The J. M. Smucker Company Announces Dividend Increase

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Jul 13, 2016, 05:10 ET

ORRVILLE, Ohio, July 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) today announced that the Board of Directors has approved an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.75 per common share, an increase of 12 percent. The dividend will be paid on Thursday, September 1, 2016, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Friday, August 12, 2016.

"We are pleased with the Board's action to significantly increase the quarterly dividend rate, which represents our fifteenth consecutive year of dividend growth," commented Mark Smucker, Chief Executive Officer. "This action reflects the confidence we have in the ongoing growth potential of our businesses and brands, and the Company's continued focus on returning a significant portion of its free cash flow back to shareholders."

The J. M. Smucker Company Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties, important factors, and assumptions listed and discussed in this press release, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed, include: the ability to achieve synergies and cost savings related to the Big Heart Pet Brands acquisition in the amounts and within the time frames currently anticipated and to effectively manage the related integration costs; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet the Company's deleveraging objectives; volatility of commodity, energy, and other input costs; risks associated with derivative and purchasing strategies employed to manage commodity pricing risks; the availability of reliable transportation on acceptable terms; the ability to implement and realize the full benefit of price changes, and the impact of the timing of the price changes to profits and cash flow in a particular period; the success and cost of marketing and sales programs and strategies intended to promote growth in the businesses, including the introduction of new products; general competitive activity in the market, including competitors' pricing practices and promotional spending levels; the impact of food security concerns involving either the Company's or its competitors' products; the impact of accidents, extreme weather, and natural disasters; the concentration of certain of the Company's businesses with key customers and suppliers, including single-source suppliers of certain raw materials and finished goods, and the ability to manage and maintain key relationships; the timing and amount of capital expenditures and share repurchases; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets or changes in useful lives of other intangible assets; the impact of new or changes to existing governmental laws and regulations and their application; the outcome of tax examinations, changes in tax laws, and other tax matters; foreign currency and interest rate fluctuations; and risks related to other factors described under "Risk Factors" in other reports and statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, to reflect new events or circumstances.

About The J. M. Smucker Company

For nearly 120 years, The J. M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's®, Folgers®, Jif®, Dunkin' Donuts®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, Café Bustelo®, Martha White®, truRoots®, Sahale Snacks®, Robin Hood®, and Bick's®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix®, Milk-Bone®, Kibbles 'n Bits®, Natural Balance®, and 9Lives®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Pillsbury® is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, and Dunkin' Donuts® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder, LLC.

Dunkin' Donuts® brand is licensed to The J. M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin' Donuts® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin' Donuts® restaurants.

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