Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call May 9, 2024 9:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Chris Delange – Investor Relations Coordinator
Ben Cowart – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
James Rhame – Chief Operating Officer
Chris Carlson – Chief Financial Officer
Doug Haugh – Chief Commercial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Noah Kaye – Oppenheimer
Sameer Joshi – Wainwright
Eric Stine – Craig-Hallum
Donovan Schafer – Northland Capital Markets
Saumya Jain – UBS
Brian Butler – Stifel
Jason Gabelman – TD Cowen

Operator

Hello everyone, and welcome to Vertex Energy, Incorporated First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Please note that this call is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] Thank you.

I'd like to turn the call over to Chris Delange [ph], Investor Relations Coordinator. You may now begin the conference.

Chris Delange

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Vertex Energy's first quarter 2024 conference call. On the call today are Chairman and CEO, Ben Cowart; Chief Financial Officer, Chris Carlson; Chief Operating Officer, James Rhame; Chief Strategy Officer, Alvaro Ruiz; and Chief Commercial Officer, Doug Haugh.

I want to remind you that management’s commentary and responses to questions on today’s conference call may include forward-looking statements, which by their nature are uncertain and outside of the company’s control. Although these forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, actual results may differ materially.

For a discussion of some of the risk factors that could cause actual results to differ, please refer to the Risk Factors section of Vertex Energy’s latest annual and quarterly filings with the SEC. Additionally, please note that you can find reconciliations of historical non-GAAP financial measures discussed during our call and the press release issued today.

Today’s call will begin with remarks from Ben Cowart, followed by an operational review from James Rhame, financial review from Chris Carlson, and a review of our commercial strategy by Doug Haugh. At the conclusion of these prepared remarks, we will open the line for questions.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Ben.

Ben Cowart

Thank you, Chris, and good morning to those joining us on the call today. We had better-than-expected operational results as we maintained our commitment to operating safely and reliably. From a financial perspective, the first quarter saw significant improvements supported by improved crack spreads.

We generated almost $20 million in adjusted EBITDA, an increase of over $50 million quarter-over-quarter. Additionally, we saw conventional throughput above our guidance and managed direct operating costs and capital expenditures below our guidance.