GIS General Mills Inc

   By Imani Moise 
 

The Minneapolis-based food conglomerate General Mills Inc. reported third-quarter results before the opening bell Wednesday. Here's what you need to know:

EARNINGS. The maker of Cheerios and Hamburger Helper reported adjusted earnings of 79 cents a share, up from 72 cents a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast 78 cents a share.

REVENUE: Sales rose 2.3% to $3.88 billion, ahead of the consensus forecast from analysts of $3.78 billion. Organic net sales rose 1%.

EXPENSES: Rising costs outpaced sales growth in the most recent quarter. General Mills's cost of sales jumped 5.7% and the company attributed much of increase on higher freight rates and commodity prices. Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said the company has launched initiatives to mitigate inflation, including increasing its number of freight carriers and using different modes of transportation.

OUTLOOK: The company also lowered its outlook for the year to reflect higher supply-chain costs. It now expects constant-currency operating profit to drop 5% to 6%, compared with its previous expectation of being flat to falling 1%. The company still expects organic net sales to be in line with the previous fiscal year.

STOCK MOVE: Shares, which have fallen 17% over the past year while the S&P 500 has gained 14%, fell 6.8% to $46.55 during premarket trading.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2018 08:03 ET (12:03 GMT)

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