Financial thoughts

General Mills says commodity hedging costs drove fiscal fourth-quarter profit down 17%, but strong sales of its yogurt, cookie mixes and Cheerios boosted revenue above Wall Street expectations.

The Minneapolis-based food producer’s net income fell to $185.2 million, or 53 cents per share, from $224.1 million, or 62 cents, a year ago. Excluding losses on commodity positions, General Mills Inc. would have earned 73 cents per share.

Sales increased 13% to $3.47 billion from $3.06 billion paydayloans.com.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected adjusted profit of 73 cents per share on revenue of $3.37 billion.

General Mills (GIS, Fortune 500) said profits should be between $3.78 and $3.83 per share for the year, representing growth of 7% to 9%. 

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