RB Global, Inc.

Good afternoon, my name is Chris and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the RB Global first quarter conference 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. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star, followed by two. Thank you. I'll now turn the call over to Mr. Samir Rathod, Vice President of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence, to open the conference call. Mr. Rathod, you may begin your conference.

Thank you for joining us today to discuss our first quarter results. With me on the call today are Jim Kessler, our Chief Executive Officer, and Eric Guerin, our Chief Financial Officer. The following discussion will include forward-looking statements, which can be identified by such words such as expect, believe, estimate, anticipate, plan, intend, opportunity, in similar expressions. Comments that are not a statement of fact, including but not limited to projections of future earnings, revenue, gross transaction value, debt, and other items, business and market trends, and expectations regarding the integration of IEA, including anticipated cost synergies, are considered forward-looking and involve risk and uncertainties. The risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results differ significantly from such forward-looking statements are detailed in our news release issued this afternoon, as well as our most recent quarterly report and annual report on Form 10-K, which are available on our investor relations website and on Edgar and Cedar. On this call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures, including forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures. For the identification of non-GAAP financial measures, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, and the applicable reconciliation of the two, see our news release, Form 10-K and Form 10-Q posted on our website. We are unable to present quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures as management cannot predict all necessary components of such measures. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Jim. Jim?

Thank you, Sameer, and good afternoon to everyone. We are off to a solid start to the year with first quarter gross transactional value growth of 10% on a pro forma combined basis. I am proud of the team as they continue driving GTV growth. The strong performance directly reflects our one team all in culture and our dedication to over delivering on our commitments to our customers. Furthermore, our focus on continuous improvement and drive in operational efficiency throughout the organization translated into strong adjusted earnings per share growth of 58%. Let's start by discussing trends in our commercial construction and transportation sector. The equipment consignment market remains strong. However, we are beginning to see a normalization of equipment supply following the surge we experienced post-pandemic. Strategic accounts, specifically within the rental vertical, are carefully evaluating the cadence of their dispositions for the rest of the year as they access business conditions. Within the region's business, the higher interest rate environment, the higher replacement costs, in the upcoming U.S. election are leading some customers to postpone investments in new equipment, reducing their immediate need for transaction solutions. Growing our market share is a top priority, and we're executing our growth algorithm by expanding sales coverage. In the first quarter, we actively recruited new talent to strengthen the Ritchie Brothers brand and to ensure we have the right coverage where we have identified the most significant growth opportunities. Our physical presence and digital omnichannel platform remain a key differentiator, making us the partner of choice. The Yellow Corporation bankruptcy demonstrates the power and versatility of our platform and how we over-deliver for our partners. We complemented the broader logistical efforts of moving their assets to RB global locations by utilizing Veritred, a marketplace service on our platform. to source competitively priced transportation services. Our extensive network of locations bolstered by IEA acquisition meant that 90% of Yellow's assets were within 100 miles of one of our RV global locations, enabling transportation cost savings and seamless care, custody, and control of their equipment. At the end of the quarter, we had approximately 9,000 trucks and trailers at IEA locations. which were flexed as RB global satellite storage yards. Our ability to flex these yards eliminated potential incremental expenses to execute short-term leases for storage. To be clear, even with this transaction, we have more than enough capacity of yards to effectively service all of our partners. Our omni-channel platform's full potential is being deployed to optimize price realization. We began with strategic bulk sales late last year. As those continue, we are directing assets across various regions and channels and hosting yellow dedicated auctions. This dynamic approach ensures we are constantly matching the supply of these assets with the best buyers. All of this is a testament to our marketplace's ability to cater to business of all sizes with a robust offering of services and transaction solutions. Moving to the automotive sector, we hosted IEA's 21st Industry Leadership Summit under RB Global, which shattered attendance records. The event attracted new and potential partners across North America's insurance, fleet, and remarketing sectors. This premier event served as a platform to introduce RB Global's leadership team, our culture, our unwavering commitment to exceeding customers' expectations through robust and consistent performance. As we maintain and grow our partnerships with those who share similar values and want to build long-lasting partnerships based on trust and transparency, we hosted the inaugural session of the IEA Advisory Council in conjunction with the summit. It was the dynamic exchange between key insurance partners and our leadership team. yielding overwhelmingly positive feedback and actionable short- and long-term items. We're excited to keep the conversation going, tackle these initiatives, and solidify our industry-wide partnerships. We also used this event to highlight our performance improvements and the accurate measure of our gains by launching our Partner Transparency Program and dispelling any misconceptions. We laid out a framework and now communicate our service level agreement performance to the industry quarterly. The feedback from our partners, especially about our data-driven operational improvements, have been very positive. Speaking of operational improvements, I am proud of the team and pleased that our continuous improvement program continues to drive meaningful SLA improvements in the first quarter. Our pickup compliance and internal measure of our tow performance continued to be strong at approximately 99%, and our on-time title performance and internal measure of our ability to process vehicle titles that meet our customers' demands was approximately 98%. We also continued to make excellent strides in attracting new international automotive buyers to our marketplace, partially driven by IEA leverage in historical Ritchie Brothers relationships in Europe. In the first quarter, the percentage of vehicles sold to international buyers hit an all-time high. These advancements, combined with our focus on continuous process improvement and investment in technology, continue to drive average sell on price higher, with automotive ASPs climbing an industry-leading 3.3% year-over-year. We're focused on continuous improvement because consistent, strong performance is the critical level in our growth algorithm to unlock market share in this industry, and the results speak for themselves. Our partners are noticing the positive shift. A transforming culture built on trust, transparency, collaboration, and clear focus on consistently delivering exceptional results. This momentum propels us forward, and we're optimistic it will translate into market share gains in the coming quarters. Now, I will pass the call to Eric to review our financial performance and outlook.