Darden Restaurants Inc., reported higher results for the third quarter and raised its fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings forecast, although it was more conservative with its total sales and same-restaurant sales growth predictions.
The company shares fell about 5.5 percent to $165.01 in pre-market trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
In addition, the board of directors at Darden announced a quarterly cash dividend of $1.31 per share, payable to shareholders recorded as of the close of business on April 10th, with the payment due on May 1st.
The board also gave the go-ahead for a fresh share buyback program worth up to $1 billion on Wednesday.
The company now anticipates adjusted net earnings per share from ongoing operations to range from $8.80 to $8.90 for fiscal 2024, excluding around $0.35 per share related to costs from the Ruth's Chris transaction and integration. Previously, the company had forecast adjusted earnings per share from ongoing operations between $8.75 and $8.90, excluding costs of $0.37 per share.
Analysts predict that the company will report earnings of $8.86 per share on average, per figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. These estimates generally do not include extraordinary items.
Darden now expects total sales around $11.4 billion, down from the earlier estimate of $11.5 billion. The market estimates sales of approximately $11.51 billion for the year.
Same-restaurant sales growth is now projected to be 1.5 percent to 2 percent, as compared to the earlier growth prediction of 2.5 percent to 3 percent.
The third-quarter earnings report from Darden Restaurants revealed that the earnings in alignment with market expectations showed an increase from the previous year.
The company earned a total of $312.9 million or $2.60 per share, an increase from the $286.6 million or $2.34 per share earned the prior year. Adjusted earnings for the time period amounted to $315.4 million or $2.62 per share.
Analysts expected the company to earn $2.62 per share.
Finally, there was a 6.5 percent rise in the company's revenue for the quarter, coming in at $2.97 billion, compared to $2.79 billion the previous year.
