gives a lot of comfort to some of these people who are in the pipeline. And most importantly, in this era of uncertainty, all of them want to work with trusted partners who know their business and can guide them around new models that will help them with their revenue growth with their cost leadership kind of programs with their digital transformation initiatives and a partner that is actually investing in new disruption models. And I can tell you that this is where WNS scores all the time and that's how the pipeline is being built in a very healthy manner and across all core horizontals, verticals and geographies.

我們看到的第二件事是，技術和平台以及數據分析的使用現在已成為常態。WNS 一直對此進行大力投資，是該領域的領導者，這給一些正在籌備中的人帶來了極大的安慰。最重要的是，在這個充滿不確定性的時代，他們都希望與值得信賴的合作夥伴合作，這些合作夥伴了解他們的業務，並能指導他們採用新的模式，幫助他們透過成本領先計畫和數位化轉型計劃實現收入成長以及實際投資新顛覆模式的合作夥伴。我可以告訴你們，這就是 WNS 一直以來得分的地方，這就是管道如何以非常健康的方式構建到所有核心水平、垂直和地域。

And I think, Surinder, if you just kind of look at the history of the space and WNS' track record, when the macro was healthy and obviously, companies were doing extremely well prior to the pandemic. What we saw was a good healthy acceleration in growth rate, right? So our ability to close the traditional $1 million, $3 million, $5 million deals, our ability to expand existing relationships was healthy even in a positive macro environment, which means it wasn't all about cost reduction. It was about customers needing to change their models, needing to change their processes in order to remain competitive.

我認為，Surinder，如果你只看一下該領域的歷史和 WNS 的業績記錄，就會發現在宏觀經濟健康的情況下，在疫情爆發之前，各公司顯然都表現得非常好。我們看到的是成長率的健康加速，對嗎？因此，即使在積極的宏觀環境下，我們完成傳統的 100 萬美元、300 萬美元、500 萬美元交易的能力以及擴大現有關係的能力都是健康的，這意味著不僅僅是為了降低成本。這是因為客戶需要改變他們的模型，需要改變他們的流程以保持競爭力。

If you fast forward now to some of the challenges that have happened over the last couple of years from a macro perspective, I think if you peel under the covers and get past the idiosyncratic issues that we've had, what you'd see is that our ability to close those deals and move them through the pipeline and those sales cycles haven't fundamentally changed. And in fact, if you look at through the first three quarters of this year, we've signed more new logos and we've expanded more relationships than we did last year. So there's actually been positive traction to Keshav's point in our ability to close deals despite some of the macro challenges in the political environment.

如果你現在從宏觀角度回顧過去幾年發生的一些挑戰，我想如果你揭開面紗，克服我們遇到的特殊問題，你會看到我們完成這些交易以及推動這些交易通過渠道和銷售週期的能力並沒有發生根本性的改變。事實上，如果回顧今年前三個季度，你會發現，與去年相比，我們簽署了更多的新標識，拓展了更多的合作關係。因此，儘管政治環境中存在一些宏觀挑戰，但凱沙夫所指出的我們仍有能力達成交易，這實際上對凱沙夫的觀點產生了正面影響。

And then just following up in terms of just the build out of new solutions, new capabilities. So when we think about -- I think you mentioned maybe 13 unique digital GenAI assets. Any additional color you can provide there in the sense of are these primarily like proprietary models that you guys are building that you can leverage? Or is it some combination of solutions where you've integrated with maybe some of the large partners, whether it's an open AI or with Gemini or LLaMA for that matter or something like that? How should we think about that part of the positioning and strategy?

然後只是就新解決方案、新功能的建置進行跟進。所以當我們考慮一下——我想你提到了大概 13 個獨特的數位 GenAI 資產。您能提供任何額外的細節嗎？或者它是與一些大型合作夥伴整合的某種解決方案組合，無論是開放式 AI 還是 Gemini 或 LLaMA 或類似的東西？那部分定位和策略我們該怎麼思考？

I think it's a combination, Surinder. At the end of the day, we have developed -- the digital assets are proprietary, but there can certainly be components of third-party technology that are part of those integrated solutions, right? So the bottom line is what we're doing is we're using best-in-class and whether it's something that we've created or whether it's something that we partnered. What we've been able to do is take those capabilities, enhance them, put domain specialization in them and create an asset that is not only reusable across multiple clients, but customizable for those clients.

我認為這是一個結合，Surinder。最終，我們已經開發了——數位資產是專有的，但這些整合解決方案中肯定會包含第三方技術的元件，對嗎？因此，最重要的是，我們正在使用一流的產品，無論是我們創造的產品，還是我們合作的產品。我們能夠做的是利用這些功能，增強它們，將領域專業化融入其中，並創建不僅可以在多個客戶端之間重複使用，還可以為這些客戶端進行定制的資產。

So, it's not like we're trying to create an asset that we can then go and sell as a standalone asset. We know that these things need to be modified to a specific customer's requirement and we have that flexibility in these assets that we've created to be able to do that. So if you were to look at the 13 digital assets, you would see that they cut across both horizontals and verticals and combine both WNS proprietary technology as well as state-of-the-art third-party brand names like some of the ones that you've mentioned.

所以，我們並不是試圖創造一種資產，然後將其作為獨立資產出售。我們知道這些東西需要根據特定客戶的要求進行修改，並且我們在創建的這些資產中具有靈活性，能夠做到這一點。因此，如果你看看這 13 種數位資產，你會發現它們橫跨橫向和縱向，並結合了 WNS 專有技術以及最先進的第三方品牌名稱，例如你提到過。

Maggie Nolan, William Blair.

瑪吉諾蘭，威廉布萊爾。

So I wanted to ask about your expansion of client relationships. I mean obviously, there are some idiosyncratic things that you referenced. But overall, it seems like the majority of the client base is healthy and the number of expansions in the quarter was a bit of an uptick. Can you share any detail on the nature of these expansions? Or has anything changed in the business that you think is enabling a higher level of engagement with clients?

所以我想問一下你們關於客戶關係擴展的情況。我的意思是，很明顯，你提到的有些是特殊的東西。但總體而言，似乎大多數客戶群都很健康，而且本季的擴張數量略有上升。您能否分享有關這些擴展的性質的任何細節？或者您認為業務中是否發生了一些變化，使得您能夠與客戶進行更高層次的互動？

Maggie, that's a great question. I think the first is, philosophically, we went through a perfect storm last year, right? And therefore, I think it's important for us to recognize that and the fact that management of this company actually has spent a lot of time in terms of working on models and relationship kind of metrics that we want to track and we want to go after to make sure that every one of our clients, first and foremost, gets off the required attention that we don't see any surprises at any point in time.

瑪吉，這個問題問得很好。我認為首先，從哲學上講，我們去年經歷了一場完美風暴，對嗎？因此，我認為我們必須認識到這一點，事實上，這家公司的管理層實際上花了很多時間研究我們想要追蹤和追求的模型和關係指標。關注，以免在任何時候遇到任何意外。

We've implemented a lot of that. And I think as a result of that, very, very strong and enhanced engagement across every one of our client models, client relationships really is resulting in a detailed increase in pipeline, growth in the existing processes. But more importantly, allowing WNS people to actually interact across the length and breadth of each of our clients which, over a period of time, will lead to new kind of interesting programs. So that gives the benefit that we, I think, actually are starting to see, right? And I think as a result of that, our confidence is strong about how it will result in great outcomes for us in next year.

我們已經實現了許多這樣的措施。我認為，因此，我們與每個客戶模型、客戶關係的參與度都非常非常強，並且得到了增強，這確實導致了管道的詳細增加、現有流程的成長。但更重要的是，允許 WNS 人與我們的每個客戶進行真正的全方位互動，在一段時間內，這將帶來新的有趣的項目。所以我認為，這實際上已經開始帶來好處了，對吧？我認為正因為如此，我們對它明年將為我們帶來豐碩成果充滿信心。

I think the other thing that's important, Maggie, is we've always kind of talked about a land and expand model that the goal is to get in there and demonstrate our capability and then move into other areas. And certainly, obviously, the narrative that we've been dealing with, we dealt with RPA, we've been dealing it here with AI and GenAI is that productivity commitment that we have to get back to clients because we're automating things that traditionally have been done with labor.

瑪吉，我認為另一件重要的事情是，我們一直在談論一種土地和擴張模式，目標是進入那裡並展示我們的能力，然後進入其他領域。當然，很明顯，我們一直在處理的故事，我們處理過 RPA，我們一直在處理 AI 和 GenAI，這是我們必須向客戶回報的生產力承諾，因為我們正在自動化一些事情傳統上都是透過勞動來完成的。

But I think the other part that we've been very consistent talking about is how the automation actually expands the addressable market within the client environment. And I think that's part of what you're seeing here is that while we've got some of that downward pressure as we automate existing pieces of business, clients are willing to give us new pieces of business, additional pieces of business that allow us to automate and enable them to do things differently that they wouldn't have considered previously.

但我認為我們一直在討論的另一部分是自動化如何在客戶環境中真正擴大可尋址市場。我認為，您在這裡看到的情況是，雖然我們在實現現有業務自動化的過程中面臨一些下行壓力，但客戶願意給我們新的業務，額外的業務，讓我們實現自動化，並使他們能夠以以前未曾考慮過的方式做事。

And I think that's part of what you're seeing as you look at that expansion number is that clients are increasingly willing to let us manage things that previously they wouldn't because our technology capabilities and our approach is fundamentally different.

我認為，當您看到這個擴張數字時，您會發現客戶越來越願意讓我們管理以前不願意管理的事情，因為我們的技術能力和方法有著根本的不同。

And then as you think about the year ahead calendar or fiscal, how are you thinking about your M&A strategy and putting some of that cash to work?

然後，當您考慮未來一年的日曆或財政年度時，您如何考慮您的併購策略並利用部分現金？

I'll take that. So look, from an M&A perspective, we've always been very clear that people acquire our capability. So that philosophy continues. There are certain identified areas that we have internally sort of agreed on and we are evaluating multiple opportunities in those areas.

我接受。所以，從併購的角度來看，我們一直非常清楚，人們會獲得我們的能力。這一哲學思想得以延續。我們已經在內部就某些確定的領域達成了一致，並且正在評估這些領域的多種機會。

Of course, from a timing perspective, we will, of course, let you know once we have something conclusive. But in a sense that activity is continuing and that's in line with our overall capital philosophy where tuck-in acquisitions is one of our strategic growth sort of imperatives that we've outlined with the company and that continues. So yes, so that's where we are.

當然，從時間角度來看，一旦我們得到結論，我們當然會通知你。但從某種意義上說，這種活動仍在繼續，這符合我們的整體資本理念，其中補充收購是我們與公司共同概述的戰略增長要務之一，而且這種活動將繼續下去。是的，這就是我們所處的情況。

I think just to add to what Arijit said, the approach has also been that if it's not the right asset at the right price, it's the right fit, we're not going to do it. So I think we want to be impactful. We want to find assets that help improve our capabilities and plug holes in our offerings. But at the end of the day, if it's not the right fit, we're not going to force it. And that remains consistent in terms of philosophy with the company.

我認為，只是想補充一下 Arijit 所說的話，我們的方法是，如果它不是以合適的價格獲得的合適的資產，如果它不合適，我們就不會去做。所以我認為我們希望產生影響力。我們希望找到有助於提高我們的能力並填補我們產品漏洞的資產。但最終，如果它不合適，我們不會強迫它。這與公司的理念是一致的。

And I'll just mention one thing here, which is that I think all the acquisitions that we have done in the recent past have all been in the higher value-add areas that have helped the company take the messaging to our clients to a different level. We have not wasted the crisis of last year inside the company and we have done a lot of work inside in order to make sure that, first and foremost, our core offerings are seen as strong and consistent. We have added new offerings that have been created organically. Our M&A targets that we acquired over the last few years have all delivered very strongly in the last few quarters.

我在這裡只想提一件事，那就是我認為我們最近進行的所有收購都是在高附加價值領域，這些收購幫助公司以不同的方式向客戶傳達訊息。我們沒有浪費公司內部去年的危機，我們在內部做了很多工作，以確保首先我們的核心產品被視為強大而一致的。我們添加了有機創建的新產品。我們過去幾年收購的目標在過去幾個季度都取得了強勁的表現。

And like Arijit said, we will do whatever is right. Essentially, to add more capability but really move up the value chain consistently around the whole data analytics, AI, GenAI and potentially one or two very carefully chosen verticals.

正如阿里吉特所說，我們會做任何正確的事。本質上，要增加更多功能，但真正圍繞整個數據分析、AI、GenAI以及潛在的一兩個非常精心選擇的垂直領域持續提升價值鏈。

Puneet Jain, JPMorgan

摩根大通 Puneet Jain

Keshav, over the last three months, we've been hearing a lot about Agentic AI as the next step in evolution of generative AI and AI overall. What does increasing adoption of Agentic AI mean for companies like yourselves and where clients are in the adoption cycle?

Keshav，在過去的三個月裡，我們聽到了很多關於 Agentic AI 的消息，它是生成式 AI 和整體 AI 進化的下一步。對於像你們這樣的公司來說，越來越多地採用 Agentic AI 意味著什麼？

Absolutely. So actually, again, like some of these other technologies and movements that this company has been used to navigated across many years, longer term, all of this will be opportunity because these are areas that we are constantly investing in, in order to make sure that we become far more efficient as a company.

絕對地。因此，實際上，就像這家公司多年來一直使用的一些其他技術和運動一樣，從長遠來看，所有這些都將是機遇，因為這些是我們不斷投資的領域，以確保我們公司將變得更加高效。

Short term, there will also be a threat as a result of Agentic AI. But the reality is we know all of that and we are investing behind it. And as we talk numbers to you on the street, we bake in some impact from all of this in our productivity in terms of some of the opportunity losses and then grow beyond that.

短期內，Agentic AI 也會帶來威脅。但事實上我們知道這一切，我們正在為此進行投資。當我們在街上和你談論數字時，我們會把所有這些對我們的生產力的影響（就一些機會損失而言）考慮進去，然後超越這一點。

Long term, I will say that at this point in time, it is still a term being spoken about a lot. I can tell you that inside the company, there's a lot of activity and lots of effort being made in order to test the model and try and bring this model into some of our core operations. It is not that clients have adopted in an aggressive manner at this point in time because there are still lots of hallucinations and other things that have to be navigated. I would expect that over the next three years, this is an area that will create a tailwind for the industry and for WNS. And therefore, that's how we are working with it, creating offerings inside the company, building the right relationships with external partners to introduce Agentic AI and constantly using all of this in order to drive our top line.

從長遠來看，我想說，目前為止，它仍然是一個被經常談論的術語。我可以告訴你，在公司內部，我們進行了大量的活動，做出了大量的努力來測試該模型，並嘗試將該模型引入到我們的一些核心業務中。這並不意味著客戶此時已經採取了積極的方式，因為仍有許多幻覺和其他問題需要處理。我預計，在未來三年內，這個領域將為該行業和 WNS 創造順風。因此，這就是我們與之合作的方式，在公司內部創造產品，與外部合作夥伴建立正確的關係以引入 Agentic AI，並不斷利用所有這些來推動我們的營收成長。

And then second, given all the investments required to get there to be a meaningful participant in this new wave as well as your transition to GAAP reporting, how should we think about new normal for margins for WNS?

其次，考慮到成為這一新浪潮中有意義的參與者所需的所有投資以及向 GAAP 報告的過渡，我們應該如何看待 WNS 利潤率的新常態？

So Puneet, I think we covered that. I think we mentioned it earlier as well. From a margin perspective, I think we are very comfortable in the high 19%, 20% ranges on a run rate basis. If you see where we are in Q3, we are at [9.3%]. As we mentioned, the Q4 guidance implies an escalation on margins, driven primarily due to operating leverage as we get growth back. But if you ask us from a run rate perspective, we'll continue to be in the 19%, [19.5%], 20% ranges going forward. And that also bakes in significant investments around capability, including our ability to lead the market from agent to care perspective.

所以 Puneet，我想我們已經討論過這個問題。我想我們之前也提到過它。從利潤率的角度來看，我認為我們對 19% 至 20% 的高運行率範圍感到非常滿意。如果你看到我們在第三季的情況，我們處於[9.3%]。正如我們所提到的，第四季的指引意味著利潤率將會上升，這主要得益於我們恢復成長後的經營槓桿。但如果從運行率的角度來問我們，未來我們的運行率將繼續保持在 19%、[19.5%]、20% 的範圍內。這也包括對能力的大量投資，包括我們從代理商到護理機構的角度引領市場的能力。

Essentially no change, Puneet. I think we can make those investments within the construct of how we run the business. To your point, which is correct, that the big difference you see in the margin profile from what people have historically seen, which is kind of that low 20s is the roughly 120 basis points impact of the transition from IFRS to US GAAP.

本質上沒有變化，Puneet。我認為我們可以在業務營運框架內進行這些投資。您說得對，利潤率與人們過去所見的利潤率有很大差異，也就是 20% 以下，這是從 IFRS 到 US GAAP 的過渡帶來的大約 120 個基點的影響。

Congrats for GAAP reporting.

恭喜獲得 GAAP 報告。

David Koning, Baird

大衛‧科寧，貝爾德

Nice job. I guess my first question, it looks like the way you're guiding the rest of the year, that fiscal Q4 sequential growth is actually pretty normal. I kind of look back, it looks like you usually average kind of 3%, 4% sequentially. That's kind of what you're going to grow, maybe even a little better than that in Q4 sequentially. Are you just back to kind of normalize now that some of these headwinds are in the past and there's really not anything affecting sequential. Is that kind of the way to think about it?

幹得好。我的第一個問題是，從您對今年剩餘時間的預期來看，第四財季的連續成長實際上相當正常。我回顧一下，看起來你的平均收益通常依次為 3% 到 4%。這就是你將要實現的成長，甚至可能比第四季的成長還要好一點。現在這些不利因素已經成為過去，而且實際上沒有任何因素影響連續性，你們現在是否已經恢復正常了？是這樣思考的嗎？

Yes, I think so, Dave. I mean, I think what you're seeing is on a sequential basis from Q2 to Q3 and from Q3 to Q4, you don't have any of these idiosyncratic issues. So whether it's the majority of the online travel issue, whether it's the healthcare client, whether it's the migration of the large Internet client from on-site to offshore, these challenges from a sequential basis are behind us. And for the most part, as I mentioned earlier, we talked about kind of the unusual headwinds walking into next year, which are about 2%, they're behind us on a year-over-year basis.

是的，我認為是這樣，戴夫。我的意思是，我認為您看到的是從第二季到第三季、從第三季到第四季的連續情況，您並沒有遇到任何這些特殊問題。因此，無論是大部分的線上旅遊問題，還是醫療保健客戶問題，還是大型網路客戶從現場到海外的遷移，這些連續的挑戰都已經被我們拋在身後了。正如我之前提到的，我們主要談論的是明年將要遇到的一些不尋常的不利因素，這些因素大約為 2%，與去年同期相比已經過去了。

So I think as you move into fiscal Q1, for example, of '26, what you should start to see is not only that good healthy sequential number showing up, but you're going to start to see that year-over-year number showing up as well.

因此，我認為，當你進入 26 財年第一季時，你應該看到的不僅是良好的連續數字，而且你還會開始看到同比增長數字也出現了。

No, that's great. And I guess two questions kind of around the US GAAP accounting. One is, was that any of the reason, I mean cash flow was super strong in Q3, was maybe there's something different about conversion from US GAAP? And then the other one is, were there any kind of non-recurring type expenses in fiscal '25 that actually helped margin expansion in '26, given the cost of all that switching you did in '25?

不，那太好了。我想有兩個問題與美國 GAAP 會計有關。一是，是否有任何原因，我的意思是第三季的現金流非常強勁，也許與美國 GAAP 的轉換有所不同？然後另一個問題是，考慮到您在 25 年進行的所有轉換成本，25 財年是否存在任何非經常性費用實際上有助於 26 年利潤率的擴大？

No, I don't think so, Dave. I think, in fiscal Q3, we were under US GAAP for the first two quarters of this year. So there's nothing in the numbers this quarter that are unique from a cash perspective. If you want to look at what really drove the healthy cash generation in the quarter, it was the reduction of DSO's. So good growth on the top line reduction in the DSO. It has really helped us drive healthy cash.

不，我不這麼認為，戴夫。我認為，在第三財季，我們今年前兩個季度是按照美國公認會計準則 (GAAP) 進行的。因此，從現金角度來看，本季的數字並沒有什麼獨特之處。如果你想了解本季真正推動健康現金產生的因素，那就是 DSO 的減少。因此，DSO 的營收減少帶來了良好的成長。它確實幫助我們獲得了健康的現金。

I think said sequentially, we've always had improving cash as we move throughout the year, similar to what we've talked about with the margin profile, right? As revenue accelerates, as margins expand, as DSOs come down, those all are helping us drive a healthy cash amount.

我認為按順序來說，隨著全年的發展，我們的現金一直在增加，類似於我們談論的利潤率狀況，對嗎？隨著收入加速成長、利潤率擴大、DSO 下降，所有這些都幫助我們獲得健康的現金量。

With respect to kind of the non-recurring issues on the margin side, I think the only non-recurring issue that we had, if you look at what's really dragged margins this year, it will be the SG&A coverage in the first half of the year. We've run roughly 18% SG&A in the first half of the year. We typically run 16% to 17% on the SG&A level. And it's because when revenue took the hit, especially with the large healthcare client, we didn't adjust the SG&A level. And now as we move throughout the year, not only do you have that normal cadence coming back, but you also have expense coverage coming back, which is what Arijit spoke about.

關於利潤方面的非經常性問題，我認為我們遇到的唯一非經常性問題，如果你看看今年真正拖累利潤率的因素，那就是 2019 年上半年的銷售、一般及行政費用覆蓋率。 。今年上半年我們的銷售、一般及行政開支約為 18%。我們的銷售、一般及行政開支水準一般為 16% 至 17%。這是因為當收入受到打擊時，特別是大型醫療保健客戶，我們沒有調整銷售、一般和行政費用水準。現在，隨著我們全年的推進，您不僅恢復了正常的節奏，而且費用也得到了覆蓋，這就是 Arijit 所說的。

Related to next year, we should not have those kinds of challenges, so we should be kind of more to a normal cadence and a normal margin profile across the year. But on a year-over-year basis, that should allow us to hopefully show some margin improvement in addition to accelerating top line growth.

與明年相比，我們不應該面臨此類挑戰，因此，我們應該在全年保持更正常的節奏和正常的利潤率。但與去年同期相比，除了加速營收成長之外，這還有望讓我們的利潤率有所提高。

And I just want to add, while we're excited about all of this, we are more excited about the revenue momentum, the pipeline for growth, the needs of our customers. And as a result of that, our need to keep investing in areas around sales, branding and marketing, technology, the whole digital stack, analytics. And we're not going to hold back as far as these investments are concerned.

我只想補充一點，雖然我們對這一切感到興奮，但我們更興奮的是收入動能、成長管道和客戶的需求。因此，我們需要繼續在銷售、品牌和行銷、技術、整個數位堆疊、分析等領域進行投資。就這些投資而言，我們不會有所保留。

So I just want to mention that we have brought in lots of very new interesting talent into each of these areas. And while we expect it will not create a disturbance in terms of margin because we are saving in other areas to invest in these areas, these are the areas that we will invest in, in order to demonstrate a much higher quality of revenue and profit momentum for the company long term.

所以我只想說，我們為每個領域引進了許多非常新穎、有趣的人才。雖然我們預計這不會對利潤率造成影響，因為我們正在其他領域節省資金以投資於這些領域，但這些是我們將投資的領域，以展示更高品質的收入和利潤勢頭對公司是長期的。