Douglas Dynamics, Inc.

Good day, and welcome to the Douglas Dynamics fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on a touch-tone phone. And to withdraw your question, please press star and then two. Please note that this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Nathan Elwell, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Nick. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's call. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that some of the comments that will be made during this conference call, including answers to your questions, will constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks that could cause actual results to be materially different. Those risks include, among others, matters that we have described in yesterday's press release and in our filings with the SEC. Joining me on the call today are Jim Janik, Chairman and Interim President and CEO, Sarah Lauber, Executive Vice President and CFO, and Mark Van Genderen, COO and President of Work Truck Attachments. Jim will provide an overview of our performance, followed by Mark discussing our segment results. Then Sarah will review our financial results and guidance for the year before we open the call for questions. With that, I'll hand the call over to Jim.

Please go ahead. Thank you, Nathan. The fourth quarter of 2024 was a positive end to what began as a challenging year. Consolidated results improved across all metrics when compared to the prior year, primarily due to strong growth in the solution segment and increased margins in the attachment segment. There were quite dramatic differences in the circumstances our two segments faced, which was reflected in their results. However, the common denominator between attachments and solutions was the grit and determination shown by our people in addressing the challenges we have faced in recent years. After several tough years following the pandemic, the solution segment entered 2024 with strong momentum, which I'm pleased to say continued throughout the year. I want to congratulate the leadership team of both Henderson and Dijana for producing a record annual performance and showing everyone what great things we are capable of. Well done to everybody at our Dijana and Henderson operations. While there is no doubt it has been a tougher year at attachments, we are just as proud of what we've been able to produce under the circumstances. The hard work completed in 2024 to streamline our operations and adapt to recent weather patterns is already paying off. We operated efficiently in a tough environment and delivered improved margins compared to last year. A crucial part of that success was the cost savings program which exceeded expectations in 2024. Given the circumstances, our teams performed extraordinarily well and we couldn't have asked them for more. Sarah will talk to capital allocation in detail later, but I will just say that the dividend remains our priority and we are maintaining the current dividend in 2025. With a lot of hard work completed last year, our balance sheet is strong and provides us with additional options moving forward. When it comes to M&A, there have been no change in our approach. Over the long term, we hope to find companies with complex attachments that need to be professionally up-fit onto work trucks with strong brands, growth potential, and a good cultural fit. With our operating results and a strong balance sheet, we are now in a position where we could consider looking at small and medium-sized acquisitions if we find the right opportunity. Having said that, we will maintain our disciplined approach and we aren't actively pursuing any deals at this time. Finally, I want to give a quick update regarding our leadership. I'm pleased to say that the recent management transitions have been smooth thanks to the combination of our excellent internal team, plus our planning and preparation. In addition, we just appointed a highly qualified new president of Work Truck Attachments, Chris Bernauer, which Mark will discuss further. The next step is to conclude our search for a new permanent CEO. Our intention remains the same, to have a new CEO named in the first half of 2025. The search process has been thoughtful and diligent, and we believe we are close to having the right person in place. Okay, I'm going to hand over the call to our COO, Mark Van Gendren, who I've asked to walk you through several topics this morning.