5N Plus Inc.

Hello ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience and welcome to the telephone conference of the results of the first trimester 2023 of 5N+. Currently, the participants are in listening mode only. After the presentation, there will be a period of questions and answers. To ask a question, press star and 1 on your telephone keyboard. And if you need assistance, please press star 0. I will now hand over the floor to Richard Perron, head of the financial management. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by and welcome to the 5N Plus, Inc. first quarter 2023 results conference call. At this time, note that all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during this session, please press star then one on your telephone keypad. And if you require immediate assistance for the operator, please press star zero. And I would like to turn the conference over to your speaker today, Richard Perron, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Thank you. So bonjour à toutes et à tous. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our Q1 2023 financial results conference call and webcast. We'll begin with a short presentation, followed by a question period with financial analysts. Joining me this morning is Gervais Jacques, our President and CEO. We issued our financial results yesterday and posted a short presentation on the investors section of our website. I would like to draw your attention to slide two of this presentation. Information in this presentation and remarks made by the speakers today will contain statements about expected future events and financial results that are forward-looking and therefore subject to risk and uncertainties. A detailed description of the risk factors that may affect future results is contained in our management discussion and analysis of 2022, dated February 21, 2023, available on our website and in our public filing. In the analysis of our quarterly results, you will note that we use and discuss certain non-IFRS measures, which definitions may differ from those used by other companies. For further information, please refer to our management discussion analysis. I would now turn the conference over to Gervais.

Merci, Richard. Welcome, everyone, and good morning. Yesterday, we released solid Q1 results for the three months ended March 31, 2023. in what remains a complex global environment, but rich in opportunities in the market segments in which we operate. Adjusted EBITDA was up 56% because of our booming special semiconductor segment and an improved product mix in performance materials, reflecting our exit from the low-margin extractive and catalytic sector. These same factors also had a positive impact on our adjusted gross margin, which was up to nearly 30% for Q1. As per our previously provided guidance, we are seeing strong demand for terrestrial renewable energy and solar space power, and we remain the partner of choice for these high-growth value-added sectors. At quarter end, our backlog was 365 days for specialty semiconductor, and only because the estimated number of days based on our annualized revenues cannot exceed 365 per hour definition. The effective backlog, in fact, surpasses the next 12 months because of our confirmed long-term contracts. Last week, I was at the Space Power Conference in Los Angeles, where we met with many players of the industry and confirmed the progress of Azure on different satellite programs. The solid reputation of Azure is driving the increasing adoption of our space solar cell technology in North America as a complement to our solid position in Europe. As a preferred partner, we have been able to secure favorable terms in long-term contracts. We noted some examples of these key contracts in recent announcements, namely our role in the European Space Agency's mission to Jupiter and NASA's intention to employ Azure solar cells in its future mission to Jupiter. These projects, combined with our previously announced Sierra Space contract renewal, highlight our ability to meet unique needs and specifications and reinforce our leadership position in space applications with a more balanced geographical global presence. To meet this extensive pipeline of contracted work in the Specialty Semiconductors segment, we continue to invest in capacity in line with the ramp-up of our commercial agreements across our manufacturing sites. At Azure, we just announced a program to increase production capacity by 30% over the course of 2023 and 2024. To achieve this growth, we are making productivity improvements Installing new equipment and commissioning co-investment equipment. In our performance materials segment, we are seeing the positive margin impact of our improved product mix. We remain confident in the outlook for the health and pharmaceutical sectors that contribute to the demand for our key performance materials. Our strategic focus for fiscal 2023 remains embedded in our Commercial Excellence Program. The first pillar of that program is to prioritize innovative partnerships that further solidify our role as the premier viable supplier of critical enablers in growing sectors. The second focus of our Commercial Excellence Program is the continued value optimization across our product offerings. which allows us to manage pricing for the benefit of our growth, while providing cost-effective solutions to our clients. Finally, our strategy looks to promote co-investment initiatives that accelerate our go-to market for our specialty products and optimize our capital deployment. We remain highly optimistic about our prospects for the future with a clear strategy, a strong pipeline, and a continuous focus on commercial excellence. We are confident in our ability to meet our previously disclosed financial guidance for fiscal year 2023 and fiscal year 2024 with strong EBITDA contributions in the second half of fiscal 2023 as we hold firm in our value-added role as a critical supplier of enabling materials. I will now pass the call over to Richard to discuss our financial results in more detail before we take questions from analysts. Richard.