(Reuters) – General Mills Inc posted better-than-expected quarterly results on Wednesday as shelter-in-home orders forced people to stock up on cereals and snacks.
Sales at its North America retail segment, which accounts for more than half of the company’s sales, increased 36%, after having fallen in seven of the last eight quarters. Its pet unit sales, meanwhile, rose 37%.
General Mills did not provide an outlook for fiscal 2021 but said concerns over the spread of the coronavirus and the recession would drive higher demand for food at home, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Net earnings attributable to General Mills rose about 10% to $625.7 million, or $1.02 per share, in the fourth quarter ended May 31.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.1 per share, above analysts’ expectation of $1.06 per share.
Net sales climbed to nearly 21% to $5.02 billion, beating market estimates of $4.97 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
