General Mills 4Q Profit Rises, Forecast Misses

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Food maker General Mills said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income climbed 13 percent, helped by contributions from new businesses and strong sales overseas.

But its fiscal 2014 adjusted earnings forecast came in slightly below analysts' estimates, and General Mills Inc. shares dipped slightly before the market open.

The company, whose products include Cheerios cereal and Nature Valley granola bars, earned $366.3 million, or 55 cents per share, for the period ended May 26. That's up from $325.4 million, or 49 cents per share, a year ago.

Removing certain items, earnings were 53 cents per share. That matched the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue for the Minneapolis company rose 8 percent to $4.41 billion from $4.07 billion. General Mills said that new businesses, like Yoplait Canada and Brazilian food company Yoki Alimentos, gave a boost to its results.

Wall Street was looking for $4.32 billion in revenue.

Internationally, revenue climbed 27 percent to $1.4 billion. Revenue for the U.S. retail unit rose 2 percent to $2.5 billion.

For the year, General Mills Inc. earned $1.86 billion, or $2.79 per share. A year earlier the company earned $1.57 billion, or $2.35 per share. Adjusted earnings were $2.69 per share.

Annual revenue increased 7 percent to $17.77 billion from $16.66 billion.

General Mills anticipates fiscal 2014 adjusted earnings of $2.87 to $2.90 per share. Analysts predict earnings of $2.93 per share.

Shares fell 35 cents to $47.98 in premarket trading about two hours before the market opening.

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