Employees of Hormel Foods Corp. received an annual bonus right before the holidays on Wednesday.

Hormel Foods Corp. distributed an annual profit sharing of $17.8 million to eligible hourly and salaried employees, something it’s made a tradition for 77 years on the day before Thanksgiving.

“For 77 straight consecutive years, the company has chosen to share some of the profit with the employees, and this year with our finical results that we announced earlier this week we’re really excited because it’s an all-time record high, $17.8 million, that we can share with our employees today,” Tim Fritz, manager of the Austin plant, said Wednesday morning. “It’s a fantastic day.”

Workers throughout the day will hear about the company’s annual performance, as well as the Austin plant’s efforts, before they receive checks. On Tuesday, the company reported 2015 earnings of $686.1 million, or $2.54 per share, on revenue of $9.26 billion.

Many employees are grateful for the opportunity to receive the profit sharing.

“It’s something we really look forward to every year, we really appreciate it,” Dave Schmidt, who works in meat products manufacturing, said.

Schmidt, who’s worked with the company for 30 years, plans to use the extra money to pay off bills and take his family out, among other things.

“We’re glad they do it,” he said.

Fritz said the profit sharing is all about appreciating the employees.

“The employees work 365 days out of the year, but they’re the ones that drive the results that we report one day out of the year, and we celebrate it and we’re proud of our legacy and our heritage and our financial success,” he said. “And it’s really a way of showing the appreciation of the employees that work so hard every day to make those results happen.”

For Marcie Anderson, who works in smoked meats 105, the check is a welcome gift to help pay for Christmas presents.

“It’s exciting,” she said. “Everybody’s counting on you bringing money home for them to get Christmas presents.”

“I think it’s a very nice gesture to give to people and show them what they get for working hard,” she added.

Marcie has worked with the company for about seven years. She is glad to be at a company she knows is stable, where she doesn’t have to worry that the economy might create layoffs.

Cody Anderson, who’s worked at the company for about eight years and is the superintendent of cured and smoked meats, helped pass out some of the checks this year.

“I think it’s a great time of year to actually hand out a little extra money to the people that work for the company, help make this company as profitable as it is today,” he said. “Everyone’s got a bright smile today, everyone’s excited to be at work today, and it’s fun to be a part of that. I really enjoy this, it’s a day that we all look forward to every year.”

Cody said on this day, he feels a little bit like Santa Claus.

Hormel’s profit sharing program was started by Jay C. Hormel in 1938 and is voluntarily paid at the discretion of the company’s board of directors.

Break down of sharing

Amount Hormel shared with employees in 2015 — $17.8M

Amount Hormel shared with employees in 2014 — $17.4M

Amount Hormel shared with employees in 2013 — $17M

Amount Hormel shared with employees in 2012 — $16.9M