DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (Aug. 5, 2009) – Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) today announced that its review of fourth quarter and year-end fiscal 2009 earnings will be broadcast live via the Internet on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009, at 9 a.m. CDT. The company will review the fourth quarter and year-end fiscal 2009 earnings and take questions from analysts. The webcast can be accessed at www.saralee.com.
For people who are unable to listen to the webcast live, the replay will be available at
7 p.m. CDT on Aug. 12, 2009,

Fiscal 2009 diluted EPS of $.52 versus $(.11) in fiscal 2008; adjusted EPS of $.84 versus $.82, respectively
Net cash from operating activities of $900 million compared to $606 million last year
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (Aug. 12, 2009) – Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) reported net sales of $3.2 billion
for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, ending June 27, 2009, a decline of 9.8% compared to $3.5 billion in the
comparable period last year. For fiscal 2009, net sales were $12.9 billion, a decrease of 2.5% compared to
$13.2 billion in the prior year. Net sales increased in the North American fresh bakery and retail segments,
up 8.5% and 5.9% respectively, but these increases were more than offset by the impact of unfavorable
foreign currency exchange rates, most notably the euro, and divestitures made during the year.
Adjusted net sales¹ decreased 1.3% in the fourth quarter, but increased 2.7% in fiscal 2009. Adjusted net
sales exclude acquisitions/divestitures and present fiscal 2008 net sales at fiscal 2009 foreign currency
exchange rates.
“I am pleased to report that we’ve just completed our second consecutive year of strong overall
performance, despite tough economic and competitive headwinds,” said Brenda C. Barnes, chairman and
chief executive officer of Sara Lee Corp. “Our 2009 results reflect the significant progress we have made in
transforming Sara Lee and focusing the company on core businesses with large and growing brands in
important categories. We’ve dramatically improved efficiencies and productivity across the board, while
fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. We’ve built a solid foundation and will continue to
invest in the future. We are confident that we will continue to execute our growth strategy in fiscal 2010
and in the years to come,” she added.
Sara Lee reported fourth quarter operating income of $65 million, compared to an operating loss of
$506 million for the year-ago period, while adjusted operating income was $331 million, down 6.2%
compared to the year-ago period. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the company incurred non-cash, pre-tax
impairment charges of $207 million associated with goodwill balances and other long-lived assets at the
Spanish bakery business, as well as $61 million of other charges for significant items (as detailed on page 13).
For the fiscal year, the company reported operating income of $713 million in fiscal 2009, up significantly
from $260 million in fiscal 2008. Adjusted operating income was $1.02 billion in fiscal 2009, compared to
$1.0 billion in the prior year, an increase of 1.9%. Adjusted operating income excludes the impact of
significant items, contingent sale proceeds and acquisitions/divestitures and presents fiscal 2008 results at
fiscal 2009 foreign currency exchange rates.
Fourth quarter results were a net loss of $14 million in fiscal 2009 compared to a net loss of $672 million last
year primarily due to significant impairment charges in both years. Diluted EPS as reported were a loss of
$(.02) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 versus a loss of $(.95) in the year-ago period.
1 The financial measures referred to as “adjusted” are reconciled to each item’s most comparable U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles measure at the end of this release.

For the fiscal year, the company reported net income per diluted share of $.52, compared to a loss of
$(.11) per share in the prior year. Fiscal 2009 diluted EPS as reported, included several significant items that
had a net negative impact of $.53 per share, as shown in the table on page 12, while significant items in fiscal
2008 had a net negative impact of $1.12 per share.
Adjusted EPS were $.84 in fiscal 2009, compared to $.82 per share in fiscal 2008.
Other Highlights
 Net cash from operating activities was $900 million in fiscal 2009, compared to $606 million in
fiscal 2008. This year-over-year increase was primarily driven by improvements in working capital,
partially offset by higher pension contributions.
 Media advertising and promotion (MAP) spending decreased 15.4% in fiscal 2009, partially due to a shift
from MAP spending to trade spending in the challenging economic environment, as well as the impact of
foreign currency exchange rates and lower media and agency costs.
 Net interest expense was $125 million for fiscal 2009, an increase of $25 million compared to
fiscal 2008, primarily due to lower interest income.
 General corporate expenses were $256 million in fiscal 2009, compared to $232 million in fiscal 2008,
an increase primarily due to $18 million in unrealized mark-to-market losses on commodity derivative
contracts in fiscal 2009 compared to gains of $22 million in fiscal 2008.
 In fiscal 2009, the corporation repurchased 11.4 million shares of its common stock at an average price
of $9.01 per share, for a total cost of $103 million. The company did not repurchase any shares of its
common stock in the fourth quarter. At the end of fiscal 2009, approximately 13.5 million shares
remained authorized by the board of directors for repurchase.
 The effective tax rate for fiscal 2009 was 38.1%, compared to 125.6% in fiscal 2008. For further detail
on the tax rate, see page 14 of this release.
 On March 30, 2009, Sara Lee announced that it is reviewing strategic options for its international
household and body care business after receiving expressions of interest. The company is currently
considering all alternatives for the segment, including the option to divest the business.
 Project Accelerate, the company’s series of global cost reduction and efficiency projects, is well under
way. As Sara Lee evaluated many efficiency initiatives over the past couple of months, it has found
additional opportunities. As a result, the company now expects more than $300 million of one-time
charges, predominantly front-end loaded in fiscal 2009 and 2010, and anticipates annualized savings in
the range of $350 to $400 million by fiscal 2012.
Business Performance Review
North American Retail
 Net sales increased 1.7% to $695 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, primarily driven by
favorable sales mix at retail and pricing actions, which were slightly offset by lower non-retail
commodity meat sales. Adjusted net sales also increased 1.7%.
 Operating segment income was $63 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $44 million in the yearago
period. The increase was primarily the result of much lower significant items versus a year-ago,
improved retail sales mix, pricing actions and continuous improvements savings, which more than
offset higher MAP spending and consumer research investments. Adjusted operating segment income
was $64 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $77 million in the prior year’s period.
 Net sales for the full year increased 5.9% to $2.8 billion. Adjusted net sales also increased 5.9%.
 Operating segment income for the full year was $260 million, compared to $155 million last year, an
increase of 67.9%, while adjusted operating segment income increased 37.7%.
Unit volumes decreased 1.9% in the fourth quarter, consisting of 2.0% lower volumes for retail and 1.3%
lower volumes for non-retail commodity meats (see footnote on page 11). Strong unit volumes for Hillshire
Farm smoked sausage, Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and State Fair cocktail sausage were more than offset
by the impact of the phasing out of the commodity meats business and the exit of the kosher meats business,
as well as SKU rationalization and the impact of re-sizing of certain products to deliver more consumer
preferred price points. For the full year, unit volumes for the segment decreased 2.0%.

North American Fresh Bakery
 Net sales increased 1.0% to $560 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, driven by higher selling
prices and unit volume growth. Adjusted net sales also rose 1.0%.
 Operating segment income was $24 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $29 million in the yearago
period. The decrease was primarily driven by severance costs, the costs to close a bakery and
unfavorable sales mix. Adjusted operating segment income was $30 million, compared to $32 million
in the prior year.
 Net sales for the full year increased 8.5% to $2.2 billion. Adjusted net sales also rose 8.5%.
 Operating segment income for the full year was $33 million, compared to $60 million in fiscal 2008, a
decrease primarily driven by a $31 million charge in the second quarter for a partial withdrawal liability
relating to a multi-employer pension plan. Adjusted operating segment income was $70 million,
compared to $63 million in the prior year.
Unit volumes increased 0.7% in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by volume growth in non-branded
bakery products due to the gain of non-branded business in additional retail stores, as well as consumer
trade-down to private label breads. Unit volumes for the segment were up 3.2% for the full year.
North American Foodservice
 Net sales of $454 million were 15.5% lower in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, primarily due to the
divestiture of both the DSD foodservice coffee and the sauces and dressings businesses earlier in the
year, as well as lower unit volumes in the weak foodservice market, which were partially offset by
higher pricing. Adjusted net sales were down 3.3%.
 Operating segment income was $38 million in the fourth quarter versus a loss of $408 million in the
year-ago period, the latter primarily due to impairment charges. Fiscal 2009 fourth quarter results were
driven by continuous improvement savings and lower commodity costs. Adjusted operating segment income
increased 30.8% to $39 million.
 Net sales for the full year were $2.1 billion, down 4.3%. Adjusted net sales increased 0.9%.
 Operating segment income for the full year was $54 million, compared to a loss of $302 million last
year. Adjusted operating segment income increased 21.2% for the year.
Unit volumes decreased 5.1% in the fourth quarter, as strong growth in private label refrigerated dough
products could not fully offset volume softness in other categories due to the weak economy and planned
business exits in foodservice meats. Unit volumes were down 4.2% for the year.
International Beverage
 Net sales decreased 13.6% to $761 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, primarily due to
unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and lower unit volumes, which were partially offset by the
impact of the Café Moka acquisition in Brazil earlier in fiscal 2009. Adjusted net sales declined 1.3%.
 Operating segment income was $110 million, a decrease of 36.1% compared to $172 million in the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, primarily due to unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates, higher
charges for restructuring actions and lower unit volumes. Adjusted operating segment income
decreased 10.7% to $140 million.
 Net sales for the full year decreased 5.4% to $3.0 billion. Adjusted net sales rose 2.5%.
 Operating segment income for the full year decreased 10.8% to $488 million from $547 million, while
adjusted operating segment income declined 0.7% for the year.
Unit volumes, excluding acquisitions/divestitures, decreased 1.8% in the fourth quarter, as strong roast and
ground coffee volumes in Brazil and instant coffee volumes in the United Kingdom, Australia and Thailand
could not fully offset lower unit volumes in Europe due to competition from private label and hard
discounters. International beverage unit volumes were down 2.8% for the year.

International Bakery
 Net sales decreased 22.8% to $187 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, primarily driven by
unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and significantly lower unit volumes in the Spanish fresh
bakery business, which were partially offset by the impact of earlier price increases. Adjusted net sales
declined 9.1%.
 The segment reported an operating segment loss of $200 million in the fourth quarter, primarily due to
$207 million in non-cash impairment charges for goodwill balances and other long-lived assets at the
Spanish bakery business. The segment reported a loss of $385 million in the year-ago period due to
$400 million in impairment charges. Adjusted operating segment income was $15 million, compared to
$14 million in the prior-year period.
 Net sales for the full year decreased 14.9% to $790 million, while adjusted net sales decreased 6.5%.
 The segment reported an operating segment loss of $193 million for the full year, compared to a loss of
$346 million for fiscal 2008. Adjusted operating segment income for the full year was $52 million,
down 13.9% compared to $60 million in fiscal 2008.
Unit volumes decreased 11.3% in the fourth quarter, primarily resulting from significantly lower unit
volumes in the Spanish fresh bakery business as consumers continued to trade down to private label breads
in the very challenging economy, as well as from loss of business from a large customer and lower
refrigerated dough exports. Unit volumes for the year were down 11.6%.
International Household and Body Care
 Net sales decreased 16.6% to $514 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, due to unfavorable
foreign currency exchange rates and lower unit volumes, partially offset by pricing. Adjusted net sales
decreased 3.1%.
 Operating segment income decreased 30.1% to $82 million in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by
unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates and lower unit volumes, which were partially offset by
lower MAP spending and other SG&A costs. Adjusted operating segment income decreased 21.4% in
the fourth quarter to $83 million.
 Net sales for the full year decreased 11.6% to $2.0 billion, while adjusted net sales decreased 2.0%.
 Operating segment income for the full year decreased 23.1% to $242 million, while adjusted operating
segment income decreased 12.7% to $252 million in that period.
Unit volumes decreased 5.4% in the fourth quarter, primarily driven by soft unit volumes in air care due to
the discretionary nature of this product category. Unit volumes for deodorants were strong, driven by new
product launches such as Sanex NaturProtect in the United Kingdom, France and Spain. In fiscal 2009, unit
volumes for the segment decreased 3.2%.
Guidance
Sara Lee currently expects full-year fiscal 2010 diluted EPS from continuing operations to be in the range
of $1.03 to $1.09 per share, which includes $.19 per share of contingent sale proceeds received in the first
quarter of fiscal 2010 from the sale of its tobacco business in fiscal 1999. Looking at the business segments,
Sara Lee currently expects five out of six businesses to show an increase in adjusted operating segment
income in fiscal 2010. The single exception to this is North American foodservice as a result of continuing
industry-wide pressure affecting most foodservice manufacturers and operators. The guidance does not
include any significant items that may occur in fiscal 2010, such as one-time expenses related to Project
Accelerate. Actual results may differ from this guidance due to future significant events that may occur, the
nature, timing and financial impact of which are not yet known.