Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL) on Monday reported a 30 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting higher sales and traffic. Both revenue and earnings per share beat analysts' expectations.
Looking ahead, the company raised its adjusted earnings per share outlook for fiscal 2013 and also increased its quarterly dividend by 50 percent. Shares of the company are gaining 4.5 percent in pre-market trades.
The Lebanon, Tennessee-based company engages in the development and operation of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant and retail concept.
Sandra Cochran, President and CEO of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store said, "Driven by strong sales, traffic and operational performance, our earnings growth for the third quarter exceeded our expectations. We believe focusing on our priorities around menu initiatives, store merchandise, marketing and operations improved our operating margin and profitability during the quarter."
Comparable store traffic for the quarter edged up 0.7 percent from last year, while comparable store restaurant sales increased 3.1 percent and comparable store retail sales increased 5.5 percent. Comparable store restaurant sales includes a 2.4 percent increase in average check.
Cracker Barrel's third-quarter net income was $24.60 million or $1.02 per share, up from $18.97 million or $0.81 a share in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings per share in the prior-year period were $0.86.
On average, 8 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings per share of $0.94 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Total revenue for the quarter grew 5 percent to $640.41 million from $608.51 million in the year-ago period. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate for the quarter of $630.56 million.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2013, Cracker Barrel raised its outlook for adjusted earnings per share to a range of $4.75 to $4.85 from the prior range of $4.60 to $4.80.
The company continues to project total revenue for the year between $2.6 billion and $2.65 billion, reflecting the expected opening of eight new Cracker Barrel stores and projected increases in comparable store restaurant and retail sales in a range of 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent.
Analysts expect the company to earn $4.79 per share for the year on revenues of $2.63 billion.
In addition, the company's board recently increased the quarterly dividend to $0.75 per share on the company's common stock, payable on August 5 to shareholders of record as of July 19. This represents a 50 percent increase over the last quarterly dividend of $0.50.
CBRL closed Friday's trading at $89.46. In Monday's pre-market, the stock is adding $4.05 or 4.53 percent to $93.51.
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