Steel Dynamics, Inc.

Good day, and welcome to the Steel Dynamics Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After management's remarks, we will conduct a question and answer session, and instructions will follow at that time. Please be advised, this call is being recorded today, July 21, 2022, and your participation implies consent to our recording this call. If you do not agree to these terms, please disconnect. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to David Lipsitz, Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Holly. Good morning, and welcome to Steel Dynamics' second quarter 2022 earnings conference call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded and will be available on our website for replay later today. Leading today's call are Mark Millett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Steel Dynamics, and Teresa Wagler, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The other members of our senior leadership team are joining us on the call individually. Some of today's statements, which speak only as of this date, may be forward-looking and predictive, typically preceded by believe, expect, anticipate, or words of similar meaning. They are intended to be protected by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, should actual results turn out differently. Such statements involve risk and uncertainties related to integrating or starting up new assets, the aluminum industry, the use of estimates and assumptions in connection with anticipated project or returns, and our steel, metals, recycling, and fabrication businesses, as well as to general business and economic conditions. Examples of these are described in the related press release as well as in our annually filed SEC Form 10-K under the headings Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors found on the Internet at www.sec.gov and, if applicable, in any later SEC Form 10-Q. You'll also find any referenced non-GAAP financial measures reconciled to the most directly compared GAAP measures in the press release issued yesterday entitled Steel Dynamics Reports Record Second Quarter 2022 Results. Now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Mark.

Well, thank you, David. Thank you, everyone, for being with us on our second call this week. It's been exciting to announce our new growth initiative on Tuesday with our entry into the aluminum market. And it's only been, I think, probably 48 hours or so. And the customer response from all three market segments, whether it be distribution processes, whether it be the packaging industry, or even automotive, it's been absolutely staggering, the early sign of affirmation of us getting into the marketplace. I think it speaks to the lack of supply and optionality within that market. So that's exciting. And now it's as exciting, even more exciting, to announce yet another record quarter, record consolidated volumes, earnings per share, cash flow, all supporting our cash allocation strategy and commitment to build shareholder value. Specifically, we repurchased $517 million worth of the company's common stock, representing 3.5% of our outstanding shares in the quarter. So we're staying true to our repurchase programs. We are certainly beneficiary of a strong market tailwind, but I'm incredibly proud of our 11,000 strong team. They are the foundation and the catalyst of our success. They are the ones driving the superior results. It's their culture of excellence, and the strategic positioning executed over the last 10 years that allows us to exploit the current market and will continue to produce higher lows and higher highs through the cycle. I've said it many times before, but none of this matters without keeping everyone safe. Often, employees are described as a company's most important asset. For us, they are more than that. They're part of the SDI family. They're people, and we're always striving to provide the best for their health, their safety, and for their welfare. We're actively focused on safety at all times, keeping it top of mind and an active conversation at every level within the organization. We're certainly better than industry averages, but we're not going to rest until we consistently achieve our goal of zero incidents. We're continuing to see material market share gains driven by our ESG profile and industry-leading low-carbon footprint for flat-road products. We will continue our journey to environmental excellence through a defined and achievable plan to be carbon neutral by 2050. Our recent Amium investment and our joint venture is a perfect example of that. It's an exciting opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through renewable biomass, replacing fossil fuels in our electric arc furnaces. We have tested the product and it works beautifully. We believe it will also work within our iron operations. Initially, it'll be 160,000 metric tons per year And the CapEx is estimated to be around $125 to $150 million. It will reduce our Scope 1 steelmaking greenhouse gas intensity by some 20-25%, with even further potential upside from the use of the biogas. With that said, Teresa, would you like to give us some thoughts?