Acquisitions help boost General Mills 3Q profits
General Mills -- the maker of Progresso soups and Cheerios cereal -- reported net income of $398.4 million, up 2 percent from $391.5 million in the third-quarter a year ago, the Star Tribune reports. Total net sales for the Golden Valley-based packaged food giant climbed 7.5 percent to $4.43 billion.
Reuters notes the recent acquisitions of Yoki Alimentos in Brazil and Yoplait Canada helped boost the quarterly figures.
"We are continuing to see slow, but steady, improvement in the operating environment," General Mills CEO Ken Powell said in a news release. "Trends in our established businesses are improving, and integration of our new businesses is going smoothly. We're preparing to launch a promising slate of new products as our new fiscal year begins this summer, and our plans for fiscal 2014 call for high single-digit EPS growth, consistent with our long-term model."
However, the Wall Street Journal says General Mills only raised its full-year outlook by a penny, citing higher costs for fuel and grain.
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