1998 Annual Report --
Contents || Corporate ListingsReport of Independent Accountants
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of Kellogg Company
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheet and the related consolidated statements of earnings, of shareholders' equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Kellogg Company and its subsidiaries at December 31, 1998 and 1997, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1998, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards which require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for the opinion expressed above.
As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company changed its method of accounting for business process reengineering costs effective October 1, 1997.
Battle Creek, Michigan
January 29, 1999
Supplemental Financial Information (unaudited)
Quantitative & qualitative disclosures related to market-risk-sensitive instruments
The Company is exposed to certain market risks which exist as a part of its ongoing business operations and uses derivative financial and commodity instruments, where appropriate, to manage these risks. The Company, as a matter of policy, does not engage in trading or speculative transactions. Refer to Note 11 within Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on accounting policies related to derivative financial and commodity instruments.
Foreign exchange risk
The Company is exposed to fluctuations in foreign currency cash flows related to third party purchases, intercompany product shipments, and intercompany loans. The Company is also exposed to fluctuations in the value of foreign currency investments in subsidiaries and cash flows related to repatriation of these investments. Additionally, the Company is exposed to volatility in the translation of foreign currency earnings to U.S. Dollars. Primary exposures include the U.S. Dollar versus the British Pound, member currencies of the European Monetary Union, Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, and Mexican Peso, and in the case of inter-subsidiary transactions, the British Pound versus other European currencies. The Company assesses foreign currency risk based on transactional cash flows and enters into forward contracts and other commitments to sell foreign currency revenues, all of generally less than twelve months duration, to reduce fluctuations in net long or short currency positions. No borrowings were outstanding under commitments to sell foreign currency revenues at December 31, 1998 or 1997. As of December 31, 1998, the Company had committed to borrowings during 1999 in the cumulative principle amount of approximately $280 million.
The tables below summarize forward contracts held at year-end 1998 and 1997. All contracts are valued in U.S. Dollars using year-end exchange rates, are hedges of anticipated transactions (unless indicated otherwise), and mature within one year.
Interest rate risk
The Company is exposed to interest rate volatility with regard to future issuances of fixed rate debt and existing issuances of variable rate debt. Primary exposures include movements in U.S. Treasury rates, London Interbank Offered rates (LIBOR), and commercial paper rates. The Company uses interest rate caps, and currency and interest rate swaps, including forward swaps, to reduce interest rate volatility and funding costs associated with certain debt issues, and to achieve a desired proportion of variable versus fixed rate debt, based on current and projected
market conditions.
The tables below provide information on the Company's significant debt issues and related hedging instruments at year-end 1998 and 1997. For foreign currency-denominated debt, the information is presented in U.S. Dollar equivalents. Variable interest rates are based on effective rates or implied forward rates as of year-end 1998. Refer to Note 6 within the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information.
(a) Effective fixed interest rate paid, as a result of settlement of forward interest rate swap at date of debt issuance. (b) Effective fixed interest rate paid, as a result of extendable feature. Refer to Note 6 within Notes to Consoidated Financial Statements for further information. (c) $400 million of commercial paper classified in long-term debt as of year-end 1997. Refer to Note 6 within Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information. |
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(a) Under the terms of this swap, if three-month LIBOR falls to 4.71% or below, the swap will expire. At year-end 1998, three-month LIBOR was 5.07%. (b) Under the terms of this cap, if the Federal Reserve AA composite rate on 30-day commercial paper increases to 7.68% or above, the cap will expire. At year-end 1998 the rate was 4.90%. |
Price risk
The Company is exposed to price fluctuations primarily as a result of anticipated purchases of raw and packaging materials. Primary exposures include corn, wheat, soybean oil, and sugar. The Company uses the combination of long cash positions with vendors, and exchange-traded futures and option contracts to reduce price fluctuations in a desired percentage of forecasted purchases over a duration of generally less than one year. The fair values of commodity contracts held at year-end 1998 and 1997 were insignificant, and potential near-term changes in commodity prices are not expected to have a significant impact on the Company's future earnings or cash flows.
For all derivative financial instruments presented in the tables above, changes in fair values of these instruments and the resultant impact on the Company's cash flows and/or earnings would generally be offset by changes in values of underlying transactions and positions. Therefore, it should be noted that the exclusion of certain of the underlying exposures from the tables above may be a limitation in assessing the net market risk of the Company.