General Mills beats quarterly expectations and raises dividend
General Mills Inc. posted fourth-quarter net income of $822.8 million, or $1.35 per share, nearly double $416.8 million, or 68 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of $1.12, ahead of the FactSet consensus for $1.01 per share. Sales of $4.891 billion were up from $4.524 billion last year and also beat the FactSet consensus for $4.805 billion. General Mills raised its quarterly dividend by 6% to 54 cents per share, payable on August 1, 2022 to shareholders of record as of July 8, 2022. General Mills brands include Cheerios, Chex Mix and Old El Paso. The company has redesigned its portfolio over the past year, adding pet treats brands like Nudges and divesting its European yogurt business, for instance. The company says these moves will have an impact on the company long term, while consumer health and inflation, as well as supply chain disruptions, particularly during the first half of fiscal 2023, will have an impact on results for the coming year. General Mills is guiding for an organic net sales increase of 4% to 5%. The FactSet consensus is for $18.889 billion, implying 4.2% growth. General Mills shares rose 1.8% in Wednesday premarket trading and are up 4.3% for the year to date. The broader S&P 500 index is down nearly 20% for the period. See also: McCormick's stock takes a dive after profit misses expectations, sales surprisingly falls
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