PITTSBURGH & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2006--H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE:HNZ) said today that it has drawn Fiscal 2006 to a successful close by completing the sale of two additional non-core businesses. This caps a year in which Heinz has substantially reconfigured its European and Asian business units to align with the company's strategy of pursuing faster growth of its leading brands in three core categories: Ketchup and Sauces; Meals and Snacks; and Infant Food.

Heinz has completed the sale of its U.K. chilled prepared foods business to The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. The sale includes one manufacturing site located in Luton, England. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

In the Philippines, Heinz said that it has sold its 50 percent ownership in Heinz-UFC Philippines, Inc. to its partner, Nutri Asia, Inc. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Heinz products will continue to be sold in the Philippines through various distribution arrangements, focusing primarily on the sale of cooking and table sauces under the Heinz(R), Lea & Perrins(R) and HP(R) brand names.

Heinz also said that it has entered advanced and exclusive negotiations with The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. for the proposed sale of its U.K. Frozen meat-free business, including the Linda McCartney(R) brand (under license). The proposed sale would include a manufacturing facility in Fakenham, England. Heinz intends to consult with employees before the transaction is completed. It is expected that the potential sale will be completed in early June.

"We are nearing the completion of the portfolio transformation in Europe which has included the acquisitions of HP Foods and Petrosoyuz and the successful divestitures of European Seafood, HAK(R) Vegetables, the HP Foods Ethnic business, and now the U.K. chilled prepared foods business disposal and the potential Linda McCartney(R) (under license) sale in the U.K. and the U.S.," said Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson. "Our European business is now a leaner and more focused portfolio and we will be growing the retained core businesses with product and packaging innovation."

Mr. Johnson continued: "Encouraged by the strength of our Weight Watchers(R) from Heinz(R) brand, we have decided to retain the brand and drive its growth through innovation and marketing support."

Heinz plans to leverage the successful U.S. frozen blueprint: investing in product quality and taste, and tapping consumer-insight and product development capability to build an innovative new product pipeline.

Heinz also announced that John Garnett, age 37, has been appointed Managing Director of the Heinz European Frozen Food Brands. John joins Heinz from HP Foods, where he spent the past year as Managing Director, delivering excellent growth rates. John has extensive leadership experience and has held various marketing and commercial positions at both Group Danone S.A. and Procter & Gamble.

Globally, Heinz remains on-track to achieve nearly $1 billion in proceeds from disposals by the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2007, as outlined in the September 20th press release.

Including the special dividend paid upon the spin-off of non-core U.S. businesses to Del Monte Foods Co. in late 2002, Heinz has returned more than $4 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases, stock price appreciation and dividends. This has been made possible by continued strong cash flow from operations. The company has generated record cash flow of over $3 billion for the fiscal years of 2003, 2004 and 2005, the best consecutive period in company history.

SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect management's view of future events and financial performance. These statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which may be beyond Heinz's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Uncertainties contained in such statements include, but are not limited to, sales, earnings, and volume growth, general economic, political, and industry conditions, competitive conditions, which affect, among other things, customer preferences and the pricing of products, production, energy and raw material costs, the ability to identify and anticipate and respond through innovation to consumer trends, the need for product recalls, the ability to maintain favorable supplier relationships, achieving cost savings and gross margins objectives, currency valuations and interest rate fluctuations, change in credit ratings, the ability to identify and complete and the timing, pricing and success of acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other strategic initiatives, approval of acquisitions and divestitures by competition authorities, and satisfaction of other legal requirements, the results of shareholder proposals, the success of Heinz's growth and innovation strategy and the ability to limit disruptions to the business resulting from the emphasis on three core categories and potential divestitures, the ability to effectively integrate acquired businesses, new product and packaging innovations, product mix, the effectiveness of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs, supply chain efficiency and cash flow initiatives, risks inherent in litigation, including tax litigation, and international operations, particularly the performance of business in hyperinflationary environments, changes in estimates in critical accounting judgments and other laws and regulations, including tax laws, the success of tax planning strategies, the possibility of increased pension expense and contributions and other people-related costs, the possibility of an impairment in Heinz's investments, and other factors described in "Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 27, 2005. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by the securities laws.

ABOUT HEINZ: H.J. Heinz Company, offering "Good Food, Every Day(TM)," is one of the world's leading marketers and producers of branded foods in ketchup, condiments, sauces, meals, soups, seafood, snacks, and infant foods. Heinz satisfies hungry consumers in every outlet, from supermarkets to restaurants to convenience stores and kiosks. Heinz is a global family of leading brands, including Heinz(R) Ketchup, sauces, soups, beans, pasta and infant foods (representing nearly one-third of total sales or close to $3 billion), HP(R) and Lea & Perrins(R), Ore-Ida(R) french fries and roasted potatoes, Boston Market(R) and Smart Ones(R) meals, and Plasmon(R) baby food. Heinz's 50 companies have number-one or number-two brands in 200 countries, showcased by Heinz(R) Ketchup, The World's Favorite Ketchup(TM). Information on Heinz is available at www.heinz.com/news.

    CONTACT: H.J. Heinz Company
             Media:
             UK: Nigel Dickie, +44 208 848 2726
             North America: Debbie Foster/Michael Mullen/Mike Yeomans:
             412-456-5778
             Investors: Jack Runkel, 412-456-6034

    SOURCE: H.J. Heinz Company