FirstEnergy Corp.

Greetings and welcome to the First Energy's third quarter 2022 earnings call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. The question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Irene Perzel, Vice President of Investor Relations and Communications, Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you. Welcome to our third quarter 2022 earnings call. Today we will make various forward-looking statements regarding revenues, earnings, performance, strategies, prospects, and other matters. 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 these statements can be found on the investor section of our website under the earnings information link and in our SEC filings. We will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, the presentation that supports today's discussion, and other detailed information about the quarter and year to date can be found in the strategic and financial highlights document on the investor section of our website. We'll begin today's call with presentations from John Somerhalder, our board chair and interim president and chief executive officer, and John Taylor, our senior vice president and chief financial officer. Several other executives will be available for the Q&A session. Now I'll turn the call over to John Somerhalder.

Thanks, Irene. Good morning. Thank you for joining us today. First Energy continues to make significant progress in its transformations. Yesterday afternoon, we reported third quarter gap earnings of 58 cents per share and operating earnings of 79 cents per share. These results, which John will discuss in more detail later in the call, are at the upper end of our guidance and support our expectation for full year 2022 operating earnings in the top half of our full year guidance range of $2.30 to $2.50 per share, assuming normal weather. In addition to our strong financial and operational performance year to date, we continue to execute against our strategy to become a more resilient and forward-looking company that is positioned for long-term stability and success. We are building positive momentum through our ongoing efforts to strengthen our culture, rebuild shareholder trust, accelerate improvements of our balance sheet, and drive operational excellence through innovation and continuous improvement efforts. And we are positioning our company to capitalize on significant opportunities for growth through long term customer focused investments. I'm privileged to work alongside strong leadership team in this interim role. And I'm confident that this team and our committed employees will continue to execute on these strategies to transform the company into a best in class utility. And we intend to continue this momentum as we transition to a new chief executive officer. The board's external search is well underway, and we remain hopeful that we can make an announcement late this year or early 2023. The key attributes we're seeking include a strong track record of executive leadership within the utility industry, a demonstrated ability to execute on the regulatory front, leading operational and financial discipline, and impeccable credibility with external stakeholders. Our board is excited about the future of the company and is confident in the leadership team and our strategy. We expect to continue driving the efforts that are already underway to ensure First Energy is built for long-term success, and it's our expectation that the new CEO will see the same strong future that we see for First Energy. We are entering this new chapter from a position of strength. As we continue to focus on balance sheet improvements through organic growth and operating cash flow and our plan to sell an additional minority interest in one of our distribution or transmission assets, we will further accelerate improvements in our credit metrics. Improving our balance sheet to be on par with premium utilities will support higher levels of capital deployment to harden and modernize the electric grid and support the energy transition. Before I turn the call over to John, I want to thank our employees for their efforts to move First Energy forward over the last few years. They have been asked to step up time and time again to serve our customers, meet our commitments to stakeholders, and stay focused on strengthening our company for the future. They continually rise to the challenge. Their hard work is helping us make great strides towards implementing our strategy and achieving our vision, and the board remains committed to providing them with the support and resources they need to carry this company forward. I'm confident in the strength and talent of our team and our future. Now I'll turn the call over to John Taylor.