Buoyed by strong pet-food sales, General Mills saw a net sales increase for the most recent quarter, although operating profits were down slightly.
Sales were up 4% year-over-year for the company’s fiscal first quarter of 2022, to $4.54 billion. The biggest star was the pet-food segment, where sales went up 25%, to $488 million. Organic net pet food sales, stripping out the impact of buying Tyson Foods’ pet treat business this year, rose 20%. Another bright spot was the foodservice and convenience-store segment, where sales went up 23% to $482 million, attributable to consumers venturing out more to restaurants and other venues.
On the other hand, sales for North America Retail, the biggest segment, were down 3% year-over-year to $2.64 billion. A company statement attributed this to heightened consumer buying during the 2020 period due to the pandemic, noting that in comparison to the first fiscal quarter of 2019, sales were up 5%. Overall operating profit was $844.3 million, down 1% from last year.
“I’m proud of the way our team is performing in a dynamic and challenging operating environment,” said General Mills Chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening. “Our strong execution in the first quarter enabled us to deliver top- and bottom-line results ahead of our expectations.”
