PBF Energy Inc.

Good day, everyone, and welcome to the PBF Energy Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call-In Webcast. At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen-only mode, and the floor will be open for questions following management's prepared remarks. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Colin Murray of Investor Relations.

sir you may begin thank you britney good morning happy halloween and welcome to today's call with me today are matt lucy our president and ceo karen davis our cfo and several other members of our management team copies of today's earnings release and our thank you filing including supplemental information are available on our website before getting started i'd like to direct your attention to the safe harbor statement contained in today's press release Statements that express the company's or management's expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions under federal securities laws. There are many factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations, including those we describe in our filings with the SEC. Consistent with our prior periods, we will discuss our results excluding special items which are described in today's press release. Also included in the press release is guidance information related to fourth quarter 24 operations. For any questions on these items or follow-up questions, please contact Investor Relations after today's call. For reconciliations of any non-GAAP measures mentioned on today's call, please refer to the supplemental tables provided in the press release. I'll now turn the call over to Matt Lucie.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call. our third quarter results reflect market conditions, a combination of weaker margin environment and poor crew differentials that challenged refiners. Our refineries ran well during the quarter. We had no planned maintenance or material unplanned downtime. The operating performance of our assets reflects the dedication and focus of our outstanding employees who work 24-7 in all market conditions, to supply the refined products that are still very much in demand. Weak margins and gyrating market conditions experienced recently do not reflect our longer-term view that global refining supply and product demand remain tightly balanced. This tightly balanced system should, over the medium to long term, provide a constructive backdrop for refiners as demand for our products continue to grow globally. 2024 has had a number of factors negatively impacting the year. While demand for refined products in the US has improved year over year in the third quarter and has generally been resilient, demand across the rest of the world was less constructive. On the supply side, the market has been impacted by adverse timing as planned refining capacity additions came online in 2024 in front of planned and announced shutdowns that are scheduled for 2025. 2025 is trying to be a more balanced year. 2024 is seeing net additions of approximately a million barrels per day. For 2025, The list of closures or announced shutdowns across North America, Europe, and Asia is approximately a million barrels per day. As stated, crude oil was particularly strong across Q3 and was a significant headwind to refinery margins over the quarter. Importantly, we are now coming out of the seasonal peak demand period of high runs and seasonal crude burns. As we approach 2025, we should see more relief from the announced refinery closures, fewer startups, as well as the eventual easing of OPEC cuts, and hopefully a calmer geopolitical landscape. Market conditions will continue to be cyclical, and our role as stewards of assets and investments is to make sure that our refineries are positioned to perform in any market. In contrast to previous cycles, PBS balance sheet provides us with greater flexibility to weather challenging markets. With our financial position secure, we can maintain our focus on operating safely, reliably, and environmentally responsibly. And while safe and responsible operations are a necessity, it is not sufficient unto itself. must operate safely, reliably, and responsibly, and we must do it as efficiently as possible. With that in mind, our team has been developing a business improvement initiative across our refining footprint. We have identified opportunities across our system, both in operating costs and in capital expenditures. We have strong conviction that we can deliver $200 million in run rate cash savings by year end 2025. Capturing this opportunity and ensuring continuing improvement beyond 25 is critical and will take sustained commitment and focus from our entire organization. We will set clear targets and expectations. We will measure execution. And we will hold people accountable. We will all ultimately be accountable to our investors and we intend to provide updates on this initiative on future calls. Looking ahead, we are nearing completion of our last major turn around of the year at Chalmette. The pre work began in late September and we should be completed in the first half of November. In the meantime, safe, reliable, Responsible operations with a renewed attention on efficiency remain our primary focus. We will continue to prioritize capital allocation toward the opportunities to deliver the greatest long-term value to our shareholders. We returned $104 million in cash to shareholders, including approximately $75 million of share repurchases in the third quarter. Additionally, our board of directors approved a 10% increase to our regular quarterly dividend to 27.5 cents per share. The increase represents a vote of confidence not only in our operation, but also in the medium to long-term outlook for our business. With that, I'll turn the call over to Karen.