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INVESTOR CONTACT : Nathan Annis ( 507 ) 437-5248 ir@hormel.com MEDIA CONTACT : Media Relations ( 507 ) 437-5345 media@hormel.com HORMEL FOODS REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS AND PROVIDES FULL YEAR GUIDANCE Record sales driven by growth from all four segments The company previously announced the acquisition of the Planters® snack nuts business - AUSTIN , Minn . ( Feb. 18 , 2021 ) – Hormel Foods Corporation ( NYSE : HRL ) , a leading global branded food company , today reported results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021. All comparisons are to the first quarter of fiscal 2020 unless otherwise noted . Operating free cash flow is presented as a non - GAAP metric . EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - FIRST QUARTER • Volume of 1.2 billion lbs . , down 1 % Record net sales of $ 2.5 billion , up 3 % • Pretax earnings of $ 277 million , down 5 % • Operating margin of 10.9 % , compared to 11.8 % last year • Effective tax rate of 19.7 % , compared to 16.3 % last year • Diluted earnings per share of $ 0.41 , down 9 % compared to last year • • Cash flow from operations of $ 206 million , up 9 % Operating free cash flow¹ of $ 165 million , up 27 % EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY " We delivered record sales as all four segments generated top - line growth , " said Jim Snee , chairman of the board , president and chief executive officer . " Brands such as SPAM® , SKIPPY® , Hormel® Black Label® , Applegate® , Columbus® and Jennie - OⓇ all delivered exceptional growth . A key reason for our success was a result of the work of our One Supply Chain team members . They improved production efficiencies , integrated new capacity and leveraged strategic partnerships to increase production without compromising employee or food safety . I'm proud of the entire team as we remain on track to deliver sales and earnings growth this year in spite of challenging operating conditions . " " Our balanced business model continues to perform well , ” Snee said . “ We delivered extraordinary earnings growth from our Grocery Products and International segments this quarter , as we continue to see elevated consumer demand for our center store retail products . Our retail businesses in Refrigerated Foods and Jennie - O Turkey Store also showed earnings growth , but declines across our foodservice businesses and incremental supply chain costs related to the pandemic negatively impacted profitability . " OUTLOOK " I am increasingly optimistic about generating sales and earnings growth in fiscal 2021 , " Snee said . " As such , we are setting our full year earnings per share guidance at $ 1.70 to $ 1.82 per share , which does not include the expected impact from the acquisition of the Planters® snack nuts business . The Planters® acquisition is exciting and a perfect strategic fit for our company . " " Our retail and deli teams have momentum going into the second quarter even as some of our retail businesses , especially Grocery Products , have very difficult comparisons due to the extremely high levels of demand we experienced last year , " Snee said . " The International segment is poised to have a record year led by the continued strength in our China business , branded exports and our global partnerships . The strides we have made in our global e - commerce business are also expected to continue to pay off this year and into the 1