General Mills posts strong Q1 numbers

Posted Sep 23rd 2009 8:50AM by Michael Fowlkes
Filed under: Before the Bell, Major Movement, Earnings Reports, Forecasts, Good news, General Mills (GIS)

This morning food maker General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) reported its fiscal first numbers. The company posted better than expected earnings and lifted its forward guidance.

As I noted yesterday in the earnings preview, analysts had been expecting General Mills to post earnings of $1.03 per share, but the company surprised to the upside by reporting $1.25 per share. Excluding certain items, the company would have seen earnings of $1.28 per share.

The company saw a nice jump in profit during the quarter, as profit grew by 51%. Sales were $3.52 billion in the quarter, up from $3.50 billion during the same period last year.

Gross margins improved nicely for the company, going to 41.5% from 34.1% on lower commodity prices.

Based on the quarters strong performance, General Mills lifted its full year guidance to a range between $4.40 to $4.45 a share. Previously, the company had forecast full year 2010 earnings of $4.20 to $4.25.

The stock has moved higher in premarket trading, as early morning traders have pushed shares up 3.8% to $63.30.

Tags: commodities, earnings, earnings surprises, EarningsSurprises, General Mills, GeneralMills, GIS, inthenews