Milling & Baking News - January 27, 2009 - 10

Business

Bimbo closing Mrs Baird's bread
and bun production in Waco
WACO, TEXAS - Bimbo Bakeries
USA announced it will cease manufacturing operations at its Mrs Baird's
Waco facility by mid-April. The facility,
which was built in 1919 and acquired
by Mrs Baird's in 1960, currently produces about 200,000 units of bread and
buns a week on one baking line. Production of those products is expected
to shift to other Mrs Baird's bakeries in
Fort Worth, Abilene and San Antonio,
Texas. The closing will affect approximately 90 employees.
Despite shutting down production, Mrs Baird's said it will keep the
43,000-square-foot facility and continue local shipping and transport
operations.
"Mrs Baird's is still committed to
serving the Waco market," said Dick
Bay, vice-president of operations for
the Texas region. "Our products will

continue to be delivered daily to grocery stores in the market and will maintain the quality and freshness consumers have come
Mrs Baird's Texas bakeries
to expect from Mrs Baird's
over the last century.
"This was a very difficult business-based decision. Our Waco facility is
land-locked allowing us no
room to expand. Without
Abilene
expanding, we are not able
Fort Worth
to modernize the facility
Waco
for increased productivity.
As our industry becomes
San Antonio
increasingly competitive,
we must be the most productive and efficient organization possible and unfortunately our Waco facility is not able to evolve to
closing
meet those needs."

I.B.C. continues 'productive
discussions' with lenders
KANSAS CITY - Interstate Bakeries
Corp. said Jan. 13 that it is in "productive discussions" with lender GE Capital Corp. regarding an asset-based revolving credit agreement that appears
to be delaying its bankruptcy exit.
The company said it is hopeful the
documentation will be finalized "in
the very near future," and that once it
does exit financing will close.
"All parties in the discussion
are focused on the importance of

completing the transaction, in order
to allow I.B.C. to emerge from Chapter 11," I.B.C. said.
General Electric Capital Corp. and
GE Capital Markets agreed last year
to provide $125 million in revolving credit to I.B.C., which is facing a
Feb. 9 deadline on its debtor-in-possession financing. The company had
planned to emerge from bankruptcy
by Dec. 15.
The statement followed a successful

CHS Q1 net falls 54% on sluggish ag earnings
ST. PAUL, MINN. - Net income at
CHS Inc. in the first quarter ended
Nov. 30 fell to $137,251,000, down 54%
from $300,900,000 in the first quarter
of fiscal 2008.
Revenues for the period, meanwhile, rose 19% to $7,733,919,000 from
$6,525,386,000 in the same period a
year ago. Improved sales were attributed to higher prices for commodities
such as grain and crop nutrients.
The company's Ag Business segment,
which consists of CHS's agronomy, grain
marketing and retail operations, posted operating earnings of $24,589,000,
down sharply from $118,105,000 in
the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Sales in
the segment totaled $4,953,722,000 in
10 / January 27, 2009

Milling & Baking News

Bimbo Bakeries is a division of Bimbo Bakeries USA, the Fort Worth, Texas-based subsidiary of Mexico-based
Grupo Bimbo. Bimbo Bakeries USA
operates 15 bakeries serving 2,900
sales routes. MBN

the most recent quarter, up 29% from
$3,835,251,000 a year ago.
"Our grain marketing earnings decreased by $32.6 million during the
three months ended Nov. 30, 2008,
compared with the same three-month
period in fiscal 2008, primarily from
net decreased grain product margins
and reduced earnings from our joint
ventures," CHS said in a Jan. 13 filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. "Volatility in the grain
markets created opportunities for increased grain margins during the first
quarter of fiscal 2008."
Earnings within CHS Processing
operations, which include its oilseed processing, wheat milling, food

I.B.C. petition to pay a $250,000 legal
retainer related to the bankruptcy of
Interstate Bakeries Corp. The petition was approved Jan. 7 in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, Western District of
Missouri, Kansas City Division. Judge
Jerry W. Venters okayed the employment and retention of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman, New York, as
special litigation and conflicts counsel" for matters arising in or related
to the Chapter 11 cases." The engagement letter from Kasowitz, Benson, included in the filing, does not elaborate
on what transpired leading I.B.C. to
seek counsel. MBN
production and renewable fuels operations, rose during the quarter. Operating earnings in the third quarter
were $11,559,000, up from $4,682,000,
while sales rose to $310,890,000 from
$243,296,000.
CHS said earnings from oilseed
processing operations increased $7.2
million during the first quarter behind
improved margins in crushing and refining operations, while earnings from
wheat milling joint ventures declined
by $3.1 million. The company's share
of earnings from Ventura Foods, its
packaged foods joint venture, fell $5.5
million during the quarter.
Energy earnings rose to $194,068,000
from $124,387,000 during the first
quarter. Sales were $2,550,552,000, up
only narrowly from $2,521,688,000. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 27, 2009

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