Pyxus Intl Inc New

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to today's PIXUS International Fiscal Year 2023 Third Quarter Results Conference Call. At this time, all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question at that time, simply press star, followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, again, press star one. Please note that the webcast is audio only, and to ask a question, participants must be dialed in to the audio portion of the call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Mr. Thomas Gregera. Mr. Gregera, you may begin.

Thank you, Brent. With me this evening are Peter Sickle, our president and CEO, and Flavia Landsberg, our CFO. Before we begin discussing our financial results, I would like to cover a few points. You may hear statements during the course of this call that express a belief, expectation, or intention, as well as those that are not historical fact. These statements are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events and results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in detail along with other risks and uncertainties in our findings with the SEC. including our most recent Form 10-K. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made on this conference call to reflect any change in management expectations or any change in assumptions or circumstances on which these statements are based. Included in our call today may be discussion of non-GAAP financial measurements, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, commonly referred to as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. that are not measures of results of operations under generally accepted accounting principles of the United States and should not be considered as an alternative to U.S. GAAP measurements. A table including a reconciliation of and other discussions regarding these non-GAAP financial measures is available on our website at www.PIXIS.com. The replay, rebroadcast, transcript, or other reproduction of this conference call other than the replay as provided by PIXIS International has not been authorized and is strictly prohibited. Investors should be aware that any unauthorized reproduction of this conference call may not be an accurate reflection of its contents. Now I'll hand the call over to Peter.

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us. We're excited to share our third quarter results with you this evening. Our improved operating profit illustrates the company's strong global performance in spite of a dynamic and complicated crop year that was affected by La Nina and inflationary pressures. Our results emphasize the progress we've made year over year in several ways and would not have been possible without the dedication and contribution of our employees around the globe. Their efforts are greatly appreciated. We successfully utilized our global footprint to navigate the current tobacco supply shortage and mostly meet our overall buying targets for fiscal 2023. Combined with continuing normalization of shipping schedules in North and South America and increased volume from Asia, the company delivered an increase of more than 50% in sales and other operating revenues year over year. This increase and higher utilization of the company's securitization program resulted in increased cash flow from operations in the third quarter by more than $100 million year over year. Some of these funds were strategically used to fully repay the outstanding indebtedness under our ABL credit facility and provides the company with increased financial flexibility as we approach the next buying cycle. We anticipate the third quarter to be our largest sales quarter of the fiscal year due to more normalized shipping schedules. Based on our expectations for continued improvement year over year, we have revised our expected fiscal 2023 sales to be between $1.85 and $2 billion. and our adjusted EBDA expectations to be between $140 and $155 million. Strength in financial performance also helps position the company to progress against our environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, targets. We recently released our fiscal 2022 sustainability report, which provides stakeholders with a comprehensive understanding of how our ESG framework and business strategy are intertwined and reaffirms our commitment to transparent reporting as we execute against our measurable ESG goals. As we look beyond fiscal 2023, we continue to position the company for long-term success. In February 2023, we successfully completed an exchange of our existing long-term debt with varying maturity dates for new long-term debt with maturity dates in 2027. A new capital structure provides the company with increased financial flexibility and relief from certain restrictive covenants. This revised structure reflects the company's progress over the past two fiscal years, and combined with continued normalization of shipping schedules, the potential for a larger crop cycle next year, and additions to our board of directors, we're excited about the company's future and ability to grow a better world. With that, I'll turn it over to Flavia to provide a financial update. Flavia?