DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE:DHX) Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

That has clearly passed in March. I would say we also feel bullish about a tailwind really existing associated with the fiscal year 2023 defense budget. If you remember, that budget actually went up by 10%. All of the projects, the awards, have not been worked into the system as a result of that budget. I think there will be years of that kind of call it a golf ball going through the snake if you will because of the size of that increase in budget and what it means for projects.

Kevin Liu: Alright, that’s good to hear. And then just lastly for me, to capitalize on kind of all these opportunities and get back to the positive growth in the second half, could you just talk about the trajectory of sales and marketing spending, is there a lot of incremental investments that’s needed on either of those aspects?

Raime Leeby: Sure. Hi, Kevin, this is Raime. The sales and marketing spend is down year-on-year based on the restructuring that we did in 2023 in addition to what I mentioned earlier related to the efficiencies in our marketing campaigns. So at this point, we believe our Q1 sales and marketing spend is roughly what we’re anticipating throughout the year in terms of sales and marketing spend. And we think that’s the right level to position us for growth as well as investments in the future, yet maintaining that 24% EBITDA target that we’re hitting in Q1 and anticipate hitting throughout the year.

Art Zeile: And I would go one step further, Kevin, to say that we don’t view this recovery in terms of tech job interest to be a V-shape recovery. It’s going to be a long, slow, steady recovery. We’re not planning to add significantly or incrementally to the sales team in terms of headcount. We do have the ability to moderate our B2C, meaning B the candidates kind of spend, so that we can be very cautious as we see activity levels shift on our platforms. So, there’s mechanisms that we have to maintain that spend pretty effectively, and most importantly, we don’t anticipate a larger team.

Kevin Liu: Alright, sounds good. Thanks so much for taking the questions.

Art Zeile: Thank you.

Operator: And ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I’d like to turn the conference back over to management for closing remarks.

Art Zeile: Well, thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining us today. As always, if you have any questions about our company or would like to speak with management, please reach out to Todd, and he will help arrange a meeting. Thank you for your interest in DHI Group, and have a great day.

Operator: Thank you, sir. This concludes today’s conference call. We thank you all for attending today’s presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.