AMG Critical Materials N.V.

Please stand by. Your program is about to begin. If you need any assistance during your conference today, please press star zero. Good day, everyone, and welcome to today's AMG Q3 2023 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. You may register to ask a question at any time by pressing star and 1. You may withdraw yourself from the queue by pressing star 2. Please note, this call may be recorded. I will be standing by if you should need any assistance. It is now my pleasure to turn the conference over to Ms. Michelle Fisher, Vice President of Investor Relations.

Welcome to AMG's third quarter 2023 earnings call. Thank you everyone in Europe who's joining so late in the day. 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 third quarter 2023 earnings press release issued earlier today is on AMG's website. Today's call will begin with a review of the third quarter 2023 business highlights by Dr. Schimelbush. Mr. Dunkel will comment on AMG's financial results, and Mr. Jackson will discuss operations. At the completion of Mr. Jackson's remarks, Dr. Schimelbush will comment on strategy and outlook. We will then open the call to take your questions. Before I pass the call to Dr. Schimelbush, I would like to expressly refer you to our statement on forward-looking statements and the meaning thereof. as we have used at all previous occasions and we use at this earnings call, and which explanatory statement has been published as part of our financial presentation and on our website, all in connection with this earnings call. I will now pass the floor to Dr. Schimmelbusch, AMG's Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Executive Officer.

Thank you, Michelle. The 48% decrease in EBTA compared to Q3 22 was driven primarily by the global decline in net prices within our portfolio, predominantly the lithium price decline. The average quarterly prices of lithium carbonate and ferrovanadium have decreased more than 50% and 29%, respectively, versus the average pricing in Q3 22. Cash from operating activities, however, was $178 million on a year-to-year basis compared to $111 million for the first nine months of last year. And we ended Q3 23 in a $320 million net debt position with $542 million of total liquidity. AMG Engineering signed 81 million in new orders during the quarter, 51 percent higher on a year-to-year basis in 23 than in 22. Our order backlog was 341 million at the end of September 23, the highest in AMG history for the second straight quarter. This was largely driven by the aerospace market. which is experiencing a strong growth period. Our Q3-23 order intake remains at a very high level, reaching 323 million year-to-date. AMC's supervisory report has authorized the implementation of a new corporate structure, which will be operational January 1, 2024. Our present segmental reporting structure will be replaced by three corporate entities, AMG Lithium PV, AMG Vanadium PV, and AMG Technologies, either HE or GmbH, each with its own leadership team and operating management. The three new AMG subsidiaries AMG Lithium, AMG Vanadium, and AMG Technologies are clearly distinct as regard to underlying growth trends, industry sectors and peers, business models, and required management skills. Each of the three new subsidiaries are global and regional industry leaders. AMG Lithium PV is on its way to be the premier European lithium refiner based on its own low-cost resources in Brazil and operates a value chain starting with mining and including solid-state lithium batteries in Germany. AMG Lithium PV was formed in 2023 and has already been audited for 2021 and 2022. AMG Venadium is the world's market leader in recycling Venadium from oil-refining residues. It is also the only U.S. ferrovenadium producer, and it is expanding in the Middle East through the so-called Supercenter Project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Shell AMG Recycling BV Amsterdam. AMG Technologies is the establishment world market leader in advanced metallurgy, and provides equipment engineering to the aerospace engine sector globally. It is also providing the engineering home for our fast-growing LIWA battery. Each subsidiary will be governed by newly formed management boards that will exercise their control through respective supervisory boards. These supervised reports will apply the same corporate governance principles currently in place at AMG Critical Materials, NV. The new subsidiaries will also be the new reporting segments with financial reports as of January 1, 24. In terms of our expansion projects, there will be a three-week shutdown of the lithium concentrate plant in the first quarter of 2022 to enable the expansion from 90,000 tons to 130,000 tons. We expect to produce at full run rate capacity beginning of Q3 of next year. Our lithium hydroxide refinery first 20,000-ton module in Bieterfeld, Germany, is in the initial phases of commissioning. with the ramp-up and qualification process planned for the second and third quarters of next year. This will be the first European hydroxide refinery. AMG's leader projects are integral for industrial power management applications and industrial energy transition. The batteries are currently under various stages of bidding and development. The first one is operational. Three others are under construction, and 13 are in bidding and development stages. Lever is well on its way to become a market leader for large-scale industrial storage systems. Shell AMG Recycling, or SARBV, project development of closed-loop circular recycling in the Middle East is progressing. Phase 1. of the so-called Super Center project, a hydrometallurgical facility to process vanadium-containing gasification ash, is under a long-term contract with Aramco. The gasification ash will ultimately be processed into vanadium electrolytes for use in batteries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. is expected to reach FEL3 status by the end of this year. The Supercenter concept also includes spent catalyst recycling projects, fresh catalyst production, and the construction of vanadium batteries. FEL3 is a term for basic engineering. I will now pass the floor to Jackson Dunkel, AMG's Chief Financial Officer. Jackson?