Crawford & Company

Good morning. My name is Sylvie, and I will be your conference solicitor today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Crawford & Company 4th Quarter and Full Year 2024 Earnings Release Conference Call. In conjunction with this call, a supplementary financial presentation is available on our website at www.crawco.com under the Investor Relations section. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Instructions will follow at that time. Should anyone need assistance at any time during the conference, please press star zero for an operator who will assist you. As a reminder, today, ladies and gentlemen, this call is being recorded and it is March 4th, 2025. I would now like to introduce Tammy Stevenson, Crawford & Company's General Counsel. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Sylvie. Some of the matters to be discussed in this conference call and this supplementary financial presentation may include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may relate to, among other things, our expected future operating results and financial condition, our ability to grow our revenues and reduce our operating expenses, expectations regarding our anticipated contributions to our underfunded defined benefit pension plans, collectability of our billed and unbilled accounts receivable, financial results from our recently completed acquisitions, our continued compliance with the financial and other covenants contained in our financing agreements, our long-term capital resource and liquidity requirements, and our ability to pay dividends in the future. The company's actual results achieved in future quarters could differ materially from the results that may be implied by such forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release revisions to any forward-looking statements made in this conference call to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of the call or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. In addition, you are reminded that the operating results for any historical period are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. For a complete discussion regarding factors which could affect the company's financial performance, please refer to the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly the information under the headings BRICS Factors and Management's Discussion and Announcement of Financial Condition and Results of Operation, as well as subsequent company filings with the SEC. This presentation also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules. As required, a reconciliation is provided for those measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. I would now like to introduce Mr. Rohit Verma, Chief Executive Officer of Crawford & Company. Rohit.

Thank you, Tammy. Good morning and welcome to our fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings call. Joining me today is Bruce Swain, our Chief Financial Officer, and Tammy Stevenson, our General Counsel. After our prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions. We closed out 2024 with a strong fourth quarter. This reflected the continued strength of our core businesses, Broad Spire, and international operations. Our North America loss adjusting and platform solution segments, which are largely weather dependent, also delivered a solid quarter, following claims activity from Hurricane Helene and Milton. This morning, I'll highlight the key takeaways from the fourth quarter before handing it over to Bruce for a deeper dive into our segment financial performance. On this slide, you'll see some of the top clients we proudly serve. Crawford manages over $20 billion in claims annually across 70 countries, making us the largest publicly traded claims management provider worldwide. Our global scale and reputation for excellence set us apart in a fragmented market. And with a team of 10,000 skilled professionals, we continue to be trusted partner of choice for our clients. Crawford is uniquely positioned to capitalize on long-term industry trends, with technology at the core of our strategy to enhance claims management and deliver superior service to our clients. Though we may see quarter-to-quarter variations in catastrophic events, we continue to see an overall increase in the severity and frequency of extreme weather events. As the demand for advanced claims solutions continues to grow, our technology-enabled response capabilities allow us to quickly scale and support clients through these events. Beyond weather-related claims, the insurance industry is seeing a rapid shift towards outsourced claims activity. Crawford's global scale and deep carrier relationships allow us to efficiently handle complex claims, reducing costs and improving outcomes for clients. We are also well positioned for growth in the PNC insurance markets, gaining market share in the fragmented U.S. independent loss adjusting sector, and strengthening our partnerships across all business segments. By integrating automation and digital workflow enhancements, we continue to optimize claims handling, positioning Crawford as the partner of choice in an evolving industry. Our commitment to innovation ensures we remain at the forefront of claims management. By leveraging cutting edge technology, enhancing operational efficiency, and delivering market leading solutions, we are well positioned to drive sustainable growth and reinforce our leadership in the industry. Turning to our fourth quarter performance, we delivered 17% year-over-year revenue growth driven by strong performance in our non-weather core businesses, plus the return of weather-related claims activity. Hurricanes Helene and Milton were significant events that contributed to this increase. And our strong client relationships positioned us as a key partner for outsourced claims processing, reinforcing Crawford's role as a trusted provider in catastrophe response. Importantly, we saw revenue growth across all segments, highlighting the strength and resilience of our diversified business model. North America loss adjusting, international operations, and platform solutions all delivered margin expansion and improved profitability, reflecting disciplined execution and continued demand for our services. Our operating earnings increased 140% year-over-year, primarily reflecting high revenues from catastrophe-related claims. While weather remains a variable factor in our business, this quarter's results demonstrate that when storm activity occurs, we are well positioned to respond and support our clients effectively. We paid a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share for CRDA and CRDB, underscoring our commitment to returning capital to shareholders. Additionally, our balance sheet remains strong, with ample liquidity providing us the financial flexibility to invest in growth opportunities. Throughout 2024, we have consistently highlighted the decline in storm activity compared to the historical levels. While on a full year basis, severe storm activity was down. Hurricanes Helene and Milton impacted the fourth quarter and preliminary strong data from NOAA indicates that storm activity increased 52% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2024, following a particularly quiet Q4 in 2023. This uptick in severe weather had a clear impact on our financial performance. Our core non-weather segments grew 7%, demonstrating the strength of our diversified business model. At the same time, weather-related revenue increased 45%, driven by the return of outsourced claims activity in our weather-dependent businesses. Looking deeper, our network segment, closely tied to catastrophe response, saw a 154% revenue increase. reinforcing Crawford's role as a trusted partner when severe weather strikes. As we enter the first quarter, weather conditions have remained relatively quiet. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by the California fires at the beginning of this year, and our teams are working to assist the recovery efforts where they are needed. We do not anticipate a significant revenue impact from wildfires as wildfire related claims are typically characterized as total loss. and the outsourcing of claims is in turn lower. Our capital strategy is centered on driving sustainable growth while maintaining financial flexibility. We prioritize investments in innovation and technology to enhance our service capabilities and efficiency. Additionally, we continue to pursue strategic acqui-hires that expand our expertise and market reach, including the addition of three teams in Spain during the fourth quarter. At the same time, we remain committed to returning capital to shareholders, as reflected in our full-year dividend payment, totaling $0.28 per share. Our conservative approach to leverage, which was at 1.85 times EBITDA, ensures we have ample liquidity to execute our strategy while delivering consistent, long-term value to shareholders. With that, let me turn over the call to Bruce for a deeper look at our operational and financial performance.