General Mills Net Widens

NEW YORK - Dec 21/06 - SNS -- General Mills, Inc. reported net earnings of U.S. $385 million on sales of $3,467 million for the second quarter ending November 26, compared to a net of $370 million on sales of $3,293 million during the same three month period last year.

This lifted net earnings for the first half of the current fiscal year to $652 million on sales of $6,327 million, up from a net of $622 million on sales of $5,972 million the first half of the previous fiscal year.

Net sales for General Mills' domestic retail operations grew 3% in the second quarter to $2.44 billion, driven by 2% unit volume growth and net price realization. Operating profits outpaced sales growth, increasing 8% to $596 million. The margin expansion reflected favorable pricing and mix, along with productivity savings.

Net sales for the Snacks division grew 7%, driven by Caribou Coffee Bars and new varieties of Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Nut bars and Chex Mix. Yoplait net sales grew 6%, reflecting continued strong performance from core product lines. Both the Meals division and Pillsbury USA reported net sales increases of 4%.

Meals division growth included good contributions from Progresso soup, Old El Paso Mexican foods and new Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles products. The 4% sales increase for Pillsbury USA reflected gains on core refrigerated dough products, such as Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel and Totino's Pizza Rolls.

Big G cereal net sales rose 2%, with contributions from new products such as Fruity Cheerios and established brands including Cocoa Puffs and Fiber One. Baking Products net sales were 4% below strong prior-year levels. Net sales for the company's Small Planet Foods organic business grew 19%.

Subscribers can read the full text of the article by Clicking here