Cheerios-owner General Mills beats quarterly sales estimates

[September 22, 2021]  (Reuters) - Cheerios maker General Mills Inc reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales on Wednesday, as strong growth in its pet foods business cushioned a slowdown in demand for its cooking sauces and baking products.

Purchases of pet food, such as General Mills' premium brand Blue Buffalo, have soared in the past year as stuck-at-home customers adopted cats and dogs to help ease the stress of the pandemic.

On a reported basis, net sales in General Mills' pet foods division increased 25% to $488 million in the quarter.

Total net sales rose to $4.54 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 29, from $4.36 billion a year earlier, beating the analysts' average estimate of $4.29 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia and Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)

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