Stepan Company

Greetings and welcome to the Stepan Company Q3 2020 Earnings Release Conference Call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time, if you have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press the star followed by the 0. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded Wednesday, October 21st, 2020. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Luis Rojo, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Stepan Company.

Please go ahead, sir. Thank you, Wayne. Good morning, and thank you for joining Stepan Company third quarter 2020 financial review. Before we begin, please note that information in this conference call contains forward-looking statements, which are not historical facts. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to prospects for our foreign operations, global and regional economic conditions, and factors detailing our Security and Exchange Commission filing. Whether you're joining us online or over the phone, We encourage you to review the investor slide presentation, which we have made available at www.stepan.com under the investor relations section of our website. We make these slides available at approximately the same time when the earnings release is issued. We hope that you find the information and perspective helpful. Now with that, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Quinn Stepan, our Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Luis. Good morning and thank you all for joining us. We hope you and your families are safe and healthy. People, people like you around the world are cleaning and disinfecting their homes as well as their work and entertainment spaces more often. They have increased the frequency of how often they wash their hands. These changing habits have driven increased demand for many of the products we sell. Stepan employees around the world have responded to this increased demand with passion and commitment. We appreciate the extra effort they have made to keep these essential products on the market and available to our customers and ultimately to all of us. Overall, COVID opportunities in the consumer segment of our surfactant business have benefited the company More than the negative impact COVID has had on our polymer business and on functional surfactants. The company delivered record third quarter and year-to-date income. Third quarter adjusted net income was $36.4 million, or $1.56 per diluted share, up 30%. Thank you for joining us. and personal wash products in the consumer product end markets. Mexican operations delivered strong earnings growth versus the prior year quarter. Our polymer business was down slightly versus the prior year quarter as North America continues to experience construction project delays and cancellations as a result of COVID-19. Our specialty product business results were down due to reduced margins and the timing of customer orders. Our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on Stepan's common stock of 30.5 cents per share payable on December 15, 2020. This represents an 11% increase and marks the 53rd consecutive year of paying and increasing the dividend. Our history of increasing and paying dividends led to Stepan Company becoming part of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrat Index in January of this year. At this point, I'd like Luis to walk through a few more details about our third quarter results.