Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Q1 2024 Results Conference Call May 2, 2024 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Meredith Bandy - Vice President, Investor Relations and Sustainability
Kent Masters - Chief Executive Officer
Neal Sheorey - Chief Financial Officer
Netha Johnson - President, Specialties
Eric Norris - President, Energy Storage

Conference Call Participants

Aleksey Yefremov - KeyBanc Capital
Arun Viswanathan - RBC Capital
David Deckelbaum - TD Cowen
Rob Hoffman - Bank of America
Andres Castanos - Berenberg
John Roberts - Mizuho Securities
Harris Fein - Wolfe Research
Matt Hettwer - Vertical Research Partners
Apurva Kilambi - Scotia Capital, Inc.
Michael Sison - Wells Fargo Securities
Chris Perrella - UBS
Colin Rusch - Oppenheimer
Patrick Cunningham - Citi

Operator

Hello and welcome to Albemarle Corporation's Q1 2024 Earnings Call. I will now hand it over to Meredith Bandy, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability.

Meredith Bandy

Thank you. Welcome everyone to Albemarle's first quarter 2024 earnings conference call. Our earnings were released after the close of market yesterday, and you'll find the press release and earnings presentation posted to our website under the Investor Section at albemarle.com.

Joining me on the call today are Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer; and Neal Sheorey, Chief Financial Officer. Netha Johnson, President of Specialties; and Eric Norris, President of Energy Storage are also available for Q&A.

As a reminder, some of the statements made during this call, including our outlook, guidance, expected company performance and timing of expansion projects, may constitute forward-looking statements.

Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in our press release and earnings presentation that same language applies to this call. Also note that some of our comments today refer to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations can be found in our earnings materials.

And now, I'll turn the call over to Kent.

Kent Masters

Thank you, Meredith.

During the first quarter, our team demonstrated its ability to navigate dynamic market conditions with actions that position Albemarle for profitable growth and deliver on the operational steps that we have set out to achieve this year.

We recorded net sales of $1.4 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $291 million. We saw continued volumetric growth, driven by Energy Storage segment highlighting the demand growth in the segment and our ability to capture it. We also ramp new conversion facilities, executed on our productivity plans and strengthened our competitive position and financial flexibility.

During the quarter, we delivered more than $90 million in productivity and restructuring cost savings consistent with our efforts to align our costs with the current market environment. We are on track to deliver more than $280 million in productivity improvements in 2024, demonstrating our excellent execution.