AMETEK, Inc.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Meg, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Ametek Inc. Second Quarter 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 would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Kevin Coleman, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Meg. Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Amatek's second quarter 2024 earnings conference call. With me today are Dave Zepico, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dala Puri, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. During the course of today's call, we will be making forward-looking statements which are subject to change based on various risk factors and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ significantly from expectations. A detailed discussion of the risk and uncertainties that may affect our future results is contained in Ametek's filings with the SEC. Ametek disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Any references made on this call to 2023 or 2024 results or 2024 guidance will be on an adjusted basis, excluding after-tax acquisition-related intangible amortization and excluding a pre-tax $29.2 million or $0.10 diluted share charged in the first quarter for integration cost related to the Paragon medical acquisition. Reconciliations between GAAP and adjusted measures can be found in our press release and on the investor section of our website. We'll begin today's call with prepared remarks, and then we'll open it up for questions. I'll now turn the meeting over to Dave.

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning, everyone. Amitek delivered solid results with strong operating performance in the second quarter against the backdrop of a more subdued global growth environment. In the quarter, we experienced continued headwinds from inventory destocking across our OEM customer base, leading to lower than expected sales volumes. Additionally, we are seeing signs of customers turning more cautious, leading to some temporary delays in project spending. Despite these headwinds, our businesses delivered strong operating performance in the quarter, we saw the growth in cash flow and earnings, and robust core margin expansion, reflecting the strength and flexibility of the Amatek operating model. We expect the inventory destocking and more cautious customer behavior to continue in the back half of the year. As a result, we are adjusting our outlook for the remainder of the year. We remain confident in our ability to successfully navigate these near-term headwinds. As we've done in the past, we will expand our focus on operational efficiencies, continue to invest back on our businesses, utilize our strong balance sheet to deploy capital on strategic acquisitions, and ensure we position Ametek for continued long-term growth.