Exponent, Inc.

Good day, and welcome to Exponent's third quarter earnings call. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Whitney Kukolka. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on Exponent's third quarter of fiscal year 2020 financial results conference call. Please note that this call will be simultaneously webcast on the investor relations section of the company's corporate website at www.exponent.com slash investors. This conference call is the property of Exponent, and any taping or other reproduction is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Joining me on the call today are Dr. Katherine Corrigan, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Rich Schlenker, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Before we start, I would like to remind you that the following discussion contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, exponents market opportunities and future financial results that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed here. Additional information that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements can be found in exponents periodic SEC filings, including those factors discussed under the caption risk factors. in Exponent's most recent form, 10-Q. The forward-looking statements and risks in this conference call are based on current expectations as of today, and Exponent assumes no obligation to update or revise them, whether as a result of new developments or otherwise. And now I will turn the call over to Dr. Katherine Corrigan, Chief Executive Officer.

Katherine? Thank you, Whitney, and thank you everyone for joining us today. We're pleased to report third quarter results that illustrate the sequential improvements we've seen across the business. For the third quarter EBITDA margin expanded 60 basis points while net revenues declined 2% as compared to the same period last year. While our results continue to be impacted by ongoing project delays due to business travel and physical distancing restrictions caused by the pandemic, We believe that our third quarter results demonstrate resilience in our model as well as our commitment to profitability. Companies and governments alike are adopting new ways to conduct business from testing new procedures and protocols to designing next generation products and navigating changing regulatory requirements. Clients continue to call on Exponent's multidisciplinary teams for sound advice as they evolve, adapt, and innovate. Our engineers and scientists continue to support the advancement of complex technologies in many industries. Some examples of this ongoing activity include autonomous and electric vehicles in the transportation industry, flexible displays and virtual reality in the consumer electronics industry, and combination device and drug delivery systems in the life sciences industry. Exponent has also been retained by a diverse set of clients to help in the response to the coronavirus. We continue to advise clients with respect to disinfectant products and procedures, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and occupational health and safety. We're pleased to have been recently selected by the United States Army and Navy to conduct a preliminary deployment of wearable technology platforms for COVID-19 risk monitoring and mitigation. The goal of this program is to implement and utilize this approach to protect the health and safety of service personnel while collecting the necessary data to support a validation of the technologies. Exponent is uniquely qualified to execute this program with our interdisciplinary team of experts in wearable technology, human factors, health sciences, and data sciences. Exponent's engineering and other scientific segments represented approximately 80% of the company's third quarter and year-to-date net revenues. Net revenues in this segment decreased approximately 3% in the third quarter and decreased approximately 4% in the first nine months as compared to last year. Clients continue to demand Exponent's interdisciplinary solutions for increasingly sophisticated systems and devices. At the same time, Our litigation support work continues to be impacted by the pandemic as assignments have been paused due to court-related delays. The number of trials is gradually increasing as court systems develop virtual and socially distant trial protocols. We also continue to experience some delays in human participant studies. Exponent work in integrity management advisory services for the utility sector remains strong. as clients focus on power reliability, in particular due to fire safety concerns in the western United States. Exponents environmental and health segment represented approximately 20% of the company's third quarter and year-to-date net revenues. Net revenues in this segment increased approximately 2% in the third quarter and approximately 3% year-to-date as compared to last year. This segment also experienced delays in litigation-related projects to the transportation and the oil and gas industries. Within this segment, the chemical regulation and food safety practice continued to grow as exponent scientists evaluated the effects of chemicals and new products on human health and the environment, including emergency use registrations for disinfectants to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. For clients who must meet health and safety regulations as they distribute products globally, our scientific and regulatory expertise in North America, Europe, and Asia is invaluable. The demand for Exponent's interdisciplinary solutions is durable as society continues to raise its expectations for safety, health, sustainability, and reliability, and as technologies continue to increase complexity. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increased complexity and has further challenged society's expectations for health and safety. Despite any risks or uncertainties related to the pandemic that still may be ahead of us, the bar will continue to be raised. Exponents is capitalizing on these persistent secular trends, and we remain focused on demonstrating our leadership through the same seriousness, intellectual rigor, and fact-based analysis that we have employed for over 50 years. These market drivers, combined with Exponent's world-class team of subject matter experts, will fuel long-term growth and profitability. I'll now turn the call over to Rich to provide more detail on our third quarter financial results and to discuss business activity in the first three weeks of the fourth quarter. Rich?