SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15d of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
---------------------------
Date of Report (Date of earliest
event reported) March 20, 1997
WLR Foods, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Virginia 0-17060 54-1295923
(State of (Commission File (IRS Employer Iden-
Incorporation) Number) tification No.)
P.O. Box 7000 22815
Broadway, Virginia (Zip Code)
(Address of Principal executive offices)
(540) 896-7001
(Registrant's telephone number,
including area code)
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Item 5. Other Events
On March 20, 1997, the company made the announcement in the Press
Release at Exhibit 99.
EXHIBITS
Exhibit 99 Press Release dated March 20, 1997
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<PAGE>
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
WLR Foods, Inc.
By:__/s/_James L. Keeler____________
James L. Keeler
President and
Chief Executive Officer
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<PAGE>
Exhibit 99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Analyst Contact: Stanley H. Gray,
Director of Investor
Relations
540-896-7001
Media Contact: Gail Price, Director of
Corporate Communication
704-624-2171
WLR FOODS ANNOUNCES COMMON STOCK DIVIDEND, CHICKEN EXPANSION AND
NORTH CAROLINA TURKEY REDUCTION
Broadway, Virginia, March 20, 1997 The Board of Directors of WLR
Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: WLRF) declared a stock dividend to be distributed
on May 2, 1997 to its shareholders of record as of April 11, 1997. In
lieu of the regular cash dividend, this dividend will be paid in stock
with .00525 shares being distributed for each share of common stock
outstanding on the record date. Based on yesterday s market close, the
estimated value of the stock dividend will be equivalent in value to a
$0.06 per share cash dividend.
In addition, the company announced plans to increase its total chicken
output by approximately 10% through the expansion of its Goldsboro,
North Carolina chicken complex. Production will be gradually
increased to meet the normally higher demand expected this summer.
When the project is ultimately completed during the first half of
1998, the capacity at this complex will have been doubled to 650,000
birds per week. During the expansion, the company expects to add more
than 100 poultry houses and increase employment at the complex from
the current 400 to nearly 700 people.
The company also announced that it is reducing turkey production in
its Marshville, North Carolina complex where Poult Enteritis Mortality
Syndrome (PEMS) has dramatically affected flock performance. With the
assistance of various experts on PEMS, the company has developed a
plan to contain the impact and spread of the disease by reducing
turkey density in the Union County area and intensifying biosecurity
and management practices. While the company aggressively encourages
and participates in continued research directed at a diagnosis and
cure, it is reducing density by suspending placements on the turkey
farms most severely affected by disease until a solution can be found.
WLR Foods is a fully integrated provider of high quality turkey and
chicken products primarily under the Wampler Foods(R) label and
retail ice under the Cassco(R) label. This $1 billion sales company is
nationally ranked as the seventh largest poultry processor by sales
volume and has processing operations in Virginia, North Carolina, West
Virginia, and Pennsylvania, close to its major mid-Atlantic markets.
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