Dive Brief:
- General Mills, Inc. released fourth quarter and fiscal 2015 earnings Wednesday, which showed Q4 profit halving to $186.8 million because of a $260 million impairment charge. Revenue, at $4.3 billion, came in at the same year-ago levels, but it missed analysts' predictions of $4.53 billion.
- The company saw a 9% increase in total segment operating profit to $800 million for the quarter. In constant currency, that total segment operating profit saw a 13% boost over last year.
- For fiscal year 2015, numbers were not as positive. Net sales dropped 2% to $17.6 billion, total segment operating profit fell 4% to $3.0 billion, and diluted EPS fell from $2.83 in 2014 to $1.97 this year.
Dive Insight:
"Sales and profit declined for U.S. Retail – our largest operating segment. We returned our U.S. yogurt business to growth, and our brands gained share in categories representing 65 percent of our U.S. Retail measured sales volume, but overall sales trends reflected the impact of changing consumer food preferences," said General Mills chairman and CEO Ken Powell in a statement.
General Mills has put together a portfolio, including acquiring organic and natural food maker Annie's, and an announced clean-up of ingredients for some of its products to bounce back from the impact of changing consumer preferences in an effort to salvage the second half of 2015. Perhaps more importantly, General Mills is gearing up for a better fiscal year 2016. Cost-cutting measures, including recently announced job cuts, may have improved margins following falling sales as well.
"Our actions to respond to evolving consumer food interests – including bolstering our natural and organic portfolio with the addition of Annie's – helped strengthen our business performance in the second half of the year. This Consumer First product and marketing focus, combined with our significant productivity and cost-savings programs, positions General Mills to deliver stronger growth in 2016," Powell said in a statement.