Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the first quarter 2020 Netler Toledo International Earnings Conference Call. My name is George, and I will be your audio operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star 1 on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press the pound sign. I would now like to hand the conference over to your Hostess for today, Ms. Mary Finnegan. Please go ahead. Thank you.

Thank you, and good evening, everyone. I'm Mary Finnegan, responsible for investor relations at Mettler Toledo, and happy that you're joining us this evening. I am on the call today with Olivier Filio, our CEO, and Sean Videla, our chief financial officer. I want to cover just a couple of administrative matters. The call is being webcast and is available on our website, A copy of the press release and the presentation that we refer to is also on the website. Let me summarize the Safe Harbor language which is outlined on page two of the presentation. Statements in this presentation which are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please see our recent form 10-K and other reports filed with the SEC. All of the forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under the captions, factors affecting our future operating results, and in the business and management discussion and analysis of financial conditions and results of operations, sections of our filing. Just one other item. On today's call, we may use non-GAAP financial measures. More detailed information with respect to the use of and differences between the non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable gap measure is provided in the Form 8-K. I will now turn the call over to Olivier.

Thank you, Mary. Good evening, everyone. I want to start by saying that I hope this finds all of you safe and well. We face unprecedented times, and I hope that you are adjusting. I'm doing this call from Switzerland, while Sean and Mary are in Columbus, Ohio. I will start with a summary of the quarter and then Sean will provide details on our financials. I will then have some additional comments and we will open the line for Q&A. The highlights for the quarter are on page 3 of the presentation. Local currency sales declined 3% in the quarter. The negative impact of COVID-19 to our sales in China was greater than we originally estimated. Local currency sales in other countries, particularly in Asia and Europe, were also negatively impacted by COVID-19. Despite the challenges to sales, with the benefit of our marginal productivity initiatives, as well as some immediate cost containment measures, we increased gross margins and maintained adjusted operating margins consistent with the prior year at 21.8%. Adjusted EPS in the quarter was slightly below the prior year. The global spread of COVID-19 has impacted our businesses throughout the world. Our primary concern is protecting the health of employees and customers. We have diligently instituted safety protocols throughout the world, which is allowing us to continue to provide instruments and services to our customers. a majority of which are in the essential industries, including pharma, food manufacturing, chemical, transportation and logistics, and grocery stores. We quickly adjusted our go-to-market sales approach, how we deliver service and launch new products given the new operating framework we are in. We are leveraging our substantial expertise in advanced data analytics to redirect resources to the best opportunities in markets which are very challenging. In addition, we have already enacted temporary cost containment initiatives which will result in a meaningful reduction in our operating expenses in the near term. Our overarching goal is to be well positioned to capitalize on growth once the recovery occurs. Our excellent competitive advantages, leading positions in fragmented markets, unique sales and marketing approach, steady stream of new products, and a culture known for agility and execution will help us as we look to the future and post-COVID. While we expect the near term to remain challenging, we continue to believe we can gain share, regardless of market conditions. Now let me turn to Sean for the financials.