By Katherine Hamilton

General Mills said it is optimistic about its new fiscal year, as it aims to win back budget-conscious shoppers by cutting costs and adding more products.

"I can confidently say that we exited the year with a stronger foundation, with encouraging improvements in household penetration," Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said. "So I'm equally confident that fiscal 2027 will be a better year for General Mills."

Shares were up nearly 6% to $36.74 on Wednesday morning after the company reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results. The stock has lost roughly a quarter of its value over the past year.

The maker of Cheerios and Annie's Mac and Cheese has been taking on more costs to reduce prices because consumers are shopping on a smaller budget. Now that those price adjustments are mostly complete, General Mills plans to focus on introducing new products and marketing that address shoppers' interest in things like healthy ingredients and bold flavors.

Protein and fiber will be a focus in the new year, executives said. The company is also investing in its pet food lines because consumers are willing to spend more on their pets. North American sales in General Mills's pet business increased during the quarter, while its regular retail segment fell.

The company is also aiming to cut $3 billion in costs by fiscal year 2030, as it looks for ways to operate more efficiently and offset inflation.

General Mills posted a loss of $2.01 billion, or $3.74 a share, in the quarter ended in May, compared with a profit of $294.0 million, or 53 cents a share, a year earlier.

The swing to a loss in the quarter was primarily driven by $1.8 billion in noncash charges due to an increase in discount rates. General Mills also had a $1 billion noncash valuation loss related to the planned divestiture of its Brazil business.

Stripping out these one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were 95 cents, ahead of the 80 cents anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose 1% to $4.61 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenue of $4.59 billion.

The past fiscal year was a tough one for the U.S. consumer, who pulled back on spending, and management doesn't expect a quick recovery, said Chief Operating Officer Dana McNabb.

"What we are anticipating is that as we go into this new fiscal year, the consumer is going to continue to be pressured," McNabb said.

Consumers will likely keep buying more on promotion and less on everyday prices, as well as making trade-offs between package sizes to save more, she said.

Exiting the fourth quarter, General Mills logged a slow-down in certain categories by one percentage point, McNabb said. The company expects category growth in the new fiscal year will be below the long-term historical growth rate due to this challenging consumer backdrop.

General Mills projects $3 to $3.20 in annual adjusted earnings per share compared with analysts' outlook of $3.13 a share.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com