NEW YORK — General Mills Inc. on Wednesday reported a better-than-expected profit for its third quarter on lower costs, but revenue fell short of forecasts because of weak demand.
Its shares slipped in premarket trading ahead of the market open.
The maker of Cheerios cereal, Yoplait yogurt and other packaged foods reported a 5.4 percent boost in profit to $361.7 million, or 59 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs and non-recurring costs, were 65 cents per share.
The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 62 cents per share.
The Minneapolis-based company reported an 8 percent dip in revenue $4 billion in the period, missing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.05 billion.
The maker of Cheerios cereal and other products said sales in its key U.S. segment were down 7 percent on a mix of lower volume and its Green Giant divestiture.
Lower overall costs helped offset the revenue decline. Sales costs fell 11 percent to $2.64 billion, selling and general costs fell 4.3 percent to $755.8 million and restructuring costs fell 66 percent to $16.9 million.
General Mills shares slipped 79 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $60 in premarket trading about an hour before the market open. Its shares have risen slightly more than 5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has climbed 13 percent in the last 12 months.
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