AdvanSix Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Advance 6 first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 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 touchtone 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 Adam Kressel, Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Betsy. Good morning and welcome to Advance Six's first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. With me here today are President and CEO Aaron Kane and Senior Vice President and CFO Michael Preston. This call and webcast, including any non-GAAP reconciliations, are available on our website at investors.advancix.com. Note that elements of this presentation contain forward-looking statements that are based on our best view of the world and of our business as we see it today. Those elements can change, and the actual results could differ materially from those projected, and we ask that you consider them in that light. We refer you to the forward-looking statements included in our press release and earnings presentation. In addition, we identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our SEC filings, including our annual report on Form 10-K, as further updated in subsequent filings with the SEC. This morning, we will review our financial results for the first quarter of 2023 and share our outlook for our key product lines and end markets. Finally, we'll leave time for your questions at the end. So with that, I'll turn the call over to Advancix's president and CEO, Erin Kane.

Thanks, Adam, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us and for your continued interest in Advancix. As you saw in our press release, Advancix delivered solid earnings results in the quarter amid a continued dynamic macro environment and against a record first quarter in the prior year period. As a diversified chemistry company, our performance reflects the talents of our entire team alongside the resilience of our integrated, efficient, and cost-advantaged business model. Our results were achieved in an environment that saw nitrogen fertilizer pricing reset year-over-year amid lower energy costs and improved supply. While down from last year's peak levels, ammonium sulfate value pricing remains robust. Headwinds in consumer durables and building construction end markets persist across portions of our nylon and chemical intermediates portfolio, while North American acetone supply and demand continues to be balanced, supporting our performance. With confidence in the health of our balance sheet, we continued a disciplined deployment of capital in the quarter through increased capital expenditures and $18 million of cash returned to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividends. We believe that Advantix offers a compelling investment thesis over the near, medium, and long term. While we anticipate the challenges of an uncertain environment and expect demand weakness in certain market segments within our nylon and chemical intermediates product lines, we remain confident in our demonstrated ability to execute and perform through various macroeconomic cycles. We have meaningfully increased the earnings power of this business and our healthy balance sheet supports performance in the current environment while providing further optionality to deploy capital with a focus on maximizing shareholder value. To further continued investment against our core strategies, we announced today our SUSTAIN project, a multi-year investment in expanding our granular ammonium sulfate production predominantly through increased conversion by approximately 200,000 tons per year. This project wins on multiple fronts as it is further targeting no net increase in energy consumption or emissions. We believe this investment will have a meaningful impact in helping to nourish the world and is a win-win for our customers as well as supporting our growth and sustainability initiatives. With software demand remaining robust as a key nutrient supporting crop yields, we are committed to growing in this space. I'll note we have also applied for grant funding for Sustain from the USDA through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program, supporting innovative domestic fertilizer production. Now, lastly, before I have Mike discuss the financial details of the quarter, I wanted to take a brief moment to address the ongoing labor negotiations with our Hopewell South Bargaining Unit and Associated Economic Strike. From the beginning of negotiations, we have endeavored to reach a contract through a transparent and good faith bargaining process to address the various needs brought forth by the union negotiations team. Our proposals maintain a market-based, role-specific wage approach designed to ensure we are providing competitive wages to our employees intended to improve attraction, retention, and development of our workforce in order to support long-term sustainable growth. Ahead of the bargaining process and consistent with historical practice, we developed robust contingency plans in the event of a work stoppage or strike. I'd like to thank our trained salary and contingent contract workers who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our customers and key stakeholders to ensure safe, stable, and sustainable operations over the past several weeks. All parties are back at the bargaining table this week, and we remain committed to continuing to bargain in good faith to reach a resolution to this situation. And let me turn the call over to Mike.