Global Partners LP

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Global Partners First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded. 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 Slivka, Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Gregory Hansen, Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Mark Romaini, and Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, Mr. Sean Geary. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Geary for opening remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Today's call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including projections and expectations concerning the future financial and operational performance of global partners. No assurances can be given that these projections will be attained or that these expectations will be met. Our assumptions and future performance are subject to a wide range of business risks, uncertainties, and factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially, as described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Global Partners undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements. Now it's my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Slipka.

Thank you, Sean, and good morning, everyone. Over the last five months, we've acquired 29 terminals, more than doubling our terminal network and total storage capacity from 9.9 million barrels to 21.3 million barrels. These strategic acquisitions strengthen our terminal operations, expand our growth opportunities, and enhance our earning power. In April, we completed the purchase of four liquid energy terminals from Gulf Oil for approximately $212 million. Their locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey make these assets a perfect geographic and operational fit in our existing northern terminal network. Linden and Woodbury, New Jersey, each represent new markets for our business. The New Haven terminal adds gasoline and distillate capabilities to our Connecticut portfolio, allowing us to serve our wholesale customers as well as our extensive retail network. The Chelsea, Massachusetts terminal allows us to continue to serve the Boston market, replacing the capabilities of the nearby Revere terminal, which we strategically divested for $150 million in 2022, to link logistics of Blackstone Company. With the divestment of our Revere terminal, this acquisition will allow us to continue to service our Boston area gasoline and distillate customers without disruption. As you may know, we now operate two terminals in Chelsea, allowing us to offer a full slate of products including biofuel, bunker fuels, commercial and industrial fuels, heating oil, and diesel. We anticipate opportunities to invest in and optimize around these properties. Turning to our December acquisition of 25 liquid energy terminals from Motiva, we're extremely pleased with the progress of the transition, which was completed ahead of schedule in March. These are extremely well-run, high-value assets backed by a 25-year take-or-pay commitment from Motiva. We're excited about the ability to drive additional investment, expansion and operational efficiencies as we optimize these facilities. Looking at our distribution, in April the board declared a quarterly cash distribution on our common units of 71 cents or 284 on an annualized basis. This distribution represents an 8.4% increase over the prior year period and is payable on May 15th to unit holders of record as of the close of business on May 9th. With that, now let me turn the call over to Greg for his financial review. Greg?