Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) is looking for M&A. Ryals McMullian, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said during the 2023 fourth quarter and full year results conference call ?Our fourth priority is smart M&A. M&A has been a key contributor to our growth for decades, expanding our geographic coverage and supplementing our brand lineup. Moving forward, in addition to strengthening our position in core categories by expanding our geographic reach and gaining share in underdeveloped markets, we're also focused on finding new revenue streams across the baked foods category. Baked foods are sold throughout the store, including the deli, center store, and freezer and refrigerator cases in addition to the many out-of-home eating occasions.

Our goal is to identify compelling brands that complement our existing portfolio and skew towards a better-for-you nutritional profile. The M&A market is beginning to show signs of improvement, and I'm more encouraged than I've been in several years by the developing pipeline of potential opportunities. We continue to monitor the deal market.

We're actively building relationships with owners and founders and actively vetting potential acquisitions and investments that could add capabilities, brands or products to our robust existing lineup. Our strong balance sheet positions us well to act when we have financial, commercial and operational conviction. Now I'll turn it over to Steve to review the details of the quarter, and then I'll close with our outlook for the current business environment".

"In closing, I'd like to reiterate that we remain focused on the significant longer-term opportunities we see ahead of us, filling in white space and geographic and product adjacencies, while leveraging innovation to push into new categories. We think the best way to capitalize on those opportunities is by continuing to strengthen our brands organically and through M&A, meeting additional consumer needs by developing new and differentiated products that expand our addressable market. I've never been more confident in our long-term potential, and I look forward to building on our strong base throughout 2024?.