AMG Critical Materials N.V.

Good day and welcome to AMG's Q1 2022 earnings conference call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michelle Fisher, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Welcome to AMG's first quarter 2022 earnings call. Joining me on this call are Dr. Hein Schimmelbusch, the Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jackson Dunkel, the Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Eric Jackson, the Chief Operating Officer. AMG's first quarter 2022 earnings press release issued earlier today is on AMG's website. Today's call will begin with a review of the first quarter 2022 business highlights by Dr. Schimmelbusch. Mr. Dunkel will comment on AMG's financial results, and Mr. Jackson will discuss operations. At the completion of Mr. Jackson's remarks, Dr. Schimmelbusch will comment on strategy and outlook. We will then open the call to take your questions. Before I pass the call to Dr. Schimmelbusch, I would like to comment on forward-looking statements. This conference call could contain forward-looking statements about AMG Advanced Metallurgical Groups. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but may include statements concerning AMG's plan, expectations, future revenues or performance, financing needs, plans, and intentions relating to acquisitions, AMG's competitive strengths and weaknesses, reserves, financial position, and future operations, and development and AMG's business strategy and the trends AMG anticipates in the industries and the political and legal environment in which it operates and other similar or different information that is not historical information. When used in this conference call, the words expect, believe, anticipate, plan, may, will, should, and similar expressions and the negatives thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks that exist that any predictions, forecasts, or similar projections contained by such forward-looking statements will not be achieved. These forward-looking statements speak only at the date of this conference call. AMG expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in AMG's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any forward-looking statement is based. I will now pass the floor to Dr. Schimmelbusch, AMG's Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Michelle. With regard to COVID, we continue to apply all safety measures at our disposal with the highest degree of attention to ensure our employees are working in the lowest risk environment possible. Fortunately, AMG has not experienced a facility closure or operational interruption. Nothing is more important to AMG than the safety, health, and well-being of our workers and their families. All injuries and occupational illnesses are preventable, and we firmly believe there is no job worth doing in an unsafe manner. Safety is understood across business units as our number one priority. AMG continued to sequentially improve EBTA in the first quarter for the seventh time as prices increased and demand remains robust throughout our portfolio. We expect this to continue throughout the year. Our clean energy materials segment continues to deliver strong EBTA, which more than tripled since the first quarter of 2021, the eighth straight quarter of sequentially increasing EBITDA. The global lithium market has experienced very strong price increases. Cerro Venadio prices have recovered to a level above long-term averages. We have increased EBITDA guidance to 4.2022 twice, since our initial guidance and in the outlook section of our press release issued today, we did so again. EMG's key strategic prospects are all proceeding as planned. The commissioning of the ferrovenadium plant in Sainsville, Ohio, which will essentially double our recycling capacity for refinery residues is proceeding well and is expected to be producing at run rate capacity in the fourth quarter of 2022. Shell and AMG Recycling BV continues to pursue refinery residue opportunities globally to convert refinery waste streams into valuable products, including battery materials that will enable acceleration of sustainable energy transition goals. AMG Brazil is expanding its lithium concentrate production by 40,000 tons, bringing its production capacity to 130,000 tons per annum. for our new lithium hydroxide production facility in Germany will take place on May 11, 2022. AMG's first lithium vanadium battery, called LIWA, for industrial power management applications has begun commissioning. I would like now to pass the floor to Jackson Dunkel, AMG's Chief Financial Officer. Jackson?