Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc.

Hello and welcome to today's Alpha Meteorological Resources fourth quarter 2021 results conference call. My name is Elliot and I'll be coordinating your call today. If you would like to register a question during the presentation, you may do so by pressing star followed by one on your telephone keypad. I would now like to hand over to our host, Emily O'Quinn. Please go ahead when you're ready.

Thank you, Elliot, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, let me remind you that during our prepared remarks, 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 fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings release and the associated SEC filing. 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 Alpha's Chair and Chief Executive Officer, David Stetson, President and Chief Financial Officer, Andy Edson. Also participating on the call are Jason Whitehead, our Chief Operating Officer, and Dan Horn, our Chief Commercial Officer. With that, I'll turn the call over to David.

Thanks, Emily. Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning. Today, we are pleased to report a record quarterly performance for Alpha, with adjusted EBITDA of $316 million for the quarter. We benefited from continued strength in the coal markets, with a forward strip for Australian prices predicting strength through the coming months and further into the future than many initially had projected. Of course, none of us can know what will happen in days and months ahead, and there's a lot going on in the world right now, resulting in significant levels of uncertainty and volatility. The war being waged by Russia to take over Ukraine is especially disheartening, and we are especially troubled for the millions of innocent people who are suffering and in danger because of this conflict. I'll let Dan discuss this in his remarks as well, but we will continue to monitor this conflict as it unfolds and evaluate any potential impacts to alpha or the broader gold supply chain. Just a quick analysis of where we started 2021 and how the year ended is evidence that a landscape can shift significantly in a short period of time. Pricing for our met coals increased too. and in some cases almost threefold over the 2021 calendar year. The improved pricing for our products generated revenue levels that allowed us to embark on our aggressive debt reduction plan. Over the last couple of quarters, you've heard me discuss the importance of debt reduction to Alpha's longevity and our steadfast commitment to being a good steward of your capital. I'm pleased to report that we are progressing exceptionally well on the goal of eliminating our long-term debt. In the fourth quarter, we paid 50 million in prepayments. And since that time, we've paid another 150 million on the term loan. All this outstanding work brings our current debt level to under 300 million. To put that in perspective, we started 2021 with a total debt level of over 580 million. And a little over a year, we reduced our debt, including legacy liabilities, by more than $280 million. It's an outstanding accomplishment we remain committed to our goal of eliminating the term loan debt this year. Given the continued strength of the current coal markets and faster than expected pace, which we've been able to dramatically reduce our debt and legacy liabilities, we are also pleased to announce a shareholder return program. Our board of directors has approved a $150 million share repurchase program that will allow us to buy back our stock in the open market. with purchases beginning as early as this week. We are grateful for the confidence our shareholders have placed in us, and we are pleased to be able to offer this program to continue enhancing shareholder value. We believe that both the Share Repurchase Program and our continued debt reduction efforts are creating meaningful value for our shareholders in building a stronger company. In this business, and especially for any public company, There's a significant amount of scrutiny on the quarter in what's happening in the near term, while managing the near-term operations is a necessary and important part of an effective corporate plan. I find it just as important to understand where the company's going over a much longer time horizon. As you heard me say last quarter, this is a cyclical business that can experience dramatic highs and dramatic lows, but we are long-term thinkers here at Alpha. we have a dedicated 3,500 professionals who make up the Alpha team. And our operational portfolio is comprised of eight preparation plants, 19 metallurgical coal mines, and for a few more months at least, one remaining thermal operation that will mine out mid-year. That kind of portfolio complexity allows us the flexibility and optionality to meet extremely specific customer requests. But it also demands a high-level strategic planning and operational execution. This is why we routinely gauge in long-term forecasting to be sure we are maximizing the assets in our portfolio and planning for investments that will optimize our cold rank and quality mix in the future. The CapEx projects we shared with you last quarter are an excellent example of those kinds of actions that will position Alpha well for both the near and long term. IT and I are currently completing an in-depth analysis of Alpha's 15-year plan, and we look forward to publicly sharing some high-level takeaways from this work once it is finished. We are excited about what lies ahead for Alpha and the ability to continue investing in our future successes. I'm now going to turn the call over to Jason for some details on our operational performance. Thanks, David. Good morning, everyone.