General Mills (GIS) Tops Q3 EPS by 1c

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) reported Q3 EPS of $0.79, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.78. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.9 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion.

Outlook General Mills updated its key full-year fiscal 2018 targets. These targets exclude the impact of the proposed Blue Buffalo acquisition.

• Organic net sales are expected to be in line with last year, which is unchanged from previous guidance. This represents a 400 basis point improvement over the fiscal 2017 growth rate. The company continues to estimate currency translation will increase reported net sales by approximately 1 percentage point in fiscal 2018.
• Constant-currency total segment operating profit is now expected to decline 5 to 6 percent, compared to the previous expectation of a range between down 1 percent and flat. The change in outlook was driven by higher-than-expected supply chain costs, including freight and logistics, commodities, and other operational costs. The company expects to generate constant-currency total segment operating profit growth in the fourth quarter, driven by favorable net price realization and mix and increased cost savings. Currency translation is expected to add 1 point to full-year total segment operating profit growth.
• The full-year fiscal 2018 adjusted effective tax rate is now expected to be approximately 26 percent, compared to the previous expectation of a 27 percent rate. We continue to estimate that the TCJA will have a 2 point favorable impact on our fiscal 2018 adjusted effective tax rate.
• Constant-currency adjusted diluted EPS is now expected to range between flat and up 1 percent from the base of $3.08 earned in fiscal 2017, compared to the previous guidance of a 3 to 4 percent increase. The company now estimates currency translation will be a 3 cent benefit to fiscal 2018 adjusted diluted EPS.
• The company continues to expect free cash flow to increase at least 15 percent from the prior year, driven by strong discipline on core working capital.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on General Mills (GIS) click here.

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