Vertex Energy, Inc

Thank you for holding and welcome everyone to the Vertex Energy Inc. Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you'd like to withdraw your question, again, press the star one. Thank you. I'll now turn the call over to John Ragazzino. Investor Relations, Mr. Ragazzino, please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Vertex Energy's third quarter 2023 results conference call. On the call today are Chairman and CEO Ben Cowart, Chief Financial Officer Chris Carlson, Chief Operating Officer James Rain, Chief Strategy Officer Alvaro Ruiz, and Chief Commercial Officer Doug Hawke. I want to remind you that management's commentary and responses to questions on today's conference call may include forward-looking statements, which by their nature are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Although these forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, actual results may differ materially. For discussion of some of the risk factors that could cause actual results to differ, please refer to the risk factor section of Vertex Energy's latest annual and quarterly filings with the SEC. Additionally, please note that you can find reconciliations of the historical non-GAAP financial measures discussed during our call today in the press release issued this morning. Today's call will begin with remarks from Ben Cowart, followed by an operational review from James Rain, financial review from Chris Carlson, and a review of our commercial strategy by Doug Hawk. At the conclusion of these prepared remarks, we'll open the line for questions. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ben.

Thank you, John, and good morning to those joining us on the call today. We are pleased to report a favorable third quarter for 2023. During the quarter, commodity prices increased relative to the prior quarter. Our operations team was able to capitalize on this margin opportunity by running sustained elevated throughput volumes and driving improved yields towards high-valued finished products, resulting in adjusted EBITDA of $51.5 million for the quarter. Our renewable diesel facility has demonstrated best in class yield rates at around 98% while supporting continued operational flexibility, allowing us to adjust as needed to qualify a variety of alternative organic feedstock blends. We believe the renewable diesel facility is a proven capital efficient energy transition asset that offers significant value in the face of increasing regulatory shifts towards low carbon energy solutions, most notably in California. As these emerging markets transition over the next year, we will continue to focus on our key priorities. Number one, completion of phase two of our renewable diesel project, including the expansion of hydrogen production capabilities. And number two, continuing to improve on our balance sheet. As it relates to the balance sheet, And as previously announced, we have formally engaged Bank of America to act as our financial advisor to enhance our renewable fuels and sustainable products growth strategy and evaluate potential strategic transactions which could rapidly accelerate our balance sheet improvement efforts. We are pleased with the support they have provided thus far, and we look forward to providing potential updates as they develop. As the team will share with you today, our results for third quarter related to safety, operations, and financial performance demonstrate the team's ability to effectively manage the business in response to ever-changing market conditions, while maintaining focus on the ability to generate long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I would now like to hand the call over to James Rehm, our Chief Operating Officer. who will provide an update on our operations during the quarter.