Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.

Thank you for your patience, everyone. The Babcock and Wilcox Enterprises first quarter 2023 earnings conference call will begin shortly. If you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. Hello everyone and welcome to the Babcock and Wilcox Enterprises first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. My name is Nadia and I'll be coordinating the call today. If you would like to ask a question at the end of the presentation, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad. I will now hand over to your host, Sharon Brooks, to begin. Sharon, please go ahead.

Thank you, Nadia, and thanks to everyone for joining us on Babcock and Wilcox Enterprises' first quarter 2023 earnings conference call. I'm Sharon Brooks, Director of Communications. Joining the call today are Kenny Young, B&W's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Lou Salamone, Chief Financial Officer, to discuss our first quarter results. During this call, certain statements we make will be forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including those set forth in our Safe Harbor provision for forward-looking statements that can be found at the end of our earnings press release and also in our Form 10-Q that was filed today and our Form 10-K that is on file with the SEC and provide further detail about the risks related to our business. Additionally, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. We also provide non-GAAP information regarding certain of our historical and targeted results to supplement the results provided in accordance with GAAP. This information should not be considered superior to or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures. A reconciliation of historical non-GAAP measures can be found in our first quarter earnings release published this morning and in our company overview presentation that was filed on Form 8K this morning and posted on the investor relations section of our website at babcox.com. I will now turn the call over to Kenny.

Thanks, Sharon. Well, good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today on our first quarter 2023 earnings call. We are pleased to report strong results for the first quarter of 2023, which exceeded our expectations and were highlighted by increases in revenues, bookings, and backlog on a year-over-year basis. Our parts and service bookings across all of our segments were the highest in the past seven years, despite continued supply chain challenges. Given our positive start to the year, growing customer demand across all of our segments, and visibility for new booking opportunities, we believe we are well positioned for significantly improved full-year performance in 2023. The revenues generated within our renewables and environmental business segments showed significant increases of 47% and 13%, respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2022. This growth was driven by higher volumes across both segments, which helped drive our consolidated revenues and adjusted EBITDA above expectations. More specifically, Revenues in the first quarter increased 26% compared to 2022, while our bookings and backlog increased 11% and 15% on a year-over-year basis, respectively. Our strong start to the year also adds to our confidence in achieving our full year 2023 adjusted EBITDA targets. And during the first quarter, we generated adjusted EBITDA of $14.2 million, which was above our internal projections and compares to $12.5 million in the first quarter of 2022. As always, I want to express my thanks and gratitude to our employees for their continued dedication to achieving the highest operational performance, for their high focus on safety across our project and manufacturing sites, to thank them for driving innovation and advancing the world's transition towards sustainable and secure energy, which is central to B&W's mission. Notably, the performance of our parts and services business across all of our segments was particularly strong in the quarter. Combined parts and service bookings for our thermal, renewable, and environmental segments were $114 million, which is the strongest quarter for parts and services we've had since 2016. This was led by $67 million in bookings by our thermal segment, which has seen increased demand as customers around the world look to improve performance and extend the useful life of their facilities. B&W's renewable and environmental segments also booked $40 million and $7 million in parts and services orders respectively as well. In total, we are recognizing a significant increase in customer demand stemming from the need for long-term energy security and clean technology solutions. Looking back at the quarter, we were ecstatic with the progress our clean energy solutions have made, which have been bolstered by new environmental and renewable contracts in the first quarter of 2023, totaling $103 million. These projects not only demonstrate the increasing momentum in our customer adoption of our innovative technologies, but also the expanding interest in our expertise in solar projects. Throughout the first quarter, we announced four environmental and two renewable contracts to supply various technologies and services for carbon capture, waste energy, and solar installation projects. This includes our collaboration with Phillips 66, and which we will provide engineering and design services, equipment, and construction support for a carbon capture project in the UK. This project aims to reduce carbon emissions by capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions from a refinery. As a company committed to promoting sustainability, we are proud to be part of this critical effort to reduce carbon emissions and support the energy transition to a low carbon future. Our progress in the UK also includes a contract to provide engineering and advanced technology for a waste-to-energy plant. Our innovative combustion system will help convert waste into clean energy, further promoting sustainable practices. Additionally, B&W has also secured contracts to provide highly efficient cooling systems for a few UK waste-to-energy plants as well. These cooling systems will help optimize the performance of the plants, ensuring they're able to operate efficiently and sustainably. Transitioning to our solar business, we were awarded contracts worth over $15 million by Summit Ridge Energy, or SRE, to construct five community solar power installation projects in Illinois. The project, scheduled to be completed in 2023, will total approximately 15 megawatts B&W will manage subcontractors, site coordination and supervision, and electrical tie-ins to the grid. This is the second set of contracts awarded to B&W by SRE, which is one of the leading community solar companies in the United States. The growing market for community solar projects in the U.S. has been attributed to the high demand for affordable clean energy and state and federal incentives for renewable energy, including for solar power. We are excited about the solar opportunities that we continue to see emerge over the coming quarters, especially with regards to community solar and small utility projects. Looking forward, we remain committed to further supporting sustainable energy projects that make a positive impact on the world. These recent award wins further strengthen our position as a leading provider of energy solutions, and we look ahead to exploring new opportunities to promote a cleaner, more sustainable future. We also are pleased with the significant traction our Bright Loop technology has received to date. Most notably, we recently announced a commercial project with Black Hills Energy in which B&W's Bright Loop hydrogen Generation technology was selected to produce hydrogen gas from coal and capture carbon dioxide emissions. Utilizing our technology, clean energy can be produced using a variety of fuels with complete CO2 retention, enhancing energy security and creating local clean energy jobs in the region. This project not only highlights B&W's transformational technology, but also demonstrates utility market interest in our clean power production and carbon capture capabilities. We look forward to scaling this product offering and working in tandem with our customers to provide the solutions they need to enhance energy independence and deliver efficient energy to their customers while also combating climate change. I'll now turn the call over to Lou to discuss the financial details for first quarter of 2023. Lou? Thanks, Kenny.