General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Inc. reported sales growth in the financial first quarter but a drop in earnings reflecting “a resilient but increasingly cautious consumer.”
The branded consumer foods company said net income for the quarter ended August 27 fell to $673.5 million, or $1.14 a share, from $820.0 million, or $1.35 a share, in the previous year.
Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.09 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.08.
Sales grew 4.0% to $4.91 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.88 billion, as a six percentage-point increase in prices helped offset a 2 percentage-point decline in volume.
Gross margin was up 540 basis points to 36.1% of net sales, driven by favourable mark-to-market effects and net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs, the firm said.
For financial 2024, the company continues to expect adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 6%.
“We delivered growth on the top and bottom lines in the first quarter amid an evolving external environment characterized by moderating inflation, stabilizing supply chains, and a resilient but increasingly cautious consumer,” said General Mills (NYSE:GIS) chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Harmening.
Shares rose around 1% in pre-market trading to $66.49 per share.