General Mills Reports $242 M Profit

MINNEAPOLIS - Mar 16/04 - SNS -- General Mills, Inc. reported a quarterly after tax earnings of U.S. $242 million on sales of $2.70 billion for the 13 weeks ending Feb. 22, 2004.

Sales were up 2% from last year and profits rose $2 million, putting diluted earnings per share (EPS) at 63 cents, matching the results in last year's third quarter. The company noted net results include certain costs primarily related to the company's acquisition of Pillsbury in fiscal 2002.

Through nine months, General Mills net sales grew 4% to $8.28 billion. Earnings after tax grew 12% to $777 million, and diluted EPS increased 10% to $2.03. These results include nine months of cumulative restructuring, other exit and merger-related costs totaling $48 million pre-tax, $31 million after tax in fiscal 2004, and $101 million pre-tax, $66 million after tax in fiscal 2003.

General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Sanger said, "Our third quarter results were disappointing, and reflect the impact of higher supply chain costs and soft unit volumes. We are introducing a number of new products, some of which address consumers' current interest in lower carbohydrate choices. These new product introductions will be supported with increased levels of marketing spending in the fourth quarter. Because this is a 53-week fiscal year, we'll also benefit from an extra week in the fourth quarter. We expect these factors to improve our volume trend."

The subscriber version of the article is available by Clicking here