General Mills Reports Fiscal 2024 First-quarter Results

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) today reported results for the first quarter ended August 27, 2023.

“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 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening. “Looking ahead, we will remain focused on executing our Accelerate strategy and driving strong growth for our brands. With confidence in our plans and our ability to adapt to continued change in the consumer landscape, we are reaffirming our guidance for fiscal 2024.”

General Mills is executing its Accelerate strategy to drive sustainable, profitable growth and top-tier shareholder returns over the long term. The strategy focuses on four pillars to create competitive advantages and win: boldly building brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing scale, and standing for good. The company is prioritizing its core markets, global platforms, and local gem brands that have the best prospects for profitable growth and is committed to reshaping its portfolio with strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further enhance its growth profile.

First Quarter Results Summary

• Net sales increased 4 percent to $4.9 billion, with favorable net price realization and mix partially offset by lower pound volume. Organic net sales also increased 4 percent, driven by positive organic net price realization and mix, partially offset by lower organic pound volume.
• Gross margin was up 540 basis points to 36.1 percent of net sales, driven by favorable mark-to-market effects and favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs. Adjusted gross margin was up 50 basis points to 35.4 percent of net sales, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs.
• Operating profit of $930 million was down 14 percent, driven by net gains on divestitures in the prior year and higher selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses, partially offset by higher gross profit dollars. Operating profit margin of 19.0 percent was down 400 basis points. Adjusted operating profit of $899 million increased 2 percent in constant currency, driven by higher adjusted gross profit dollars, partially offset by higher adjusted SG&A expenses, including a double-digit increase in media investment. Adjusted operating profit margin was down 40 basis points to 18.3 percent.
• Net earnings attributable to General Mills of $674 million were down 18 percent and diluted EPS was down 16 percent to $1.14, driven primarily by lower operating profit and higher net interest expense, partially offset by lower net shares outstanding. Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.09 was down 1 percent in constant currency, driven primarily by higher net interest expense and a higher adjusted effective tax rate, partially offset by higher adjusted operating profit and lower net shares outstanding.

Notes on Comparability

The following transactions impacted the comparability of financial results between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024: the acquisition of the TNT Crust foodservice business in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and the divestiture of the Helper main meals and Suddenly Salad side dishes business in the first quarter of fiscal 2023. In addition, results in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 included the impact of a voluntary recall on certain international Häagen-Dazs ice cream products, which was a headwind to net sales and operating profit results in the International segment.

Operating Segment Results

Note: Tables may not foot due to rounding.

North America Retail Segment

First-quarter net sales for General Mills’ North America Retail segment increased 3 percent to $3.1 billion, driven by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by lower pound volume, including a 1-point headwind from divestitures. Organic net sales increased 4 percent. Net sales performance outpaced Nielsen-measured retail sales growth due to faster growth in non-measured channels and a modest rebuild of retailer inventory. Net sales were up high-single digits for the U.S. Snacks operating unit, up low-single digits for U.S. Morning Foods, and roughly flat for Canada. Net sales for U.S. Meals & Baking Solutions down low-single digits due to the impact of the Helper and Suddenly Salad divestiture. Segment operating profit of $798 million was up 3 percent as reported and in constant currency, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs, lower volume, and higher SG&A expenses, including a double-digit increase in media investment.

Pet Segment

First-quarter net sales for the Pet segment of $580 million essentially matched year-ago levels, driven by favorable net price realization and mix, offset by lower pound volume. Organic net sales were also flat to last year. Net sales were up mid-single digits for dry pet food, roughly flat for wet pet food, and were down double digits for pet treats. Segment operating profit of $111 million was down 10 percent, driven primarily by higher input costs, lower volume, and higher SG&A expenses, partially offset by favorable net price realization and mix.

North America Foodservice Segment

First-quarter net sales for the North America Foodservice segment increased 8 percent to $536 million, including a 4-point benefit from the TNT Crust acquisition. Organic net sales were up 4 percent despite a 6-point headwind from market index pricing on bakery flour. Segment operating profit increased 10 percent to $59 million, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs.

International Segment

First-quarter net sales for the International segment increased 10 percent to $716 million, driven by favorable net price realization and mix and a 1-point benefit from foreign currency exchange, partially offset by lower pound volume. Organic net sales were up 9 percent, led by double-digit growth in distributor markets and Europe & Australia. Segment operating profit of $50 million was up 44 percent as reported and up 52 percent in constant currency from year-ago results that included the impact of the ice cream recall, driven by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher input costs.

Joint Venture Summary

First-quarter constant-currency net sales increased 8 percent for Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), driven by favorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by lower pound volume. Constant-currency net sales for Häagen-Dazs Japan (HDJ) were up 4 percent, driven by favorable net price realization and mix and strong contributions from innovation. Combined after-tax earnings from joint ventures increased 19 percent to $24 million, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix for CPW and HDJ and discrete tax items at CPW, partially offset by higher input costs for CPW and HDJ.

Other Income Statement Items

First-quarter unallocated corporate items totaled $87 million net expense in fiscal 2024 compared to $333 million net expense a year ago. Excluding mark-to-market valuation effects and other items affecting comparability, unallocated corporate items totaled $119 million net expense this year compared to $107 million net expense last year.

First-quarter results in fiscal 2024 did not include any divestiture activity while year-ago results included a net $431 million pre-tax gain on divestitures (please see Note 2 below for more information on this item). Benefit plan non-service income totaled $17 million in the first quarter compared to $22 million a year ago, driven primarily by an increase in interest costs, partially offset by lower amortization of losses.

Net interest expense totaled $117 million in the first quarter compared to $88 million a year ago, primarily driven by higher interest rates and higher average long-term debt levels. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 20.9 percent compared to 21.2 percent last year (please see Note 6 below for more information on our effective tax rate). The first-quarter adjusted effective tax rate was 21.1 percent compared to 19.7 percent a year ago, driven primarily by certain non-recurring discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2023 and unfavorable earnings mix by jurisdiction in fiscal 2024.

Cash Flow Generation and Cash Returns

Cash provided by operating activities totaled $378 million in the first quarter compared to $389 million in the prior year. Capital investments totaled $142 million compared to $91 million a year ago. Dividends paid increased 7 percent to $348 million. General Mills repurchased approximately 6.4 million shares of common stock in the first quarter for a total of $500 million compared to $501 million in share repurchases a year ago. Average diluted shares outstanding in the quarter decreased 2 percent to 591 million.

Fiscal 2024 Outlook

General Mills expects the largest factors impacting its performance in fiscal 2024 will be the economic health of consumers, the moderating rate of input cost inflation, and the increasing stability of the supply chain environment. The company expects to drive organic net sales growth in fiscal 2024 through strong marketing, innovation, in-store support, and net price realization generated through its Strategic Revenue Management (SRM) capability, most of which will be carried over from SRM actions taken in fiscal 2023. For the full year, input cost inflation is expected to be approximately 5 percent of total cost of goods sold, driven primarily by labor inflation that impacts sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics costs. The company expects to generate Holistic Margin Management (HMM) cost savings of roughly 4 percent of cost of goods sold, compared to 3 percent achieved in fiscal 2023.

Based on the above assumptions, the company reaffirmed its full-year fiscal 2024 financial targets²:

• Organic net sales are expected to increase 3 to 4 percent.
• Adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted EPS are each expected to increase 4 to 6 percent in constant currency.
• Free cash flow conversion is expected to be at least 95 percent of adjusted after-tax earnings.
• The net impact of divestitures and foreign currency exchange is expected to reduce full-year reported net sales growth by approximately one half of one percent, and foreign currency exchange is expected to have an immaterial impact on adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted EPS growth.

² Financial targets are provided on a non-GAAP basis because certain information necessary to calculate comparable GAAP measures is not available. Please see Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements below for discussion of the unavailable information.

General Mills will issue pre-recorded management remarks today, September 20, 2023, at approximately 6:30 a.m. Central time (7:30 a.m. Eastern time) and will hold a live, webcasted question and answer session beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central time (9:00 a.m. Eastern time). The pre-recorded remarks and the webcast will be made available at www.generalmills.com/investors.

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, including the statements under the caption “Fiscal 2024 Outlook,” and statements made by Mr. Harmening, 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: disruptions or inefficiencies in the supply chain; 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 the legal and regulatory environment, including tax legislation, labeling and advertising regulations, and litigation; 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, energy, and transportation; effectiveness of restructuring and cost saving initiatives; 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 or breach of our information technology systems; 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.

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