Hain Celestial Announces Strategic Acquisition In Ireland

MELVILLE, N.Y., May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:  HAIN), a leading natural and organic products company providing consumers with A Healthy Way of Life™, today announced the acquisition of Cully & Sully Limited ("Cully & Sully") in Ireland.

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Cully & Sully is a marketer and manufacturer of natural chilled soups, savory pies and hot pots, all under the Cully & Sully® brand, with a range of approximately 20 products.  Cully & Sully supplies all major food retailers in Ireland.  The founding management team of Cullen Allen (Cully) and Colum O'Sullivan (Sully) will continue to manage all aspects of Cully & Sully reporting to Rob Burnett, Chief Executive Officer, Hain Daniels Group.

"We are pleased to be expanding our international presence into Ireland with Cully & Sully, a leading chilled brand that has delivered consistent, profitable growth since 2004," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial.  "Cully & Sully's branded soup is similar to our New Covent Garden Soup Co.® brand in the United Kingdom.  We are excited about the prospects to expand our presence into the Irish marketplace with our Hain Celestial and Daniels brands and to expand Cully & Sully chilled fresh soups into the United Kingdom.  We see a tremendous opportunity for chilled soups as consumers move away from canned soups and into fresh chilled soups.  We also welcome two energetic, creative entrepreneurs, Cully and Sully, to the Hain Celestial Europe team.  We hope to utilize Cully and Sully's knowledge and expertise for Hain Daniels and here in the United States as we move chilled fresh soups to the North American marketplace," continued Irwin Simon.

"Since the inception of Cully & Sully, we've always been about natural, good tasting and honest food, where quality and traditional cooking techniques are paramount," commented Cullen Allen.  "Joining the Hain Daniels Group will provide us with the opportunity to broaden our product offerings into other categories and to expand the Cully & Sully brand into the United Kingdom," added Colum O'Sullivan.

"As leaders in the chilled category in the United Kingdom, we're excited to be leveraging the Hain Daniels footprint with the creative talent and product offerings of Cully & Sully to further our growth prospects," concluded Rob Burnett.   

The acquisition is expected to be neutral to Hain Celestial's earnings in fiscal year 2012 and to be accretive to earnings in fiscal year 2013.  Details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements under Rule 3b-6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Words such as "plan," "continue," "expect," "expected," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "may," "potential," "can," "positioned," "should," "future," "look forward" and similar expressions, or the negative of those expressions, may identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements include the Company's expectations relating to (i) the impact of the acquisition on the Company's earnings in fiscal years 2012 and 2013; (ii) the Company's plans to expand existing brands and product distribution and enter into new categories, (iii) the Company's expansion into a new geographic region and (iv) consumer demand for chilled soups.  These risks include but are not limited to the Company's ability to achieve its guidance for net sales and earnings per diluted share in fiscal year 2012 given the economic environment in the U.S. and other markets that it sells products as well as economic, political and business conditions generally and their effect on the Company's customers and consumers' product preferences, and the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations; the Company's expectations for its business for fiscal year 2012 and its positioning for the future; changes in estimates or judgments related to the Company's impairment analysis of goodwill and other intangible assets, as well as with respect to the Company's valuation allowances of its deferred tax assets; the Company's ability to implement its business and acquisition strategy, including its strategy for improving results in the United Kingdom and the integration of the Daniels Group acquisition; the ability of the Company's joint venture investments, including Hain Pure Protein Corporation, to successfully execute their business plans; the Company's ability to realize sustainable growth generally and from investment in core brands, offering new products and its focus on cost containment, productivity, cash flow and margin enhancement in particular; the Company's ability to effectively integrate its acquisitions; competition; the success and cost of introducing new products as well as the Company's ability to increase prices on existing products; the availability and retention of key personnel; the Company's reliance on third party distributors, manufacturers and suppliers; the Company's ability to maintain existing customers and secure and integrate new customers; the Company's ability to respond to changes and trends in customer and consumer demand, preferences and consumption; international sales and operations; changes in fuel, raw materials and commodity costs; the effects on the Company's results of operations from the impacts of foreign exchange; changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; the availability of natural and organic ingredients; the loss of one or more of our manufacturing facilities; our ability to use our trademarks; reputational damage; product liability; seasonality; the Company's reliance on its information technology systems; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.  As a result of the foregoing and other factors, no assurance can be given as to future results, levels of activity and achievements and neither the Company nor any person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of these statements.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Melville, NY, is a leading natural and organic products company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Gluten Free Cafe™, Hain Pure Foods®, Hollywood®, Spectrum Naturals®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®, Ethnic Gourmet®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Linda McCartney®, Daily Bread™, Lima®, Danival®, GG UniqueFiber®, Grains Noirs®, Natumi®, JASON®, Zia® Natural Skincare, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Queen Helene®, Earth's Best TenderCare® and Martha Stewart Clean™.  Hain Celestial has been providing "A Healthy Way of Life™" since 1993.  For more information, visit www.hain-celestial.com.

SOURCE The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

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