SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
_X_ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934 (FEE REQUIRED)
For the fiscal year ended______APRIL 03, 1999___________________________or
___ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 (NO FEE REQUIRED)
For the transition period from _______________ to _________________
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER:____1-7138_________________________________________
________________________________CAGLE'S, INC._____________________________
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)
___________GEORGIA_____________________________________58-0625713_________
(STATE OF INCORPORATION) I.R.S EMPLOYER IDENTIFICATION NO.
_______2000 HILLS AVE., NW, ATLANTA, GA.______________________30318_______
(address of principal executive offices) (zip code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: ___(404) 355-2820_____
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(B) OF THE ACT:
Title of each class Name of exchange on which registered
____CLASS A COMMON STOCK___________________AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE________
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(G) OF THE ACT:
________________none______________________________________________________
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT (1) HAS FILED ALL REPORTS REQUIRED
TO BE FILED BY SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
DURING THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS (OR FOR SUCH SHORTER PERIOD THAT THE REGISTRANT
WAS REQUIRED TO FILE SUCH REPORTS) AND (2) HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO SUCH FILING
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PAST 90 DAYS.
_X_ YES ___ NO
STATE THE AGGREGATE MARKET VALUE OF THE VOTING STOCK HELD BY NONAFFILIATES OF
THE REGISTRANT. (THE AGGREGATE MARKET VALUE SHALL BE COMPUTED BY REFERENCE TO
THE PRICE AT WHICH THE STOCK WAS SOLD, OR THE AVERAGE BID AND ASKED PRICES OF
SUCH STOCK, AS OF A SPECIFIED DATE WITHIN 60 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF FILING.)
__$28,842,057_(based_on_16.375 per_share_closing_price_on_April_26,_1999)___
INDICATE THE NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING OF EACH OF THE REGISTRANT'S CLASSES
OF COMMON STOCK, AS OF THE LATEST PRACTICABLE DATE (APPLICABLE ONLY TO
CORPORATE REGISTRANTS.)
__Class_A_Common_Stock_at_$1.00_par_value______________________________________
__4,797,731_shares_at_$1.00_par_value__________________________________________
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE: LIST THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS IF
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE AND THE PART OF THE FORM 10-K INTO WHICH THE
DOCUMENT IS INCORPORATED: (1) ANY ANNUAL REPORT TO SECURITY HOLDERS; (2) ANY
PROXY OR INFORMATION STATEMENT; AND (3) ANY PROSPECTUS FILED PURSUANT TO RULE
424(b) OR (c) UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933. (THE LISTED DOCUMENTS SHOULD
BE CLEARLY DESCRIBED FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.)
Parts of the following documents are incorporated by reference in Parts II,
III, and IV of this Form 10-K report; 1) registrant's annual report to
shareholders for fiscal year ended April 03, 1999 - Items 5, 6, 7, 8, and 14.
2) Proxy statements for registrant's 1999 annual meeting of shareholders-
Items 10, 11, 12, and 13.
CAGLE'S, INC.
PART I
Item 1: General Business
Cagle's, Inc. (the "Company"), which began business in 1945 and was first
incorporated in Georgia in 1953, and its wholly owned subsidiary (Cagle's Farms
,Inc., formerly Strain Poultry Farms, Inc.) produce, market, and distribute a
variety of fresh and frozen poultry products. The vertically integrated
operations of the Company consist of breeding, hatching, and growing of
chickens; feed milling; processing; further processing; and marketing. The
Company's products are sold to national and regional independent and chain
supermarkets, food distributors, food processing companies, national fast-food
chains, and institutional users, such as restaurants, schools, and
distributors, by the Company's sales staff located in Atlanta, Georgia, and
through brokers selected by the Company.
Narrative Description of Business
Food Processing
All of the Company's business activities are conducted on a vertically
integrated basis within one industry segment, poultry products. The Company's
various poultry products are closely related, have similar purposes and uses,
and, except for product sold under cost-plus arrangements, are similar in terms
of profitability and types and degrees of risks. In addition, the production
processes are similar to the extent that (a) production facilities are shared
or are interchangeable and (b) the same types of raw materials, labor, and
capital are used. Markets and marketing methods are comparable for all
products (except cost-plus products) to the extent that they are generally sold
to the same types of customers by a common sales force and are sensitive to
changes in economic conditions to the same degree.
The Company currently processes approximately 2,100,000 birds per week in its
three processing plants, including two plants which operate with two full
shifts. Of the Company's total production, approximately 1,150,000 head per
week are deboned.
The complete cycle for growing broilers begins with the placement on a farm of
a day-old breeder chick. This bird is reared for 25 weeks, at which time it
begins to produce hatching eggs. The breeder produces eggs for approximately
40 weeks. These eggs are set in one of the Company's two hatcheries, and in
three weeks, a baby chick is hatched.
The day-old broiler chick is placed on a farm where it will grow for six to
eight weeks depending upon the size of bird desired, at which time it is
transported to the processing plant for slaughter. To produce uniform size for
customer demands, the Company grows the males and females separately. This is
necessary because males and females grow at different rates and have different
nutritional requirements for cost-effective growth. A significant investment
in field inventories is required to support the Company's operating cycle.
All feed for all flocks is produced in feed mills owned by the Company.
The Company's goal is to add value to all of its birds, and the Company
currently is accomplishing this on approximately 85% of all head slaughtered.
This value-added product takes the form of deboned breast and thigh meat,
cut-up marinated raw breaded chicken (including barbecue), government school
lunch product, fast-food cuts, IQF (individually quick frozen) products, and
mechanically deboned chicken meat.
Raw Materials
The primary raw materials used by the Company are corn, soybean meal, and other
ingredients; packaging materials; cryogenic materials; and breeder chicks. The
Company believes that sources of supply for these materials are adequate and
does not expect significant difficulty in acquiring required supplies. The
major source of supply is the midwestern grain belt of the United States,
although local supplies are utilized when available. Prices for the feed
ingredients are sensitive to supply fluctuations worldwide, and weather
conditions, especially drought, can cause significant price volatility. Since
feed is the most significant factor in the cost of producing a broiler chicken,
those fluctuations can have significant effects on margins. The Company also
purchases product outside for further processing requirements.
Research and Development
The Company has made no material expenditures for research and development
during the last three years.
Employees and Labor Relations
The Company employs approximately 3,500 persons of whom approximately 46% are
covered by collective bargaining agreements which expire at various dates over
the next three years. The Company believes its relationship with the
bargaining groups and other employees is good.
Seasonal Variations in Business
The seasonal demand for the Company's products is highest during the late
spring and summer months and is normally lowest during the winter months.
Customers
Equity Foods ("Equity") accounted for approximately 16% of the Company's sales
for the year ended April 3, 1999. The Company has an agreement with Equity to
supply chicken under a cost-plus arrangement, and approximately 20% of the
Company's production is committed to Equity. Under the arrangement, production
in excess of Equity's demands and by-products are sold to other customers and
are credited against the cost-plus arrangement. The Company generally receives
full margin on processed pounds regardless of the final customer.
Backlog
The Company had no material backlog of orders existing as of April 3, 1999.
Competition
The Company is a leading regional integrated poultry processor, ranking
seventh nationally in pounds produced. The Company's products compete in the
marketplace with comparable products of approximately ten national and regional
producers in the areas of quality, service, and price. The Company believes
its flexibility and accessibility are positive factors enhancing the Company's
competitive position.
Regulation
The Company's facilities and operations are subject to regulation by various
federal and state agencies, including, but not limited to, the federal Food
and Drug Administration ("FDA"), the United States Department of Agriculture
("USDA"), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, and the corresponding state agencies. The Company's
processing plants are subject to continuous on-site inspection by the USDA,
and the FDA inspects the production of the Company's feed mill.
Management believes that the Company is in substantial compliance with
applicable laws and regulations relating to the operation of its facilities.
Item 2: Properties
Production and Facilities
Breeding and Hatching
The Company supplies its broiler chicks by producing all of its own hatching
eggs from breeder flocks owned by the Company. These breeder flocks are
maintained on 58 contract grower farms. In addition, the replacement breeder
pullets are maintained on 36 contract grower farms where the breeders are
reared from one day old to approximately 18 weeks old and then moved to the
breeder farm where they begin to produce eggs at about 25 weeks of age.
These farms are located in north Georgia.
The Company owns two hatcheries located in Dalton, Georgia, and Forsyth,
Georgia, at which eggs are incubated and hatched. This is a continuous
process and requires 21 days to complete. After the chicks are removed
from the incubator, they are separated by sex, vaccinated against disease,
and moved by a special-purpose vehicle, Chick Bus, to the Company's grow-out
farms. The two hatcheries have an aggregate capacity of 2,100,000 chicks per
week. Both of the hatcheries are company-owned.
Grow-Out
The Company places its broiler chicks on approximately 278 contract grower
farms. The birds are grown separately by sex to provide the exact size
requirement of the Company's customers.
The independent contract growers provide the housing, equipment, utilities,
and labor to grow the baby chicks to market age, which varies from six to
eight weeks, depending on the market for which they are intended. The Company
supplies the baby chicks, the feed, and all veterinary and technical services.
Title to the birds remains with the Company at all times. The contract
growers are paid on live weight and are guaranteed a minimum rate with
various incentives based upon a grower's performance as compared to other
growers whose birds are marketed during the same week. These contract
farms are located in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Feed Mills
The Company owns two feed mills. The Dalton, Georgia feed mill has a
production capacity of approximately 520,000 tons per year. The feed mill in
Forsyth, Georgia, has the capacity to produce approximately 300,000 tons
per year. The Company plans to build a new feed mill in Rockmart, Georgia and
increase the capacity of the Forsyth, Georgia mill during fiscal year 2000.
Processing
As the broilers reach the desired processing weight, they are removed from the
houses and transported by company trucks to a processing plant.
The processing plants are located in Pine Mountain, Georgia; Macon, Georgia;
and Collinsville, Alabama. The Macon, Georgia, plant has the capacity to
process 8,400 birds per hour, and the Collinsville plant can process up to
12,600 birds per hour. The Pine Mountain plant has the capacity to process
10,800 birds per hour. The Pine Mt. Valley, Georgia, and Collinsville,
Alabama, plants operate two full shifts. The Macon, Georgia plant operates
one shift.
Further Processing and Deboning
The Company has a stated goal of marketing the majority of its product as
value-added product. This is accomplished by cutting the product into parts
or fast-food cuts, deboning, marinating and breading, and converting into
other convenience-type products.
Currently, further processing and deboning are conducted at the Collinsville,
Alabama, plant (cutting, marinating, and breading) and the Pine Mountain and
Macon, Georgia, plants (deboning). In addition, the Atlanta, Georgia,
facility and the Lovejoy, Georgia, facility are totally devoted to further
processing.
Freezer Storage
The Company's facilities located in Atlanta, Georgia; Collinsville, Alabama;
Pine Mountain, Georgia; and Lovejoy, Georgia, have freezer storage facilities
with aggregate capacity of approximately 14,800,000 pounds of frozen product.
The Company utilizes outside storage services as needed to supplement its own
freezer capacity.
Local Distribution
As an extension of the company sales division, local distribution is operated
from refrigerated warehouse facilities in Atlanta, Georgia. This unit has
sales representatives located in Macon, Georgia, as well as Atlanta and
Collinsville, Alabama, and is designed to provide storage and delivery
service for customers.
Significant Unconsolidated Subsidiaries
The Company owns a 50% interest in a joint venture, which is a fully integrated
poultry company located in Camilla, Georgia. The joint venture is growing and
processing approximately 1,300,000 birds per week in a processing plant that
is capable of processing up to 1,400,000 broilers per week. The Company also
owns a minority interest in a poultry by-product company. In December 1995, the
Company acquired a 1/3 interest in a grower housing financing company. During
this fiscal year the Kentucky joint venture purchased a 1/4 interest in this
venture, which diluted the Company's ownership to 1/4. The financing
company finances poultry houses for growers who are contract growers for the
joint venture companies. In November, 1997 a Joint Venture poultry company was
formed in Kentucky and the company became a minority member.
Executive Offices
The Company's executive offices are located in a renovated two-story
(22,000-square-foot) building at 2000 Hills Avenue, NW, Atlanta, Georgia.
The building is owned by the Company.
All of the properties described above are in good condition and are adequate
for their stated uses.
Item 3: Legal Proceedings
Subsequent to April 3, 1999, suit was filed against Cagle's Farms, Inc. in
Superior Court of Whitfield County on April 20, 1999 and on May 19, 1999, Suit
was filed in District Court for the Middle District of GA against the Company,
Cagle' Farms, Inc., Cagle Foods, JV LLC, Cagle Foods Credit LLC and Cagle-
Keystone Foods JV. These two separate suites were brought by two different
groups of contract breeder growers seeking unspecified damages and allege that
the defendant misrepresented certain facts regarding profitability and cash flow
as an inducement to their becoming contract producers. The Company and other
dependents deny all allegations and are vigorously defending against this action
and expect to be fully vindicated.
In addition to the above mentioned suits, a suit was brought against Cagle's,
Inc., Cagle's Farms, Inc., Cagle Foods JV, LLC and Cagle-Keystone Foods JV,
LLC on May 12, 1999 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ga. by
three contract broiler growers of whom one is a current producer for Cagle's
Farms, Inc., one a former contract producer for Cagle's Farms, Inc., and one
a contract producer for Cagle Foods JV, LLC, a separate joint venture company.
This suit alleges certain discrepancies in practices used at various locations
within the Company and at Cagle Foods JV, LLC to weigh live poultry as it is
received at the processing plant and unspecified damages. This suit seeks class
action status. The Company and other defendants deny all allegations and are
vigorously defending against all complaints and expect to be completely
vindicated.
Other than those actions listed above, the Company is routinely involved in
various lawsuits and legal matters on an ongoing basis as a result of day to day
operations; however the Company does not believe that the ultimate resolution of
these matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company or its
business.
Item 4: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
No matters were submitted to security holders for a vote during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 1999.
PART II
Item 5: Market for Registrant's Common Equity
and Related Stockholder Matters
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Annual
Report to Stockholders for the year ended April 3, 1999 and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Item 6: Selected Financial Data
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Annual
Report to Stockholders for the year ended April 3, 1999 and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Item 7: Management's Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Annual
Report to Stockholders for the year ended April 3, 1999 and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Annual
Report to Stockholders for the year ended April 3, 1999 and is incorporated
herein by reference.
Item 9: Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants
on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
PART III
Item 10: Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Proxy
Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held July 9, 1999 and
is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 11: Executive Compensation
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Proxy
Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held July 9, 1999 and
is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 12: Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Proxy
Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held July 9, 1999 and
is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 13: Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
The information required by this item is included in the Company's Proxy
Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held July 9, 1999 and
is incorporated herein by reference.
PART IV
Item 14: Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules, and Reports on Form 8-K
The following documents are filed as part of this report:
(a)1. Financial Statements
The Company's 1999 Annual Report to Stockholders contains the consolidated
balance sheets as of April 3, 1999 and March 28, 1998, the related consolidated
statements of income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended April 3, 1999, and the related report of
Arthur Andersen LLP as to these financial statements. These financial
statements and the report of Arthur Andersen LLP are incorporated herein by
reference.
The financial statements, incorporated by reference, include the following:
Consolidated Balance Sheets_ April 3, 1999 and March 28, 1998
Consolidated Statements of Income for the Years Ended
April 3, 1999, March 28, 1998, and March 29, 1997
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the Years Ended
. April 3, 1999, March 28, 1998, and March 29, 1997
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended
. April 3, 1999, March 28, 1998, and March 29, 1997
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for the Years Ended
. April 3, 1999, March 28, 1998, and March 29, 1997
(a)2. Financial Statement Schedules
The financial statement schedules have been omitted because they are not
applicable or the required information is included in the consolidated
financial statements or notes thereto.
(a)3 Exhibits
8.1 audited financial statements of unconsolidated affiliate.
Reports on Form 8-K
No reports on Form 8-K were filed.
Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Cagle's, Inc.
BY: /s/ J. Douglas Cagle
J. Douglas Cagle
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report
is signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in
capacities and on the date indicated:
/s/ J.Douglas Cagle Chairman and Director and Chief Executive Officer
/s/ Kenneth R. Barkley Senior Vice President Finance/Treasurer/Chief
Financial Officer/Director/Principle Financial
and Accounting Officer
/s/ G. Bland Byrne Director
/s/ George Douglas Cagle Vice President, New Product Development
and Director
/s/ John J. Bruno Senior Vice President Sales Marketing and Director
/s/ James David Cagle Vice President, New Product Sales and Director
/s/ Jerry D. Gattis President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
/s/ Mark M. Ham IV Vice President, Information Systems and Director
/s/ Candace Chapman Director