Becle, S.A.B. de C.V.

Good morning and thank you for joining Beckler's first quarter unaudited financial results call. During this call, you may hear certain forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to our future prospects, developments, and business strategies and may be identified by our use of terms and phrases such as anticipate, believe, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, predict, project, will, goals, target, strategy, and similar terms and phrases, and may include references to assumptions. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, by their nature they're subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. For all the foregoing reasons, you were cautioned against relying on such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Before we begin, we would like to remind you that the figures discussed on this call were prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, and published in the Mexican Stock Exchange. The information for the first quarter of 2023 is preliminary and is provided with the understanding that once financial statements are available, updated information will be shared in the appropriate electronic formats. At this time, we would like to remind participants that your lines will be in listen-only mode until the question and answer session. Now, I will pass the call to Beckler's CEO, Mr. Juan Domingo Beckman.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss Beckler's first quarter 2023 results. Looking at overall results for the quarter, we saw total volume grow by 3.9% and net sales by 5.7% on the back of our premiumization strategy. In the US and Canada, volume and net sales were down 5.4% and 5.9%, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to the decrease in our ready-to-drink category amid increased competition. However, our premium tequila segment remains strong, outpacing overall tequila growth in the region as per recent Nielsen reading. On the other hand, Mexico and Latam experienced a noteworthy year-over-year increase in overall volume and net sales during the quarter due to our well-executed premiumization strategy and price increases in the region. Tequila sales reported a substantial year-over-year surge, underlying strong demand for key brands, and a robust core business performance. Despite ongoing challenges with lead times and availability in some LATAM countries, both Mexico and LATAM regions demonstrated impressive strength overall. The EMEA region posted a 19.8 year-over-year increase in volume, despite consumers resulting despite consumers' concerns resulting from inflationary pressures, while APAC was up an impressive 91%, mainly attributed to post-COVID openings. These results were largely driven by Tequila's continued growing demand, which experienced a 35.6 year-over-year increase in the EMEA region and nearly tripled its value in the APAC region as compared to the previous year. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, our key brands continue to perform well. Driven by strong demand for our premium products, we remain confident in the enduring value of our brands and our ability to deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders. I am also proud to announce the opening of our state-of-the-art Causeway Distillery, located adjacent to our old Bushmills Distillery. This investment more than doubles our production capacity of Irish malts and reflects our commitment to premiumize the category even further. I will now turn the call to Felix to discuss our U.S. and Canada results in further detail.

Thank you, Juan, and good morning, everyone. I am pleased to report the United States and Canada region's commercial performance of the first quarter of 2023. Kindly note that the results in the following remarks were prepared on a constant currency basis. Net sales value was up 3.4% compared to the first quarter of 2022. This was mainly driven by our communization strategy and a 9.8 increase in tequila sales, which benefited from the price increases in the second quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. Additionally, we observe a 9.4% quarter-over-quarter improvement in net sales per case for our entire portfolio. Shipments for the first quarter were down 5.4% compared to the previous year due to challenges faced by the RTD category. However, this decline was partially upset by the recovery on the non-alcoholic beverages. Depletions for the quarter fell by 5.7%, largely caused by a timing difference between the price increase at the start of the quarter, lapping an increase from the second quarter of last year. This increase affected all categories, with tequilas and whiskeys experiencing a 2% decline, and RTD declining by 11%. We expect depletion rates to normalize after distributors and retailers have fully implemented and absorbed the first quarter price increases. During the quarter, we made significant investment in our brands through an effective AMP activities. This increase reflected our commitment to early year investment in our whiskey and tequila portfolios. aimed at maximizing the AMP's positive effects and driving consumer awareness and engagement. Based on the 13-week Nielsen value indicators, our tequila portfolio grew by 11%, outpacing the category's 6% growth rate. Furthermore, our whiskeys grew 3%, despite the category's declining by 2%. This highlights the off-premise performance of our Proximus U.S. spirits-only business, which continues to pose strong momentum, growing at 8.8% compared to an industry decline of 1.7%. Even when considering our full portfolio, including RTDs, growth remained strong at 4.9%, while the industry's total growth was only 1%. We remain confident that our tequila-based premiumization strategy will continue to deliver substantial value, supported by the outstanding performance of the tequila category overall, as well as our consistent A&P investment and implementation of effective in-market execution program. I will now turn the call over to Olga Limon to discuss the Mexico and Latin America results.