The General Mills Board of Directors today declared a 4-cent increase in
the quarterly dividend rate to $0.47 per share, payable Aug. 3, 2009, to
shareholders of record July 10, 2009. The new annualized dividend rate
of $1.88 per share represents a 9 percent increase over dividends of
$1.72 per share paid in fiscal 2009.
“Strong and growing cash dividends are an important component of General
Mills’ total return to our shareholders,” said Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer Ken Powell. “The 9 percent dividend increase announced
today is a reflection of our company’s robust financial condition and
excellent future growth prospects.” General Mills (NYSE: GIS) and its
predecessor firm have now paid shareholder dividends without
interruption or reduction for 110 years.
Based on the June 29 closing price of $55.84 for General Mills common
shares, the new annualized dividend rate of $1.88 represents a yield of
3.4 percent.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are
based on management’s 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 hedge 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 statements to reflect any future events or circumstances.
General Mills
Analysts
Kris Wenker, 763-764-2607
or
Media
Kirstie
Foster, 763-764-6364
