AMP Limited

Good afternoon. This is the Chorus Call Conference Operator. Welcome and thank you for joining the Amplifon First Half 2022 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Francesca Arambaudi, Investor Relations and Sustainability Senior Director. Please go ahead, madam.

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to Amplifon's conference call on second quarter and H1 2022 results. Before we start, a few logistic comments. Earlier today, we issued a press release related to our results, and this presentation is posted on our website in the investor section. The call can be accessed also via webcast, and dial-in details are on Ancuson's website as well, together with the purchase leads. I have to bring your attention to the disclaimer on slide two, as some of the statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements. With that, I am now pleased to turn the call over to our CEO, Enrico Vita.

Thank you, Francesca. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, I'm happy to comment with you on our Q2 results, which were characterized above all by an exceptionally high comparison base. In fact, I'm sure you recall that the Q2 2021 was by far the strongest quarter of last year, and actually, in terms of growth, the strongest in our company history. In fact, the second quarter of last year was characterized by the lift of the restrictive measures taken in response to the pandemic in most of the markets, and consequently, an exceptionally strong market growth due to a rapid release of the pent-up demand from previous months. Q2 2021 was also characterized by the impressive growth of the French market, nowadays the second largest market in the world, as a consequence of the entry into effect of the very well-known regulatory reform. The French market in the second quarter of last year grew by more than 60%. That's why I see our growth in the quarter as a very positive result. Despite an incredibly challenging comparison base, our revenues increased by a single digit at current Forex and plus 5% at constant exchange rates. The organic component of the growth was also positive at plus 0.5%. In this context, I cannot avoid highlighting our performance in the Americas and in particular in the U.S. where our growth led by Miracle Year was again excellent, more than 20% at current Forex and more than 10% at constant exchange rates, well above the growth of the market, only from a pure organic viewpoint. In my opinion, these results prove once again that our strategy in the U.S. continues to work very well. On a global level, we estimated that also during this quarter, our revenues have led us to a significant market share gain in all core markets. Finally, definitely an excellent quarter in terms of profitability. The increase in profitability of 40 basis points is, without a doubt, remarkable in consideration of the last year's exceptionally high comparison base, also in terms of EBITDA margin. and is once again proof of our ability to effectively manage our costs while significantly reinvesting in the business. I now hand over to Gabriele to give you more colors about our financial performance.