Darden Restaurants swings to 4Q profit

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ Casual dining chain operator Darden Restaurants Inc. said Tuesday it swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, helped by strong sales at the Olive Garden.

For the quarter ended May 25, the company reported net income of $101.8 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with a loss of $55.1 million, or 38 cents per share in last year's quarter.

Excluding discontinued operations and estimated integration and purchase accounting adjustments, the company earned 78 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 75 cents per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time gains and charges.

Revenue jumped 25 percent to $1.83 billion from $1.46 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2007. Analysts predicted revenue of $1.82 billion.

Much of the sales boost came from strong sales at the Olive Garden. Sales also grew at Longhorn Steakhouse, largely due to revenue from 24 new restaurants.

U.S. same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, grew 5.8 percent at the Olive Garden during the quarter. Same-store sales fell, though, at both Red Lobster and Longhorn Steakhouse.

Same-store sales is a key indicator of restaurant performance since it measures growth at existing locations rather than newly opened ones.

For the year, net income climbed 87 percent to $377.2 million, or $2.60 per share, from $201.4 million, or $1.35 per share last year.

Revenue rose 19 percent to $6.63 billion from $5.57 billion in 2007.

Shares fell 13 cents to $31.47 in after-hours trading. During regular trading, shares rose 95 cents, or 3.1 percent, to close at $31.60.