5N Plus Inc.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. And welcome to the 5N Plus, Inc. first quarter 2024 results conference call. At this time, note that all participant lines 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 time, please press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. And if you require immediate assistance for the operator, please press star 0. Je vais maintenant donner la parole à Richard Perron, chef de la direction financière. And I would like to turn the conference over to your speaker today, Richard Perron, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Bonjour à toutes et à tous. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our Q1 2024 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 Yelva Jacques, our President and CEO. We issued our financial results yesterday and posted a short presentation on the investor 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 2023, dated February 27, 2024, available on our website and in our public filings. 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. Bonjour à tous. Welcome, everyone. We announce our results for our first quarter of 2024. On the back of a strong 2023 performance, Q1 results reflect an equally strong start to 2024. Sustained demand in space solar power applications and terrestrial renewable energy continue to drive growth and profitability in specialty semiconductors. while a favorable product mix generated increased EBITDA and strong gross margins in performance materials despite lower revenue. Combined, we were able to deliver on all our key metrics, with consolidated revenue up 18% and adjusted EBITDA up 33% over Q1 2023, as well as a gross margin above 30% and a solid backlog. In specialty semiconductors, in the first quarter, we secured a record $135 million in contracts during a single quarter for Azure. These multi-year contracts are primarily for deliveries beyond 2025, which is beneficial for our long-term visibility and demonstrates both the demand for our space solar power applications and Azure unique position as a trusted supplier. We expect further contracts to be signed in the near term, namely on the terrestrial renewable energy side. In North America, the clean energy transition is happening and is being supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, putting us in a favorable position. We also recently announced a U.S. Department of Defense grant for $14.4 million. This will go towards supporting our production facility in St. George, Utah, for the manufacture of germanium substrates used in solar cells for defense and commercial satellites. Covering a four-year term, the grant is subject to certain conditions and the achievement of preset milestones. In addition, We issued a press release regarding the validation of our GaN on silica patent portfolio. These patents are key to the development of novel vertical GaN on silica power device for applications in high performance electronics, EV and AI server applications that would take power switching technology to the next level. We are actively in discussion and evaluating various opportunities and scenarios under which we can capitalize on this portfolio, which will fast-track go-to-market for companies operating in these end markets. Finally, on the terrestrial renewable energy side, our customer region an Australian solar and storage company, announced in April that they raised additional funds to expand manufacturing and support offshore opportunities. Azure manufactures the solar cells that are critical components of radiant, long-duration energy storage solutions, and so we are very optimistic about the continued growth potential for projects with this valued customer. In performance materials, while revenue in Q1 decreased, adjusted EBITDA increased by 10%, and adjusted gross margin came in at 35.3% compared to 29.8% in the same quarter last year. As we have said before, growth in this segment is expected to come largely from health and pharma. On that front, subsequent to quarter end, Microbiome, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company in which we have an equity stake, publish phase 1b results for its bismuth-based active pharmaceutical ingredient or API, PreviBismaine, which is currently under development. As the future manufacturer of this API, we are encouraged by the progress they have made. We view this as a two to five year growth opportunity. Reflecting our confidence in microbiome, in Q1, we increased our equity stake for an amount of $1 million, bringing our total investment in microbiome to date to $4 million. Looking at our operations, our capacity expansion plans remain on track. This year, we expect to complete our previously announced capacity expansion plans for terrestrial renewable energy applications in Montreal and for space solar applications at Azure in Germany. In addition, and as previously discussed, we anticipate that our previously expanded recycling and refining operations in Montreal to be at capacity this year as we secure additional complex feeds and secondary market streams for the recovery of critical materials. Our continued focus on the right priorities and end markets, clear strategy, and solid execution are generating predictable, sustainable, and profitable growth. Only one quarter into the year, our results validate our outlook and put us well on track to meet our financial objectives for fiscal year 2024. This is supported by high demand in specialty semiconductors, particularly in terrestrial renewable energy and space solar power, where we are already seeing new and renewed contracts and improved product mix in performance materials. We are also confident in our attractive pipeline of organic growth opportunities over the medium to long term. Richard, over to you for a review of our financial results in more detail.