Brinker International Inc. (EAT) reported that its third-quarter net income increased to $44.93 million or $0.56 per share, from $40.25 million or $0.45 per share in the same quarter last year.
Earnings per share, excluding special items, increased 27.7 percent to $0.60 compared to $0.47 for the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.56 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues for the quarter rose to $742.05 million from $717.12 million in the prior year quarter. Fifteen analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $729.78 million for the quarter.
Chili's comparable restaurant sales increased 4.6 percent, and customer traffic increased 1.8 percent. Maggiano's comparable restaurant sales increased 3.9 percent, and customer traffic increased by 1.5 percent.
"We also continue to improve the middle of the P&L, further strengthening our business model. These factors combined with returning value to shareholders through share repurchases make us confident we'll deliver on our promise to double EPS by 2015 to $2.75 to $2.80," said Doug Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer.
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