Hello, welcome to the Eneti Inc. 2nd quarter 2023 conference call. I would now like to turn the call over to James Doyle, Head of Corporate Development and IR. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you for joining us today. Welcome to the Eneti Inc.'s second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. On the call with me are Emanuele Lauro, Chief Executive Officer; Robert Bugbee, President; Cameron Mackey, Chief Operating Officer; Hugh Baker, Chief Financial Officer; Sebastian Brooke, CEO of Seajacks. Earlier today, we issued our second quarter earnings press release, which is available on our website, eneti-inc.com. The information discussed on this call is based on information as of today, August 8th, 2023, and may contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainty. Actual results and events may differ materially from those set forth in such statements. For discussion of these risks and uncertainties, you should review the forward-looking statement disclosure in the earnings press release issued today, as well as Eneti Inc's SEC filings, which are available at eneti-inc.com and sec.gov. Call participants are advised that the audio of this conference call is being broadcast live on the Internet, and it is also being recorded for playback purposes. An archive of the webcast will be made available on the Investor Relations page of our website for approximately 14 days. While we will not be going through slides, there is an earnings presentation on our website under the Investor Relations page and reports and presentation. After opening remarks, we will go to Q&A. Now, I'd like to introduce our Chief Executive Officer, Emanuele Lauro. Thank you, James, and welcome, and thank you everybody for joining us today. In the second quarter, the company generated close to $39 million of revenue and an adjusted net income of $8 million. This represents a strong improvement from the first quarter. During this quarter, all 5 vessels were on employment contracts. Today, we announced the sale of the NG- 2500X for a price of $70 million. These are assets which we had previously identified as non-core and discussed the fact that we were marketing them for sale. The sale itself reinforces our commitment to focusing on wind turbine and foundation installation. In addition, it creates liquidity, and we expect cash proceeds of $57 million after debt repayments. In June, more importantly, we've entered into a business combination agreement with Cadeler, as we've previously announced. While the combination remains subject to regulatory approval, the transaction remains on schedule, and we expect it to close during the fourth quarter of this year. We believe the combination is right for all stakeholders, for our shareholders, for our customers, and as we previously discussed, also for our employees. As a combined entity, the scale and our respective capabilities will create significant value at a time when offshore wind needs reliable partners and reliable solutions, which we think we will be able to offer. The track record of Seajacks has been built on tireless efforts of our shore and seagoing professionals, and we're delighted that Cadeler shares the same values. The combination is a testament to our shared vision for the future of offshore wind and our unwavering commitment to creating value. Senior management of Eneti will remain as one of the largest shareholders in the combined entity. I will be nominated to serve as vice chairman. We're confident that this combined entity will continue to drive positive outcomes for our shareholders, customers, and employees. We're excited about the future together. Thanks very much for your continued support. Look forward to updating you on the progress on further progress in the upcoming quarters. I'd like now to turn the call to James, please. Thank you, Emanuele. We will now go to Q&A. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press Star, then 1 on your touchtone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw from the question queue, please press Star, then 2. The first question is from Sherif El-Maghraby of BTIG. Please go ahead. Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I think maybe just starting pretty broadly, pretty much every other WTIV operator has a smaller fleet than Eneti or Cadeler, and many of them are not WTIV focused anyway. Could this combination spark further consolidation in the industry? Is that something that you guys are thinking about at this time? I'll take. It's Emanuele. Thanks for the question. I'll take the second question first. At this time, I don't think that anybody in Cadeler or Eneti is thinking about further consolidation. We're focused on the process which we are facing and looking at closing this transaction. The day after the transaction has closed, you know, all doors will be open, and we'll see what else which other opportunity this market may put in front of Cadeler. Having said that, I think it is premature for us to think about it at this stage. We are a couple of months away from closing a meaningful transaction, and this is what we're focusing on.... Please remind me actually what the first part of the question was, because I, I've missed it. The, the same, but for the industry more broadly, just because everybody else has a smaller fleet than Eneti or Cadeler. I'm not sure. Sebastian, do you have any, any views on this? I don't, I don't have any specific views, other than obviously, it's a, it's a big growing industry, and I think having scale is very important. At some point that, that may prompt activity, again, either from the Cadeler side or from the, or, or from the competitors. Okay. I'm interested in, in how the foundation... Hi- installation vessels... I'm sorry, go ahead. It's Robert here. I was just gonna say, look, I think the most important part of it is what you're pointing out, is that a combined Cadeler and Eneti has tremendous, you know, advantages of scale relative to the competitors in the industry. I think that's gonna show benefits for customers as well as in operations. Okay. Thanks, Robert. On the foundation installation vessels, curious how they figure into the WTIV fleet. Are they typically chartered in sort of, kind of a package deal with WTIVs, or does their work tend to be exclusive? To make it a two-parter, does the combination have any bearing on your foundation installation JV with Transocean? I think from the foundation standpoint, as we know, the combined company will have exposure to foundation, 'cause Cadeler has two assets, the two new building assets that are coming in that domain, focusing on, on the foundation space. As far as the Eneti is concerned, which is what we're still talking about today, foundations are possible. Our new buildings are capable of installing foundations. However, they are not... That's not the focus, or at least for the time being, is not, you know. You know, of course, at this stage, with the transaction that is progressing, we are not looking at expanding, from an Eneti standalone, standalone company, the foundation exposure. We would be looking at, putting a lot of energy and, commitment into, into the combined company post, closing, which, as we discussed, we expect, by the end of this year. Okay. Thank you. Thanks for taking my questions. Sure. The next question is from Liam Burke of B. Riley Securities. Please go ahead. Thank you. Looking at your larger vessels, they're pretty much booked or done for, for, for fiscal 2023. Have there been any discussions for charter, particularly the Zaratan, for, 2024? Sorry, this is Sebastian. Hi, Sebastian. Hi there. yes, there are discussions with Zaratan, James, can you just con- I, I think there was a press release made around that. Can you just confirm that? Yes, we've signed a reservation agreement for the Zaratan for next year, Liam. Okay. When it comes to the larger vessels, the Scylla is... Sorry, just on the, on the, on the Zaratan piece, there's, there is, as James said, reservation agreement for next year. With regards to Scylla, we haven't made an announcement about that, but we are in a lot of, in, in dialogue about multiple contracts for next year. It's I'll just highlight the fact that there is very, very limited availability of vessels, so I'd see that more, more, more of an opportunity, rather than anything else. It's a very, very tight market next year, and Scylla is one of the largest vessels on the water, so well placed to benefit from those dynamics. Great. I guess this is for James. On the macro front, there's some rumblings that ESG is losing a little, shall we say, interest in Europe. I mean, have you seen anything where you would want to focus more on Southeast Asia, or do you see opportunities in the European market still? Well, I think from a, an ESG perspective, what, what we've done is dispose of the non-core assets, which, as you know, we're working in offshore wind, but also oil and gas. As we complete that sale, all our vessels or the fleet for Eneti will be operating in offshore wind, and as Emanuele highlighted, focusing on foundation and turbine installation. We would fare very well from an ESG perspective. Great. Thanks, Sebastian. Thanks, James. The next question is from Ben Nolan of Stifel. Please go ahead. Hey, guys. I guess my first question, and really maybe my only question, is around the sale of the NG-2500X vessels. You know, you guys have been talking about that for a while, although have also been pretty successful in winning incremental business, and those have been pretty cashflow generative. The sales price was a little bit lower than I had thought. I was curious if, you know, what, what the thinking was on deciding to pull the trigger for selling those assets. Was it part of the Cadeler deal, or just maybe, you know, walk me through how you were thinking about the math on that? Ben, it's a good question. Thank you. I think that as, as part of, of the decision was, as we widely discussed and as James has just referenced, the fact of focusing on the renewable side of the business and sort of leaving the legacy oil and gas exposure, which these assets, may have brought into the, into play. Even though they were contracted to do some maintenance business on the offshore wind space, we've seen an uptick on demand on the oil services industry, with the exploration, especially in the Arabian Gulf, going on, and the demand on the, well, the demand for employment in that space was coming mainly from there. On the-- as far as the price is concerned, there were a number of buyers over the past months that have showed interest, even at, at higher numbers than what we have been able to conclude the sale, some at lower numbers than what we have been, been able to conclude the sale. It was difficult to gauge, you know, how many real, really interested parties there were in a, in a volatile market, in a changing environment, and where, in a space where we had decided not to really focus on. We've taken the decision to pull the trigger, with a buyer that we thought the most reliable buyer out there that could have performed. You know, moving on away from a standalone business in a combined company, we thought that these were legacy assets that actually could free up, also the crew, in order to get the crew focusing on the new buildings, which the combined company will take delivery of in 2024. There were a combination of factors which have contributed to the fact of pulling the trigger at this time with this buyer. Okay, that's helpful. Since I'm thinking about it, just going back to what you talked about for the foundation vessels and the arrangement with Transocean, is the thinking that that would continue even, even post combination, that the combined company would still, you know, probably be working in some way with Transocean? We are going to have meetings regarding this, in September with Transocean and discuss how and if a continued cooperation is what the parties will want going forward. It is premature for me to answer this question at this stage, because we haven't had a in-detail discussion with all parties sitting at the same table yet. Okay, makes sense. I appreciate it, and thanks for taking my question. Sure. Thank you. The next question is from Roald Hartvigsen of Clarksons Securities. Please go ahead. Hi. Thanks for taking my question. Just first to circle back to, to Ben's question on the NG- 2500X. Can you give any more details on sort of the, the sales process there? Were there any, was the sale a, a result of bilateral discussions or bidding around? Anything, any color around that would be helpful. As, as I said, there were a, a number of, of buyers interested in, in acquiring the assets. We only entertained discussions with outright buyers, not buyers which were subject to raising funds, both equity and debt, in order to perform the acquisition. Of those buyers that were outright, we've chosen this specific one, which has expressed the desire to remain private, so we haven't disclosed who the buyer is. However, I can tell you that he's a very well-established Middle Eastern buyer, that is, has decades of experience in the in this specific segment. Okay, thank you. We have seen multiple offshore wind projects being delayed or canceled over the summer. How do you see these delays and terminations potentially affecting the outlook on utilization, and also potential rates over the next 3 to 4 years? Sebastian, do you want to take this? Yeah. Yeah, sure. I think it's a growing industry. I think that, you know, we had similar issues in the early days in Europe. I think we're all aware that the timeline has been aggressive. You know, for a while, we've all, all been aware of that, and that it hasn't been possible to. I don't think it ever would have been possible to install the, the kind of desired capacity, as it were, or the, or the forecasted capacity to date, or, or in the next couple of years. I think that while it will create short-term headaches for some contractors, going back to Robert's point, I think if you're part of a combined entity that has scale, I don't think that that will have a meaningful impact on the company. Again, from my point of view, I actually look at it from a macro perspective. We're looking at a number of projects being delayed, but every month or every couple of months, we're talking about whole new markets being opened up in South America, you know, areas in Asia and what have you. I, I, I see the overall, the overall dynamics of the industry remaining very robust. I think that the combined entity is going to be very well positioned to weather any, any, you know, small storms. Like I said, the kind of long-term prospects, I think, remain healthy, so I don't think there'll be a meaningful impact on utilization and or rates. We haven't seen it yet. Okay, appreciate your perspective. Thank you. That That was it for me. Thank you. The next question is from Adam Forsyth of Longspur Research. Please go ahead. Hi there. One narrow question, one rather wider question, if I may. Firstly, the, the, the narrow one, just again, on, on the NG- 2500X. The new contracts, the timing of those, is, is it likely that you will get the benefit of 100% of the income on these contracts before the sale goes ahead? Is it possible the sale will conclude early, and if so, is there any adjustment mechanism in, in the sale price? Just also going back to the, the earlier question on the sort of wider wind turbine installation situation with, with projects being canceled. I wonder if what you're seeing, is there any kind of competitive response from your competitors? Are decisions being delayed in terms of, of decision-making on, on further new wind turbine installation vessels from, from any of the competing group out there? What, what, what are you seeing in that regard? Thanks. Thanks for the question. Tom, do you want to take the first part? Sure. Thank you, Emanuele. The delivery of the NG-2500X vessels are under discussion. We cannot say at the moment for sure when they will be delivered. We expect on the outside for it to be within this calendar year. Again, adjustment mechanism, if any, has not been agreed at the moment. Thank you. Sebastian, maybe you want to take- Sure. the, the second part of the question? Thank you. Sure. Are the competitors, do we think that there's going to be a reduced likelihood of new assets being built in the future, is what I heard. Is that the question? Yes, that's right. Yes. I think, I think it will. I think that we said before that the barriers to entry are very, have always been very high in this business, you know, for a variety of reasons. I think that as you start bringing in, more queries or questions such as delays to projects, it just adds to these barriers of entry, which, again, creates a positive environment for an existing player with mass. Again, I think the timing of the Cadeler and the combined entity is going to be actually very, very well positioned, leave us very well positioned. Does that answer your question? Yeah. Yes, it does. Yes. No, that. Good. helps confirmation. Thanks very much. Okay. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Emanuele Lauro for any closing remarks. Thank you very much, operator. We do not have any closing remarks apart from thanking everybody for your time today, and look forward to speaking on in the future. Thanks a lot. Goodbye. The conference is now concluded. 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