Shyam P. Kambeyanda
Thank you, Mark, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Before we begin, I want to express my appreciation to our teams around the world for their unwavering commitment to our customers to EBX to the disciplined execution of our long- term strategy. Despite operating in a challenging market environment, we delivered another quarter of strong results with record margins, a clear reflection of the resilience of our model and the dedication of our teams. During the quarter, I had the opportunity to go to Gemba and visit several of our recent acquisitions. I'm excited about the capabilities and competencies that these businesses bring to ESAB. I also visited teams in Gothenburg and Shanghai. It's always energizing to meet with our teams in the field to listen, learn and witness firsthand the passion and execution that drive our success. Amidst this dynamic environment, our teams remain laser-focused on the fundamentals, disciplined cost control, elevating the customer experience and sharpening our go-to-market differentiation. These priorities are paying off, and it's clear that ESAB continues to stand out as a world-class franchise positioned to benefit from long-term structural tailwinds, particularly across Asia and Europe. In EMEA and APAC, the performance this quarter was strong. This momentum is a direct result of our team's ability to execute the EBX growth playbook with precision, driving organic growth and capturing broad-based share gains across our markets. Turning to the Americas. A few dynamics are worth calling out. Tariff-related uncertainty introduced unexpected volume headwinds, particularly impacting our local customers in Mexico. And we saw some automation orders delayed with demand now expected to shift into the second half of the year. That said, the underlying health of the business remains strong. Our pipeline of opportunities is robust, and our teams are focused on delivering. Encouragingly, we began to see signs of improved market conditions in North America in July and early but positive indicator as we move deeper into the second half. Despite the short-term headwinds, our teams delivered total sales growth of 2% and achieved record adjusted EBITDA margins of 20.4%. This performance speaks to the resiliency and strength of our operating model and the consistent focused execution by our teams, even under pressure. In parallel, we continue to make meaningful strides on our Compounder journey. Since our last update, we have successfully completed 2 gas control acquisitions, DeltaP & Aktiv and signed EWM, which accelerates our heavy industrial product road map and expand our equipment capabilities. Given our confidence in the strength of our equipment portfolio, the momentum in our gas control business, improving market conditions in North America and the continued resilience in our high-growth markets, all underpinned by EBX, we have raised our full year guidance. Moving to Slide 4. Before we go into detail about our performance and recent acquisitions, let me share another initiative that highlights our passion for our industry. At ESAB, we believe that investing in talent is a strategic priority to ensure the long-term success of our business and the future of the fabrication technology industry. The Flame Internship Program originally launched in Brazil, represents a global initiative designed to give college students immersive hands-on experience working within industrial companies like ours. This initiative spans across every functional area from engineering, operations, to marketing, finance, supply chain and now digital innovation. The program is energizing not only for our interns who gained vital exposure to real-world challenges and sharpen their skills, but also for our local teams who benefit from fresh perspectives and enthusiasm that these young professionals bring. It has become a catalyst for learning, collaboration, mentorship across our organization. Beyond its near-term impact, the Flame Internship Program is an intentional investment in building robust talent pipeline for the fabrication technology sector. By accelerating professional growth and fostering leadership potential, we're shaping the next generation of leaders for our industry. Turning to Slide 5 to talk about the quarter and give you more color around our performance by geography. As this slide illustrates, ESAB continues to benefit significantly from our unmatched global footprint. Our balanced presence across Americas, EMEA and APAC, not only provides resilience in the face of regional volatility, but it also positions us to capitalize on growth opportunities wherever they may arise. Our business outside North America continues to build on its strength. Europe remains steady, and we're well positioned to benefit from EU stimulus measures already in motion. The Bavaria acquisition is off to a strong start, further strengthening our regional capabilities. In the Middle East, we delivered double-digit growth, a clear evidence of their diversification strategy and investment. India also remains a standout, growing at high single digits. With our leadership position and strong local presence, we're confident in our capability to capture an outsized share of both public infrastructure investment and private sector growth over the next decade. In China and Southeast Asia, the business grew mid-single digits, supported by increased capital expenditure and ongoing LNG investments in China. Meanwhile, Australia and New