GrafTech International Ltd.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Graphtec first quarter 2024 earnings conference call and webcast conference call. At this time, all lines are in 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, April 26, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mike Dillon. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Constantine. Good morning and welcome to Graphtec International's first quarter 2024 earnings call. On with me today are Tim Flanagan, Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Halford, Chief Operating Officer, and Catherine Delgado, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Tim will begin with opening comments. Jeremy will then discuss safety, the commercial environment, sales, and operational matters. Catherine will review our quarterly results and other financial details. And Tim will close with comments on our outlook. We will then open the call to questions. As you are likely aware, Graphtec is currently involved in a proxy contest related to its upcoming annual meeting. The purpose of today's call is to discuss our earnings, outlook, and other business updates. As such, we will not be commenting on nor taking questions on the proxy contest during this call. If stockholders have questions on the proxy contest that you would like to discuss with management, please reach out to me after this call. Turning to the next slide, As a reminder, some of the matters discussed on 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 Tim.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining this morning's call. In the first quarter, Graftech delivered on our outlook and on the initiative discussed on our last earnings call. That said, we're not satisfied, nor will we ever be satisfied with breakeven EBITDA performance and negative free cash flows. This is a pivotal time for Graf Tech with many challenges still in front of us. Yet we are up to the challenge and remain excited about the path we are on and the opportunities that lie ahead. We are confident that Graf Tech can return to the position of generating great value for its shareholders. And on a personal note, I'm honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead the company and the talented team. As I move into this role on a permanent basis, let me highlight three of the key reasons I'm optimistic about the future of Graf Tech. First, we are confident about our ability to meet the needs of our customers now and into the future. We continue to proactively engage with our customers, reinforcing the importance of our relationships with them and a shared view that this is a mutual partnership. In addition, we are investing in our customer value proposition to further differentiate Graphtec from our competitors. Our initiative to expand our product offerings by adding 800 millimeter supersized electrodes to our portfolio is proceeding well. We are on track for the initial trials to occur in the third quarter of this year. In addition, we are expanding the breadth of our architect system, building upon our best in class technical service capabilities. And with the majority of our original long-term agreements coming to an end, we are broadening our range of contract terms, which can be tailored to meet the needs of our customers. Lastly, on the commercial front, as it relates to the LTAs, we are pleased to have received the final award in a longstanding and our largest of our LTA arbitrations. In March, the sole arbitrator ruled in Grafitech's favor. Importantly, as we turn the page and move forward, we are focused on strengthening relationships with existing customers while also fostering new ones with prospective customers. Secondly, we have taken the right actions to improve our cost structure and we are successfully executing these plans. We are safely and thoughtfully winding down the production activities at St. Mary's and are on track to conclude the work by the end of the second quarter. In addition, we have completed the activities related to the reduction in our overhead structure. And while actions that impact employees are never easy, these are the right steps for the long-term health of the company and for the collective benefit of our stakeholders. The steps we are taking to manage working capital levels are evident in the further reduction of inventory during the first quarter. Overall, we are on track to achieve the stated benefits from these initiatives, including the anticipated $25 million of annualized cost savings, comprised of $15 million reduction in our fixed manufacturing costs, and $10 million in lower administrative costs. Third, with our cost savings and optimization initiatives having been designed to preserve our ability to capitalize on long-term industry tailwinds, to be pursuing growth opportunities. I already spoke to some of the actions we are taking to reinforce customer confidence in our graphite electrode business. As a result, we believe we are well positioned to benefit as the global steel market inevitably rebounds. Longer term, as decarbonization efforts drive a further shift to electric arc furnace steelmaking, this will be supportive of increased graphite electrode demand, and we are poised to capitalize on the anticipated growth. Beyond graphite electrodes, we remain proactive in pursuing opportunities in the battery anode space. We continue to engage with a number of third parties on initiatives which would leverage Grafitec's unique capabilities related to both needle coke and graphitization. Against this backdrop, we have not lost sight of where I started my comments. We are still facing many challenges as the industry remains in a cyclical downturn. While there is much work to be done, we are confident in emerging from this period as a stronger Graf Tech. Let me now turn it over to Jeremy to provide more color on the current state of the industry and our commercial performance.