Can General Mills Keep Hope Alive?
NEW YORK (
) --
General Mills
(GIS) - Get Report
hopes that good news in the food sector will rub off on it when the company reports its quarterly earnings this week.
For the four-week period ended Sept. 5, branded food manufacturers gained 20 basis points of dollar market share from private-label brands over the same period last year, MarketWatch reported, citing a Citigroup note.
"Sales and volume trends for branded food manufacturers have been strengthening, while private-label sales and volume trends have lost steam the past several months," analyst David Driscoll said in the research report.
Foodmakers are sticking to price increases even though the cost for ingredients and energy are lower, which has helped propel share gains. On the flip side, prices for private-label items have been falling.
General Mills has already announced earlier this month that it's
on track to top its first-quarter expectations
. The company, however, has not provided guidance for the quarter.
News You Need
Analysts expect the company to earn $1.07 a share on revenue of $3.49 billion. General Mills will report first-quarter earnings on Sept. 23.
On Monday, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 47 cents per share, payable on Nov. 2. to shareholders of record Oct. 12.
Shares of the company were up 0.6% to $60.69 in afternoon trading.
Rival
Kellogg
(K) - Get Report
posted a 13% jump in its second quarter ended July 4 and said it expects full year results at the high end of its goal.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York
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