General Mills 3Q Sales Rise 8% As Consumers Continue Eating At Home -- Update
March 24 2021 - 8:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Micah Maidenberg
General Mills Inc. continued to benefit during its latest
quarter from consumers buying food to eat at home amid the
pandemic, but reported some rising costs cut into profit
growth.
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.
Higher input costs and a rise in expenses for logistics
partially weighed on operating earnings and margins, following
adjustments, Chief Financial Officer Kofi Bruce said in prepared
remarks.
An operating margin of 15.8% was modestly below expectations, he
said.
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 comparable net
sales for its meals and baking items in the U.S. and a 9% rise in
cereal sales in the market.
However, sales for convenience stores and other foodservice
outlets declined 10% to $417 million during the quarter, reflecting
weaker traffic at those stores, it said.
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 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
General Mills (NYSE:GIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
General Mills (NYSE:GIS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024