General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Inc shares slipped 5% to $76.68 in early Wednesday trading as the parent company of brands such as Cheerios and Pillsbury reported fourth-quarter 2023 revenue that rose 3% year over year to $5.030 billion, but fell short of the $5.177 billion FactSet consensus.
General Mills (NYSE:GIS) attributed the sales increase to “positive organic net price realization and mix,” although its 4Q gross margin fell 189 basis points to 34.4% of sales, due to higher input costs and unfavorable mark-to-market effects, which were partially offset by higher pricing.
Meanwhile, the company's profit for the period declined to $614.9 million, or $1.03 a share, from $822.8 million, or $1.35 a share, a year earlier, while its adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.12, edging past Wall Street expectations of $1.07.
General Mills also announced a 9% hike in its quarterly dividend to $0.59 per share, payable August 1, 2023, to shareholders of record July 10, 2023.
For fiscal year 2024, the company is expecting adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to rise 4% to 6% in constant currency.
Shares of General Mills are down 8% year to date but up 9% over the past 52 weeks.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com