GIS General Mills Inc

By Micah Maidenberg

General Mills Inc. said it believes the coronavirus pandemic will continue to drive up demand for food consumers can eat at home as it reported a stronger profit for its latest quarter.

The maker of Cheerios, Nature Valley granola bars, pet food and other products on Wednesday reported net income attributable to the company of $595.7 million for its fiscal third quarter, up from $454.1 million a year earlier.

Profit rose to 96 cents from 74 cents on a per-share basis. General Mills also reported an adjusted profit of 82 cents a share, 2 cents short of the consensus estimate as compiled by FactSet.

The company said it generated revenue of $4.52 billion, up 8% year over year and ahead of the $4.45 billion that analysts had predicted.

Sales for the company's business selling food to retailers with locations in the U.S. and Canada rose 9% in the latest quarter to $2.73 billion.

That gain was helped along by a 15% increase in net sales for its meals and baking items in the U.S. and a 9% rise in cereal sales in the market.

However, the company reported some higher costs for inflation as well as for logistics expenses in the North America retail unit.

General Mills' latest quarter ended Feb. 28 and therefore covered parts of a winter surge in new Covid-19 cases in many markets. Like other food manufacturers, the company has seen stronger demand as consumers spend more time at their homes during the pandemic.

"General Mills expects that changes in consumer behaviors driven by the Covid-19 pandemic will result in ongoing elevated consumer demand for food at home, relative to pre-pandemic levels," it said Wednesday.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2021 07:39 ET (11:39 GMT)

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