Transcontinental Inc.

et des directives vous seront données à ce moment. Nous désirons vous rappeler que cette conférence est enregistrée aujourd'hui le 6 juin 2024. Welcome to TC Transcontinental second quarter of fiscal year 2024 results conference call. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question and answer session, and instructions will be provided at that time. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, June 6, 2024. I would like to turn the conference over to Yann Lapointe, Director, Investor Relations and Treasury. J'aimerais maintenant céder la parole à Yann Lapointe, Directeur Relations avec les Investisseurs et Trésorerie. Mr. Lapointe, please go ahead.

Thank you, Julie, and good morning, everyone on the call. Welcome to Transcontinental's second quarter of fiscal 2024 earnings call. Before we begin, please note that our quarterly report, including financial statements and related notes, as well as the slide supporting management's remarks, are available on our website at www.tc.tc under the investor relations section. A replay of this conference call will also be available on our website shortly after the call. Please note that this conference call is intended for the financial community. Media are in listen-only mode and should contact Nathalie Saint-Jean, Senior Advisor, Corporate Communications, for more information. We have with us today our President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Morin, and our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Donald Le Cabadier. As referenced on slide two, some of the financial measures discussed over the course of this conference call are non-IFRS. You can refer to the MD&A for a complete definition and reconciliation of these measures to IFRS. In addition, this conference call might also contain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the current expectations of management and information available as of today, and they involve numerous risks and uncertainties, known and unknown. The risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could influence actual results are described in the fiscal 2023 annual MD&A and in the annual information form. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to our President and CEO, Thomas Marais.

Thank you, Yann, and good morning to everyone. We are pleased to report a third quarter in a row of improved profitability, largely due to our cross-production initiatives and a favorable product mix. First, our program to improve our profitability and financial situation, which we announced in December, is progressing well. We expect to reach $30 million in the run rate savings by the end of this fiscal year, close to a two-year objective of $40 million. I commend our team for their quick and effective execution of this important program. Second, our continued focus on optimizing our product mix has contributed to improve our margins in both of our main sectors. In our packaging sector, while destocking remained an issue in our medical business, and with a challenging comparable last year, we achieved a record performance. Demand in our non-food businesses remains low, but we are starting to see an improvement in demand in most of our markets, which should drive modest overall top-line growth in the second half of the year. In line with the need to accelerate the commercialization of recycle-ready packaging, the rollout of our cutting-edge BOP line in Farnburg, a first in North America, is going well in accordance with our plan, and it is now in its commissioning phase. Over the last few months, the quality of our work was highlighted by our peers and customers. We have received a number of awards for the Flexible Packaging Association and Pack Global, and we are particularly pleased with the direct customer recognition received from Procter & Gamble, with the Partner Excellence Award, and from Coca-Cola Canada, the Supplier of the Year 2023 for direct materials. Now turning to retail services and printing. we are renaming the sector to reflect the evolution of our business. Of course, newspapers, books, magazines, and other specialty printing remain an important part of our operations. That said, most of our activities today serve a wide range of retailers and brands. From the production of digital and print advertising content to the design and manufacturing of in-store retail environments, our extended service offering covers far more than the sector's former name indicated. and it has room for growth. We are proud to have served a great number of retailers over the years and look forward to helping them deliver even more value and better shopping experiences to customers. Reviewing the second quarter, we, as well as our clients, are pleased with the successful rollout of Radar in Quebec, complete at the end of April to 3.6 million homes. We look forward to the further expansion of radar in British Columbia and radar entry in Newfoundland, both in the month of July. Finally, I'm encouraged by the continuous growth in our ISM activities. Tomorrow, June 7, marks the one year into the job for me. And while much remains to be done, I am pleased with the direction we have taken and proud of the accomplishments of our teams in delivering on our priorities. On that note, I turn it over to you, Donald.