GrafTech International Ltd.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by the conference call will begin momentarily. Please do not disconnect your lines. Your patience is appreciated. Once again, the conference call will begin momentarily. Please do not disconnect your lines. Your patience is appreciated. Thank you. Thank you. Good day ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the Graf Tech second quarter 2023 earnings conference call and webcast. At this time all lines are in a listen only mode. Following the presentation we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Friday August 4th 2023. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mike Dillon. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to Graf Tech International's second quarter 2023 earnings call. On with me today are Marcel Kessler, Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Halford, Chief Operating Officer, and Tim Flanagan, Chief Financial Officer. Marcel will begin with opening comments. Jeremy will then discuss safety, sales, and operational matters. Tim will review our quarterly results and other financial details. Marcel will close with comments on our outlook. We will then open the call to questions. Turning to our next slide, as a reminder, some of the matters discussed in this call may include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, performance, trends, and strategies. These statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by forward-looking statements are shown here. We will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, and these slides include the relevant non-GAAP reconciliations. You can find these slides in the investor relations section of our website at www.graftech.com. A replay of the call will also be available on our website. I'll now turn the call over to Marcel. Good morning, everyone.

Thank you for joining Graftech's second quarter earnings call. I will begin by highlighting four key points we will get discussed on our call today. First, our performance for the second quarter was consistent with our expectations and represented a sequential improvement in key metrics. This included quarter-over-quarter growth in sales volume and adjusted EBITDA, as well as a sequential reduction in recognized costs on a per ton basis. While we continue to see improvement in our business, market indicators point towards further softness in steel production for the remainder of the year. With the resulting impact on the demand for graphite electrodes, our expectations for the second half of 2023 are more tempered. However, we remain optimistic about 2024 recovering to improved levels of demand. Third, We continue to successfully execute our plans and strategies as we manage the business in response to the short-term challenges in the environment. And fourth, we remain optimistic about the long-term outlook for the business. We are taking actions that we believe will optimally position Gravtech to benefit from medium to longer-term industry tailwinds and deliver shareholder value. As Jeremy and Tim will provide more detail on our second quarter results, let me turn to the second topic, the current business environment. Steel industry production remains constrained by global economic uncertainty. At the macro level, the global manufacturing PMI, as reported in July, has fallen to a six-month low, and business and consumer confidence continues to be subdued. This contributes to steel industry output remaining below prior real levels, with most regions showing production declines. This in turn has resulted in ongoing softness for near-term demand for our products. As a result, we have lowered our volume expectations for the second half of 2023. We now estimate our sales volume for the full year of 2023 will be in the range of 95 to 105,000 metric tons as compared to our previous estimate of 100 to 115,000 metric tons. Sales volume in the third quarter is expected to be broadly in line with sales volume for the second quarter of this year. We remain optimistic for recovery to improve levels of electrode demand and sales volume in 2024. Based on the latest outlook from the World Steel Association, global steel demand outside of China is projected to increase 4% in 2024. Year-over-year growth is expected in all key regions in which we participate. This includes a projected 6% year-over-year increase in European steel demand, a 2% increase in North America, and a 3% increase in the Middle East, all of which should drive demand recovery for graphite electrodes. We recognize steel industry performance will be dependent on natural conditions. As such, we continue to focus on those things that are within our control to manage near-term market uncertainties. This includes proactively reducing our production volume to align with our near-term demand outlook, closely managing our operating costs, capital expenditures, and working capital levels, and making targeted investments to further improve our competitive positioning and support long-term growth. We continue to be pleased with the execution of our plans and the progress to advance our business. Let me briefly highlight several accomplishments since our last call, starting with our manufacturing operations. Our facility in Monterrey, Mexico continues to run as expected. We continue to make significant progress on our risk mitigation strategies related to connecting pins and initiatives to increase our operational flexibility. As you will recall, early in the second quarter, we received the regulatory approval to restart production activities at our St. Mary's facility in Pennsylvania. Following this milestone, we began production operations at the plant with activities expected to further ramp up in the coming months to increase our operational flexibility. Turning to the commercial front, during the second quarter, we announced the opening of a new sales office in Dubai increasing our presence in this important region. This supports our commercial strategy to operate with a global footprint as we expand our sales and technical service capabilities in key geographies. In addition, we entered into new multi-year electrode sales agreements with certain customers in North America and Europe. This reflects their confidence in Graftex's ability to reliably deliver high-performing products over time. We also continue to make progress on the sustainability front. We joined the United Nations Global Compact and are excited to be participating in this important initiative alongside many other leading companies. We look forward to building upon our ESG strategies for the benefit of the environment, our business, and our stakeholders as we help shape a better and more sustainable future. To that end, we encourage you to read our latest sustainability report that we recently made available on our website. Finally, during the second quarter, we completed a $450 million senior secured notes offering. As Tim will discuss further, this offering and the related repayment of our term loan extended our debt maturity profile by about four years. At the same time, We remain focused on maintaining sufficient liquidity to navigate the current environment via our working capital management and other initiatives. This supports our financial flexibility as we take actions that we believe will optimally position Gravtech to benefit from industry tailwinds and deliver shareholder value. I will spend a few minute moments on those tailwinds at the end of our prepared remarks. But first, let me turn the call over to Jeremy.