GENERAL MILLS INC. $50(New York symbol GIS, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 610.1 million; Market cap: $30.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.generalmills.com) earned $345.2 million in its fiscal 2015 first quarter, which ended August 24, 2014. That’s down 24.8% from $459.3 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings fell 21.4%, to $0.55 from $0.70, on fewer shares outstanding.
Without unusual items, such as gains and losses on hedging contracts, earnings per share declined 12.9%, to $0.61 from $0.70. The company launched over 250 new products in the quarter, which increased its operating and advertising costs. Sales fell 2.4%, to $4.3 billion from $4.4 billion, mainly due to weak demand for breakfast cereal in the U.S.
The company expects its new products to boost its sales by 5% in fiscal 2015. General Mills also estimates that a new cost-cutting plan, which includes closing plants, will save it $400 million in the current fiscal year. In the longer term, streamlining its other operations should cut its yearly costs by $152 million by 2017.
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What personal information do we collect?
The information we receive from customers helps us personalize and continually improve your online experience at TSI Network. TSI Network may collect personal information online for all legal purposes, which include, but are not limited to:
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