DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Brinker International Inc. (EAT) reversed a year-earlier loss in
its fiscal third quarter caused by the write-down of the Macaroni
Grill restaurant chain, as margins rose amid the company's
cost-cutting.
Shares fell 1.4% in premarket trading Tuesday to $18.03. The
stock price has more than quadrupled since it hit a 17-year low in
November.
Casual-dining operators have been shedding expenses to balance
declining traffic and are offering more value deals to lure
customers. However, even those who are eating out have cut back on
extras, such as appetizers, drinks and desserts, companies say.
For the quarter ended March 25, the operator of Chili's Grill
& Bar and other restaurant chains reported net income of $35
million, or 34 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss
of $38.8 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding
items, including the write-down, earnings rose to 45 cents a share
from 33 cents. Earlier this month, Brinker predicted 44 cents to 45
cents a share, above analysts' then-estimates.
Revenue dropped 20% to $857.4 million. Analysts most-recently
estimated revenue of $864.6 million, according to a poll by Thomson
Reuters.
Gross margin rose to 62.1% from 61.1%.
Brinker previously reported same-store sales for the quarter
fell 5.6%, including a 5.2% decline at Chili's, and 5% and 9.5%
drops, respectively, at On The Border and Maggiano's locations.
-By Katherine E. Wegert and Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires;
201-938-5975; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com