UL Solutions Inc.

Good morning, and welcome to the UL Solutions fourth quarter 2024 earnings call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's remarks, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your touchstone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mitchell Gee, Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and welcome everyone to our fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings call. Joining me today are Jenny Scanlon, our Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan Robinson, our Chief Financial Officer. During our discussion today, we will be referring to our earnings presentation, which is available on the Investor Relations section of our website. at ul.com. Our earnings release is also available on the website. I would like to remind everyone that on today's call, we may discuss forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements about UL Solutions' results of operations and estimates and prospects that involve substantial risk uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ in a material way from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements please see the disclosure statement on slide two of the earnings presentation as well as the disclaimers in our earnings release concerning forward-looking statements and the risk factors that are described in our annual reports on form 10k for the year ended december 31st 2024. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as required by law. Today's presentation also includes references to non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP financial measure can be found in the appendix to the earnings presentation. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Jenny.

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us. This time last year, we were gearing up for our IPO and the Roadshow to highlight what makes UL Solutions unique and worth your time and investment. As we met with potential investors, we talked about how we are a global safety science leader and a mission-driven growth company in the fragmented and consolidating testing, inspection, and certification industry. Hallmarks of our business include longstanding deep customer relationships and recurring revenue streams. global scale and operating leverage, a healthy balance sheet, and a disciplined capital allocation strategy aligned with the megatrends propelling growth. Against this backdrop, I'm delighted to report that UL Solutions has concluded an extraordinary year with another quarter of outstanding performance. In our first year as a public company, we've delivered strong organic growth, enhanced profitability, and generated robust cash flows while maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet. What's particularly gratifying is the balance strength we've seen across all segments, service offerings, and geographic regions. The key megatrends we've identified, including the global energy transition, the electrification of everything, and digitalization, continue to drive strong demand for our industry-leading services. I'll cover three areas before turning the call over to Ryan. First, our full year performance highlights. Second, notable achievements and activities across 2024. And third, our financial position and capital allocation strategy for 2025. 2024 marked a pivotal year in UL's 130-year history. Our successful transition to a public company, while maintaining focus on delivering superior results, demonstrates the exceptional execution capabilities of our team. I want to express my deep appreciation to our employees whose dedication to safety, scientific excellence, and customer service defines our culture and drives our success. Ryan will dive into the fourth quarter numbers in a minute, so let me hit the high notes of our full year 2024 results. We built strong momentum across the course of the year, delivering revenues of $2.9 billion, up 7.2% versus 2023 and up 8.7% on an organic basis. Our industrial segment led the way with 9.4% full year growth, including 11.9% on an organic basis, while our consumer segment grew 5.6%, including a 6.9% on an organic basis. Our software and advisory segment completed the year with 5% top line growth, including 4.4% on an organic basis. Our results reflected growth across all geographic regions. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year grew 16.5% and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded by 190 basis points. We generated an 18.8% increase in adjusted net income and $287 million of free cash flow for the full year. Next, let me highlight our major accomplishments this year, as well as a few achievements and drivers of performance this quarter and subsequent to its end. After a long and proud history as a private company, we completed our successful initial public offering in April, as well as a follow-on offering of shares from our largest shareholder in September. We made two acquisitions in our industrial segment related to the global energy transition. Battery testing company Battery Engineer and hydrogen testing company, TestNet. Our recent accelerated pace of capital spending resulted in the opening of our state-of-the-art battery testing lab in Auburn Hills, Michigan. We also expanded capacity at our Mexico lab to meet growing product demand in Latin America and announced plans to construct an advanced automotive and battery testing center in Korea. Finally, let me comment on our disciplined approach to capital allocation activities during the year. Our strong revenue growth and resilient business model, along with an investment-grade balance sheet, allowed us to generate robust cash flow. Key actions in addition to the two acquisitions I just mentioned this year included reinvesting organically $237 million in capital expenditures to drive growth, paying down $166 million of borrowings from our credit facility, and paying $100 million in dividends. We believe that we enter 2025 in an even stronger position than when we began our public company journey. Our management team remains focused on maintaining our investment grade rating and conservative leverage while actively pursuing strategic M&A opportunities and returning excess capital to shareholders. Now I'll turn the call over to Ryan for a detailed review of our fourth quarter results and 2025 outlook.