The Andersons, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Anderson's 2021 Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participant lines are in a listen-only mode. Later, we'll conduct a question-and-answer session, and instructions will be given at that time. To ask a question, you will need to press star, then 1 on your telephone. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. If anyone should require operator assistance, please press star, then 0. I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Mike Holter, Vice President, Corporate Controller, and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Sarah. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the Anderson's Third Quarter 2021 Earnings Call. We have provided a slide presentation that will enhance today's discussion. If you are viewing this presentation via our webcast, the slides and commentary will be in sync. This webcast is being recorded, and the recording and the supporting slides will be made available on the Investors page of our website at andersonsinc.com shortly. Please direct your attention to the disclosure statement on slide two of the presentation, as well as the disclaimers in the press release related to forward-looking statements. Certain information discussed today constitutes forward-looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to future events financial performance, and industry conditions. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially as a result of many factors which are described in the company's reports on file with the SEC. We encourage you to review these factors. This presentation and today's prepared remarks contain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure are included within the appendix of this presentation. On the call with me today are Pat Bowe, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Brian Valentine, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. After our prepared remarks, we will be happy to take your questions. I will now turn the call over to Pat. Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining our call this morning to review our third quarter results. We are extremely pleased with our overall third quarter results, which included an all-time record performance in the trade group and continued our strong momentum. Along with solid ag fundamentals, we have executed well, trading through an inverse market and addressing supply chain and labor challenges in a period of significant volatility. The company recorded its best third quarter since 2014. With the sale of our rail leasing business in August, I'm also excited to note that our trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations exceeded 294 million, not including the rail segment. Across the company, our teams are working hard to provide extraordinary service to our customers in these favorable markets. Trade had a great quarter. executing well in dynamic grain markets where low-grain stocks have provided excellent merchandising and elevation opportunities. We had especially strong elevation margins in a number of regions. Our Louisiana locations were not impacted by the recent hurricanes, and we were able to continuously serve customers. Idaho also benefited from strong basis appreciation in its wheat inventory. Our propane distribution business continued to perform very well. Winter wheat harvest receipts were better than expected, and we are seeing storage income return to the corn and wheat markets. We also saw incremental gross profit from new profit centers in the quarter, including our Swiss trading office. Although our ethanol segment had a loss in the quarter, board crush margins were improved, and U.S. ethanol stocks ended the quarter very low. As we predicted in our last earnings call, we were negatively impacted in the third quarter by high corn basis at our ethanol plants, but have seen relief as we started the corn harvest. We completed scheduled shutdowns and increased quarterly production of ethanol. Co-products, especially distillers corn oil and high-protein feeds, were sold at improved values. Third-party merchandising of ethanol and related products nearly doubled 2020 results. The quarter also included mark-to-market losses of 6.8 million, but we expect the majority of these to reverse in the fourth quarter. Plant nutrient quarter results were comparable to prior year, and in line with our expectations for this seasonal business. Our year-to-date numbers are strong, and we've been well positioned in this high-priced and limited supply ag fertilizer market. Our agricultural product lines performed well, while our turf and specialty manufacturing business margins were negatively impacted by rising input costs and labor challenges. Our rail leasing business was sold in August and we announced the intent to sell the rail repair business. We have used a portion of the rail sale proceeds to reduce debt. I'm very proud of our team and their performance over the past quarter and for the entire year, executing well in these volatile markets and staying focused on serving our customers. I'm now going to turn things over to Brian to cover some key financial data. And when he's finished, I'll be back to discuss our outlook for the rest of 2021. Brian?