General mills reaffirms earnings outlook for current fiscal year
Minneapolis--(business wire)--in remarks today at an investor conference, general mills (nyse: gis) said it was on-track to achieve the sales and earnings growth targets established for its 2011 fiscal year ending in may. the company expects to deliver low single-digit growth in net sales, a mid single-digit increase in segment operating profit, and adjusted diluted earnings per share of between $2.46 and $2.48. results through the fiscal year’s first half, ended nov. 28, 2010, generally tracked in line with strong year-ago performance as anticipated. results for the fiscal second half are expected to show good sales and earnings increases, with gross margin expansion and faster earnings growth anticipated in the final quarter of the year. chairman and ceo ken powell and executive vice president and cfo don mulligan also reaffirmed the company’s fiscal 2015 sales and earnings goals, and reported on progress toward those targets. their remarks included detailed discussion of the growth prospects for general mills’ global cereal business, and for the company’s fast-growing business in china. “our portfolio strength gives us confidence that we can continue to generate sales and earnings growth in line with our long-term model, which targets high-single digit growth in earnings per share,” powell said. “and we think this level of growth, together with dividends, should result in double-digit returns to our shareholders over the long term.” a replay of the company’s complete presentation is available at www.generalmills.com through march 5, 2011. this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the private securities litigation reform act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations and assumptions. these forward-looking statements, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. in particular, our predictions about future net sales and earnings could be affected by a variety of factors, including: competitive dynamics in the consumer foods industry and the markets for our products, including new product introductions, advertising activities, pricing actions, and promotional activities of our competitors; economic conditions, including changes in inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates, or the availability of capital; product development and innovation; consumer acceptance of new products and product improvements; consumer reaction to pricing actions and changes in promotion levels; acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets; changes in capital structure; changes in laws and regulations, including labeling and advertising regulations; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of other intangible assets; changes in accounting standards and the impact of significant accounting estimates; product quality and safety issues, including recalls and product liability; changes in consumer demand for our products; effectiveness of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs; changes in consumer behavior, trends, and preferences, including weight loss trends; consumer perception of health-related issues, including obesity; consolidation in the retail environment; changes in purchasing and inventory levels of significant customers; fluctuations in the cost and availability of supply chain resources, including raw materials, packaging, and energy; disruptions or inefficiencies in the supply chain; volatility in the market value of derivatives used to manage price risk for certain commodities; benefit plan expenses due to changes in plan asset values and discount rates used to determine plan liabilities; failure of our information technology systems; resolution of uncertain income tax matters; foreign economic conditions, including currency rate fluctuations; and political unrest in foreign markets and economic uncertainty due to terrorism or war. the company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any future events or circumstances.
