SARA LEE REPORTS STRONG FISCAL 2010 FIRST QUARTER; RAISES GUIDANCE
 Diluted earnings per share of $0.41, compared to $0.32 in the prior year first quarter
 Company raises guidance for fiscal 2010 Adjusted EPS¹ by $0.06 ($0.90 to $0.96 per share)
 Adjusted operating income increased 79.2%; operating income up 10.7%
 Cash flow from operations of $187 million, an increase of $225 million
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (Nov. 5, 2009) – Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) today reported significant operating
income growth for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, primarily driven by strong performance in the North
American business segments and lower corporate expenses. Net sales fell as a result of unfavorable foreign
currency exchange rates, volume declines and strategic business exits. Cash from operations was very strong,
driven by higher operating income, favorable working capital and lower pension contributions.
“I’m very pleased with our first quarter performance, which demonstrates substantial bottom-line
improvement,” said Sara Lee Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Brenda C. Barnes. “A number of
factors contributed to our results, including lower input costs, Project Accelerate cost savings and pricing
discipline. At the same time, we’re increasing or maintaining our market share positions in many of our key
categories behind important new products such as Hillshire Farm Family Size lunchmeat tubs, Jimmy Dean
D-Lights breakfast sandwiches and various new Senseo coffee pods in our international markets. The
combination of these factors allows us to both raise our EPS guidance for fiscal 2010 and to increase our
investment in a full pipeline of growth opportunities. We continue to spend more toward our consumers and
expect MAP spending to be up for the year.”
Barnes added, “During the quarter, we announced that we received a binding offer of €1.275 billion from
Unilever for our global body care and European detergents businesses. This enables us to focus on our core
food and beverage businesses. We are confident that we will soon divest the remainder of the segment.”
Financial Review
Net Sales from Continuing Operations
Net sales from continuing operations for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, ending Sept. 26, 2009, were
$2.6 billion, a 7.4% decrease over the comparable period last year. The decline in net sales was primarily
driven by unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates, the impact of divestitures and planned business exits
made during the past year and lower unit volumes. The company’s adjusted net sales from continuing
operations decreased 3.3% in the first quarter as a result of lower volumes and planned business exits.

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