EX-99.1 5 exhibit991.htm EX-99.1 exhibit991
exhibit991p1i0
Exhibit 99.1
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Contacts:
Sherman Miller, President and CEO
Max P. Bowman, Vice President and CFO
(601) 948-6813
CAL-MAINE FOODS, INC. ISSUES STATEMENT ON RECENT COURT VERDICT
RIDGELAND,
 
Miss.
 
(November
 
22,
 
2023)
―
 
Cal-Maine
 
Foods,
 
Inc.
 
(NASDAQ:
 
CALM)
 
(“Cal-Maine
Foods”
 
or the
 
“Company”), the
 
largest producer
 
and distributor
 
of
 
fresh
 
shell eggs
 
in the
 
United
 
States,
today issued the following statement:
Approximately 20
 
years ago,
 
Cal-Maine Foods
 
along with
 
many other
 
fresh egg
 
producers in
 
the United
States, responded to
 
growing demands from
 
consumers and retailers
 
to improve the
 
overall treatment of
 
egg
laying
 
hens.
 
These
 
programs
 
were
 
in
 
line
 
with
 
other
 
prevailing
 
animal
 
welfare
 
laws
 
across
 
the
 
protein
industry and
 
were not
 
intended to
 
restrict supply
 
and affect
 
prices. The
 
programs were
 
supported by
 
our
customers and form the basis of many state laws across the country today.
On November 21,
 
2023, a jury found
 
that defendants, including
 
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.,
 
were liable for
 
an
alleged conspiracy
 
to inflate
 
egg product
 
prices in
 
the case
 
Kraft Foods
 
Global, Inc.
 
et al.
 
v.
 
United Egg
Producers, Inc. et al., Case No. 1:11-cv-8808 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The damages phase of the trial is scheduled to take place on November 28
and 29, 2023.
 
While we are disappointed
 
with the overall decision,
 
we prevailed on a
 
number of issues that
 
we believe are
important and
 
should ultimately
 
define this
 
case. The
 
plaintiffs
 
alleged a
 
conspiracy running
 
from 1998-
2008 with damages
 
extending through
 
2012. The court
 
and jury determined
 
that any alleged
 
damages would
be limited to the period 2004-2008. The
 
jury also rejected other key portions of
 
the plaintiffs’ case that we
believe should limit the plaintiffs’ damages request further.
 
 
Cal-Maine Foods will vigorously contest plaintiffs’ presentation of purported
 
damages and will continue to
assess the decision and options for appeal.
About Cal-Maine Foods
Cal-Maine Foods,
 
Inc. is
 
primarily engaged
 
in the
 
production, grading,
 
packaging, marketing
 
and
distribution
 
of
 
fresh
 
shell
 
eggs,
 
including
 
conventional,
 
cage-free,
 
organic,
 
brown,
 
free-range,
 
pasture-
raised and nutritionally
 
enhanced eggs. The
 
Company, which is
 
headquartered in
 
Ridgeland, Mississippi,
is the largest
 
producer and distributor
 
of fresh shell
 
eggs in the
 
United States and
 
sells the majority
 
of its
shell
 
eggs
 
in
 
states
 
across
 
the
 
southwestern,
 
southeastern,
 
mid-western
 
and
 
mid-Atlantic
 
regions
 
of
 
the
United States.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release that are
 
not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that
term is
 
defined in
 
the Private
 
Securities Litigation
 
Reform Act
 
of 1995.
 
The forward-looking
 
statements are
based on management’s
 
current intent, belief,
 
expectations, estimates and
 
projections regarding our
 
company
and our industry.
 
These statements are
 
not guarantees of
 
future performance and
 
involve risks, uncertainties,
assumptions and
 
other factors
 
that are
 
difficult to
 
predict and
 
may be
 
beyond our
 
control. The
 
factors that
could cause actual results to differ
 
materially from those projected in the
 
forward-looking statements include,
among others, (i) the
 
risk factors set forth
 
in the Company’s SEC
 
filings (including its Annual
 
Reports on Form
10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K), (ii) the
 
risks and hazards inherent
in the shell
 
egg business (including
 
disease, pests, weather
 
conditions and potential
 
for recall), including
 
but
not
 
limited
 
to
 
the
 
most
 
recent
 
outbreak
 
of
 
highly
 
pathogenic
 
avian
 
influenza
 
affecting
 
poultry
 
in
 
the
 
U.S.,
Canada and other countries that was first detected in commercial flocks in the U.S. in February 2022,
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.
 
Issues Statement on Recent Court Verdict
 
Page 2
November 22, 2023
 
(iii) changes in
 
the demand for
 
and market prices of
 
shell eggs and feed
 
costs, (iv) our ability
 
to predict and
meet demand
 
for cage-free
 
and other
 
specialty eggs, (v)
 
risks, changes
 
or obligations
 
that could
 
result from
our future
 
acquisition of
 
new flocks
 
or businesses
 
and risks
 
or changes
 
that may
 
cause conditions
 
to completing
a pending
 
acquisition not
 
to be
 
met, (vi)
 
risks relating
 
to increased
 
costs and
 
higher and
 
potentially further
increases in inflation
 
and interest rates,
 
which began in
 
response to market
 
conditions caused in
 
part by the
COVID-19 pandemic
 
and which
 
generally have
 
been exacerbated
 
by the
 
Russia-Ukraine war
 
that began
 
in
February 2022,
 
(vii) our
 
ability to
 
retain existing
 
customers, acquire
 
new customers
 
and grow
 
our product
mix, and (viii) adverse results in pending litigation matters. SEC filings
 
may be obtained from the SEC or the
Company’s website
,
 
www.calmainefoods.com. Readers are cautioned
 
not to place undue
 
reliance on forward-
looking statements
 
because, while
 
we believe
 
the assumptions
 
on which
 
the forward-looking
 
statements are
based
 
are
 
reasonable,
 
there
 
can
 
be
 
no
 
assurance
 
that
 
these
 
forward-looking
 
statements
 
will
 
prove
 
to
 
be
accurate. Further,
 
the forward-looking
 
statements included
 
herein are
 
only made
 
as of
 
the respective
 
dates
thereof, or
 
if no
 
date is
 
stated, as
 
of the
 
date hereof.
 
Except as
 
otherwise required
 
by law,
 
we disclaim
 
any
intent
 
or
 
obligation
 
to
 
publicly
 
update
 
these
 
forward-looking
 
statements,
 
whether
 
as
 
a
 
result
 
of
 
new
information, future events or otherwise.
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