Hey dieselfuel,
Both
Darden Restaurants or DRI runs....is.... Red Lobster + Olive Garden.....Smokey Bones......Bahama Breeze.......+..others..
Eating out......is still growing,
Fletch
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc., which operates the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, jumped Wednesday, helped by both a rise in the overall market and a strong third quarter earnings report.
Darden shares climbed $1.97, or 6.6 percent, to close at $31.83 Wednesday.
The boost comes after the company reported late Tuesday its third quarter profit jumped 18 percent. Revenue rose 25 percent, with sales at Olive Garden contributing much of the increase.
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, at the Italian restaurant chain grew 5.7 percent. Same-store sales at the company's other two concepts -- Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse -- fell.
The company also said it expects its revenue to rise in fiscal 2008, and reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the year for profit growth between 2 percent and 4 percent.
"While industry sales and cost pressures persist, Darden's results are impressive, reflecting operations excellence," Bernstein said.
