Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd.

Good morning. My name is Todd, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Pangea Logistics Solutions fourth quarter and full year 2023 earnings teleconference. Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern time. The recording can be accessed by dialing 800-839-5630 for domestic users, or 402-220-2557 for international. All lines are currently muted, and after the prepared remarks, there will be a live question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during the Q&A segment, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. If your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue at any time by pressing star 2. We do ask that you pick up your handset for optimal sound quality. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Stefan Neely with Valum Advisors. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator, and welcome to the Pangea Logistics Solutions fourth quarter and full year 2023 results conference call. Leading the call with me today is CEO Mark Filanowski, Chief Financial Officer Johnny DelSignore, and COO Mads Pedersen. Today's discussion contains forward-looking statements about future business and financial expectations. Actual results may differ significantly from those projected in today's forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, including the risks described in our periodic reports filed with the SEC. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update our forward-looking statements. At the conclusion of our prepared remarks, we will open the line for questions. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Mark.

Thank you, Stephan, and welcome to those joining us on the call today. After the market closed yesterday, we issued a release detailing our fourth quarter and full year 2023 results. Our results were a good finish to the year as we continue to achieve a consistent TCE rate premium above our benchmark indices. While the fourth quarter is generally a slower period for Pangea as we exit the peak of our Arctic trade season, ongoing geopolitical trade disruptions have led to increased demand within our traditional trade routes, contributing to increased shipping days in the period, together with a corresponding increase in freight rates. We reported adjusted net income of $7.4 million for the fourth quarter and $31.4 million for the year. For the fourth quarter in 2023, our adjusted EBITDA of $19.7 million though strong, declined on a year-to-year basis, even as our TCE rate exceeded our benchmark BSI index by 27%. Market rate volatility can be impactful over quarterly periods, but our business model smooths the effects over longer periods. Our markets in the current quarter are showing surprising strength on a seasonal basis as global trade disruptions have led to persistent market inefficiencies, a dynamic support of a structurally higher freight rate environment. With supply growth limited by worldwide shipbuilding capacity to produce new ships in our segment, we think there is a long runway for continued strong performance. Beyond the favorable dynamics being created by geopolitical disruption, we continue to see strong demand growth in the core trades that we serve, specifically construction aggregates, cement, and iron ore and iron products. Through today, we've booked over 3,500 shipping days at an average TCE rate of $17,430 per day versus a market rate of approximately $13,000 per day in the first quarter 2024. Given these favorable underlying demand conditions and our expanding cargo book, we intend to prioritize capital investment in fleet expansion and renewal. while continuing to scale our onshore logistics capabilities. In addition to these organic and inorganic investments, we'll seek to further fortify our balance sheet, all while continuing to support a consistent return of capital program as demonstrated by our consistent quarterly cash dividend. At a strategic level, we remain focused on providing a growing base of integrated shipping and logistics solutions that address the unique demands of our customers. To that end, following the acquisition of three marine port terminal operations in Florida and Maryland in mid-2023, we've been actively working to expand our onshore relationships with new and existing customers. During 2024, we will expand our footprint across the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Florida through strategic joint operations, partnerships, and site leases. We believe this approach is a lower-cost, less capital-intensive method of entering a market, albeit one that allows us to build stronger relationships with current and potential customers and is centered on building around our ocean transport offerings. This accelerating dry bulk demand growth, limited volume of new-build dry bulk vessels scheduled to enter service over the coming years, and a focus on expansion of our fleet and port terminal operations sets up for a favorable strategic success in 2024 and beyond. With that, I'll turn it over to Gianni for a deeper discussion of our fourth quarter financial results.