Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) shares slumped early Thursday, on revealing its first-quarter numbers for the fiscal year.
The Orlando, Florida restaurant chain reported total sales increased 3.5% to $2.13 billion driven by the addition of 40 net new restaurants and a blended same-restaurant sales increase of 0.9%
Its Olive Garden restaurants saw sales growth of 2.2%, Longhorn Steakhouse progressed 2.6%, while its Cheddar Scratch Kitchen improved 5.4%.
Darden also reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 3.0% to $1.38 compared to last year's diluted net earnings per share. Operating income registered at $201.5 million, compared to $189.1 million in the prior-year quarter.
Darden's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.88 per share on the Company's outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable on November 1, to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 10.
During the quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 0.8 million shares of its common stock for a total cost of approximately $95 million.
In addition, yesterday, Darden's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $500 million of its outstanding common stock.
"I'm pleased with our results this quarter as we continued to gain market share," said CEO Gene Lee. "Our teams remained focused on improving the guest experience by focusing on our back-to-basics operating philosophy and leveraging our competitive advantages, all while managing costs effectively."
Shares in Darden opened Thursday down $4.83, or 3.8%, to $122.38
