Kellanova

quarter 2024 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session with publishing analysts. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to John Renwick, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Planning for Kelanova. Mr. Renwick, you may begin your conference call.

Thank you, Operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for a review of our first quarter results, as well as an update on our outlook for 2024. I'm joined this morning by Steve Cahillane, our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, and Amit Banati, our Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer. Slide number three shows our forward-looking statements disclaimer. As you are aware, certain statements made today, such as projections for KELA NOVA's future performance, are forward-looking statements. Actual results could be materially different from those projected. For further information concerning factors that could cause these results to differ, please refer to the third slide of this presentation as well as to our public SEC filings. A recording of today's webcast and supporting documents will be archived for at least 90 days on the investor page of www.kelanova.com. As always, when referring to our results and outlook, unless otherwise noted, we will be referring to them on an organic basis for net sales and on a currency-neutral adjusted basis for operating profit and earnings per share. Also, remember that our 2023 results have been recast to treat the spun-off WK Kellogg Co. as a discontinued operation in accordance with applicable accounting guidelines. Those recast statements can be found in our Q4 2023 earnings press release from February 8th of this year. And now I'll turn it over to Steve.

Thanks, John, and good morning, everyone. Two quarters ago, we became Kellenova with a more focused and growth-oriented portfolio. a refreshed strategy, more ambitious financial targets, and the continued commitment to deliver long-term value for our shareholders. I'm proud to say that we have continued to deliver solid results, even amidst challenging macro and industry conditions. Our first quarter was a very strong start to 2024, with better sales growth, profit margins, and cash flow than we had projected, and it was another quarter of on-algorithm performance year-on-year. In fact, at the upper end of our algorithm ranges. We are encouraged by the early signs of headway we are making in the marketplace, including here in the United States, and we continue to deliver strong organic growth in emerging markets. Put it all together and you can see why we are able to reaffirm our 2024 guidance today and with an increased level of confidence. But before we dive into the details of our financials and regional performance, let me remind you of a few important drivers of this performance. First is our strategy. differentiate, drive, and deliver, shown on slide number six. Each and every element of this strategy is being addressed and executed, both to deliver our near-term commitments, but also to build for a strong future. The strategy clearly has us further differentiating ourselves as a company, driving the actions that deliver share owner value. Then, of course, there is our global footprint, another area of differentiation for Kelanova, depicted on slide number seven. Our heavy international presence adds diversification and growth, both of which were once again on display in the latest quarter. And this footprint, with its growth orientation and diversification, will remain a key differentiator for years to come. All of this is driving differentiated results. Slide number eight shows how our organic net sales growth has remained above our peer group median. Recently, we have benefited in part from our ability to raise prices significantly in markets where the currency has devalued sharply of late. But it is differentiated growth, differentiated from our peers and differentiated from our past. And it does reflect the benefits of our sharpened strategy and our more growth-oriented portfolio. Our portfolio is not only more growth-oriented today, but it is also more profitable. Slide number nine shows how our post-spin company's margins are higher than we were as Kellogg Company, even before the pandemic. So, as stated on slide number 10, we are again reaffirming our full-year guidance, and we are doing so with increased confidence. This increased confidence comes from the over-delivery of our first quarter. It also stems from the fact that our return to full commercial activity is gaining traction. resulting in sequential improvement in key in-market metrics. A good example is the U.S., where we saw consumption volume and sales improve their trends in March and into April. Meanwhile, category-level elasticities are starting to moderate, which further supports our expectations for stabilizing volumes. We continue to invest in our emerging markets businesses, an important source of our differentiated long-term growth. and we are in the process of adding capacity for our biggest brand, Pringles, in these emerging markets. We continue to restore and expand margins, progressing ahead of our plan in this area. And finally, we continue to enhance our financial flexibility through increased free cash flow and a deleveraged balance sheet. Meanwhile, we also continue to focus on growing the right way, and slide number 11 provides just a few examples of our Better Days promise in action during the first quarter. As always, we had a heavy focus on addressing food insecurity worldwide. But we also know that doing the right thing is good for business. And during the first quarter, we again partnered with customers and leveraged our brands as we supported the communities we serve. We also continue to be recognized for our good work. So now let me turn it over to Amit, who will walk you through our financials before I come back and discuss each of our businesses in more detail.