Shares of the company, which also reported a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, were up nearly 2% in midday trading.

General Mills, which also owns the Häagen-Dazs and Betty Crocker brands, has been struggling to turn around its US yogurt business as competitors such as Chobani and Danone unleash new flavors and healthier versions of yogurt. Chief Executive Jeffrey Harmening said he expects new launches, including yogurt with high protein and less sugar, to boost sales in 2019.

As the company’s yogurt sales continue to fall, General Mills has relied on cereals and snack business to help prop up its top line.

For 2019, the company expects total organic net sales to be in the range of flat to up 1% in 2019. Including the impact of it acquisition of pet food snacks maker Blue Buffalo, net sales are expected to rise 9% to 10% from a year earlier.Net earnings attributable to the company fell 13.4% to US$354.4 million (RM1.434 billion).

Excluding certain items, General Mills earned US$0.79 (RM3.20) per share. Analysts were expecting earnings of US$0.72 (RM2.91) per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net sales rose 2% to US$3.89 billion (RM15.73 billion), in line with analysts’ estimate.

Gross margins for the quarter rose to 36.5% from 34.7% a year earlier.

“We were pleased to see profit margins improve from a year ago as cost savings and increased sales of products with higher profit margins more than offset headwinds from higher transportation and input costs,” Edward Jones analyst Brittany Weissman said.