Kroger sees stock split Shareholders updated on Fred Meyer merger BY LISA BIANK FASIG The Cincinnati Enquirer The Kroger Co. couldn't tell hundreds of shareholders Thursday when it will complete its merger with Fred Meyer Inc., but the nation's largest grocery chain did give them a reason to look forward to it: a stock split. Chief Executive Joseph Pichler said the 2-for-1 split will take effect on the first business day, 10 days after completion of the merger. “This decision expresses our continued confidence in the future of the Kroger Co.,” Mr. Pichler said at its annual meeting. “We remain committed to increasing earnings per share by 16 percent to 18 percent beginning in the year 2000 and will continue to do our best to build shareholder value at a rate above our industry.” Kroger's last stock split was in April 1997. The merger with Fred Meyer, announced in October, is expected “to close anytime,” Mr. Pichler said before the meeting. Investors in Kroger reacted to the stock-split news with sighs of relief and hushed cheers. Some shareholders had been concerned about the company's declining stock price. Kroger closed Thursday up $1.75 at $53.621/2, well off its 52-week high of $68.75. “It's up 27 percent from its 52-week low, and it's down 25 percent from its 52-week high,” Cincinnati shareholder Marvin Schram said of Kroger stock. “Great performance to get to where it is, but how come it dropped 25 percent?” Mr. Pichler discussed the declining stock price and said while it is down, it is performing better than its industry peers by 7 to 8 percentage points. He said large, longstanding mergers in the grocery store industry — including Kroger's — have created some uncertainty among investors. Analyst Charles Cerankosky, who covers Kroger for McDonald & Co. Securities, agreed. “Everything seems ready to go and then there's a delay ... people grow bored and disenchanted.” Mr. Cerankosky said he expects Kroger stock to rebound to the $70-a-share level, pre-split. Mr. Pichler said the merger with Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer will give Kroger a major presence in 10 of the 15 fastest-growing markets. Ten cents of every dollar spent in American food stores will land in one of Kroger's registers, and Kroger will have the No. 1 or No. 2 market position in 33 of the country's 100 largest markets. “The Fred Meyer-Kroger combination will create the nation's largest supermarket company,” Mr. Pichler said. “A formidable competitor with the broadest geographic coverage and the widest spectrum of food retailing formats of any player in the industry.” Adding to Mr. Pichler's comments, Bob Miller, chief executive officer of Fred Meyer, said the combined companies “will generate substantial economies” from the ability to order in higher volumes. “The integration planning continues to move rapidly while we wait for the final approval from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), which we expect soon,” said Mr. Miller, who will become chief operating officer and vice chairman of Kroger after the merger. In terms of strategic development, Mr. Pichler said Kroger will continue improving its technology applications, logistics network, brand sales and marketing, and it plans to continue consolidating its support activities. In 1998, Kroger consolidated slow-turn grocery, health and beauty care items and private label products into four warehouses. As a result, it closed 14 satellite warehouses. Most of its divisional distribution functions have been sold to third-party logistics firms, Mr. Pichler said. “Our goal is to reduce costs and benchmark the remaining company-operated distribution centers,” he said. “While still early in the process, we are encouraged by the results.” Also in the meeting, shareholders voted to approve a shareholder proposal for an annual election of directors — though directors still must consider the measure for approval. Kroger elects its directors in three classes, each of which is up for election every three years. More than 100 million shares voted in approval of the measure.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Baytex Energy Corp. Brian Ector Senior Vice President, Capital Markets and Public Affairs Toll Free Number: 1-800-524-5521 investor@baytexenergy.com www.baytexenergy.com

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Baytex Announces 2015 Budget and Change to Dividends Benzinga.com - 12/08/2014 5:30 PM ET Email Article CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Dec. 8, 2014) - Baytex Energy Corp. ("Baytex") (TSX:BTE)(NYSE: BTE ) announces that its Board of Directors has approved a 2015 capital budget of $575 to $650 million, which is designed to generate average production of 88,000 to 92,000 boe/d for 2015 after planned non-core asset sales of approximately 1,000 boe/d. The Board of Directors has also approved a revised dividend level of $0.10 per share per month, down from $0.24 per share per month, currently. Commenting on the announcement, James Bowzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Given the recent collapse in world oil prices, we believe our 2015 budget strikes the right balance between preserving our operational momentum in delivering organic production growth and managing our dividends prudently to maintain strong levels of financial liquidity." The oil price environment has been extremely challenging in the recent months, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price falling from the US$100/bbl level to approximately US$63/bbl today. This precipitous decline in WTI is due largely to the global market for crude oil being fundamentally oversupplied. The current outlook is for this pricing weakness to persist for the coming months. In response to this economic challenge, our 2015 capital budget reflects a reduction of approximately 30% from our original expectation. We expect to deliver modest organic production growth in 2015 despite this reduction in spending. The mid-point of our 2015 production guidance range reflects an organic production growth rate of approximately 4% over the expected 2014 annual average production rate and approximately 2% over the expected second half 2014 average production rate, after adjusting for 2014 acquisition and divestiture activities. This is a testament to the efficiency and quality of the assets within our portfolio. 2015 Capital Budget Highlights

The Kroger Co. (KR) -NYSE 54.07 Up 1.12(2.12%) 4:02PM EDT After Hours : 54.10 Up 0.03 (0.06%) 6:22PM EDT Key Statistics Get Key Statistics for: Data provided by Capital IQ, except where noted. Valuation Measures Market Cap (intraday)5: 26.55B Enterprise Value (Oct 9, 2014)3: 36.96B Trailing P/E (ttm, intraday): 17.70 Forward P/E (fye Feb 1, 2016)1: 14.81 PEG Ratio (5 yr expected)1: 1.37 Price/Sales (ttm): 0.25 Price/Book (mrq): 5.15 Enterprise Value/Revenue (ttm)3: 0.36 Enterprise Value/EBITDA (ttm)6: 7.86 Financial Highlights Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Ends: Feb 1 Most Recent Quarter (mrq): Aug 16, 2014 Profitability Profit Margin (ttm): 1.51% Operating Margin (ttm): 2.76% Management Effectiveness Return on Assets (ttm): 6.69% Return on Equity (ttm): 32.14% Income Statement Revenue (ttm): 103.96B Revenue Per Share (ttm): 206.48 Qtrly Revenue Growth (yoy): 11.60% Gross Profit (ttm): 20.24B EBITDA (ttm)6: 4.70B Net Income Avl to Common (ttm): 1.56B Diluted EPS (ttm): 3.05 Qtrly Earnings Growth (yoy): 9.50% Balance Sheet Total Cash (mrq): 248.00M Total Cash Per Share (mrq): 0.51 Total Debt (mrq): 11.20B Total Debt/Equity (mrq): 223.02 Current Ratio (mrq): 0.77 Book Value Per Share (mrq): 10.28 Cash Flow Statement Operating Cash Flow (ttm): 3.52B Levered Free Cash Flow (ttm): 659.75M View Financials Income Statement - Balance Sheet - Cash Flow Trading Information Stock Price History Beta: 0.97 52-Week Change3: 32.88% S&P500 52-Week Change3: 16.33% 52-Week High (Oct 8, 2014)3: 54.13 52-Week Low (Feb 5, 2014)3: 35.13 50-Day Moving Average3: 51.79 200-Day Moving Average3: 48.54 Share Statistics Avg Vol (3 month)3: 2,658,240 Avg Vol (10 day)3: 3,147,220 Shares Outstanding5: 491.09M Float: 459.53M % Held by Insiders1: 6.06% % Held by Institutions1: 81.20% Shares Short (as of Sep 15, 2014)3: 9.74M Short Ratio (as of Sep 15, 2014)3: 3.60 Short % of Float (as of Sep 15, 2014)3: 2.00% Shares Short (prior month)3: 8.86M Dividends & Splits Forward Annual Dividend Rate4: 0.74 Forward Annual Dividend Yield4: 1.40% Trailing Annual Dividend Yield3: 0.66 Trailing Annual Dividend Yield3: 1.30% 5 Year Average Dividend Yield4: 1.90% Payout Ratio4: 21.00% Dividend Date3: Dec 1, 2014 Ex-Dividend Date4: Nov 12, 2014 Last Split Factor (new per old)2: 2:1 Last Split Date3: Jun 29, 1999

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