Ingredion Incorporated Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2018 Results

"During the fourth quarter, we continued taking actions to drive improved performance in response to challenging North America market dynamics and continued foreign exchange devaluations. We took multiple pricing actions, progressed our $125 million Cost Smart savings program, and grew our specialties portfolio, all while delivering on our customer experience commitments," said Jim Zallie, Ingredion's president and chief executive officer.

"By the end of 2018, we actioned $11 million of run-rate savings, exceeding our $5 million initial year target for Cost Smart. After ceasing manufacturing operations at our Stockton, California plant, we successfully transitioned service for our West Coast customers to other plants in our network, better aligning our manufacturing cost structure with future sweetener demand. We are on the right path to becoming a more streamlined and agile organization."

Zallie continued, "We are pleased to have grown our specialties portfolio to 29 percent of total net sales in 2018, driven by growth and demand for our on-trend platforms such as clean and simple ingredients, sugar reduction and starch-based texturizers. We're excited about the prospects for our more than $200 million of investments in plant-based proteins, specialty starch texturizers, and sugar reduction capabilities."

"We remained focused on delivering shareholder value and continued to deploy cash with 5.8 million share repurchases during 2018 at an expected price range of $101 to $103 a share, pending the final settlement of the accelerated share repurchase," Zallie concluded.

Full press release: https://bit.ly/2TCKbQF^[1]

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Ingredion will conduct a conference call today at 8 a.m. ET (7 a.m. CT) hosted by Jim Zallie, president and chief executive officer, and James Gray, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The call will be webcast in real time and will include a visual presentation accessible through the Ingredion website at www.ingredion.com^[2]. The presentation will be available to download a few hours prior to the start of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available for a limited time at www.ingredion.com^[3].

Upcoming Communications

Jim Zallie, president and chief executive officer; James Gray, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Jorgen Kokke, executive vice president, global specialties, and president, North America; and Pierre Perez, senior vice president and president, EMEA, will participate in the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference on Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 2 p.m. ET in Boca Raton, Florida. The presentation will be available on the Company's website, www.ingredion.com^[4], in the "Company and Investors" section, under "Investors/Presentations & Presentations/Webcasts."

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), headquartered in the suburbs of Chicago, is a leading global ingredient solutions provider serving customers in more than 120 countries. With 2018 annual net sales of nearly $6 billion, the Company turns grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant materials into value-added ingredients and biomaterial solutions for the food, beverage, paper and corrugating, brewing and other industries. With Ingredion Idea Labs(R) innovation centers around the world and more than 11,000 employees, the Company develops ingredient solutions to meet consumers' evolving needs by making crackers crunchy, yogurt creamy, candy sweet, paper stronger, and adding fiber to nutrition bars. For more information, visit ingredion.com.

CONTACTS:Investors: Heather Kos, 708-551-2592Media: Becca Hary, 708-551-2602

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This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients.The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.Source: Ingredion Incorporated via Globenewswire

Topic: Earnings http://www.acnnewswire.com From the Asia Corporate News Network

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References

1. ^{^} https://bit.ly/2TCKbQF (bit.ly)
2. ^{^} www.ingredion.com (www.ingredion.com)
3. ^{^} www.ingredion.com (www.ingredion.com)
4. ^{^} www.ingredion.com (www.ingredion.com)