Business News

ConAgra Foods Reports Solid Sales Performance and Double-Digit EPS Growth

Friday 19. December 2008 - Reaffirms Guidance for Fiscal Year 2009 EPS and Improved Outlook for Consumer Foods Profits

Second Quarter Highlights:

Strong EPS growth from continuing operations, as reported and on a comparable basis Commercial Foods sales and profit performance very strong Consumer Foods positioned for improved second half Supply chain savings ahead of plan, successful SG&A focus On track for EPS from continuing operations of slightly above $1.50, excluding items impacting comparability

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) one of North America’s leading food companies, today reported results for the fiscal 2009 second quarter ended Nov. 23, 2008 and confirmed that it expected total year diluted EPS from continuing operations to be slightly above $1.50, excluding items that impact comparability. Diluted EPS from continuing operations was $0.38 for the quarter, an increase of 41% from prior-year levels of $0.27. Overall sales grew 11%, reflecting the company’s pricing actions across all segments over the last few quarters. Excluding $0.05 per diluted share of net expense in the current quarter and $0.03 of expense in the prior-year quarter from items that impact comparability, diluted EPS from continuing operations in the current quarter was $0.43, an increase of 43% from $0.30 in the year ago period. Items impacting comparability in the current year and prior year are summarized toward the end of this release.

Gary Rodkin, ConAgra Foods’ chief executive officer, commented, “I am pleased to reconfirm our earnings outlook for fiscal 2009 given the dynamics of the current marketplace. Commercial Foods continued its outstanding top and bottom-line performance by managing volatile input costs through nimble pricing actions and operating excellence. We also substantially reduced operating costs through an over-delivery against cost savings targets in the Consumer Foods supply chain and successfully focused on SG&A expenses. While comparable Consumer Foods profits were down, we are confident that changes in our merchandising, slowing inflation, and other planned operating changes will reverse this trend in the back half of the year. Recent trends support our confidence for balance-of-year results.”

Consumer Foods Segment (62% of Year-to-date sales)

Branded consumer products sold in retail and foodservice channels.

The Consumer Foods segment posted sales of $2,043 million and operating profit of $253 million in the current quarter, and $1,956 million of sales and $247 million of operating profit in the year-ago period. The following segment commentary relates to comparable performance unless otherwise indicated (see page 8 for Regulation G reconciliation):

Consumer Foods’ comparable sales growth was 4%, reflecting price increases necessitated by higher input costs as well as a 4% decline in unit volume. Brand details and subsegment performance can be found in the financial information and Q&A document accompanying this release.

Consumer Foods’ comparable operating profit declined 8% to $253 million. Input cost inflation was approximately $170 million, significantly more than year-ago amounts. As expected, overall volume declines as well as previously discussed profit challenges for the Banquet(R) and Wesson(R) brands adversely impacted profits. Positive benefits occurred from strong sales performance in mass and club channels, lower SG&A expenses, and higher-than-planned cost savings.

The company expects comparable year-over-year profit growth for this segment in the back half of the fiscal year due to benefits from adjustments to merchandising programs, favorable cost savings trends and an expected moderation of input cost increases.

Commercial Foods Segment (38% of Year-to-date sales)

Specialty potato, dehydrated vegetable, seasonings, blends, flavors, and milled grain products sold to foodservice, retail and commercial channels worldwide.

During the quarter, sales for the Commercial Foods segment were $1,222 million, 23% ahead of last year, primarily reflecting increased prices driven by input cost increases for flour milling and, to a lesser extent, the Lamb Weston specialty potato operations. Segment operating profit was $156 million for the quarter, 18% ahead of the year-ago amounts; the profit increase reflects the overall sales growth along with operating efficiencies in the flour milling operations, including the favorable impact of a very high-quality wheat crop. Acquisitions at Lamb Weston contributed to profit growth, as did more efficient operations and improved performance from Gilroy dehydrated products and specialty spices. As the company has previously stated, given the unusually strong profits for this segment in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 due to market opportunities in the flour milling operations, the company has not planned for Commercial Foods profits in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 to be above year-ago amounts.

Hedging Activities – This language primarily relates to operations other than the company’s milling operations.

The company uses hedging activities to manage the risk in its plans for the cost of various commodity inputs and, to a lesser extent, foreign exchange. To improve the transparency of segment operating results, the company began utilizing a new methodology for presenting derivative gains and losses in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. This methodology temporarily classifies mark-to-market gains and losses as unallocated Corporate expense. The company later transfers the gains or losses to segment operating profit when the underlying item being hedged is expensed in cost of goods sold for the applicable operating segment. Prior-year amounts utilized a different methodology, which classified the hedge gain or loss in the segment operating results regardless of when the underlying item was expensed. Prior year second-quarter results include $25 million of net derivative gains ($24 million for Consumer Foods, and $1 million for Commercial Foods other than the milling operations). This change in methodology was discussed in detail in the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2009 earnings release dated Sept. 18, 2008. An example of the new methodology is presented in the written Q&A document accompanying that release.

For the quarter, the company experienced a net increase of $48 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, in unallocated Corporate expense from net derivative losses (reflecting the net of gains, losses and reclassifications to operating segment results); this net amount is listed as an item impacting comparability in the applicable summary. Prior year net gains are not listed as an item impacting comparability.

Other Items

— Corporate expense was $111 million for the quarter and $126 million in
the year-ago period. Current year amounts include $48 million related to
net derivative losses; excluding this amount, unallocated Corporate
expense was $64 million in the quarter vs. $126 million last year.
— Equity method investments generated a $2 million profit for the second
quarter, down from $13 million in the year-ago period; the decline
primarily reflects higher short-term potato costs for an international
potato joint venture.
— Net interest expense was $43 million in the current quarter and $62
million in the year-ago period. Current-quarter amounts include income
on the note receivable held in connection with the recent divestiture of
the company’s Trading & Merchandising operations.
— The effective tax rate for continuing operations for the quarter was
33%, slightly lower than planned. The EPS impact of the
lower-than-planned tax rate is listed among the items impacting
comparability. Going forward, the company expects an effective tax rate
of approximately 34%-35% for continuing operations, excluding items
impacting comparability.

Capital Items

— Dividends paid during the quarter totaled $86 million versus $88 million
last year, reflecting fewer shares outstanding.
— For the quarter, capital expenditures from continuing operations for
property, plant, and equipment were $115 million, compared with $104
million in the year-ago period. Depreciation and amortization expense
from continuing operations was approximately $79 million for the
quarter; this compares with a total of $74 million in the year-ago
period. The company continues to expect capital expenditures for the
fiscal year in the range of $475 million.

Outlook

The company expects improved Consumer Foods operating profit in the second half of fiscal 2009, particularly in the fiscal fourth quarter. Reflecting recent trends and the expected Consumer Foods operating profit improvement, the company reaffirms its expectations for fiscal 2009 diluted EPS from continuing operations of slightly above $1.50, excluding items impacting comparability.

Major Items Affecting Second-quarter Fiscal 2009 EPS Comparability

Included in the $0.38 diluted EPS from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2009:

— Approximately $0.06 per diluted share of net expense related to the net
losses on derivatives used to hedge input costs, temporarily classified
in unallocated Corporate expense. This expense will later be
reclassified to the operating segments when underlying items are
expensed in segment results. This methodology was implemented in the
first quarter of fiscal 2009; prior-year amounts used a different
methodology that expensed such costs in segment results regardless of
when the related item was utilized or the related derivative liquidated.
— Approximately $0.01 per diluted share of net benefit from a
lower-than-planned effective income tax rate.

Included in the $0.27 diluted EPS from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 (EPS amounts rounded and after tax):

— Expense of approximately $0.03 per diluted share, or $27 million pretax,
for costs related to the pot pie recall. Approximately $19 million
impacted gross profit for the Consumer Foods segment, and approximately
$8 million is reflected within SG&A expense for the Consumer Foods
segment. The tax rate associated with this expense is approximately 38%.