# Dear Fellow Shareholders

_Source: `DeepSeekOCR_Ardian_pruned_1k/consumer-defensive-packaged-foods/NYSE_GIS_2018/NYSE_GIS_2018.mmd` · pages 3-9_

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Dear Fellow Shareholders,

This year we established three global growth priorities that are critical to restoring sustainable topline growth for General Mills:

1. Compete effectively across all our brands and geographies with compelling innovation and consumer news.

2. Accelerate our four differential growth platforms: Häagen-Dazs ice cream, snack bars, Old El Paso Mexican food, and our portfolio of natural and organic food brands.

3. Reshape our portfolio for stronger growth through strategic acquisitions and divestitures.

In fiscal 2018 we made important progress against these priorities. We competed more effectively, with strong innovation, marketing, and in-store execution driving positive organic net sales growth in each of our last three fiscal quarters. As a result, our full-year organic net sales growth rate finished ahead of our target and improved by 400 basis points versus the prior year. We developed new strategic growth plans for the four platforms that comprise our Accelerate businesses and began to execute against them in the latter part of the fiscal year. And we moved to reshape our portfolio with the acquisition of Blue Buffalo, a fast-growing, highly profitable business that is leading the transformation of the U.S. pet food category.

We continued to drive efficiency in our operations in fiscal 2018, generating substantial savings from Holistic Margin Management and other cost-reduction initiatives. However, these results were not enough to offset a marked increase in input cost inflation and other cost headwinds, leading to operating profit results that finished below our plan. Our disciplined focus on cash and success in reducing core working capital resulted in free cash flow of $2.2 billion, an increase of 28 percent over the prior year.

As we turn to fiscal 2019, we'll continue to follow our Consumer First strategy and execute against our global growth priorities to further improve our topline momentum. We'll compete effectively across our portfolio, including on our large global platforms like cereal and yogurt. We'll increase investments to accelerate our differential growth platforms. And we'll continue to reshape our portfolio by maximizing

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Jeffrey L. Harmening
Chief Executive Officer

the growth opportunities for Blue Buffalo and assessing opportunities to divest businesses that are growth dilutive.

We'll also benefit from key capabilities that we've built recently, including E-commerce and Strategic Revenue Management. These capabilities will drive growth for our brands in fiscal 2019, and they're critical to our ability to generate consistent sales growth in the years to come. In addition, we're keenly focused on maintaining our efficiency in this more inflationary cost environment, and we have initiatives underway to help protect our profitability.

I want to close by thanking our talented team of 40,000 employees around the world, who remain committed to our company and passionate about our purpose of serving the world by making food people love. I also want to thank you, our shareholders, for your investment in General Mills. We appreciate your confidence in our business, and we look forward to delivering on our goals and driving growth and returns for you in the years to come.

Sincerely,

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Jeff Harmening
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

August 1, 2018