Flowers Foods Hosts Analyst Meeting in Philadelphia

THOMASVILLE, Ga., March 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At an event hosted for financial analysts today and webcast live over the Internet, executives of Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) provided an overview of the company's growth objectives and the operational strategies it is using to achieve them. Held in Philadelphia, Pa., the meeting was followed with a tour of Tasty Baking Company, a Flowers subsidiary located in Philadelphia's Navy Yard. 

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"Our ongoing mission is to create value for shareholders, and our team always looks ahead to growth opportunities that will do just that," George E. Deese, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, told those attending the event.  "We have a proven, comprehensive growth plan in place, and despite the challenging economic headwinds that food manufacturers have faced over the past two years, our strategy is sound, our team is experienced, and we're confident that we will achieve our long-term growth goals."

Deese and other executives discussed aspects of the company's growth strategy, which includes acquisitions; growth in core and expansion markets, new product innovation, and growth opportunities with existing and new customers; and continual improvement of the company's bakeries and processes.

"We chose Philadelphia as the location of this year's Analyst Day because it is the home city of Tasty Baking Company, the most recent example of our growth strategy in action," Deese said. "Our acquisition of Tasty Baking in May 2011 brought us the iconic Tastykake brand, two state-of-the-art bakeries in Pennsylvania, and access to markets in the Northeast. So far, Tasty has exceeded our expectations: Its core markets are strong; new Tastykake markets are growing; and Tasty's sales and earnings results are in line with our projections."

Participating with Deese were Allen L. Shiver, president; R. Steve Kinsey, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Gene D. Lord, executive vice president and chief operating officer; and several other Flowers Foods executives. Members of senior and operations management also participated in the day's events. 

Flowers Foods broadcast the event live over the Internet. The archived presentation can be accessed on the company's Web site www.flowersfoods.com.  

Company Information

Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods is the second largest producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods for retail and foodservice customers in the United States. Flowers operates 41 bakeries that produce a wide range of bakery products sold through an extensive direct-store-delivery network that encompasses the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southwest as well as select markets in the Northeast, California and Nevada, and nationwide through other delivery systems. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Whitewheat, Tastykake, and Mrs. Freshley's. For more information, visit www.flowersfoods.com.

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and that may affect the company's prospects in general include, but are not limited to, (a) competitive conditions in the baked foods industry, including promotional and price competition, (b) changes in consumer demand for our products, (c) the success of productivity improvements and new product introductions, (d) a significant reduction in business with any of our major customers including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our customer's business, (e) fluctuations in commodity pricing, (f) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business,  and (g) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value.  In addition, our results may also be affected by general factors such as economic and business conditions (including the baked foods markets), interest and inflation rates and such other factors as are described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Flowers Foods