Ultralife Corporation

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Ultra Live Corporation's second quarter 2024 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in the listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to hand you over to our first speaker today, Jody Berfening, Managing Director of LHA Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Amberlynn, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning for Ultralife Corporation's earnings conference call for the second quarter of fiscal 2024. With us on today's call are Mike Manna, Ultralife's President and CEO, and Phil Fain, Ultralife's Chief Financial Officer. The earnings press release was issued earlier this morning, and if anyone has not yet received a copy, I invite you to visit the company's website, www.ultralifecore.com, where you'll find the release under Investor News in the Investor Relations section. Before turning the call over to management, I would like to remind everyone that some statements made during this conference call contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of various risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include uncertain global economic conditions, reductions in revenues from key customers, delays or reductions in U.S. and foreign military spending, acceptance of our new products on a global basis, Disruptions or delays in our supply of raw materials and components due to business conditions, global conflicts, weather, or other factors not under our control. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect the company's analysis only as of today's date. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Further information on these factors and other factors that could affect Ultralife's financial results are included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the latest annual report on Form 10-K. In addition, on today's call, management will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that management considers to be useful and differ from GAAP. These non-GAAP measures should be considered supplemental to corresponding GAAP figures. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Mike. Good morning, Mike.

Thank you. Good morning. Welcome to our call on Ultralife's Q2 operating results. Earlier today, we reported Q2 sales of 43 million and operating income of 3.9 million, the third consecutive quarter of 42 million or more in sales and 18 cents of EPS. Battery and energy product sales increased 8.3 percent over Q1, to the highest revenue level ever for the segment. Our combined gross margin continued to be strong at 26.9% compared to 24.8% a year ago as our gross margin improvement projects continue a top priority. Our top three initiatives for the year, material cost deflation, lean productivity, and sales funnel improvement, continued favorable progress in Q2, with additional expertise in place to drive future revenue growth. During Q2, we were able to pay down our acquisition debt by over 52%, which will significantly decrease our interest expense going forward and allow for future accretive M&A. As a result of our strong operational performance, I am happy to report that Ultralife was included in the Russell 2000 Index this year, which will enhance our profile in the investment community which is something Phil and I are focused on. I will now turn it over to Phil to talk through the detailed numbers.