Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:KELYA) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Peter Quigley: Thanks Joe.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question is from Kevin Steinke from Barrington Research. Please go ahead.

Peter Quigley: Hi, Kevin. Good morning.

Kevin Steinke: Good morning. Just wanted to get a sense for the revenue expectations for 2024 as much as you can speak to it. You talked about the 3.3% to 3.5% EBITDA margin goal for 2024, assuming current economic conditions, it just directionally should we think about a slight or modest organic constant currency revenue declines in 2024 similar to what you’re expecting for the second half of 2023 or flattish and just you had directionally, what are you incorporating into that 2024 margin outlook?

Olivier Thirot: Yes. To make it clear, the 3.3% to 3.5% is not a 2024 outlook, right? It is more to say, we – current trends with no change, whether it’s revenue or margin or gross margin, if you think about the full-year impact of our current transformation, we would go for 3.3% to 3.5%. But again, it is not an outlook for 2024, it is more assuming well, if this environment continues and basically, the current trend – we have the current revenue, we have as well as gross margin rate are similar in the future. The full-year impact of this transformation would lead us to move from 2% EBITDA margin to 3.3% to 3.5%. Now thinking about 2024, it’s probably too early to call and what is going to happen where we are actively working is not just waiting for a better economic environment.

As Peter was saying we have on top of efficiency, a lot of growth initiatives that should help us to gain market share without assuming any specific change in the current economic and market environment.

Kevin Steinke: Okay. Just I mean presumably you’d have to bake some sort of revenue expectation into that margin, that was the only thing I was getting at, but I understand you weren’t providing a specific.

Olivier Thirot: Yes, to make it very clear. I mean the 3.3% to 3.5%, Kevin. Basically, what we did was to take our expectation for the second half of the year of 2023, get it annualized, keeping the GP margin I was talking about and then basically adjusting our SG&A based on the full year impact of the transformation. Okay. And if you do that, basically you’re going to get the 3.3 to 3.5.

Kevin Steinke: Okay, perfect. That’s very helpful. Thank you. And just talking more about the transformation here laying a foundation for future EBITDA margin expansion. Is it assumed then that when revenue does start growing again that expenses in the future will grow more slowly than they have in the past, us being able to accelerate your trajectory of margin expansion. I mean, specifically in what your slide on Page 14, you talk about establishing controls to provide clear visibility in a resource and expenses. I’m just wondering, if something has changed with this transformation where you are going to maybe control or monitor expenses more closely as revenue is growing and get more leverage out of that growth in the future?

Peter Quigley: Yes, definitely. That’s a primary outcome from the transformation initiatives and the work we’ve done with our outside consultant to create a governance process to manage and control expenses going forward. It is a fundamental part of the transformation to ensure that our growth in the future is advantaged by the significant and aggressive actions we make and made on the expense line and ensuring that those expenses don’t come back. Of course, we’re in a business where – when we’re growing quickly, we need to add resources. We are adding resources for example in education, because it’s growing right now. But we are going to be managing certainly any other kind of no-revenue GP producing expenses very tightly and making sure that even with the other resources that we bring back, we’re doing so in a very disciplined with strong governance.