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General Mills (GIS) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales up Y/Y
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General Mills, Inc. (GIS - Free Report) released robust fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results, with the top and the bottom line surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Moreover, earnings and sales increased on a year-over-year basis. Given the current situation related to the coronavirus outbreak and its unpredictable impact on consumer demand globally, the company refrained from providing fiscal 2021 guidance.
General Mills, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 increased 33% year over year on a constant-currency (cc) basis. Moreover, the bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 per share. The uptick can be attributed to improved adjusted operating profit as well as higher after-tax earnings from joint ventures. Reduced adjusted effective tax rate also contributed to the upside.
Net sales of $5,023 million increased 21% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,978 million. Also, organic sales increased 16% on growth in North America Retail, Pet as well as Europe & Australia segment. Organic volumes as well as organic price/mix were favorable. The upside can be attributed to an extra week in the fourth quarter coupled with higher consumer demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, sales included an adverse impact of 2 points from unfavorable foreign currency rates.
Adjusted gross margin expanded 80 basis points (bps) to 36.1% owing to robust Holistic Margin Management (HMM) savings as well as favorable production leverage.
Adjusted operating profit came in at $888 million. The metric increased 24% at cc on the back of higher net sales. Adjusted operating margin expanded 40 bps to 17.7%.
Segmental Performance
North America Retail: Revenues in the segment came in at $3,196.4 million, up 36% year over year. Sales improved across all operating units owing to higher at-home consumption amid the pandemic.
Convenience Stores & Foodservice: Revenues dropped 24% to $393.1 million due to significant reduction in demand for away-from-home food amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Europe & Australia: The segment’s revenues rose 6% to $530 million, including adverse currency impacts of 4 points. Further, sales increased 4% year over year on an organic basis. Softness in away-from-home channels was fully offset by growth in Betty Crocker dessert mixes and Old El Paso Mexican food.
Asia & Latin America: Revenues declined 12% from the year-ago quarter’s figure to $348.9 million. The segment’s performance reflects the impact of coronavirus on Haagen-Dazs store and foodservice outlets traffic. Also, adverse currency rates were deterrents.
Pet Segment: Revenues came in at $554.6 million, up 37% year over year on the back of solid volume growth. Also, the segment results consist an additional month of results.
Other Financial Aspects
The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,677.8 million, long-term debt of $10,929 million and total shareholders’ equity of $8,058.5 million.
General Mills generated $3,676.2 million as net cash from operating activities in fiscal 2020. During the same time frame, the company made capital investments worth $461 million, paid out dividends of $1.2 billion and lowered debt by $950 million.
Other Developments
Constant-currency sales from joint ventures of Cereal Partners Worldwide increased 13% in the quarter. In Haagen-Dazs Japan, sales declined 13% at cc from the prior-year quarter’s figure.
Outlook
The company anticipates net sales in fiscal 2021 to be favorably impacted by higher at-home demand for food compared with the pre-pandemic levels. Also, management remains optimistic about its robust execution skills. However, an additional month of results in the Pet segment along with higher demand due to COVID-19 in the fourth quarter could act as unfavorable comparison for fiscal 2020. Management also envisions reducing net-debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio in fiscal 2021.
Price Performance
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has gained 17.2% year to date against the industry’s decline of 9.4%.
McCormick Company (MKC - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.8%.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.1%.
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Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.
A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.
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General Mills (GIS) Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales up Y/Y
General Mills, Inc. (GIS - Free Report) released robust fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results, with the top and the bottom line surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Moreover, earnings and sales increased on a year-over-year basis. Given the current situation related to the coronavirus outbreak and its unpredictable impact on consumer demand globally, the company refrained from providing fiscal 2021 guidance.
General Mills, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
General Mills, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | General Mills, Inc. Quote
Q4 Highlights
The company’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 increased 33% year over year on a constant-currency (cc) basis. Moreover, the bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.06 per share. The uptick can be attributed to improved adjusted operating profit as well as higher after-tax earnings from joint ventures. Reduced adjusted effective tax rate also contributed to the upside.
Net sales of $5,023 million increased 21% year over year and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,978 million. Also, organic sales increased 16% on growth in North America Retail, Pet as well as Europe & Australia segment. Organic volumes as well as organic price/mix were favorable. The upside can be attributed to an extra week in the fourth quarter coupled with higher consumer demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, sales included an adverse impact of 2 points from unfavorable foreign currency rates.
Adjusted gross margin expanded 80 basis points (bps) to 36.1% owing to robust Holistic Margin Management (HMM) savings as well as favorable production leverage.
Adjusted operating profit came in at $888 million. The metric increased 24% at cc on the back of higher net sales. Adjusted operating margin expanded 40 bps to 17.7%.
Segmental Performance
North America Retail: Revenues in the segment came in at $3,196.4 million, up 36% year over year. Sales improved across all operating units owing to higher at-home consumption amid the pandemic.
Convenience Stores & Foodservice: Revenues dropped 24% to $393.1 million due to significant reduction in demand for away-from-home food amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Europe & Australia: The segment’s revenues rose 6% to $530 million, including adverse currency impacts of 4 points. Further, sales increased 4% year over year on an organic basis. Softness in away-from-home channels was fully offset by growth in Betty Crocker dessert mixes and Old El Paso Mexican food.
Asia & Latin America: Revenues declined 12% from the year-ago quarter’s figure to $348.9 million. The segment’s performance reflects the impact of coronavirus on Haagen-Dazs store and foodservice outlets traffic. Also, adverse currency rates were deterrents.
Pet Segment: Revenues came in at $554.6 million, up 37% year over year on the back of solid volume growth. Also, the segment results consist an additional month of results.
Other Financial Aspects
The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,677.8 million, long-term debt of $10,929 million and total shareholders’ equity of $8,058.5 million.
General Mills generated $3,676.2 million as net cash from operating activities in fiscal 2020. During the same time frame, the company made capital investments worth $461 million, paid out dividends of $1.2 billion and lowered debt by $950 million.
Other Developments
Constant-currency sales from joint ventures of Cereal Partners Worldwide increased 13% in the quarter. In Haagen-Dazs Japan, sales declined 13% at cc from the prior-year quarter’s figure.
Outlook
The company anticipates net sales in fiscal 2021 to be favorably impacted by higher at-home demand for food compared with the pre-pandemic levels. Also, management remains optimistic about its robust execution skills. However, an additional month of results in the Pet segment along with higher demand due to COVID-19 in the fourth quarter could act as unfavorable comparison for fiscal 2020. Management also envisions reducing net-debt-to-adjusted-EBITDA ratio in fiscal 2021.
Price Performance
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has gained 17.2% year to date against the industry’s decline of 9.4%.
Some Solid Consumer Staple Picks
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +11.59% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
McCormick Company (MKC - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.8%.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB - Free Report) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 5.1%.
Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation
Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, it’s expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity.
A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks’ just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time.
See 8 breakthrough stocks now>>