Gold Kist Inc. to be Added to Russell 2000 and 3000 Indices
ATLANTA, Ga. (December 21, 2004) - Gold Kist Inc. (NASDAQ:GKIS) today announced
that it has been selected to be added to the Russell 2000
Index(R) and Russell 3000(R) Index when the indices are updated during the
fourth quarter of 2004 to reflect companies that recently have completed an
Initial Public Offering. The final lists will be published after the close of
U.S. equity markets on December 17. The quarterly schedule for the addition
of IPOs was accelerated because of the holidays.
"We are very pleased to have been named to the Russell 2000 and Russell
3000 indices," said John Bekkers, president and chief executive officer.
"We believe inclusion in these indices will increase our visibility among
investors as well as provide us with the opportunity to expand our shareholder
base. This milestone provides additional momentum as we continue to execute
our long-term strategy."
Produced by the Frank Russell Company, the Russell 2000 index is a subset of
the Russell 3000, which measures the performance of the 3000 largest U.S.-based
companies ranked by market capitalization. The Russell 2000 is an index of the
2000 smallest companies on the Russell 3000 list.
Gold Kist is the third largest integrated broiler company in the United States,
accounting for more than 9 percent of chicken, or broiler, meat produced in
the United States in 2003. Gold Kist operates a fully-integrated broiler production
business that provides processing, purchasing and marketing services. Gold Kist`s
broiler production operations include nine broiler complexes located in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit
our website at www.goldkist.com.