Orbia Advance Corp Sab

Good morning and welcome to ORBEA's fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings conference call. As we turn to slide one, 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 presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your touch-tone phone. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. please note that this event is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Gerard Lozoya, Orbea's Investor Relations Director. Please go ahead, sir.

Gerard Lozoya Thank you, operator. Good morning and welcome to Orbea's fourth quarter and full year 2021 earnings conference call. We appreciate your time and participation today. Joining me are Samir Bhadwaj, CEO, and Jim Kelly, TFO. A friendly reminder before we continue, some of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements based on our current view of our business and actual future results may differ materially. Today's call should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements contained in our earnings release and in our most recent Bolsa Mexicana de Valores report. The company disclaims any obligation to update or revise such forward-looking statements. With that, let me now turn the call over to Samir. Samir?

Thank you, Gerardo, and good morning, everyone. I would first like to take the opportunity to recognize our nearly 22,000 employees for their resilience and dedication to Orbia and our stakeholders. Your commitment to our purpose to advance life around the world has made this quarter and this year a success despite the ongoing challenging environment. Turning to slide three, I would like to share a high level overview of our fourth quarter and full year 2021 performance. Orbia delivered another solid quarter, closing 2021 on a high note. Our diversified and integrated portfolio allowed us to deliver strong results which more than offset the impact of continuing macro pressures, such as cost increases in raw materials, supply chain disruptions, labor disruptions and shortages, and other issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This represents our fourth consecutive quarter of favorable results and significant growth. Revenues for the quarter total $2.3 billion, up 34% versus the prior year, and the EBITDA totaled $504 million, an increase of 31% compared to the prior year. These results were mainly driven by Polymer Solutions' record performance, which offset the pressure from raw material and other operating cost increases experienced by some of our other businesses. Our EBITDA margin of 21.5% decreased by approximately 50 basis points year over year, due to higher input costs impacting our downstream businesses. We also generated strong cash flow of $304 million during the quarter, supported by the growth of our businesses. For the full year, we achieved record financial performance, reaching $8.8 billion and $2.05 billion in revenue in EBITDA, respectively, while our EBITDA margin increased approximately 280 basis points to 23.3%, driven by enhanced profitability in polymer solutions and building and infrastructure. Finally, we were able to increase our cash flow by 4% to $572 million, in spite of increased working capital needs due to higher costs impacting our inventories and receivables. We also returned 365 million to shareholders during the year through dividends and share repurchases. Our robust financial performance is underpinned by a strong balance sheet that enables us to execute our growth strategy by investing in innovation, geographic expansion, and bolt-on acquisitions. We continue to pursue innovation that is grounded in our commitment to sustainability and decarbonization. For example, Orbia Ventures and Fluorinated Solutions initiated and participated in a funding round of $70 million for Ascend Elements, formerly known as Battery Resources, to expand its global operations in commercial lithium-ion battery recycling. We expanded our presence in India during the year. Polymer Solutions acquired a majority ownership interest in Shakun Polymers, a market leader in the production of compounds for the wire and cable markets in the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In addition, building and infrastructure announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Vectus Industries Limited, a privately held manufacturer of pipes and fittings, and the market leader in water storage tanks in India. This acquisition was completed in February of 2022, and puts Orbia at the forefront of India's high-growth water management industry. We also continue to grow through strategic bolt-on acquisitions. Fluorinated Solutions acquired Silatronics, a leading battery technology startup. This acquisition complements Fluorinated Solutions' current capabilities in the research and development of lithium ion battery materials and augments our portfolio of electrolyte additive products. Our shared purpose is to advance life around the world and a strong operation and financial performance in 2021 allowed us to meet challenges and deliver solutions across all our businesses. I am proud of what we achieved in 2021 and look forward to building on this momentum and success throughout 2022. I would now like to turn the call over to Jim. to go through our financial performance in further detail. Jim?