Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. said its earnings rose 18% during
the quarter ended in July, though revenue didn't grow as much as
Wall Street had expected.
Shares of the casual-dining chain, which had climbed 19% in the
past three months, fell 8.3% to $81 in recent premarket
trading.
The company also said it now expects revenue growth for the year
of "near 12%," compared with its previous estimate for an increase
of 12% to 12.5%.
For the period ended July 12, Red Robin reported a profit of
$11.2 million, or 78 cents a share, up from $9.5 million, or 65
cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 14% to $293
million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected per-share profit
of 78 cents and revenue of $298 million.
Sales at comparable restaurants—or company-owned restaurants
opened at least five quarters—rose 2.9% as guest counts grew 0.5%
and average guest checks increased 2.4%.
Restaurant-level operating margin rose to 22.5% from 22.2%.
Competition among burger chains has been intensifying recently
with the entry of fast-casual chains like Shake Shack Inc., Habit
Restaurants Inc. and Five Guys. The growing popularity of the newer
chains has led more traditional burger chains to upgrade their
offerings.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires