Caesarstone Ltd.

Greetings and welcome to the Caesarstone first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Today, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance during today's call, please signal for a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touchtone phone. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note that today's event is being recorded. I would now like to introduce you to our host for today, Brad Cray of ICR. Thank you, and you may begin, sir.

Thank you, operator, and good morning to everyone on the line. I am joined by Yos Sharan, Caesarstone's Chief Executive Officer, and Nahum Trost, Caesarstone's Chief Financial Officer. Certain statements in today's conference call and responses to various questions may constitute forward-looking statements. We caution you that such statements reflect only the company's current expectations and that actual events or results may differ materially. For more information, please refer to the risk factors contained in the company's most recent annual report on Form 20-F and subsequent filings with the SEC. In addition, on this call, the company will make reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures. including adjusted net loss income, adjusted net loss income per share, adjusted gross profit, adjusted EBITDA, and constant currency. The reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in the company's first quarter 2024 earnings release, which is posted on the company's investor relations website. On today's call, Yos will discuss our business activity and whom will then cover additional details regarding financial results before we open the call for questions. Thank you, and I would now like to turn the call over to Yos. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Brad. Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our first quarter 2024 results. Our first quarter results are aligned with our goals to deliver a full year of positive adjusted EBITDA and cash flow from operations. Our team has demonstrated resilience and adaptability to start off 2024 in the face of persistent global economic headwinds, regulatory changes in Australia, and the ongoing conflict in Israel. Yet, our revenues fell short of our expectations in the first quarter, and we are working decisively to improve execution and resume revenue growth. Despite these challenges, we have made significant progress in our strategic transformation, shifting from manufacturing-centric approach to a strategy that prioritizes research and development, marketing, and branding to drive revenue growth. We are successfully transforming our manufacturing footprint, having transitioned over 50% of our production to our global network of production business partners. This should allow us to better align production levels and sources with the demand for our products. Although we are making this shift, we still have strong production capabilities in quartz and growing capabilities in porcelain. We are beginning to see the benefits of these restructuring actions, which contributed to the first quarter gross margin expansion. The Stot Yam and Richmond Hill plant closures are on pace to have a more pronounced impact on our results in the second half of 2024 and should ultimately save us approximately $30 million annually by next year compared to 2023. These savings are getting partially reinvested into additional innovation and marketing efforts to drive higher revenues. Since announcing our restructuring plan last year, One of our primary financial objectives has been to generate positive cash flow from operations and improve our net cash position. We have made solid progress on this initiative and plan to continue delivering positive cash flow from operations. With a fortified balance sheet and ample net cash, we are well positioned to continue executing on our strategic objectives in 2024. Furthermore, we have separated our US and Canadian leadership teams to allow each team to better focus on the opportunities in their respective markets. Regarding the shift of the Australian market to free crystalline silica products, we have been proactive in the development of alternative products that comply with the new regulations and have begun offering them in the market. By the end of the second quarter of 2024, a majority of our collection will consist of alternative products, with a full collection of compliant products available by end of the year, which we believe will allow us to retain our leading position in the Australian market. In conclusion, As we progress through 2024 and navigate current market dynamics, our strategy is firmly focused on enhancing innovation and brand development while further refining our production footprint. We're committed to reducing our manufacturing cost base while increasing investment in R&D, marketing, our brand, and the expansion of our premium porcelain offering to drive sales growth and profitability across the business. We remain confident that Caesarstone can rise to its potential. Thank you, and I will now turn the call over to Nahum to walk you through the details of our financial performance.