B&G Foods, Inc. - Annual Report: 2005 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005

or

For the transition period from                           to                          .

Commission file number 001-32316

B&G FOODS, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o  No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o  No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes o  No x

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o  No x

The aggregate market value of the Enhanced Income Securities (EISs) held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of July 1, 2005, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $290,884,347. Each EIS represents one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and $7.15 principal amount of senior subordinated notes due 2016. In determining the market value of the registrant’s EISs held by non-affiliates, EISs beneficially owned by directors, officers and holders of more than 10% of the registrant’s EISs have been excluded. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of February 28, 2006, the registrant had 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding, all of which were represented by EISs. As of February 28, 2006, the registrant had 7,556,443 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Selected designated portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed on or before April 30, 2006 in connection with the registrant’s 2006 annual meeting of stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this annual report.

B&G FOODS, INC.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

PART I

Item 1.                        Business.

Overview

We manufacture, sell and distribute a diverse portfolio of high quality, shelf-stable foods, many of which have leading retail market shares in our relevant markets. In general, we position our retail products to appeal to the consumer desiring a high quality and reasonably priced branded product. We complement our retail product sales with growing institutional and food service sales.

History

B&G Foods, including our subsidiaries and predecessors, has been in business for over 115 years. We were incorporated in Delaware on November 25, 1996 under the name B Companies Holdings Corp. On August 11, 1997, we changed our name to B&G Foods Holdings Corp. On October 14, 2004, simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering and the concurrent offerings, B&G Foods, Inc., our wholly owned subsidiary, was merged with and into us and we were renamed B&G Foods, Inc.

The table below includes some of the significant events in our recent history:

 

Products and Markets

The following is a brief description of our brands and product lines:

The Ortega brand has been in existence since 1897 and its products span the shelf-stable Mexican food segment including taco shells, seasonings, dinner kits, taco sauces, peppers, refried beans, salsas and related food products. Ortega products are distributed nationally. We recently introduced a number of

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snack products such as microwavable cheese sauce bowls and salsa and cheese sauce bowls under the Ortega brand.

The Maple Grove Farms of Vermont brand is a leading brand of pure maple syrup in the United States. Other products under the Maple Grove Farms of Vermont label include a line of gourmet salad dressings, marinades, fruit syrups, confections, pancake mixes and organic products. Maple Grove Farms of Vermont products are distributed nationwide.

The Bloch & Guggenheimer brand originated in 1889, and its pickle, pepper/pimentos and relish products are a leading brand in the New York metropolitan area. This line consists of shelf-stable pickles, relishes, peppers, olives and other related specialty items.

The Polaner brand was introduced in 1880 and is comprised of a broad array of fruit-based spreads as well as jarred wet spices such as chopped garlic and basil. Polaner All Fruit is a leading national brand of fruit-juice sweetened fruit spread. The spreads are available in more than a dozen flavors. Polaner Sugar Free preserves are the second leading brand of sugar-free preserves nationally.

The Emeril’s brand was introduced in September of 2000 under a licensing agreement with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. We offer a line of seasonings, salad dressings, marinades, pepper sauces, barbecue sauces, mustards, salsas and pasta sauces under the Emeril’s brand name. In addition, we recently introduced chicken, beef and vegetable stocks under the Emeril’s brand.

The Las Palmas brand originated in 1922 and primarily includes authentic Mexican enchilada sauce and various pepper products.

The Underwood brand’s “Underwood Devil” (logo) is among the oldest registered trademarks for a prepackaged food product in the United States. We market meat spreads of several types, including deviled ham, chicken and roast beef as well as liver pate and sardines under the Underwood brand name. We believe that no competitors offer a directly comparable product to our meat spreads.

The B&M brand was introduced in 1927 and is the original brand of brick-oven baked beans. The B&M line includes a variety of baked beans and brown bread. The B&M brand currently has a leading market share in the New England region.

The Ac’cent brand was introduced in 1947 as an all-natural flavor enhancer for meat preparation and is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. We believe that Ac’cent is positioned as a unique flavor enhancer.

The Trappey’s brand includes two major categories of products under the brand, high quality peppers and hot sauces.

The Regina brand includes vinegars and cooking wines. Vinegars and cooking wines are most commonly used in the preparation of salad dressings as well as in a variety of recipe applications, including sauces, marinades and soups.

The Joan of Arc brand includes a full range of canned beans including kidney, chili and other beans. Joan of Arc products are sold nationally with significant sales in the Midwest region.

The Grandma’s brand of molasses is the leading brand of premium-quality molasses sold in the United States. Grandma’s molasses products are offered in two distinct styles: Grandma’s Original Molasses and Grandma’s Robust Molasses. Grandma’s molasses products are distributed nationally.

The Wright’s brand was introduced in 1895 and is an all-natural seasoning that reproduces the flavor and aroma of pit smoking in meats, chicken and fish. Wright’s is offered in two flavors: Hickory and Mesquite.

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The Sa-s´on brand was introduced in 1947 as a flavor enhancer used primarily for Puerto Rican and Hispanic food preparation. The product is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. The brand’s flavor enhancer is offered in four flavors: Original, Coriander and Achiote, Garlic and Onion, and Tomato.

The Brer Rabbit brand currently offers mild and full-flavored molasses products and a blackstrap molasses product. Mild molasses is designed for table use and full-flavored molasses is typically used in baking, barbeque sauces and as a breakfast syrup.

The Vermont Maid brand has been in existence since 1919 and we offer maple-flavored syrup under the brand name. Vermont Maid syrup is available in regular, sugar-free and sugar-free butter varieties. Vermont Maid is mainly distributed in New England.

Processed Food Industry

The processed food industry is one of the United States’ largest industries. Due to its maturity, it is characterized by relatively stable sales growth, based on modest price and population increases. Over the last several years, the industry has experienced consolidation as competitors have shed non-core business lines and made strategic acquisitions to complement category positions, maximize economies of scale in raw material sourcing, production and distribution. A series of large mergers over the last twenty years has led to the formation of a few, very large companies with a presence in a variety of branded product categories.

Retailers are demanding higher margins, while at the same time reducing inventory levels and increasing their emphasis on private label products in certain categories. The importance of sustaining strong relationships with retailers has become a critical success factor for food companies and is driving many initiatives such as category management and efficient customer response. These two initiatives focus on retailers’ need to minimize inventory investment and maximize dollar sales for allocated store shelf space. Food companies with category leadership positions, value-added distribution and strong retail relationships have increasingly benefited from these initiatives as a way to maintain shelf space and maximize distribution efficiencies. In addition, the specialty foods, mass merchandiser, food service and private label markets and channels provide additional opportunities of growth for food companies.

Sales, Marketing and Distribution.

Overview.   We sell, market and distribute our products through a multiple-channel sales, marketing and distribution system including the following:

·       sales and shipments to supermarket warehouses;

·       sales and shipments to distributors and food service accounts;

·       sales and shipments to mass merchants, warehouse clubs and other non-food outlets;

·       sales and shipments to specialty food distributors;

·        direct-store-delivery sales and shipments on a regional basis to individual grocery stores in the greater New York Metropolitan area; and

·        sales and shipments through export and the Internet.

We believe our established infrastructure in these channels allows us to distribute additional product volume cost-effectively. We sell our brands primarily through broker sales networks to supermarket chains, food service outlets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, non-food outlets and specialty food distributors. The broker sales network handles the sale of our products at the customer level. We distribute our products in the greater New York metropolitan area primarily through direct-store-delivery (DSD). Through DSD, we service over 2,000 individual grocery stores.

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Sales.   Our sales organization is aligned by distribution channels and consists of regional sales managers, key account managers and sales persons. Regional sales managers sell our products nationwide through national and regional food brokers, with separate organizations focusing on specialty, food service, grocery chain accounts and special markets. Our sales managers coordinate our broker sales efforts and make key account calls with buyers or distributors and supervise retail coverage of the products at the store level through brokers.

Our sales strategy is centered around the individual brands. We set quotas for our sales force and allocate promotional spending for each of the brands. Regional sales managers coordinate promotions with customers. Additionally, our marketing department works in conjunction with the sales department to coordinate special account activities and marketing support, such as couponing and public relations.

Over the past several years, we have established a national sales force that is capable of supporting our current business as well as potential new acquisitions. We have primarily developed our national sales force internally, and did not integrate sales and marketing personnel from acquired companies in connection with most of our brand acquisitions. In the case of our Maple Grove Farms of Vermont acquisition, management retained the brand’s sales force to serve the specialty channel related to that brand and for specialty-oriented brands that we might develop, license or acquire in the future. This same sales force subsequently launched the Emeril’s brand. The current national sales force is very experienced and was able to integrate Ortega within 30 days following the close of the acquisition.

Sales representatives and brokers work with individual stores in the New York metropolitan area. These sales representatives and brokers visit the over 2,000 stores within the DSD area on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Marketing.   Our marketing organization is aligned by brand and is responsible for the strategic planning for each of our brands. We focus on deploying promotional dollars where the spending will have the greatest impact. Marketing and trade spending support, on a national basis, typically consists of advertising trade promotions, coupons and cross-promotions with supporting products. Marketing support for the products distributed through DSD consists primarily of trade promotions aimed at gaining display activity to produce impulse sales. Consumer promotion and coupons supplement this activity.

Distribution.   We distribute our products through a multiple-channel system that we have developed as we have grown our business. We believe our distribution system has sufficient capacity to accommodate incremental product volume in a cost-effective manner, as demonstrated most recently in the initial Ortega acquisition in 2003 and the Ortega food service dispensing pouch and dipping cup acquisition in 2005. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our distribution and centers and warehouses.

Customers

Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 42.2% of our fiscal 2005 net sales, and no single customer accounted for more than 9.0% of our fiscal 2005 net sales.

Seasonality

Sales of a number of our products tend to be seasonal. In the aggregate, however, our sales are not heavily weighted to any particular quarter due to the diversity of our product and brand portfolio.

We purchase most of the produce used to make our shelf-stable pickles, relishes, peppers and other related specialty items during the months of July through October, and we purchase substantially all of our maple syrup requirements during the months of April through July. Consequently, our liquidity needs are greatest during these periods.

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Competition

We face competition in each of our product lines. Numerous brands and products compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily on product quality, convenience, price, trade promotion, consumer promotion, brand recognition and loyalty, customer service, advertising and other activities and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. We compete with numerous companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. Many of these competitors have multiple product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources available to them and may have lower fixed costs and/or be substantially less leveraged than we. Our ability to grow our business could be impacted by the relative effectiveness of, and competitive response to, our product initiatives, product innovation, advertising and promotional activities. In addition, from time to time, we experience margin pressure in certain markets as a result of competitors’ pricing practices.

Our most significant competitors for our pickles and peppers products are Vlasic® and Mt. Olive® branded products. In addition, The J.M. Smucker Company is the main competitor for our fruit spread products marketed under the Polaner label. The Maple Grove Farms of Vermont pure maple syrup competes directly with the SpringTree® brand in the pure maple syrup category. Our Vermont Maid syrup products also have a number of competitors in the general pancake syrup market, including Aunt Jemima®, Mrs. Buttersworth® and Log Cabin®. Our B&M and Joan of Arc products compete with Bush’s® brand products. Ortega products compete with the Old El Paso® and Taco Bell® brands.

In addition, our products compete not only against other brands in their respective product categories, but also against products in similar or related product categories. For example, our shelf-stable pickles compete not only with other brands of shelf-stable pickles, but also with products found in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores, and all our brands compete against private label brands to varying degrees.

Raw Materials

We purchase raw materials, including agricultural products, meat, poultry, other raw materials and packaging materials from growers, commodity processors, other food companies and packaging manufacturers located in the U.S. and foreign locations. Our principal raw materials include peppers, cucumbers, other vegetables, fruits, maple syrup, meat and poultry. We purchase our agricultural raw materials in bulk or pursuant to short-term supply contracts. We purchase most of our agricultural products between April 1 and October 31. We also use packaging materials, particularly glass jars and cans.

The profitability of our business relies in part on the prices of raw materials, which can fluctuate due to a number of factors, including changes in crop size, national, state and local government sponsored agricultural programs, export demand, natural disasters, weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons, general growing conditions and the effect of insects, plant diseases and fungi. Although we enter into advance commodities purchase agreements from time to time, we are still exposed to potential increases in raw material costs. Moreover, due to the competitive environment in which we operate, we may be unable to increase the prices of our products to offset any increase in the cost of raw materials. As a result, any such increase could have a material adverse effect on our profitability, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Production

Manufacturing.   We operate five manufacturing facilities for our products. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our manufacturing facilities.

Co-Packing Arrangements.   In addition to our own manufacturing facilities, we source a significant portion of our products under “co-packing” agreements, a common industry practice in which manufacturing is outsourced to other companies. We regularly evaluate our co-packing arrangements to

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ensure the most cost-effective manufacturing of our products and to utilize company-owned manufacturing facilities most effectively. Third parties located in the U.S. and foreign locations produce Regina, Underwood, Las Palmas and Joan of Arc brand products and certain Emeril’s and Ortega brand products under co-packing agreements or purchase orders. Each of our co-packers produces products for other companies as well. We believe that there are alternative sources of co-packing production readily available for our products, although we may experience short-term disturbances in our operations if we are required to change our co-packing arrangements.

Trademarks and Licensing Agreements

We own 106 trademarks that are registered in the United States, 23 trademarks that are registered with certain U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and 228 trademarks that are registered in foreign countries. In addition, we have 11 trademark applications pending in the United States and foreign countries. Examples of our trademarks and registered trademarks include Ac’cent, B&G, B&G Sandwich Toppers, B&M, Bloch & Guggenheimer, Brer Rabbit, Cozy Cottage, Grandma’s, Joan of Arc, Las Palmas, Maple Grove Farms of Vermont, Ortega, Polaner, Regina, Sa-s´on, Trappey’s, Underwood, Vermont Maid and Wright’s. We consider our trademarks to be of special significance in our business. We are not aware of any circumstances that would negatively impact our trademarks. Our credit facility is secured by substantially all of our assets (other than our real property), including our rights to our intellectual property.

In June 2000 we entered into a license agreement with Emeril’s Food of Love Productions, L.L.C. (EFLP). This license agreement grants us an exclusive license to use the intellectual property owned by EFLP relating to Mr. Lagasse, including the name “Emeril Lagasse” and pictures, photographs and other personality material, in connection with the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of dry seasoning, liquid seasoning, condiments, sauces, dressings and certain other products through retail channels in the United States, the Caribbean and Canada. We also have the right of first negotiation with respect to other shelf-stable grocery products. Under the license agreement, EFLP owns all of the recipes that it provides to us and all of our Emeril’s brand products and related marketing materials are subject to the prior approval of EFLP, which approval may not be unreasonably withheld. In addition, we are prohibited from entering into similar arrangements with other chefs or celebrities in connection with any of the products covered by our agreement with EFLP.

The license agreement has been extended through May 2010 and is subject to extension and renewal at our option for an indefinite period if we meet specified annual net sales results. Among other things, we are obligated to introduce and market new products in each year of the license agreement and to pay EFLP royalties based on annual net sales of our Emeril’s brand products. The license agreement may be terminated by EFLP if we are in breach or default of any of our material obligations thereunder. We have also agreed to indemnify EFLP with respect to claims under the license agreement, including claims relating to any alleged unauthorized use of any mark, personality or recipe by us in connection with the products in the Emeril’s line of products.

Employees and Labor Relations

As of December 31, 2005, our workforce consisted of 744 employees. Of that total, 507 employees were engaged in manufacturing, 92 were engaged in marketing and sales, 113 were engaged in distribution and 32 were engaged in administration. Approximately 279 of our 744 employees, as of December 31, 2005, were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Approximately 55 of our employees at our Roseland, New Jersey facility were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America (Local No. 863), scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009. Approximately 135 of our employees at our Portland and Biddeford, Maine facilities were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (AFL-CIO, Local No. 334), scheduled to expire on

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April 28, 2007. Approximately 89 of our employees at our Stoughton, Wisconsin facility were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Drivers, Salesmen, Warehousemen, Milk Processors, Cannery, Dairy Employees and Helpers Union (Local No. 695), scheduled to expire on March 31, 2006. In general, we consider our employee and union relations to be good.

Government Regulation

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Labor and other federal, state and local authorities regarding the processing, packaging, storage, distribution and labeling of our products and the health and safety of our employees. Our processing facilities and products are subject to periodic inspection by federal, state and local authorities.

We are subject to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, labeling, packaging and safety of food. For example, the FDA regulates manufacturing practices for foods through its current ‘‘good manufacturing practices’’ regulations and specifies the recipes for certain foods. In addition, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 prescribes the format and content of certain information required to appear on the labels of food products.

We are also subject to the U.S. Bio-Terrorism Act of 2002 which imposes on us new import and export regulations. Under the Bio-Terrorism Act, among other things, we are required to provide specific information about the food products we ship into the U.S. and to register our manufacturing facilities with the FDA.

We believe that we are currently in substantial compliance with all material governmental laws and regulations and maintain all material permits and licenses relating to our operations. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that we are in full compliance with all such laws and regulations or that we will be able to comply with any future laws and regulations in a cost-effective manner. Failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Environmental Matters

We are subject to environmental laws and regulations in the normal course of business. We have not made any material expenditures during the last three fiscal years in order to comply with environmental laws or regulations. Based on our experience to date, we believe that the future cost of compliance with existing environmental laws and regulations (and liability for known environmental conditions) will not have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. However, we cannot predict what environmental laws or regulations will be enacted in the future or how existing or future laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted, nor can we predict the amount of future expenditures that may be required in order to comply with such environmental laws or regulations or to respond to such environmental claims.

Subsequent Events

Grandma’s Molasses Acquisition.   On January 10, 2006, through one of our subsidiaries, we closed on the acquisition of the Grandma’s molasses brand from Mott’s LLP, a Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages company, for a purchase price of $30 million in cash and certain assumed liabilities, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement. The purchased assets include certain intellectual property, business and customer information, contracts and equipment. We used the proceeds of a new $25 million term loan (described more fully below in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and

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Results of Operations” under the heading “Debt—Senior Secured Credit Facility”) together with cash on hand to fund the acquisition and to pay related transaction fees and expenses.

Director Resignation; Notice Regarding Non-Compliance with Amex Continued Listing Standards; Election of New Director.   Effective January 6, 2006, Nicholas B. Dunphy, announced his resignation from our board of directors. Mr. Dunphy, who served as an independent director, also served as a member of the board’s audit committee and nominating and governance committee. Mr. Dunphy’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement on any matter relating to our company’s operations, policies or practices. Following the resignation of Mr. Dunphy, only three of the remaining six directors have previously been designated as independent by the board. In addition, the nominating and governance committee and audit committee each have only two members. On January 6, 2006, pursuant to Section 921 of the Amex Company Guide, we notified the American Stock Exchange that that as a result of Mr. Dunphy’s resignation, we were no longer in compliance with (1) Section 802(a) of the Amex Company Guide, which requires that at least a majority of the directors on the board of directors of each listed company must be independent directors as defined under Section 121A of the Amex Company Guide or (2) Section 121B(2)(a), which requires that the audit committee of each listed company have at least three members. We informed the American Stock Exchange that to remedy the foregoing, the board’s nominating and governance committee has commenced a search for Mr. Dunphy’s replacement and plans to complete its search in time for the board of directors to appoint a replacement to serve on the board (as well as on the nominating and governance committee and the audit committee) on or prior to March 8, 2006. On January 24, 2006, we received a letter from Amex notifying us that if we fail to regain compliance with Amex’s continued listing standards by March 8, 2006, Amex may commence delisting proceedings.

On March 2, 2006, upon the recommendation of our nominating and governance committee, our board of directors elected Dennis M. Mullen to the board of directors, effective March 7, 2006. Mr. Mullen will also serve on the audit committee and nominating and governance committee. Mr. Mullen, who will serve as an independent director, will fill the vacancies on the board and committees created upon the resignation of Mr. Dunphy. When Mr. Mullen’s election becomes effective on March 7, 2006, we will regain compliance with the Amex continued listing standards.

Available Information

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information. You may read and copy any document we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information about the public reference room. The SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. We file electronically with the SEC.

We make available, free of charge, through the investor relations section of our web site, our reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and amendments to those reports, filed with or furnished to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with the SEC. The address for our web site is http://www.bgfoods.com

The full text of the charters for each of the audit, compensation and nominating and governance committees of our board of directors as well as our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available at the investor relations section of our web site, http://www.bgfoods.com. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including our chief executive officer and our chief financial officer and principal accounting officer. We intend to disclose any amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our chief executive officer or chief financial officer and principal accounting officer in the investor relations section of our web site.

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The information contained on our web site is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Item 1A.                Risk Factors.

Any investment in our company will be subject to risks inherent to our business. Before making an investment decision, investors should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are not aware of or focused on or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. This report is qualified in its entirety by these risk factors.

Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In that case, holders of our securities may lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Specific to Our Company

The packaged food industry is highly competitive.

The packaged food industry is highly competitive. Numerous brands and products, including private label products, compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily on product quality, convenience, price, trade promotion, brand recognition and loyalty, customer service, effective consumer advertising and promotional activities and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. We compete with a significant number of companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. Many of these competitors have multiple product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources available to them and may have lower fixed costs and/or are substantially less leveraged than our company. If we are unable to continue to compete successfully with these companies or if competitive pressures or other factors cause our products to lose market share or result in significant price erosion, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. See Item 1, “Business—Competition.”

We may be unable to maintain our profitability in the face of a consolidating retail environment.

Our largest customer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., accounted for 9.0% of our fiscal 2005 net sales and our ten largest customers together accounted for approximately 42.2% of our fiscal 2005 net sales. As the retail grocery trade continues to consolidate and our retail customers grow larger and become more sophisticated, our retail customers may demand lower pricing and increased promotional programs. Further, these customers are reducing their inventories and increasing their emphasis on private label products. If we fail to use our marketing expertise and unique products and category leadership positions to respond to these trends, or if we lower our prices or increase promotional support of our products and are unable to increase the volume of our products sold, our profitability may be adversely affected.

If we are unable to retain our key management personnel, our growth and future success may be impaired and our financial condition could suffer as a result.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of senior management, certain of whom would be difficult to replace. As a result, departure by members of our senior management could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In addition, we do not maintain key-man life insurance on any of our executive officers.

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Most of our food product categories are mature and certain categories have experienced declining consumption rates from time to time. We may be unable to offset any reduction in, or increase, net sales in these categories through an increase in trade spending for these categories or an increase in net sales in other categories

If consumption rates and sales in our mature food product categories continue to decline, our revenue and operating income may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to offset this decrease in business with increased trade spending or an increase in sales or profitability of other products and product categories.

We may have difficulties integrating recent or future acquisitions or identifying new acquisition.

We acquired the Ortega food service dispensing pouch and dipping cup business in December 2005 and the Grandma’s molasses brand in January 2006 and we may pursue additional acquisitions of food product lines and businesses. However, we may be unable to identify additional acquisitions or may be unable to successfully integrate and manage the product lines or businesses that we have recently acquired or that we may acquire in the future. In addition, we may be unable to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings from recent or future acquisitions or other anticipated benefits in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. In addition, any acquired product lines or businesses may require a greater amount of trade and promotional spending than we anticipate. Historically, we have grown net sales for some but not all of the brands we have acquired. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the operations, technologies, services and products of the acquired companies, personnel turnover and the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns. Any inability by us to integrate and manage any acquired product lines or businesses in a timely and efficient manner, any inability to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings or other anticipated benefits from these acquisitions in the time frame we anticipate or any unanticipated required increases in trade or promotional spending could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Moreover, future acquisitions by us could result in our incurring substantial additional indebtedness, being exposed to contingent liabilities or incurring the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We are vulnerable to fluctuations in the supply and price of raw materials and labor, manufacturing and other costs, and we may not be able to offset increasing costs by increasing prices to our customers.

We purchase agricultural products, meat and poultry, other raw materials and packaging supplies from growers, commodity processors, other food companies and packaging manufacturers. While all such materials are available from numerous independent suppliers, raw materials and packaging supplies are subject to fluctuations in price attributable to a number of factors, including changes in crop size, federal and state agricultural programs, export demand, energy and fuel costs, weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons, insects, plant diseases and fungi. Although we enter into advance commodities purchase agreements from time to time, these contracts do not protect us from all increases in raw material costs. In addition, the cost of labor, manufacturing, energy, fuel, packaging materials, pork and chicken and other costs related to the production and distribution of our food products have risen in recent years, and we believe that they may continue to rise in the foreseeable future. If the cost of labor, raw materials or manufacturing or other costs of production and distribution of our food products continue to increase, and we are unable to fully offset these increases by raising prices or other measures, our profitability and financial condition could be negatively impacted.

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We rely on co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs, and the inability to enter into additional or future co-packing agreements may result in our failure to meet customer demand.

We rely upon co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs. The success of our business depends, in part, on maintaining a strong sourcing and manufacturing platform. We believe that there are a limited number of competent, high-quality co-packers in the industry, and if we were required to obtain additional or alternative co-packing agreements or arrangements in the future, we can provide no assurance that we would be able to do so on satisfactory terms or in a timely manner. Our inability to enter into satisfactory co-packing agreements could limit our ability to implement our business plan or meet customer demand. See Item 1, “Production—Co-Packing Arrangements.”

The loss of our exclusive license with Emeril’s Food of Love Productions, L.L.C. or events or rumors relating to the Emeril’s brand could adversely impact our operating results.

Approximately 6.2% of our fiscal 2005 net sales came from our exclusive license agreement with Emeril’s Food of Love Productions, L.L.C. (EFLP). The value of our license agreement depends in part on the reputation and integrity of Emeril Lagasse, under whose name the Emeril’s products are marketed. Mr. Lagasse is a widely recognized chef who currently enjoys celebrity status for his ability to prepare gourmet foods. Consumer and customer recognition of Mr. Lagasse and the Emeril’s brand and the association of this brand with safe and high quality food products form an integral part of our Emeril’s products. Should Mr. Lagasse’s popularity decline, or should our exclusive license with EFLP be lost or compromised for any reason, our operating results could be adversely impacted. In addition, EFLP may terminate the license agreement at any point if we fail to meet our obligations under the agreement.

We rely on the performance of major retailers, wholesalers, specialty distributors and mass merchants for the success of our business, and should they perform poorly or give higher priority to other brands or products, our business could be adversely affected.

We sell our products principally to retail outlets and wholesale distributors including, traditional supermarkets, food service outlets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, non-food outlets and specialty food distributors. The replacement by or poor performance of our major wholesalers, retailers or chains or our inability to collect accounts receivable from our customers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, our customers offer branded and private label products that compete directly with our products for retail shelf space and consumer purchases. Accordingly, there is a risk that our customers may give higher priority to the products of our competitors. In the future, our customers may not continue to purchase our products or provide our products with adequate levels of promotional support.

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We may be unable to anticipate changes in consumer preferences, which may result in decreased demand for our products.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and offer products that appeal to the changing tastes, dietary habits and product packaging preferences of consumers in the market categories in which we compete. If we are not able to anticipate, identify or develop and market products that respond to these changes in consumer preferences, demand for our products may decline and our operating results may be adversely affected. In addition, we may incur significant costs related to developing and marketing new products or expanding our existing product lines in reaction to what we perceive to be increased consumer preference or demand. Such development or marketing may not result in the volume of sales or profitability anticipated.

Severe weather conditions and natural disasters can affect crop supplies and reduce our operating results.

Severe weather conditions and natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, frosts, earthquakes or pestilence, may affect the supply of the raw materials that we use for our products. Our maple syrup products, for instance, are particularly susceptible to severe freezing conditions in Quebec, Canada and Vermont during the season in which the syrup is produced. Competing manufacturers can be affected differently by weather conditions and natural disasters depending on the location of their supplies. If our supplies of raw materials are reduced, we may not be able to find supplemental supply sources on favorable terms or at all, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We are subject to environmental laws and regulations relating to hazardous materials, substances and waste used in or resulting from our operations. Liabilities or claims with respect to environmental matters could have a significant negative impact on our business.

As with other companies engaged in similar businesses, the nature of our operations expose us to the risk of liabilities and claims with respect to environmental matters, including those relating to the disposal and release of hazardous substances. Furthermore, our operations are governed by laws and regulations relating to workplace safety and worker health which, among other things, regulate employee exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace. Any material costs incurred in connection with such liabilities or claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Any environmental or health and safety legislation or regulations enacted in the future, or any changes in how existing or future laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted may lead to an increase in compliance costs or expose us to additional risk of liabilities and claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Our operations are subject to numerous laws and governmental regulations, exposing us to potential claims and compliance costs that could adversely affect our business.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other national, state and local authorities. For example, we are subject to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging and safety of foods. Under this program the FDA regulates manufacturing practices for foods through its current “good manufacturing practices” regulations and specifies the recipes for certain foods. Furthermore, our processing facilities and products are subject to periodic inspection by federal, state and local authorities. Any changes in these laws and regulations could increase the cost of developing and distributing our products and otherwise increase the cost of conducting our business, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including future laws

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and regulations, could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Item 1, “Business—Government Regulation.”

Failure by third-party co-packers to comply with environmental or other regulations may disrupt our supply of certain products and adversely affect our business.

We rely on co-packers to produce certain of our products. Such co-packers, whether in the U.S. or overseas, are subject to a number of regulations, including environmental regulations. Failure by any of our co-packers to comply with regulations, or allegations of compliance failure, may disrupt their operations. Disruption of the operations of a co-packer could disrupt our supply of product, which could have an adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Additionally, actions we may take to mitigate the impact of any such disruption or potential disruption, including increasing inventory in anticipation of a potential production interruption, may adversely affect our results of operations.

We may be subject to significant liability should the consumption of any of our products cause injury, illness or death.

The sale of food products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, substances, chemicals, other agents or residues introduced during the growing, manufacturing, storage, handling or transportation phases of production. We have from time to time been involved in product liability lawsuits, none of which have been material to our business. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, if the consumption of any of our products causes, or is alleged to have caused, a health-related illness in the future we may become subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused injury, illness or death could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image. Moreover, claims or liabilities of this sort might not be covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We maintain product liability insurance in an amount that we believe to be adequate. However, we cannot be sure that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of our insurance coverage.

Furthermore, our products could potentially suffer from product tampering, contamination or spoilage or be mislabeled or otherwise damaged. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to recall products, leading to a material adverse effect on our business. Even if a situation does not necessitate a recall, product liability claims might be asserted against us. A product liability judgment against us or a product recall could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Consumer concern regarding the safety and quality of food products or health concerns could adversely affect sales of certain of our products.

If consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of certain food products, our business could be adversely affected. The food industry is also subject to recent publicity concerning the health implications of obesity and trans fatty acids. Developments in any of these areas could cause our results to differ materially from results that have been or may be projected. For example, negative publicity about genetically modified organisms, whether or not valid, may discourage consumers from buying certain of our products or result in production and delivery disruptions.

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Risk associated with foreign suppliers and co-packers, including changes in import/export duties, wage rates, political or economic climates, or exchange rates, may adversely affect our operations.

Our relationships with foreign suppliers and co-packers subject us to the risks of doing business abroad. The countries from which we source our products may be subject to political and economic instability, and may periodically enact new or revise existing laws, taxes, duties, quotas, tariffs, currency controls or other restrictions to which we are subject. Our products are subject to import duties and other restrictions, and the United States government may periodically impose new or revise existing duties, quotas, tariffs or other restrictions to which we are subject. In addition, changes in respective wage rates among the countries from which we and our competitors source product could substantially impact our competitive position. Changes in exchange rates, import/export duties or relative international wage rates applicable to us or our competitors could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. These changes may impact us in a different manner than our competitors.

Litigation regarding our trademarks and any other proprietary rights and intellectual property infringement claims may have a significant negative impact on our business.

We own 106 trademarks that are registered in the United States, 23 trademarks that are registered with certain U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and 228 trademarks that are registered in foreign countries. In addition, we have 11 trademark applications pending in the United States and foreign countries. We consider our trademarks to be of significant importance in our business. If the actions we take to establish and protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights are not adequate to prevent imitation of our products by others or to prevent others from seeking to block sales of our products as an alleged violation of their trademarks and proprietary rights, it may be necessary for us to initiate or enter into litigation in the future to enforce our trademark right or to defend ourselves against claimed infringement of the rights of others. Any legal proceedings could result in an adverse determination that could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Our financial well-being could be jeopardized by unforeseen changes in our employees’ collective bargaining agreements or shifts in union policy.

As of December 31, 2005, approximately 279 of our 744 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. Approximately 55 of our employees at our Roseland, New Jersey facility were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America (Local No. 863), scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009.Approximately 135 of our employees at our Portland and Biddeford, Maine facilities were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union (AFL-CIO, Local No. 334), scheduled to expire on April 28, 2007. Approximately 89 of our employees at our Stoughton, Wisconsin facility were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Drivers, Salesmen, Warehousemen, Milk Processors, Cannery, Dairy Employees and Helpers Union (Local No. 695), scheduled to expire on March 31, 2006. Although we consider our employee relations to be generally good, a prolonged work stoppage or strike at any facility with union employees could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. We are in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the existing Stoughton, Wisconsin collective bargaining agreement that is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2006. However, we cannot assure you that we will reach a new agreement with the union prior to the expiration date. If prior to the expiration of the Stoughton, Wisconsin collective bargaining agreement or prior to the expiration of any of our other existing collective bargaining agreements we are unable to reach new agreements without union action or any such new agreements are not on terms satisfactory to us, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected.

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Future labor disruptions in the food industry could significantly impact our sales and profitability.

The grocer’s strike in California, which began in October 2003 and ended March 2004, in response to proposed healthcare cuts by several large retail grocers, affected over 70,000 grocery workers in California, and had a negative impact on our net sales. Should a similar strike or other labor disruption occur in California or elsewhere in the future, it may have a significant impact on our sales revenue and operating profits.

Risks Relating to our Securities

Holders of our EISs, Class A common stock and Class B common stock, may not receive the level of dividends provided for in the dividend policy our board of directors adopted in connection with our initial public offering, or any dividends at all.

Dividend payments are not mandatory or guaranteed and holders of our common stock do not have any legal right to receive, or require us to pay, dividends. Furthermore, our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, amend or repeal the dividend policy it adopted in connection with our initial public offering. Our board of directors may decrease the level of dividends provided for in this dividend policy or entirely discontinue the payment of dividends. Future dividends with respect to shares of our capital stock, if any, depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, business opportunities, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. The indenture governing our senior subordinated notes, the terms of our credit facility and the indenture governing the senior notes contain significant restrictions on our ability to make dividend payments. In addition, certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law may limit our ability to pay dividends.

Our dividend policy may negatively impact our ability to finance our working capital requirements, capital expenditures or operations.

In connection with our initial public offering, our board of directors adopted a dividend policy under which cash generated by our business in excess of operating needs, interest and principal payments on indebtedness, capital expenditures sufficient to maintain our properties and assets and $6.0 million of dividend restricted cash (that can be used for the payment of dividends on the Class A common stock or for any other purpose other than the payment of dividends on the Class B common stock), would in general be distributed as regular quarterly cash dividends (up to the intended dividend rates as determined by our board of directors) to the holders of our Class A common stock and as regular annual cash dividends (up to the permitted dividend rate described under Item 5, “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities—Dividend Policy”) to the holders of our Class B common stock and not be retained by us as cash on our consolidated balance sheet. As a result, we may not retain a sufficient amount of cash to finance growth opportunities or unanticipated capital expenditure needs or to fund our operations in the event of a significant business downturn. We may have to forego growth opportunities or capital expenditures that would otherwise be necessary or desirable if we do not find alternative sources of financing. If we do not have sufficient cash for these purposes, our financial condition and our business will suffer.

If we have insufficient cash flow to cover the intended dividend payments under the dividend policy adopted by our board of directors we would need to reduce or eliminate dividends or, to the extent permitted under our debt agreements, fund a portion of our dividends with additional borrowings.

For fiscal 2005, we had cash flows from operating activities of $22.5 million. If our cash flows from operating activities for future periods were to fall below our minimum expectations (or if our assumptions as to capital expenditures or interest expense were too low or our assumptions as to the sufficiency of our

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credit facility to finance our working capital needs were to prove incorrect), we would need either to reduce or eliminate dividends or, to the extent permitted under the indenture governing our senior notes, the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes and the terms of our credit facility, fund a portion of our dividends with borrowings or from other sources. If we were to use working capital or permanent borrowings to fund dividends, we would have less cash and/or borrowing capacity available for future dividends and other purposes, which could negatively impact our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and ability to maintain or expand our business.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue without stockholder approval preferred stock that may be senior to our common stock in right of dividend payment.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of preferred stock without stockholder approval and upon such terms as the board of directors may determine. The rights of the holders of shares of our common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any class or series of preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The right of the holders of our common stock to receive dividends as they may be lawfully declared from time to time by our board of directors is subject to any preferential rights that we may grant to the holders of preferred stock that we may issue. The terms of any preferred stock we issue may place restrictions on the payment of dividends to the holders of our common stock. If we issue preferred stock that is senior to our common stock in right of dividend payment, and our cash flows from operating activities or surplus are insufficient to support dividend payments to the holders of preferred stock and to the holders Class A and Class B common stock, we may be forced to reduce or eliminate dividends to the holders of Class A and Class B common stock.

We have substantial indebtedness, which could:

·       restrict our ability to pay interest on our senior subordinated notes and our senior notes;

·       restrict our ability to pay dividends with respect to shares of our Class A and Class B common stock; and

·       impact our financing options and liquidity position.

At December 31, 2005, we had $240.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior indebtedness, and $165.8 million aggregate principal amount of senior subordinated indebtedness. As a result of our term loan borrowings used to finance in part our acquisition of the Grandma’s molasses brand in January 2006, we currently have $265.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior indebtedness.

Our ability to pay dividends is subject to applicable law and contractual restrictions contained in the instruments governing any indebtedness of ours and our subsidiaries, including our credit facility, which is secured on a senior basis by substantially all of our and our subsidiaries’ assets except our real property, and our senior notes. The degree to which we are leveraged on a consolidated basis could have important consequences to the holders of our securities, including:

·       our ability in the future to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures or acquisitions may be limited;

·       we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness on terms acceptable to us or at all;

·       a significant portion of our cash flow is likely to be dedicated to the payment of interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing funds available for future operations, capital expenditures and/or dividends on our Class A and Class B common stock; and

·       we may be more vulnerable to economic downturns and be limited in our ability to withstand competitive pressures.

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Despite current indebtedness levels, we and our subsidiaries may still be able to incur substantially more debt. This could further exacerbate risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.

While our credit facility contains total leverage, senior leverage and cash interest coverage maintenance covenants and the indentures governing the senior notes and senior subordinated notes contain incurrence covenants that restrict our ability to incur debt, as long as we meet these financial covenant tests we will be allowed to incur additional indebtedness. In addition, the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes allows us to issue additional senior subordinated notes with terms identical (other than issuance date) to our existing senior subordinated notes under certain circumstances.

To service our indebtedness, we require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control. We may not be able to repay or refinance the senior subordinated notes, the credit facility or our senior notes upon terms acceptable to us if at all.

Our ability to make payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, including the senior subordinated notes, and to fund planned capital expenditures depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operations in the future. This ability, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.

A significant portion of our cash flow from operations is dedicated to servicing our debt requirements. In addition, we currently intend to distribute a significant portion of any remaining cash flow to our stockholders in the form of dividends. Moreover, prior to the maturity of our senior notes, we are not required to make any payments of principal on our senior subordinated notes.

Our ability to continue to expand our business is, to a certain extent, dependent upon our ability to borrow funds under our credit facility and to obtain other third-party financing, including through the sale of EISs or other securities. The credit facility is subject to periodic renewal or must otherwise be refinanced. Likewise, we expect that we will refinance our senior notes at or prior to maturity, which will be substantially prior to the maturity date of the senior subordinated notes. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness, including our credit facility or our senior notes, on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we would be forced to seek other alternatives, including:

·       sales of assets;

·       sales of equity; and

·       negotiations with our lenders or noteholders to restructure the applicable debt.

In addition, if we are unable to refinance the senior subordinated notes or the senior notes, our failure to repay all amounts due on the applicable maturity date would cause a default under the applicable indentures.

If we are forced to pursue any of the above options, our business and/or the value of an investment in our securities could be adversely affected.

Credit ratings may affect our ability to obtain financing and the cost of such financing.

Our ability to obtain external financing and, in particular, debt financing is affected by our debt ratings, which are periodically reviewed by the major credit rating agencies. Moody’s and S&P have provided ratings to the senior subordinated notes of Caa1 and CCC+, respectively. In determining our credit ratings, the rating agencies generally consider a number of both quantitative and qualitative factors. These factors include earnings, fixed charges such as interest, cash flows, total debt outstanding, off-balance sheet obligations and other commitments, total capitalization and various ratios calculated from these factors. The ratings provided to us by Moody’s and S&P for the senior subordinated notes indicate that these rating agencies have determined that our senior subordinated notes have a currently identifiable

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vulnerability to default and that we are dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet timely payment of interest and repayment of principal on the senior subordinated notes.

We are a holding company and we rely on dividends, interest and other payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service and other obligations.

We are a holding company and all of our assets are held by our direct and indirect subsidiaries and we rely on dividends and other payments or distributions from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service obligations and to enable us to pay dividends. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or distributions to us depends on their respective operating results and may be restricted by, among other things, the laws of their jurisdiction of organization (which may limit the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends), agreements of those subsidiaries, the credit facility, the terms of the indenture governing the senior notes and the covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.

We may amend our credit facility, the indenture governing the senior notes or the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes, or we may enter into new agreements that govern senior indebtedness. The amended or new terms may significantly affect our ability to pay interest and dividends to holders of our securities, as applicable.

Our credit facility and the indenture governing the senior notes contain significant restrictions on our ability to pay interest on the senior subordinated notes and dividends on the shares of Class A and Class B common stock based on meeting specified financial ratios, and compliance with other conditions. As a result of general economic conditions, conditions in the lending markets, the results of our business or for any other reason, we may elect or be required to amend or refinance our credit facility or our senior notes, at or prior to maturity, or enter into additional agreements for senior indebtedness. Regardless of any protection holders of our securities have in the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes, any such amendment, refinancing or additional agreement may contain covenants which could limit in a significant manner our ability to pay interest payments and dividends to holders of the EISs, our Class A and Class B common stock and our senior subordinated notes.

We are subject to restrictive debt covenants and other requirements related to our debt that limit our business flexibility by imposing operating and financial restrictions on our operations.

The agreements governing our indebtedness impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions prohibit or limit, among other things:

·       the incurrence of additional indebtedness and the issuance of certain preferred stock or redeemable capital stock;

·       the payment of dividends on, and purchase or redemption of, capital stock;

·       a number of other restricted payments, including investments;

·       specified sales of assets;

·       specified transactions with affiliates;

·       the creation of a number of liens; and

·       consolidations, mergers and transfers of all or substantially all of our assets.

Our credit facility and the indenture governing the senior notes include other and more restrictive covenants and prohibit us from prepaying our other indebtedness, including the senior subordinated notes, while senior indebtedness is outstanding. The credit facility requires us to maintain specified financial

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ratios and satisfy financial condition tests, including, without limitation, the following: a maximum leverage ratio, a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum senior leverage ratio.

Our ability to comply with the ratios or tests may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. A breach of any of these covenants, or failure to meet or maintain ratios or tests could result in a default under the credit facility, the terms of the indenture governing the senior notes and/or the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes. Certain events of default under the credit facility and the terms of the indenture governing the senior notes would prohibit us from making payments on the senior subordinated notes, including payment of interest when due, and from paying dividends on our common stock. In addition, upon the occurrence of an event of default under the credit facility or the terms of the indenture governing the senior notes, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the credit facility and the senior notes, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the lenders could proceed against the security granted to them to secure that indebtedness. If the lenders accelerate the payment of the indebtedness, our assets may not be sufficient to repay in full this indebtedness and our other indebtedness, including the senior subordinated notes.

Interest on the senior subordinated notes may not be deductible by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which could significantly reduce our future cash flow and impact our ability to make interest and dividend payments.

If all or a portion of the senior subordinated notes were treated as equity rather than debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes, then a corresponding portion of the interest on the senior subordinated notes would not be deductible by us for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, we would be subject to liability for U.S. withholding taxes on interest payments to non-U.S. holders if such payments were determined to be dividends. Our inability to deduct interest on the senior subordinated notes could materially increase our taxable income and, thus, our U.S. federal and applicable state income tax liability. Our liability for income taxes (and withholding taxes) if the senior subordinated notes were determined to be equity for income tax purposes would materially reduce our after-tax cash flow and would materially and adversely impact our ability to make interest and/or dividend payments and could impact our ability to continue as a going concern. In the case of foreign holders, treatment of the senior subordinated notes as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes would subject such holders in respect of the senior subordinated notes to withholding or estate taxes in the same manner as with regard to common stock and could subject us to liability for withholding taxes that were not collected on payments of interest. Therefore, foreign holders would receive any such payments net of the tax withheld.

Even if the IRS does not challenge the tax treatment of the senior subordinated notes, it is possible that we will at some point in the future, as a result of changes in circumstances or facts that come to light in the future, conclude that we should establish a reserve for contingent tax liabilities associated with a disallowance of all or part of the interest deductions on the senior subordinated notes, although our present view is that no such reserve is necessary or appropriate. If we decide to maintain such a reserve, our ability to pay dividends on the shares of our common stock could be materially impaired and the market price and/or liquidity for the ElSs or our common stock could be adversely affected.

For discussion of these tax related risks, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation—Critical Accounting Policies; Use of Estimates—Income Tax Expenses.”

Future changes that increase cash taxes payable by us could significantly decrease our future cash flow available to make interest and dividend payments with respect to our securities.

We are able to amortize goodwill and certain intangible assets within the meaning of Section 197 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. This enables us to amortize for tax purposes approximately $16.1

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million annually through 2011, approximately $14.5 million for fiscal 2012, approximately $13.0 million for fiscal 2013 and 2014, approximately $7.1 million for fiscal 2015 through 2018 and approximately $0.1 million for fiscal 2019 and 2020. If there is a change in U.S. federal tax policy that reduces any of these available deductions or results in an increase in our corporate tax rate, our cash taxes payable may increase, which could significantly reduce our future cash and impact our ability to make interest and dividend payments.

If interest rates rise, the trading value of our ElSs and senior subordinated notes may decline.

Should interest rates rise or should the threat of rising interest rates develop, debt markets may be adversely affected. As a result, the trading value of our EISs and senior subordinated notes may decline.

Future sales or the possibility of future sales of a substantial amount of EISs, shares of our Class A common stock, our senior subordinated notes or other securities may depress the price of our securities.

Future sales or the availability for sale of substantial amounts of EISs, shares of our Class A common stock, a significant principal amount of our senior subordinated notes or other securities in the public market could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our securities and could impair our ability to raise capital through future sales of our securities.

We may issue shares of our Class A common stock and senior subordinated notes, which may be in the form of EISs, or other securities from time to time in future financings or as consideration for future acquisitions and investments. In the event any such future financing, acquisition or investment is significant, the number of shares of our Class A common stock and the aggregate principal amount of senior subordinated notes, which may be in the form of EISs, or the number or aggregate principal amount, as the case may be, of other securities that we may issue may in turn be significant. In addition, we may also grant registration rights covering those EISs, shares of our Class A common stock, senior subordinated notes or other securities in connection with any such future financing, acquisitions and investments.

In addition, following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering or earlier under certain circumstances, holders of Class B common stock may demand registration of their Class B common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and several other factors could limit another party’s ability to acquire us and deprive our investors of the opportunity to obtain a takeover premium for their securities.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain certain provisions that may make it difficult for another company to acquire us and for holders of our securities to receive any related takeover premium for their securities. For example, our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of preferred stock without stockholder approval and upon such terms as the board of directors may determine. The rights of the holders of shares of our common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of any class or series of preferred stock that may be issued in the future.

Item 1B.               Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2.                        Properties.

Our corporate headquarters are located at Four Gatehall Drive, Suite 110, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Our manufacturing plants are generally located near major customer markets and raw materials. Of our six manufacturing facilities, five are owned and one is leased as of December 31, 2005. Management believes

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that our manufacturing plants have sufficient capacity to accommodate our planned growth. As of December 31, 2005, we owned or leased the offices, manufacturing and warehouse facilities and distribution centers described in the table below:

 

On July 1, 2005, we closed our New Iberia, Louisiana, manufacturing and warehouse facility as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our production capacity utilization, productivity, and operating efficiencies and lower our overall costs. On February 9, 2006, we entered into an agreement to sell the New Iberia facility. The sale, which is subject to the buyer obtaining a mortgage commitment, the buyer’s due diligence and other customary closing conditions, is scheduled to close in or about June 2006.

Item 3.                        Legal Proceedings.

We are involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business, including proceedings involving product liability claims, worker’s compensation and other employee claims, and tort and other general liability claims, for which we carry insurance, as well as trademark, copyright, patent infringement and related claims and legal actions. In the opinion of our management, the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Item 4.                        Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, no matters were submitted to a vote of stockholders through solicitation of proxies or otherwise.

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PART II

Item 5.                        Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

We have outstanding two separate classes of common stock, our Class A common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and our Class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share.

Our Enhanced Income Securities (EISs), each representing one share of Class A common stock and $7.15 principal amount of senior subordinated notes due 2016, are traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol “BGF” and have been so traded since October 8, 2004. Holders of our EISs have the right to separate EISs into the shares of Class A common stock and senior subordinated notes represented thereby. Currently, all of our shares of Class A common stock are represented by EISs. The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices of our EISs as reported on the American Stock Exchange for each of the quarterly periods since our initial public offering in October 2004.

 

On February 28, 2006, the closing sales price of our EISs on the AMEX was $14.99 per EIS.

As of February 14, 2006, we had one holder of record of the EISs, Cede & Co. (nominee for The Depository Trust Company (DTC)), which holds the EISs on behalf of approximately 126 participants in the DTC system, which in turn hold the EISs on behalf of beneficial owners. Holders of our EISs have the right to separate each EIS into the shares of Class A common stock and senior subordinated notes represented thereby. According to the records of our transfer agent, we had one holder of record of our Class A common stock as of February 14, 2006, Cede & Co., as holder of 20,000,000 EISs.

There is no established trading market for our Class B common stock. As of February 28, 2006, there were 23 holders of record of our Class B common stock and 7,556,443 shares of our Class B common stock were outstanding.

Dividend Policy

General

Prior to the completion of our initial public offering, our board of directors adopted a dividend policy that reflects a basic judgment that our stockholders would be better served if we distributed our cash available to pay dividends to them instead of retaining it in our business. Under this policy, cash generated by our company in excess of operating needs, interest and principal payments on indebtedness, capital expenditures sufficient to maintain our properties and other assets and $6.0 million of dividend restricted cash (that can be used for the payment of dividends on Class A common stock or for any other purpose other than the payment of dividends on the Class B common stock) would in general be distributed as regular quarterly cash dividends (up to the intended dividend rate as determined by our board of directors) to the holders of our Class A common stock and as regular annual cash dividends (up to the permitted dividend rate set forth below) to the holders of our Class B common stock and not be retained by us as cash on our consolidated balance sheet.

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Notwithstanding our dividend policy, holders of our common stock may not receive any dividends because:

·       there is no legal, contractual or other requirement that we pay the dividends, and the dividends are neither mandatory nor guaranteed;

·       our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, modify or revoke the dividend policy at any time;

·       even if our dividend policy were not modified or revoked, the actual amount of dividends distributed under the policy and the decision to make any distributions is entirely at the discretion of our board of directors;

·       the payment of dividends is subject to limitations and restrictions under:

—       the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes,

—       the indenture governing our senior notes,

—       the terms of our credit facility, and

—       the terms of any other then outstanding indebtedness of ours;

·       the payment of dividends is subject to limitations and restrictions under state law; and

·       we may not have enough cash to pay dividends due to changes to our results of operations, financial condition, working capital requirements and anticipated cash needs.

We made our first dividend payment on our Class A common stock of $0.1864 per share on January 31, 2005, to holders of record as of December 31, 2004, which was a partial quarterly dividend payment for the period commencing on October 14, 2004, the date of completion of our initial public offering, and ending on January 1, 2005.

We have subsequently paid quarterly dividends of $0.212 per share of Class A common stock on:

·       May 2, 2005, to holders of record as of March 31, 2005 for the quarterly dividend period ending on April 2, 2005;

·       August 1, 2005, to holders of record as of June 30, 2005 for the quarterly dividend period ending on July 2, 2005;

·       October 31, 2005, to holders of record as of September 30, 2005 for the quarterly dividend period ending on October 1, 2005; and

·       January 30, 2006, to holders of record as of December 31, 2005 for the quarterly dividend period ending December 31, 2005.

No dividends were declared for our Class B common stock for fiscal 2005 or fiscal 2004. Under our Class B dividend policy, subject to the assumptions and considerations set forth below under “—Assumptions and Considerations” and the risks set forth above and under Item 1B, “Risk Factors,” we intend to pay annual dividends to holders of our Class B common stock equal to Class B Available Cash (as defined below) for that period, divided by the number of Class B shares outstanding on the record date for such period, subject to the subordination provisions described below.

The maximum amount of dividends that we are permitted to pay to holders of our Class B common stock is an amount equal to “Class B Available Cash.” “Class B Available Cash” means the lesser of:

·       “excess cash” (as defined in the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes) for the last four fiscal quarters, including the most recently completed fiscal quarter, minus the sum of the aggregate amount of the prior four Class A dividends, and minus dividend restricted cash of $6.0 million; for

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purposes of calculating excess cash as defined, for this purpose only, the aggregate amounts set forth in clause (3) of the definition of excess cash shall be the greater of the aggregate amount of such capital expenditures or $6.5 million; or

·       the aggregate per share amount of dividends declared or to be declared on our Class A common stock (or 1.1 times such amount for dividends with respect to periods commencing after December 30, 2006) with respect to the annual period for which the dividends on our Class B common stock are to be paid multiplied by the number of shares of our Class B common stock issued and outstanding on the last day of such period.

We intend to pay dividends on our Class A common stock quarterly on each January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30 to the holders of record as of each December 31, March 31, June 30 and September 30, respectively. We intend to pay dividends on our Class B common stock annually, subject to the subordination provisions described below, on February 20 of each year to holders of record on the preceding December 31. For years ending subsequent to January 2, 2010, we intend to pay dividends on our Class B common stock quarterly on January 30, April 30, July 30 and October 30 of each year to holders of record on the preceding December 31, March 31, June 30 and September 30. Under our certificate of incorporation, for each annual dividend payment period after the dividend payment period ending on December 30, 2006 and through the dividend payment period ending on January 2, 2010, if we declare and pay dividends on our Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock have the right (subject to the subordination provisions described below) to dividend payments equal to Class B Available Cash (up to 1.1 times the amount of dividends paid per share to the holders of our Class A common stock). For quarterly periods subsequent to January 2, 2010, if we declare and pay dividends on our Class A common stock, the holders of our Class B common stock will be entitled to dividend payments of 1.1 times the amount paid per share to the holders of our Class A common stock.

If we have any remaining cash after the payment of dividends as contemplated above, our board of directors will, in its sole discretion, decide to use that cash for those purposes it deems necessary including, but not limited to, funding additional capital expenditures or acquisitions, if any, repaying indebtedness, paying additional dividends or for general corporate purposes. However, notwithstanding this dividend policy, the amount of dividends, if any, for each dividend payment date will be determined by our board of directors on a quarterly basis after taking into account the factors set forth above and the dividend restrictions and other factors set forth below.

Prior to our initial public offering, we had never paid any dividends.

Subordination of Class B Dividends

Under our organizational documents, through the dividend payment dates with respect to the quarterly and annual dividend payment periods ending January 2, 2010, dividends on our Class B common stock are subordinated to the payment of dividends on our Class A common stock. Specifically,

·       an annual dividend on our Class B common stock may only be declared if we have declared and paid dividends on our Class A common stock at no less than the quarterly rate of $0.212 per share for each of the four full fiscal quarters corresponding to such annual dividend payment period of the Class B common stock; and

·       no dividends on our Class B common stock may be declared with respect to any annual period unless the “Class B Threshold Amount” as of the last day of such period is at least $10.0 million. “Class B Threshold Amount” as of any date means the amount of cash and cash equivalents on our consolidated balance sheet as of such date calculated on a pro forma basis giving effect to the payment of any previously declared but unpaid dividends on any class of our capital stock and the payment of any dividends to be declared with respect to any class of our capital stock with respect to

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the period for which the Class B Threshold Amount is being calculated less any actual or funded borrowings under our revolving credit facility (or any successor or additional revolving credit facility) as of such date.

The subordination of dividends on our Class B common stock will be suspended upon the occurrence of any default or event of default under the indentures governing the senior notes and the senior subordinated notes and will become applicable again upon the cure of any default or event of default. Dividends on our Class B common stock will not be subordinated to dividends on our Class A common stock for any dividend period subsequent to January 2, 2010. If for any dividend payment date after the February 20, 2010 dividend payment date the amount of cash to be distributed is insufficient to pay dividends at the levels intended by our dividend policy, any shortfall will reduce the dividends on the Class A and Class B common stock pro rata.

Under U.S. federal income tax law, common stock distributions to holders of our EISs, Class A common stock and Class B common stock are taxable to the extent they are paid out of current or accumulated earnings and profits. Generally, the portion of the distribution treated as a return of capital should reduce the tax basis of the holders of our EISs, Class A common stock and Class B common stock in such securities, as applicable. Qualifying dividend income and the return of capital, if any, will be allocated on a pro-forma basis to all distributions for each fiscal year.

The table below illustrates for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 the amount of cash that we had available for distribution to our stockholders.

(a)           On July 1, 2005, we closed our New Iberia, Louisiana manufacturing facility as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our production capacity utilization, productivity, and operating efficiencies and lower our overall costs. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, we recorded a restructuring

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charge of $3.8 million. The charge associated with the plant closing included a cash charge for employee compensation and other costs of $0.8 million and a non-cash charge for the impairment of property, plant, equipment and inventory of $3.0 million. On February 9, 2006, we entered into an agreement to sell the New Iberia facility. The sale, which is subject to the buyer obtaining a mortgage commitment, the buyer’s due diligence and other customary closing conditions, is scheduled to close in or about June 2006.

(b)          Under our organizational documents, our cash otherwise available for the payment of dividends on our Class B common stock for any year is reduced by $6.0 million.

There can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends at the historic levels set forth above, or at all. Dividend payments are not mandatory or guaranteed, are within the absolute discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon many factors and future developments that could differ materially from our current expectations. Over time, our EBITDA (net income before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization), adjusted EBITDA (EBITDA as adjusted for transaction related compensation expenses incurred in fiscal 2004 in connection with our initial public offering, the concurrent offerings and the related transactions and restructuring charges incurred in fiscal 2005), capital expenditures, working capital and other cash needs will be subject to uncertainties, which could impact the level of any dividends we pay in the future.

While interest on our senior notes and senior subordinated notes is fixed, those notes will need to be refinanced on or prior to their maturity dates in 2011 and 2016, respectively, and thereafter our interest expense could be higher and the terms of any new financing may restrict us from paying the level of current intended dividends or any dividends at all. In addition, we may not be able to refinance the senior subordinated notes or the senior notes when they become due. If we are unable to refinance the senior subordinated notes or the senior notes, our failure to repay all amounts due on the applicable maturity date would cause a default under the applicable indentures.

We used the proceeds of a new $25 million term loan under our previously undrawn credit facility together with cash on hand to fund the acquisition of the Grandma’s molasses brand in January 2006 and to pay related transaction fees and expenses. As a result, we will incur additional cash interest expense that could reduce our cash available to pay dividends. Interest on indebtedness under our credit facility is based upon a floating interest rate. As a result, our interest expense under our credit facility will increase if interest rates in the general economy rise. In addition, to the extent we finance capital expenditures, working capital or other cash needs with indebtedness under our credit facility or otherwise, we will incur additional cash interest expense and debt service obligations that could reduce our cash available to pay dividends.

Our intended policy to distribute rather than retain cash available to pay dividends (up to the intended dividend rate on the Class A common stock as determined by our board of directors and up to the permitted dividend rate for the Class B common stock) is based upon our current assessment of our business and the environment in which we operate, and that assessment could change based on competitive or other developments (which could, for example, increase our need for capital expenditures or working capital), new acquisition opportunities or other factors. Our board of directors is free to depart from or change our dividend policy at any time and could do so, for example, if it were to determine that we had insufficient cash to take advantage of growth opportunities. Although management currently has no specific plans to increase capital spending to materially expand our business, management will evaluate acquisition opportunities as they arise and may pursue opportunities that it believes may result in net increases to our cash available for distribution.

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Restrictions on Dividend Payments

Our ability to pay future dividends, if any, with respect to shares of our capital stock will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. Under Delaware law, our board of directors may declare dividends only to the extent of our “surplus” (which is defined as total assets at fair market value minus total liabilities, minus statutory capital), or if there is no surplus, out of our net profits for the then current and/or immediately preceding fiscal years. We do not anticipate that we will have sufficient earnings to pay dividends and therefore expect that we will pay dividends out of surplus. Our board of directors will periodically and from time to time assess the appropriateness of the then current dividend policy before actually declaring any dividends.

The indentures governing our senior notes and senior subordinated notes restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends on our common stock as follows:

·       we may use up to 100% of our excess cash (as defined below) for the period (taken as one accounting period) from and including the first fiscal quarter beginning after the date of the indentures to the end of our most recently ended fiscal quarter for which internal financial statements are available at the time of such payment plus certain incremental funds described in the indentures for the payment of dividends so long as the fixed charge coverage ratio for the four most recent fiscal quarters for which internal financial statements are available is not less than 1.6 to 1.0;

·       at any time the fixed charge coverage ratio for the four preceding fiscal quarter period is less than 1.6 to 1.0, we may pay dividends on our common stock, in the quarter in which such payment is made, of up to $10.0 million in the aggregate plus certain incremental funds;

·       if our net cash balance is less than $10.0 million at the end of any fiscal year beginning with the fiscal year ended January 1, 2005, then we may only use up to 98% of our excess cash pursuant to the first bullet of this paragraph until the earlier of (a) the first fiscal year end thereafter at which our net cash balance (which is the amount of cash and cash equivalents set forth on our consolidated balance sheet as of such period end minus funded indebtedness under any secured credit facility) equals or exceeds $10.0 million or (b) the first fiscal quarter thereafter at which our net cash balance exceeds $12.5 million; and

·       we may not pay any dividends on any dividend payment date if a default or event of default under either indenture has occurred or is continuing.

Excess cash is defined in the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes, under the terms of our credit facility and in the indenture governing our senior notes. Excess cash is calculated as “consolidated cash flow,” as defined in the indentures and under the terms of our credit facility (which, in each case, allows for the add-back of transaction related compensation charges relating to our initial public offering and concurrent offerings, and restructuring charges and which is equivalent to the term adjusted EBITDA), minus the sum of cash tax expense, cash interest expense, certain capital expenditures, certain repayment of indebtedness and the cash portion of the restructuring charges. Excess cash is not a substitute for operating income or net income, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Excess cash is not a complete net cash flow measure because excess cash is a measure of liquidity that does not include reductions for cash payments for an entity’s obligation to fund changes in its working capital, acquisitions, if any, and repay its debt and pay its dividends. Rather, excess cash is one potential indicator of our ability to fund these cash requirements in compliance with our debt agreements. Excess cash is also not a complete measure of our profitability because it does not include costs and expenses for depreciation and amortization. We believe that the most directly comparable GAAP measure to excess cash is net cash provided by operating activities. We present a reconciliation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA (equivalent to consolidated cash flow) to net cash provided by operating

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activities for fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005 in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We believe excess cash is indicative of our ability to declare and pay dividends on our common stock, including the Class A and Class B common stock, in compliance with the restricted payment covenants under the indenture governing the senior subordinated notes, the terms of our credit facility and the indenture governing the senior notes.

Excess cash does not represent the amount we intend to distribute as dividends for any quarterly period but rather is a restriction on the maximum level of dividend payments, if any, that we are permitted to declare and pay under the terms of the indentures governing our senior subordinated notes and senior notes and under and our credit facility.

In addition, the terms of our credit facility also restrict our ability to declare and pay dividends on our common stock. In accordance with the terms of our credit facility, we are not permitted to declare or pay dividends unless we are permitted to do so under the indentures governing the senior notes and senior subordinated notes. In addition, our credit facility does not permit us to pay dividends unless we maintain:

·       a “consolidated interest coverage ratio” (defined as the ratio of our adjusted EBITDA for any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters to our consolidated interest expense for such period payable in cash) of not less than 1.35 to 1.0;

·       a “consolidated senior leverage ratio” (defined as the ratio of our consolidated total debt, as of the last day of any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters to our adjusted EBITDA) of not more than 4.00 to 1.0; and

·       a “consolidated total leverage ratio” (defined as the ratio of our consolidated total debt of the last day of any period to our adjusted EBITDA for any period of four consecutive fiscal quarters) of not more than 6.50 to 1.0.

Subject to the limitations described elsewhere in this report, we have the ability to issue additional EISs, Class A common stock, Class B common stock, other equity securities or preferred stock for such consideration and on such terms and conditions as are established by our board of directors in its sole discretion and without the approval of the holders of our EISs or either class of common stock. It is possible that we will fund acquisitions, if any, through the issuance of additional EISs, common stock, other equity securities or preferred stock. Holders of any additional EISs, common stock or other equity securities issued by us may be entitled to share equally with the holders of EISs in dividend distributions. The certificate of designation of any preferred stock issued by us may provide that the holders of preferred stock are senior to the holders of our common stock with respect to the payment of dividends. If we were to issue additional EISs, common stock, other equity securities or preferred stock, it would be necessary for us to generate additional cash available to pay dividends in order for us to distribute dividends at the same rate per share as distributed prior to any such additional issuance.

Dividend payments are not mandatory or guaranteed, and holders of our common stock do not have any legal right to receive, or require us to pay, dividends. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, amend or repeal our dividend policy with respect to the Class A and Class B common stock at any time. Furthermore, our board of directors may decrease the level of dividends provided for the Class A and Class B common stock below the intended dividend rates, or discontinue entirely the payment of dividends.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

We did not issue any unregistered securities in fiscal 2005.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

We did not repurchase any of our securities during fiscal 2005.

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Item 6.                        Selected Financial Data.

The following selected historical consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes to those statements included in this report. The selected historical consolidated financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2005 (fiscal 2005), January 1, 2005 (fiscal 2004), January 3, 2004 (fiscal 2003), December 28, 2002 (fiscal 2002) and December 29, 2001 (fiscal 2001) have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements.

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(1)             The purchase method of accounting was used to account for our acquisition of Ortega from Nestlé Prepared Foods Company on August 21, 2003 and our acquisition of the Ortega food service dispensing pouch and dipping cup business on December 1, 2005. We completed the sale of our wholly owned subsidiary, Burns & Ricker, Inc. to Nonni’s Food Company, Inc. on January 17, 2001.

(2)             Certain amounts in fiscal 2001 aggregating $52.7 million have been reclassified from sales, marketing and distribution expenses to a reduction of net sales in accordance with EITF Issue No. 00—14, “Accounting for Certain Sales Incentives,” and EITF Issue No. 00—25, “Vendor Income Statement Characterization of Consideration to a Purchaser of the Vendor’s Products or Services,” as codified by EITF Issue 01—09. These EITF pronouncements, which we adopted in 2002, require us to classify certain coupon and promotional expenses as a reduction of net sales. The reclassification has no effect on operating income.

(3)             We adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” as of December 30, 2001. Effective December 30, 2001, we ceased the amortization of goodwill and trademarks. Amortization expenses related to goodwill and trademarks were $8.5 million in fiscal 2001.

(4)             General and administrative expenses include an unusual bad debt expense incurred for fiscal 2003 of $0.6 million ($0.4 million, net of taxes) relating to Fleming Companies, Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on April 1, 2003.

(5)             Transaction related compensation expenses in fiscal 2004, which were incurred in connection with our initial public offering and related transactions, include $6.0 million of transaction bonuses and $3.9 million for the repurchase of employee stock options.

(6)             The gain on sale of assets of $3.1 million relates to the sale of our wholly owned subsidiary, Burns & Ricker, to Nonni’s Food Company, Inc. on January 17, 2001.

(7)             Derivative gain reflects the change in fair value of our interest rate swap agreement from the date we entered into the agreement to the date the swap agreement was terminated.

(8)             Fiscal 2004 net interest expense includes $13.9 million of costs relating to the early extinguishment of debt incurred in connection with our initial public offering, the concurrent offerings and the related transactions. Included in these costs are: $8.4 million for the write-off of deferred financing costs, $4.9 million for bond tender costs and $0.6 million for the payment of bond discount.

(9)             In fiscal 2005, our board of directors approved the following cash dividends per share for our 20.0 million shares of Class A common stock outstanding:

 

(10)       On December 27, 2004, our board of directors declared a cash dividend of $0.1864 per share for our 20.0 million shares of Class A common stock for the partial quarterly dividend period beginning on October 14, 2004 and ending on January 1, 2005. This dividend was paid on January 31, 2005.

(11)       We define EBITDA as net income before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. We define adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA as adjusted for transaction related compensation expenses incurred in fiscal 2004 in connection with our initial public offering, the concurrent offerings and the related transactions and restructuring charges incurred in fiscal 2005. We believe that the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA is net cash provided by operating activities. We present EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA because we believe they are useful indicators of our historical debt capacity and ability to service debt. We also present this discussion of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA because covenants in our credit facility and the indentures governing the senior notes and the senior subordinated notes contain ratios based on these measures. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are not substitutes for operating income or net income, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are not complete net

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cash flow measures because EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are measures of liquidity that do not include reductions for cash payments for an entity’s obligation to service its debt, fund its working capital, capital expenditures and acquisitions and pay its income taxes and dividends, and in the case of adjusted EBITDA, cash used to pay transaction related bonuses and repurchase of employee stock options and restructuring charges. Rather, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are two potential indicators of an entity’s ability to fund these cash requirements. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA also are not complete measures of an entity’s profitability because they do not include costs and expenses for depreciation and amortization, interest and related expenses and income taxes, and in the case of adjusted EBITDA, the cost of transaction related bonuses and repurchase of employee stock options and the cost to restructure our operations. EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, as we define them, may differ from similarly named measures used by other entities. Set forth below is a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA to net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002 and 2001.

(A)          Net interest expense in fiscal year end January 1, 2005 includes $13.9 million of costs relating to the early extinguishment of debt incurred in connection with our initial public offering, the concurrent offerings and the related transactions. Included in these costs are: $8.4 million for the write-off of deferred financing costs, $4.9 million for bond tender costs and $0.6 million for the payment of bond discount.

(B)          Transaction related compensation expenses, which were incurred in connection with our initial public offering, the concurrent offerings and the related transactions, include $6.0 million for transaction bonuses and $3.9 million for our repurchase of employee stock options.

(C)          On July 1, 2005, we closed our New Iberia, Louisiana, manufacturing facility as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our production capacity utilization, productivity, and operating efficiencies and lower our overall costs. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, we recorded a charge of $3.8 million. The charge associated with the plant closing included a cash charge for employee compensation and other costs of $0.8 million and a non-cash charge for the impairment of property, plant, equipment and inventory of $3.0 million. On February 9, 2006, we entered into an agreement to sell the New Iberia facility. The sale, which is subject to the buyer obtaining a mortgage commitment, the buyer’s due diligence and other customary closing conditions is scheduled to close in or about June 2006.

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(12)       We have calculated the ratio of earnings to fixed charges by dividing earnings by fixed charges. For the purpose of this computation, earnings consist of income before income taxes plus fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of the sum of interest on indebtedness, amortized expenses related to indebtedness, and an interest component of lease rental expense.

(13)       Senior debt, as defined in the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes, is equal to all of our outstanding debt excluding our senior subordinated notes.

 

(14)       Cash interest expense, calculated below, is equal to net interest expense less amortization of deferred financing and bond discount and early extinguishment of debt costs.

 

(15)       Net working capital is current assets excluding cash and cash equivalents minus current liabilities.

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