DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
General Mills Inc. (GIS) slightly boosted its fiscal-year
earnings target for the fourth time, but sees revenue growth
moderating in the coming year as a repeat of recent price increases
aren't expected.
Those hikes, meant to cover higher commodity costs, helped boost
the top line and came at the same time consumers have increasingly
been eating at home, benefiting packaged food companies.
General Mills said Sunday night that earnings for the year ended
May 31 will top its March forecast of $3.87 to $3.89 a share thanks
to "good operating performance" and a lower tax rate. The company
increased its forecast by several cents at a time since giving its
initial fiscal-year profit target a year ago at $3.78 to $3.83.
General Mills - whose brands include Yoplait yogurt and
Progresso soup - said it would give a detailed view for the coming
fiscal year when its fourth-quarter results are released July 1.
But it "expressed comfort" with analysts' mean estimate of $4.15 a
share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
On the sales front, General Mills said that following a year of
sales and volume growth in U.S. retail business - by far its
biggest - it expects sales growth to moderate in the new year
because of a lack of price increases. The segment's revenue was up
10% in the first three quarters of the fiscal year. Currency
impacts are also expected to weigh on revenue in the coming
year.
Shares closed Friday at $52.16 and were inactive premarket. The
stock is down 14% this year.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2473;
tess.stynes@dowjones.com