American Shared Hospital Services

Good day and welcome to the American Shared Hospital Services first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing star then zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Stephanie Prince of PCG Advisory. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Matt, and thank you to everyone joining us today. Before turning the call over to management, I would like to make the following remarks concerning forward-looking statements. Please note that various remarks that may be made on this conference call about future expectations, plans, and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the company's filings with the SEC. This includes the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and the definitive proxy statement for the annual meeting of shareholders that will be held on June 21, 2022. The company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this conference call. I would now like to turn the call over to Ray Stachowiak, CEO of AMS. Ray?

Thank you, Stephanie. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. I'll begin with some opening remarks and then turn the call over to Alexis Wallace, our Chief Accounting Officer, for a financial review. Craig Tagawa, our President, COO, and CFO, will then provide an operational review of the results. Following the prepared remarks, we'll open the call for your questions. AMF started the new year on a strong note. Total revenue increased 11% period over period to $4.8 million. This is approximately 3% higher than the $4.7 million we reported in the fourth quarter just passed, which was the highest revenue quarter of 2021. In this first quarter, volumes bounced back for both proton beam therapy and gamma knife procedures. Margins benefited from decreased operating costs offset by an increase in selling and administrative costs from the pursuit of new business opportunities. Net income in the first quarter of 2022 was $269,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, which builds on the net income we reported in the fourth quarter of 2021 of $219,000, or also $0.04 per diluted share. We believe that this is a great base for future growth and sustained profitability. Subsequent to quarter end, we announced our third international location that will be based in Puebla, Mexico. This is a region of 6 million people located 80 miles from Mexico City. We're excited to begin work on this radiation therapy center joint venture that will house a state-of-the-art linear accelerator with multiple treatment techniques, including IMRT, VMAT, SBRT, and radiosurgery. Operations are expected to start up in early 2023 pending licensing and regulatory approvals. Most recently, we announced that we had expanded the company's sales team by hiring Tim Keel as our Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Tim will be responsible for sales and marketing company-wide. Ernie Bates will be our Vice President of International Sales and Marketing. Tim has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare finance sector, and Craig and I have known him for at least 25 years. Over the years, Tim has held several senior sales roles at leading financial firms like Bank of America, Citibank, and KeyBank with a focus in project finance in oncology, outpatient surgery, and diagnostic imaging. With the pandemic waning, now is a great time to leverage Tim's relationships with hospitals, medical development entrepreneurs, and medical equipment vendors, and bring attention to AMS's expanded resources and our capabilities. We're excited that Tim has joined us, and we look forward to his contributions. I'll now turn the call over to Alexis for the first quarter financial review. Alexis?