McCORMICK & COMPANY  2008 ANNUAL REPORT

In recent years, our success in identifying and integrating such great businesses as Ducros®, Zatarain’s® and Simply Asia has firmly established McCormick’s reputation as a premier home for unique flavors.        We reaffirmed this position in 2008 with the addition of Lawry’s. At $604 million, this was our largest acquisition ever and clearly a perfect fit for our business. Lawry’s is an iconic brand of seasoning blends and the number-one brand of wet marinades, a new category for McCormick.

With both consumer and food service products, Lawry’s is expected to add 4% to sales and 1% to gross profit margin in its first full year as a McCormick brand.        In 2008, we also acquired Billy Bee Honey Products, the leading brand of natural honey and honey-based products serving both consumer and food service markets in Canada.        Given our strong cash flow from operations and financial flexibility, we expect to continue to grow through acquisitions of niche products in our developed markets and leading brands in new and emerging regions.   continued>>