Milling & Baking News - January 17, 2017 - 26

Weekly closes
27000

5800

24000

5350

21000

4900

18000

4450

26 / January 17, 2017 XMilling & Baking News

Nov. Dec.

4000

companies in the Grain-Based Foods
Share Index, helped drive overall index performance with a 20%
gain, lifting the company's market
capitalization to $105 billion. A year
earlier, the corporation's first as a
publicly traded business, the company's shares fell 9% from its opening trading price of $80 per share. In
the first nine months of 2016, Kraft
Heinz earnings per share were $2.06,
up 329% from pro forma earnings
per share of 48c during the same period of 2015. Bernardo Hees, Kraft
Heinz c.e.o., in November said the
company was "doing a good job in a
difficult environment, working effectively to navigate a combination of
headwinds from deflationary commodities to increased retail competition in some of our biggest markets."
Shares of Campbell Soup Co.,
Camden, N.J., rose 15% in 2016, a
bit shy of the 19% advance in 2015.
The parent of Pepperidge Farm,
Inc., Norwalk, Conn., said during
the year it was aggressively adapting to "tectonic generational shifts"
and a rapidly changing competitive landscape in the food industry. During the year ended July 31,

14.2%

2012

4.3%

2011

17.4%

2010

22.7%

2009

16.2%

9.3%

2005

13.2%

Grain-Based Foods Share Index
percentage change

2014

2015

2016

-21.5%

companies in share performance in
2016. With a 23% advance, Dunkin'
shares bested 2015 performance when
the company's stock price slipped by
0.1%. The 2016 share price gain was
in line with year-to-date earnings performance. In the nine months ended
Sept. 24, Dunkin' Brands net income
per share rose 22% to $1.52. In its most
recent quarter, donuts and sandwiches
were not the principal growth drivers. Instead, Nigel Travis, chairman
and chief executive officer, attributed
strong results to "record-breaking
beverage sales, with double-digit
growth in the espresso and iced coffee
categories." During the year the company announced that David Hoffman,
a longtime executive with McDonald's
Corp., would take over as president of
Dunkin' Donuts U.S. and Canada, effective Oct. 3, 2016.
Conagra Brands, Inc., Chicago,
ranked ninth in 2016, with a 21% advance, up from the 16% gain scored
in 2015. Once a giant in grain-based
foods with its large heritage flour
milling operation, the company
largely has been depleted of its
grain-based business. During 2016,
Conagra sold two baking plants to
Alpha Baking Co., Chicago. In addition to owning a stake in Ardent
Mills, Conagra's remaining grainbased brands include Andy Cap's,
Chef Boyardee, Crunch 'n Munch,
Jiffy Pop and Poppycock. Also during 2016, Conagra agreed to sell its
JM Swank food ingredient business
and Spicetec Flavors & Seasonings
business. At the beginning of the
year, Conagra completed the $2.7 billion sale of its private brands business to TreeHouse Foods, Oak Brook,
Ill. Included in the divested business
is American Italian Pasta Co.
Ranking tenth, The Kraft Heinz
Co., Pittsburgh, one of the largest

Aug. Sept. Oct.

Campbell took a $141 million, or
41c per share, non-cash impairment
charge on its Bolthouse Farms carrot and carrot ingredient business.
Adjusted for special items, including the charge, 2016 net income per
share was up 11% from the year before. Earnings in the first quarter of
fiscal 2016 were strong as well.
J&J Snack Foods Corp., Pennsauken, N.J., posted a solid 14%
share price gain in 2016, double
the company's 7% gain in 2015 but
less than the 23% gain in 2014 and
39% in 2013. Late in 2016, J&J acquired Hill & Valley Inc., a baking company specializing in sweet
goods with a particular focus on the
sugar-free market. Hill & Valley has
more than $45 million in annual
sales.
Also posting double-digit gains
in 2016 was Snyder 's-Lance, Inc.,
Charlotte, Inc. The 12% gain for
the salty snack, cookie and cracker
maker was the same as the gain the
company scored in 2015. In November, the company said it had signed
a definitive agreement to sell its
Diamond of California culinary nut
business to a private equity investment fund. Eight months earlier, the
company completed its $1.9 billion
acquisition of San Francisco-based
Diamond Foods, a business that included the Kettle Chips and Pop Secret popcorn brands.
The largest share price setback
among companies included in the
index was Starbucks Corp., Seattle,
down 8%. The decline followed a
46% jump in Starbucks shares in
2015 and a 5% gain in 2014. After
largely withdrawing from baking
with the shuttering of its La Boulange retail bakeries, Starbucks has
moved back toward baking with
a partnership announced in July
2016 with Princi, a high-end Italian

7.5%

June July

1.0%

Feb. Mar. Apr. May

19.2%

Jan.
2016

-10.7%

15000

NASDAQ

Grain-Based Foods Share Index and Dow Jones

Stock Market Review X

2006

2007

2008

2013

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - January 17, 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - January 17, 2017