By Micah Maidenberg 



  General Mills Inc. beat Wall Street forecasts for sales and profit for its fiscal fourth quarter as consumers stocked up on its food amid coronavirus-related lockdowns. 


  The producer of Cheerios cereal, Häagen-Dazs ice cream, Nature Valley granola bars and other products reported Wednesday $5.02 billion in sales for the quarter that ended May 31, up from $4.16 billion a year earlier and ahead of the $4.99 billion that analysts predicted. 


  Comparable sales rose 16% in the quarter. 


  The Minneapolis-based company reported a profit of $625.7 million, or $1.02 a share, up from $570.2 million, or 94 cents a share, for the comparable quarter a year earlier. 


  The company's adjusted profit of $1.10 a share was four cents higher than what analysts predicted for that metric, according to FactSet. 


  In the U.S. and Canada, General Mills reported significant growth across several product lines, including refrigerated baked goods, soups and flour. Sales jumped 75% for its meals and baking business in the U.S. and 26% for cereals in the market. 


  Comparable sales for the North America business increased 28%, the company said, and totaled $3.2 billion. 


  "The company expects consumer concerns about Covid-19 virus transmission and the recession to drive elevated demand for food at home, relative to pre-pandemic levels," General Mills said. 


  Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com