General Mills Reports Fiscal 2025 First-quarter Results

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) today reported results for the first quarter ended August 25, 2024.

“Our top priority in fiscal 2025 is to accelerate our organic net sales growth, and we made expected progress on that goal in the first quarter along multiple fronts, with more work still ahead,” said General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening. “We strengthened our core by delivering more remarkable experiences to consumers, which translated into improved volume, net sales, and market share trends versus the previous quarter. And we took another significant step to reshape our portfolio for stronger growth and profitability by announcing the proposed sale of our North American Yogurt business to Lactalis and Sodiaal.

“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to work to improve our competitiveness and get back to leading growth in our categories. We’ll do that by delivering for our consumers with superior product news and innovation, supported with increased levels of investment that we’ll fuel with strong Holistic Margin Management cost savings. With those strong plans and having delivered expected improvement in Q1, we are reaffirming our full-year outlook for fiscal 2025.”

Guided by its purpose to make food the world loves, 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 decreased 1 percent to $4.8 billion, driven by unfavorable net price realization and mix. Organic net sales were also down 1 percent, driven by unfavorable organic net price realization and mix. Organic pound volume was flat in the quarter.
• Gross margin was down 130 basis points to 34.8 percent of net sales, driven primarily by input cost inflation, unfavorable mark-to-market effects, and unfavorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by Holistic Margin Management (HMM) cost savings. Adjusted gross margin of 35.4 percent of net sales essentially matched year-ago results, with benefits from HMM cost savings offset by input cost inflation and unfavorable net price realization and mix.
• Operating profit of $832 million was down 11 percent, driven primarily by lower gross profit dollars and higher selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses, including increased media investment. Operating profit margin of 17.2 percent was down 180 basis points. Adjusted operating profit of $865 million was down 4 percent in constant currency, driven by higher adjusted SG&A expenses, including higher media investment, and lower adjusted gross profit dollars. Adjusted operating profit margin was down 50 basis points to 17.8 percent.
• Net earnings attributable to General Mills of $580 million were down 14 percent and diluted EPS was down 10 percent to $1.03, driven primarily by lower operating profit, higher net interest expense, and a higher effective tax rate, partially offset by lower net shares outstanding. Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.07 was down 2 percent in constant currency, driven primarily by lower adjusted operating profit, higher net interest expense, and a higher adjusted effective tax rate, partially offset by lower net shares outstanding.

Operating Segment Results

Note: Tables may not foot due to rounding.

Notes on Comparability

The acquisition of the Edgard & Cooper pet food business in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 impacted the comparability of first-quarter International segment operating results between fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025.

North America Retail Segment

First-quarter net sales for General Mills’ North America Retail segment were down 2 percent to $3.0 billion, driven by lower pound volume, partially offset by favorable net price realization and mix. Organic net sales were also down 2 percent. Net sales were down mid-single digits for the U.S. Snacks operating unit and down low-single digits for U.S. Morning Foods. Constant-currency net sales for Canada were up mid-single digits and net sales were flat for U.S. Meals & Baking Solutions. Segment operating profit of $746 million was down 7 percent as reported and down 6 percent in constant currency, driven by higher input costs and lower volume, partially offset by favorable net price realization and mix.

North America Pet Segment

Beginning in fiscal 2025, General Mills has renamed the former Pet segment to North America Pet, to reflect the fact that pet food results outside North America are captured in its International segment. This name change had no impact on prior-year operating segment results.

First-quarter net sales for the North America Pet segment were down 1 percent to $576 million, driven by unfavorable net price realization and mix, partially offset by higher pound volume. Organic net sales were also down 1 percent. Net sales were down mid-single digits for pet treats, down low-single digits for wet pet food, and roughly flat for dry pet food. Segment operating profit of $119 million was up 7 percent, driven primarily by HMM cost savings, lower other supply chain costs, and higher volume, partially offset by unfavorable net price realization and mix, input cost inflation, and a double-digit increase in media investment.

North America Foodservice Segment

First-quarter net sales for the North America Foodservice segment of $536 million essentially matched year-ago results. Organic net sales were flat, with growth on breads, snacks, biscuits, and baking mixes offset by declines on bakery flour and pizza crust. Segment operating profit increased 21 percent to $72 million, driven by lower other supply chain costs and HMM cost savings, partially offset by input cost inflation.

International Segment

First-quarter net sales for the International segment of $717 million essentially matched year-ago results, with higher pound volume, including the impact of the Edgard & Cooper acquisition, offset by unfavorable net price realization and mix and a 2-point headwind from foreign currency exchange. Organic net sales were down 1 percent, driven primarily by declines in China, partially offset by growth in Europe & Australia and distributor markets. Segment operating profit declined to $21 million from $50 million a year ago, driven primarily by input cost inflation, unfavorable net price realization and mix, and higher SG&A expenses, partially offset by HMM cost savings, lower other supply chain costs, and higher volume. The company anticipates reduced headwinds from input cost inflation in International in the remainder of the year, which is expected to translate into improved operating profit performance.

Joint Venture Summary

First-quarter constant-currency net sales increased 1 percent for Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) and were flat for Häagen-Dazs Japan (HDJ). Combined after-tax earnings from joint ventures were down 18 percent to $19 million, driven by favorable discrete tax items a year ago, higher SG&A expenses, and lower volume at CPW, partially offset by favorable net price realization and mix at CPW and lower SG&A expenses at HDJ.

Other Income Statement Items

First-quarter unallocated corporate items totaled $124 million net expense in fiscal 2025 compared to $87 million net expense a year ago. Excluding mark-to-market valuation effects and other items affecting comparability, unallocated corporate items totaled $92 million net expense this year compared to $119 million net expense last year.

Net interest expense totaled $124 million in the first quarter compared to $117 million a year ago, driven primarily by higher average long-term debt levels. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 21.8 percent compared to 20.9 percent last year (please see Note 6 below for more information on our effective tax rate) . The first-quarter adjusted effective tax rate was 21.9 percent compared to 21.1 percent a year ago, driven primarily by certain non-recurring discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2024, partially offset by favorable earnings mix by jurisdiction in fiscal 2025.

Cash Flow Generation and Cash Returns

Cash provided by operating activities totaled $624 million in the first quarter compared to $378 million a year ago, driven primarily by a favorable change in accounts payable. Capital investments totaled $140 million compared to $142 million a year ago. Dividends paid totaled $338 million. General Mills repurchased approximately 4.5 million shares of common stock in the first quarter for a total of $300 million compared to $500 million in share repurchases a year ago. Average diluted shares outstanding in the quarter decreased 5 percent to 564 million.

North American Yogurt Divestitures

General Mills recently announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to sell its North American Yogurt business to Lactalis and Sodiaal, two leading French dairy companies, in cash transactions valued at an aggregate $2.1 billion. Following the completion of the transactions, the U.S. and Canadian businesses will operate independently, with Lactalis acquiring the U.S. business and Sodiaal acquiring the Canadian business. The proposed transactions are expected to close in calendar 2025, subject to receipt of requisite regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Collectively, the North American Yogurt business contributed approximately $1.5 billion to General Mills’ fiscal 2024 net sales. The combined transactions are anticipated to be approximately 3 percent dilutive to General Mills adjusted diluted EPS in the first 12 months after the close, excluding transaction costs and other one-time impacts, and including the use of after-tax net proceeds for share repurchases.

Fiscal 2025 Outlook

Amid a continued uncertain macroeconomic backdrop for consumers across its core markets, General Mills expects volume trends in its categories will gradually improve in fiscal 2025, though full-year category dollar growth is expected to be below the company’s long-term growth projections. The company expects to accelerate its organic net sales growth by delivering remarkable experiences across its leading food brands, resulting in improved household penetration and stronger market share trends versus the prior year. Its fiscal 2025 plans call for product news and innovation focused on taste, health, convenience, and value, supported with strong brand campaigns and omnichannel visibility. The company expects to generate HMM cost savings of roughly 4 to 5 percent of cost of goods sold, which is expected to exceed its anticipated input cost inflation of 3 to 4 percent of cost of goods sold. Additionally, it expects to reinvest potential margin flexibility back into the business, including plans for a significant increase in brand-building investment in fiscal 2025 to drive improved volume performance.

Based on the above assumptions, the company reaffirmed its full-year fiscal 2025 financial targets²:

• Organic net sales are expected to range between flat and up 1 percent.
• Adjusted operating profit is expected to range between down 2 percent and flat in constant currency.
• Adjusted diluted EPS is expected to range between down 1 percent and up 1 percent in constant currency.
• Free cash flow conversion is expected to be at least 95 percent of adjusted after-tax earnings.
• These targets do not reflect an impact from the proposed North American Yogurt divestitures. The company expects to incorporate the divestitures into its outlook after the transactions are closed.

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 18, 2024, 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 2025 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 critical 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.