American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) Q2 2024 Earnings Conference Call August 8, 2024 4:30 PM ET

Company Participants

Anthony Young - Director, Investor Relations
Timothy Donnelly - Acting Chief Executive Officer
Mark Bassett - Board Member
David Johnson - Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer
Mason Bennett - Vice President, North American Crop, American Vanguard Corp.

Conference Call Participants

Scott Fortune - ROTH Capital Partners LLC
Ben Klieve - Lake Street Capital Markets LLC
Wayne Pinsent - GAMCO Investors, Inc.

Operator

Greetings and welcome to the American Vanguard Q2 2024 Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Anthony Young, Director of Investor Relations. Thank you, Anthony. You may begin.

Anthony Young

Thank you, Alicia. Good afternoon and welcome to American Vanguard's second quarter 2024 earnings review. Our prepared remarks will be led by Tim Donnelly, Acting Chief Executive Officer; Mark Bassett, Board Member and Architect of our Business Transformation Strategy; and David Johnson, Chief Financial Officer. Mason Bennett, Vice President of North American Crop is also in attendance and available to answer agricultural economy related questions.

Before beginning the presentation, let's take a moment for a cautionary reminder. During this call, we may discuss forward-looking information. All forward-looking statements are estimates by the company's management and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ. Such factors include weather conditions, changes in regulatory policy, transformation, organization and liquidity initiatives, and other risks as detailed in the company's SEC reports and filings. All forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment. As of the date of this release, and such information will not necessarily be updated by the company.

It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Tim.

Timothy Donnelly

Thanks, Anthony. Hello, everyone. And thank you for joining American Vanguard's second quarter 2024 earnings call. Before we discuss the second quarter and first half, I would like to comment on the current management team, and then cover the company's direction to expedite change. In light of industry conditions and our recent financial performance, the board of directors has taken bold and decisive action to guide the company on a new course.

Following the departure of the previous CEO on July 12th, the company formed an office of the CEO to accelerate both short-term initiatives, such as margin improvement, cash management, capital allocation, and cost savings, as well as business transformation during the pendency of the search for a new CEO. The board and management team are committed to moving forward with a sense of urgency and making necessary changes immediately, while we look to fill the top position.