Heinz Fourth-Quarter EPS Rose 17.4% To $0.81 Before Special Charges ($0.54 Reported) And Sales Grew 5.6% Driven By Emerging Markets And Global Ketchup

H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ):

Fiscal 2012 Fourth-Quarter Highlights

• Sales grew 5.6% to $3.05 billion
• Heinz delivered its 28 ^th consecutive quarter of organic sales (volume plus price) growth (4.5%)
• Emerging Markets delivered 17.0% organic sales growth (30.7% reported)
• Global Ketchup posted 8.3% organic sales growth (6.8% reported)
• Top 15 Brands delivered organic sales growth of 4.8% (7.7% reported) led by Heinz ^®, Master ^®, ABC ^® and Complan ^® brands
• Operating income grew 6.9% to $414 million, excluding special charges ($301 million reported)
• Net income grew 16.8% to $261 million, excluding special charges. Reported net income was $175 million

Fiscal 2012 Full-Year Highlights

• Sales grew 8.8% to a record $11.6 billion, fueled by growth in Emerging Markets, Top 15 Brands and Global Ketchup
• Emerging Markets generated strong double-digit organic sales growth, up 16.4% (40.9% reported), and a record 21% of the Company’s total sales
• Global Ketchup delivered organic sales growth of 8.0% (9.7% reported)
• Top 15 Brands delivered 5.0% organic sales growth (12.3% reported)
• EPS grew 9.5% to $3.35, excluding special charges ($2.85 reported)
• Reported net income was $923 million; Net income before special charges was $1.09 billion
• The Company generated strong operating free cash flow (OFCF) of $1.08 billion. Excluding special charges, OFCF was $1.21 billion

Fiscal 2013 Outlook

• Heinz expects organic sales growth of at least 4%
• Heinz expects constant currency EPS growth of 5-8% on a continuing operations basis and excluding special items in FY12
• The Company anticipates more than $120 million in incremental business building investments
• Emerging Markets expected to approach 25% of Company’s total sales
• At recent average foreign exchange rates, expected EPS growth could be reduced by 2%
• The Company anticipates another strong performance in cash flow, targeting operating free cash flow of $1.1 billion

Reconciliations of non-GAAP amounts are set forth in the attached financial tables. Results excluding charges for productivity initiatives represent the Company’s reported results adjusted to exclude charges for workforce reductions, factory closures and other implementation costs taken in Fiscal 2012 to accelerate growth. Organic sales are defined as volume plus price or total sales growth excluding the impact of foreign exchange and acquisitions and divestitures. Operating free cash flow is defined as cash from operations less capital expenditures net of proceeds from disposal of Property, Plant & Equipment. Also, constant currency as used in this press release is defined as the reported amount adjusted for translation (the effect of changes in average foreign exchange rates between the current period and the corresponding prior year) and the impact of current-year foreign currency translation hedges.

PITTSBURGH – H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) today reported strong fourth-quarter results, including 5.6% sales growth and 17.4% growth in earnings per share to $0.81 excluding special charges for productivity initiatives ($0.54 reported).

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