Darden Restaurants Inc. Q2 Income Climbs 13%

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) released a profit for its second quarter that gained ground compared to the same period last year.

The company said its bottom line advanced to $79.7 million, or $0.64 per share. This was up from $70.5 million, or $0.54 per share, in last year's second quarter.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.64 per share, according figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said revenue for the quarter rose 1.9% to $1.64 billion. This was up from $1.61 billion last year.

Darden Restaurants Inc. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q2): $79.7 Mln. vs. $70.5 Mln. last year. -Earnings Growth (Y-o-Y): 13.0% -EPS (Q2): $0.64 vs. $0.54 last year. -EPS Growth (Y-o-Y): 18.5% -Analysts Estimate: $0.64 -Revenue (Q2): $1.64 Bln vs. $1.61 Bln last year. -Revenue Change (Y-o-Y): 1.9%