Ball Corporation

Greetings and welcome to the Ebal Corporation first quarter 2021 earnings conference call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct the question and answer session. At that time, if you would like to register for a question at any time during the presentation, you may press 1 followed by the 4. If you require operator assistance at any time, you may press star 0. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, Thursday, May 6, 2021. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to John Hayes, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, Mr. Hayes.

Great. Thank you, France, and good morning, everyone. This is Ball Corporation's conference call regarding the company's first quarter 2021 results. The information provided during this call will contain forward-looking statements. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied. Some factors that could cause the results or outcomes to differ are in the company's latest 10-K and in other company SEC filings as well as company news releases. If you don't already have our earnings release, it's available on our website at ball.com. Information regarding the use of non-GAAP financial measures may also be found in the notes section of today's earnings release. The release also includes a table summarizing business consolidation and other activities, as well as a reconciliation of comparable operating earnings and diluted earnings per share calculations. Now, joining me on the call today are Dan Fisher, our president, and Scott Morrison, our executive vice president and chief financial officer. I'll provide some introductory remarks. Dan will discuss packaging and aerospace performance and trends. Scott will discuss key financial metrics. And then I'll finish up with comments on our outlook for the company. First, let me begin by thanking our employees. Together, we are working safely and executing at a high level in preparation for even more growth. Thank you for taking care of one another and living the ball culture day in and day out. I also want to thank our customers, suppliers, and their employees. Collectively, we are successfully navigating pandemic-related restrictions in certain regions, post-vaccine reopenings in other regions, supply shortages and disruptions across the entirety of our supply chains, and investing in growth brands, sustainable aluminum packaging, and scientific discovery. The past 15 months have further showcased the resiliency of our industries as well as our ability to communicate and manage appropriately to serve growing consumer and customer demand. 2021 is off to a strong start with comparable diluted earnings per share up 18%, comparable operating earnings up 12%, and global beverage volumes up 8%, despite a couple of disruptions in North and Central America beverage and aerospace that were outside of our control. Momentum continues across our global beverage businesses. Project execution is high, aerospace backlog is solid, and hiring continues at a robust pace, all of which will fuel long-term shareholder value creation. Even though we left a little on the table in the first quarter, nothing has changed about our prospects. In fact, we have an even greater conviction in our ability to significantly grow diluted earnings per share, EVA dollars, cash from operations, and return of value to shareholders in 2021 and beyond. Scott will discuss this more later on. First quarter 2021 highlights include our global beverage market, business completing the startup of four new lines and the speed-up of numerous others around the world. Our aluminum aerosol business successfully integrating the Brazil aluminum aerosol plant acquisition. Our CUPS team executing national distribution of the Ball Aluminum Cup at seven out of the ten largest U.S. food and beverage retailers late in the quarter. Our aerospace team continued to successfully test key instruments and win NASA contracts and study programs. and our businesses hired nearly 1,000 people net in the quarter to support our long-term growth. We continue to put our shoulders into the areas of sustainability and real circularity to ensure that aluminum beverage packaging continues to be the most sustainable package in the world. As many know, and you will hear us speak endlessly about, aluminum beverage cans already contain, on average, more than 70% recycled content, which is multiples above any other beverage package. During the quarter, we launched the first ASI-certified can in EMEA, and Ball commissioned UNOMIA to produce the first U.S. state-by-state comparable assessment of recycling rates for common containers and packaging materials. Please visit our website at ball.com backslash realcircularity to view our recently published 50 States of Recycling Report. As state and federal lawmakers consider recycling legislation, and infrastructure investment. It's important for everyone to understand what is working and what is not when it comes to recycling in the U.S. And as an industry leader, we believe with good data, smart policies, and infrastructure investment, the U.S. can be a leader in the global circular economy. Aluminum packaging is economically advantaged, properly designed, and as mentioned, offers the highest recycled content beverage solutions available to our customers today. Increasing U.S. and global recycling rates will only accelerate growth for aluminum packaging versus other substrates and promote a truly circular economy. So in summary, Ball is operating from a position of strength. Our future is very bright, and our time is now. To everyone listening, best wishes to you and your family for good health and continued safety. And with that, I'll turn it over to our new president, Dan Fisher.

Dan? Thanks, John.