Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining the High Liner Foods conference call today to discuss our financial results for the second quarter of 26.

On the call from High Liner Foods are Paul Jewer, Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Stephens, chief financial officer; and Anthony Rasetta, chief commercial officer. I would like to remind listeners that we use certain non-IFRS measures and ratios when discussing our financial results.

As we believe these are useful in assessing the company's financial performance. These measures are fully described and reconciled to IFRS measures in our MD and A.

Listeners are also reminded that certain statements made on today's call may be forward looking statements under applicable securities law. Management may use forward looking statements when discussing the company's investments and strategy, business, and markets in which the company operates.

As well as operating and financial performance in the future. These statements are based on assumptions that are believed to be reasonable at the time they were made and currently available information.

Forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results or events, including operating or financial results, could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward looking statements.

High Liner Foods includes a thorough discussion of the risks and other factors that could cause its anticipated outcomes to differ from actual outcomes its publicly available disclosure documents including its most recent annual MD and A and annual information form. Please note that High Liner Foods is under no obligation to update any forward looking statements discussed today.

At the close of markets yesterday, August 13, Liner Foods reported its financial results for the second quarter ended 07/04/2026. That news release, along with the company's MD and A and condensed interim consolidated financial statements, for the second quarter of 2 thousand and 26 have been filed on SEDAR plus and can also be found in the investor section of the High Liner Foods website.

If you would like to receive our news release in the future, please visit company's website to register. Lastly, please note that the company reports financial results in US dollars, and therefore, the results to be discussed today are also stated in US dollars unless otherwise noted.

High Liner Foods common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and are quoted in Canadian dollars. I will now turn the call over to Paul for his opening remarks.

Thanks, Matt, and thank you for joining us on today's call. The second quarter marked an encouraging step forward in strengthening the underlying performance of our business.

Demand remained resilient and we maintained top line momentum, particularly in retail, while adjusted EBITDA increased year over year both on a reported basis and when normalizing for tariff related costs and recovery. We achieved these results despite continued pressure on gross profit from inflation higher raw material costs and continued tariffs.

Providing early evidence that our actions across pricing, promotions and supply chain are gaining traction. Let me briefly update you on the progress we are making across each of these priorities.

On pricing, we utilize the available post line pricing window to implement increases in our retail portfolio. These actions are an important step towards strengthening margins, although in external conditions, continue to evolve as new tariffs are implemented and raw material and fuel costs continue to rise.

On promotions, following increased activity around Lent, we took a more targeted and disciplined approach in the second quarter with greater emphasis on margin, and return on investment. As you will hear from Anthony, demand remains strong even as our promotional activity moderated, particularly in the plug channel.

And on supply chain, improved availability and retail fill rates during the second quarter reflect our efforts to strengthen execution across our plants and operations. We have a series of initiatives underway to drive efficiencies across the supply chain, and this work remains critical to our ability to offset inflationary cost pressures while maintaining compelling value for customers and consumers.

The AIIFA tariff recoveries announced today help explain the margin pressure the business experienced. During 2025 and the beginning of 2026.

While the recoveries will be recognized in our second and third quarter results, they relate to costs incurred during those earlier periods And as we have discussed before, during those periods, we were not able to immediately or fully price for the tariffs. The tariff refunds show the extent to which tariffs affected our margins, and provide a clearer view of the underlying performance and potential of the business.

With improving execution, continued innovation, and the underlying strengths of our business. We are confident in our ability to strengthen performance in the core and build sustainable growth over time.

Seafood remains underconsumed and demand for healthy, affordable and convenient protein solutions remains as relevant as ever. For more than 100 years, we have worked in partnership with our customers to navigate changing conditions and deliver compelling value to consumers across North America.

We will continue to do so, with a balanced and disciplined approach. Focused on making steady progress on the factors within our control while investing for the opportunity ahead.

With that, I will pass the call over to Kimberly to discuss our financial results.

Thanks, Paul, and hello, everyone. As Paul described, our second quarter results reflect continued top line momentum and year over year adjusted EBITDA growth.

Both on a reported basis and when normalizing for the impact of the AIIFA tariff. This demonstrates progress on the strategic initiatives that we have underway on promotion, price and plant operations, the benefit of our right sized organizational structure, and the ongoing cost discipline to support our value proposition amid the inflation and the higher raw material costs.

From a volume perspective, sales volume increased in the second quarter by 2.2 million pounds or 4% to 57 million pounds compared to 54.8 million pounds in the second quarter of 25, due to the sustained demand for High Liner's diversified product portfolio the successful launch of the new product innovation, additional contract manufacturing business, and the volumes associated with the United States Department of Agriculture USDA contract. James increased in the second quarter by $29.7 million or 12.4% to $269.3 million compared to $239.6 million in the same period last year driven both by the increased volume as well as increased pricing reflected in inflationary markets.

Gross profit decreased in the second quarter by $3.2 million or 6% to $50.1 million and gross profit as a percentage of sales decreased by 370 basis points to 18.6% as compared to 22.3% in the second quarter of 25. The decrease in gross profit, though, is largely driven by the $10.1 million in inventory related losses associated with the fire at a third party warehouse facility which the company expects to recover through the recognition of insurance coverage by the end of 26.

And this impact and the impact of this has been normalized in both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income. The inventory loss is partially offset by the $7.9 million in International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff recovery, otherwise known as AIIFA tariff, recognized during the second quarter.

Gross profit in the second quarter of 26 includes approximately $5.7 million in incurred AIIFA-related tariffs in the cost of sales, excluding the tariff recoveries discussed previously, compared to $2.8 million in the same period of 2025. Distribution expenses consisting of freight and storage increased in the second quarter by $2.8 million or 24.6% to $14.2 million compared to $11.4 million in the same period in the prior year.

The increase in distribution expense was mainly due to the increase of sales volume, as well as increased freight costs incurred on the sales associated with the newly acquired brands from ConAgra Brands and the incremental distribution costs from increased fuel costs and freight rates. As a percentage of sales, distribution expenses increased to 5.3% in the second quarter compared to 4.8% in the same period in the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA increased in the second quarter by $5.1 million or 20.3% to $30.2 million compared to $25.1 million the same period in the prior year. And adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales increased to 11.2% compared to 10.5%.

The increase in adjusted EBITDA reflects the company's balanced approach to pricing, favorable SG&A, and the tariff recovery previously mentioned. Reported net income decreased in the second quarter by $3.4 million or 40% to $5.1 million while diluted earnings per share decreased to $0.18 compared to $0.28 in the prior year.

The decrease in net income reflects the decrease in gross profit previously mentioned, increased distribution expenses and higher financing costs partially offset by favorable SG and A and lower business acquisition integration and other expense. Excluding the impact of certain non routine or noncash expenses that are explained in our MD and A, adjusted net income in the second quarter of 26 increased by $1.2 million or 10.4% to $12.7 million.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to $0.44 from $0.38 in the same period in 2025. With regard to cash flow from operations and the balance sheet, net cash flows from operating activities in the second quarter of 2020 decreased by $18.6 million to an outflow of $3 million compared to an inflow of $15.6 million in the same period in 2025.

The decrease is primarily driven by cash outflows from noncash working capital balances, specifically purchases of inventory and higher accounts receivable balances partially offset with an increase in accounts payable balances. Cash flows also increase as a result of higher cash taxes paid.

These are partially offset by with higher cash flows provided through our operations in the second quarter of 26 compared to the prior year. Net debt at the end of the second quarter of 26 increased by $13.4 million to $335.8 million compared to $322 million in the end of fiscal 25.

Reflecting higher bank loans and lease liabilities, partially offset with the lower long term debt and higher cash balances. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA was 3.6 times, at 07/04/2026, compared to 3.5 times at the end of fiscal 25.

We expect the ratio to improve throughout the year and be slightly below the company's long term target of 3 times by the end of fiscal 26. While the company recognized the $7.9 million tariff recovery received during the second quarter, The company, received further tariff recovery of $27.9 million of the total $41.3 million applied for.

Subsequent to quarter end This amount will be recognized in the company's third quarter of 2020 financial results. As Paul noted, the recoveries provide an important context for the care pressure.

Absorbed by the business during 2025 and 2026. Of which approximately half of the tariff recoveries relate to tariff cost of sales in 2025 and the remainder relates to 2026.

We are still in the process of analyzing the full tariff impact, including the extent to which those costs may have been partially offset by pricing actions. Given the number of variables and the assumptions involved, any analysis to isolate normalized performance absent the AIIFA tariff, remains complex.

However, the broader takeaway is that the recoveries provide further evidence of the underlying resilience performance and the potential of our business. I will now hand over the call to Anthony to discuss our operational performance.

Thanks, Kimberly, and hello, everyone. As Paul and Kimberly have outlined, we once again delivered a strong quarter on the top line, supported by sustained demand and improving execution.

From a commercial perspective, volumes held despite implementing pricing and reduced promotional activity. We saw improved product availability and a positive reaction to new product innovation, leading to new listings and expanded distribution across the 24 new items launched so far in 2026.

In our retail business, we carried the strong momentum we experienced at the start of the year into the second quarter. Operationally, better product availability helped us improve fill rates, meet demand more consistently, and importantly, grow higher margin products including our SkinPak product line.

While inflation and price sensitivity continue to shape the category, consumers are being deliberate about where they direct their spending, and prioritizing restaurant quality value oriented seafood meals at home. Against this backdrop, the breadth of our portfolio across species, formats, and price points served us well with growth across both premium and value offerings.

We delivered strong performance in the club channel on both the top and bottom line, with consumers continuing purchase our products after promotions ended. This was very encouraging to see as it validates both the strength of our value proposition beyond price including the quality, convenience, and breadth of our offering, as well as our strategy on promotional investments through the holiday and Lent period.

We are also seeing the benefit of the overall investment we have made in this growth channel over the past 18 months as our customers are quick to provide prominent placement for our new innovations including our continued expansion in Sea Cuisine. This premium brand was once again a standout performer during the quarter.

Driving significant gains across both club and traditional grocery with family pack growth and new listings expanding its reach. Customers have responded very strongly to our new Sea Cuisine innovations, including our SeaCuisine Guinness battered fish strips.

A highly relevant breaded and battered solution as well as the honey chipotle salmon, garlic bread crusted tilapia family packs, which are expanding our value added portfolio and creating new opportunities for profitable growth. During the quarter, we also began shipping our new Sea Cuisine skillet meals, to select retailers across The US.

This innovation is helping to expand the category with complete, restaurant quality meal solutions that offer the taste, convenience, and protein today's consumers are looking for. With sole, salmon, and shrimp options.

We know that uncertainty around how to prepare and cook seafood remains a barrier to greater at home consumption. At the same time, consumers are dining out less, and looking for affordable, low effort ways to create high quality dining experiences at home.

The Sea Cuisine skillet meals address both needs by making seafood easier and more approachable, through a complete meal solution that can be prepared with confidence and minimal effort. We are excited by the opportunity this represents and we will continue to prioritize building distribution in both the traditional grocery and club channels in the coming quarters.

Supported by retailer specific shopper and digital marketing. Innovation also remains critical on the value side of our portfolio.

During the quarter, we launched new private label products with national discount retailers across value added salmon, shrimp, and pollock. Target growth species for our business, that are strategically important as we further diversify our species mix.

Mrs. Paul's and Van de Kamp's are now well integrated into our portfolio and we are on track with recognizing the expected synergies and have also secured new distribution.

We remain focused on supporting both brands with targeted investment and marketing. In Canadian retail, we gained significant market share, and performed well during the quarter despite the inflationary weighing on the category.

Our performance was driven by the strength and diversity of our portfolio, across species. Which supports the stability of our business and provides a strong value proposition to consumers.

We saw strong demand for our pan seared, and high liner family pack offerings, supported by a number of key promotional programs along with the continued strength in our catch of the day product line. In food service, the breadth of our portfolio helped us navigate softer consumer demand, gain market share, and successfully implement price during the quarter, despite category challenges.

Consumers remain price sensitive and are trading down in the phase of inflationary pressures that are impacting many species, especially cod and haddock. We saw growth in our shrimp, salmon, and pollock offerings.

Key areas of focus for us with room for further development. Against this backdrop, we continue to support operators with value oriented products that keep seafood on the menu amidst inflation driven price increases as well as value added distributor label solutions that help offer better pricing, and help operators drive traffic.

By channel, our overall performance was again supported by gains in casual dining and noncommercial channels including long term care. Turning to innovation.

Our fully cooked platform represents a key growth opportunity in our pipeline, and we are encouraged by our early commercial progress. With permanent listing at a major US convenience customer performing well, and expanding to additional locations.

In April, we introduced the platform to Canadian Foodservice, and secured initial listings with multiple distributors. Our focus is now on converting that committed distribution and a strong sales pipeline into meaningful volume.

Building a new platform of this scale will take time, and we are applying the insights from our US rollout to accelerate its development in Canada. While we expect the operating environment to remain challenged in the back half of the year, the diversity of our portfolio and the strength of our team give me confidence in our ability to execute and build on the progress that we are seeing.

With that, I will hand the call back to Paul for his concluding remarks.

Thanks, Anthony. This was a quarter with a lot of moving parts.

But when you look through the noise, the message is clear. Our business remains resilient and we are taking the necessary steps to return the level of profitability we have proven our business can deliver.

We delivered top and bottom line growth. Supported by advancements across the strategic initiatives we have underway on price, promotion, cost management and operational efficiencies.

While we still have work to do, particularly as tariffs continue, and higher raw material and other input costs persist, we are encouraged by the traction we are seeing and remain focused on optimizing the factors within our control. As we have said, we expect the benefits of these actions to become even more evident in the second half of the year and the progress we have made in the second quarter gives me confidence in our ability to deliver year over year adjusted EBITDA growth independent of any tariff recoveries.

As a market leader, with a diversified portfolio, a resilient global supply chain, strong balance sheet, and a track record of navigating challenging market conditions, we are well positioned to drive improved performance in the short term and profitable growth over time. The fundamentals of our business are strong, and the long term opportunity driven by growing consumer demand for healthy, high protein convenient meal solutions remains as compelling as ever.

We are committed to capitalizing on that opportunity from a position of stability and strength. With that, we will open the line for questions.

Thanks, and good morning, everyone. I wanted to start on the topic of tariffs.

So specifically, you called out the refunds or the recoveries that you got in Q2 and then also what you have gotten in Q3 to date. And then it was also mentioned in prepared remarks that your undertaking an analysis to figure out what exactly is sort of the normalized earnings power going forward.

We cannot just take those refunds and add that to the EBITDA to get a sense of exactly what that is, which I do sort of understand in practice for a couple of reasons. 1, you talked about the pricing increases, but also the new tariffs that are in place.

And I think I would like to start with that second piece first. So can you just frame up for us what the net tariff headwind, I guess, or just the gross tariff headwind will be for the balance of the year.

And then also what to expect on a steady state basis recoveries would imply, but going forward. I imagine it would not be as much as what the IEEPA tariff maybe we will just start there.

Yes, sure. I think that is a good place start.

Luke, the reality is you are right. The--the tariffs were at higher rates than what we are currently facing in the business today.

We transitioned from those higher AIIFA tariffs to a short period of basically a 10% tariff on just about everyone. To now a situation where on most countries that we import seafood from into The US, we would have either a 10% tariff or a 12.5% tariff depending on the country.

With a few actually still remaining at 0. So we will still, have tariffs that we have to pay, We feel good about where we are in terms of having to price for those tariffs like before where we have not been able to fully price for them, and we have gotta continue to, you know, manage our business well and try to offset rising raw material costs and inflation in other areas.

But it is better environment as we look forward on tariffs than what it is been in the past because the reality, particularly with the AIIFA tariffs, is they came fast. They were significant.

And we certainly were not able to pass on, all of it. In the form of pricing.

Okay. And maybe just following up on that last piece there, Paul.

Typically, what we have seen from CPG companies is anytime that there is price that is implemented. During the quarter.

Pricing that is passed through tends to be a vol volumetric pullback from the consumer before settling out. Longer term.

Did you see any of that as a function of the price increases? Did you see any pullback in volumes during the quarter?

Because on a reported basis, obviously, it was fine, but I am just wondering if there is anything going on underneath that.

Yeah. I think as we said in our remarks, the resiliency in the volume has been better than we expected.

And some of that is the reality on the species where prices had to go up the most, cod and haddock, being a great example. Supply is also a challenge.

So in a scarce market, I think you do not have the elasticity or as much of the elasticity that you might have otherwise had. We feel good about how volume has held up.

As you know, in the first quarter, part of that was supported by us in terms of promotional activity. As we mentioned in the second quarter, I think we are still seeing some positive benefit associated with some of that volume staying even when not on promotion.

So we feel good overall. About where we are on balancing that need to protect margin.

while having the price in order to do that while also continuing to support growth in the category overall. Love to do it in an environment where we did not have tariffs or where raw material increases were not as significant as they have been.

But we are managing to do it even in that environment, we believe.

Okay. Thanks.

For my last question, and then I will pass the line. Just want to make sure I understand the moving parts when it comes to refunds.

As well specifically when it comes to your net leverage target. So you reiterated that you should finish the year just under 3 times net leverage.

But if I understand it correctly and if I have done the math correctly, if we take the expected tariff proceeds that you will get from Q3 and beyond, That should actually show up in adjusted EBITDA as well, purely because of the matching principal. And so it makes sense why you would not adjust that out.

But the number that I get is actually closer to 2.5 times rather than just other 3 times when we account for that. So is there anything, I guess, that we should be thinking about far as incremental investments in the back half of the year that would get you closer to just under 3 times versus 2.5?

No. Luke, your math is exactly right.

You know, we are all outside of the tariff impact, we are also seeing improved leverage ratio because of just how we are operating the business. But obviously, the impact of the IEEPA tariffs, both in adjusted EBITDA as well as the cash received, will get us approximately, I think, to where the numbers are that you listed.

Okay. I will pass the line.

Thanks.

So maybe just some follow ons there. So the accounting, just to be clear, as we look into Q3, the accounting for the 27 point 9 will be identical to how we saw the accounting take place this quarter.

I just want to make sure I am good thinking about that right.

Yes. Exactly.

It will be in cost of sales.

Okay. And then are you able to indicate like, what the blended average rate was that you were paying under the AIIFA tariffs?

That would be--that would be hard to do. if you look at the blended average rate now, Michael, of somewhere between 10% and 12.5%, I think under the AIIFA tariffs, it would have been in the high teens for sure.

Because there were some countries that were, you know, north of 20%, and there were a lot of countries that were in those high teens and there were a few countries that were 10%. So that is listen.

that is an order of magnitude. I certainly do not have any you know, more specific analysis to help you with that.

No. No.

that is fine. I was just trying to gauge the how to think about that a little bit.

And then Kimberly, you touched on the inventory build in Q2. I at least from my side, it was unexpected to see that size of an inventory build take place right now.

Can you maybe give a little bit of insight into that?

Yeah. Absolutely.

I would say a third of it is actually related to the higher inflation that we are seeing across our species. And then we are also doing opportunistic buying, both just to secure volume, as well as just getting ahead of some of the upcoming inflationary impact that we are expecting to see in some of our key species as well.

Okay. And then maybe 1 for Anthony On the product introductions, that you are talking about in retail, are the introductions you are making at retail, are they additive to floor space?

Or are they replacing other products? And then and then maybe to follow on that, maybe speak to overall grocery trends towards square footage to seafood right now?

Thanks.

Yeah. Hi, Michael.

Yes. I think the answer is we are we are helping the category gain space.

When you think about line extension as we would consider it on something like Guinness, that would not be incremental to a shelf. it is incremental to us, but not for the category overall versus something like the skillet meal.

Launch that we just introduced where it is absolutely incremental to seafood. There are placements happening in the meals, frozen meals which is incremental to seafood, as well as some of them happening within seafood overall.

When you think about the club channel, which is where we have had the most success, that is completely incremental. Because if you think about going into a Costco and you know, you see a pallet space or a space in the freezer, door, that would be expanded, distribution also.

So within grocery, I think we are seeing nice tailwind as consumers are shifting somewhat given the inflationary environment away from eating out and into at home. So we are seeing the category volume hold up even in spite of the inflationary special pressures.

While the introduction of the innovation that we have both on the premium side with the success of Sea Cuisine and on the value side in Sea Cuisine with the launch of our value packs as well as know, what we are doing within club and private label. We continue to help the category stay propped up in an inflationary environment.

Okay. Thank you.

Mhmm.

Yeah. Hi.

Good morning, guys. After accounting for the tariff recoveries and the inventory, loss, it feels that gross margins are down materially year over year.

So can you talk, do we need to take more pricing to kind of raise like, get a better margin profile in the second half? And some of the offsets as we go into the second half of the year that improve that margin will be helpful.

Yes. I think there are a couple of things, George.

You are right. You have identified the tariff recovery piece and the insurance piece.

But also remember that while we had a tariff recovery, we also had tariff costs in the quarter that we incurred that the refunds relate to. So I think you have to factor that in.

To the analysis. And then, you are right, there is some margin compression associated with mix.

Certainly, Kimberly, in her remarks, spoke about where some of our growth was coming from. And if you think about and, you know, USDA or industrial volume as an example, then that is going to be at some lower margins on average.

And then the other thing you have to factor in is, frankly, the math of significant inflation. Right?

When you when you deliver the same gross margin dollars or EBITDA dollars on a significantly inflated sales number even when you pass on the dollars, it results in some margin compression. I think you are also right.

You know, the reality is we still have some more work to do on pricing and promotion. I thought we made quite a bit of progress in the second quarter.

But more to come there. And the operational improvements particularly in our supply chain that we have available to us, started to see those kick in, in the second quarter, but there is still more opportunity there.

That will be supportive of margin expansion as well.

Yeah. On that topic of operational improvements, should we expect that to be more gradual, like, in the next few quarters into next year, or would you expect a bit of a step change in the back half?

No, I think you are right.

I think it is more gradual. it is squeezing the benefit out of better operational execution of plants.

1 of the more significant opportunities. So I would see that as growing through Q3 and Q4 into the into the first quarter of next year.

Again, just 1 quick 1, if I may. Kimberly, you mentioned upcoming inflation.

I am just wondering about your outlook on inflation for the rest of the year, if you expect perhaps some of the whitefish prices to, you know, come off a little bit and in that context, Just wondering also if you think in this environment if it would be easier to hold on to price at all. Thanks.

Yes. I think on whitefish species, George, a lot of that inflation, certainly on cod and haddock is already in the number because it is been so significant as you know over the last 18 months.

Where we will see some inflation and our starting to see some inflation is in Pollak. Demand there has been good.

So we are seeing some inflation in that species. And we are certainly expecting to see some inflation in pink salmon, because the catch rates in Alaska on pink salmon this year have certainly been a challenge on the supply front.

So I think it is changing where it is showing up in terms of the species mix, but there is still is gonna be inflation as we look forward. Of course, we are we are managing through the inflation on higher fuel prices and how that affects obviously, you know, distribution and shipping costs, but also how it affects you know, packaging and other ingredients in that regard.

So it is we are not expecting inflation to go away. it is gonna have to be something that we continue to manage as we look forward.

And, of course, we talked about the tariff piece as well. But I think the other thing, and just as a reminder, that we are trying to do is wherever we can, find cost savings and operational efficiency initiatives so that we can you know, cover the cost of some of that inflation while protecting margins so that we can maintain value for customers and consumers in the category.

Great. Thanks for your answers.

Yeah. Thank you, and good morning.

You touched on it a little bit earlier, but I just wanted to circle back to the H2 volume outlook. First half results were strong, but I think comps get a little tougher here in the second half of the year.

You are going to lap the benefit from Conagra Brands, acquisition in Q3? Then the USD contract in Q4.

So as we think about the second half of the year, are you expecting volume growth to moderate as we move through?

Hey, Nevan, it is Anthony. Yeah.

I think as Paul said earlier, we are really happy with how volume has held up in spite of some of the inflation. I think in terms of guidance, on the full year with what we know, we are going to be lapping, but we are still in that low single digit volume growth for the full year.

So, yeah, expecting that for the full year outlook.

Okay. Thanks, Anthony.

And then on gross margins, maybe just excluding the potential tariff refunds and some of the other onetime costs, You are up against a relatively easier gross margin comp in the second half of the year. Can you provide some detail on the potential magnitude of an improvement as we move through Q3 and then into Q4.

And could we potentially see gross margin above the 20% level in the second half of the year?

Nevan, this is Kimberly. As I think Anthony and Paul have been able to indicate, we have been able to get some of the pricing through in retail in Q2.

And so that will roll into Q3 and Q4 and favorably impact our gross margin percentage. I anticipate that we will be able to maintain that and into the back half of the year, I would say, just shy of 20% is probably a good outlook to be.

Okay. Thanks, Kimberly.

And then finally, just putting it all together, the outlook for year over year EBITDA growth ignoring some of the benefits that you are receiving from these tariff free funds, would you say that you are incrementally more positive on the full year outlook than you were at Q1? And if so, can you maybe give a couple of reasons as to why that is the case?

Yes. I think we are incrementally more positive now after Q2 than we were after Q1 for a couple of reasons: 1, just based on the Q2 performance.

And 2, as we have updated our outlook for the for the back half of the year, with the progress we have made on some of the initiatives that we have talked about. What we currently see in terms of the tariff reality.

So, yeah, I think we are incrementally more positive after Q2 than we were after Q1.

Okay. that is helpful.

Thank you.

Hey, Paul. I just wanted to follow on the inflation discussion.

For the industry because the level does seem quite elevated. So is this a demand situation driving it, or is it a supply situation that is driving it?

I am just trying to understand where the primary source for the inflation is across the supply chain right now.

Yeah. Sure.

So it is a great question, and it does vary by species. So in the case of cod, it is a supply driven inflation because that cod stocks, particularly in Norway, which is a major source have been a challenge.

In haddock, interestingly enough, I would call it a demand driven inflation because haddock is a species that as cod prices went up, many people switched to haddock. And so that caused inflation in haddock.

On Pollock, I would say it is more of a demand, driven inflation because pollock demand has a more affordable whitefish alternative to cod and haddock. Has been has been strong.

And in pink salmon, as I mentioned, that is more of a supply driven, inflationary dynamic because it is been a tough catch season in Alaska and listen. That fishery is always cyclical in terms of good catches and tougher catches.

But this year was, I would say, tougher than expected. And the good bit of it is-- Go ahead.

Sorry. Just to finish that just to finish that comment.

I would say the good news is on aquaculture species, pricing is more favorable because there is better matching of the supply and demand dynamics. Okay.

And some of the supply driven situation you are seeing or describing, does that alleviate? Do you see that alleviating next year, or will it continue?

Yeah. On cod, I would say we are seeing a little bit of alleviation, but not much And we are trying, as you know, in that scenario to do what we can with, you know, Newfoundland cod where it definitely is alleviating because the quota is growing there.

And with farm cod where the volume is also growing. The supply situation in Haddock is actually good.

The supply we do not see any concerns with the supply situation in Pollak. And at I think Pacific salmon, the challenge is gonna be a tough year on Pacific salmon.

But typically, a tough year is followed by a good year. So we will see what you know, next summer brings.

But until then, I think we would expect to see supply challenges on the Pacific salmon front.

Okay. Thank you.

Yes. Thanks very much.

Good morning. To start, I know your CapEx guidance is unchanged for the year, but just given what we have seen spent so far in the first half, could you give us a bit of a sense of whether you expect a meaningful step up in the back half?

Or are you tracking towards the lower end of that range?

Yeah, Ryland. If you looked at it for historical CapEx spend, the majority of it usually is in Q3.

Because we spend a lot of time investing in our maintenance projects during that time period. So we are anticipating that the overall capital expenditures for the year will remain consistent with what you have seen in the past few years, which is ranging anywhere between 20 and 25 million.

Okay. Got it.

Thank you. And then just as SG&A so far has been in the low-8% range as a percentage of sales this year.

How should we be thinking about the continuation of that trend in the back half just as you have completed some organizational changes but also continue to invest in innovation.

Yeah. Exactly.

The cost savings initiatives that we undertook in beginning of Q2 will remain consistent throughout the year. And I would say that we are on track of continuing to invest in key priorities in the business as well.

So that trend should continue into the to the full end of the year.

Okay. Great.

And then just last for me. We are certainly seeing a protein tailwind more broadly around food categories.

So I believe last year, you outlined an opportunity around improving the protein messaging on your product packaging. So I was just curious if you could give us an update there just where you are you are in that process.

And then if it has already been implemented, are you seeing that clear messaging resonate with consumers?

Hey, Ryland, This is Anthony. Yes.

The answer is yes. We continue to do that every new product launch, and every time we are touching our current packaging, we are making sure that we are calling that out.

In particular, I will note the new launch of the Sea Cuisine Skillet Meals that we have right now. 1 of the key features that we are featuring on pack and in our consumer communication is the high protein content.

From a meals standpoint, there is not a lot of seafood currently offered in the market. right now, and so we think that is a great opportunity for us And consumers told us they were interested in the variety that we would be bringing.

But beyond that, the high protein count, I mean, we are talking 19-22 grams of protein in a serving within these new Sea Cuisine skillet meals that we have in the market. So, yes, we are continuing to do that.

We think we are seeing the benefit. that is what helps continue to stabilize and hold the volumes on our business in the face of this inflationary market and always have seen that as a tailwind in seafood, and, hopefully, that will continue going forward.

Yeah. Great.

Appreciate the color. Thank you.

Hi. Thanks for squeezing me in.

I just had high level question I wanted to ask you, Paul. I know historically, we have targeted that kind of 10% EBITDA margin range, but taking into account the current operating environment, is there a willingness to invest some of that margin over the next few years to perhaps drive more consistent volume growth?

Yes. I think, George, you have seen us do that.

A little bit, frankly, even over the last few quarters. And part of that, as we talked about earlier, is just driven by the nature of inflation.

Protecting margin dollars, not being always able to protect margin rate. But I would say over time, target would still be to be in that 10% range.

The way you get there to your point in this environment, is you have got to find ways to deliver on efficiencies and cost saving benefits. Because you are not gonna be able to do it all in pricing if you wanna be able to continue to support the growth in the category.

If some of the pricing is clearly absolutely necessary given the magnitude of the raw material increases, but where you can find ways not to have to price or price and find ways to promote to support volume, in the category. We are always gonna continue to, work with our customers to look at doing that.

But listen, this is a balance, as you know, that if you look at an individual quarter or even an individual year, you may be a little out of balance. But over time, we have been pretty effective at making sure that we stay in that right balance.

If someone else might--if I may, does the Conagra platform that we currently have in place open any doors for other types of acquisitions that perhaps we would not have looked at in the past? I would not say it opens the doors for more acquisitions that we might not have looked at in the past.

I think it continues to build our confidence on our ability to do acquisitions well. The reality is we integrated the ConAgra business quickly.

We believe we integrated it well. Our teams are now managing it well.

I think the ConAgra business, the ConAgra brands for us give us more opportunity on growth in and around our core with some innovation actually coming associated with those brands. And it just instills our confidence that there will be other M and A opportunities, not necessarily exactly like the Conagra Brands 1, but in a fragmented space like seafood is, there will be other M&A opportunities that we believe will be well positioned to continue to execute on.

Great. Thank you for your answers.

Great. Thank you, operator, and thank you all for joining our call today.

We look forward to updating you with our results for the third quarter of 26. On our next conference call in November.