Global Partners LP

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Global Partners fourth quarter 2022 financial results conference call. Today's call is being recorded. There will be an opportunity for questions at the end of the call. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. With us from Global Partners are President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Eric Slifka, Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Gregory Hansen, Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mark Romain, and Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Sean Geary. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Geary for opening remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Today's call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. These statements include projections, expectations, and estimates concerning the future financial and operational performance of global partners. which are based on assumptions regarding market conditions, demand for liquid energy products and convenience store products, the regulatory and permitting environment, the forward product pricing curve, and other factors which could influence our financial results. We believe these assumptions are reasonable given currently available information. Our assumptions and future performance are subject to a wide range of business risks, uncertainties, and factors which are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. and which could cause actual results to differ materially from the partnership's historical experience and present expectations or projections. Global Partners undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements. Any material comments concerning future results of operations will be communicated through news releases, publicly announced conference calls, or other means that will constitute public disclosure for the purposes of Regulation FD. Now, it's my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Sluska.

Thank you, Sean, and good morning, everyone. Let me begin by thanking our entire team for the hard work, creativity, and grit that contributed to a strong year for global. For companies across our industry and many others, 2022 was a year of significant challenges, including supply chain constraints, steep commodity price volatility, inflation, a tough labor market, and the war in Ukraine. Our team successfully navigated through these challenges. In addition to the power of our people, our company performance demonstrates resilience of our business model, the strength of our assets, and the value that we deliver for the guests at our gas stations and convenience markets, and the customers at our liquid energy terminals every day. For the fourth quarter, our wholesale segment product margin more than doubled from the same period in 2021 as market conditions and effective management of our inventories amid sustained backwardation in the distillates markets combined to drive strong margin capture. In our gasoline distribution and GDSO segment, we continue to benefit from higher retail fuel margins and increased activity at our convenience markets in part as a result of our recent acquisitions. Our commercial segment also capped 2022 with a strong fourth quarter as bunkering activity remained robust. Consistent with our focus on strategic transactions that strengthen our long-term earnings power, during the year we closed on over $255 million of retail acquisitions. With the purchases of Consumers Petroleum of Connecticut, Miller Oil Co., and Tidewater Convenience, We added more than 60 company-operated convenience markets and related fuel operations, as well as fuel supply arrangements at more than 55 additional sites. The consumer's petroleum acquisition deepened our footprint in the New England region, while the Miller Oil and Tidewater deals expanded our reach into Virginia. The retail fuel M&A pipeline remains very active, and we continue to evaluate potential opportunities that align with our financial and operating objectives. We also continue to focus on optimizing our terminal network. In December, we entered into a purchase agreement with Gulf Oil Limited Partnership to acquire five of Gulf's refined product terminals for approximately $273 million in cash. Located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, the terminals have an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 3.9 million barrels in locations that complement our network by making us more competitive in multiple products over a larger geographic base. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Turning to our distribution, in January, the Board declared a fourth quarter cash distribution of $1.5725 per unit on all of our outstanding common units consisting of a quarterly distribution of $63.50 per unit, $2.54 per unit on an annualized basis, and a one-time special distribution of $93.75 per common unit. The distribution was paid on February 14th to unit holders of record as of the close of business on February 8th. In 2022, we made great strides in defining our role in the energy transition. From actively crafting clean fuels policy, to investing in the infrastructure to deliver low carbon solutions, to creating mechanisms for people to lead with ingenuity, we are making progress on our sustainability journey. In the renewable fuels area, we permitted and completed the installation of customizable biofuel systems at four of our terminals and began biofuel supply projects at two additional facilities. We now offer renewable products at half of our 22 owned or controlled terminals. On the EV front, our sustainability group welcomed an electric innovation strategist to evaluate, educate, and guide our strategy in the electric space, including electric vehicle and charger markets. The group has secured more than $800,000 in grants to deploy DCFC EV charging stations at six of our locations and has developed the spec for DCFC stations at new all-town fresh locations. As we continue to invest in optimizing our sites with an eye towards sustainability, we know that the drivers of tomorrow will have different expectations and needs than the drivers of today. To help us understand those needs and envision the fueling infrastructure of the future, we sponsored Fuel of the Future 2030, a student design competition engaging more than 30 teams of undergraduate and graduate students attending schools across nine states. The top five finalists presented their entries and an awards presentation in November. We are thrilled to have learned from the creativity of these bright minds. As part of our work in the clean fuel space, we formed an interdisciplinary team to research and evaluate hydrogen mobility supply and distribution opportunities. As an organization, we have a responsibility to act thoughtfully and sustainably for all of our customers, shareholders, employees, and communities. Building on this objective, this year we published our inaugural corporate social responsibility report which details the progress we have made along that journey. This report is available on our website, and I encourage you to review it. By caring for the environment, empowering people, particularly our employees and communities, and practicing responsible governance, we have formed the foundation for an enduring business that has stood the test of time and continues to thrive. With that, now let me turn the call over to Greg for his financial review.