General Mills has reported net sales up by 7% to $17.8 billion for its fiscal 2013. Operating profit was up 6% to $3.2 billion.
"Our 2013 results reflect good growth from established product lines and important contributions from new businesses added during the year,” said General Mills chairman and CEO Ken Powell . “Each of our three operating segments posted profit growth. Our cash flow from operating activities rose 22 percent, and we returned nearly $1.9 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchase activity. In addition, we exited the year with momentum that enabled us to finish 2013 a bit better than our original estimates."
Products making the strongest contributions to U.S. retail segment net sales growth in 2013 included new items such as Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch cereal, Yoplait Greek 100 calorie yogurt and Nature Valley Protein Bars, along with established brands including Lucky Charms cereal, Progresso ready-to-serve soups, Fiber One snack bars, Totino's frozen snacks, and Pillsbury refrigerated baked goods.
For the international segment, double-digit growth by Haagen Dazs ice cream and Wanchai Ferry frozen dim sum in China, and the newly acquired Yoki and Kitano brands in Brazil, led the overall sales increase. In the Bakeries and Foodservice segment, items including Chex Mix snack varieties, Pillsbury heat-and-serve breakfast items, and Yoplait Parfait Pro Greek yogurt made strong contributions to 2013 sales.
Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2013 rose 8% to $4.4 billion. Segment operating profit declined 2% to $722 million, primarily reflecting higher input costs and increased in-store merchandising activity compared to the year-ago period.
