Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the secure Q4 2023 results conference call. At this time, note that all lines are in the listen-only mode. But following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. And if at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. Also note that the call is being recorded on Monday, February 26, 2024. And I would like to turn the call over to Chad. Please go ahead.

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Secure's conference call for the fourth quarter of 2023. Joining me on the call today is Reni Yamiro, our Chief Executive Officer, Alan Grant, our President, and Corey Hyam, our Chief Operating Officer. During the call today, we will make forward-looking statements related to future performance and we will refer to certain financial measures and ratios that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and may not be comparable to similar financial measures or ratios disclosed by other companies. The forward-looking statements reflect the current views of SECURE with respect to future events and are based on certain key expectations and assumptions considered reasonable by SECURE. Since forward-looking information addresses future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to numerous factors and risks. Please refer to our continuous disclosure documents available on CDAR Plus risk factors applicable to secure, factors which may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, and identify and define our non-GAAP measures. Today, we will review our financial and operational results for the fourth quarter of 2023 and our outlook for 2024. I will now turn the call over to Rennie for his opening remarks.

Thank you, Chad, and good morning, everyone. 2023 was another remarkable year for Secure. We achieved record operational and financial performance, exceeding all our short-term objectives. Our strong financial performance underscored the stability and growth potential of our waste management and energy infrastructure business. We delivered significant shareholder value in the year, returning a total of $280 million to shareholders, or $0.95 for basic share, through a combination of quarterly dividends and strategic share repurchases. We also strategically advanced our position as a leader in waste management and energy infrastructure. Most significantly, the $1.15 billion asset sale to an affiliate of Waste Connections, a large North American integrated solid waste services company, begins to highlight the underlying value of our infrastructure-based business that provides stable, reoccurring revenue while generating significant free cash flow. The proceeds from this asset sale have significantly improved our financial position, affording us significant capacity to enhance returns to shareholders and strategically expand the business and strategically expand in the industrial and energy waste markets. In 2023, we deployed $114 million of growth capital into our core business. Our two major infrastructure projects this year, the expansion of a water disposal facility in the Maundy region and an oil pipeline and terminal in the Clearwater region, were safely commissioned on time and on budget. Both projects are supported by long-term contracts, providing critical infrastructure for handling customers' volumes and consistent cash flows for secure across all business cycles. During the year, we also completed our strategic portfolio rationalization by divesting of non-core oilfield service business units that did not align with our core infrastructure strategy. Post-closing of the sales transaction, we maintain our market leadership in Western Canada and North Dakota, leveraging our extensive facility network to expertly manage waste streams for energy and industrial customers. This record-breaking year is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, including our 250 colleagues who joined Waste Connections on February 1st upon closing the asset appreciate everyone's effort in helping us to get to where we are today i believe this is only the beginning for secure we are well positioned with the right people asset network and financial flexibility to take us on our next phase of growth with that today i'm announcing my retirement as chief executive officer as of may 1st it has been a privilege to work with incredible people over the past 17 years at secure it is their commitment to secure's values strong execution that has allowed us to grow and create value for all stakeholders. I'm proud of what we've accomplished together and even more excited about our future. I look forward to continuing on as vice chair of the board of directors. Our board of directors has unanimously approved the appointment of Alan Grange as president and CEO effective May 1st. I've worked with Alan since he joined Secure in the fall of our inaugural year. Over that time, Alan has held executive roles in finance, business development, operations, and most recently, since 2022, as president. He has acquired extensive industry knowledge and experience that has developed into a highly competent and respected leader. We have diligently planned for this succession, and I'm confident in Alan's ability to lead the team as we move forward into the next chapter. I'll now pass it over to Alan.