ORLANDO, Fla., Sept 29, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today reported sales and diluted net earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter ended August 30, 2009. In the first quarter, diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 16% to 67 cents, versus 58 cents in the prior year.
First quarter sales from continuing operations were $1.73 billion, compared to $1.77 billion in the prior year, a 2.3% decrease. Blended same-restaurant sales for Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse were down 5.3% this quarter, which compares to an estimated decline of 7.8% for the Knapp-Track(TM) benchmark of U.S. same-restaurant sales, excluding Darden.
Read more:
