Darden Restaurants Inc. Q4 Profit Decreases, But Beats Estimates

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) revealed a profit for fourth quarter that decreased from last year but beat the Street estimates.

The company's bottom line totaled $308.1 million, or $2.57 per share. This compares with $315.1 million, or $2.58 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Darden Restaurants Inc. reported adjusted earnings of $318.2 million or $2.65 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.61 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter rose 6.9% to $2.96 billion from $2.77 billion last year.

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

-Earnings (Q4): $308.1 Mln. vs. $315.1 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q4): $2.57 vs. $2.58 last year. -Revenue (Q4): $2.96 Bln vs. $2.77 Bln last year.