Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Q2 Earnings Match Consensus; Backs FY14 View

(RTTNews) - Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (CBRL), a restaurant company with a chain of combined restaurant and gift stores, Tuesday reported an increase in the second-quarter earnings, despite revenues being hit by extreme winter weather. Earnings matched analysts' estimate. Further, the company confirmed its earnings outlook for 2014.

Earnings increased to $37.05 million or $1.55 per share, from $35.17 million or $1.47 per share a year earlier.

Excluding certain items, earnings were $37.31 million or $1.56 per share, compared with $34.26 million or $1.43 per share a year earlier.

On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson-Reuters estimated the company's earnings to be $1.56 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue for the second quarter was $698.49 million, compared with $702.67 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected the company to report revenues of $709.23 million. Comparable-store restaurant sales decreased by 0.6 percent.

The company estimates that the extreme winter weather during the quarter negatively impacted restaurant and retail sales by approximately 2.5 percent.

During the second quarter, general and administrative expenses decreased to $29.93 million, from $33.83 million a year earlier.

For 2014, the company confirmed its earnings guidance of $5.60 to $5.80 per share. Annual revenue is expected to be $2.7 billion and capital expenditures are expected to be $90 million to $100 million.

Analysts expect earnings of $5.76 and revenue of $2.72 billion for the year.