Aramark

Good morning and welcome to Aramark's second quarter 2022 earnings results conference call. My name is Josh and I will be your operator for today's call. At this time, I would like to inform you that this conference is being recorded or rebroadcast and that all participants are in a listen-only mode. We will open the conference call for questions at the conclusion of the company's remarks. I will now turn the call over to Felice Cassell, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs. Ms. Cassell, please proceed.

Thank you. And welcome to Aramark's second quarter fiscal 22 earnings conference call and webcast. We also look forward to reviewing the plan to separate the uniformed services business into an independent, publicly traded company announced this morning. You will be hearing from our CEO, John Zillmer, as well as our CFO, Tom Undroff. As a reminder, our notice regarding forward-looking statements is included in our press releases this morning, which can be found on our website. During this call, we may be making comments that are forward-looking. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties, and important factors, including those discussed in the risk factors, MD&A, and other sections of our annual report on Form 10-K and other SEC filings. Additionally, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to U.S. GAAP can be found in this morning's press release as well as our website. So with all that, I will now turn the call over to John.

Thanks, Felice. It's good to be with all of you during this transformative time in Aramark's history. While we continue to build on the operational changes we've made over the past two and a half years to drive a client-focused growth mindset throughout the business, we are also excited about our plan announced this morning to separate Aramark Uniform Services, or AUS, into an independent publicly traded company. AUS is a terrific business that is well poised for continued success and one that I believe will thrive as a separate company under Kim Scott's leadership. Clearly, there's a lot to cover today, and to ensure we wrap up in our usual timeframe, I will briefly highlight the key takeaways from our second quarter results and provide an update on the current state of the business. Tom will then share his financial perspective on the quarter, as well as performance expectations for the remainder of the year. We'll use the final portion of the call to review the planned spinoff and open the line for your questions. Our performance in the second quarter demonstrated the strong foundation we have built and the resilience of the business as organic revenue increased 35% year over year and surpassed 95% of the corresponding pre-COVID fiscal 19 levels. The progress on the top line came from all three segments and continued to be driven by the COVID index base recovery, pricing pass-through to help offset the impact of inflation, and contributions from last year's strong net new business, as well as the startup of this year's net new business, which is on pace for another record year. Our teams remain focused on working closely with clients to effectively manage through this higher inflationary period and tighter labor market. While we're seeing an improvement in hiring availability and supply chain resources, the war in Ukraine is creating added supply chain complexities globally, which we're working to navigate, even though we have no operations in the region. We continue to actively utilize our scale, our deep bench of suppliers, and menu engineering flexibility to help moderate the inflationary impact in the business. We have been opportunistic over the past year in selectively pursuing accretive, tuck-in acquisitions and partnerships that we believe align with our mission and expand our capabilities. Most recently, we signed an agreement to acquire a union supply group, a commissary goods and services supplier with a strong infrastructure of distribution centers and warehouses that will serve as a resource for our U.S. food business, primarily in corrections. Union supply generated approximately $250 million in revenues last year. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. As we enter the second half of this fiscal year, we will continue to execute on our strategic priorities. As an organization, we are rooted in service and our vision is to be the most admired employer and trusted hospitality partner. Trust is earned by delivering on our commitments and exceeding the expectations of our stakeholders each and every single day. Our deep commitment to these principles enabled Aramark to achieve a perfect score yet again in this year's Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, in recognition of our work towards the LGBTQ plus workplace equality. Last week, we were also named a Top 50 Company for Diversity by Diversity, Inc., and cited as the top company for employee resource groups. In addition, we were once again selected as a top 50 employer by Careers and the Disabled for providing a positive work environment for those with disabilities. We appreciate the extensive accomplishments of our teams and their continued focus on enabling the equity and well-being of our own people, the customers we serve, and the communities in which we work. I will now turn it over to Tom before reviewing the announcement regarding AUS.