Algoma Steel Group Inc.

Please stand by. Greetings and welcome to the Algoma Steel Group Inc. Third Quarter 2025 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. It is now my pleasure to introduce Michael Marocco, Vice President and corporate development and treasurer. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Algoma Steel Group Bank's third quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Leading today's call are Michael Garcia, our chief... ...being recorded and will be made available for replay later today in the investor section of Algoma Steel's corporate website at www.algoma.com. I'd like to remind everyone that comments made on today's call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which involve assumptions and inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from statements made today. In addition, our financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS, which differs from US GAAP, and our discussion today includes references to certain non-IFRS financial measures. Last evening, we posted an earnings presentation to accompany today's prepared remarks. The slides for today's call can be found in the investor section of our corporate website. With that in mind, I would ask everyone on today's call to read the legal disclaimers on slide two of the accompanying earnings presentation and to also refer to the risks and assumptions outlined in Algoma's third quarter 2025 management's discussion analysis. Our financial statements are prepared using the U.S. dollar as our functional currency and the Canadian dollar as our presentation currency. All amounts referred to on today's call are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. Following our prepared remarks, we will conduct a Q&A session. I will now turn the call over to Chief Executive Officer Michael Garcia.

Mike? Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. As we do each quarter, I'll begin with safety. Our commitment to workplace safety remains at the core of everything we do. I'm pleased to report that we maintained our strong safety performance this quarter. building on the improvements we achieved throughout 2024. With EAF Unit 1 ramping up and our accelerated transition to electric arc furnace steelmaking underway, we continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our workforce during this pivotal transformation. Before diving into the details, I want to highlight three important themes. First, the U.S. 50% tariffs have effectively closed that market to us. driving lower shipments and higher production costs as we've pivoted our entire go-to-market strategy. Second, we've secured the capital to strengthen our liquidity through $500 million in government support and an expanded US $375 million ABL facility, extending our liquidity runway so that we can develop opportunities to diversify the business. Third, we have embarked on an operational pivot accelerating our EAF transformation and focusing on products for the domestic market with the goal of significantly reducing our cash burn. The steel industry is experiencing significant disruption. The 50% US tariffs implemented in June have effectively made that market no longer viable for Canadian steel producers, completely undermining our historically successful cross-border business model. These trade disruptions are reverberating globally. forcing producers worldwide to seek alternative markets while macroeconomic uncertainty compounds the headwinds facing our industry. Our third quarter performance was in line with our previously disclosed guidance across both shipment volumes and adjusted EBITDA metrics. As expected, we experienced lower shipment volumes and realized pricing, as well as elevated cost pressures. resulting in year-over-year declines in both revenues and adjusted EBITDA. A bright spot continues to be our fully modernized plate mill. Plate shipments totaled approximately 97,000 tons, roughly in line with the 103,000 tons in the prior quarter, despite taking a planned two-week outage during the quarter. We expect Q4 plate production to increase sequentially as we capitalize on our position as Canada's only discrete plate producer. Turning to our electric arc furnace project, the foundation of our future. I'm pleased to report continued progress. Since achieving first arc and first steel production in early July, commissioning and ramp-up activities for Unit 1 have progressed in line with expectations. The furnace and associated melt shop assets have demonstrated stable and reliable performance. achieving quality metrics across a broad range of plate and hot-rolled coil product grades. The Q1 power system and other critical process components continue to perform as designed, supporting consistent metallurgical quality and process control. As of September 30, 2025, cumulative investment for the EAF project was $910 million, including $30 million during the third quarter. All material aspects of the project have been contracted and we continue to expect final aggregate cost of completion will be approximately $987 million. We have announced a number of decisive actions to strengthen our balance sheet and liquidity, including $500 million of federal and provincial loan facilities. Rather than covering each in detail, I'll ask Rajat to take you through the specific steps and their impact on our financial flexibility later in the call. This government support directly addresses the sustained tariff environment that has forced us to reimagine our operating strategy. We are accelerating retirement of our blast furnace and coke oven operations as we ramp up EAF production through 2025 and 2026. We're strategically refocusing production on as rolled and heat treated plate products, along with select coil products primarily for sale in the Canadian market. We are uniquely positioned as Canada's only discrete plate producer, and this strategy aligns our production with domestic demand while reducing exposure to volatile and oversupplied coil markets. Our focus aligns with infrastructure, construction, and renewable energy growth sectors, preserving Algoma's relevance by supporting national industrial priorities. We remain focused on extending our liquidity runway to develop new opportunities, including advancing our energy strategy and pursuing product diversification initiatives. Rather than competing as a commodity producer in a tariff-distorted global market, we are positioning Algoma as a premium Canadian supplier of essential steel products. This repositioning achieves three outcomes. We supply Canadian industries with high-quality plate products needed for infrastructure, manufacturing, and defense. We create operational stability that supports continued investment aligned with Canada's industrial needs. And we reinforce our role as a critical partner in Canada's industrial and defense capabilities. By concentrating on higher-value, specialized products, we can strengthen customer partnerships and optimize margins. Combined with government support, this strategy positions Algoma not just to withstand current conditions, but to emerge as a stronger, more focused company. In short, we are evolving from a cross-border commodity producer to a Canadian-focused steel supplier with lower cost, lower emissions, and greater resiliency. This transformation strengthens both Algoma and Canada's industrial future. Now I'd like to take a moment on a more personal note. As announced last evening, I will be retiring at the end of this year from Algoma Steel, concluding what has been an extraordinary journey with Algoma. I want to congratulate Rajat Marwa on his appointment as CEO, effective January 1st, 2026, and Michael Marocca on his promotion to Chief Financial Officer. Rajat has been a trusted partner throughout our transformation. His leadership in finance, strategy, and stakeholder engagement has been instrumental in securing the foundation we've built together. And I know Michael will bring the same discipline and strategic insight to the CFO role as he has demonstrated leading our integrated business planning and capital markets efforts. I'm proud of how far this company has come and confident that the management team under Rajat's leadership will continue to strengthen Algoma's position as a Canadian leader in sustainable steelmaking. I would like to pass it over to you, Rajat, to cover the financials and for closing remarks.