Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Alpha Metallurgical Resources second quarter 2021 results conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing star then zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Emily Auckland, SCP Corporate Communication. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Matt, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, let me remind you that during our prepared remarks Q&A period, our comments regarding anticipated business and financial performance contain forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed. For more information regarding forward-looking statements and some of the factors that can affect them, please refer to the company's second quarter 2021 earnings relief and the associated SEC violence. Please also see those documents for information about our use of non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP measures. Participating on the call today are office chair and chief executive officer, David Stetson, and president and chief financial officer, Andy Edson. Also participating on the call are Jason Whitehead, our chief operating officer, and Dan Warren, executive vice president of SAILS. With that, I'll turn the call over to David.

Thank you, Emily, and good morning to everyone on the call. Today we are pleased to announce another solid quarter of financial performance. The team and I look forward to discussing those results along with mid-year analysis of 2021, how we see the back half shaping up, and what we're doing to set ourselves up for an excellent start to 22. Before we do that, I want to briefly reflect on the significant progress that made during the last couple of years and connect those accomplishments to our current circumstances and our vision for the future. Approximately two years ago, Alpha's senior management team came together as a cohesive unit, established a broad vision and strategy for the future success of the company. The expansive volume of good work that has been done in a relatively short period of time is remarkable. We've divested non-core assets and set ourselves on a nearly complete pathway becoming a pure-play metallurgical producer. Slab Camp, our last remaining thermal mine, is expected to close roughly one year from now, at which point we'll have no remaining thermal operations. We have strategically fine-tuned our metallurgical portfolio with an eye toward longevity and diversity of products, carefully deploying capital to transition away from higher-cost mines. This work coupled with the implementation of Jason's vision for a more streamlined enterprise, has also yielded a more advantageous cost structure that allows us to weather downturns in the market and capture upside when the markets rebound. Above all, our team has stayed focused and disciplined in building the strong foundation for our future growth and success. Now we see this work beginning to pay off. In terms of the current market, the Australian PLV index hit a low for the year in January at approximately $102, with gradual increases throughout the second quarter. This left the Australian-linked portion of our portfolio lagging and negatively impacting our overall average cost realizations in the second quarter. However, that index has increased by roughly 115% in just six months to recent levels in the $219 range. With this rebound in Australian indices and a general positive market environment across the globe, we expect our second half realizations to reflect these much stronger levels. We're increasing our production guidance for the year as we anticipate mining roughly an extra one million tons of coal than the midpoint of our prior range. Looking ahead, we've already settled some 22 North American business and expect discussions to begin in earnest in the coming weeks. With demand projections remaining strong for the immediate future, we expect to be able to build our cash balance and aggressively pay down debt. In keeping with my previously stated interest in delevering, we accelerated the timeline for completing one of our legacy payment obligations with the West Virginia LCC note. This occurred subsequent to the quarter close, and Andy will cover this decision in more detail. From a high-level perspective, I see this as another step in solidifying the organization financially and as further evidence of the executive team's focus on strengthening our balance sheet. Along those lines, our cash management strategy will continue to hinge on the prudent use of funds to help build and maximize value in our organization. In his remarks, Jason will tell you more about our decision to add a fourth section at Road Fork 52 and why we believe this is advantageous use of our capital that will service well and offer expected paybacks in well under six months. In summary, in addition to reporting another strong quarter performance, I think the state of the business is solid and well prepared to capitalize on the current market strength and high demand for met coal that is projected to extend well into the future. Now for some additional details and operation, I turn the call over to Jason Whitehead.