MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills Inc.’s latest profit rose 10 percent and its sales rose 21 percent, huge gains of a kind rarely seen at a large food company, as consumers gobbled up its cereals, snacks and baking goods while spending more time at home to fend off coronavirus.

But the ongoing economic downturn has made executives cautious about the coming months. General Mills declined to offer guidance to investors on expectations for its new fiscal year, which started June 1.

Its shares fell 2 percent in premarket trading indications on a morning when the broader market appeared to be heading for a decline.

The Golden Valley, Minn.-based company was getting about 85 percent of its sales from people buying food for home consumption before the pandemic. That put it in a strong position to gain from the sudden shift in food consumption that began in March when tens of millions of Americans started working and attending school from home.

In March, April and May, General Mills experienced a surge in demand across all its product categories.