Kelly Services - Q2 2023
August 10, 2023
Transcript
Moderator (participant)
Good morning, welcome to Kelly Services' Q2 earnings conference call. All parties will be on a listen-only mode until question and answer session of the call. Today's call is being recorded at the request of Kelly Services. If anyone has any objections, you may disconnect at this time. A Q2 webcast presentation is also available on the Kelly website for this morning's call. I would now like to turn the meeting over to your host, Mr. Peter Quigley, President and CEO. Please go ahead.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thank you, Lois. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Kelly's Q2 conference call. Before we begin, I'll walk you through our safe harbor language, which can be found in our presentation materials. As a reminder, any comments made during this call, including the Q&A, may include forward-looking statements about our expectations for future performance. Actual results could differ materially from those suggested by our comments, and we have no obligation to update the statements made on this call. Please refer to our SEC filings for a description of the risk factors that could influence the company's actual future performance. In addition, during the call, certain data will be discussed on a reported and on an adjusted basis. Discussion of items on an adjusted basis are non-GAAP financial measures designed to give insight into certain trends in our operations.
References to organic growth in our discussion today exclude the impact of the 2022 sale of our Russian operations. Finally, the slide deck we are using on today's call is available on our website. We have a lot to cover today, let's get started. In a moment, I'll invite Olivier Thirot, our Chief Financial Officer, to provide details on our financial results for the Q2. We'll spend the rest of our time providing an update on the transformation initiative I announced in May that is designed to significantly improve Kelly's EBITDA margin and accelerate profitable growth. Specifically, we'll review the aggressive actions we've taken, their immediate impact on our EBITDA margin, and our expectations for margin improvement going forward. With that, I'll turn the call over to Olivier.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you, Peter. Good morning, everybody. For the Q2 of 2023, revenue totaled $1.2 billion, down 3.9% from the prior year, including 60 basis points of favorable currency impact. Revenues for the quarter were down 4.5% in constant currency. Included in that decrease is a 230 basis points of unfavorable impact, resulting from the 2022 sale of our operations in Russia. Our revenue overall was down 2.2% year-over-year on an organic constant currency basis. As we look at the Q2 revenue by segment, our education segment continues to report significant year-over-year growth at 33%, due to our net new customer wins, strong demand from existing customers, and improved fill rate.
PTS also continues to perform well as we anniversary the acquisition in the quarter. Overall, continued double-digit revenue growth demonstrates that our education business is a significant growth engine, even as broader economic trends soften. In the SET segment, revenue was down by 7%. During the Q2, we saw a continuation of the deceleration of demand for our specialty staffing, as well as a slower revenue growth in some outcome-based specialties. Permanent placement fees were also impacted by a continued deceleration in market demand and declined 48%. In our OCG segment, year-over-year revenue declined 9% on a reported basis and 8% in constant currency. The declines were primarily in RPO and PPO, while MSP revenues were nearly flat. Revenue in our professional and industrial segment declined 9% year-over-year in the quarter.
Revenue from our staffing product declined by 16%, reflecting the impact of economic headwinds, which are more noticeable in this segment. The segment's outcome-based business delivered, again, solid revenue growth of 15% as the market continues to be strong for these value-added solutions. Placement fees declined 55% and were impacted by lower demand for full-time hiring. Revenue in our international segment declined 9% on a nominal currency basis and was down 13% on a constant currency basis. Excluding the impact of the sale of our Russian operations, revenue declined 1% on an organic constant currency basis. Performance varied depending on geography and product. For the quarter, we had good constant currency revenue growth in Mexico and Portugal, but that was more than offset by declines in the UK, Switzerland, Italy, and France.
International's permanent placement fees were up 5% on an organic constant currency basis. Overall, gross profit was down 8.3% on a reported basis or 8.5% in constant currency. Our gross profit rate was 19.8%, compared to 20.7% in the Q2 of last year. Our overall GP rate declined by 90 basis points. The primary driver was 70 basis point unfavorable impact from lower term fees and 40 basis point of higher employee-related costs. These impacts were partially offset by 20 basis point of continued improvement in structural business mix. SG&A expenses were down 3.4% year-over-year on a reported basis. Expenses for the Q2 of 2023 include $5.6 million of charges related to our ongoing transformation efforts.
On an adjusted constant currency basis, expenses declined by 6.2% in the quarter. Contributing to the decline was lower performance-based incentive conversation related to our lower gross profit levels, and we have also started to see the early positive impact of our transformation efforts. As we noted in our release in July, we have taken additional transformation-related actions in early Q3, and we'll recognize additional restructuring costs in Q3. Peter will provide more information on the transformation activities shortly today. In conjunction with our comprehensive review of SG&A, as part of our transformation efforts, we also recognize a $2.4 million non-cash impairment charge related to an underutilized leased office space. On a reported basis, our earnings from operations for the Q2 was $6.2 million, compared to $8.2 million in Q2 of 2022.
As noted, our 2023 Q2 results include the $8 million of charges related to our transformation activities. Adjusted earnings for operations in Q2 of 2023 were $14.2 million, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 2%, similar to Q1. As a reminder, Kelly Q2 2022 earnings for operation also include the impact of the 2022 non-cash charge related to the impairment of our Russian operations prior to their sale in July of 2022, as well as a $4.4 million gain on the sale of some assets. Income tax benefit for the Q2 was $1.9 million, compared with our 2022 income tax expense of $4.9 million. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 32.4% benefit.
Finally, reported EPS for the Q2 of 2023 was $0.20 per share, compared to $0.06 per share in 2022. Adjusted EPS for the Q2 of 2023, excluding the transformation-related charges, net of tax, was $0.36. After adjusting for the 2022 asset impairment charges and the gain on sale of assets, net of tax, Q2 2022 EPS was $0.45. On a like-for-like basis, EPS declined by 20%. Now, moving to the balance sheet as of the end of the Q2. As of the end of Q2, cash totaled $125 million, compared to $154 million at the end of 2022. We ended the Q2 of 2023 with no debt, consistent with substantially no debt at the end of 2022.
With our $400 million in available capacity on our credit facilities and our cash balances, we continue to have ample capital available to deploy. As of the end of Q2, accounts receivable was $1.4 billion and decreased 5% year-over-year, reflecting a year-over-year decrease in DSO, as well as a decrease in revenue. Global DSO was 61 days, on par with year-end 2022, and two days lower than the Q2 of 2022. For the Q2 of 2023, we generated $32 million of free cash flow, and year-to-date free cash flow now totals $14 million. For the quarter, we have continued to maintain lower accounts receivable balances, primarily as a result of favorable DSO trends.
A portion of those receivables are related to our MSP programs and are funded with supplier payables. The lower net position has a limited impact on free cash flow generation. We have also continued to execute against the 50 million share repurchase program that we announced in November of last year, buying approximately 980,000 of shares for $16.5 million in the quarter, bringing the total repurchases to $42.6 million program to date. Now, back to you, Peter.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thanks for those details, Olivier. In a moment, I'll invite Olivier to provide our outlook for the second half of 2023. It's important to note that our second-half expectations reflect the impact of aggressive actions we've taken to date as part of our transformation. These actions amount to more than a cost-out exercise, and they differ fundamentally from the cost management actions we reported in the Q1, which we implemented in response to near-term demand trends. The recent steps we've taken represent a structural shift to the work we do within Kelly and how we do it, marking a necessary step forward on our journey to accelerate profitable growth, and they are already producing results. For more details on our expectations for the balance of the year, I'll turn it back to Olivier.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you, Peter. Our expectations for the rest of 2023, so the second half of the current year, assume a continuation of current market conditions. For the second half of 2023, we expect nominal revenue to be flat to up 50 basis points year-over-year. We expect to maintain a GP rate above 20% because of the benefit of our structural business mix improvement. Continued softness in demand for full-time hiring will continue to compress permanent placement fees and RPO. All in, we expect our second half 2023 GP rate to be down by about 30 basis points to 20.1%. We expect second half adjusted SG&A to be down 5%-6%, lower than the same period of last year.
This reflects the action we have taken throughout the year to align expenses with top-line trends, the impact of transformation-related workforce reduction actions taken in July, and additional cost optimization actions we expect to complete this year. Given the timing of these actions, we expect adjusted EBITDA margin in the second half of the year to be 2.3%-2.5%, reflecting a 2023 exit rate of about 3%. For additional perspective, with the benefit of a full year of expected transformation-related savings and our current top-line expectations, we would expect to reach a normalized adjusted EBITDA margin on a full year basis in the range of 3.3%-3.5%. I now turn it back over to Peter for additional comments.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thanks for those insights, Olivier. To put our expectations into context, consider that Kelly's average EBITDA margin has been approximately 2% for a very long time. An adjusted EBITDA margin improvement of 130-150 basis points at between 3.3% and 3.5% will mark a significant improvement in our ability to convert revenue and gross profit to earnings. As Olivier mentioned, our expectations assume no change to the current macroeconomic environment. They are driven entirely by the substantial progress we've made on multiple initiatives to drive sustained efficiency and accelerate profitable growth. In July, we announced strategic restructuring actions that further optimize the company's operating model to enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness. These actions followed a comprehensive review of our business and functional operations, led by our Transformation Management Office, with support from a world-class transformation consultant.
As part of the restructuring, we streamlined our organizational structure to reduce complexity and increase agility. We renegotiated supplier agreements and real estate contracts to secure terms that match our needs going forward. We revamped our performance management process to drive behaviors that will sustain these structural improvements. We made the difficult decision to implement a workforce reduction plan to align our resources with our new ways of working. These actions, among others, are on track to deliver a 3% EBITDA margin exit rate in 2023. We're committed to sustaining these efficiencies, having established rigorous controls that provide clear visibility into resources and expenses across the enterprise. These measures are designed to ensure the longevity of the structural changes we've made and serve as the foundation for further EBITDA margin expansion going forward.
With our efficiency actions creating the necessary financial headroom to invest in our future, we're quickly switching gears to the next phase of our transformation, driving growth. To that end, we've undertaken several initiatives that will accelerate profitable growth over the long term. The scope of these initiatives encompasses our go-to-market strategy, the technology and systems that underpin our operations, as well as organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Some examples include developing a comprehensive go-to-market strategy with innovative offerings to capture a greater share of wallet with large enterprise accounts, committing to our inorganic investments, and identifying additional high-margin, high-growth targets, aligning incentive programs to these initiatives and their expected outcomes, and sharpening our focus on DSO to drive free cash flow. The growth initiatives we're undertaking will be additive to the structural changes we've made to drive efficiency, which are the basis for our expectations for EBITDA margin improvement.
Together, they will unlock the potential of our specialty strategy and accelerate both top and bottom-line growth. I will share more details with you about our growth initiatives on our Q3 earnings conference call in November. Reflecting on the past several months of work, I can say with confidence that this transformation is fundamentally different than any other effort during the more than 20 years I've been with the company. Different in terms of the depth of our analysis, the speed and precision with which we're executing, and most importantly, impact. The change we set out to create within Kelly is no longer hypothetical. This transformation is delivering results. While I'm pleased with the progress we've achieved thus far, our success will be determined by our ability to deliver on the important work that lies ahead.
I have every confidence that the collective strength and resilience of Team Kelly will continue to propel us forward on our journey, as it has over the last few months. Indeed, the past 76 years. As we navigate this period of change together, our commitment to our talent and customers remains steadfast. I'm grateful to them and to our board of directors and shareholders for recognizing the value-creating potential of this company. Lois, you can now open the call to questions.
Moderator (participant)
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press one and then zero on your touchtone phone. You will hear a tone indicating that you've been placed in the queue, and you may remove yourself from queue at any time by repeating the one-zero command. If you're on a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the number. Once again, if you have a question, please press one, then zero at this time. Our first question is from Kartik Mehta from Northcoast Research. Please go ahead.
Kartik Mehta (Managing Director, Director of Research, and Research Analyst)
Peter, just trying to, on the transformation side, I'd be interested in just timing of normalized EBITDA margins, when you'd expect to achieve that. I know you said the exit rate coming out at the end of this year will be three. Are you assuming that you can achieve your normalized EBITDA margins by sometime in 2024?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah. I mean, it's clearly 2024. Again, to make it clear, the improvement we have laid out, especially on a full year basis, 3.3 to 3.5, is assuming the current top-line trends based on the current economic environment, the GP rate we are in now, and the full year impact of this transformation. It does not include anything about the phase two of this transformation, which is about growth, right? It's, it's really, the pure impact of the efficiency initiative that Peter was talking about, and that should be basically our starting point for 2024.
Kartik Mehta (Managing Director, Director of Research, and Research Analyst)
Then, obviously, you've talked about businesses that you'd like to accelerate growth, but are there any businesses that you might de-emphasize as a result of all these initiatives?
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Well, we're continuously reviewing our portfolio to ensure that we're have opportunity to create value. There is no specific business line that we've identified as a result of the transformation activities, but we have identified ways to improve the operational efficiency in each of our businesses, and we expect to see the benefits of that starting immediately.
Kartik Mehta (Managing Director, Director of Research, and Research Analyst)
Just one last question with you, did. Trends in July, maybe what you saw, kind of how they differ, more different than June, if they were?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Well, I would say when, when I look at the Q2 exit rate in term of revenue and what we start to see in the beginning of Q3, I would say no real big change, no improvement, I would say, which is not a surprise because I think the market conditions are pretty similar to what they were in Q2. I would say we have started Q3 with a pretty similar situation than Q2. The only thing that I would like to mention is all about education seasonality. You know that basically Q3, specifically Q3, is a low quarter because of the school year. That, of course, is something you need to consider when you look at Q3, because of the seasonality, with, of course, a high and peak season again in Q4.
Kartik Mehta (Managing Director, Director of Research, and Research Analyst)
Just, I apologize. From a FX standpoint, would you expect FX to be neutral in the second half of this year?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Well, when I was talking about nominal revenue, edge to a flat to, 0.5, expectation now, based on what we have seen so far, is a positive FX impact between, let's say, 100-120 basis points.
Kartik Mehta (Managing Director, Director of Research, and Research Analyst)
Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thank you.
Moderator (participant)
Thank you. The next question is from Joe Gomes from Noble Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Good morning, Joe.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Good morning.
Joe Gomes (Senior Generalist Equity Analyst)
Morning. I, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the, the whole program. I was looking in, in your, excuse me, pardon me. In the presentation from this morning, on page 16, you've got the big chart there, you know, the operating model aligns to these specialties, you know, redesign the operating model to drive profitable growth in our chosen specialties. Then I went back, and I'm looking at some of your older presentations, and basically, it's the same chart, or the same graph, you know, each one of the different segments and the revenues, and it says everything exactly the same. I'm really trying to figure out what is really gonna be different here. I mean, and kind of relatedly, you talk about doing more tech investment.
You've done a lot of tech investment over the past, you know, two years or so. What more tech investment needs to get done in order to really drive what you're looking to accomplish?
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Well, Joe, I'd say while the structure hasn't changed in terms of the number of our business units, the way in which we're both going to market, but also, the changes we made as part of the transformation that we announced, I announced in May, and then we affected in July, we're structurally taking complexity out of the way we work. We're reducing spans and layers that slow decision-making. We have stopped non-core, nice-to-have, initiatives, and we've moved targeted resources and decision-making closer to the business. We not only achieve substantial expense savings, but we also have improved the or optimized the operating model.
The technology is going to be an ongoing, we have to continue to make investments in technology, whether it's AI-driven digital tools, or other advances that, in order to not only stay competitive but to create market differentiation. Our Helix solution in our OCG practice has been game-changing in terms of customers' perception, and we will continue to invest in state-of-the-art solutions like that, that require investment in technology.
Joe Gomes (Senior Generalist Equity Analyst)
Okay, thanks for that. Kind of like, on the tech side again, you know, last quarter, we talked a little about your, your, your new Digital Workers program, and you said at that point you were getting some, some positive feedback. I was wondering, you know, maybe give a little quick update on how that program is unfolding.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Yeah, I would say it's still early, but the number of customers that have expressed interest in understanding how it would work in their operations continues to increase, and it's generating a lot of, I would say, ancillary benefit because we can help customers review how they're getting work done, and that provides opportunities. If it's not the digital worker, then it's potentially our outcome-based business that could benefit from the conversation with customers around the future of their work.
Joe Gomes (Senior Generalist Equity Analyst)
Okay, one last one for me, if I may. You nice job in the quarter again, on the buyback. I think, Olivier, you said you're about $42 million now. It was a $50 million program. You know, how does the buyback, and I understand the board has to approve that stuff, but, you know, how does that kind of fit into to the new model? Is that something that you would think should continue, or would you be looking at, "Hey, maybe those dollars are better invested in unfolding our, our new model?
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Yeah, Joe, I'll let Olivier update the, you know, where we are. The, you know, share repurchase is part of our capital deployment conversations with, you know, that we have at the board, regularly. It's, you know, we're gonna finish the, the share repurchase program we announced last November, you know, to the extent, you know, we're able to. We'll, we'll include it as part of future conversations with the board.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, I mean, when, when you think about where we are, $43 million, almost $43 million, program to date, I, I think when you look at that, we are on track, I think, to complete this program, as we anniversary this program in November. If you combine it with what we have done in Q1 of last year with the personal cross-shareholding, we have bought about $4.3 million of shares for a total amount of $70 million. It, it has a meaningful impact on our EPS because of the reduction of the number of shares. As Peter was saying, we are gonna need to reflect a little bit on what are the next steps. This is something that, as Peter mentioned, we are discussing with the board on a regular basis.
Again, $50 million out of our overall capital allocation, we always said, and I think that's the reality, that it does not impact, you know, our focus on growth, whether it's organic or inorganic, because $50 million is meaningful, but not something where we can say we do it and it is detrimental to our core focus, which is putting our capital toward growth.
Joe Gomes (Senior Generalist Equity Analyst)
Okay, thanks for that. We'll get back in queue. Thank you.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thank you.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you.
Moderator (participant)
Thank you. Our next question is from Kevin Steinke from Barrington Research. Please go ahead.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Hi, Kevin. Good morning.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
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%-3.5% EBITDA margin goal for 2024, assuming current economic conditions. Just, you know, directionally, should we think about, you know, 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? I'm just, yeah, directionally, what, what are you incorporating into that 2024 margin outlook?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, to, to make it clear, the 3.3-3.5 is not a 2024 outlook, right? It is more to say current trends is 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 3.3-3.5. 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 3.3-3.5. Now, thinking about 2024, it's probably too early to call on what is gonna 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 (Managing Director)
Okay. I mean, presumably, you know, you'd have to bake some sort of revenue expectation into that margin outlook. That was the only thing I was getting at. I understand you weren't providing a specific-
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Yeah.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, to make it very clear, I mean, the 3.3-3.5, 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?
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
If you do that, basically, you are gonna get the 3.3-3.5.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay, perfect. Yeah, that's very helpful. Thank you. Just, you know, talking more about the transformation here, laying a foundation for future EBITDA margin expansion, is it assumed then that when, you know, revenue does start growing again, that expenses in the future will grow more slowly than they have in the past, thus being able to, you know, accelerate your trajectory of margin expansion? I mean, you know, I'm specifically in what your slide on page 14, you talk about establishing controls to provide clear visibility into resource and expenses. I'm just wondering if, if something has changed with this transformation where you are gonna maybe control or monitor expenses more closely as revenue is growing and, you know, get more leverage out of that growth in the future.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Yeah, definitely, that's a primary,
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Yeah
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
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've 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.
We are going to be managing, certainly any other kind of non-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.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
I would just add back to sustainable transformation. One of the criteria and the KPI we are gonna continue to use and expect to improve significantly is what is called incremental conversion rate. How much of, you know, GP growth we can convert to, to revenue? Historically, our conversion rate was about 15%. Part of the transformation is to make sure that our incremental conversion rate in the future is significantly better than the 15% we have seen in the past.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay, great. That's very helpful. Just, you know, when thinking about the, the current environment here, in terms of the slowdown you've been seeing, is it more weighted towards, you know, existing customers cutting back, or have you also seen the new business pipeline slow down? I don't know if you could provide kind of that, mix that you're seeing in terms of, just the demand trends.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Yeah, Kevin, I would say in, in both cases, it's not necessarily a significant impact on demand or the pipeline as much as it is a cautiousness in the decision-making, the volume that, you know, people are planning for, and just the overall cautiousness that leads to customers and the pipeline taking longer to develop, and that's what we're seeing. Of course, you have fluctuations depending on industry among our customers and the, and the, the pipeline. I would just say overall, there is a, you know, some headwinds that people are feeling that, is reflected in their demand and hiring decisions.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay, thank you. Just lastly, then I'll jump back in the queue. Is there, kind of like a cadence to the quarterly progression that we should think about in the second half, that, you know, in terms of just the growth and margin, or is, you know, would you expect them to be relatively similar in terms of the growth rates and, and margins?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Well, I think that the first gate, at least financially speaking, is gonna be this exit rate of EBITDA margin at 3%, leaving 2023. As Peter was saying, we are gonna continue to inform you on the progress we are making beyond the outcome, which should be significant and quick improvement of EBITDA margin. As Peter mentioned, in November, we are gonna spend much more time on the growth part of this transformation.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay. When you say exit rate for, at 3%, does that imply like a 3% for the full Q4?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, it's, it's Q4. I, I, I would not use December to do it because December is a specific month, so exit rate is gonna be really for the, the entire Q4.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
All right, great. Thank you.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thank you, Kevin.
Moderator (participant)
Thank you, and once again, if you do have a question, please press one, then zero. Our next question is from Mitra Ramgopal from Sidoti & Company. Please go ahead.
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
Yes. Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Morning, Mitra.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Good morning.
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
First, hi, good morning. Olivier, first, a couple of questions for you. I think, in Q2, the restructuring charge was about $8 million. Just how should we think about it for the second half of the year as we Q3, Q4, and do you expect even additional charges heading into 2024?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
You mean restructuring charges, transformation charges?
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
Yeah.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you think about, you know, already, because, that's something we have disclosed in July, that we have this event at the front of July, that, you know, will create $7.5 million-$8.5 million of cost. Of course, as I said, you know, in my comments, we, we have further initiatives underway that would trigger, you know, additional restructuring costs or transformation costs in the course of Q3 and Q4, and potentially in the first half of next year. Yes.
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
Okay, thanks. Just in terms of the tax rate, I know you had a tax benefit this quarter, but how should we think about that for the remainder of the year?
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Yeah, it's, our tax rate, I mean, effective tax rate is really, I would say explainable, but sometimes a little bit, you know, difficult to forecast. I would say on a normalized basis, we are still on, you know, mid-teens to, you know, high teens. Of course, we have a lot of events that are impacting our effective tax rate. If I take the example of Q2, why, basically, we've got a benefit instead of a charge and an effective tax rate of 32.5%, is basically because of our MRP program, where we have basically, technically some investment through some insurance program that are basically tax deductible.
When market conditions are good, and the MRP program is providing some upside, basically, we've got a benefit on our income tax. That's the main reason why in Q2, our tax rate, basically, was basically a credit. I would say on a more normalized basis, I'm still, you know, suggesting something between 15%-19% effective tax rate.
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
Okay. No, that's, that's great. Peter, you mentioned inorganic opportunities, something you continue to look at, but is that more of a medium, longer term vision in light of the extensive transformation that you're doing in the near term?
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Well, we'll continue to develop a pipeline of opportunities. The market right now is, again, to use the current term, a little cautious. There's not as many high quality assets, companies in, on the market right now or that are willing to come off the sidelines based on proactive inquiries. We think that in the areas that we've identified, inside our science, engineering, and technology business unit, inside education, inside OCG, we will continue to look for high quality, high margin, high growth assets that we can add to the portfolio to complement the organic growth initiatives that we're undertaking.
Mitra Ramgopal (Senior Equity Analyst)
Okay, thanks for taking the questions.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thank you.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you.
Moderator (participant)
We do have a follow-up question from Kevin Steinke. Please go ahead.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Yes, thank you. Just one follow-up, continuing on with the, the question about inorganic opportunities. You mentioned that as you, you're working on strategic initiatives related to inorganic opportunities. I mean, as part of the transformation, do you expect to be even more aggressive in seeking acquisitions? Or is it more about the types of businesses you're targeting, as you think about what might have changed with this transformation initiative?
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
As Olivier commented, Kevin, we, we have ample capacity, and I don't think I would describe it as more aggressive. We're, we're already, you know, comparatively, we're, we're already acting more aggressively than we have in the past few years. We've acquired a number of companies, and we're pleased with the progress. We're continuing to look for properties that will contribute, again, high margin, high growth to the Kelly portfolio. We're, we're acting with urgency and a great deal of excitement, but we're not gonna overspend, and we're not going to settle for properties that don't satisfy the attributes that I mentioned.
Kevin Steinke (Managing Director)
Okay. That's perfect. Thank you very much.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Thanks, Kevin.
Olivier Thirot (CFO)
Thank you.
Moderator (participant)
At this time, there are no further questions. Thank you. Please continue.
Peter Quigley (President and CEO)
Lois, if there are no further questions, I think we can end the call.
Moderator (participant)
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T TeleConference. You may now disconnect.