Aimia Inc. — Call Transcript 2026

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Aimia Inc. first quarter 2026 results conference call. This call is being recorded on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Racanelli. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Aimia's Executive Chairman, Rhys Summerton, as well as our President and CFO, Steven Leonard. Before we begin, I'd like to point out that we issued our financial statements for the first quarter earlier this morning, and all of our materials, including the news release, MD&A, and financial statements, are available from our website as well as from SEDAR+. We will be using a presentation today, and for those listening to our discussion by phone, a copy is available from the IR section of our website. Some of the statements made on today's call may constitute forward-looking information and future results may differ materially from what we discuss. Please refer to the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future performance referenced in our presentation as well as our MD&A. In addition, we will be making note of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation is provided in the appendix of our presentation. Following today's presentation, please reach out to me if you have any outstanding questions or require any clarification on matters discussed today. With that, I'd like to turn the call over now to Rhys. Go ahead, please. Good morning, everybody. Good afternoon. We had a particularly busy first quarter on multiple fronts. Most notably, we announced the divestiture of the specialty chemicals business, Bozzetto. We invested CAD 1.4 million in share buybacks. Most importantly, we worked hard on identifying several target companies that meet our investment criteria, which we can start getting active on. Subsequent to the quarter end, we received all the necessary regulatory approvals for the Bozzetto transaction to be completed, paving the way for the deal to close in the next couple of weeks, certainly by the end of May. Combined with these efforts, we are now in a position to eradicate the Holdco debt, in particular reference to the notes, and begin to make investments in undervalued companies. We expect to build on the progress in the second half of the year given a number of initiatives that we've planned, such as making an offer for those notes that we referenced earlier. We are also optimistic about Cortland. We think there's a lot of improvement that Cortland will see in the second half of the year, subject to obviously the geopolitical situation in the Middle East calming down. We've worked hard to realign the management team, and we're confident that the new leadership will take Cortland to the next level. I'll expand on our outlook and priorities later in the pre-presentation. First, I will ask Steve to review the financial results in more detail. Over to you, Steve. Thank you, Rhys. Good morning and afternoon to everyone. Before I begin my review of the financial results for Q1, I want to point out that we are presenting Bozzetto as discontinued operations given the pending sale of the business. As such, Bozzetto's contributions are excluded from the financial highlights presented on slide seven with the exception of cash flow from operations and net earnings. With that out of the way, our Q1 results reflect the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic developments. Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was relatively flat when compared to last year, largely due to a decrease in operating profit offset by a decline in SG&A expenses by CAD 2 million. The decrease in SG&A expenses included the benefits of ongoing efforts to reduce holding company costs for items such as insurance, rent, professional services, as well as some currency gains at Cortland. Net earnings in Q1 2026 improved by CAD 3.4 million, benefiting from the reduced SG&A expenses, as noted, and earnings contributed from Bozzetto. Cortland's results for the first quarter are presented on slide eight. In Q1 2026, Cortland generated CAD 32.7 million of revenue, down 19.7% from last year. On a constant currency basis, Cortland's revenue declined 16%. The year-over-year variance was due to a combination of factors, including lower sales volume, particularly in the marine and shipping sector, the timing of sales orders, and increased selling pressures caused by geopolitical developments in the Middle East. The decline was partially offset by increased sales in India within the fishing and aquaculture sector. Cortland's adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was CAD 4.5 million, down 16.7% from CAD 5.4 million last year. Decline was due to lower sales volume and lower gross profit already discussed. The decline was partially offset by CAD 1 million of lower SG&A expenses in Q1 2026. The decrease in SG&A was largely attributable to lower selling expenses due to reduced sales volume and some currency gains on the translation of trade balances. In Q1, Cortland announced a senior leadership change, naming Wolfgang Wandl, a business leader with more than 30 years of international business experience as CEO. Wolfgang will oversee Cortland's day-to-day operations with a focus on driving global sales and product innovation, deepening customer partnerships, and expanding Cortland's presence in key markets. Given the increased focus on growing sales and building customer relationships, we are optimistic that Cortland is primed for a turnaround in the second half of the year, pending the easing of tensions in the Middle East. We ended the quarter with CAD 100.3 million of cash on a consolidated basis, down from CAD 109 million at the end of December 2025. Our consolidated total at the quarter end includes Bozzetto's cash and cash equivalents of CAD 57.7 million, even though its liquidity was considered as cash in the asset held for sale. Slide nine shows a waterfall of cash movements in the quarter. Key drivers for the decrease in liquidity include CAD 5.9 million in repayments of other borrowings, CAD 2 million in principal repayments on Bozzetto senior credit facilities, CAD 2.2 million of capital CapEx, CAD 1.4 million of common share buybacks, and CAD 0.7 million in preferred share dividends. This outflow was partially offset by cash flow from operations of CAD 3.8 million, which included a lump sum payment of CAD 5.2 million to a former executive as part of a settlement agreement of a claim initiated in 2020. A key development in Q1 was the signing of a definitive agreement to divest Bozzetto. While we have discussed some of the details previously, I think it would be helpful to review the salient aspects of the transaction and provide an update on the recent developments. When we announced the planned divestiture of Bozzetto on February 9, we noted the regulatory approvals were a necessary condition of the sale. We are delighted to announce that we have received all regulatory approvals and are now on track to close the transaction before the end of May. As summarized on slide 12, the sale of Bozzetto will generate approximately CAD 267 million in net proceeds at close. With more than CAD 500 million of capital tax carryforwards at March 31, we do not anticipate paying any taxes on the gain from the transaction. As disclosed previously, we expect to use the net proceeds towards making investments in undervalued companies with the ultimate goal of acquiring controlling interests in these investments. Slide 13 illustrates a cash waterfall of the main transaction components. Although the Bozzetto transaction is denominated in euros, we have presented it in Canadian dollars, our reporting currency. I should point out that we've entered into a hedging strategy in February to mitigate the currency risk exposure of the net proceeds. Subsequent to quarter end, we increased the notional value of our hedge instruments to EUR 128 million. A large portion of the Canadian dollar proceeds from our hedging instruments will be used towards our planned offer to redeem our senior notes. Slide 14 presents our cash position on a pro forma basis, taking into account the impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture on our liquidity as of March 31st. The impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture include the deduction of cash held by Bozzetto, the use of CAD 146.1 million towards the redemption of our senior notes, including unpaid and accrued interest at March 31st. Since we anticipate that some holders will prefer to hang on to their notes until maturity, it's likely that our pro forma cash position could be higher. By way of illustration, our pro forma cash position could be CAD 28.5 million higher if 20% of the noteholders elect to pass on the redemption offer and continue to collect the 9.75% coupon. We will provide updates on the offer to call our senior notes in the coming weeks. That concludes my prepared comments. I'd like to turn the call back to Rhys to review Aimia's near-term priorities and outlook. Rhys? Thanks, Steve. Looking ahead, we already mentioned we anticipate the Bozzetto transaction will close at the latest the end of May. Once we've done the closing, we'll make the offer for the senior notes, which will be end of May, beginning of June, with a purchase offer, and that's the requirement of the indenture agreement, which is triggered by the Bozzetto sale. The offer to holders will be made at par value of the notes, plus any accrued interest. Also in June, we anticipate renewing our normal course issuer bid. Pending regulatory approval, we anticipate being permitted to buy back approximately 5 million shares over the next 12 months through to June 2027. Just as significant, we will begin to deploy the net proceeds towards making investments in our target companies and continuing with our three-step strategy, part of which is narrowing the discount that Aimia trades relative to our view of intrinsic value. Later this summer, we also expect to become listed in the U.K., subject to meeting the listing qualifications, and that'll most likely be on the AIM market. As you've heard, Q1, we've been busy. We've made progress towards getting Aimia ready to be a permanent capital vehicle, and that should ensure that we put shareholders at first and start to generate returns that shareholders really deserve to have, especially those that have been involved for a long time. Our focus is to keep the momentum going. In particular, we want to complete this Bozzetto transaction. We don't foresee any issues with that. Our focus on the longer term, though, is really back to the net book value and growth in net book value per share that will benefit all shareholders. I won't elaborate much more at this point, but I would remind you that we're hosting the AGM today later this morning, and I'll be expanding on our investment ideas, the types of companies we'll be targeting during the presentation. If you are unable to attend here in Toronto, I will recommend that you can join us on the webcast, and I think the link is on our website. Thank you for your time. We'll open for questions. Thanks, Joe. Thank you. Before we open up the question to callers, we have received a couple inbounds from some of our shareholders. First question relates to the deployment of capital. What percentage of the deployable capital will you be making investments, and how much percentage will be kept as dry powder? Think of it like this. We've got kind of three buckets of value, you know, the way I see it in Aimia. The one is the cash that we'll have after settling the notes. We don't know what the outcome of that will be, but we've given some indication in the presentation of the cash we'll have. We'll also have kind of the second bucket, which is Cortland. That is cash generative, and particularly in the second half of the year, we expect that to be able to upstream more cash to the Holdco. We have the, you know, the tax losses that we always talk about. When it comes to allocating the capital, we'll use all three as a way to allocate capital efficiently. Those three things could include Cortland making acquisitions, and we'll talk about a bit about that later in the AGM. I kind of see Cortland as potentially a platform company where you can deploy further capital. We'll also have the cash balance, which we can utilize. The third part is the tax losses, which we see different ideas on how to monetize those, and I think that has to be part of our overall view of how we allocate the capital. A couple of questions related to Cortland. You've appointed a new CEO. What will be his primary mandate? If you think about I wrote this in the chairman's letter, that, you know, Cortland, I use the word clumsy. Cortland had a clumsy management structure. I'm not saying the individuals were clumsy. I'm saying, you know, the actual structure was clumsy. We had a Executive Chairman, we had a CEO, we had a CFO, and they weren't under one roof. We wanted to bring them together, be based in the U.S., in one of our operations. I think Wolfgang knows the business well, knows the industry well, and also I think he's now got a clear runway to turn the business around. His key target will be improving free cash flow generation for Cortland. His second objective will be to grow the footprint of Cortland. Essentially, what we want is manufacturing out of India and then a global distribution business across the rest of the world. You know, Cortland has some really powerful benefits that the competitors don't have. We're very strong in the U.S. and continue to thrive in some of the Scandinavian countries. I'm fairly optimistic with that. I think we can add to the business as well through some selective acquisitions. Okay, one last question on Cortland. What working capital conditions are you seeing there, and how will that impact your free cash flow coming from Cortland over the next 12-24 months? Give that to Steve. Yeah. I mean, there's a couple of drivers. One of them, I think we mentioned in our prepared remarks, as well as in some of the write-up in the, in the disclosure documents that, with the elevation in oil prices, one of the input in raw materials is polymers, and those are impacted by the price of oil. That's seeing a lift in costs coming in, which also has a little bit of a drag on working capital. We're also trying to manage working capital as efficiently as we can. We had a lift in the quarter, we're working with the management team to ensure that we have the right levels of working capital going into the second half of the year. As we mentioned, we're looking for some improvements in the results, and obviously you have to have some of those raw materials and inventories ahead of the delivery of sales orders. That's what we're seeing. Okay. Operator, would you mind prompting again for questions, please, for those on the phone? Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir. For those on the phone lines, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. Once again, star and one if you wish to ask a question. Go ahead with Rob. Okay, sir. The first question comes from Rob Byde from Zeus Capital. Your line is now open. Please go ahead. Thanks, Joe. Good morning, all. Just continuing the discussion on Cortland. You mentioned in the outlook statement that you're anticipating improvement in second half trading. Could you perhaps provide a bit more color on the drivers? For example, is this a normalization of the revenue run rate or perhaps tighter control of cost? Secondly, you have touched on this issue, but are you able to actively manage your commodity price exposure for working cap and the cost lines? Thank you. Yeah, there's a couple of drivers for the second half that we're seeing. One is in the domestic Indian market, typically, their fishing season's quite strong going into the third quarter, so we're expecting orders that are gonna be delivered in the second quarter will drive some of those better results that we're expecting. We're also making good progress, which we'll likely talk about more in our upcoming quarters on aquaculture, particularly in delivering cages in markets, including in Latin America, which was a market that we invested in in 25, but we didn't really have any pull-through. It took us some time to get traction in that market, and we're starting to see that come through. On the mitigation, we have looked at elements of putting in surcharges on some of the revenue orders and working with our customers to mitigate the impact of the elevated pricing. That's also something that we're working through. Great. Thanks so much. Thank you. There we go. Once again, for those who want to ask a question over the phone, just press star one on your telephone keypad. One question that's also come in. With respect to the NCIB, you've completed about 60% of purchases so far for this year's program. Can we anticipate an acceleration before this program ends? We'll continue to execute on the buyback. We've been a bit hamstrung this year because of being in a blackout period for much of it as we've been working on the Bozzetto transaction. Clearly, we will continue subject to any other transactions we might be involved in. That might result in us being in a blackout again. I think the intention is, when, you know, when we say we wanna buy back 5 million shares next year and complete the NCIB, the intention is to complete it. It's clearly subject to what the, you know, what the level of the share price is. If the share price is offering significant discount compared to what we can buy in the market, or other acquisition opportunities, then we will continue to buy back the shares. Thank you. No further questions that came through over the phone lines. I'll now turn the call over back to Joe Racanelli. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. As Rhys noted, we do have our annual general meeting that will begin at 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time. We will be making a more comprehensive presentation at that time. I would encourage you to join us via webcast if you're not able to meet with us in person. Thank you. Have a good day, everyone. Thank you. This concludes our conference call for today. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect.

Speaker 2: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Aimia Inc. first quarter 2026 results conference call. This call is being recorded on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Racanelli. Please go ahead, sir. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Aimia Inc. first quarter 2026 results conference call. good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome to aimia inc first quarter 2026 results conference call This call is being recorded on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. this call is being recorded on wednesday may 13 2026 I would now like to turn the conference over to Joe Racanelli. i would now like to turn the conference over to joe racanelli Please go ahead, sir. please go ahead sir

Speaker 1: Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Joining me on today's call are Aimia's Executive Chairman, Rhys Summerton, as well as our President and CFO, Steven Leonard. Before we begin, I'd like to point out that we issued our financial statements for the first quarter earlier this morning, and all of our materials, including the news release, MD&A, and financial statements, are available from our website as well as from SEDAR+. We will be using a presentation today, and for those listening to our discussion by phone, a copy is available from the IR section of our website. Some of the statements made on today's call may constitute forward-looking information and future results may differ materially from what we discuss. Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. thank you operator and good morning everyone Joining me on today's call are Aimia's Executive Chairman, Rhys Summerton, as well as our President and CFO, Steven Leonard. joining me on today's call are aimia's executive chairman rhys summerton as well as our president and cfo steven leonard Before we begin, I'd like to point out that we issued our financial statements for the first quarter earlier this morning, and all of our materials, including the news release, MD&A, and financial statements, are available from our website as well as from SEDAR+. before we begin i'd like to point out that we issued our financial statements for the first quarter earlier this morning and all of our materials including the news release md&a and financial statements are available from our website as well as from sedar+ We will be using a presentation today, and for those listening to our discussion by phone, a copy is available from the IR section of our website. we will be using a presentation today and for those listening to our discussion by phone a copy is available from the ir section of our website Some of the statements made on today's call may constitute forward-looking information and future results may differ materially from what we discuss. some of the statements made on today's call may constitute forward-looking information and future results may differ materially from what we discuss Please refer to the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future performance referenced in our presentation as well as our MD&A. In addition, we will be making note of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliation is provided in the appendix of our presentation. Following today's presentation, please reach out to me if you have any outstanding questions or require any clarification on matters discussed today. With that, I'd like to turn the call over now to Rhys. Go ahead, please. Please refer to the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future performance referenced in our presentation as well as our MD&A. please refer to the risks and uncertainties that may affect our future performance referenced in our presentation as well as our md&a In addition, we will be making note of GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. in addition we will be making note of gaap and non-gaap financial measures Reconciliation is provided in the appendix of our presentation. reconciliation is provided in the appendix of our presentation Following today's presentation, please reach out to me if you have any outstanding questions or require any clarification on matters discussed today. following today's presentation please reach out to me if you have any outstanding questions or require any clarification on matters discussed today With that, I'd like to turn the call over now to Rhys. with that i'd like to turn the call over now to rhys Go ahead, please. go ahead please

Speaker 3: Good morning, everybody. Good afternoon. We had a particularly busy first quarter on multiple fronts. Most notably, we announced the divestiture of the specialty chemicals business, Bozzetto. We invested CAD 1.4 million in share buybacks. Most importantly, we worked hard on identifying several target companies that meet our investment criteria, which we can start getting active on. Subsequent to the quarter end, we received all the necessary regulatory approvals for the Bozzetto transaction to be completed, paving the way for the deal to close in the next couple of weeks, certainly by the end of May. Combined with these efforts, we are now in a position to eradicate the Holdco debt, in particular reference to the notes, and begin to make investments in undervalued companies. Good morning, everybody. good morning everybody Good afternoon. good afternoon We had a particularly busy first quarter on multiple fronts. we had a particularly busy first quarter on multiple fronts Most notably, we announced the divestiture of the specialty chemicals business, Bozzetto. most notably we announced the divestiture of the specialty chemicals business bozzetto We invested CAD 1.4 million in share buybacks. we invested cad 1.4 million in share buybacks Most importantly, we worked hard on identifying several target companies that meet our investment criteria, which we can start getting active on. most importantly we worked hard on identifying several target companies that meet our investment criteria which we can start getting active on Subsequent to the quarter end, we receiv ed all the necessary regulatory approvals for the Bozzetto transaction to be completed, paving the way for the deal to close in the next couple of weeks, certainly by the end of May. subsequent to the quarter end we receiv ed all the necessary regulatory approvals for the bozzetto transaction to be completed paving the way for the deal to close in the next couple of weeks certainly by the end of may Combined with these efforts, we are now in a position to eradicate the Holdco debt, in particular reference to the notes, and begin to make investments in undervalued companies. combined with these efforts we are now in a position to eradicate the holdco debt in particular reference to the notes and begin to make investments in undervalued companies We expect to build on the progress in the second half of the year given a number of initiatives that we've planned, such as making an offer for those notes that we referenced earlier. We are also optimistic about Cortland. We think there's a lot of improvement that Cortland will see in the second half of the year, subject to obviously the geopolitical situation in the Middle East calming down. We've worked hard to realign the management team, and we're confident that the new leadership will take Cortland to the next level. I'll expand on our outlook and priorities later in the pre-presentation. First, I will ask Steve to review the financial results in more detail. Over to you, Steve. We expect to build on the progress in the second half of the year given a number of initiatives that we've planned, such as making an offer for those notes that we referenced earlier. we expect to build on the progress in the second half of the year given a number of initiatives that we've planned such as making an offer for those notes that we referenced earlier We are also optimistic about Cortland. we are also optimistic about cortland We think there's a lot of improvement that Cortland will see in the second half of the year, subject to obviously the geopolitical situation in the Middle East calming down. we think there's a lot of improvement that cortland will see in the second half of the year subject to obviously the geopolitical situation in the middle east calming down We've worked hard to realign the management team, and we're confident that the new leadership will take Cortland to the next level. we've worked hard to realign the management team and we're confident that the new leadership will take cortland to the next level I'll expand on our outlook and priorities later in the pre-presentation. i'll expand on our outlook and priorities later in the pre-presentation First, I will ask Steve to review the financial results in more detail. first i will ask steve to review the financial results in more detail Over to you, Steve. over to you steve

Speaker 5: Thank you, Rhys. Good morning and afternoon to everyone. Before I begin my review of the financial results for Q1, I want to point out that we are presenting Bozzetto as discontinued operations given the pending sale of the business. As such, Bozzetto's contributions are excluded from the financial highlights presented on slide seven with the exception of cash flow from operations and net earnings. With that out of the way, our Q1 results reflect the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic developments. Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was relatively flat when compared to last year, largely due to a decrease in operating profit offset by a decline in SG&A expenses by CAD 2 million. Thank you, Rhys. thank you rhys Good morning and afternoon to everyone. good morning and afternoon to everyone Before I begin my review of the financial results for Q1, I want to point out that we are presenting Bozzetto as discontinued operations given the pending sale of the business. before i begin my review of the financial results for q1 i want to point out that we are presenting bozzetto as discontinued operations given the pending sale of the business As such, Bozzetto's contributions are excluded from the financial highlights presented on slide seven with the exception of cash flow from operations and net earnings. as such bozzetto's contributions are excluded from the financial highlights presented on slide seven with the exception of cash flow from operations and net earnings With that out of the way, our Q1 results reflect the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic developments. with that out of the way our q1 results reflect the impact of geopolitical and macroeconomic developments Adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was relatively flat when compared to last year, largely due to a decrease in operating profit offset by a decline in SG&A expenses by CAD 2 million. adjusted ebitda in q1 2026 was relatively flat when compared to last year largely due to a decrease in operating profit offset by a decline in sg&a expenses by cad 2 million The decrease in SG&A expenses included the benefits of ongoing efforts to reduce holding company costs for items such as insurance, rent, professional services, as well as some currency gains at Cortland. Net earnings in Q1 2026 improved by CAD 3.4 million, benefiting from the reduced SG&A expenses, as noted, and earnings contributed from Bozzetto. Cortland's results for the first quarter are presented on slide eight. In Q1 2026, Cortland generated CAD 32.7 million of revenue, down 19.7% from last year. On a constant currency basis, Cortland's revenue declined 16%. The year-over-year variance was due to a combination of factors, including lower sales volume, particularly in the marine and shipping sector, the timing of sales orders, and increased selling pressures caused by geopolitical developments in the Middle East. The decrease in SG&A expenses included the benefits of ongoing efforts to reduce holding company costs for items such as insurance, rent, professional services, as well as some currency gains at Cortland. the decrease in sg&a expenses included the benefits of ongoing efforts to reduce holding company costs for items such as insurance rent professional services as well as some currency gains at cortland Net earnings in Q1 2026 improved by CAD 3.4 million, benefiting from the reduced SG&A expenses, as noted, and earnings contributed from Bozzetto. net earnings in q1 2026 improved by cad 3.4 million benefiting from the reduced sg&a expenses as noted and earnings contributed from bozzetto Cortland's results for the first quarter are presented on slide eight. cortland's results for the first quarter are presented on slide eight In Q1 2026, Cortland generated CAD 32.7 million of revenue, down 19.7% from last year. in q1 2026 cortland generated cad 32.7 million of revenue down 19.7% from last year On a constant currency basis, Cortland's revenue declined 16%. on a constant currency basis cortland's revenue declined 16% The year-over-year variance was due to a combination of factors, including lower sales volume, particularly in the marine and shipping sector, the timing of sales orders, and increased selling pressures caused by geopolitical developments in the Middle East. the year-over-year variance was due to a combination of factors including lower sales volume particularly in the marine and shipping sector the timing of sales orders and increased selling pressures caused by geopolitical developments in the middle east The decline was partially offset by increased sales in India within the fishing and aquaculture sector. Cortland's adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was CAD 4.5 million, down 16.7% from CAD 5.4 million last year. Decline was due to lower sales volume and lower gross profit already discussed. The decline was partially offset by CAD 1 million of lower SG&A expenses in Q1 2026. The decrease in SG&A was largely attributable to lower selling expenses due to reduced sales volume and some currency gains on the translation of trade balances. In Q1, Cortland announced a senior leadership change, naming Wolfgang Wandl, a business leader with more than 30 years of international business experience as CEO. The decline was partially offset by increased sales in India within the fishing and aquaculture sector. the decline was partially offset by increased sales in india within the fishing and aquaculture sector Cortland's adjusted EBITDA in Q1 2026 was CAD 4.5 million, down 16.7% from CAD 5.4 million last year. cortland's adjusted ebitda in q1 2026 was cad 4.5 million down 16.7% from cad 5.4 million last year Decline was due to lower sales volume and lower gross profit already discussed. decline was due to lower sales volume and lower gross profit already discussed The decline was partially offset by CAD 1 million of lower SG&A expenses in Q1 2026. the decline was partially offset by cad 1 million of lower sg&a expenses in q1 2026 The decrease in SG&A was largely attributable to lower selling expenses due to reduced sales volume and some currency gains on the translation of trade balances. the decrease in sg&a was largely attributable to lower selling expenses due to reduced sales volume and some currency gains on the translation of trade balances In Q1, Cortland announced a senior leadership change, naming Wolfgang Wandl, a business leader with more than 30 years of international business experience as CEO. in q1 cortland announced a senior leadership change naming wolfgang wandl a business leader with more than 30 years of international business experience as ceo Wolfgang will oversee Cortland's day-to-day operations with a focus on driving global sales and product innovation, deepening customer partnerships, and expanding Cortland's presence in key markets. Given the increased focus on growing sales and building customer relationships, we are optimistic that Cortland is primed for a turnaround in the second half of the year, pending the easing of tensions in the Middle East. We ended the quarter with CAD 100.3 million of cash on a consolidated basis, down from CAD 109 million at the end of December 2025. Our consolidated total at the quarter end includes Bozzetto's cash and cash equivalents of CAD 57.7 million, even though its liquidity was considered as cash in the asset held for sale. Slide nine shows a waterfall of cash movements in the quarter. Wolfgang will oversee Cortland's day-to-day operations with a focus on driving global sales and product innovation, deepening customer partnerships, and expanding Cortland's presence in key markets. wolfgang will oversee cortland's day-to-day operations with a focus on driving global sales and product innovation deepening customer partnerships and expanding cortland's presence in key markets Given the increased focus on growing sales and building customer relationships, we are optimistic that Cortland is primed for a turnaround in the second half of the year, pending the easing of tensions in the Middle East. markets given the increased focus on growing sales and building customer relationships we are optimistic that cortland is primed for a turnaround in the second half of the year pending the easing of tensions in the middle east We ended the quarter with CAD 100.3 million of cash on a consolidated basis, down from CAD 109 million at the end of December 2025. we ended the quarter with cad 100.3 million of cash on a consolidated basis down from cad 109 million at the end of december 2025 Our consolidated total at the quarter end includes Bozzetto's cash and cash equivalents of CAD 57.7 million, even though its liquidity was considered as cash in the asset held for sale. our consolidated total at the quarter end includes bozzetto's cash and cash equivalents of cad 57.7 million even though its liquidity was considered as cash in the asset held for sale Slide nine shows a waterfall of cash movements in the quarter. slide nine shows a waterfall of cash movements in the quarter Key drivers for the decrease in liquidity include CAD 5.9 million in repayments of other borrowings, CAD 2 million in principal repayments on Bozzetto senior credit facilities, CAD 2.2 million of capital CapEx, CAD 1.4 million of common share buybacks, and CAD 0.7 million in preferred share dividends. This outflow was partially offset by cash flow from operations of CAD 3.8 million, which included a lump sum payment of CAD 5.2 million to a former executive as part of a settlement agreement of a claim initiated in 2020. A key development in Q1 was the signing of a definitive agreement to divest Bozzetto. While we have discussed some of the details previously, I think it would be helpful to review the salient aspects of the transaction and provide an update on the recent developments. Key drivers for the decrease in liquidity include CAD 5.9 million in repayments of other borrowings, CAD 2 million in principal repayments on Bozzetto senior credit facilities, CAD 2.2 million of capital CapEx, CAD 1.4 million of common share buybacks, and CAD 0.7 million in preferred share dividends. key drivers for the decrease in liquidity include cad 5.9 million in repayments of other borrowings cad 2 million in principal repayments on bozzetto senior credit facilities cad 2.2 million of capital capex cad 1.4 million of common share buybacks and cad 0.7 million in preferred share dividends This outflow was partially offset by cash flow from operations of CAD 3.8 million, which included a lump sum payment of CAD 5.2 million to a former executive as part of a settlement agreement of a claim initiated in 2020. this outflow was partially offset by cash flow from operations of cad 3.8 million which included a lump sum payment of cad 5.2 million to a former executive as part of a settlement agreement of a claim initiated in 2020 A key development in Q1 was the signing of a definitive agreement to divest Bozzetto. a key development in q1 was the signing of a definitive agreement to divest bozzetto While we have discussed some of the details previously, I think it would be helpful to review the salient aspects of the transaction and provide an update on the recent developments. while we have discussed some of the details previously i think it would be helpful to review the salient aspects of the transaction and provide an update on the recent developments When we announced the planned divestiture of Bozzetto on February 9, we noted the regulatory approvals were a necessary condition of the sale. We are delighted to announce that we have received all regulatory approvals and are now on track to close the transaction before the end of May. As summarized on slide 12, the sale of Bozzetto will generate approximately CAD 267 million in net proceeds at close. With more than CAD 500 million of capital tax carryforwards at March 31, we do not anticipate paying any taxes on the gain from the transaction. As disclosed previously, we expect to use the net proceeds towards making investments in undervalued companies with the ultimate goal of acquiring controlling interests in these investments. When we announced the planned divestiture of Bozzetto on February 9, we noted the regulatory approvals were a necessary condition of the sale. when we announced the planned divestiture of bozzetto on february 9 we noted the regulatory approvals were a necessary condition of the sale We are delighted to announce that we have received all regulatory approvals and are now on track to close the transaction before the end of May. we are delighted to announce that we have received all regulatory approvals and are now on track to close the transaction before the end of may As summarized on slide 12, the sale of Bozzetto will generate approximately CAD 267 million in net proceeds at close. as summarized on slide 12 the sale of bozzetto will generate approximately cad 267 million in net proceeds at close With more than CAD 500 million of capital tax carryforwards at March 31, we do not anticipate paying any taxes on the gain from the transaction. with more than cad 500 million of capital tax carryforwards at march 31 we do not anticipate paying any taxes on the gain from the transaction As disclosed previously, we expect to use the net proceeds towards making investments in undervalued companies with the ultimate goal of acquiring controlling interests in these investments. as disclosed previously we expect to use the net proceeds towards making investments in undervalued companies with the ultimate goal of acquiring controlling interests in these investments Slide 13 illustrates a cash waterfall of the main transaction components. Although the Bozzetto transaction is denominated in euros, we have presented it in Canadian dollars, our reporting currency. I should point out that we've entered into a hedging strategy in February to mitigate the currency risk exposure of the net proceeds. Subsequent to quarter end, we increased the notional value of our hedge instruments to EUR 128 million. A large portion of the Canadian dollar proceeds from our hedging instruments will be used towards our planned offer to redeem our senior notes. Slide 14 presents our cash position on a pro forma basis, taking into account the impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture on our liquidity as of March 31st. Slide 13 illustrates a cash waterfall of the main transaction components. slide 13 illustrates a cash waterfall of the main transaction components Although the Bozzetto transaction is denominated in euros, we have presented it in Canadian dollars, our reporting currency. although the bozzetto transaction is denominated in euros we have presented it in canadian dollars our reporting currency I should point out that we've entered into a hedging strategy in February to mitigate the currency risk exposure of the net proceeds. i should point out that we've entered into a hedging strategy in february to mitigate the currency risk exposure of the net proceeds Subsequent to quarter end, we increased the notional value of our hedge instruments to EUR 128 million. subsequent to quarter end we increased the notional value of our hedge instruments to eur 128 million A large portion of the Canadian dollar proceeds from our hedging instruments will be used towards our planned offer to redeem our senior notes. a large portion of the canadian dollar proceeds from our hedging instruments will be used towards our planned offer to redeem our senior notes Slide 14 presents our cash position on a pro forma basis, taking into account the impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture on our liquidity as of March 31st. slide 14 presents our cash position on a pro forma basis taking into account the impacts of the bozzetto divestiture on our liquidity as of march 31st The impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture include the deduction of cash held by Bozzetto, the use of CAD 146.1 million towards the redemption of our senior notes, including unpaid and accrued interest at March 31st. Since we anticipate that some holders will prefer to hang on to their notes until maturity, it's likely that our pro forma cash position could be higher. By way of illustration, our pro forma cash position could be CAD 28.5 million higher if 20% of the noteholders elect to pass on the redemption offer and continue to collect the 9.75% coupon. We will provide updates on the offer to call our senior notes in the coming weeks. That concludes my prepared comments. I'd like to turn the call back to Rhys to review Aimia's near-term priorities and outlook. Rhys? The impacts of the Bozzetto divestiture include the deduction of cash held by Bozzetto, the use of CAD 146.1 million towards the redemption of our senior notes, including unpaid and accrued interest at March 31st. the impacts of the bozzetto divestiture include the deduction of cash held by bozzetto the use of cad 146.1 million towards the redemption of our senior notes including unpaid and accrued interest at march 31st Since we anticipate that some holders will prefer to hang on to their notes until maturity, it's likely that our pro forma cash position could be higher. since we anticipate that some holders will prefer to hang on to their notes until maturity it's likely that our pro forma cash position could be higher By way of illustration, our pro forma cash position could be CAD 28.5 million higher if 20% of the noteholders elect to pass on the redemption offer and continue to collect the 9.75% coupon. by way of illustration our pro forma cash position could be cad 28.5 million higher if 20% of the noteholders elect to pass on the redemption offer and continue to collect the 9.75% coupon We will provide updates on the offer to call our senior notes in the coming weeks. we will provide updates on the offer to call our senior notes in the coming weeks That concludes my prepared comments. that concludes my prepared comments I'd like to turn the call back to Rhys to review Aimia's near-term priorities and outlook. i'd like to turn the call back to rhys to review aimia's near-term priorities and outlook Rhys? rhys

Speaker 3: Thanks, Steve. Looking ahead, we already mentioned we anticipate the Bozzetto transaction will close at the latest the end of May. Once we've done the closing, we'll make the offer for the senior notes, which will be end of May, beginning of June, with a purchase offer, and that's the requirement of the indenture agreement, which is triggered by the Bozzetto sale. The offer to holders will be made at par value of the notes, plus any accrued interest. Also in June, we anticipate renewing our normal course issuer bid. Pending regulatory approval, we anticipate being permitted to buy back approximately 5 million shares over the next 12 months through to June 2027. Thanks, Steve. thanks steve Looking ahead, we already mentioned we anticipate the Bozzetto transaction will close at the latest the end of May. looking ahead we already mentioned we anticipate the bozzetto transaction will close at the latest the end of may Once we've done the closing, we'll make the offer for the senior notes, which will be end of May, beginning of June, with a purchase offer, and that's the requirement of the indenture agreement, which is triggered by the Bozzetto sale. once we've done the closing we'll make the offer for the senior notes which will be end of may beginning of june with a purchase offer and that's the requirement of the indenture agreement which is triggered by the bozzetto sale The offer to holders will be made at par value of the notes, plus any accrued interest. the offer to holders will be made at par value of the notes plus any accrued interest Also in June, we anticipate renewing our normal course issuer bid. also in june we anticipate renewing our normal course issuer bid Pending regulatory approval, we anticipate being permitted to buy back approximately 5 million shares over the next 12 months through to June 2027. pending regulatory approval we anticipate being permitted to buy back approximately 5 million shares over the next 12 months through to june 2027 Just as significant, we will begin to deploy the net proceeds towards making investments in our target companies and continuing with our three-step strategy, part of which is narrowing the discount that Aimia trades relative to our view of intrinsic value. Later this summer, we also expect to become listed in the U.K., subject to meeting the listing qualifications, and that'll most likely be on the AIM market. As you've heard, Q1, we've been busy. We've made progress towards getting Aimia ready to be a permanent capital vehicle, and that should ensure that we put shareholders at first and start to generate returns that shareholders really deserve to have, especially those that have been involved for a long time. Our focus is to keep the momentum going. Just as significant, we will begin to deploy the net proceeds towards making investments in our target companies and continuing with our three-step strategy, part of which is narrowing the discount that Aimia trades relative to our view of intrinsic value. just as significant we will begin to deploy the net proceeds towards making investments in our target companies and continuing with our three-step strategy part of which is narrowing the discount that aimia trades relative to our view of intrinsic value Later this summer, we also expect to become listed in the U.K., subject to meeting the listing qualifications, and that'll most likely be on the AIM market. later this summer we also expect to become listed in the u.k subject to meeting the listing qualifications and that'll most likely be on the aim market As you've heard, Q1, we've been busy. as you've heard q1 we've been busy We've made progress towards getting Aimia ready to be a permanent capital vehicle, and that should ensure that we put shareholders at first and start to generate returns that shareholders really deserve to have, especially those that have been involved for a long time. we've made progress towards getting aimia ready to be a permanent capital vehicle and that should ensure that we put shareholders at first and start to generate returns that shareholders really deserve to have especially those that have been involved for a long time Our focus is to keep the momentum going. our focus is to keep the momentum going In particular, we want to complete this Bozzetto transaction. We don't foresee any issues with that. Our focus on the longer term, though, is really back to the net book value and growth in net book value per share that will benefit all shareholders. I won't elaborate much more at this point, but I would remind you that we're hosting the AGM today later this morning, and I'll be expanding on our investment ideas, the types of companies we'll be targeting during the presentation. If you are unable to attend here in Toronto, I will recommend that you can join us on the webcast, and I think the link is on our website. Thank you for your time. We'll open for questions. Thanks, Joe. In particular, we want to complete this Bozzetto transaction. in particular we want to complete this bozzetto transaction We don't foresee any issues with that. we don't foresee any issues with that Our focus on the longer term, though, is really back to the net book value and growth in net book value per share that will benefit all shareholders. I won't elaborate much more at this point, but I would remind you that we're hosting the AGM today later this morning, and I'll be expanding on our investment ideas, the types of companies we'll be targeting during the presentation. our focus on the longer term though is really back to the net book value and growth in net book value per share that will benefit all shareholders. i won't elaborate much more at this point but i would remind you that we're hosting the agm today later this morning and i'll be expanding on our investment ideas the types of companies we'll be targeting during the presentation If you are unable to attend here in Toronto, I will recommend that you can join us on the webcast, and I think the link is on our website. if you are unable to attend here in toronto i will recommend that you can join us on the webcast and i think the link is on our website Thank you for your time. thank you for your time We'll open for questions. we'll open for questions Thanks, Joe. thanks joe

Speaker 1: Thank you. Before we open up the question to callers, we have received a couple inbounds from some of our shareholders. First question relates to the deployment of capital. What percentage of the deployable capital will you be making investments, and how much percentage will be kept as dry powder? Thank you. thank you Before we open up the question to callers, we have received a couple inbounds from some of our shareholders. before we open up the question to callers we have received a couple inbounds from some of our shareholders First question relates to the deployment of capital. first question relates to the deployment of capital What percentage of the deployable capital will you be making investments, and how much percentage will be kept as dry powder? what percentage of the deployable capital will you be making investments and how much percentage will be kept as dry powder

Speaker 3: Think of it like this. We've got kind of three buckets of value, you know, the way I see it in Aimia. The one is the cash that we'll have after settling the notes. We don't know what the outcome of that will be, but we've given some indication in the presentation of the cash we'll have. We'll also have kind of the second bucket, which is Cortland. That is cash generative, and particularly in the second half of the year, we expect that to be able to upstream more cash to the Holdco. We have the, you know, the tax losses that we always talk about. When it comes to allocating the capital, we'll use all three as a way to allocate capital efficiently. Think of it like this. think of it like this We've got kind of three buckets of value, you know, the way I see it in Aimia. we've got kind of three buckets of value you know the way i see it in aimia The one is the cash that we'll have after settling the notes. the one is the cash that we'll have after settling the notes We don't know what the outcome of that will be, but we've given some indication in the presentation of the cash we'll have. we don't know what the outcome of that will be but we've given some indication in the presentation of the cash we'll have We'll also have kind of the second bucket, which is Cortland. we'll also have kind of the second bucket which is cortland That is cash generative, and particularly in the second half of the year, we expect that to be able to upstream more cash to the Holdco . that is cash generative and particularly in the second half of the year we expect that to be able to upstream more cash to the holdco We have the, you know, the tax losses that we always talk about. we have the you know the tax losses that we always talk about When it comes to allocating the capital, we'll use all three as a way to allocate capital efficiently. when it comes to allocating the capital we'll use all three as a way to allocate capital efficiently Those three things could include Cortland making acquisitions, and we'll talk about a bit about that later in the AGM. I kind of see Cortland as potentially a platform company where you can deploy further capital. We'll also have the cash balance, which we can utilize. The third part is the tax losses, which we see different ideas on how to monetize those, and I think that has to be part of our overall view of how we allocate the capital. Those three things could include Cortland making acquisitions, and we'll talk about a bit about that later in the AGM. those three things could include cortland making acquisitions and we'll talk about a bit about that later in the agm I kind of see Cortland as potentially a platform company where you can deploy further capital. i kind of see cortland as potentially a platform company where you can deploy further capital We'll also have the cash balance, which we can utilize. we'll also have the cash balance which we can utilize The third part is the tax losses, which we see different ideas on how to monetize those, and I think that has to be part of our overall view of how we allocate the capital. the third part is the tax losses which we see different ideas on how to monetize those and i think that has to be part of our overall view of how we allocate the capital

Speaker 1: A couple of questions related to Cortland. You've appointed a new CEO. What will be his primary mandate? A couple of questions related to Cortland. a couple of questions related to cortland You've appointed a new CEO. you've appointed a new ceo What will be his primary mandate? what will be his primary mandate

Speaker 3: If you think about I wrote this in the chairman's letter, that, you know, Cortland, I use the word clumsy. Cortland had a clumsy management structure. I'm not saying the individuals were clumsy. I'm saying, you know, the actual structure was clumsy. We had a Executive Chairman, we had a CEO, we had a CFO, and they weren't under one roof. We wanted to bring them together, be based in the U.S., in one of our operations. I think Wolfgang knows the business well, knows the industry well, and also I think he's now got a clear runway to turn the business around. His key target will be improving free cash flow generation for Cortland. His second objective will be to grow the footprint of Cortland. If you think about I wrote this in the chairman's letter, that, you know, Cortland, I use the word clumsy. if you think about i wrote this in the chairman's letter that you know cortland i use the word clumsy Cortland had a clumsy management structure. cortland had a clumsy management structure I'm not saying the individuals were clumsy. i'm not saying the individuals were clumsy I'm saying, you know, the actual structure was clumsy. i'm saying you know the actual structure was clumsy We had a Executive Chairman, we had a CEO, we had a CFO, and they weren't under one roof. we had a executive chairman we had a ceo we had a cfo and they weren't under one roof We wanted to bring them together, be based in the U.S., in one of our operations. we wanted to bring them together be based in the u.s in one of our operations I think Wolfgang knows the business well, knows the industry well, and also I think he's now got a clear runway to turn the business around. i think wolfgang knows the business well knows the industry well and also i think he's now got a clear runway to turn the business around His key target will be improving free cash flow generation for Cortland. his key target will be improving free cash flow generation for cortland His second objective will be to grow the footprint of Cortland. his second objective will be to grow the footprint of cortland Essentially, what we want is manufacturing out of India and then a global distribution business across the rest of the world. You know, Cortland has some really powerful benefits that the competitors don't have. We're very strong in the U.S. and continue to thrive in some of the Scandinavian countries. I'm fairly optimistic with that. I think we can add to the business as well through some selective acquisitions. Essentially, what we want is manufacturing out of India and then a global distribution business across the rest of the world. essentially what we want is manufacturing out of india and then a global distribution business across the rest of the world You know, Cortland has some really powerful benefits that the competitors don't have. you know cortland has some really powerful benefits that the competitors don't have We're very strong in the U.S. and continue to thrive in some of the Scandinavian countries. we're very strong in the u.s and continue to thrive in some of the scandinavian countries I'm fairly optimistic with that. i'm fairly optimistic with that I think we can add to the business as well through some selective acquisitions. i think we can add to the business as well through some selective acquisitions

Speaker 1: Okay, one last question on Cortland. What working capital conditions are you seeing there, and how will that impact your free cash flow coming from Cortland over the next 12-24 months? Okay, one last question on Cortland. okay one last question on cortland What working capital conditions are you seeing there, and how will that impact your free cash flow coming from Cortland over the next 12-24 months? what working capital conditions are you seeing there and how will that impact your free cash flow coming from cortland over the next 12-24 months

Speaker 3: Give that to Steve. Give that to Steve. give that to steve

Speaker 5: Yeah. I mean, there's a couple of drivers. One of them, I think we mentioned in our prepared remarks, as well as in some of the write-up in the, in the disclosure documents that, with the elevation in oil prices, one of the input in raw materials is polymers, and those are impacted by the price of oil. That's seeing a lift in costs coming in, which also has a little bit of a drag on working capital. We're also trying to manage working capital as efficiently as we can. We had a lift in the quarter, we're working with the management team to ensure that we have the right levels of working capital going into the second half of the year. Yeah. yeah I mean, there's a couple of drivers. i mean there's a couple of drivers One of them, I think we mentioned in our prepared remarks, as well as in some of the write-up in the, in the disclosure documents that, with the elevation in oil prices, one of the input in raw materials is polymers, and those are impacted by the price of oil. one of them i think we mentioned in our prepared remarks as well as in some of the write-up in the in the disclosure documents that with the elevation in oil prices one of the input in raw materials is polymers and those are impacted by the price of oil That's seeing a lift in costs coming in, which also has a little bit of a drag on working capital. that's seeing a lift in costs coming in which also has a little bit of a drag on working capital We're also trying to manage working capital as efficiently as we can. we're also trying to manage working capital as efficiently as we can We had a lift in the quarter, we're working with the management team to ensure that we have the right levels of working capital going into the second half of the year. we had a lift in the quarter we're working with the management team to ensure that we have the right levels of working capital going into the second half of the year As we mentioned, we're looking for some improvements in the results, and obviously you have to have some of those raw materials and inventories ahead of the delivery of sales orders. That's what we're seeing. As we mentioned, we're looking for some improvements in the results, and obviously you have to have some of those raw materials and inventories ahead of the delivery of sales orders. as we mentioned we're looking for some improvements in the results and obviously you have to have some of those raw materials and inventories ahead of the delivery of sales orders That's what we're seeing. that's what we're seeing

Speaker 1: Okay. Operator, would you mind prompting again for questions, please, for those on the phone? Okay. okay Operator, would you mind prompting again for questions, please, for those on the phone? operator would you mind prompting again for questions please for those on the phone

Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir. For those on the phone lines, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. Once again, star and one if you wish to ask a question. Yes, sir. yes sir Thank you. thank you Thank you, sir. thank you sir For those on the phone lines, if you wish to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced. for those on the phone lines if you wish to ask a question please press star one on your telephone keypad and wait for your name to be announced Once again, star and one if you wish to ask a question. once again star and one if you wish to ask a question

Speaker 1: Go ahead with Rob. Go ahead with Rob. go ahead with rob

Speaker 2: Okay, sir. The first question comes from Rob Byde from Zeus Capital. Your line is now open. Please go ahead. Okay, sir. okay sir The first question comes from Rob Byde from Zeus Capital. the first question comes from rob byde from zeus capital Your line is now open. your line is now open Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 4: Thanks, Joe. Good morning, all. Just continuing the discussion on Cortland. You mentioned in the outlook statement that you're anticipating improvement in second half trading. Could you perhaps provide a bit more color on the drivers? For example, is this a normalization of the revenue run rate or perhaps tighter control of cost? Secondly, you have touched on this issue, but are you able to actively manage your commodity price exposure for working cap and the cost lines? Thank you. Thanks, Joe. thanks joe Good morning, all. good morning all Just continuing the discussion on Cortland. just continuing the discussion on cortland You mentioned in the outlook statement that you're anticipating improvement in second half trading. you mentioned in the outlook statement that you're anticipating improvement in second half trading Could you perhaps provide a bit more color on the drivers? could you perhaps provide a bit more color on the drivers For example, is this a normalization of the revenue run rate or perhaps tighter control of cost? for example is this a normalization of the revenue run rate or perhaps tighter control of cost Secondly, you have touched on this issue, but are you able to actively manage your commodity price exposure for working cap and the cost lines? secondly you have touched on this issue but are you able to actively manage your commodity price exposure for working cap and the cost lines Thank you. thank you

Speaker 5: Yeah, there's a couple of drivers for the second half that we're seeing. One is in the domestic Indian market, typically, their fishing season's quite strong going into the third quarter, so we're expecting orders that are gonna be delivered in the second quarter will drive some of those better results that we're expecting. We're also making good progress, which we'll likely talk about more in our upcoming quarters on aquaculture, particularly in delivering cages in markets, including in Latin America, which was a market that we invested in in 25, but we didn't really have any pull-through. It took us some time to get traction in that market, and we're starting to see that come through. Yeah, there's a couple of drivers for the second half that we're seeing. yeah there's a couple of drivers for the second half that we're seeing One is in the domestic Indian market, typically, their fishing season's quite strong going into the third quarter, so we're expecting orders that are gonna be delivered in the second quarter will drive some of those better results that we're expecting. one is in the domestic indian market typically their fishing season's quite strong going into the third quarter so we're expecting orders that are gonna be delivered in the second quarter will drive some of those better results that we're expecting We're also making good progress, which we'll likely talk about more in our upcoming quarters on aquaculture, particularly in delivering cages in markets, including in Latin America, which was a market that we invested in in 25, but we didn't really have any pull-through. we're also making good progress which we'll likely talk about more in our upcoming quarters on aquaculture particularly in delivering cages in markets including in latin america which was a market that we invested in in 25 but we didn't really have any pull-through It took us some time to get traction in that market, and we're starting to see that come through. it took us some time to get traction in that market and we're starting to see that come through On the mitigation, we have looked at elements of putting in surcharges on some of the revenue orders and working with our customers to mitigate the impact of the elevated pricing. That's also something that we're working through. On the mitigation, we have looked at elements of putting in surcharges on some of the revenue orders and working with our customers to mitigate the impact of the elevated pricing. on the mitigation we have looked at elements of putting in surcharges on some of the revenue orders and working with our customers to mitigate the impact of the elevated pricing That's also something that we're working through. that's also something that we're working through

Speaker 4: Great. Thanks so much. Great. great Thanks so much. thanks so much

Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 1: There we go. There we go. there we go Once again, for those who want to ask a question over the phone, just press star one on your telephone keypad. Once again, for those who want to ask a question over the phone, just press star one on your telephone keypad. once again for those who want to ask a question over the phone just press star one on your telephone keypad One question that's also come in. With respect to the NCIB, you've completed about 60% of purchases so far for this year's program. Can we anticipate an acceleration before this program ends? One question that's also come in. one question that's also come in With respect to the NCIB, you've completed about 60% of purchases so far for this year's program. with respect to the ncib you've completed about 60% of purchases so far for this year's program Can we anticipate an acceleration before this program ends? can we anticipate an acceleration before this program ends

Speaker 3: We'll continue to execute on the buyback. We've been a bit hamstrung this year because of being in a blackout period for much of it as we've been working on the Bozzetto transaction. Clearly, we will continue subject to any other transactions we might be involved in. That might result in us being in a blackout again. I think the intention is, when, you know, when we say we wanna buy back 5 million shares next year and complete the NCIB, the intention is to complete it. It's clearly subject to what the, you know, what the level of the share price is. If the share price is offering significant discount compared to what we can buy in the market, or other acquisition opportunities, then we will continue to buy back the shares. We'll continue to execute on the buyback. we'll continue to execute on the buyback We've been a bit hamstrung this year because of being in a blackout period for much of it as we've been working on the Bozzetto transaction. we've been a bit hamstrung this year because of being in a blackout period for much of it as we've been working on the bozzetto transaction Clearly, we will continue subject to any other transactions we might be involved in. clearly we will continue subject to any other transactions we might be involved in That might result in us being in a blackout again. that might result in us being in a blackout again I think the intention is, when, you know, when we say we wanna buy back 5 million shares next year and complete the NCIB, the intention is to complete it. i think the intention is when you know when we say we wanna buy back 5 million shares next year and complete the ncib the intention is to complete it It's clearly subject to what the, you know, what the level of the share price is. it's clearly subject to what the you know what the level of the share price is If the share price is offering significant discount compared to what we can buy in the market, or other acquisition opportunities, then we will continue to buy back the shares. if the share price is offering significant discount compared to what we can buy in the market or other acquisition opportunities then we will continue to buy back the shares

Speaker 2: Thank you. No further questions that came through over the phone lines. I'll now turn the call over back to Joe Racanelli. Please go ahead, sir. Thank you. thank you No further questions that came through over the phone lines. no further questions that came through over the phone lines I'll now turn the call over back to Joe Racanelli. i'll now turn the call over back to joe racanelli Please go ahead, sir. please go ahead sir

Speaker 1: Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. As Rhys noted, we do have our annual general meeting that will begin at 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time. We will be making a more comprehensive presentation at that time. I would encourage you to join us via webcast if you're not able to meet with us in person. Thank you. Have a good day, everyone. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. thank you everyone for joining us today As Rhys noted, we do have our annual general meeting that will begin at 10:30 A.M. as rhys noted we do have our annual general meeting that will begin at 10:30 a.m Eastern Time. eastern time We will be making a more comprehensive presentation at that time. we will be making a more comprehensive presentation at that time I would encourage you to join us via webcast if you're not able to meet with us in person. i would encourage you to join us via webcast if you're not able to meet with us in person Thank you. thank you Have a good day, everyone. have a good day everyone

Speaker 2: Thank you. This concludes our conference call for today. Thank you all for participating. You may now disconnect. Thank you. thank you This concludes our conference call for today. this concludes our conference call for today Thank you all for participating. thank you all for participating You may now disconnect. you may now disconnect