NACCO Industries, Inc.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Tina, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the NACO industry's first quarter 2026 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. To ask a question, simply press star 1 on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press star 1 again. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Christy Kometko, Investor Relations. You may begin. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our 2026 first quarter earnings call. I'm Christina Kometko, and I'm responsible for Investor Relations at NACO. Joining me today are J.C. Butler, NACO's President and CEO, and Elizabeth Lubman, our Senior Vice President and Controller. Yesterday, we released our first quarter results and filed our 10-Q with the SEC. Both documents are available on our website. During today's call, we will reference several non-GAAP measures, which we believe provide additional insight into how we manage our business. Reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are also available on our website. Before we begin, let me remind you that today's remarks include forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated due to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which are described in our earnings release, 10-Q, and other SEC funds. We undertake no obligation to update these statements. With that, I'll turn the call over to JC for his opening remarks. JC.

Thanks, Christy, and good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to say that we delivered a strong start to 2026, reporting significant growth and profitability. First quarter operating profit increased 43% over last year and 45% sequentially. Meaningful growth in our utility coal and contract mining segments drove the year-over-year improvement, while contract mining led to sequential growth, primarily due to the commencement of a new construction project in Florida. These operating results contributed to the 28% year-over-year and 15% sequential increases in adjusted EBITDA. These results reflect a business executing well and delivering as expected. Let me walk through each of our businesses in more detail. Our utility coal mining segment remains the foundation of our business, and this quarter, Mississippi Lignite Mining Company was one of the main drivers of our operating profit increase. During our year-end earnings call, I discussed the customer's power plant outage that began in mid-February. During the outage, we pivoted effectively and redeployed crews to work on planned reclamation activities. This reduced our asset retirement obligation rather than being recognized as an expense, which would have impacted first quarter earnings. Lower cost per ton helped minimize the effect of reduced deliveries in the first quarter. I'm confident that as long as the customer's power plant operates as planned, the team will continue to mine effectively and control costs, driving improvement in year-over-year results at Mississippi Ignite Mining Company. Our contract mining segment is our primary growth platform for mining, and its strong first quarter operating profit reflects the benefits of our strategic initiatives to expand this business. During the quarter, we commenced activities under a multi-year dragline services contract as part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction project in Palm Beach County, Florida. We're excited about this opportunity because it advances our growth in the large-scale infrastructure projects, and it showcases the efficiency and environmental advantages of our new electric drive M-TEC draglines. We have two M-TECH drag lines on site and plan to add a third to this project later this year. We're encouraged by the early progress on this project. In addition to the Florida project, we expect to commence operations during the second half of 2026 on a limestone quarry in Arizona, where we will be operating a drag line for an existing customer. This is a great opportunity that expands our footprint into a new region of the United States. Contract mining continues to build a growing portfolio of long-term contracts through geographic mineral expansion, which is expected to lead to increasing profitability in this segment. Turning to minerals and royalties, this segment reported comparable year-over-year operating profit. While first quarter results exceeded our forecast, we continue to expect a year-over-year decrease in operating profit and segment adjusted EBITDA in 2026, despite higher oil prices. Natural gas remains the primary driver of our near-term results, so higher oil prices certainly contribute to our results, but they do not have the same level of impact. That said, there's a lot of uncertainty in the oil and gas market, so we'll have to see how the situation in the Middle East plays out. At mitigation resources, we expect increasing profitability over time from the sale of mitigation credits and as reclamation and restoration services expand. While performance is currently variable due to permit and project timing, mitigation resources is expected to generate profit in the second half of 2026. and move toward more consistent results as the business expands. In mid-April, Mitigation Resources acquired 958 acres in Wilson County, Tennessee, which is east of Nashville. This marks an important step in their growth strategy, representing significant expansion into an area experiencing steady economic growth. The project is expected to deliver a new mitigation bank with high-quality stream and wetland mitigation credits with availability anticipated in 2029. These credits will support continued residential, industrial, and infrastructural development in a 14-county area around greater Nashville. We are very excited about this project because it allows us to serve twice the typical service range for similar mitigation projects. and we will be serving an area that has experienced steady economic growth. Across the board, we continue to invest in our businesses to drive future growth. We made capital expenditures of $33 million during the first quarter, and we anticipate making additional capital investments through the remainder of 2026, primarily in business development opportunities that meet our strict investment criteria. Overall, I continue to believe we are well positioned for meaningful growth. We entered 2026 with clear opportunities to build on our 2025 momentum, and we are executing. I remain confident in our businesses and our ability to deliver strong 2026 results as we continue to execute our growth strategies and create long-term value for our shareholders through long-term relationships, long-term contracts, and investment in long-term assets. With that, I'll turn the call over to Liz to provide a more detailed view of our financial results and outlook. Liz?