GreenFirst Forest Products Inc.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Green First's 2026 second quarter results conference call. Please note that all lines are muted to prevent any background noise. During the conference call, Green First representatives will be making certain statements about future financial and operational performance, business outlook and capital plans. These statements may contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Canadian Securities Law. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions which may cause Green First's actual or future results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in these statements. Additional information about these risks Factors and Assumptions is included in Green First MD&A and Annual AIF, which can be accessed on the company's website or through CEDAR+. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. Please submit your questions through the online portal. I will now pass over to Joel Fournier to begin the management presentation.

Thank you, Sylvie. And good morning, everyone, and welcome to our second quarter 2026 Learning Call. I'm Joel Fournier, the Chief Executive Officer of Green First. Today, I'm joined by Peter Ferrante, our CFO, and Michel Lessard, our President. I'm pleased to announce that during the second quarter, our production and shipment volume increased by over 20 and 40% respectively. Her net sales saw a significant increase of approximately 60% as a result of increase in the benchmark lumber price and strong sales volume. This helped us deliver positive operating income and EBITDA during the quarter. Compared to the previous quarter, we ended Q2 generating approximately $96 million in net sales. This performance was primarily driven by her strongest shipment quarter over the past two years of approximately 120 million MFBM. This was combined with a higher realized selling price and an improved grain mix. During the quarter, the average lumber selling price increased by approximately $60 per thousand MFBM compared to previous quarter Q1. Ermil finished Q2 with stronger production and lower cost compared with Q1, 2026. The increased production volume allowed the company to leverage its fixed manufacturing costs, which in turn reduced her cost of sales despite energy and fuel cost headwinds. This resulted in an overall cost and sale reduction of approximately $70 per thousand during the quarter. Despite this positive operational results, our business continues to face significant pressure from duty and tariffs. During Q2 alone, we incur approximately $21 million in duty and tariffs, an increase of $13 million compared to last year in Q2. We are closely following the ongoing negotiation between the Canadian federal government and the U.S. administration. During the quarter, we received approximately $3.2 million from a provincial government through the Ontario Sawmill Chip Supply Program. We will continue to work closely with both the federal and provincial governments to take advantage of recently announced programs available to our industry to support their strategic initiatives. These measures will help strengthen both our current and future liquidity positions. Now I'm going to discuss a little bit about the market. So Q2 lumber market update. Overall, lumber market condition improved in Q2 compared with Q1, supported primarily by positive development on the supply side. On the demand side, U.S. housing start reached approximately 1.4 million units in June 2026, representing an increase of 3.5% compared with June 2025, and approximately 19% compared with May 2026. In the repair and remodeling segment, we continue to see strong demand from our key home center partner. During the quarter, we further expanded our business with this segment by adding two additional locations. On the supply side, also worth noting that a number of mill curtailment were announced during Q2 across Canada. This capacity reduction combined with modest improved market condition provides support for steadily increased lumber price during the quarter. Home affordability remain a challenge with mortgage rate presently at 6.58% in July. The industry will need to continue to see decline in the federal interest rate in order to support stronger demand moving forward. While we are encouraged by the improvement we saw in Q2, we remain cautious about the outlook for lumber pricing in the coming quarters. Market conditions remain uncertain, and we will continue to closely monitor both demand and industry capacity as we move through the second half of the year. I will pass it over to Peter for the financial section. Thank you.

Good morning everyone and thank you for joining our call. Today I will review our second quarter financial performance, liquidity position and key financial highlights. Revenue for the second quarter totaled $96.1 million compared to $60.6 million in the first quarter and $84.5 million in the second quarter of last year. Lumber sales totaled $91 million with byproduct revenue of $5.1 million. The sequential increase was primarily driven by higher shipment volumes and stronger realized lumber prices. Average gross selling prices increased to $765 per thousand board feet, while average net selling prices increased to $486 per thousand board feet after duties and tariffs. Overall, the quarter reflects a significant improvement in both revenue and operating momentum compared to the first quarter. A key feature of the quarter was that cost of sales totaled $62.1 million, essentially unchanged from the first quarter despite shipments increasing by more than 40%. This reflects the benefits of higher production volumes, improved manufacturing efficiency, and better first cost absorption. While inventory costs increased in absolute dollars as higher volumes moved through the business, manufacturing costs declined on a per unit basis as production increased and fixed costs were absorbed over a larger production base. The quarter also benefited from the reversal of previously recognized inventory valuation reserves, primarily reflecting the stronger lumber prices, lower manufacturing costs, and improved inventory mix compared to prior periods. In addition, results benefited approximately from $3 million of previously approved Ontario Sawmill Ship Support Program funding recognized during this quarter. Freight costs increased with higher shipping volumes while depreciation remained relatively stable. Export duties and tariffs totaled $21.1 million compared to $12.1 million in the first quarter. primarily reflecting higher export volumes under elevated duty and tariff rates. Selling general and administration expense remained well controlled at 4.3 million consistent with the first quarter. Foreign exchange losses were 600,000 and there were no impairment charges during the quarter. Finance costs increased modelistically to 2.4 million reflecting the additional borrowings completed during the first quarter of the year. Operating income improved to $7.9 million compared to an operating loss of $19 million in the first quarter. EBITDA from continuing operations turned positive to $11.8 million compared to a negative $15.1 million in Q1. reported EBITDA benefited from the reversal of previously recognized inventory valuation reserves and government support byproducts. Importantly, however, the quarter also reflected a meaningful improvement in underlining operating performance driven by higher production and shipments, stronger realized pricing, and improved manufacturing efficiency. While year-to-date results continue to reflect the challenge in first quarter, the second quarter demonstrates meaningful progress across our operations. Production increased 22% sequentially to 111 million board feet, while shipments increased 43% to 119 million board feet. Shipments therefore exceeded production during the quarter, resulting in a reduction in inventory and helping to reserve the seasonal Inventory Built experience in the first quarter. This also provided a positive contribution to working capital during the quarter. Turning to working capital and cash, the company ended the quarter with $2.8 million of cash, compared to $6.5 million at the end of the first quarter. The company also continues to have access to its revolving credit facility and other financing arrangements to support its liquidity requirements. Operating activities generated $2.4 million of cash during the quarter, reflecting the improvement in operating performance. This was partially offset by working capital movements, primarily the settlement of trade payables that had accumulated during the first quarter. While operating cash flows returned to positive territory, improving the conversion of earnings into sustainable cash flow remains an important management priority. Investing activities remain modest, with capital expenditures of approximately $900,000 reflecting our continued disciplined approach to capital spending. Financing activities use $5.1 million of cash, primarily reflecting the scheduled repayments of lease obligations and equipment financing together with repayments on the revolving credit facility. Liquidity management remains a key priority. At the same time, the second quarter demonstrates that improvements in operating performance are beginning to translate into stronger financial results and cash generation. Management remains focused on disciplined working capital management, prudent capital allocation, and improving the conversion of operating performance and to sustainable cash flow. We will also continue to actively manage the impacts of duties and tariffs. Overall, the second quarter represents a good progress from both an operating and financial perspective. We increased production and shipments, improving manufacturing efficiency, strengthened our realized pricing and returned to a positive operating income and EBITDA. While challenges remain, particularly around duties tariffs and liquidity, the second quarter provides a strong foundation as we move through the balance of the year. This concludes my remarks and I will pass it back to Joel.