THOMASVILLE, Ga., May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc.
(NYSE: FLO) today announced that its board of directors has
declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, an increase of 4.3% over the
same quarter last year. This is the 87th consecutive quarterly
dividend paid by the company and is payable on June 20, 2024, to shareholders of record on
June 6, 2024. This action increases
the annualized dividend rate to $0.96 per share
from $0.92 per share at this time last year.
"The board is pleased to reward shareholders with a dividend
increase, reflecting our confidence in Flowers' ability to deliver
earnings growth in line with our long-term financial targets," said
Ryals McMullian, chairman and CEO of Flowers Foods. "The dividend
is an important part of our mission to allocate capital to enhance
shareholder returns. Our strong balance sheet and solid cash flow
generation provide a competitive advantage and enable investments
in future growth as well as an increasing dividend."
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:
FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in
the United States with 2023 sales
of $5.1 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,
Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, and
Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.
FLO-CORP FLO-IR FLO-DIV
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release and certain other
written or oral statements made from time to time by Flowers Foods,
Inc. (the "company", "Flowers Foods", "Flowers", "us", "we", or
"our") and its representatives that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to
current expectations regarding our business and our future
financial condition and results of operations 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. These forward-looking
statements are based upon assumptions we believe are reasonable.
Forward-looking statements are based on current information and are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Certain factors
that may cause actual results, performance, liquidity, and
achievements to differ materially from those projected are
discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 30, 2023 (the "Form 10-K")
and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may include, but are not limited
to, (a) unexpected changes in any of the following: (1) general
economic and business conditions; (2) the competitive setting in
which we operate, including advertising or promotional strategies
by us or our competitors, as well as changes in consumer demand;
(3) interest rates and other terms available to us on our
borrowings; (4) supply chain conditions and any related impact on
energy and raw materials costs and availability and hedging
counter-party risks; (5) relationships with or increased costs
related to our employees and third-party service providers; (6)
laws and regulations (including environmental and health-related
issues); and (7) accounting standards or tax rates in the markets
in which we operate, (b) the loss or financial instability of
any significant customer(s), including as a result of product
recalls or safety concerns related to our products, (c) changes in
consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and
whole grain trends, and the movement toward less expensive store
branded products, (d) the level of success we achieve in developing
and introducing new products and entering new markets, (e) our
ability to implement new technology and customer requirements as
required, (f) our ability to operate existing, and any new,
manufacturing lines according to schedule, (g) our ability to
implement and achieve our corporate responsibility goals in
accordance with regulatory requirements and expectations of
stakeholders, suppliers, and customers; (h) our ability to execute
our business strategies which may involve, among other things, (1)
the ability to realize the intended benefits of completed, planned
or contemplated acquisitions, dispositions or joint ventures, (2)
the deployment of new systems (e.g., our enterprise resource
planning ("ERP") system), distribution channels and technology, and
(3) an enhanced organizational structure (e.g., our sales and
supply chain reorganization), (i) consolidation within the baking
industry and related industries, (j) changes in pricing, customer
and consumer reaction to pricing actions (including decreased
volumes), and the pricing environment among competitors within the
industry, (k) our ability to adjust pricing to offset, or partially
offset, inflationary pressure on the cost of our products,
including ingredient and packaging costs; (l) disruptions in our
direct-store-delivery distribution model, including litigation or
an adverse ruling by a court or regulatory or governmental body
that could affect the independent contractor classifications of the
independent distributor partners, and changes to our
direct-store-delivery distribution model in California, (m)
increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or
may become subject to, (n) labor shortages and turnover or
increases in employee and employee-related costs, (o) the credit,
business, and legal risks associated with independent distributor
partners and customers, which operate in the highly competitive
retail food and foodservice industries, (p) any business
disruptions due to political instability, pandemics, armed
hostilities (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and
Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East), incidents of
terrorism, natural disasters, labor strikes or work stoppages,
technological breakdowns, product contamination, product recalls or
safety concerns related to our products, or the responses to or
repercussions from any of these or similar events or conditions and
our ability to insure against such events, (q) the failure of our
information technology systems to perform adequately, including any
interruptions, intrusions, cyber-attacks or security breaches of
such systems or risks associated with the implementation of the
upgrade of our ERP system; and (r) the potential impact of climate
change on the company, including physical and transition risks,
availability or restriction of resources, higher regulatory and
compliance costs, reputational risks, and availability of capital
on attractive terms. The foregoing list of important factors does
not include all such factors, nor does it necessarily present them
in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other
disclosures made by the company (such as in our other filings with
the SEC or in company press releases) for other factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by
the company. Refer to Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the Form
10-K, Part II, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended April 20, 2024, and subsequent filings with the SEC
for additional information regarding factors that could affect the
company's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
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. You are advised, however, to consult any further public
disclosures by the company (such as in our filings with the SEC or
in company press releases) on related subjects.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flowers-foods-increases-quarterly-dividend-302154220.html
SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc.