Milling & Baking News - January 12, 2021 - 24

Stock Market Review

Year-end close
(Grain-Based Foods Share Index with
change from previous year, 2009-2020)
Year
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009

Close
28003.81
27004.09
21532.24
24413.16
24233.55
21225.54
20342.10
17329.02
14117.60
12154.32
11307.96
10350.06

3.7%

-11.8%

25.4%

0.7%

14.2%

4.3%

17.4%

22.7%

16.2%

7.5%

9.3%

13.2%

The sixth through twelfth best
performances in the index, with one
exception, were posted by large consumer packaged foods companies. All
have a major center-of-store presence.
Gains posted for the group ranged
from 6% to 11%.
Atop this sub-group, ranking sixth
in 2020, was The J.M. Smucker Co.,
Orrville, Ohio, up 11%. The company's shares were up 11% in 2019 as
well, but the gain left the company as
the seventeenth best performer that
year. In the six months ended Oct. 31,
Smucker's net income jumped 28%
and sales climbed 7%. In its most recent quarter, coffee sales rose 9% and
retail consumer foods were up 12%.
The company's Uncrustables frozen
sandwich line jumped 16%, and Crisco oils and shortenings performed
well, too. The latter business later
was sold to B&G Foods.
Shares of General Mills, Inc., Minneapolis, rose 10% in 2020, the seventh
best performance. The advance followed a 38% gain in 2019, when General Mills was the fifth largest gainer.
In the company's most recent quarter,
net income was up 19% from the same
period a year earlier and sales climbed
7%. The company has benefited from
the rising proportion of in-home eating during 2020, and Jeffrey L. Harmening, chairman and CEO, said he
expects more of the same in 2021. Executives have credited the company's
strong supply chain, together with
brand building and sales execution as
key to holding or gaining share in 8 of
the top 10 categories in which the company competes in the United States.
Archer Daniels Midland Co., Chicago, was the exception to the cluster of

Weekly closes
35000

14000

30250

10500

25500

7000

20750

3500

16000

Jan.
2020

Mar.

May

July

Sept.

Nov.

NASDAQ

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Milling & Baking News

Percent
change
3.7%
25.4%
-11.8%
0.7%
14.2%
4.3%
17.4%
22.7%
16.2%
7.5%
9.3%
13.2%

boosted by strong demand for frozen
garlic bread, Olive Garden dressings
and frozen dinner rolls.
Bunge, Ltd., St. Louis, scored the
fifth widest gain in the index in 2020,
up 14%. A year earlier, Bunge shares
were up 8%, which left the company
toward the bottom of performers in
the index, eighteenth. The doubledigit share price gain in 2020 mirrored strong financial performance.
In October, Gregory A. Heckman,
CEO, described third-quarter results
(period ended Sept. 30) as reflecting
" meaningful changes we've made
with a more global integrated operating model, improved portfolio and
increased financial discipline. " He
said the company achieved record
crush utilization across its global
footprint and has shown agility in
capitalizing on market opportunities as they have emerged.

Grain-Based Foods Share Index
percentage change

24 / January 12, 2021

Point
change
1000
5472
-2881
180
3008
883
3013
3211
1963
846
958
1203

Grain-Based Foods Share Index and Dow Jones

great execution during the pandemic
leaving us with tremendous momentum as we head into fiscal '21. " In
the quarter that followed, Hain said
it had picked up market share in tea,
snacks and yogurt.
The third best performance in 2020
was posted by a company that will
not be in the index in 2021 - Dunkin'
Brands Group, Inc., Canton, Mass.
Dunkin' shares surged 41% in 2020,
following an 18% advance in 2019,
when the company ranked 11 within
the index. On Dec. 15 Inspire Brands,
Inc. completed an $11.3 billion acquisition of Dunkin', making Inspire the
second largest restaurant company
in the United States. Dunkin' operates approximately 20,500 Dunkin'
Donuts and Baskin-Robbins outlets.
Inspire's other restaurant concepts
include Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings,
Jimmy John's, Rusty Taco and Sonic
Drive-In.
Lancaster Colony Corp., Westerville, Ohio, was fourth among grainbased performers in 2020, up 15%. A
year earlier the company had the fifth
worst share price change - down
10%. While Lancaster enjoyed sales
gains attributed to the COVID-19
pandemic, the year was not without
challenges. In its fiscal year ended
June 30, the company's net income
was down 9% and was about unchanged excluding special items. In
the first quarter of fiscal 2021, the
company recorded an impairment
charge due to Starbucks' decision to
stop serving Bantam Bagels bites, a
Lancaster product, as part of a menu
simplification. Still, the company's
Retail business segment saw a 17%
sales increase in the first quarter,

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Milling & Baking News - January 12, 2021

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