Crown Holdings, Inc.

Thank you for standing by. The conference will begin momentarily. Until such time, you will hear music. Thank you and please continue to hold. Good morning and welcome to Crown Holdings' fourth quarter 2021 conference call. Your lines have been placed on a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer session. Please be advised that this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Kevin Closier, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Sir, you may begin.

Thank you, Eunice, and good morning. With me on today's call is Tim Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tom Kelly, a retiring CFO. If you don't already have the earnings release, it is available on our website at crowncorp.com. On this call, as in the earnings release, we will be making a number of forward-looking statements. Actual results could vary materially from such statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to vary is contained in the press release. and in our SEC filings, including Form 10-K for the 2020 filing and subsequent filings. The company recorded a loss in the quarter of $7.95 a share compared to earning $1.12 in the prior year quarter. The loss includes charges to fully settle the UK pension plan and premiums paid to retire 1.7 billion in notes related to the sale of the template business. As a result of the sale of the European template business, all periods have been restated as required, and the results of the business are reported in discontinued operations. Adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.66 in the quarter compared to $1.50 in 2020. Net sales in the quarter were up 24% from prior year, primarily due to the pass-through of higher raw material costs and increased beverage can and transit volumes. Segment income was $357 million in the quarter, compared to $358 in prior year, as the benefit from higher unit volumes were offset by inflationary pressures and the effects of a stronger dollar. We purchased $950 million of stock in 2021 and returned an additional $105 million to shareholders from quarterly dividends. We have repurchased an additional $150 million of stock so far in 2022, and we expect again to return at least $1 billion to shareholders in 2022. As outlined in the release, we currently estimate first quarter 2021 adjusted earnings of between $1.80 and $1.90 per share, and full-year adjusted earnings of between $8 and $8.20 per share. The first quarter estimate assumes no recovery of overhead costs or lost profits from the Bowling Green plant, which was damaged by the tornado in December. The full-year estimate does, however, assume all losses from Bowling Green will be recovered from the timely collection of insurance proceeds throughout the year. These estimates assume exchange rates at current levels, equity earnings between 40 and 45 million, and a full-year tax rate between 24 and 25 percent. We currently estimate 2022 full-year free cash flow of approximately 400 million with approximately $1 billion of capital spending. Dividends to non-controlling interest are expected to be approximately $125 million. EBITDA, as defined, is expected to be $2 billion in 2022, up from $1,782,000,000 in 2021 and $1.5 billion in 2020, so an increase of 33 percent in two years. We expect net leverage for 2022 to remain between three and three and a half times compared to 3.2 times in 2021. We had a great year in 2021 and are well positioned for the future. With that, I'll turn the call over to Tim.

Thank you, Kevin, and good morning to everybody. Our continued best wishes for the health and safety to all of you and your families. Before reviewing the operating performance for the fourth quarter, we again express our appreciation to the Global Crown team for their continued efforts in overcoming the many challenges of the past two years to continually serve our customers well. And while we know many of you are vaccinated and boosted, we ask that those of you who are not, that you consider the data, which shows that hospitalization rates among the unvaccinated are almost 10 times higher than among the vaccinated. Our recommendation is that you please get vaccinated, get boosted, and remain safe. As previously announced, and in advance of his retirement, Tom Kelly stepped down as the company's chief financial officer on January 1st. It's been my pleasure to work alongside Tom for more than 25 years. A professional of the utmost integrity, the company has benefited from his counsel, and we are grateful for the strong financial position created under Tom's stewardship establishing a strong foundation for continued future growth. On behalf of the entire Crown family, I want to thank Tom for his leadership and dedication and wish him and his family much happiness in retirement. And just a few words from Tom now before we begin. Tom?