June 29/New York/Dow Jones -- General Mills Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 51% as the packaged-food company posted fewer charges and benefited from price increases that offset lower volumes.
Still, the company warned earnings growth will be pressured, as costs for ingredients and other inputs will grow by 10-11% in fiscal 2012, the highest level it has seen in recent years. General Mills, whose brands include Cheerios cereal, Progresso soups and Hamburger Helper meals, forecast per-share earnings of $2.60 to $2.62 on mid-single-digit revenue growth. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters projected earnings of $2.67 a share and 4% revenue growth to $15.56 billion.