Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants tops profit and same-store sales expectations
Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc. slipped 0.4% toward a six-month low in premarket trade Tuesday, after the parent of the Olive Garden restaurant chain reported fiscal second-quarter profit and same-store sales that beat expectations, but total sales came up a bit shy. Net income for the quarter to Nov. 25 rose to $115.6 million, or 92 cents a share, from $84.7 million, or 67 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 91 cents. Sales grew 4.9% to $1.97 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $1.98 billion, as Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse sales rose more than expected, but fine dining and other business sales missed analyst projections. Same-store sales increased 2.1%, beating the FactSet consensus of 2.0%, as Olive Garden same-store sales growth of 3.5% beat expectations of a 3.2% rise. Olive Garden's same-store sales growth included a 0.8% decline in traffic, a 1.9% rise in pricing and 2.4% increase in menu-mix. For fiscal 2019, the company now expects EPS from continuing operations of $5.60 to $5.70, above the previous guidance range of $5.52 to $5.65. The stock, which closed Monday at the lowest level since June 20, has shed 17% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slid 12%.
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