Mission Produce, Inc.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Mission Produce Fiscal Third Quarter 2021 Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please also note, today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference call over to Jeff Sonick, Investor Relations at ICR. Sir, please go ahead.

Thank you. Today's presentation will be hosted by Steve Barnard, Chief Executive Officer, and Brian Giles, Chief Financial Officer. The comments during today's call and the accompanying presentation contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts are considered forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Some of the risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in the company's filings with the SEC. We'll also refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures today. Please refer to the tables included in the earnings release, which can be found on our investor relations website, missionproduce.com for reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures. I would now like to turn the call over to Steve Barnard, CEO.

Thank you for joining us for our fiscal 2021 third quarter earnings call. We are pleased with our fiscal third quarter performance amid intense industry volatility that was brought about by Mexico's delayed timing on the transitional harvest of the new crop. Our team did an excellent job navigating this complex period and produced per unit margins within the range of our expectations, though toward the lower end as a result of the Mexican pricing volatility. Mission's global sourcing and distribution network, along with our own production in Peru, proved to be a significant advantage to us during the quarter, with nearly 45% of our third quarter U.S. distributed volume being sourced outside of Mexico, which we believe is significantly greater than that of the industry. Our vertical integration was the key in our ability to significantly mitigate the influences of Mexico's unpredictability, while also positioning us to drive an 18% increase in our distributed volume to our export markets versus the prior year. Our ability to stay nimble and manage disruption, such as the unpredictable Mexican harvest cadence in the third quarter, really demonstrates the value of our cohesive, vertically integrated sourcing and distribution network. Moreover, the disruption allowed us the opportunity to demonstrate the value we provide to our customers worldwide with the consistency and quality of our Peruvian program. The consistency that we bring is critical in furthering our customer relationships, and we are taking full advantage of the situation to remind potential customers of the value that we can bring to their operations through a vertically integrated avocado program. We continue to look ahead toward the future, both domestically and abroad, to ensure that we are prepared to meet the growing global demand that's been driven by powerful consumption trends. And as we've shared, our latest facility in Laredo, Texas, is a key element in our design to expand our industry leadership position. We've been carefully preparing for the coming seasonal ramp up in Mexican production that will shift into full swing later this fall and carry through next spring. In advance of this, we've made a significant commitment to the Laredo community, both in terms of the trade and that we will drive through the region as well as filling our team. We've hired and trained approximately 70 employees so far to help us support our growing share of the nearly $1 billion avocado import business that crosses through the port of Laredo annually. Although in the near term, we are carrying these incremental infrastructure costs as we improve our utilization rates, The long-term strategic advantages are very clear to us. This facility will enable us to better serve our customer needs throughout North America while alleviating seasonal pressure in our other facilities, effectively rebalancing our network while adding new capabilities and capacity. In summary, Mission is in an ideal position. While the third quarter presented some challenges in terms of the pricing volatility, it showcased our diversified network. This network includes vertical integration, global logistics capabilities, and an expansive distribution network, and our industry-leading team. We were able to navigate the dynamic environment, drive volumes, meet customer needs, and still maintain a healthy margin profile. The growing season was very productive, and we continue to expect solid yields from our own production, which remains on track to produce the planned 95 to 105 million pounds of fruit that we've guided. This puts us in a great position as we make preparations for fiscal 2022. With that, I'll pass the call over to our CFO, Brian Giles, for his financial commentary.