ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Darden Restaurants' fiscal first-quarter net income rose 4 percent even as a key revenue figure edged down at its flagship Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse chains.
Its earnings beat Wall Street expectations, and its shares edged up in premarket trading.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company earned $110.8 million, or 85 cents per share, compared with $106.6 million, or 78 cents per share, a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations were 87 cents per share.
Analysts expected earnings of 83 cents per share.
Revenue for the three months ended Aug. 26 rose 5 percent to $2.03 billion, meeting Wall Street's expectations.
Darden Restaurants Inc. said Friday that combined revenue at Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn locations open at least a year dipped 0.3 percent. The company maintained its fiscal 2013 forecast.
