Darling Ingredients Inc.

Ingredients Incorporated conference call to discuss the company's fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 financial results. After the speaker's prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer period. To ask a question, press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press the star followed by two on your telephone keypad. Today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Ms. Sue Ann Guthrie. Please go ahead.

Thank you for joining the Darling Ingredients fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings call. Here with me today are Mr. Randall C. Stewie, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Brad Phillips, Retiring Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Bob Day, our new Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Matt Jansen, Chief Operating Officer, North America. Our fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings news release and slide presentation are available on the investor page of our corporate website and will be joined by a transcript of this call once it is available. During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could materially differ because of factors discussed in today's press release and the comments made during this conference call and in the risk factor section of our Form 10-K, 10-Q, and other reported filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements. Now, I will hand the call over to Randy.

Thanks, Sue Ann. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us for our fourth quarter 2024 and fiscal year 2024 earnings call. As previously announced, Brad Phillips will be retiring after 36 incredible years at Darling Ingredients. After the 10-K is filed, at the end of this month, Bob Day will assume the CFO position. As this will be Brad's last earnings call, I want to thank Brad for his many years of service. The memories are numerous, as Brad and I have done many of these calls with you. And I think I speak for everyone in this room and on the call that we will truly miss you. As you proceed to the next chapter of your life, congratulations and best wishes to you and your family. Stay healthy, my friend. You will be dearly missed, but it's time for the next chapter of our history, and we welcome Bob Day into that exciting role. Now turning to the quarter and the year, Darling Ingredients delivered its strongest quarter of the year in 2024 and one of its top years in its 142 year history. While global markets were incredibly volatile, We focused on what we could truly control. Through effective margin management and CapEx stewardship, we paid down $353 million in debt, reducing our financial leverage ratio to 3.68 times. We received $179.8 million in dividends from Diamond Green Diesel and successfully started up the largest sustainable aviation fuel unit in the world under budget and ahead of schedule. For the fourth quarter, our combined adjusted EBITDA was $289.5 million, which was net of a $59 million lower cost-to-market adjustment noted in last week's press release for our share of the joint venture ownership in Diamond Green Diesel. The company continued its focus on operational excellence, which resulted in gross margin improvement in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the third quarter of 2024, despite lower FAT prices. We also want to point out that we delivered a significantly improved global safety record, frankly, an all-time record for our global team. Turning to the feed ingredients segment, global rendering volumes remained as expected and continue strong. The regulatory environment is improving and clarity has arrived. With the recent notice from the U.S. Department of Treasury on the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit and the updated GREET model, We believe what we have and what we need to begin calculating and monetizing the credit. As noted in our press release, waste fats have been steadily improving and should provide a nice tailwind for Darling Ingredients into 2025. Once again, our focus on spread management, smart CapEx deployment, and operational excellence resulted in nice gross margin improvement in the feed segments. We went from 21.5% in third quarter to 22.6% in the fourth quarter. I want to thank our global operations teams for the bold and aggressive execution they delivered. Now, turning to our food segment. We saw a slight improvement in sales in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter as industry conditions improved. The company is continuing to focus on margin management, which resulted in a nice improvement in gross margins from 23.9% in third quarter to 25.7% in fourth quarter. Our first sales of Nextida, our revolutionary natural glucose moderation collagen peptide, have hit the market and demand is beginning to accelerate. We're excited to have several more of these products now in the pipeline. Okay, turning to our fuel segment, Darling Ingredients received a cash dividend from Diamond Green Diesel of $68.6 million in the fourth quarter of 24. and $179.8 million in cash dividends for the full fiscal year. Subsequent to the quarter close, we have now received another cash dividend of $86.4 million in January of 2025. DGD continues to outperform its peers on many metrics and continues to be the best in class producer. We have thoroughly reviewed the 45Z clean fuels production credit guidance with third party auditors and are aligned in determining that it provides a clear, safe harbor for the company's accounting treatment of the tax credit. As a result, we are confident in our ability to book the credit and fully realize its value. While there are a few details to iron out regarding feedstock options and certification by product and destination, CGD's strategic locations, logistical flexibility, and capability to process a diverse range of feedstocks positions us well to maximize the value of this credit. With that, I'd like to turn it over to Brad to take us through some financials, then I'll come back with my thoughts on 2025. Brad?