Mark Newman
Analyst · RBC Markets. Your line is open
Thank you, Brandon, and thank you all for joining us this morning. In addition to reporting solid results in the second quarter, as you saw from our press release, we had an active and productive quarter. In TSS, we had another all-time record quarter. And as you’ll note, in the last 6 quarters we’ve had 5 record quarters in TSS, which really speaks to the momentum and growth in this business. In APM, we had another double-digit growth quarter in our Performance Solutions business, and we launched THE Mobility F.C. Membranes Company, which will be focused on Nafion membranes for the fuel cell requirements of the hydrogen economy. In TT, we made the difficult decision to close our Kuan Yin facility, and I just want to take this moment to acknowledge the profound impact the closure will have on our dedicated and skilled colleagues who have been valuable members of our team in Taiwan. During this transition, consistent with the Chemours’ culture, we will remain fully committed to working with our local leaders to offer support and assistance in this difficult transition. Additionally, as you saw, we reached a comprehensive settlement of PFAS-related drinking water claims of a defined class of U.S. public water systems. We also published our 6th sustainability report, which shows significant progress on both greenhouse gas and fluoro organic compound emission reductions. On capital allocation, we agreed to the sale of our Glycolic Acid business, which we expect to close this quarter, and we continue to return capital through dividend and stock repurchases to our shareholders. It was also a quarter marked by a number of leadership changes. So on April 1, Denise Dignam became the President of our Titanium Technologies business. In early June, we had Jonathan Lock appointed to the CFO role; and, obviously, Brandon Ontjes stepping up into the Investor Relations slot. Matt Abbott became our Chief Enterprise Transformation Officer at the same time. And then earlier this week, we announced Joe Martinko as the President of our Thermal & Specialized Solutions business. So when I look at all the changes, including Gerardo Familiar being named earlier this year behind Denise going into TT. We’ve had a number of leadership changes, which really speaks to the strength of the talent on the Chemours’ bench and how well we’re developing diverse and capable leaders of the future. As I think of the quarter in total, I think it’s a real demonstration of the Chemours’ brand of courageous chemistry. We did not miss a beat despite the leadership changes and we got a lot done. And as we face a weaker second half this year, the team is full of energy and energized to drive continued great performance and to deliver value to our shareholders from our 5 strategic priorities. So with that, Jeannie, let’s go to Q&A.