A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc.

Good afternoon and welcome to AMARC Precious Metals conference call for the fiscal second quarter ended December 31st, 2023. My name is Paul and I will be your operator this afternoon. Before this call, AMARC issued its results for the fiscal second quarter 2024 in a press release, which is available in the investor relations section of the company's website at www.amark.com. You can find the link to the Investor Relations section at the top of the homepage. Joining us for today's call are AMARK's CEO, Greg Roberts, President, Thor Gerdrum, and CFO, Kathleen Simpson-Taylor. Following their remarks, we will open the call to your questions. Then, before we conclude the call, I'll provide the necessary cautions regarding the forward-looking statements made by management during this call. I would like to remind everyone that this call is being recorded and will be made available for replay via a link available in the investor relations section of AMARC's website. Now I would like to turn the call over to AMARC's CEO, Mr. Greg Roberts. Sir, please proceed.

Thank you, Paul, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining our call today. Our second quarter results demonstrate the strength of our fully integrated platform to generate profitable results. We delivered 57 cents per diluted share and generated 25.1 million of non-GAAP EBITDA during the quarter, underscoring our ability to manage less favorable market conditions while still delivering solid results. During the quarter, we successfully repaid our notes payable for $100 million on our asset-backed securitization and continued to enhance shareholder value by increasing our share repurchase program by buying back an additional 440,000 shares of our common stock for approximately $12 million. This morning, we announced that we entered into a non-binding letter of intent with AMS Holdings, a leading multi-channel marketer of vintage and modern coins, which provided for three transactions. The most significant of these transactions is our planned acquisition of LPM Group Limited, one of Asia's largest fabricated precious metals dealers. This strategic acquisition is an important step in growing AMARC's international presence in Asia and reflects our commitment to expanding AMARC's global reach. With access to AMARC's inventory and resources, we expect that LPM will be able to secure larger purchase orders and will be able to provide their customers with a broader set of product offerings. We are hopeful that our proven wholesale and e-commerce expertise And our portfolio of products and ancillary services, such as storage and fulfillment, will assist LPM in its planned growth strategy. In addition to the LPM transaction, Pinehurst Coin Exchange, our strategic affiliate, of which AMARC owns 49%, and one of the nation's largest distributors of modern certified coins, will be acquiring all of the assets of modern CoinMark. from AMS. Modern Coin Mart is one of the more established modern bullion coin dealers in the US, while also shipping to many international locations. Through this strategic acquisition, Pinehurst intends to further expand its direct-to-consumer business and its product offering to its customers. The third transaction involves a joint venture between AMARC, Pinehurst, and Stacks Bowers Numismatics, a related party of AMARC, to acquire a 10% common equity interest in AMS. We expect to close these three transactions simultaneously by the end of this month, subject to preparation and execution of definitive agreements and the receipt of third-party consents or approval. As we continue to invest in growing our platform and global footprint, we will also continue our focus on logistics automation initiatives at our AMGL facility in Las Vegas. These initiatives are designed to enhance our operational efficiency, enabling us to effectively manage a larger number of SKUs and increased volume, all while minimizing operational costs. We are confident that these strategic measures will support our growth strategy as we strive to further expand and diversify our business. Now, I will hand the call over to our CFO, Kathleen Simpson Taylor, who will provide a more detailed overview of our financials. Then, AMARC President Thor Gerdam will discuss our key operating metrics. Afterwards, I will provide further insights into our business and growth strategy. Kathleen.

Thank you, Greg, and good afternoon, everyone. Our revenues for fiscal Q2 2024 increased 7% to $2.079 billion, from $1.950 billion in Q2 of last year. Excluding an increase of $231.6 million of forward sales, revenues decreased $102.5 million, or 7%, which was due to a decrease in gold and silver ounces sold partially offset by higher average selling prices of gold and silver. The DTC segment contributed 18% and 23% of the consolidated revenue in the fiscal second quarters of 2024 and 2023, respectively. Revenue contributed by JMB represented 16% of the consolidated revenues for Q2 of 2024, compared to 21% in Q2 of last year. For the six-month period, our revenues increased 19% to $4.563 billion from $3.850 billion in the same year-ago period. Excluding an increase of $891.6 million of forward sales, revenues decreased $178.2 million, or 6%. which was due to a decrease in gold and silver ounces sold, partially offset by higher average selling prices of gold and silver. The DTC segment contributed 15% and 23% of the consolidated revenue for the six months ended December 31st, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Revenue contributed by JMB represented 14% of the consolidated revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2023, compared with 21% in the same year-ago period. Gross profit for fiscal Q2 2024 decreased 28% to $46.0 million, or 2.21% of revenue, from 64.0 million or 3.28% of revenue in Q2 of last year. The decrease in gross profit was due to lower gross profits earned from both the wholesale sales and ancillary services and DTC segments. Gross profit contributed by the DTC segment represented 48% of the consolidated gross profit in fiscal Q2 2024 compared to 57% in the same year-ago period. Gross profit contributed by JMV represented 41% of the consolidated gross profit in fiscal Q2 2024 compared to 51% in Q2 of last year. For the six-month period, gross profit decreased 32% to $95.4 million, or 2.09% of revenue, from $140.6 million or 3.65% of revenue in the same year-ago period. The decrease in gross profit was due to lower gross profits earned from both the wholesale sales and ancillary services and DGC segments. Gross profit contributed by the DGC segment represented 45% of the consolidated gross profit in the six-month period ended December 31, 2023, compared to 56% in the same year-ago period. Gross profit contributed by JMB represented 38% and 49% of consolidated gross profit for the six months ended December 31, 2023, and 2022, respectively. SG&A expenses for Fiscal Q2 2024 increased 8% to $22.4 million from $20.8 million in Q2 of last year. The change was primarily due to an increase in compensation expense, including performance-based accruals, of $1.4 million, higher consulting and professional fees of $0.6 million, an increase in information technology costs of $0.4 million, partially offset by a decrease in insurance costs of $0.9 million and lower advertising costs of $0.4 million. For the six-month period, SG&A expenses increased 15% to $44.2 million from $38.6 million in the same year-ago period. The change was primarily due to an increase in consulting and professional fees of $2.6 million an increase in compensation expense, including performance-based accruals, of $2.6 million, an increase in information technology costs of $0.7 million, partially offset by a decrease in insurance costs of $0.5 million. Depreciation and amortization expense for fiscal Q2 2024 decreased 14% to $2.8 million from $3.3 million in Q2 of last year. The change was primarily due to a $0.6 million decrease in amortization of acquired intangibles related to JMB. For the six-month period, depreciation and amortization expense decreased 13% to $5.6 million from $6.4 million in the same year-ago period. The change was primarily due to a $1.1 million decrease in amortization of acquired intangibles related to JMV. Interest income for fiscal Q2 2024 increased 27% to $6.3 million from $5.0 million in Q2 of last year. The aggregate increase in interest income was primarily due to an increase in other finance product income of $0.8 million and an increase in interest income earned by our secured lending segment of $0.6 million. For the six-month period, interest income increased 23% to $12.4 million from $10.1 million in the same year-ago period. The aggregate increase in interest income was primarily due to an increase in other finance product income of $1.5 million and an increase in interest income earned by our secured lending segment of $0.8 million. Interest expense for fiscal Q2 2024 increased 41% to $10.2 million from $7.2 million in Q2 of last fiscal year. The increase in interest expense was primarily due to an increase of $2.4 million associated with our trading credit facility due to an increase in interest rates as well as increased borrowing, and an increase of $1.1 million related to product financing arrangements, partially offset by a decrease of $0.3 million related to the AMCF notes, including amortization of debt issuance costs, due to their repayment in December 2023. For the six-month period, interest expense increased 50% to $20.0 million from $13.4 million in the same year-ago period. The increase was primarily driven by an increase of $5.6 million associated with our Trading Credit Facility due to an increase in interest rates as well as increased borrowing an increase of $1.6 million related to product financing arrangements, partially offset by a decrease of $0.4 million related to the AMCF notes, including amortization of debt issuance costs, due to their repayment in December 2023. We also had a $0.2 million decrease in loan servicing fees. Earnings from equity method investments in Q2 2024 decreased 83%, to $0.8 million from $4.7 million in the same year-ago quarter. For the six-month period, earnings from equity method investments decreased 53% to $3.5 million from $7.3 million in the same year-ago period. The decrease in both periods was due to decreased earnings of our equity method investees. Net income attributable to the company for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 totaled $13.8 million or $0.57 per diluted share. This compares to net income attributable to the company of $33.5 million or $1.35 per diluted share in Q2 of last year. For the six-month period, net income attributable to the company totaled $32.6 million or $1.34 per diluted share, which compares to net income attributable to the company of $78.6 million or $3.18 per diluted share in the same year-ago period. Adjusted net income before provision for income taxes, a non-GAAP financial measure which excludes acquisition expenses, amortization, and depreciation for Q2 fiscal 2024 totaled $21.7 million, a decrease of 53% compared to $46.5 million in the same year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income before provision for income taxes for the six-month period totaled $48.5 million, a 55% decrease from $107.7 million in the same year-ago period. EBITDA, a non-GAAP liquidity measure for Q2 fiscal 2024, totaled $25.1 million, a 48% decrease compared to $48.7 million in Q2 of fiscal 2023. EBITDA for the six-month period totaled $55.5 million, a 50% decrease compared to $110.9 million in the same year-ago period. Turning to our balance sheet, At quarter end, we had $28.5 million of cash compared to $39.3 million at the end of fiscal year 2023. Our tangible net worth at the end of the quarter was $426.1 million down from $436.8 million at the end of the prior fiscal year. AMARC's Board of Directors has continued to maintain the company's regular quarterly cash dividend program of 20 cents per common share. The most recent quarterly cash dividend was paid in January. It is expected that the next quarterly dividend will be paid in April 2024. That completes my financial summary. Now I will turn the call over to Thor, who will provide an update on our key operating metrics. Thor?