The Andersons, Inc.

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Anderson's 2021 Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you'll need to press star 1 on your telephone. As a reminder, today's program may be recorded. And now I'd like to introduce your host for today's program, Mike Holter, Vice President, Corporate Controller, and Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Thanks, Jonathan. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for the Anderson's fourth quarter 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 andersonzinc.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 to review our fourth quarter performance. We're excited to review our overall operating results that include a best-ever fourth quarter. In addition, some of our reporting segments had record performances in and I'll touch on them as we walk through each business. As we noted in yesterday's earnings release, ag fundamentals have been strong during 2021, and our team's performance has been outstanding. We've been focused on solid operational and commercial execution and are seeing the benefits from recent growth in new markets. Our adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $130 million and 353 million for the fourth quarter and full year respectively were also records. The trade business had a very strong fourth quarter, earning adjusted pre-tax income of 26.9 million, which capped a record year for the group. Our fourth quarter results were led by good performance across our asset footprint. The food and specialty ingredients business also had a strong fourth quarter, with results better than 2020. Merchandising results remained healthy but didn't match the exceptionally strong fourth quarter of last year. Also performing well in their first full quarter was Swiss Trading Office and the recently acquired Southwestern US Dairy Feed Ingredients business. We recently renamed our ethanol segment Renewables reflecting the diverse growth opportunities in this broader category of products and services. Renewables had its best fourth quarter since 2013, which was at the height of the ethanol build-up. Crush margins were very strong as industry production struggled to meet demand. We experienced good operational performance at our ethanol plants. Corn oil sales at record prices contributed to our performance and continuing high commodity prices also increased the value of our feed ingredients. Our ethanol and renewable feedstock trading team had a very successful quarter, nearly doubling our 2020 results. The plant nutrient business closed out its best year ever with a record fourth quarter driven by strong margins within our ag supply chain and industrial product lines. These results reflect optimal weather during application periods, higher yields requiring replacement of nutrients, increased grower income, and industry concerns over limited supply. These were partially offset by the labor challenges and input cost inflation that was continued in our manufactured products business. 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. We're also excited to have recently been recognized in the Forbes list of America's best employers. I'm now going to turn things over to Brian to cover some key financial data. When he's finished, I'll be back to discuss our early outlook for 2022. Thanks, Pat.