Vector Group Ltd. (NYSE:VGR) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 2, 2024 8:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Howard Lorber - President and CEO
Nicholas Anson - President and COO, Liggett Group and Liggett Vector Brands
Bryant Kirkland - SVP, Treasurer, and CFO

Conference Call Participants

Ian Zaffino - Oppenheimer & Co.
Hale Holden - Barclays Bank
Karru Martinson - Jefferies

Operator

Welcome to Vector Group Ltd.’s First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. This call is being recorded and simultaneously webcast. An archived version of the webcast will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website located at www.vectorgroupltd.com.

During this call, the terms adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA, and tobacco adjusted operating income will be used. These terms are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations to adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA, and tobacco adjusted operating income are contained in the company's earnings release which has been posted to the Investor Relations section of the company's website.

Before the call begins, I would like to read a Safe Harbor statement. The statements made during today's conference call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks are described in more detail in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Now I would like to turn the call over to the President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Group, Howard Lorber.

Howard Lorber

Good morning, and thank you, for joining us for Vector Group's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. With me today are Richard Lampen, our Chief Operating Officer; Bryant Kirkland, our Chief Financial Officer; and Nick Anson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Liggett Vector Brands.

I will provide an update on our balance sheet and review Vector’s consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2024. Then I will ask Nick to summarize the performance of our tobacco business. I will close with final comments and open the call for questions.

Turning to our balance sheet, as of March 31, 2024, we maintained significant liquidity with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $333 million, including cash of $84 million at Liggett. We also held investment securities in long-term investments with a fair value of approximately $179 million.