Darden Restaurants Reports Fiscal 2019 Second Quarter Results

Mega restaurant group Darden Restaurants, Inc., recently detailed the results of its financial report for its second quarter fiscal 2019, a period ending in Nov. 25, 2018. For the company, the 2018 calendar year was a year of new restaurant expansion and stock repurchasing, setting the stage for a productive 2019.

"We had another quarter of strong and steady performance by continuing to focus on being brilliant with the basics in our restaurants," said CEO Gene Lee, in a press release. "We continued to grow market share profitably by strengthening and leveraging our competitive advantages, and our brands are making the appropriate investments while managing costs effectively."

Highlights from Darden's Q2 fiscal 2019 include:

• Driven by the addition of 40 net new restaurants, total sales increased 4.9% to $1.97 billion and a blended same-restaurant sales increase of 2.1%
• Approximately $61 million of its outstanding common stock was repurchased
• Reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 29.6% to $0.92 and increased 26.0% from last year’s adjusted diluted net earnings per share
• Same-restaurant sales included +3.5% for Olive Garden, +2.9% for LongHorn Steakhouse, +3.7 for The Capital Grille, +0.9% for Eddie V’s, -4.0% for Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, -1.1% for Yard House, -0.8% for Seasons 52, and -1.1% for Bahama Breeze
• The company repurchased approximately 0.6 million shares of the company’s common stock for a total cost of roughly $61 million throughout the quarter. By the end of the fiscal second quarter, the company had roughly $419 million under the current $500 million repurchase authorization.

Darden has updated its fiscal 2019 forecast for same-restaurant sales growth to roughly 2.5%, and its outlook for diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations range between $5.60 and $5.70.

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