美国通用磨坊瞄准中国酸奶市场

General Mills, the US food company, is developing plans to launch its yoghurt brands in China as it struggles to keep up with rivals in the US.

美国食品公司通用磨坊(General Mills)计划在中国推出酸奶品牌。在美国国内，通用磨坊正在竭力追赶竞争对手。

“We’re looking at new markets where yoghurt is not as developed, with China being the first stop, Don Mulligan, chief financial officer of General Mills, told the Financial Times.

通用磨坊首席财务官唐·穆里根(Don Mulligan)告诉英国《金融时报》：“我们正把目光投向酸奶业不是很发达的新市场，中国就是我们的第一站。

Mr Mulligan said that yoghurt was already an existing category in China, but that it was usually consumed as a drink. The company, which also sells Cheerios cereal, hopes to introduce new varieties of yoghurt to the Chinese diet.

穆里根表示，在中国，酸奶已是一个既有食品类型，但人们通常只把它当作一种饮品。通用磨坊希望在中国饮食中引入新的酸奶品种。Cheerios麦圈也是该公司旗下产品。

General Mills is investing heavily in emerging markets and in its Greek yoghurt brands in the US, where market leader Chobani continues to dominate. It has been under pressure to make gains in the fast-growing Greek yoghurt category after a deal last year to acquire half of Yoplait, the French yoghurt manufacturer, for $1.15bn.

通用磨坊正在大举投资新兴市场以及它在美国市场的“希腊酸奶品牌。在美国，Chobani依然是希腊酸奶市场的领跑者。在去年以11.5亿美元收购法国酸奶制造商优诺(Yoplait)的一半股权之后，通用磨坊就一直承受压力，它要力争在快速增长的希腊酸奶市场中获利。

General Mills released a disappointing earnings outlook for 2013 as it reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results yesterday. Its fourth-quarter net earnings rose 8 per cent year-on-year to $325.4m as revenues increased 11.9 per cent to $4bn. Its shares slipped nearly 2 per cent to $37.48 in midday trading.

昨日，通用磨坊发布了第四季度和全年业绩报告，对2013年的盈利前景作出了令人失望的预期。该公司第四季度净利润为3.254亿美元，同比增长8%；营收为40亿美元，同比增长11.9%。在午盘交易中，通用磨坊股价跌至每股37.48美元，跌幅近2%。