EXHIBIT 12.1
THE HERSHEY COMPANY
COMPUTATION OF RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
(in thousands of dollars except for ratios)
(unaudited)
| Six Months Ended | |||||||
| July 5, 2015 | June 29, 2014 | ||||||
| Earnings: | |||||||
| Income before income taxes | $ | 358,668 | $ | 639,051 | |||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||
| Interest on indebtedness | 40,040 | 44,103 | |||||
| Portion of rents representative of the interest factor (a) | 5,304 | 4,754 | |||||
| Amortization of debt expense | 574 | 556 | |||||
| Amortization of capitalized interest | 1,167 | 1,153 | |||||
| Adjustment to exclude noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries and income from equity investee | (3,447 | ) | 46 | ||||
| Earnings as adjusted | $ | 402,306 | $ | 689,663 | |||
| Fixed Charges: | |||||||
| Interest on indebtedness | $ | 40,040 | $ | 44,103 | |||
| Portion of rents representative of the interest factor (a) | 5,304 | 4,754 | |||||
| Amortization of debt expense | 574 | 556 | |||||
| Capitalized interest | 6,243 | 2,296 | |||||
| Total fixed charges | $ | 52,161 | $ | 51,709 | |||
| Ratio of earnings to fixed charges | 7.71 | 13.34 | |||||
NOTE:
| (a) | Portion of rents representative of the interest factor consists of one-third of rental expense for operating leases. |