Scott M. Rajeski
Thank you, Casey, and thank you all for participating in today's call to review our second quarter results and discuss our business outlook. The Latham team executed very well in the second quarter, driving year-on-year revenue growth of 7.8% and adjusted EBITDA growth of twice that at 15.7%. Our ability to achieve this level of organic- and acquisition-related sales growth, along with increased operating profitability despite ongoing trough industry conditions is supported by several key factors. First, we have a diversified product portfolio and have the #1 share in every subcategory in which we compete. Second, we have been successful in driving the awareness and adoption of fiberglass pools and autocovers, 2 product categories with substantial growth runways. Third, we recently completed accretive acquisitions of 3 of our autocover dealers, contributing to sales growth and strengthening our margin profile. And lastly, our lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives continue to drive production efficiencies that scaled further with higher second quarter volumes. These factors were the major contributors to our strong second quarter and year-to-date performance, and they continue to underpin our confidence in Latham's ability to drive accelerated revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth as industry conditions improve. Taking a closer look at second quarter business trends, adverse weather conditions in many parts of the country delayed pool building activity resulted in a slight decline in our in-ground pool sales. This had a greater impact on our packaged pool sales than on fiberglass pools and fiberglass pools are tracking to account for approximately 75% of our in-ground pool sales for the full year. And based on our current projections, we continue to expect fiberglass pools to gain another 1% of market penetration in the in-ground pool category in 2025. Our investments in targeted marketing programs to drive the adoption and awareness of fiberglass pools are yielding positive results. Year-to-date, we have delivered an 18% increase in leads to our dealers, while consumer sessions on our website have increased 34%. We are also seeing strong signals of pool purchase interest and intent with consumers spending more time on our website, viewing more pages and increasingly engaging with our digital tools. All these metrics were up year-over-year in the second quarter and year- to-date compared to the same periods in 2024. In particular, the cost benefits, and fast and easy installation of fiberglass pools are resonating with consumers. Given widespread labor shortages across many U.S. markets, we continue to believe the significantly lower labor requirements for installing a fiberglass pool will be a tailwind for fiberglass over concrete pools. According to recent research, 46% of pool builders cited limited access to qualified labor as having a substantial impact on their ability to build new pools. Autocovers were a standout performer in the second quarter. Through a combination of organic- and acquisition-related growth, this product category was a key contributor to our second quarter sales growth and is gaining momentum with consumers. Our marketing programs have been effective in driving home the benefits of autocovers, highlighting their unparalleled safety and significant cost savings from reduced water, energy and chemical use. These savings enable autocovers to effectively pay for themselves within 4 to 5 years of installation. Additionally, 16 states in addition to a number of municipalities across the country have now expanded their pool safety regulations to allow for autocovers to be used in place of traditional fencing around the pool, which results in additional savings for the homeowner. Also, their compatibility with all types of in-ground pools significantly expands our addressable market. Our replacement liner business also showed solid growth in the second quarter, which we attribute to our industry-leading lead times and the continued adoption of Measure by Latham, our proprietary pool liner and cover measuring AI tool. This is the only solution in the marketplace that streamlines the measurement and quoting process for installers, ensuring a high degree of accuracy and enabling a smooth and efficient installation. This tool is fully integrated with our order entry system, allowing dealers to generate real-time quotes, seamlessly submit orders and track their status. In the first half of this year, 25% of the dealers who purchased this tool were new to Latham, supporting our expectation that Measure by Latham will not only improve the efficiency of our dealer network, but will also help expand our market share in liners and covers. And we are already seeing early signs of those gains. Our consumer-facing marketing programs are centered around building awareness for Latham's fiberglass pools, autocovers and plunge pools with emphasis on the Sand State markets, which represent a substantial growth opportunity for us. Our initial targets in the Sand States are Florida and Texas, which together with Arizona and California account for approximately two-thirds of annual new pool starts in the United States. Latham, as the largest in-ground pool manufacturer, is currently underrepresented in the Sand States, which provides us with a substantial growth opportunity. We launched our Sand State strategy in the late 2024 and we've made considerable progress in the first half of 2025 on the pillars that form the foundation of this strategy. Specifically, we have increased our pool dealer base in both Florida and Texas, adding additional dealers in the second quarter. We expanded our plunge pool collection and launched new fiberglass pool models to align our product offerings with market preferences in the Sand States, and we ramped up our marketing efforts, drawing strong interest from both current and prospective homeowners, including in key target markets such as Florida and Texas. Our national marketing efforts have resulted in over a 20% increase in dealer leads year-to-date, and Latham continues to be the most searched for fiberglass pool brand among major competitors. And we continue to actively partner with some of our top-performing pool dealers across the country to expand their operations into the Sand States by establishing a presence in key master planned communities or MPCs that we have identified in Florida and Texas. At the same time, we're evaluating additional complementary strategies to further accelerate our growth in these MPCs, where we are already driving awareness of the Latham brand and our product lineup. More on that in the next quarter or 2. In summary, our second quarter results were in line with our expectations and demonstrated the continued execution of our strategy to drive the awareness and adoption of fiberglass pools and autocovers, expand our presence in the Sand State markets and improve margin through accretive acquisitions, lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives. Our lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives have structurally changed our business model and are an important factor enabling us to achieve significant leverage as industry conditions improve. We issued a release today and filed an 8-K, noting that Jeff Jackson, who currently serves as Chief Executive Officer at Cabinetworks Group, has joined our Board of Directors. Many of you may know Jeff is the former President and CEO of PGT Innovations before it was acquired in 2024. We are pleased to have Jeff on our Board and look forward to benefiting from his valuable operational and strategic experience. I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Oliver Gloe, for a financial review of our second quarter and first half results. Oliver?