Mistras Group Inc

Thank you for joining MISTROS Group's conference call for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ending December 31st, 2024. My name is Tanya, and I'll be your event manager today. We'll be accepting questions after management's prepared remarks. I would now like to turn the call over to Thomas Tobolsky. Treasurer, your line is open.

Thank you, Tanya. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to MISTROS Group's fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call. I'm joined today by Manny Stamatakis, the company's executive chairman of the board, Natalia Schumann, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ed Prisner, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Our press release and the accompanying slides that we'll be referring to today can be found within the investor relations section of our website. As shown on slide number two, I want to remind everyone that remarks made during this conference call, as well as supplemental information provided on our website, contain certain forward-looking statements and involve risks and uncertainties as described in Ms. Strauss' SEC filings. The company's actual factors that can cause actual results to differ are discussed in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other reports filed with the SEC. The discussion in this conference call will also include certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe are useful to investors evaluating the company's performance, but that were not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Reconciliation of these non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures can be found in the tables contained in yesterday's press release and the company's related current report on Form 8K. These reports are available at the company's website in the investor section, as well as on the SEC's website. I will now turn the call over to Manny Stamatakis.

Thanks, Tommy. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Before we commence today's conference call, I want to take a minute to reflect on the life of Dr. Soterios Vahavioulis, the company's founder, Chairman Emeritus, and Board Director. Soterios passed away nearly one month ago on February 6, 2025. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire Mistros family, I want to express our profound appreciation for the immeasurable contributions Dr. Vahavadioulas made to the company, our shareholders, and the communities we serve. a visionary leader and pioneer in the field of non-destructive testing and acoustic emission. Dr. Vahaviolis founded Mistrust, originally Physical Acoustics Corporation, in 1978 and dedicated over four decades to building it into a global leader in testing, inspection, and asset protection solutions. His expertise, leadership, and commitment to excellence were instrumental in shaping the company's strategic direction and fostering a culture of innovation that remains at the core of Mr. Ross today. His legacy will endure and live on as we move Mr. Ross forward in his memory. Our products and systems segment along with our NDT and AE services will remain as essential competencies at the core of Mistros' capabilities, enabling the company to deliver on its overall mission and purpose. On a personal note, on behalf of the entire company, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the entire Vahaviolis family. In remembrance of Dr. Soterios Vahaviolis, I ask for a brief moment of silence. Thank you. I am sure Soterios is looking down and smiling about our improved 2024 Q4 and full year results. Our consolidated fourth quarter results allowed us to exceed our revised annual guidance, with the bottom line expanding significantly, demonstrating the margin accreted actions that we have instituted into our business model. On a full year basis, revenue was up in all reported segments, products and systems included, and across all of our industries served, illustrating the increasing diversity of our growing end markets. Adjusted EBITDA was up over 25% versus the prior year, reflecting significant improvement in our operating leverage. and our adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 200 basis points over the period and was our highest EBITDA margin since 2016. Our operating income of $39.8 million for the full year 2024 was also the highest level since 2016. I am also pleased with our fourth consecutive quarter generating net income growth, which was a function of our continued annual revenue growth, gross profit expansion, and selling general and administrative expense reductions. Year over year, 2024 was a very good year for MISDROPS. I believe 2025 will be even better as the company will continue to build momentum and energy around the profitable growth and to ensure that our leadership team consists of the best and the brightest. I am extremely confident in the course forward for Mistros. As Executive Chair, I will remain involved in overseeing the strategic path forward to maximize shareholder value and to support the new invigorated senior leadership team led by our new president and chief executive officer, Natalia Schumann. In our effort to select a new CEO, NISTROS undertook its most expansive search in the company's history by reviewing over 20 candidates. Our board of directors was thrilled with the selection of Natalia Schumann, and I can share firsthand that she has hit the ground running in her first two months as CEO. And I am extremely confident in her ability to lead this company forward. Under her leadership, you will see a new and more invigorated Mistros in 2025. Natalia brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience, including over eight years in the testing, inspection, and certification industry, making her uniquely positioned to lead MISTROS into its next phase of growth and success. She drove growth at Eurofin Scientific as Group Executive Vice President and Group Operating Council Member from 2021 to 2024. Prior to this, she transformed Bureau Veritas as its North American CEO from 2017 to 2021. And before that, she was innovating at Kelly Services in her role as head of international business. Natalia is a proven leader with a track record of success and has driven transformative growth, developed high performing teams, and led organizations through pivotal periods of change. I would now like to hand the call over to Natalia so that you can hear directly from her before she turns the call over to Ed to give a more detailed overview of our recent financial results. Natalia, the call, the gavel, and the legacy are now in your hands. And we are all excited for the future of MISTRAS. But I'm not putting any pressure on you.