UPDATE: General Mills Increases Qtr. Dividend from $0.38 to $0.41/Share

MINNEAPOLIS, March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills GIS said today that the board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, payable May 1, 2014, to shareholders of record April 10, 2014. This represents an 8 percent increase from the previous quarterly rate of $0.38 per share. Including the new May quarterly payment, General Mills dividends per share in fiscal 2014 will total $1.55, up 17 percent from the annual dividend of $1.32 paid the previous fiscal year. Chairman and CEO Ken Powell said, "General Mills and its predecessor firm have paid dividends without interruption or reduction for 115 years. This track record is testimony to the strong and steady operating cash flows generated by our consumer food brands. We expect dividends to grow with earnings over time, and we see this dividend growth as a key component of our long-term shareholder return model." General Mills also said today that it plans to announce its fiscal 2014 third quarter financial results on Wednesday, March 19. In conjunction with that release, the company will conduct a conference call for members of the investment community, beginning at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. The conference call will be webcast and can be accessed on the Internet at www.generalmills.com.