Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd.

Good morning. My name is Savannah. I will be your operator today. I would like to welcome everyone to the Pangea Logistics Solutions second quarter 2024 earnings teleconference. Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern. The recording can be accessed by dialing 800-938-2378, domestic, or 402-220-1129, 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 one on your phone. If your question has been answered, you may remove yourself from the queue at any time by pressing star two. We do ask that you please pick up your handset for optimal sound quality. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Stephan Neely with Balaam Advisors. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Operator, and welcome to the Pangea Logistics Solutions second quarter 2024 results conference call. Leading the call with me today is CEO Mark Filanowski, Chief Financial Officer Gianni Del Signore, and COO Mods Peterson. 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 risk 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 second quarter 2024 results. Our results for the quarter represent consistent execution of our cargo-focused business model amid a seasonably stable period for the dry bulk market. While the second quarter is typically one of our softer quarters in terms of demand, our fleet was well utilized on cargo contracts with key customers in Atlantic trade routes. Our strong utilization and consistent execution resulted in earned TCE rates exceeding the benchmark index by 7%. We reported adjusted net income of $4.6 million for the second quarter and adjusted EBITDA of $15.9 million. Our adjusted EBITDA was about flat with the second quarter of last year as our achieved TCE rates improved 4% year-over-year but were offset by higher charter and vessel operating expenses. At a macro level, The global demand for dry bulk remains strong and has proven to be resilient in the face of ongoing political disruption and bottlenecks in key trade routes. Nonetheless, the overall supply of new-built vessels remains constrained, which we believe will continue to put upward pressure on dry bulk rates in the near and intermediate term. The second half of the year represents a seasonal peak for our business due to heightened demand within our niche Arctic trade routes. Combined with our differentiated cargo-focused business model, we are well positioned to continue delivering consistent premium TCE returns relative to the prevailing market, while also navigating any potential market volatility. While certain parts of the market have been under pressure since the end of the second quarter, we are seeing strong demand as the Arctic trade season begins to accelerate. Through today, we've booked over 3,298 shipping days and an average TCE rate of $17,978 per day. Strategically, we were very focused on capital allocation during the second quarter, continuing to fortify our balance sheet and opportunistically build our fleet of owned vessels. As we announced the last quarter, we expanded our owned operating fleet of vessels by entering into an agreement to purchase two 58,000 deadweight ton sister ships built in 2016 for a total consideration of $56.6 million. We took delivery of the first of these two ships, the Bulk Brenton, in late July, and we will receive the Bulk Patience next week. Johnny will provide more specifics around our balance sheet here shortly. But I am happy to report we arranged financing for these two ships and refinanced balloon payments with a new $50 million credit facility with DNB Bank, another strong capital partner to our lending portfolio. During the quarter, our terminal and stevedore business delivered its highest level of profitability since we acquired the business in June of last year. We continue to focus on building out this segment with our port of Tampa activity scheduled to begin expanded production in the second half of 2025. As we enter the peak demand season for our business in the second half of the year, we are well positioned to weather market volatility and deliver consistent return premiums over the prevailing market. Over the longer term, our cargo-focused business model Expanded fleet of vessels and strategic presence in niche trade routes will enable us to continue delivering above-market returns, while our lean balance sheet supports our ability to utilize opportunistic growth capital investment and provide our shareholders with a consistent dividend program. With that, I'll turn it over to Johnny for further discussion of our second quarter results.