Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Higher ingredient prices and restructuring costs pushed General Mills Inc.'s first-quarter earnings down 19 percent, the cereal giant reported today.
For the three months ending Aug. 29, General Mills earned $183 million, or 47 cents per share, on revenue of $2.59 billion. A year ago, the company earned $227 million, or 59 cents per share, on revenue of $2.52 billion.
The company said its first-quarter earnings would have been 55 cents per share if the cost of closing five manufacturing facilities and other reorganizations was excluded. On that basis, the results were a nickel short of the 60 cents per share forecast by analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
archive
