CTS Corporation

Good day and welcome to the CTS Corporation first quarter 2020 earnings call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I turn the conference over to Kieran O'Sullivan. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you, David. Good morning and thank you for joining us today and welcome to CTS's first quarter 2020 conference call. I'll start by sharing a few thoughts on our company and on our business performance. It's been a challenging first quarter for our employees, communities, and our company globally. Three CPS employees have been impacted directly by COVID-19 and are returning to good health. Our hearts go out to the families affected by the virus. We were inspired by the healthcare and other essential service workers on the front lines and their relentless efforts to combat the virus. The uncertainty of COVID-19's impact weighs heavy. We've been dealing with COVID-19 in two China locations since early February and have been able to pass the key learnings quickly and effectively to all our European and American locations. Sales in the first quarter were $103 million, down 12.4% versus the same period in 2019. We added six new customers in the quarter. First quarter adjusted gross margin was 31.9%. compared to 34.5% in the same period last year. The adjusted EBITDA margin of 15% was down from 19.2% in the same period last year. First quarter adjusted earnings per share of 19 cents were down from 39 cents in the first quarter of 2019. Our balance sheet is strong. We had $151 million in debt and $151 million in cash at the end of the quarter, a zero net debt position. We have made changes to adapt our business and continue to monitor conditions carefully. While the challenges of COVID-19 are unprecedented, we are working to position CPS to emerge from this recession a stronger company. Ashish Agarwal is with me for today's call and will take us through the state progress statement.

Ashish, I would like to remind our listeners that this conference call contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties is contained in the press release issued today, and more information can be found in the company's SEC filings. To the extent that today's discussion refers to any non-GAAP measures under Regulation G, The required explanations and reconciliations are available in the investors section of the CTS website. I will now turn the discussion back over to our CEO, Karen O'Sullivan. Thank you, Ashish.