Earnings Call Transcript - BFAM Q2 2023

Operator, Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Bright Horizons Family Solutions' Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Michael Flanagan, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you, you may begin.

Michael Flanagan, Vice President of Investor Relations

Thanks, Sherry, and welcome to Bright Horizons' second quarter earnings call. Before we begin, please note that today’s call is being webcast, and a recording will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website at brighthorizons.com. As a reminder to participants, any forward-looking statements made on this call, including those regarding future business, financial performance, and outlook, are subject to the Safe Harbor statement included in our earnings release. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risk and uncertainties that may cause actual operating and financial results to differ materially and should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements that are described in detail in our earnings release, 2022, Form 10-K, and other SEC filings. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. We also refer today to non-GAAP financial measures, which are detailed and reconciled to their GAAP counterparts in our earnings release, which is available under the IR section of our website at investors.brighthorizons.com. Joining me on today's call is Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Kramer; and our Chief Financial Officer, Elizabeth Boland. Steve will start with reviewing our second-quarter results and provide an update on the business. Elizabeth will follow with a more detailed review of the numbers before we open it up to your questions. With that, I'm going to turn the call over to Stephen.

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Thanks, Mike, and welcome to everyone who has joined the call. I am really pleased with our performance in the second quarter. We delivered strong results with another 20%-plus year-over-year revenue growth quarter and solid adjusted earnings of $0.64 per share. Occupancy improved sequentially in Q2, and we realized year-over-year mid-single-digit enrollment growth. Back-up care delivered an outstanding growth quarter with use and users outpacing our expectations and with June posting the highest traditional network use month in our history. There is one area that continues to trail our plan for the year, our UK full-service business, where persistent staffing and enrollment challenges remain a headwind to our overall earnings performance. Overall, our first half results position us well to continue to make good progress against our 2023 objectives. So, to get into some of the specifics. Revenue in the quarter increased 23% to $603 million with adjusted net income of $37 million and adjusted EPS of $0.64. In our full-service child care segment, revenue increased 23% in the second quarter to $459 million. From a utilization standpoint, we made further progress across the center cohorts we have discussed over the last few quarters. Specifically in Q2, 43% of our centers were in the top cohort, defined as above 70% occupancy. Only 14% of our centers are under 40% occupancy in Q2, an improvement from the high teens in Q1. We are pleased with the continued enrollment gains and feel that we are well positioned as we head into the typical seasonal summer enrollment dip. Beginning into a bit more detail, in centers that have been opened for more than one year, enrollment increased at a mid-single-digit rate in Q2, and occupancy averaged more than 60% for the quarter. In the US, year-over-year enrollment increased 10% in these life centers with sustained solid performance across all age groups and center models and notable momentum in our younger age groups, with growth accelerating in the low teens in our infant and toddler classrooms. While staffing remains a constraint in some locations, the overall labor environment in the US continues to stabilize, and the many actions we have taken have driven considerable progress in staffing. With retention rates ahead of pre-pandemic levels and applications and hiring levels continuing to improve, we are able to tour and offer places to families more quickly and better meet their care needs. These improvements will continue to help us to serve more children and families today and build the pipeline for future enrollment. Looking outside the US, centers opened for more than one year increased enrollment in the low single-digits, improving sequentially from flattish year-over-year growth in Q1. The Netherlands and Australia maintained higher levels of occupancy through the pandemic, so the cadence of their enrollment recovery is, therefore, more modest. With this, we continue to be pleased by the 2023 performance in these two geographies as they build back to pre-pandemic levels. Conversely, as I previewed, the enrollment recovery in the UK continues to lag our growth expectations with a less favorable macroeconomic backdrop and a staffing environment that has remained particularly challenging. Labor costs and margins are pressured by higher wage rates, greater reliance on more costly agency staff and inherent inefficiency at current occupancy levels. As a result, our operating performance is suboptimal and behind our plan. While we have instituted a number of actions, including expanded apprenticeship programs, international recruiting, and streamlined experiences, we anticipate our overall labor costs to remain elevated for the remainder of the year and enrollment progress to be relatively limited. Let me now turn to back-up care, which delivered an outstanding quarter, outpacing our expectations. Revenue grew 27% to $116 million as utilization increased and as we extended our client partnerships with new launches in Q2 for Duke University Health System, Public Storage, and Sikorsky Aircraft, to name only a few. Traditional network use was higher than we projected in the quarter with broad-based expansion of use across all care types, particularly strong with used within Bright Horizons and network centers, with overall use growth accelerating through the quarter. The investments we have made in additional supply, product development, and technology initiatives to enhance awareness and access for client employees are showing real results, as the uptick of the benefit grows across a wider swath of users. The summer is off to a strong start, and I continue to be excited about the opportunity to expand our back-up business, extending our reach to clients and families and accelerating our company's growth and margin profile. Our education advisory business delivered revenue of $28 million. Notable new client launches in the quarter for EdAssist and College Coach included Carrier, Live Games, and Via Corporation. Before I wrap up, I want to highlight some of the work we are doing in partnering with the sector to advance the early education field. Last month, we had the honor of hosting 100 researchers, policymakers, and practitioners at the Early Childhood Innovation Summit. This unique gathering united thinkers, doers, scholars, and practitioners to foster fresh thinking, innovative approaches, and creative problem solving that no doubt will drive the field of early education forward. This event was a great opportunity for us to showcase our leadership in the field and to learn from some of the industry's best and brightest. In closing, I am pleased with our solid first half of 2023. Given the year's performance so far, we have moved up our 2023 full-year revenue growth guidance to a range of 16% to 19% or $2.35 billion to $2.4 billion. We are also revising our adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $2.70 to $2.80, reflecting the lower operating performance we now anticipate in the UK for 2023. With that, I'll turn the call over to Elizabeth, who will dive into the quarterly numbers and share more details around our outlook.

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Thank you, Stephen, and hello, everybody, who's joined us today. To recap the second quarter, overall revenue increased 23% to $603 million. Adjusted operating income was 8% of revenue or $46 million, which is down $5 million from Q2 of 2022. While adjusted EBITDA was 14% of revenue or $82 million, roughly flat compared to the prior year. We added six new centers in the second quarter and closed 14, ending the quarter with 1,068 centers. To break this down a bit further, full-service revenue increased $87 million to $459 million in Q2, or 23% over the prior year, which is ahead of our expectations for an 18% to 22% increase. Net organic constant currency revenue grew approximately 12%, driven by an increased enrollment and pricing, while acquisitions added roughly 11% or $39 million to revenue in the quarter. With respect to foreign exchange, the year-over-year change in FX rates had a negligible impact on the quarter. Enrollment in our centers opened for more than one year increased mid-single digits across the portfolio, and occupancy levels in these centers ticked up sequentially, averaging in the range of 60% to 65% for Q2. As Stephen mentioned, US enrollment grew 10%, while enrollment in our UK and Netherlands centers increased 2% over the prior year. Adjusted operating income of $13 million in the full-service segment contracted $9 million in Q2. The year-over-year decrease was driven by a $7 million reduction in support received from the ARPA government funding program over the prior year and the impact of the teacher compensation investments that we made in the fall of 2022, as well as the continued inefficient spend in the UK on labor and agency staffing. Partially offsetting these headwinds were contributions from the enrollment growth as well as tuition increases. Turning to back-up care, revenue grew 27% in the second quarter to $116 million, well ahead of our expectations for 15% to 18% growth. As Stephen mentioned, we were pleased with the volume and breadth of use throughout the quarter. Operating income of $27 million was 23% of revenue, which is in line with our expectations for the quarter. Our educational and advisory segment reported revenue growth of 4% to $28 million on expanded use of our workforce education and college admissions advisory services as well as contributions from new client launches. Operating margin improved to 20% on spending efficiency. Interest expense totaled $11 million in Q2, excluding the $1.5 million per quarter related to the deferred purchase price for our acquisition of Only About Children. This $11 million represents an increase of $3 million over 2022, attributable to higher interest rates and increased revolver borrowings. The structural tax rate on adjusted net income increased to 28.3% in the quarter, an increase of 210 basis points over Q2 of 2022. So, turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. For the quarter, we generated $113 million in cash from operations compared to $67 million in Q2 of 2022. We invested $50 million in fixed assets and acquisitions compared to $14 million in Q2 of 2022 and paid down the remaining $45 million outstanding on our revolving credit facility. We ended the quarter with $66 million of cash and a leverage ratio of 2.8 times net debt to EBITDA, down from 3.5 turns at the beginning of the year. Moving on to our updated 2023 outlook. We are moving our 2023 full-year revenue guidance to $2.35 billion to $2.4 billion to reflect the revenue outperformance in the first half of the year. In terms of segment revenue, we now expect full-service to grow roughly 17% to 20%, back-up care to grow 15% to 17%, and ed advisory to grow in the high single digits. On an EPS basis, we are guiding to an adjusted EPS range of $2.70 to $2.80 a share. This reflects performance in line with our previous expectations across the majority of the business, with a reduction specifically related to lower anticipated performance in the UK through the remainder of 2023. In a more immediate timeframe, our outlook for Q3 is for overall revenue growth of 13% to 15%, with full-service revenue growth of 14% to 16%; back-up care revenue growth of 12% to 15%; and ed advisory in the high single digits of 8% to 10%. We expect Q3 adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.85. Before I close, as we've done in the last couple of quarters, I wanted to also provide the additional context and summarize three discrete items that are affecting our reported margins and earnings growth rates in 2023, specifically related to ARPA funding, interest expense, and our tax rate. We now expect those items to account for roughly $0.60 to $0.65 a share headwind to growth for the full year, including the effect of $30 million less in ARPA funding at P&L centers, $12 million more in interest expense and a 210 basis point increase in the tax rate. Specifically, in Q3, we expect those items to account for roughly $0.15 a share headwind to year-over-year growth for Q3 with $8 million less in ARPA funding, roughly $2 million more in interest expense and approximately 160 basis higher tax rate. Again, this is all for Q3. So, with that, Sherry, we are ready to go to Q&A.

George Tong, Analyst

Hi, thanks. Good afternoon. You talked about seeing sequential occupancy improvement in the quarter. Can you talk about where occupancy rates ended in the quarter and what your latest expectations are for occupancy by the end of this year?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Sure. So in the quarter, we had an average about 60% to 65%, so picked up several percentage points from last quarter. We are at the highest seasonal point in the year for childcare. So we will go into a bit of a dip in the third quarter and then begin to bring it back in Q4. So we would expect that to end the year at this point in the low 60s percent. So just a bit behind where we are now after dipping down into Q3.

George Tong, Analyst

Got it. That's helpful. And you talked about seeing the UK business trade a little bit below or behind expectations with staffing and enrollment challenges weighing on overall results. Can you talk a little bit about when you might expect that to reverse and how overall performance outside of the UK, any other positives or negatives to call out?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

The outlook for the UK indicates a more prolonged challenging labor environment than we initially expected earlier this year and coming out of 2022, although the situation has been difficult globally. We have observed more improvement in the US, the Netherlands, and Australia. Overall performance outside the US has been quite stable. However, recovery to pre-COVID levels is not yet complete in the Netherlands and Australia, as both are a few percentage points below their expected pre-COVID occupancy levels, though they have managed to remain steadier through the pandemic compared to the rest of the business. The recovery in these regions is somewhat muted because of their higher starting point, but their performance remains solid. The UK is experiencing more significant cost implications affecting not only the labor cost structure but also due to labor supply challenges, which are limiting our enrollment capabilities. We expect these issues to continue until the end of this year, and we will need to navigate through the fall enrollment cycle to gain better insights as we look toward 2024.

George Tong, Analyst

Got it. Thank you.

Andrew Steinerman, Analyst

Hi, Elizabeth, just remind me, I thought previously the company talked about a 2023 guide for full-service operating margins to be kind of low single-digits to high single-digits. And I did hear a comment today in that regard or that specific, has there been any change to your expectations in terms of full-service operating margins? And if you can make a comment about third-quarter full-service operating margins as well, that would be helpful?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Sure. So the first part of that is right, Andrew. I just would refine it. We had talked about sort of low to mid-single digits for full-service operating margins this year. This quarter, we are certainly in that range. And we would expect to see that taper back a little bit in the third quarter with the cyclical seasonality coming in and offset by a little bit of positives from our Australian operations, which is coming into its strong season, if you will. The one other headwind in Q3 is we will have ARPA sunsetting. The ARPA government funding program is sunsetting at the end of September. And so we had about $9 million of ARPA funding in Q2. We would expect that to be $5 million to $6 million in Q3 as it tapers off to be completed. So the puts and takes there are that it would still be in the low single digits, a little bit behind where we are this quarter and then ticking up a bit as we get into the fourth quarter a little closer to between low single digits and mid-single digits. So I don't think we were ever in the high single digits.

Andrew Steinerman, Analyst

Okay. Thanks, Elizabeth.

Jeff Meuler, Analyst

Thank you. What changes are you planning to implement in the UK, considering it’s a challenging environment, and are there specific controllable factors that you could address through BFAM initiatives?

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Thank you, Jeff. As I mentioned in my prepared comments, we are undertaking several actions and will continue to do so. I'll emphasize a few and provide some details. We think that developing our own talent is something we are particularly suited for in the UK. Expanding our apprenticeship program will be a key aspect moving forward. It's not just about increasing the number of apprenticeship classes; we are also taking steps to ensure that our working learners receive the support they need to persist, complete the program, and do so in the most efficient time possible. Additionally, we have a history of international recruitment in Spain and are looking to expand that program to more countries to bring in talent from abroad to the UK. Lastly, similar to our efforts in the US, we are continually seeking ways to enhance the candidate experience, from job seekers to their onboarding process. These are three examples of the initiatives we currently have in progress and will continue to focus on.

Jeff Meuler, Analyst

Got it. In back-up care, you signed many new clients during the pandemic and added several new services. You've experienced a few strong growth quarters, yet it seems like your guidance suggests a slowdown each quarter. Can you discuss the factors that may be limiting growth in back-up care, or share how you are succeeding in increasing the usage of banks and care types among clients who signed up during the pandemic or before the new services were introduced?

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Absolutely. So what we had talked about in Q1 when we outperformed was the possibility that that was a pull-forward of use related to individuals that were pulling forward their use and then ultimately, we then modulated out for the remainder of the year, thinking that they may ultimately at the individual level be out of uses. What we saw in Q2, very excitingly, was actually an expansion of the user base, which was really positive for us. Some of that is that maturation of some of the new clients that you referenced that we're able to garner in the pandemic period. However, as we look at the first half of the year, we also need to be mindful of the fact that we were comping against the time in 2022 where COVID still existed in a more pronounced way. So we had Omicron in the first quarter and, at least in our centers, we were still wearing masks into Q2. When we look at the use acceleration in the second half of 2022, we now will be comping against that going into the second half, which is why, again, I think we're going to have a really strong performance year overall. But why we don't have expectations that are stronger on a growth rate basis in Q3 and Q4.

Jeff Meuler, Analyst

Got it. Helpful. Thank you.

Manav Patnaik, Analyst

Thank you. Elizabeth, just like you did with the full-service, could you just help us with the margin expectations if anything has changed for the full year for back-up and ed? And also for Q3, what that might look like?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Sure. So as you saw this quarter, we were at about 23% for the quarter and use is in its strongest period here. In Q3, we would expect it to be even higher than we saw in Q2. This is the key of the summertime. And so the margin, we would expect to tick up in Q3 to be more like 25% to 30% for the quarter. Overall for the year, it would be more like 25% to 28%. So carrying some of that benefit through to Q4, but a little bit more like the normalized average by the end of the year. So back-up continues to deliver at that higher level. From a net buying standpoint, we would deliver 20% this quarter in EBIT margin. We'd expect that to be ticking up again; the EdAssist and College Coach businesses are both very much participate-driven businesses, as the participation tends to pick up in the fall in the late summer and fall period. We would expect those margins to tick back up to more like 25% to 30% as well.

Manav Patnaik, Analyst

Thank you. Can you discuss the utilization assumptions for Q3 and Q4? How much visibility do you have regarding enrollment at this time?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch how much enrollment visibility we have. We're currently in a stage where pre-schoolers present the least visibility regarding changes that can occur in older age groups and the timing of enrollment. We understand when children typically enter elementary school, but some parents choose to enroll their four-year-olds in programs linked to their preferred school, which adds variability among three and four-year-olds. In contrast, we usually see infants and toddlers continue to age up and remain in our program. We have reasonable visibility for the fall at this time, and so far this summer is aligning with our plans. However, there is some uncertainty regarding who may leave in August and September for those telemetry school programs. While we can't quantify it, we do know that infants and toddlers make up over 50% of our overall enrollment base, which gives us a solid view at this point.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you. I wanted to ask about tuition increases or pricing. First, can you clarify if you are planning any tuition hikes in the UK that might help with enrollment similar to what you've done in the US? Secondly, could you discuss any feedback you're receiving about the tuition increases in the US and how they are being received? Thanks.

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

I can start, and Stephen can provide additional details. Overall, our decisions on price increases are localized and may vary by market. On average, we implemented tuition increases this year ranging from 6% to 7%, which also applies in the UK. Looking ahead to 2024, we will ensure that we are competitive in the market while being aware of the options available to parents in determining pricing. Given the current inflationary environment, including labor and other costs, we intend to be assertive with pricing while also focusing on enrollment in our centers. This year, we have found parents to be generally understanding of the price increases, recognizing the labor challenges associated with hiring and retaining staff. Therefore, the increases have been accepted relatively well. This is part of why we are taking a cautious approach, not aiming to recoup all cost investments in one round but spreading it over multiple cycles to capture as much enrollment as possible, and we feel this strategy is yielding positive results. In the UK, the market faces additional challenges beyond tuition pricing, particularly regarding affordability. The government has been reviewing reimbursement rates to support the enrollment of three to five-year-olds and has recently expanded coverage to include two-year-olds for a certain number of care hours per week. While these adjustments are intended to align reimbursement rates with the inflationary environment, they do not fully resolve the affordability issue, so pricing considerations are definitely a factor.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst

Okay. No, that's helpful color. I appreciate it. And then maybe in the same line as just sticking in the UK. So kind of you called out affordability and pricing. Is there also a sense that maybe some of these centers are structurally disadvantaged post-COVID, or are you seeing anything else that might have to be evaluated probably more so in 2024 as we kind of continue to look at what has been kind of an underperformance for maybe a year or so? So, maybe just talk about some of those other factors?

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Sure. I think it's important to consider our approach on a global scale, which also applies to the UK. We evaluate each center for its sustainability and viability on an individual basis. In the UK, we are balancing the goal of returning to pre-COVID levels in terms of enrollment and financial contributions. However, some centers may not perform as well. Due to the remaining lease duration, it can be more cost-effective to keep operating those centers, as they may incur lower losses compared to the annual rent. We haven’t encountered landlords willing to reclaim space or lower rents in the current climate, though that might change in the future. Overall, we assess each situation individually. As mentioned earlier by Elizabeth, we are seeing a decrease in the number of centers in our lowest performance group, and we are generally optimistic about the progress we are making even within that category.

Stephanie Moore, Analyst

All really helpful. Thank you so much.

Toni Kaplan, Analyst

Thanks so much. I just really wanted to quickly clarify the 60% to 65% utilization. I know your preference is that with centers open for a year or more. Is that comparable to the 55% to 60% that you gave last quarter and the metrics that you've been providing in the last number of quarters?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Yes, exactly. That's a comparative progression from the 55% to 60% last quarter.

Toni Kaplan, Analyst

Okay. Thanks. And then I wanted to ask just on the EPS guide, you talked about the UK challenges driving that EPS guide down. Is there anything outside of the UK that is causing you to lower the EPS guide? The margin has been maybe a little bit disappointing as well across other areas?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

There is really very little disruption in the rest of the business. There may be some slight weakness in the education advising sector, but that is the only notable issue. Overall, the rest of the business is performing quite steadily in line with the plan and the initial outlook set at the beginning of the year.

Toni Kaplan, Analyst

Okay. I did want to ask one last one on ed advisory. It seemed a little bit light this quarter and last quarter in terms of growth rate. The comps get a little bit tougher in the second half. It seemed like the guidance that you gave on the call was maybe expecting some acceleration. I wanted to know if there's something that has been pressuring it in the first half that will reverse or that will drive the acceleration in the second half? Thank you.

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Yes. So I think it's fair to say that we would have expected better results in this area. We have our own level of disappointment in this particular, given the opportunity that we see in front of us. I would say that, certainly, we have made and taken some actions to try and improve the performance in this area. We hired a new leader for this area. We have hired a new marketing leader in this area. Our expectation is that we're going to have the ability to first make some short-term actions that are going to accelerate things in the second half of the year. In the longer term, we have a good expectation of how this business should and will perform.

Faiza Alwy, Analyst

Yes, hi, thank you. So a few clarifying questions. One, just remind us how big the UK is? I think you disclosed how many centers are in the UK, but I'm curious from a revenue perspective, how much of a contribution the UK provides? And more importantly, give us a sense of what the margins were like in this business, pre-COVID, and sort of where they are now and how they compare to the US?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Sure. The UK business has approximately $350 million in revenue. Of that, around $320 million comes from the full-service business, while about $40 million is from a backup-like service that operates similarly to our US backup business. This full-service sector is associated with 280 centers throughout the UK. Pre-COVID, the business performance mirrored that of the US, focusing on full-service offerings, with operating income in the mid- to high single digits. There has been a slight contribution from the backup segment, which has seen some expansion. However, current performance remains below expectations, and the full-service business is not contributing effectively, leading to a need for recovery in enrollment to improve the situation.

Faiza Alwy, Analyst

Great. Thank you. And then just on back-up care, you've had really strong growth at the top line. But margins, I would think that margins should be stronger. So I'm curious, like is that just higher costs, or is there more to it? How should we think about long-term margins in this business?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

There are several factors over the past couple of years that have made our performance less predictable from quarter to quarter as we emerge from the pandemic. Typically, we would expect the backup business to achieve operating margins in the 25% to 30% range. However, due to lower direct care services in 2020 and 2021, we've experienced higher margins because we didn't have to pay third-party provider fees for service delivery. This includes costs associated with the Bright Horizons network centers and our network partners in home care. As we increase service usage, direct costs will rise. Additionally, the technology infrastructure and account management team supporting our over 1,000 backup clients contribute to the investments in the business. During some quarters, we anticipate being in the 20% to 25% range, while in the upcoming quarter, we expect to be in the 25% to 30% range. Key factors affecting margins include utilization, payments to third-party providers, and our commitment to investing in innovation to enhance customer access and experience, ensuring we align care with demand.

Faiza Alwy, Analyst

Great. Thank you so much.

Josh Chan, Analyst

Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my question. I was wondering, if you could talk about the performance of your lease consortium centers and if those are kind of stronger than the other centers, does that make you more inclined to open more lease consortium centers as we go into the future?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Our lease consortium centers have the potential to be our highest-performing group. We take on the risk at these sites and have complete control over the profit and loss, which allows us to manage tuition and staffing decisions, unlike a cost-plus structure where the client makes many of those decisions, and we earn a fixed fee. Our lease consortium centers are performing well, with enrollment levels slightly behind our direct client centers but recovering as we expected. We plan to open more locations in areas where there is an undersupply, particularly where professionals and young families are living and working. We are being cautious about these commitments in the next 12 to 24 months due to the dynamic environment, but we are confident in our model as it helps us access potentially underserved markets.

Josh Chan, Analyst

Okay. That's great color. Thank you. And then I guess on the guidance for Q3, with the EPS being higher than Q2, is that primarily a function of the back-up care seasonality? I'm just kind of reconciling the trajectory going from Q2 to Q3.

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Yes. The backup performance in Q3 is significantly better than in Q2, with revenue increasing substantially and margins improving from 25% to 30% in Q3, which indicates strong momentum and is the primary reason for the improvement.

Jeff Silber, Analyst

Thanks. Excuse me. Thanks so much for squeezing me in. I apologize I came on late. I hope this question wasn't asked. I think you said you closed 14 centers in the quarter. That seems to be a little bit higher than normal. And I know it creeped up also a little bit last quarter. Can you give us a little bit more color where are those center closures? And are you being more aggressive in deciding when to close underperforming centers?

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Yes, there is some variety in the center closures this quarter. Overall, we have closed 22 centers so far this year. In this quarter, three of the closures were backup centers. We have been operating a network of backup centers and have found that many parents prefer not to send their children to smaller downtown backup sites; instead, they favor using the Bright Horizons network or third-party in-home providers. A few locations have not bounced back since the pandemic, leading to permanent closures. Additionally, some centers that we had temporarily closed have now been deemed unlikely to reopen. We don't have a timeline for those sites. A few client centers, particularly government agencies in the D.C. area, have also struggled to recover, so that's another reason for the closures.

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Yeah. I would say you may be reading a little bit into it, Jeff. I would say that we continue to be really disciplined about our closures. Part of the decision, of course, becomes like it is in typical times that some of this is about when the lease ends occurs. I would say that in general, I think we've been pretty disciplined about closures. So yes, this quarter had a few more than typical. On the other hand, I would say I wouldn't read anything into it in particular.

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Thank you.

Stephen Kramer, CEO

Terrific. Well, thank you all very much for joining us this evening and look forward to seeing you out on the road this fall.

Elizabeth Boland, CFO

Thanks, everybody. Have a good night.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect at this time. Thank you for your participation.