In Flowers Foods First Quarter Announcement, McMullan Says Focus Should Be On Future And Company's Strategic Priorities

Flowers Foods' board of directors has announced its quarterly dividend is $0.20 per share, which is an increase of 5.3% over the same quarter of 2019, according to May 21 press release. The company reported its first quarter results May 13, which included noting that sales had increased 6.8% to $1.349 billion, including an estimated 6.5% to 7.5% increase attributable to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ryals McMullian, Flowers Foods president and CEO, said in the May 13 press release that the business benefited from increase in retail demand while foodservice was challenged due to restaurant sales decreases.

"We have weathered many crises during our 100 years in business," McMullan said in the May 13 release. "However, more important than our ability to manage through this crisis, is our ability to manage out of it. It is critical that we stay focused on the future and on our strategic priorities even as we continue to operate in what still is a fluid environment. As we look ahead to the balance of 2020, we remain committed to our portfolio and supply chain optimization initiatives, which are expected to deliver approximately $10 million to $20 million of savings this year. While there is uncertainty around the pace of recovery in our foodservice business and the duration of elevated in-home eating, we are confident that our increased digital investments and ongoing optimization projects will allow us to exit this crisis in an improved competitive position and with strong business fundamentals."

The quarterly dividend is payable on June 19, 2020 to shareholders of record on June 5, 2020. This action increases the annualized dividend rate to $0.80 per share from $0.76 per share at this time last year.

Flowers Foods, Inc. is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.