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 3, 2016 | July 5, 2015 | ||||||
| Earnings: | |||||||
| Income before income taxes | $ | 573,025 | $ | 358,668 | |||
| Add (deduct): | |||||||
| Interest on indebtedness | 42,961 | 40,040 | |||||
| Portion of rents representative of the interest factor (a) | 4,771 | 5,304 | |||||
| Amortization of debt expense | 801 | 574 | |||||
| Amortization of capitalized interest | 1,343 | 1,167 | |||||
| Adjustment to exclude noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries and income from equity investee | (1,465 | ) | (3,477 | ) | |||
| Earnings as adjusted | $ | 621,436 | $ | 402,276 | |||
| Fixed Charges: | |||||||
| Interest on indebtedness | $ | 42,961 | $ | 40,040 | |||
| Portion of rents representative of the interest factor (a) | 4,771 | 5,304 | |||||
| Amortization of debt expense | 801 | 574 | |||||
| Capitalized interest | 3,561 | 6,243 | |||||
| Total fixed charges | $ | 52,094 | $ | 52,161 | |||
| Ratio of earnings to fixed charges | 11.93 | 7.71 | |||||
| (a) | Portion of rents representative of the interest factor consists of one-third of rental expense for operating leases. |