Willis Towers Watson PLC (WTW) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. Welcome to the WTW First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Please refer to wtwco.com for the press release and supplemental information that were issued earlier today. Today's call is being recorded and will be available for the next 3 months on WTW's website.

早安.歡迎參加 WTW 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。請參閱 wtwco.com，了解今天早些時候發布的新聞稿和補充資訊。今天的通話正在錄音中，並將在未來 3 個月內發佈在 WTW 網站上。

Some of the comments in today's call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those discussed today, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements unless required by law.

今天電話會議中的一些評論可能構成 1995 年《私人證券改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。實際結果可能與今天討論的結果有重大差異，除非法律要求，否則公司不承擔更新這些聲明的義務。

For a more detailed discussion of these and other risk factors, investors should visit the forward-looking statements section of the earnings press release issued this morning as well as other disclosures in the company's most recent Form 10-K and in other filings the company has made with the SEC.

如需對這些及其他風險因素進行更詳細的討論，投資者應訪問今天上午發布的收益新聞稿中的前瞻性陳述部分，以及該公司最新的10-K 表格和該公司已提交的其他文件中披露的其他資訊。

During the call, certain non-GAAP financial measures will be discussed. For reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures as well as other information regarding these measures, please refer to the earnings press release issued this morning and other materials in the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

在電話會議期間，將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。有關非公認會計準則措施的調節以及有關這些措施的其他信息，請參閱今天上午發布的收益新聞稿以及公司網站投資者關係部分的其他資料。

I'll now turn the call over to Carl Hess, WTW's Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

我現在將把電話轉給 WTW 執行長卡爾赫斯 (Carl Hess)。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for WTW's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. Joining me today is Andrew Krasner, our Chief Financial Officer.

大家，早安。感謝您參加 WTW 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天加入我的是我們的財務長安德魯‧克拉斯納 (Andrew Krasner)。

We had a solid start to the year, delivering first quarter results in line with our expectations. Our momentum from last year has carried us into 2024 as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities to grow, simplify and transform. Our exceptional solutions, productivity from new hires and investments in talent and technology continue to play a pivotal role in fueling organic revenue growth of 5%. Simultaneously, our transformation initiatives helped us generate adjusted operating margin expansion of 200 basis points year-over-year and 16% growth in adjusted diluted earnings per share.

我們今年開局良好，第一季業績符合我們的預期。去年的勢頭引領我們進入 2024 年，我們將繼續執行成長、簡化和轉型的策略重點。我們卓越的解決方案、新員工的生產力以及對人才和技術的投資繼續在推動有機收入成長 5% 方面發揮關鍵作用。同時，我們的轉型措施幫助我們調整後營業利潤年增 200 個基點，調整後稀釋每股盈餘成長 16%。

We had $33 million of incremental annualized savings from our transformation program during the first quarter, bringing the total to $370 million in cumulative annualized savings since the program's inception. We continue to look for more opportunities to optimize the business while leveraging our cost structure to expand our margins. This encouraging start to the year, our robust new business pipeline and our plans for realizing operating efficiencies across the rest of the year, give us a high level of confidence that we will deliver on our 2024 commitments.

第一季度，我們的轉型計畫帶來了 3,300 萬美元的增量年化節省，使自該計畫啟動以來的累計年化節省總額達到 3.7 億美元。我們繼續尋找更多機會來優化業務，同時利用我們的成本結構來擴大利潤。今年令人鼓舞的開局、我們強勁的新業務管道以及我們在今年剩餘時間內實現營運效率的計劃，讓我們對兌現 2​​024 年的承諾充滿信心。

I'm pleased with how our strategic progress has driven this quarter's results and more importantly, has positioned us for continued profitable growth. For the first quarter of 2024, we delivered top line growth, underscoring the heightened importance of our services in the current market. Our distinctive data-driven and industry-specific approach is making us more attuned to specific economic dynamics that allow us to enhance outcomes and mitigate risk for our clients.

我對我們的策略進展如何推動本季的業績感到滿意，更重要的是，它使我們能夠實現持續的獲利成長。 2024 年第一季度，我們實現了營收成長，凸顯了我們的服務在當前市場中的重要性。我們獨特的數據驅動和針對特定行業的方法使我們更加適應特定的經濟動態，使我們能夠為客戶提高成果並降低風險。

Our global client model continues to resonate with the market, thanks to our world-class offerings and the unwavering dedication of our colleagues. All this puts us in a strong position to achieve sustainable profitable growth and to enhance long-term shareholder value.

由於我們世界一流的產品和同事堅定不移的奉獻精神，我們的全球客戶模式繼續引起市場共鳴。所有這些使我們處於實現可持續獲利成長和提高長期股東價值的有利地位。

Let me give you an update on the progress we've made and the opportunities ahead for our segments. Our specialization strategy in Risk and Broking remains a key growth driver for both the segment and the company. R&B had organic revenue growth of 8% for the quarter. Our Specialty businesses continue to strongly outpace the rest of the segment's growth. And we also continue to see sustained client retention rates in the mid-90s, the product of the ongoing value of our data and analytics focus and the effective insurance solutions that we provide to our clients.

讓我向您介紹我們所取得的進展以及我們各細分市場未來的機會的最新情況。我們在風險和經紀領域的專業化策略仍然是該細分市場和公司的關鍵成長動力。 R&B 本季的有機收入成長了 8%。我們的特種業務持續強勁超過該領域其他業務的成長。我們也繼續看到 90 年代中期的持續客戶保留率，這是我們數據和分析重點的持續價值以及我們為客戶提供的有效保險解決方案的產物。

We often get questions about WTW's specialist approach and how it sets us apart. What's unique about WTW's approach is that our entire business, not just the client-facing parts is structured around industry concentrations. This has clear benefits for both our clients and our operations. Clients can tap into both our global and local expertise, which includes unique data and analytical tools that help create a continuous cycle as we tackle industry challenges, aggregate our experience and information and use that to further improve our solutions to meet specific industry needs.

我們經常收到有關 WTW 的專業方法以及它如何使我們與眾不同的問題。 WTW 方法的獨特之處在於，我們的整個業務（而不僅僅是面向客戶的部分）都是圍繞著行業集中度構建的。這對我們的客戶和我們的營運都有明顯的好處。客戶可以利用我們的全球和本地專業知識，其中包括獨特的數據和分析工具，幫助我們在應對行業挑戰、匯總經驗和資訊並利用其進一步改進我們的解決方案以滿足特定行業需求時創建連續循環。

From an operational point of view, these are businesses with national or even global P&Ls and not simply an industry practice group. Our dedicated industry teams have heightened accountability for end-to-end performance and make informed decisions based on their experience and in-depth knowledge that results in exceptional value delivered to our clients while achieving strong financial results.

從營運角度來看，這些企業擁有全國甚至全球損益表，而不僅僅是一個行業實踐團體。我們的專業產業團隊加強了對端到端績效的責任，並根據他們的經驗和深入的知識做出明智的決策，從而為我們的客戶提供卓越的價值，同時實現強勁的財務業績。

A client win from this past quarter illustrates the effectiveness of this approach. Members of our global construction line of business based in our Europe and international geographies came together to win a multiyear contract for a rail infrastructure leader, by creating a custom solution that fit the client's unique risk management profile. The global teams were assisted by our local teams in the country where the railway was being built, enabling us to provide even further specific expertise to the situation. Our team's familiarity with the industry-specific risks associated with rail infrastructure, combined with our specialized geographic knowledge ultimately secured us to win amidst fierce competition.

上個季度的客戶勝利證明了這種方法的有效性。我們位於歐洲和國際地區的全球建築業務線的成員齊聚一堂，透過創建適合客戶獨特風險管理概況的客製化解決方案，贏得了鐵路基礎設施領導者的多年期合約。全球團隊得到了鐵路建設國當地團隊的協助，使我們能夠針對具體情況提供進一步的具體專業知識。我們的團隊熟悉與鐵路基礎設施相關的行業特定風險，再加上我們的專業地理知識，最終確保我們在激烈的競爭中獲勝。

In North America, our transition to industry-focused divisions is complete, enhancing our ability to meet client needs and driving innovation and new offerings through our industry verticals. One example of this is Verita, our open market MGU, which has continued to exceed our expectations since its introduction last quarter. The recent addition of workers' compensation capabilities further solidifies Verita's proposition within the insurance ecosystem, enhancing its value proposition and is expanding its market reach. We continue to expect the investments made in talented technology over the last few years, combined with the reorientation of the R&B business towards specialization will drive higher levels of activity with new and existing clients that is fundamental to our organic revenue growth and margin expansion trajectory this year.

在北美，我們向以行業為中心的部門的過渡已經完成，這增強了我們滿足客戶需求並透過我們的垂直行業推動創新和新產品的能力。其中一個例子是 Verita，我們的開放市場 MGU，自上季推出以來，其持續超出我們的預期。最近增加的工人賠償能力進一步鞏固了 Verita 在保險生態系統中的主張，增強了其價值主張並擴大了其市場範圍。我們仍然預計，過去幾年對人才技術的投資，加上R&B 業務向專業化方向的重新定位，將推動新舊客戶的活動水平更高，這對我們的有機收入成長和利潤擴張軌跡至關重要。

In HWC, we remain focused on our core businesses, while fostering smart connections to fuel sustainable organic growth of 4% in the quarter. Clients continue to recognize that the deep expertise we have at each of our HWC businesses enables us to deliver market-leading solutions across our Health, Wealth, Career and Benefits Delivery & Outsourcing businesses and make breakthroughs that matter in a complex and changing environment.

在 HWC，我們繼續專注於核心業務，同時培育智慧連接，推動本季 4% 的可持續有機成長。客戶不斷認識到，我們在每項HWC 業務中擁有的深厚專業知識使我們能夠在健康、財富、職業和福利交付及外包業務中提供市場領先的解決方案，並在複雜多變的環境中取得重要的突破。

For example, with many pension plans being well funded, our retirement teams around the world have helped clients derisk their plans and gain access to surplus assets not only through traditional means like annuity buy-ins and buyouts but also through novel approaches like reopening previously closed pension plans. In addition, we've assembled a unique solution involving bulk annuity purchases at our retiree health care exchange that enables U.S. organizations to derisk retiree medical obligations. After launching this solution late last year, we've already helped clients settle some $430 million in retiree medical liabilities, and we expect another $500 million in settlements over the rest of this year.

例如，由於許多退休金計畫資金充足，我們在世界各地的退休團隊不僅透過年金買入和買斷等傳統方式，而且透過重新開放先前關閉的新方法，幫助客戶消除計畫風險並獲得剩餘資產退休金計劃。此外，我們還制定了一個獨特的解決方案，涉及在我們的退休人員醫療保健交易所批量購買年金，使美國組織能夠消除退休人員醫療義務的風險。去年年底推出解決方案後，我們已經幫助客戶解決了約 4.3 億美元的退休人員醫療負債，預計今年剩餘時間將再解決 5 億美元的問題。

In other breakthroughs, we're using artificial intelligence and broader digital tools to help clients answer some big questions about their people processes. Specifically, we've doubled our digitally enabled revenue into the career area, 2 years running, and are focused on doubling again in 2024. This includes us helping dozens of the world's largest companies identify the skills their employees need to deliver solid business results and grow in their careers.

在其他突破中，我們正在使用人工智慧和更廣泛的數位工具來幫助客戶回答有關其人員流程的一些重大問題。具體來說，我們已連續兩年將職業領域的數位化收入翻倍，並致力於在2024 年再次翻一番。技能，以及在他們的職業生涯中成長。

We've also developed thousands of job profiles and aligned hundreds of jobs to specific career levels with AI, freeing up time for consultants so that they can spend more of their time advising clients and reward strategy and program design. Our digital solutions extended to the executive pay area with our proprietary performance modeling tool that we've deployed to help hundreds of compensation committees make decisions about executive pay and performance targets.

我們還利用人工智慧開發了數千份工作檔案，並將數百份工作與特定職業級別進行了匹配，從而為顧問騰出了時間，以便他們可以將更多時間用於為客戶提供建議以及獎勵策略和計劃設計。我們的數位解決方案透過我們專有的績效建模工具擴展到高階主管薪酬領域，我們部署該工具來幫助數百個薪酬委員會做出有關高階主管薪酬和績效目標的決策。

Stepping over to healthcare, we see no shortage of opportunities. There's continued high inflation around the world and the introduction of new Specialty solutions is not abating. Clients and prospects are looking for breakthrough to deliver value and impact, evidenced by the more than 2,500 people who recently attended our Flagship U.S. Healthcare Conference.

進入醫療保健領域，我們看到了不乏機會。世界各地的通貨膨脹率持續居高不下，而新的專業解決方案的推出並沒有減弱。客戶和潛在客戶正在尋求突破以提供價值和影響，最近參加我們美國旗艦醫療保健會議的 2,500 多人證明了這一點。

All of our core businesses are helping organizations respond to new legislation and regulation from the Netherlands Pension Legislation to the EU Pay Transparency Requirements. An important part of core business growth in HWC is the smart connections that span the segment, which create opportunities to cultivate sustainable sticky relationships. Two examples of this came with wins this past quarter with a telecommunications provider and a global biopharmaceutical company.

我們所有的核心業務都在幫助組織應對從荷蘭退休金立法到歐盟薪酬透明度要求的新立法和法規。 HWC核心業務成長的一個重要組成部分是跨細分市場的智慧連接，這為培養可持續的黏性關係創造了機會。這方面的兩個例子是上個季度與一家電信供應商和一家全球生物製藥公司的合作。

In both instances, we were able to create a comprehensive bundle of solutions by engaging our teams across working rewards, employee experience, retirement and Benefits Delivery & Administration. In addition to being simply larger, these multi-business relationships are typically more embedded and more profitable as we build connections with varied client stakeholders, deliver greater value, utilize our client knowledge and leverage common resources.

在這兩種情況下，我們都能夠透過讓我們的團隊參與工作獎勵、員工體驗、退休以及福利交付和管理方面的工作，創造一套全面的解決方案。除了規模更大之外，當我們與不同的客戶利害關係人建立聯繫、提供更大的價值、利用我們的客戶知識並利用公共資源時，這些多業務關係通常會更加嵌入、更有利可圖。

Our focus on smart connections continues to gain traction across our segments, demonstrating the complementary nature of our businesses and providing further evidence of the value of our multi-industry expertise. For example, this past quarter, our colleagues in HWC help tee up a broking opportunity for our CRB team to do a complete review of a health and benefit clients P&C insurance strategy and programs. After detailing our approach to industry specialization, our CRB colleagues were chosen for all lines of coverage over the incumbent.

我們對智慧連接的關注繼續在我們的細分市場中獲得關注，展示了我們業務的互補性，並進一步證明了我們多行業專業知識的價值。例如，上個季度，我們 HWC 的同事幫助我們的 CRB 團隊創造了一個經紀機會，對健康和福利客戶的財產與意外傷害保險策略和計劃進行全面審查。在詳細介紹了我們的行業專業化方法後，我們的 CRB 同事被選為涵蓋所有領域的現任同事。

Putting it all together, good market demand, well-positioned core businesses, breakthrough solutions in new areas and smart connections that add value, the outlook for HWC remains strong. In closing, I'm proud of our performance this quarter, which reflects our continued strategic progress. We're executing successfully at our priorities and as a result, we're in a solid position to deliver on our goals for 2024. I'm excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for the rest of the year and beyond. And as always, I extend my gratitude to our colleagues for continuing to stay dedicated and committed to WTW and our clients.

總而言之，良好的市場需求、定位良好的核心業務、新領域的突破性解決方案以及增值的智慧連接，HWC 的前景仍然強勁。最後，我對我們本季的業績感到自豪，這反映了我們持續的策略進展。我們正在成功地執行我們的優先事項，因此，我們有能力實現 2024 年的目標。一如既往，我感謝我們的同事繼續致力於 WTW 和我們的客戶。

And with that, I'll turn the call over to Andrew.

然後，我會將電話轉給安德魯。

Thanks, Carl. Good morning, and thanks for joining us today. As Carl mentioned, we started the year on a strong note, achieving results that were in line with our expectations and position us well to achieve our 2024 targets. We remain focused on driving profitable growth through improving productivity leveraging our specialization and smart connection strategies and executing our transformation program. In the quarter, we delivered organic revenue growth of 5% and drove adjusted operating margin expansion of 200 basis points. The result was adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.29, an increase of 16% over prior year.

謝謝，卡爾。早安，感謝您今天加入我們。正如 Carl 所提到的，我們以強勁的勢頭開啟了新的一年，取得了符合我們預期的成果，並為我們實現 2024 年目標做好了準備。我們仍然專注於透過利用我們的專業化和智慧連接策略來提高生產力並執行我們的轉型計劃來推動獲利成長。本季度，我們實現了 5% 的有機收入成長，並將調整後的營業利潤率擴大了 200 個基點。調整後攤薄每股收益為 3.29 美元，比上年增長 16%。

Next, I'll spend some time reviewing our segment results. Note that to provide comparability with prior periods, all commentary regarding the results of our segments will be on an organic basis, unless specifically stated otherwise. Health, Wealth and Career generated revenue growth of 4% compared to the first quarter of last year, in line with our expectations of mid-single-digit organic revenue growth for the segment in 2024.

接下來，我將花一些時間回顧我們的細分結果。請注意，為了提供與前期的可比性，除非另有明確說明，否則有關我們分部業績的所有評論都將基於有機基礎。與去年第一季相比，健康、財富和職業收入成長了 4%，符合我們對該領域 2024 年中個位數有機收入成長的預期。

Health revenue increased 3% for the quarter, led by high-single-digit growth in international and Europe and driven by the continued expansion of our global benefits management client portfolio. Timing of new business contributed to lower growth in North America, where our business is typically fee-based. We expect that to accelerate significantly throughout the remainder of the year, in line with high-single-digit growth expectations for the full year.

在國際和歐洲的高個位數成長以及我們的全球福利管理客戶組合持續擴張的推動下，本季的健康收入成長了 3%。新業務的時機導致北美地區的成長放緩，而我們的業務通常是收費的。我們預計這一成長將在今年剩餘時間內顯著加速，符合全年高個位數成長預期。

Wealth grew 3% in the first quarter, driven by strong growth in our retirement business due to increased pension derisking work in North America and Europe, along with a modest increase in our Investments business due in part to new products. Career delivered 3% growth in the quarter, primarily driven by increased projects related to communication work and employee experience and more broad-based reward assignments and working reward. It is notable that in this point in the year, our compensation benchmarking participation is up double digits over 2023, creating a pipeline for accelerated growth in the latter half of 2024.

第一季財富成長了3%，這得益於北美和歐洲退休金去風險工作的增加，以及我們的投資業務在一定程度上由於新產品而小幅增長，推動了我們的退休業務的強勁增長。本季度職業生涯實現了 3% 的成長，主要是由於與溝通工作和員工體驗相關的項目增加以及更廣泛的獎勵任務和工作獎勵所推動。值得注意的是，今年這個時候，我們的薪酬基準參與度比 2023 年增長了兩位數，為 2024 年下半年的加速成長創造了管道。

Benefits Delivery & Outsourcing generated 6% growth in the quarter. The increase was driven by higher volumes and placements of Medicare Advantage and life policies in our individual marketplace business. Based on the incidence of growth projected by carriers in the Medicare Advantage space, we expect more moderated growth later in the year. Offsetting the BDA growth was low growth in our outsourcing business as we absorbed a revenue headwind due to a large client in-sourcing its health and other benefits administration.

福利交付和外包在本季度實現了 6% 的成長。這一增長是由於我們個人市場業務中 Medicare Advantage 和人壽保單的數量和投放量增加所致。根據營運商在醫療保險優勢領域預測的成長情況，我們預計今年稍後成長將更為溫和。我們的外包業務的低成長抵消了 BDA 的成長，因為我們吸收了因大客戶內包其健康和其他福利管理而帶來的收入逆風。

HWC's operating margin was 25.1%, an increase of 110 basis points compared to the prior year first quarter, primarily driven by transformation savings. Risk and Broking revenue was up 8% on an organic basis for the first quarter. There was a $5 million unfavorable year-over-year impact from book of business activity. Interest income was $28 million for the quarter, up $16 million from the first quarter last year.

HWC 的營業利潤率為 25.1%，與去年第一季相比成長了 110 個基點，這主要是由於轉型節省所致。第一季風險和經紀收入有機成長 8%。業務活動帳簿產生了 500 萬美元的年比不利影響。該季度利息收入為 2,800 萬美元，比去年第一季增加 1,600 萬美元。

Corporate Risk & Broking had another strong quarter, growing 9% or 10% excluding the impact of book-of-business activity primarily driven by strong client retention across all geographies and higher level of new business activity. Our specialty lines continue to be a major contributor to the strong growth performance led globally by financial solutions and natural resources. Growth across CRB in Europe was led by Financial Solutions, Aerospace, Natural Resources, Marine and P&C.

企業風險與經紀業務另一個強勁的季度，增長了 9% 或 10%，不包括業務活動的影響，這主要是由所有地區的強勁客戶保留和更高水平的新業務活動推動的。我們的專業產品線繼續成為金融解決方案和自然資源引領的全球強勁成長表現的主要貢獻者。歐洲 CRB 的成長由金融解決方案、航空航太、自然資源、海事和財產與意外險引領。

North America CRB had solid growth driven by new business across several lines, including Construction, Natural Resources and Real Estate, Hospitality and Leisure as well as contributions from our new Verita business. Our international region also contributed strong organic growth across all subregions, led by countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

北美 CRB 在建築、自然資源和房地產、酒店和休閒等多個領域的新業務以及我們新的 Verita 業務的貢獻的推動下取得了穩健的成長。我們的國際區域也為所有次區域做出了強勁的有機成長，其中以中歐和東歐、中東和非洲國家為首。

Looking at the insurance industry more broadly in terms of rates, the market remains a bit mixed with some flattening and even softening in specific insurance lines such as D&O and cyber. However, the current risk environment is marked by increased frequency in natural disasters, social inflation and geopolitical conflicts. And as a result of that, we see rate increases across various lines such as casualty, especially in North America, and globally in political violence and terrorism.

從費率角度更廣泛地審視保險業，市場仍然有點複雜，D&O 和網路等特定保險產品線有些趨於平緩，甚至疲軟。然而，當前風險環境的特徵是自然災害、社會通膨、地緣政治衝突頻繁。因此，我們看到傷亡等各個方面的比率都在上升，特別是在北美，以及全球範圍內的政治暴力和恐怖主義。

Insurance Consulting & Technology revenue was flat with prior year due to the timing of consulting and technology revenue between quarters. We expect ICT to achieve mid- to high-single-digit growth for the full year and in line with our overall expectations for Risk and Broking. R&B's operating margin was 20.8% for the quarter, a 90-basis-point increase over the prior year first quarter, primarily due to interest income, transformation savings and solid organic revenue growth in CRB. R&B also faced margin headwinds this quarter from the impact of book of business activity as well as foreign exchange.

由於諮詢和技術收入在季度之間的時間安排，保險諮詢和技術收入與去年持平。我們預計 ICT 全年將實現中高個位數成長，符合我們對風險和經紀業務的整體預期。 R&B 本季的營業利潤率為 20.8%，比去年第一季成長 90 個基點，這主要得益於 CRB 的利息收入、轉型節省和穩健的有機收入成長。由於業務活動和外匯的影響，本季 R&B 的利潤率也面臨阻力。

In addition, as we mentioned at year-end, now that our talent base in R&B is back to full strength, we are focused on strategic and opportunistic talent investments with industry expertise as well as investments in technology that will eventually yield more revenue than what is currently in the mix. These investments impacted R&B's margins this quarter. However, they will enhance our presence and capabilities in the lines of business and geographies that we believe offer the greatest growth and profitability potential.

此外，正如我們在年底提到的，現在我們在R&B 的人才基礎已恢復到全面實力，我們將重點放在具有行業專業知識的戰略性和機會性人才投資以及技術投資上，這些投資最終將產生比現有技術更多的收入。這些投資影響了 R&B 本季的利潤率。然而，它們將增強我們在我們認為具有最大成長和獲利潛力的業務線和地區的影響力和能力。

We continue to expect margin expansion on a full year basis and as we mentioned last quarter, given the business' seasonality and uncertain pacing of our investments, the scale of R&B margin expansion may vary from quarter-to-quarter, but should improve over the course of the year.

我們繼續預計全年利潤率將擴大，正如我們上季度提到的，考慮到業務的季節性和投資節奏的不確定性，R&B 利潤率擴張的規模可能會因季度而異，但應該會隨著季度的成長而有所改善。

Now let's turn to the enterprise level results. At the enterprise level, adjusted operating margin for the quarter was 20.6%, a 200-basis-point increase over prior year. The benefits of our transformation program drove a large part of our margin expansion for the quarter alongside improved operating leverage. We had $33 million of incremental annualized transformation savings for the quarter, bringing the total to $370 million since the program's inception. The benefits this program provides will better position us to drive sustainable operating leverage going forward.

現在讓我們轉向企業級結果。在企業層面，本季調整後營業利益率為20.6%，較去年同期成長200個基點。我們的轉型計劃的好處推動了我們本季利潤率的成長，同時營運槓桿也得到了改善。本季我們實現了 3,300 萬美元的增量年化轉型節省，使自該計劃啟動以來的總額達到 3.7 億美元。該計劃提供的好處將使我們能夠更好地推動未來可持續的營運槓桿。

Our unallocated net was negative $56 million for the first quarter. We continue to expect the full year 2024 balance to be relatively consistent with 2023. Foreign exchange did not have a meaningful impact on adjusted EPS for the quarter, at current spot rates, we expect foreign exchange to have a headwind of approximately $0.05 on adjusted EPS for the year. Our U.S. GAAP tax rate for the quarter was 19.9% versus 19.5% in the prior year. Our adjusted tax rate for the quarter was 22.4% compared to 20.5% for the first quarter of 2023. We continue to expect our adjusted tax rate for the year to be close to our 2023 rate, excluding the onetime tax items we mentioned last quarter.

第一季我們的未分配淨額為負 5,600 萬美元。我們繼續預期 2024 年全年餘額將與 2023 年相對一致。今年。本季我們的美國 GAAP 稅率為 19.9%，而去年同期為 19.5%。我們本季調整後的稅率為 22.4%，而 2023 年第一季為 20.5%。

During the quarter, we returned $187 million to our shareholders with share repurchases of $101 million and dividends of $86 million. We continue to execute a disciplined capital allocation strategy and currently view share repurchases as an attractive use of capital to create long-term shareholder value. We continue to expect approximately $750 million of share repurchases in 2024, subject to market conditions and other relevant factors.

本季度，我們向股東返還 1.87 億美元，其中股票回購金額為 1.01 億美元，股利為 8,600 萬美元。我們繼續執行嚴格的資本配置策略，目前將股票回購視為創造長期股東價值的一種有吸引力的資本用途。我們繼續預計 2024 年將進行約 7.5 億美元的股票回購，具體取決於市場狀況和其他相關因素。

Our interest expense for the quarter was $64 million versus $54 million in the first quarter of 2023. We actively managed our leverage profile by issuing $750 million of new debt in March. A portion of those proceeds will be used to pay our upcoming $650 million debt maturity in June.

我們本季的利息支出為 6,400 萬美元，而 2023 年第一季為 5,400 萬美元。這些收益的一部分將用於支付即將於 6 月到期的 6.5 億美元債務。

We generated free cash flow of negative $9 million for the first quarter, a decline of $101 million from the prior year, primarily driven by increased cash outflows related to transformation and discretionary compensation payments partially offset by higher inflows from collections. The free cash flow results for the quarter are in line with what we planned as free cash flow margin was not intended to be a linear path for the year. We continue to be confident in our expectations of year-over-year improvement in our full year free cash flow margin.

第一季我們的自由現金流為負900 萬美元，比上年減少1.01 億美元，主要是由於與轉型和可自由支配的補償付款相關的現金流出增加，但部分被收款流入增加所抵消。本季的自由現金流結果與我們的計畫一致，因為今年的自由現金流利潤率並不打算呈現線性路徑。我們仍然對全年自由現金流利潤率同比改善的預期充滿信心。

Our results this quarter were a solid start to 2024, and reflect a continuation of the significant progress we have been making on our strategy and operational performance. We expect our momentum to continue throughout the rest of the year and are confident in achieving our 2024 targets.

我們本季的業績是 2024 年的良好開端，反映了我們在策略和營運績效方面取得的重大進展的延續。我們預計今年剩餘時間將繼續保持這一勢頭，並對實現 2024 年目標充滿信心。

With that, let's open it up for Q&A.

接下來，讓我們開始問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Elyse Greenspan with Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自富國銀行的 Elyse Greenspan。

My first question is on the guide for the margin within R&B. I think you said that the margin improvement should improve over the course of the year. Just want to make sure I heard that correctly because you did show a pretty strong improvement in the back half of '23. So I thought that maybe those would represent harder comps, but is the guide that you would expect improvement -- the margin improvement to gain steam, Q2 then get better in Q3 and then Q4? Or did I misunderstand that comment?

我的第一個問題是關於 R&B 利潤率指南。我想你說過，利潤率的改善應該會在這一年有所改善。只是想確保我沒聽錯，因為你在 23 年後半段確實表現出了相當強勁的進步。因此，我認為也許這些會代表更難的比較，但這是您期望改進的指南 - 利潤率提高以獲得動力，然後在第三季度和第四季度變得更好？還是我誤解了那個評論？

Elyse, I think you're thinking about that correctly. We do expect continued expansion throughout the course of the year. We did make some investments in Q1, which did impact the margin expansion and operating leverage within R&B. But for the course of the year, we do expect the margin expansion to continue as well as the operating leverage generation.

Elyse，我認為你的想法是正確的。我們確實預計全年將繼續擴張。我們確實在第一季進行了一些投資，這確實影響了 R&B 的利潤率擴張和營運槓桿。但在這一年中，我們確實預期利潤率將繼續擴大，營運槓桿將繼續增加。

And then my second question was just on the impact of the potential ban of noncompetes by the FTC. Can you just help us think through the impact that could have on WTW and how that could help both your ability to bring on talent and then just thoughts around potential departures, how you would think through the balance of the two, if there is a change?

然後我的第二個問題是關於聯邦貿易委員會潛在的競業禁止禁令的影響。您能否幫助我們思考一下可能對 WTW 產生的影響，以及這如何幫助您培養人才的能力，然後思考一下潛在的離職情況，如果發生變化，您將如何考慮兩者的平衡？

Yes, thanks Elyse. We see this as actually quite manageable for us. We employ non-solicits as part of what we do. And we think that is actually quite a manageable situation for us. So we think that we're still looking through this. And of course, there may be some litigation concerning all that. But our standard restrictive covenants don't prevent our employees from working for our competitors. They are, as I said, non-solicitation, nondisclosure type agreements, and they don't function to prevent someone from taking a job a competitor. We don't think the world tied to that type of restrictive covenant. And so we've managed quite well against these in the past, and we'll manage I think quite well going...

是的，謝謝愛麗絲。我們認為這對我們來說實際上是可以管理的。我們聘用非招攬人員作為我們工作的一部分。我們認為這對我們來說實際上是一個可以控制的情況。所以我們認為我們仍在研究這個問題。當然，可能會有一些與此相關的訴訟。但我們的標準限制性契約並不能阻止我們的員工為我們的競爭對手工作。正如我所說，它們是非招攬、保密類型的協議，並且不能阻止某人搶走競爭對手的工作。我們不認為世界與這種類型的限制性契約有關。因此，我們過去在應對這些問題方面做得很好，而且我認為我們會做得很好......

Our next question comes from Gregory Peters with Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自格雷戈里·彼得斯和雷蒙德·詹姆斯。

Thanks for the comments, specifically, Andrew, around expectations on organic. And I wanted to revisit inside Health Wealth and Career, two comments you made about the health piece and the career piece, both of which you seem to guide to a better organic result as we go through the year. I was wondering if you could give us some color behind why you have the confidence that, that's going to be a better result for the year.

感謝您的評論，特別是安德魯，關於有機期望的評論。我想重新審視健康、財富和職業，你對健康和職業的兩篇評論，你似乎都在引導我們在這一年中取得更好的有機結果。我想知道您是否可以告訴我們為什麼您有信心今年會取得更好的結果。

Yes, Gregory, maybe I'll start, and Andrew can chime in as well. So with respect to health, right, we see a couple of factors as giving us confidence regarding the rest of the year. We continue to have strong performance in our global benefits management offering, where we help multinationals deliver consistent and superior program of benefits to their workforce across, our pipeline remains very strong and our hit rate within that pipeline remains very strong.

是的，葛雷戈里，也許我會開始，安德魯也可以插話。因此，就健康而言，我們認為有幾個因素讓我們對今年剩餘時間充滿信心。我們在全球福利管理產品方面繼續表現強勁，幫助跨國公司為其員工提供一致且卓越的福利計劃，我們的管道仍然非常強大，並且我們在該管道中的命中率仍然非常高。

It's sort of the beginning of the selling season in Q1 for North America. And here, we see opportunities to help companies continue to mitigate the inflation in healthcare. And specifically the impact of GLP-1 drugs, which help among other things vis-a-vis, relatively high-priced tickets, so near-term cost impact. Of course, these may have help over the long-term managing healthcare costs, getting the improved wellness outcomes.

這可以說是北美第一季銷售季節的開始。在這裡，我們看到了幫助企業繼續緩解醫療保健通膨的機會。特別是 GLP-1 藥物的影響，它有助於相對高價的門票，因此短期的成本影響。當然，這些可能有助於長期管理醫療成本，改善健康結果。

On the career side, we are seeing, as we alluded to before, strong demand participation in our compensation benchmarking. And that typically turns into request for compensation survey for later on down the road. Paid transparency legislation in the EU is driving demand for helping people sort of understand how that's going to impact them, pay equity projects, broad-based pay and career projects are some of the outcomes.

在職業方面，正如我們之前提到的，我們看到對薪酬基準的強烈需求參與。這通常會變成要求稍後進行補償調查的請求。歐盟的薪酬透明度立法正在推動幫助人們了解這將如何影響他們的需求，而薪酬公平項目、廣泛的薪酬和職業項目就是其中的一些結果。

And just a couple of points of detail on that, especially as it relates to Q1 and going forward. So within health the continued expansion of the global benefits management client portfolio, which Carl alluded to, drove high-single-digit growth, particularly driven by Europe and our international geographies, as we talked about the timing of the new business contributed to lower growth in North America, where our business is typically fee-based we expect that to accelerate significantly throughout the remainder of the year, in line with high-single-digit growth expectations for the full year.

關於這一點，僅提供幾點細節，特別是與第一季和未來相關的細節。因此，在健康領域，卡爾提到的全球福利管理客戶組合的持續擴張推動了高個位數成長，特別是在歐洲和我們的國際地區的推動下，正如我們談到新業務的時機導致了較低的成長在北美，我們的業務通常是收費的，我們預計今年剩餘時間將顯著加速，符合全年高個位數成長預期。

In Wealth, the 3% organic revenue growth from -- was driven from retirement work, related to derisking in North America and Europe and a modest increase in our investments business due to asset mix. 2/3 of our assets there are for DB plans, which are designed to hedge long-term pension liabilities. So they're highly interest rate dependent and thus don't benefit as much from run-ups in the equity market.

在財富方面，3%的有機收入成長是由退休工作推動的，這與北美和歐洲的去風險以及由於資產組合而導致的投資業務的適度增長有關。我們 2/3 的資產用於 DB 計劃，旨在對沖長期退休金負債。因此，它們高度依賴利率，因此無法從股市上漲中獲益。

Within Career, there was some really good project work increases and employee experience working awards. And just to round things out of BDO, there was organic revenue growth driven by higher volumes of placements of life and Medicare Advantage policies within our individual marketplace business, and based on the growth projected by carriers in the MA space, we do expect somewhat slower growth later in the year. and then offsetting the BDA growth within BD&O was our outsourcing business. But when you look through all of that, we continue to be confident that our pipeline will drive mid-single-digit organic growth for the full year within HWC.

在職業生涯中，有一些非常好的專案工作增加和員工經驗工作獎勵。為了完善 BDO 的情況，我們的個人市場業務中的人壽保險和醫療保險優勢政策的增加推動了有機收入增長，並且根據 MA 領域運營商預測的增長，我們確實預計會有所放緩今年晚有些時候的增長。然後抵銷 BD&O 內部 BDA 成長的是我們的外包業務。但當你仔細觀察這一切時，我們仍然相信我們的產品線將推動 HWC 全年實現中個位數的有機成長。

Excellent detail. For my follow-up question, I'd like to pivot to your investor deck on the free cash flow margin expectations, I think it's Slide 21. And I was looking at the column that says 2024 and beyond. And I was wondering if you could spend a minute and give us -- quantify some of those variables in there, like the improvement in TRANZACT free cash flow profile, the headwind from cash in '24 and HWC and R&B, just sort of give us some benchmarks so we can sort of think of how that the trajectory of improvement might progress over the next couple of years.

優秀的細節。對於我的後續問題，我想轉向您的投資者關於自由現金流利潤率預期的觀點，我認為是幻燈片 21。我想知道您是否可以花一點時間給我們量化其中的一些變量，例如 TRANZACT 自由現金流狀況的改善、24 年現金的逆風以及 HWC 和 R&B，只是給我們一些信息一些基準，以便我們可以思考未來幾年的改進軌跡如何進展。

Yes, we haven't quantified any of the specific components. But here's how we think about the steps to getting to the 16% plus margin target, right? So we've got greater profitability as a result of driving margin expansion as a contributing factor that's not just from transformation and operating leverage, but also over time, improving our business mix, as we've talked about in the past, so MGAs and MGUs things of that nature.

是的，我們還沒有量化任何具體成分。但我們是這樣考慮實現 16% 以上利潤率目標的步驟的，對嗎？因此，由於推動利潤率擴張，我們獲得了更大的盈利能力，這不僅來自轉型和營運槓桿，而且隨著時間的推移，改善我們的業務組合，正如我們過去談到的那樣，MGA 和MGU 就是這種性質的東西。

The second component, obviously, will have the abatement of the transformation-related cash outlays. That will taper off throughout the first half of 2025. And then as we think about the TRANZACT business, we still expect that to be positive within the next few years. That's going to come as a result of the maturing of the business and the portfolio as well as continuing to improve the product mix.

顯然，第二部分將減少與轉型相關的現金支出。這將在 2025 年上半年逐漸減少。這是業務和產品組合日趨成熟以及產品組合不斷改進的結果。

I do think it's important to note that even when TRANZACT turns positive from a cash flow perspective, it will still be a drag on the enterprise free cash flow margin as it's not going to be converting right at the same rate as the rest of the business. So it will take some time for that headwind to subside.

我確實認為值得注意的是，即使從現金流角度來看，TRANZACT 轉為正數，它仍然會拖累企業自由現金流利潤率，因為它不會以與其他業務相同的速度進行轉換。因此，這種逆風需要一段時間才能平息。

And then in the other direction, as we've talked about, we do have some temporary headwinds from cash investments within the business for product development and technology to support future growth and inefficiencies. But at the end of the day, we are committed to making annual progress on the free cash flow margin as we drive towards that 16% plus.

然後，在另一個方向上，正如我們所討論的，我們確實因業務內用於產品開發和技術的現金投資而面臨一些暫時的阻力，以支持未來的成長和效率低下。但歸根結底，我們致力於在自由現金流利潤率方面取得年度進展，朝著 16% 以上的目標邁進。

Our next question comes from Rob Cox with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的羅布·考克斯。

Just had a first question on talent. I was just hoping you guys could give us an update on sort of the talent base in terms of hiring trends, attrition trends and perhaps you could comment on some of the staff reductions that were reported in media articles over the quarter?

剛才有一個關於天賦的問題。我只是希望你們能給我們提供有關招聘趨勢、人員流失趨勢方面人才基礎的最新信息，也許你們可以對本季度媒體文章中報道的一些裁員發表評論？

Sure, Rob. So as we mentioned, right, we have replenished our talent base. And so our investments going forward are more focused on strategic and opportunistic hiring. And we think they put us in a position to achieve sustainable profitable growth. We're not just hiring to fill our bench. We're hiring to take advantage of specific opportunities to create value. Lucy Clarke would be a great example of one of those strategic hires. We are looking forward to we're welcoming her next -- later this year. In addition, we've had some notable strategic hires to support our industry verticals and Verita.

當然，羅布。正如我們所提到的，我們已經補充了我們的人才基礎。因此，我們未來的投資將更加側重於策略性和機會性招募。我們認為它們使我們能夠實現可持續的獲利成長。我們不僅僅是為了填補我們的空缺而招募。我們招募員工是為了利用特定的機會來創造價值。露西克拉克（Lucy Clarke）就是這些策略性招募的一個很好的例子。我們期待在今年晚些時候再次歡迎她。此外，我們還聘請了一些著名的策略人員來支持我們的垂直行業和 Verita。

With respect to attrition, it has come down within levels that are in our normal range and quite manageable for us as a business. We very much view ourselves still as a flagship for talent. And retaining our current talent base is just as important as attracting new talent, and it's no exit, I thank our colleagues on each and every one of these calls.

就人員流失而言，它已經下降到我們正常範圍內的水平，並且對於我們作為一個企業來說是可以管理的。我們仍然將自己視為人才旗艦。保留我們現有的人才基礎與吸引新人才同樣重要，而且沒有退出的餘地，我在每一次電話會議中感謝我們的同事。

With respect to recent press reports, I would point out that we had always contemplated as part of the transformation program, the relocation of work, the various parts of what we do. And so I view this as not really news. It's just reporting.

關於最近的新聞報道，我想指出的是，我們一直在考慮將工作地點搬遷作為轉型計劃的一部分，以及我們所做工作的各個部分。所以我認為這並不是真正的新聞。這只是報道而已。

Great. Just a follow-up. I think there were some updated rules from CMS regarding Medicare Advantage broker compensation, have you been able to assess if there is an expected impact transact from any of those changes?

偉大的。只是後續行動。我認為 CMS 有一些關於 Medicare Advantage 經紀人薪酬的更新規則，您是否能夠評估這些變化是否會對交易產生預期影響？

So the final CMS rules for '25 that address marketing and Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. was released in early April, right? So not all that long ago. The good news of the final rule was less onerous on the proposed role in a number of ways. And while there's still some uncertainties about all of its provisions are going to be implemented, but it's not causing us to change our outlook for the year. We've been actively engaged with the carriers in this space. They have reiterated the important role that we play in the distribution of Medicare insurance solutions and the valuable services we provide beneficiaries. I guess, I just close that by saying managing regulatory change is a regular part of our business. And I think we've been quite successful in navigating these sort of changes in the past. We will continue to do so in the future.

因此，針對美國行銷和 Medicare Advantage 計劃的 25 年最終 CMS 規則已於 4 月初發布，對嗎？所以並不是很久以前。最終規則的好消息是在許多方面減輕了擬議角色的繁重。儘管其所有條款的實施仍存在一些不確定性，但這並不會導致我們改變今年的前景。我們一直在積極與該領域的營運商合作。他們重申了我們在分發 Medicare 保險解決方案以及我們為受益人提供的有價值服務方面發揮的重要作用。我想，我只是說管理監管變革是我們業務的常規部分來結束這一點。我認為我們過去在應對此類變化方面非常成功。未來我們將繼續這樣做。

Our next question comes from Mike Ward with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的麥克沃德。

Just on the unallocated expense items. Just wondering if you have any expectations for the rest of the year? And does that kind of depend on interest rate levels?

僅針對未分配的費用項目。只是想知道您對今年剩下的時間有什麼期望嗎？這是否取決於利率水準？

So the unallocated net for the full year, we expect to be relatively consistent with 2023 on a 12-month basis. What you're seeing there right now is the outcome of driving down expenses at the corporate level focused on enhancing the margin profile of the company going forward. Some examples of that include things like refining our corporate support model for the businesses. as well as managing discretionary spend. So that's really where it manifests itself in the unallocated net this quarter. And again, for the full year, should be relatively consistent with last year.

因此，我們預計全年未分配淨額在 12 個月的基礎上將與 2023 年相對一致。現在您看到的是公司層級降低開支的結果，重點是提高公司未來的利潤率。其中的一些例子包括完善我們的企業支援模式等。以及管理可自由支配的支出。這就是本季未分配淨額中真正體現出來的地方。再次強調，全年情況應該與去年相對一致。

Okay. And then maybe on Global Specialties. I was hoping you could expand on the kind of growth outlook and maybe which lines you're expecting faster or slower growth?

好的。然後也許是全球特色菜。我希望您能詳細闡述成長前景的類型，以及您預計哪些業務成長更快或更慢？

So we continue to be delighted with the performance of our specialization strategy. And for the quarter, our global lines of business once again grew more than double the rest of the portfolio. So we think it is working a treat. Some of these lines are facing more challenging conditions than others. Our FINEX business, for instance, has the headwind of reduced M&A activity, which lowers the amount of work we do in transactional liability as well as the sharp decline in rates we've had over recently large number of quarters, but continues actually to still make quite good growth in -- despite these -- we see in things like Construction and Natural Resources, our unique analytic proposition, actually helping quite a bit. But in general, we're seeing strong growth across the portfolio where we have headwinds and tailwinds from rate and other conditions (inaudible).

因此，我們仍然對我們的專業化策略的表現感到滿意。在本季度，我們的全球業務再次成長超過投資組合其他業務的兩倍。所以我們認為它正在發揮作用。其中一些生產線面臨著比其他生產線更具挑戰性的條件。例如，我們的 FINEX 業務面臨併購活動減少的不利因素，這減少了我們在交易負債方面所做的工作量以及我們最近幾個季度的利率急劇下降，但實際上仍然儘管如此，我們在建築和自然資源等領域取得了相當好的成長，我們獨特的分析命題其實有很大幫助。但總的來說，我們看到整個投資組合的強勁增長，但利率和其他條件（聽不清楚）帶來了逆風和順風。

Our next question comes from Andrew Kligerman with TD Cowen.

我們的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Andrew Kligerman。

I'd like to follow up on Rob's earlier question about the staffing. Should I take it that, Carl, when you say strategic hires, and then couple that you mentioned what we had read about 120 to 130 staff members were reduced. That was just kind of the normal course of business. So as I net that out, should we be thinking that WTW does not plan to grow. They just want to selectively hire and reduce where it's impactful. Is that -- in terms of staffing. Is that the right way to think about it.

我想跟進羅布之前關於人員配置的問題。卡爾，當您提到策略招募時，我是否應該這樣認為，然後加上您提到的我們所讀到的大約 120 至 130 名員工被裁減的情況。這只是正常的業務流程。因此，當我弄清楚這一點時，我們是否應該認為 WTW 不打算成長。他們只是想選擇性地僱用並減少有影響力的地方。就人員配置而言。這是正確的思考方式嗎？

Let me unpick that a bit, Andrew. So as I -- one of the big focuses for us coming to '22 and '23 was rebuilding our talent base, where the events of '20 and '21 had not been helpful. That rebuild job is over, right? It doesn't mean we're done hiring because we're always going (inaudible) for great talent. But we're no longer (inaudible) rebuild, it's a build, right? If I could differentiate it that way.

讓我稍微取消一下，安德魯。因此，就我而言，我們進入 22 和 23 的重點之一是重建我們的人才基礎，而 20 和 21 的事件並沒有起到幫助作用。重建工作已經結束了，對嗎？這並不意味著我們已經完成了招聘，因為我們一直在尋找（聽不清楚）優秀人才。但我們不再（聽不清楚）重建，而是構建，對吧？如果我能這樣區分的話。

With respect to non-front-office operations, the effect of the transformation program is twofold, right? One is we do have some -- where are we doing the work or things going on. Those won't necessarily cause any reduction in headcount, right? Because we actually might just be doing the work from a different location. And that wouldn't be the headcount as much as the cost of what we do as being the driver for decisions in that regard.

對於非前台業務來說，轉型計畫的效果是雙重的，對嗎？一是我們確實有一些——我們在哪裡做工作或正在發生什麼事情。這些不一定會導致員工人數減少，對嗎？因為我們實際上可能只是在不同的地點做工作。這不會是員工數量，而是我們所做的事情的成本，因為我們是這方面決策的驅動力。

The other factor is technology, right? And the transformation is not just about it's certainly not just about workforce relocation, but it is about automation and efficiency. And we do see a role for that going forward. Now that technology is not free, right? So there's a spend involved there. So you may see a shifting in some line items here as we continue to optimize how we run this business.

另一個因素是技術，對嗎？轉型不僅涉及勞動力​​的重新安置，還涉及自動化和效率。我們確實看到了這方面的作用。現在技術不是免費的，對嗎？所以這牽涉到支出。因此，隨著我們繼續優化這項業務的運作方式，您可能會看到一些訂單項目發生了變化。

Got it. Okay. And I was really intrigued by the smart connections example that you provided earlier. Could you tell a little bit about if HWC recommends a big opportunity to CRB and they're successful. Is there some compensation to the referral people within WTW and maybe you could elaborate if there is.

知道了。好的。我對您之前提供的智慧連接範例非常感興趣。您能否介紹一下 HWC 是否向 CRB 推薦了一個大機會並且他們是否成功了。 WTW 內的推薦人是否有一些補償，如果有的話，也許你可以詳細說明。

Well, I'm not going to go into details of our compensation programs for obvious competitive reasons, Andrew. But I will say that as the world leading compensation consultant, and that includes sales compensation, we have a very good adviser internally on how we structure programs to make sure we maximize the value of the internal crossing.

好吧，出於明顯的競爭原因，我不會詳細介紹我們的薪酬計劃，安德魯。但我要說的是，作為世界領先的薪酬顧問（包括銷售薪酬），我們在內部有一位非常優秀的顧問，負責指導我們如何構建計劃，以確保我們最大限度地提高內部交叉的價值。

Our next question comes from Mark Hughes with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Mark Hughes。

Carl, you talked about the opportunity in pension derisking, et cetera. The organic in wealth at 3%. Do you anticipate that will pick back up.

卡爾，您談到了退休金去風險等方面的機會。有機財富佔3%。您預計這種情況會回升嗎？

We've characterized back our Investor Day where wealth is a low- to mid-single-digit growth business. So it's performing within those sort of areas of expectation. We do see the environment potential risk management as being one where we continue to be a valuable role for our clients over the upcoming year. We see that there continues to be interest in opportunities, whether those are annuity buy-ins and buyouts. We're probably less favorable environment for bulk lump sums, but we think that other derisking actions will make up for those opportunities.

我們在投資者日的特點是財富是低至中個位數成長的業務。所以它的表現在這些預期範圍內。我們確實認為環境潛在風險管理是我們在未來一年繼續為客戶發揮重要作用的領域。我們看到人們仍然對機會感興趣，無論是年金買入還是買斷。我們的環境可能不太適合一次性付款，但我們認為其他降低風險的行動將彌補這些機會。

And as we alluded to during the first part of the call, right, it's not just about derisking for some clients, actually. We have seen clients reopening their pension plan to take advantage of utilizing surplus to actually improve their overall compensation programs.

正如我們在電話會議第一部分中提到的那樣，實際上，這不僅僅是為了降低某些客戶的風險。我們看到客戶重新開放他們的退休金計劃，利用盈餘來實際改善他們的整體薪酬計劃。

Right. And then the interest expense for this year, can you give us a sense of what you're looking for?

正確的。那麼今年的利息支出，你能告訴我們你想要什麼嗎？

Yes. Sure. So remember, we took on some incremental debt in the first quarter, and we're sitting on the cash related to a large portion of that related to the maturity that we have coming up in June. Again, that's $650 million. We took out $750 million. So you'll see a temporary uptick in interest expense as we're carrying both components of that for a couple of months.

是的。當然。所以請記住，我們在第一季承擔了一些增量債務，我們坐擁的現金與我們六月即將到期的大部分現金相關。同樣，這是 6.5 億美元。我們拿出了 7.5 億美元。因此，您將看到利息支出暫時上升，因為我們將在幾個月內承擔這兩個部分。

Our next question comes from Bob Huang with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Bob Huang。

My first question is on just a high-level question on growth outlook. First quarter U.S. GDP 1.6%, European Union has been more or less in a weaker spot as well. Given (inaudible) material business in Europe and U.S., can you maybe talk about what the clients are seeing, what you're expecting for rest of the year, specifically the European business and also at the geopolitical concerns become more complex over time? Curious to hear your view on that.

我的第一個問題只是關於成長前景的高層次問題。美國第一季GDP成長1.6%，歐盟也或多或少處於弱勢。鑑於歐洲和美國的（聽不清楚）實質業務，您能否談談客戶的所見，您對今年剩餘時間的期望，特別是歐洲業務以及地緣政治問題隨著時間的推移變得更加複雜？很想聽聽你對此的看法。

Yes, sure. Thanks. I guess I'd look at it this way. The current tightened risk landscape and potentially changing rate environment creates more opportunities for us to help our clients manage their risk profile given the scale and depth of the solutions we can offer them. And given the demand we see in the marketplace, we feel good about delivering on our top line targets of mid-single-digit organic revenue growth and at least $9.9 billion in revenue.

是的，當然。謝謝。我想我會這樣看。鑑於我們可以為客戶提供的解決方案的規模和深度，當前收緊的風險狀況和潛在變化的利率環境為我們創造了更多機會來幫助客戶管理其風險狀況。考慮到我們在市場上看到的需求，我們對實現中個位數有機收入成長和至少 99 億美元收入的頂線目標感到滿意。

In R&B, we see opportunities for growth given our ability to help our clients address complex and challenging risks, such as natural disasters, social inflation, things like media impact and litigation in total reform and public sentiment will factor their way into that. Geopolitical conflicts, where Europe is sort of on the edge of a couple of those. And more importantly, we're seeing increased demand for our customized tools and specialized solutions. So that will ensure that clients receive the best return for their premium dollar across their entire portfolio of risks.

在R&B 領域，我們看到了成長機會，因為我們有能力幫助客戶應對複雜且具有挑戰性的風險，例如自然災害、社會通貨膨脹、媒體影響和全面改革中的訴訟等，而公眾情緒也會影響其中。地緣政治衝突，歐洲處於其中幾個衝突的邊緣。更重要的是，我們看到對我們的客製化工具和專業解決方案的需求不斷增加。因此，這將確保客戶在整個創投組合中獲得最佳的溢價回報。

And given the success we've seen from these efforts, we'll continue to grow and expand this strategy into additional geographies, industry verticals. You heard us talk earlier about specialization now making its way into select industries in Europe, and international. So we think this is a very sound footing for us.

鑑於我們從這些努力中看到的成功，我們將繼續發展這項策略並將其擴展到其他地區和垂直產業。您之前聽到我們談到專業化現在正在進入歐洲和國際的某些行業。所以我們認為這對我們來說是一個非常堅實的基礎。

In HWC, right, that complexity in the human capital landscape continues to increase. Our clients' need for sound advice and risk management solutions intensified. As a result, they turn to us to provide solutions and help them navigate issues surrounding benefits, pension plans, workforce management. For example, we help health clients address rising health care costs by providing effective plan management, specialty solutions that can improve their population pulse status. We also provide comp benchmarking.

在 HWC（右）中，人力資本格局的複雜性持續增加。我們的客戶對合理建議和風險管理解決方案的需求日益強烈。因此，他們向我們尋求解決方案，並幫助他們解決有關福利、退休金計劃、勞動力管理的問題。例如，我們透過提供有效的計劃管理和可改善其人口脈搏狀況的專業解決方案，幫助健康客戶解決不斷上漲的醫療保健成本。我們也提供比較基準測試。

And -- but I guess a couple of things or looking at Europe specifically to get down the point you're trying to drilling on, we identify EU Pay transparency as a tailwind for us. It's also the peak valuation year in great Britain, and that typically brings some of an upspike in workforce. That's probably tempered a little bit this year because of the fact that pension plans are well funded, so they need a bit less support in managing trustee corporate negotiations over contributions.

而且 - 但我想有幾件事或專門針對歐洲來了解您想要深入研究的點，我們認為歐盟支付透明度對我們來說是一個順風車。這也是英國估值最高的一年，這通常會帶來勞動力的增加。今年這種情況可能會有所緩和，因為退休金計畫資金充足，因此他們在管理受託公司繳款談判方面需要的支持會少一些。

But in general, the unsettled landscape that you led your question with tends to be a driver for business for us rather than a challenge.

但總的來說，您提出問題時所涉及的不穩定局面往往是我們業務的驅動力，而不是挑戰。

Got it. That's very helpful. A follow-up question. I know that you addressed part of this. Just trying to put everything together. Obviously, on the Slide 21, your cash flow walk you mentioned that cash investment in transformation will subside after 2024. Obviously, on the first quarter 2024 earnings free cash flow decreased because of transformation discretionary comp payments. Just curious how much of that was transformation in the first quarter? And I understand that it's now linear, but can you maybe help us think about how we should think about that transformation impact for 2024 on free cash flow?

知道了。這非常有幫助。一個後續問題。我知道你已經解決了其中的一部分。只是想把所有東西放在一起。顯然，在投影片 21 中，您提到轉型中的現金投資將在 2024 年後減少。只是好奇第一季有多少是轉型？我知道它現在是線性的，但您能否幫助我們思考我們應該如何考慮 2024 年的轉型對自由現金流的影響？

Yes. I think we expect for the full year for it to be marginally higher than last year. And we -- from a payment timing perspective, we'll bleed into 2025, right? But the incurrence of all the costs will be in '24. There will be a couple of month lag as payments go out. So we do expect a net headwind there year-over-year for free cash flow margin.

是的。我認為我們預計全年的產量將略高於去年。從付款時間的角度來看，我們將持續到 2025 年，對吧？但所有費用將在 24 年發生。付款時會有幾個月的延遲。因此，我們確實預期自由現金流利潤率將比去年同期出現淨阻力。

Our next question comes from Michael Zaremski with BMO.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 的 Michael Zaremski。

First question, in regards to the Risk and Broking segment, continued excellent organic growth levels. Curious if Willis has been the beneficiary of like reverse book sales that are aiding growth like meaning you've been book sale buyer? Or would that be netted out within the book sales line item, I think, that you've disclosed?

第一個問題，關於風險和經紀業務，持續保持出色的有機成長水平。好奇威​​利是否是反向圖書銷售的受益者，這有助於成長，就像您一直是圖書銷售買家一樣？或者我想，這會在您披露的圖書銷售項目中扣除嗎？

Yes. There's nothing meaningful in there that's contributing to the growth from that. And mostly it's been driven by new business retention rates, very little impact from rate.

是的。那裡沒有任何有意義的東西可以促進成長。這主要是由新業務保留率推動的，比率的影響很小。

Okay. Yes, you guys have been clear about the reinvestment in talent hire. Okay, got it. Lastly, on interest income, and I don't think we have the fiduciary asset levels yet, but it looks like the yield implied is kind of high. Is there anything unusual in there? Or is that the run rate or anything we should be thinking about seasonality wise?

好的。是的，你們已經清楚人才招募的再投資。好，知道了。最後，關於利息收入，我認為我們還沒有達到信託資產水平，但看起來隱含的收益率有點高。這裡面有什麼不尋常的地方嗎？或者這是運行率還是我們應該考慮季節性的因素？

No, I think it's a good run rate. The asset levels, obviously vary by quarter. But on an annual basis, I think the yield should be fairly consistent.

不，我認為這是一個很好的運行率。資產水準明顯因季度而異。但從每年的角度來看，我認為殖利率應該相當穩定。

Our next question comes from Mark Marcon with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自貝爾德的馬克馬爾孔。

Clearly, really strong progress in terms of the margin expansion and clearly, there's successful efforts with regards to efficiency and utilization. But I'm also trying to understand the impact of pricing. What are you seeing from a -- and obviously, it varies by segment. But broadly speaking, to what extent has pricing been a positive catalyst for the margin expansion? And to what extent -- if that is the case, to what extent is that sustainable?

顯然，在利潤擴張方面確實取得了巨大進展，而且在效率和利用率方面也取得了成功的努力。但我也試著了解定價的影響。您從中看到了什麼 - 顯然，它因細分市場而異。但從廣義上講，定價在多大程度上是利潤率擴張的積極催化劑？如果是這樣的話，這種情況在多大程度上是可持續的？

So within R&B, as we alluded to earlier, rate has been a nonfactor in our business, and I just don't view sort of -- as Andrew said, right, it's -- our results have been driven by great retention and great new business. And we think with our strategy of specialization, those are sustainable. And we -- and continued focus, you need to continue to do.

因此，在R&B 中，正如我們之前提到的，費率一直是我們業務中的一個非因素，我只是不認為——正如安德魯所說，是的——我們的業績是由出色的保留率和出色的新用戶推動的。我們認為，透過我們的專業化策略，這些是可持續的。我們——以及持續的關注，你需要繼續做。

With respect to HWC, I guess I put these 2 things, right? One is we continue to try and to drive differentiated solutions in the marketplace that enable us to charge a fair value for the great work we do. We remain very engaged with our client base to ensure that our already high retention rates stay there. And we think that we have been very successful at delivering value, significant multiple of fees we charge and our clients very much value that as a trusted adviser with relationships that, in some cases, stretch back multiple decades.

關於 HWC，我想我放了這兩件事，對嗎？一是我們繼續嘗試在市場上推動差異化的解決方案，使我們能夠為我們所做的出色工作收取公平的價值。我們仍然與客戶群保持密切聯繫，以確保我們已經很高的保留率保持不變。我們認為，我們在提供價值方面非常成功，我們收取的費用高出很多倍，我們的客戶非常重視這一點，作為值得信賴的顧問，我們的關係在某些情況下可以追溯到幾十年前。

Terrific. And then for my follow-up, just on BDO, you did mention that there was one large client that ended up in-sourcing some of the retirement programs. Wondering, do you have a perspective in terms of why that was? And is this kind of a one-off? Or is this anything to be concerned about on a go-forward basis?

了不起。然後，在我的後續行動中，就 BDO 而言，您確實提到有一個大客戶最終內包了一些退休計劃。想知道，您對為什麼會這樣有自己的看法嗎？這是一次性的嗎？或者說這是未來需要關注的事情嗎？

So we very much view that as a one-off. This is a client that had a pronounced bent toward -- technology bent towards self-service. And we were a bit of an outlier in their portfolio of advisers. So while we would have preferred a different decision, we understand that decision. If anything, though, we see the market going the other way is that clients continue to deal with the complexity of what it takes to administer these programs and companies such as us can offer a more turnkey solution they could ever develop on their own.

所以我們非常認為這是一次性的。這是一個明顯傾向於自助服務的技術的客戶。在他們的顧問組合中，我們有點異類。因此，雖然我們希望做出不同的決定，但我們理解這個決定。不過，如果有什麼不同的話，我們認為市場正朝著相反的方向發展，那就是客戶繼續應對管理這些計劃所需的複雜性，而像我們這樣的公司可以提供他們可以自己開發的更加交鑰匙的解決方案。

The Next question comes from Meyer Shields with KBW.

下一個問題來自 KBW 的 Meyer Shields。

Carl, you distinguished between sort of the rebuilding that was necessary after 2020, 2021 and more recent hiring. When you talk about the hires that have come on in the first stage of that, are they fully productive in line with the longer-term legacy Willis Towers Watson employees? Or is there still more room to go over time?

Carl，您區分了 2020 年、2021 年後必要的重建和最近的招募。當您談論第一階段招募的員工時，他們的工作效率是否與 Willis Towers Watson 的長期遺留員工一致？或者隨著時間的推移還有更多的空間嗎？

Yes. So I mean, we are very pleased with the progress these group of hires have made and they are contributing to our success. But we think there is still more room to go, especially for the more recent vintages, right? This effort began in early '22 and continued through '23. The people we hired in '23 still don't have from (inaudible). And we've always said 6 to 18 months become fully productive.

是的。所以我的意思是，我們對這些員工所取得的進展感到非常滿意，他們為我們的成功做出了貢獻。但我們認為還有更多的空間，特別是對於最近的年份，對吧？這項工作從 22 年初開始，一直持續到 23 年。我們在 23 年僱用的人仍然沒有（聽不清楚）。我們總是說 6 到 18 個月才能充分發揮生產力。

Okay. Perfect. And then if I could just go back to the timing issue in health. Does that timing impact the expenses as well?

好的。完美的。然後我是否可以回到健康方面的時間問題。這個時間安排也會影響費用嗎？

We expect the expenses to be relatively even throughout the year in that regard, and it's really just the pacing of the revenue for project work that we expect to pick up throughout the rest of the year to get to that mid- to high-single-digit growth rate.

我們預計全年在這方面的支出將相對均勻，這實際上只是專案工作收入的節奏，我們預計在今年剩餘時間將達到中高單-數位成長率。

I mean that business is a combination of commissions, which is outside the U.S. is largely how we collect things. And then in the U.S., we have a very successful large market consulting business that's fee-based. So we're typically collecting fees as we earn them, but we keep the people on throughout the year.

我的意思是，業務是佣金的組合，這在美國之外主要是我們收集東西的方式。然後在美國，我們擁有非常成功的大型收費市場諮詢業務。因此，我們通常在賺取費用時收取費用，但我們全年都會讓員工繼續工作。

Our next question comes from David Motemaden with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 David Motemaden。

I just had a question for Andrew. So I heard you on the moderated TRANZACT growth later in the year given the projected growth by the carriers in Medicare Advantage. Just wanted to know if that changes your view at all on the free cash flow trajectory. Does that pull forward sort of the timing in terms of how you think about getting to that 16%. Or just how that lower growth in the TRANZACT business might help or aid free cash flow throughout this year?

我只是想問安德魯一個問題。因此，考慮到醫療保險優勢營運商的預期成長，我聽說今年稍後 TRANZACT 成長將放緩。只是想知道這是否會改變您對自由現金流軌跡的看法。就你如何考慮達到 16% 而言，這是否會提前一些時間？或者說，TRANZACT 業務的較低成長可能會如何幫助或促進今年全年的自由現金流？

Yes, it's a good question. Naturally, slower growth within that business, which is a net consumer of cash will foster a quicker move up the curve there on getting to breakeven and if positive on free cash flow. So that would definitely be a tailwind there if it did play out that way based on what we're hearing from some of the carriers at the moment in their expected growth rates.

是的，這是一個好問題。當然，該業務（現金淨消耗者）的成長放緩將促進該業務在實現盈虧平衡以及自由現金流為正的情況下更快地上升。因此，根據我們目前從一些運營商那裡聽到的預期增長率，如果情況確實如此，那肯定會是一個順風車。

Got it. Helpful. And then maybe just another question on -- good to see that the R&B growth has continued to be robust. And I'm not looking for specific numbers here, but I'm wondering if you guys sort of look at your market share today compared to where it was back in, call it, 2020, 2021. Are you guys back to that level? Is there still room to go within just the Risk and Broking businesses that you compete in?

知道了。有幫助。然後也許只是另一個問題——很高興看到 R&B 成長持續強勁。我不是在這裡尋找具體的數字，但我想知道你們是否會比較一下今天的市場份額與之前的市場份額，稱之為 2020 年、2021 年。僅您參與競爭的風險和經紀業務還有發展空間嗎？

Well, I mean, we certainly think there is room for us to grow market share, right. We think we have a differentiated service offering that shows very well for clients who appreciate a calculated approach to a smarter way to risk, right, we call it. And so we continue to see great potential and that is one of the reasons we think our new business results have been so strong as they are. And we think that has certainly the ability to continue forward.

嗯，我的意思是，我們當然認為我們還有擴大市場份額的空間，對吧。我們認為，我們提供的差異化服務非常適合那些欣賞經過深思熟慮、以更明智的方式應對風險的客戶，對吧，我們稱之為風險管理方式。因此，我們繼續看到巨大的潛力，這就是我們認為我們的新業務業績如此強勁的原因之一。我們認為這肯定有能力繼續前進。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn it back to Carl Hess for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。現在我想請卡爾·赫斯（Carl Hess）發表結束語。

Thank you. Thank you all again for joining us. I appreciate the hard work of all our WTW colleagues globally who've helped us start the year on such a solid note. I'd like to thank you, our shareholders for your continued support of our efforts. Have a great day.

謝謝。再次感謝大家加入我們。我感謝全球所有 WTW 同事的辛勤工作，他們幫助我們以如此紮實的成績開始了新的一年。我要感謝我們的股東對我們努力的持續支持。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。程式到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。