Flowers Foods Increases Dividend

THOMASVILLE, Ga., May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Prior to the Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) annual shareholders meeting today, the company's board of directors announced a quarterly dividend of $.12 per share, which represents an increase of 6.7% over the dividend paid previously. The dividend is payable on June 18, 2014, to shareholders of record on June 4, 2014. This action increases the annualized dividend rate to $.48 per share.

Allen L. Shiver, Flowers Foods' president and CEO, said the board has confidence in Flowers Foods' future performance and in the company's ability to generate cash flow to pay dividends, reduce debt, and fund the company's needs. "In the first quarter of 2014, we again generated strong cash flow from operations, which allowed us to pay down $81.2 million in debt, pay $24 million in dividends to shareholders, invest $23.6 million in capital improvements, and acquire $9.5 million of FLO common stock as part of the stock repurchase plan. The board believes the dividend is an appropriate way to allow our investors to participate in the company's success," he said.

During the shareholders meeting today, members of management will review the company's operating strategies and financial performance. The meeting is being webcast live at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on www.flowersfoods.com and also will be archived on the website.

Company Information

Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of fresh packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2013 sales of $3.75 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our future financial condition, performance and results of operations, planned capital expenditures, long-term objectives of management, supply and demand, pricing trends and market forces, and integration plans and expected benefits of transactions and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology.  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, including changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends, and the movement toward more inexpensive store-branded 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) energy and raw material costs and availability and hedging and counterparty risk, (g) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, (h) our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build shareholder value; (i) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries; and (j) the failure of our information technology systems to perform adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions or security breaches of such systems.  The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made by the company, including the risk factors included in our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and disclosures made in other filings with the SEC and company press releases, for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company.  We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law.

SOURCE Flowers Foods