Darden Restaurants Inc. Q3 Profit Increases, Inline With Estimates

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) announced earnings for its third quarter that increased from last year in line with the Street estimates.

The company's earnings totaled $312.9 million, or $2.60 per share. This compares with $286.6 million, or $2.34 per share, in last year's third quarter.

Excluding items, Darden Restaurants Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $315.4 million or $2.62 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.62 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 6.5% to $2.97 billion from $2.79 billion last year.

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

-Earnings (Q3): $312.9 Mln. vs. $286.6 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q3): $2.60 vs. $2.34 last year. -Revenue (Q3): $2.97 Bln vs. $2.79 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: $8.80 - $8.90 Full year revenue guidance: $11.4 Bln