Smurfit WestRock PLC

Welcome to second quarter 2024 financial result for Smurfit Westrock conference call. My name is Alan and I will be your coordinator for today's event. Please note this call has been recorded and for the duration your lines will be on listen only. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end. This can be done by pressing star 1 on your telephone keypad. If you require assistance at any time, please press star 0

you'll be connected to an operator i'll now hand you over to karen pott head of investor relations at smurf investor please go ahead thank you alan this call will include certain forward-looking information regarding our current plans beliefs and expectations which are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from results and events concentrated by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those set out in our earnings release and our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date indicated, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. In addition, Today's call will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions and reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and our presentation, as well as in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the UK Financial Conduct Authority and our reports available on the UK National Storage Mechanism and our website. Given time constraints and demand, I would ask that you keep to two questions and hold detailed modelling questions I will now hand over to Tony Smurfett, CEO of Smurfett Westbrook.

Thank you, Ciarán, and good evening, everyone. I am delighted to be with you this evening, and I thank you for taking the time to listen to this call, which is held together with Ken Bowles, our CFO. July 5th was a truly momentous day for our company and our stakeholders when we concluded the combination of Smurfit Kappa and Westrock. And then on July 8th, when we commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange with our primary listing, Smurfit Westrock. And in doing so, we became the largest listed packaging company in the world. Interestingly, you'll see from this slide a picture of a gigantic corrugated bill, bull, which attracted worldwide attention from everyone who saw it and posted it online. Not only is corrugated packaging highly interesting, creative, and innovative, it is of course recyclable, renewable, and biodegradable. The vision of our company is to be a globally admired business, dynamically and sustainably delivering secure and superior returns for all stakeholders. I think over the years, we have shown that we are well on our way to realizing this vision. As part of that journey, we've taken certain steps over many years. These include continuous investments, selective acquisitions, development of innovation and service for our customers, and the extensive training and development of our people. Along the way, we have had many defining moments, including the merger with Kappa Packaging in 2005, its subsequent IPO in 2007, navigating the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, the successful defense of the unsolicited approach by International Paper, And of course, the defining moment, not only for our company, but also for the industry, by combining with Westrock, all the while delivering outstanding operational and financial performance. The combination gives Smurfett Westrock the opportunity to give our customers world-class packaging solutions across four continents and 40 countries, with unrivaled innovation and a unique footprint for our customers. Our combination to form Smurf at Westrock will be run by a management team that has a proven track record and has consistently delivered superior performance. Moreover, it is also a management team that has a track record of identifying, acquiring, and optimizing the performance of undervalued assets. In that context, it is important to note that the transaction was concluded at an optimal time, whereby both sets of stakeholders will benefit from and participate in the go-to sustainable packaging company in our industry. I would like to briefly recap on the factors that have sustained Smurfit Capital's success. While you've often heard me say that success is never a straight line, what you will see here is a structural growth story. This slide also shows the continuing benefits of our medium-term capital plan. Since 2015, we invested some $6 billion to optimize our integrated operating model. We also acquired complementary businesses with an aggregate value of $2 billion. Outperformance has generated substantial free cash flow while delivering a progressive income stream for our shareholders. Those capital allocation decisions, together with ongoing operating excellence, have, over the last eight years to the end of 2023, delivered a 100% increase in EBITDA, a 470 basis point increase in EBITDA margin, and a 520 basis point increase in ROSI. All the while, while building balance sheet strength and sustaining a highly attractive income stream. This performance has continued, where we have, again, delivered a strong set of results against the backdrop of higher recovered fiber costs and lower corrugated costs, which are now being recovered. Ken will take you through these results in greater detail in a few minutes. For those of you that don't know the company, we've been able to deliver consistently through a fundamental element of our business, and that is our TPR and our culture. The only true differentiating factor in any company is culture. And we in Smurfit Kappa have fostered a winning owner-operator culture and adherence to our core values of loyalty, integrity, respect, and safety at work. Along the way, we have provided our customers with more and more sophisticated and innovative packaging to meet the various demands of sustainability, innovation, and merchandising. Through performance, we have transferred the perception of our product away from being merely a transport medium towards being seen by customers as a vital value-added product in their supply chain. This came into sharp focus during COVID when corrugated was deemed as essential and critical to the supply chain. And while the past is no guarantee of future success, it is, however, a good guide. The Smurfit and Westrock combination marries up extremely well. We have more product ranges in sustainable packaging, we're more integrated, we have significant synergy potential, and we have a unique global footprint. Our significant project range is diverse, with high margin product areas, and we occupy number one or number two positions in most of the countries and markets in which we operate. The uniqueness of Smurfit Westrock cannot be underestimated. and the coming together of the two organizations brings incredible expertise to be harnessed with far broader opportunities for every stakeholder. Clearly, the question is, what is next for the combination? We intend to follow the model that has been successful for Smurfit Kappa across our world and operations. As I said before, the next phase of our journey will take time as we focus on the execution of putting these two excellent companies together as we develop a cohesive performance-led culture within the new Smurfit Westrock, and as we focus on putting our customers at the heart of everything that we do. What I have seen so far within the legacy Westrock business is impressive. Today, together with my colleagues, we have seen an excess of over 100 operating units and met with thousands of energized and excited employees, providing an excellent foundation from which to build. I'm also encouraged by the energy, enthusiasm, and resolve across the organization to realize the success that the combination will present for all stakeholders. Now I'll pass it over to Ken to take you through some of the financials.