Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd.

Please stand by. Your program is about to begin. If you need assistance during your conference today, please press star zero. Good morning. My name is Shelby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Pangea Logistics Solutions Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Teleconference. Today's call is being recorded. and will be available for replay beginning at 11 o'clock a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The recording can be accessed by dialing 800-839-9374 or 402-220-6087. 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 phone. 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 please pick up your handset for optimal sound quality. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Stephanie Lee with Valium Advisors.

Thank you, Operator, and welcome to the Pangea Logistics Solutions Third Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. Leading the call with me today is CEO Mark Filanowski, Chief Financial Officer Gianni Del Signore, 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 third quarter 2024 results. During the third quarter, We continue to advance our value creation strategy through a combination of targeted fleet expansion, strong operational execution, and accretive inorganic growth, all while continuing to deliver consistently strong financial results amid a seasonal peak in Arctic dry bulk demand. As we announced in September, we've entered into a definitive agreement to merge 15 handy-sized dry bulk vessels owned by MT Maritime, into our dry bulk fleet, which will number 41 ships after the transaction. This strategic acquisition is accretive to both our net asset value and also to our adjusted EBITDA. Once complete, we expect that the MTM transaction will add materially to our annualized adjusted EBITDA. We look forward to having the MTM transaction closed by year-end, subject to the approval of our shareholders. positioning Pangea to deliver an expanded portfolio of services across a growing customer base in the year ahead. And two weeks ago, we acquired the remaining 50% interest in our post-Panamax Ice Class 1A vessels from a joint venture partner, solidifying our position in our Ice Class niche. In addition to these two transactions, during the quarter ended September 30th, We took delivery of two 58,000 deadweight ton sister ships built in 2016, which expanded our own fleet of vessels to 26 ships. We also continued to make progress on the expansion of our terminal and stevedore operations in the port of Tampa. With the added scale provided by these transactions, we expect to materially increase both our shipping days and logistics operations. at both new and existing ports of operation over the coming year, consistent with integrated shipping and logistics model. Our asset-light, cargo-centric model continues to leverage a combination of owned and chartered-in vessels, consistent with our long-term strategy. Given fluctuations in global dry bulk capacity and demand, we believe our model provides superior durability, cost efficiency, and scalability throughout the cycle with an emphasis on free cash generation and profitable growth. For the third quarter of 2024, we reported adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million and $23.9 million, respectively. Our adjusted EBITDA declined by approximately $4 million compared to last year as lower market volatility flattened margins. Higher realized TCE rates and more shipping day activity helped to offset the decline. Our third quarter represents the seasonal peak in activity across our niche Arctic trade routes, and our ice class fleet was fully utilized during the quarter, which helped us to deliver TCE rates that exceeded the prevailing market by 19%. At a macro level, the global demand for dry bulk remains strong and has proven to be resilient in the face of ongoing geopolitical disruption and softening economic activity in some regions. Nonetheless, as global supply of new-build vessels remains constrained, we expect to see upward pressure on dry bulk rates over the near to intermediate term. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we expect to see the typical seasonal slowing in dry bulk demand, notably due to wetter and warmer than normal conditions weather conditions in the Arctic regions in which we operate, we do expect that Arctic demand in the fourth quarter will be less than what we experienced last year. Through today, we've booked 3,378 shipping days and generated a TCE of $16,629 per day for the fourth quarter. As we move into 2025, we will continue to exercise a balanced return focused approach to capital allocation. Our recent vessel acquisitions, fleet combination and JV buyout are a testament to our philosophy of deploying cash in a manner that creates sustainable returns on capital. At the same time, we remain committed to maintaining a stable recurring quarterly cash dividend consistent with our longstanding return of capital program. Importantly, we believe our dividend policy is sustainable through the economic cycle, given the proven consistency of our business. With that, I'll hand it over to Johnny for a discussion of our third quarter financial results.