CAG ConAgra Brands Inc

Company Proposals To Strengthen Corporate Governance Are Approved; Three Stockholder Proposals Are Not Approved ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG), one of America's leading packaged food companies, held its annual stockholders meeting in Omaha today. A day after the company announced improved performance in the first quarter of fiscal 2006, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Rohde reviewed improvements resulting from initiatives undertaken in a number of areas. Shareholders also ratified the Board of Directors' recommendations on all eight proxy items up for vote. Rohde said, "Important things have been taking place at ConAgra Foods. We've been laying the foundation for a strong company, with a strong future." The solid first quarter of fiscal 2006 follows two quarters of weakness and inflationary costs during the second half of fiscal 2005, which ended in May. However, Rohde noted fiscal 2005 brought about a number of accomplishments: -- Debt pay-down of $1.2 billion -- Dividends to shareholders of $550 million -- Stock repurchases of $180 million -- Good volume for many Retail brands reflecting progress in both sales and marketing -- Strong performance in the company's Food Ingredients segment -- Continued solid performance in the company's Foodservice Specialty Potato operations -- Progress with many operating initiatives, including the implementation of Project Nucleus order-to-cash system, the opening of three more inventory distribution centers, the reduction of SKUs, and the reduction of general and administrative expenses -- Receipt of more than $1 billion in cash generated through the liquidation of securities associated with the sale of the company's fresh beef and pork and chicken businesses Noting that fiscal 2006 got off to a good start with solid first-quarter results, which were released yesterday, Rohde said, "We have made a lot of people and process changes as a result of some of the issues we faced during fiscal 2005. Those changes -- along with a strong focus on multi-year profit-enhancing initiatives for marketing, operations and business processes -- are why we think the best is ahead of us." After the formal business portion of the meeting, Rohde introduced shareholders to his successor, Gary Rodkin, who will assume the position of president and CEO on Oct. 1. Director Steve Goldstone will become non-executive chairman of the Board on that date. Rodkin said, "We've got a lot of upside in front of us, in large part because of the hard work that has laid the foundation for the future. We are ready to move on to the next stage." More than 2,000 shareholders attended ConAgra Foods' annual meeting. ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one of North America's largest packaged food companies, serving consumer grocery retailers, as well as restaurants and other foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer brands include: ACT II, Armour, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Brown 'N Serve, Butterball, Chef Boyardee, Cook's, Crunch 'n Munch, DAVID, Eckrich, Egg Beaters, Fleischmann's, Golden Cuisine, Gulden's, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Kid Cuisine, Knott's Berry Farm, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Libby's, Lightlife, Lunch Makers, MaMa Rosa's, Manwich, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM, Parkay, Pemmican, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Rosarita, Ro*Tel, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp's, Wesson, Wolf, and many others. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com. Note on Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current views and assumptions of future events and financial performance and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Readers of this release should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. Many factors could affect the company's actual financial results and cause them to vary materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results, availability and prices of raw materials, product pricing, competitive environment and related market conditions, operating efficiencies, access to capital, actions of governments and regulatory factors affecting the company's businesses and other risks described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included in this release, which speak only as of the date made.