TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Farmer
Bros. Co. (Nasdaq:FARM) today announced that Roger "Rocky" Laverty has
been elected to the Board of Directors and will become Chief Executive
Officer effective in December 2007. He has served since 2006 as
President and Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Laverty, 60, will succeed Guenter
Berger, 70, as CEO. Mr. Berger will continue as Chairman of the Board
after retiring in December 2007 after 47 years with the Company.
The Board also elected James J. McGarry,
53, an attorney, as an independent Director. The two newly named
Directors filled vacancies created by two retirements: Lewis A. Coffman,
88, who served Farmer Bros. for 60 years, including 24 years on the
Board, and Kenneth R. Carson, 67, who served Farmer Bros. for 42 years,
including three years on the Board. Mr. Coffman was Vice President of
Sales from 1981 to 1986 and Mr. Carson was Vice President of Sales from
1990 to 2004.
Finally, for the eleventh consecutive
year, the Board approved an increase in the Company's dividends to
shareholders.
Mr. Laverty earlier served two years as
President and Chief Executive Officer of Diedrich Coffee, a specialty
coffee roaster, and 19 years with Smart & Final, a Los Angeles-based
food retailer, where his positions included CEO, COO and General
Counsel. He is a resident of Manhattan Beach, Calif. and received his
law and bachelor's degrees from Stanford University.
Mr. McGarry has been a partner of McGarry
& Laufenberg, of El Segundo, CA since 1995, and was a partner in other
law firms bearing his name since 1984. His experience has been as a
litigator and a mediator. A graduate of Loyola University and Loyola Law
School, Mr. McGarry resides in Redondo Beach, Calif.
"Rocky has the skills and experience -
and the solid grounding in this business - that will help him drive
Farmer Bros. forward," said Mr. Berger. "Ken and Lew, during their many
decades with this Company, provided invaluable support and guidance. We
will miss their counsel and contributions. We are pleased that Jim
McGarry will bring his independent voice and broad business experience
as the Board navigates a period of quickening change."
"I am very excited about the Company's
future, and look forward to continuing to work closely with Guenter on a
smooth transition of executive leadership, and on our plans and
strategies to position the Company for long-term stability and growth,"
said Mr. Laverty. "The pace of change at Farmer Bros. is accelerating
and Farmer Bros. team members continue to work hard to maintain our high
standards of quality and customer service while we seek to expand and
improve our operations.
"Our April 27, 2007 acquisition of Coffee
Bean Intl. was the Company's first in nearly 30 years, and given the
right opportunity it surely won't be our last. We have made good
progress integrating CBI into Farmer Bros. and are excited about our
future together," Mr. Laverty added. "Farmer Bros. has all of the
elements for sustainable success: dedicated and hard-working people,
deep capital resources and great traditions and brands."
The Board of Directors declared a
quarterly dividend of $0.115 per share for shareholders of record on
Oct. 26, 2007, payable on Nov. 12, 2007.
The Board scheduled the Company's annual
meeting of shareholders for Dec. 6, 2007, and set Oct. 7, 2007 as the
record date. The meeting will be held at the Company's headquarters in
Torrance.
About Farmer Bros.
Farmer Bros. Co. is an institutional
coffee roaster that sells a variety of coffee and allied products to the
food service industry. The Company's signature trucks and vans bearing
the "Consistently Good" logo are seen throughout Farmer Brothers'
28-state service area. Farmer Brothers has paid a dividend in every year
since 1953, increased its dividend in every year since 1997, and its
stock price has risen on a split-adjusted basis from $1.80 a share in
1980. For more information, go to:
www.farmerbroscousa.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this
press release regarding the risks, circumstances and financial trends
that may affect our future operating results, financial position and
cash flows are not based on historical fact and are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and
regulations. These statements are based on management's current
expectations, assumptions, estimates and observations of future events
and include any statements that do not directly relate to any historical
or current fact. These forward-looking statements can be identified by
the use of words like "anticipates," "feels," "estimates," "projects,"
"expects," "plans," "believes," "intends," "will," "assumes" and other
words of similar meaning. Owing to the uncertainties inherent in
forward-looking statements, actual results could differ materially from
those set forth in forward-looking statements. We intend these
forward-looking statements to speak only at the time of this report and
do not undertake to update or revise these statements as more
information becomes available except as required under federal
securities laws and the rules and regulations of the SEC. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, fluctuations
in availability and cost of green coffee, competition, organizational
changes, the impact of a weaker economy, business conditions in the
coffee industry and food industry in general, the Company's continued
success in attracting new customers, variances from budgeted sales mix
and growth rates, and weather and special or unusual events, as well as
other risks described in this report and the quarterly reports filed by
the Company on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K and other factors described from
time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC.