General Mills Reaffirms Fiscal 2011 Guidance

MINNEAPOLIS--()--In conjunction with remarks today at the Goldman Sachs Consumer Products Symposium, General Mills (NYSE: GIS) said it remains on track to achieve its sales and earnings targets for the fiscal year ending May 29, 2011. The company reaffirmed fiscal 2011 earnings per share guidance of $2.46 to $2.48 excluding mark-to-market effects and a net gain related to certain tax items.

The company’s presentation today is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time and can be accessed on the company’s website: generalmills.com live or following the event through May 27, 2011.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, our predictions about future net sales and earnings could be affected by a variety of factors, including: competitive dynamics in the consumer foods industry and the markets for our products, including new product introductions, advertising activities, pricing actions, and promotional activities of our competitors; economic conditions, including changes in inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates, or the availability of capital; product development and innovation; consumer acceptance of new products and product improvements; consumer reaction to pricing actions and changes in promotion levels; acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets; changes in capital structure; changes in laws and regulations, including labeling and advertising regulations; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of other intangible assets; changes in accounting standards and the impact of significant accounting estimates; product quality and safety issues, including recalls and product liability; changes in consumer demand for our products; effectiveness of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs; changes in consumer behavior, trends, and preferences, including weight loss trends; consumer perception of health-related issues, including obesity; consolidation in the retail environment; changes in purchasing and inventory levels of significant customers; fluctuations in the cost and availability of supply chain resources, including raw materials, packaging, and energy; disruptions or inefficiencies in the supply chain; volatility in the market value of derivatives used to manage price risk for certain commodities; benefit plan expenses due to changes in plan asset values and discount rates used to determine plan liabilities; failure of our information technology systems; resolution of uncertain income tax matters; foreign economic conditions, including currency rate fluctuations; and political unrest in foreign markets and economic uncertainty due to terrorism or war. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any future events or circumstances.

Contacts

General Mills
Kris Wenker: 763-764-2607
(analysts)
or
Kirstie Foster: 763-764-6364
(media)

Contacts

General Mills
Kris Wenker: 763-764-2607
(analysts)
or
Kirstie Foster: 763-764-6364
(media)