Darden Restaurants Now Sees Q2 Adj. Earnings At Upper End Of $0.26 - $0.28

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) Thursday said it now expects second-quarter adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to be at the upper end of its prior range of $0.26 - $0.28. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings per share of $0.26 for the quarter.

In addition, for the month of September, the company reported same-restaurant sales growth of 0.6 percent for Olive Garden, compared with a decline of 2.6 percent in the same month last year. Same-restaurant sales of LongHorn Steakhouse rose by 3.2 percent, compared with an increase of 2.9 percent last year.

Gene Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Darden commented: ""We are pleased with the solid year-over-year same-restaurant sales increases we achieved in September at most of our brands, including at Olive Garden." "These increases further demonstrate that Darden's operational improvements are taking hold. In addition to Olive Garden's turnaround, we are driving continued growth at LongHorn Steakhouse and our Specialty Restaurant brands," he added.