Balchem Corporation (NASDAQ:BCPC) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 16, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Martin Bengtsson - CFO

Ted Harris - Chairman, President and CEO

Conference Call Participants

Bob Labick - CJS Securities

Kyle May - Sidoti

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Balchem Corporation Fourth Quarter and Year End 2023 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Martin Bengtsson, Chief Financial Officer of Balchem Corporation. Thank you, sir. You may begin.

Martin Bengtsson

Good morning everyone. Thank you for joining our conference call this morning to discuss the results of Balchem Corporation for the quarter ending December 31st, 2023.

My name is Martin Bengtsson, Chief Financial Officer and hosting this call with me is Ted Harris, our Chairman, President and CEO. Following the advice of our council, auditors and the SEC at this time, I would like to read our forward-looking statement.

Statement made in today's call that are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements will prove correct and various factors could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, including risks and factors identified in Balchem's most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports. The company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Today's call and commentary include non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the reconciliation in our earnings release for further details.

I will now turn the call over to Ted Harris, our Chairman, President and CEO.

Ted Harris

Thanks Martin. Good morning and welcome to our conference call.

We were pleased with the financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023, which capped off another solid year for Balchem. We delivered record fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA and record free cash flow on modestly lower sales in what continues to be a challenging demand environment. I am particularly pleased with our Human Nutrition & Health segment posting record fourth quarter sales and earnings. Before we get into more detail on the quarter, I would like to reflect for a few minutes on some of the significant accomplishments the Balchem team achieved over the past year.

Overall, 2023 was another solid year for Balchem, while full year 2023 net sales were down 2.1%, we delivered record earnings from operations of $159.2 million, an increase of 9.6% and record adjusted EBITDA of $231 million, an increase of 7.1% from the prior year.