Pyxus International, Inc. (PYYX) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Hello, and welcome to the 2023 Pyxus International, Inc. Annual Meeting of Stockholders. [Operator Instructions] It is my pleasure to now turn the meeting over to Pieter Sikkel. Mr. Sikkel, the floor is yours.

Thank you. Good morning. I am Pieter Sikkel, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Pyxus International, and I welcome you to the company's 2023 Annual Meeting, which I am pleased to call to order. I would like to begin by introducing the other members of our Board of Directors: John S. Alphin; Jamie J. Ashton; Patrick J. Bartels, Jr.; Robert D. George, who is our Lead Independent Director; Cynthia P. Moehring; and Richard J. C. Topping. In addition, I would like to introduce Ms. Flavia Landsberg, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. William O'Quinn, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of the Corporation. Also joining the meeting are Lori Snodgrass, Robert Grosso and Carson McLean of Deloitte & Touche, the corporation's independent public accountants for fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. Ms. Snodgrass and Mr. Grosso and McLean will be available to answer appropriate questions during the discussion period later in the meeting, and will have an opportunity to make a statement if they wish to do so. I would also like to introduce [ Ms. Jessie Pattie ] Of American Stock Transfer, who has been appointed inspector of election for this meeting. We will follow the agenda posted on the meeting website. First, by conducting the business of our annual meeting. And upon adjournment, I will then report on our operating results and strategy. There will then be a period of general discussion, including responding to shareholder questions. [Operator Instructions] Before proceeding, I want to draw your attention to the rules of this meeting, which are posted to the meeting website. To access and view uploaded documents, please click on the Documents icon at the top of the left side of your screen, then click on the document name to view. I would remind everyone that this is a business meeting, and we intend to conduct it in a productive and professional manner. There are 3 items of business on the agenda for today's meeting as described in the notice of meeting accompanying our 2023 proxy statement. As no other matters have been submitted to the company for vote as provided under the advance notice provisions of the company's bylaws, only the items of business set forth in the notice of meeting will be considered at today's meeting. After all items of business have been introduced, there will be a brief period for responses to any questions on these items. Again, questions on other matters will be addressed after the formal business of the meeting has concluded. Moving now to the business portion of the meeting. I ask Ms. Patti to present a copy of the notice of this meeting and to report on the number of shares represented for purposes of establishing a quorum.

Mr. Chairman, I hereby present a copy of the notice of annual meeting, proxy statement, form of proxy and 2023 Annual Report, together with proof by affidavit of their mailing on July 14, 2023, to each shareholder of record at the close of business on June 16, 2023. I can report that there are at least 21,119,474 votes represented in person or by proxy. Therefore, a quorum is present. On the basis of the tabulation made just before this meeting, 21,119,474 shares or 84 -- 48% of the shares entitled to be voted at this meeting are represented by proxy. Each proxy card has been examined and approved and has been found to be in proper form. Of the individuals' proxies named in the proxy card, Ms. Landsberg and Mr. O'Quinn, are in attendance and entitled to vote shares represented by such proxies.

Thank you, Ms. Patti. I now declare the polls open. Holders of legal proxies who have logged in to today's meeting using the unique 11-digit control number provided to them may now vote their shares by following the instructions on the website. If you have previously submitted your voting instructions, there is no need to do so again. As described in the 2023 proxy statement, the first item of business at today's meeting is the election of 7 directors, each to serve a 1-year term expiring at the 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The Board's nominees for election as directors are: John S. Alphin, Jamie J. Ashton, Patrick J. Bartels, Jr., Robert D. George, Cynthia P. Moehring, J. Pieter Sikkel and Richard J. C. Topping. The election of such nominees is now presented to this meeting for a vote. I would like to remind everyone that the Board of Directors recommends that you vote for the election of all nominees. [Voting]

The second item of business set forth in the notice of this meeting is the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors of the company for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, which is now presented to this meeting for a vote. As set forth in the proxy statement, the Board of Directors recommends that you vote for the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as the company's independent auditors for the 2024 fiscal year. [Voting]

The third item of business to come before the meeting is the advisory vote on the compensation of the executive officers named in the proxy statement, commonly known as a say-on-pay vote. This advisory vote gives shareholders the opportunity to express their views about the compensation the company pays to our named executive officers. The results of the say-on-pay vote will not be a binding vote. The final decision on the compensation and benefits of our named executive officers remains with the Board and the Compensation Committee. However, the Board and the Compensation Committee value the views of our shareholders, and we'll review the results of the vote and take them into consideration in addressing future compensation policies and decisions. The approval of the advisory vote on the compensation of our named executive officers is now deemed presented to this meeting for a vote. As described in the proxy statement, the Board of Directors recommends that shareholders vote for this proposal by approving the following resolution. Resolved that the shareholders hereby approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers as disclosed pursuant to Item 402 of Regulation S-K of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the company's proxy statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. [Voting]

Now that all items of business have been presented, I will pause to see if there have been any questions or comments submitted on these matters. Thank you. I now declare the polls closed. I will now ask Ms. Patti, as voting inspector, to report on the vote.

Mr. Chairman, each of the nominees for directors named in the proxy statement has been elected; the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP has been ratified; and the resolution approving on an advisory basis the compensation paid for the company's named executive offices has been adopted.

Thank you. You've heard the inspector's report. All director nominees have been elected; the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent certified public accountants for the 2024 fiscal year has been ratified; and the resolution approving on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to the company's named executive officers has been adopted. Vote totals for each of these matters will be reported by the company promptly in a Form 8-K report to be filed with the SEC. The matter for which this meeting was called has been completed, and the business meeting of shareholders is, therefore, adjourned. I will now report on the company's operating results and business strategy. Following that, we will respond to general questions submitted prior to or during the course of today's meeting. Fiscal year 2023 marked a significant milestone in our company's history, achieving 150 years of operation. The success was underscored by the resilience, tenacity and ingenuity put forward by our teams around the globe as they've delivered strong operating results. We also improved our leverage ratios and aggressively managed our cash flows and working capital levels to ensure sufficient liquidity despite highly inflationary leaf costs. Our results were even more impressive considering the significant challenges we overcame. We experienced the third consecutive year of La Niña weather patterns, which limited tobacco supplies and increased tobacco cost by as much as 50% in certain markets. Inflationary tobacco costs, increasing interest rates and lingering geopolitical issues added to a complicated crop year. Despite those challenges, we successfully grew top line revenue for the full year by 16.8% to $1.9 billion, increased product shipments and generated strong margins. We offset reduced production in key markets by sourcing tobacco from our global network of more than 300,000 farmers, 30-plus countries to meet our customers' demand for sustainably grown, compliant leaf in a short crop year. Our modeling and on-the-ground agronomy teams gave us advanced notice that 2023 will be a short crop year, meaning farmer yields would be significantly short of expected production estimates, particularly in South America and Africa where we source a sizable amount of tobacco. At year-end, our inventory levels of uncommitted products were at all-time lows, which reflected the short supply, high demand environment. We've also strengthened the company's balance sheet and improved our credit profile during fiscal year 2023. In fact, our leverage ratios have continued to improve over the last 3 years. Our capital teams managed cash flow and working capital to provide access to liquidity and improve our free cash flow while reducing our net debt. The successful exchange transactions completed in February resulted in exchange of $580 million of the company's secured debt, which provides us relief from several restrictive covenants, added to our financial flexibility and extended near-term maturities until December 2027 with holders of 100% of the secured term loans and 93% of our senior notes participating in the exchange. During the year, we gained 3 new members to our Board of Directors, welcomed our new Chief Human Resources Officer, and released our first sustainability report since announcing our environmental, social and governance framework in December 2021. We continued the integration of our ESG framework into our business strategy and day-to-day operations, which helped improve the satisfaction of our employees and livelihoods of our contracted farmers and the communities in which we operate. ESG is also a key component to risk mitigation and the creation of operational efficiencies for our business while complying with the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Our ESG efforts deliver value to our customers as they work to achieve their own ESG targets and many partners -- many partner with us to fund local ESG programs, helping to drive a more significant impact. The cost savings generated by our business is sustainable and innovative actions helped position Pyxus as a trusted partner to our customers and the farmers with whom we contract. I would like to share a brief example to help bring this to light. In Malawi, we contract with tobacco farmers to produce ground nuts, the complementary crop to tobacco, helping them increase their income potential and overall livelihoods. Once purchased, the ground nuts are cleaned and shelled in our ground nut factory prior to being sold domestically or exported. Since the shelling process generates waste, which can be costly to dispose of, our teams identified an alternative process and purpose for the shells, converting them into a sustainable fuel source for the boilers at our adjacent tobacco processing facility. During fiscal year 2023, approximately 50% of the fuel used to power our boilers in Malawi was produced from our ground nut shell waste, which generated a 20% cost savings to that operation and contributed to our 2050 net-zero target. In the current fiscal year, we've already converted an additional 20% of boiler fuel from coal to ground nut shells and have a goal to reach 100% during calendar 2024. In fiscal 2024, we expect the momentum created in the prior year to continue. To achieve our targets, we will leverage our geographic footprint to purchase larger volumes of tobacco while aggressively managing our working capital, maintaining our commitment to improving farmer livelihoods and continuing to supply our customers with responsibly-sourced, sustainable and traceable products. I'm now prepared to answer any appropriate questions. When posing a question, please identify yourself, state whether you are a shareholder or represent an organization that is a shareholder and indicate the number of shares in the company held by you or the organization that you represent. There being no questions or comments, I would like to thank you for attending Pyxus' Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This concludes the meeting.