Darden Restaurants Q2 Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) reported a net loss for the second quarter of $32.8 million or $0.26 per share, compared to net income of $19.8 million or $0.15 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Loss from continuing operations for the second quarter was $30.8 million or $0.24 per share, compared to income from continuing operations of $6.0 million or $0.05 per share in the prior year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter were $0.28, compared to $0.12 in the second quarter of last year.

Second quarter total sales rose 4.9% to $1.56 billion from the $1.49 billion last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.27 per share on revenue of $1.55 billion for the second quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company said it now expects net earnings from continuing operations of $1.30 -$1.35 per share and adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $2.25-$2.30 per share for the fiscal year 2015. Previously, the company expected net earnings from continuing operations of $1.74 - $1.84 per share and adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $2.22 - $2.30 per share.

Analysts currently expect the company to earn $2.26 per share for the fiscal year 2015.