MINNEAPOLIS, March 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- General Mills (NYSE: GIS) said today that the board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.44 per share, payable May 1, 2015, to shareholders of record April 10, 2015. This represents a 7 percent increase from the previous quarterly rate of $0.41 per share. Including the new May quarterly payment, General Mills dividends per share in fiscal 2015 will total $1.67, up 8 percent from the annual dividend of $1.55 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 116 years. Over the most recent five fiscal years, our quarterly dividend rate has been increased 6 times and our annual dividend per share has grown at a 12 percent compound rate. We see 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 2015 third-quarter financial results on Wednesday, March 18. 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.

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SOURCE General Mills