Darden Restaurants Inc. Q2 Profit Increases, Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) reported a profit for its second quarter that increased from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.

The company's bottom line totaled $215.7 million, or $1.82 per share. This compares with $212.3 million, or $1.76 per share, in last year's second quarter.

Excluding items, Darden Restaurants Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $240.0 million or $2.03 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.02 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 6.0% to $2.890 billion from $2.727 billion last year.

Darden Restaurants Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q2): $215.7 Mln. vs. $212.3 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q2): $1.82 vs. $1.76 last year. -Revenue (Q2): $2.890 Bln vs. $2.727 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: $9.40 to $9.60 Full year revenue guidance: $12.1 Bln