Darden Restaurants Q4 To Date Same-restaurant Sales Down 47.9%

(RTTNews) - Darden Restaurants, Inc., (DRI) provided a business update on Tuesday, saying that its same-restaurant sales for the fourth quarter to date through Sunday, May 17, declined 47.9 percent.

The company said that from April 27, it began reopening dining rooms limited to between 25 percent and 50 percent capacity, depending on local or state regulations.

As of May 17, 49 percent of Darden's dining rooms are open in limited capacity. The company expects to have more than 65 percent of its dining rooms open with limited capacity by the end of May.

Darden noted its 'To Go' business remains strong. The company added it was able to return some team members from furlough to support the phased openings.

Based on results for the week ending May 17, Darden's ongoing weekly cash burn rate has improved to less than $10 million, including capital expenditures. The company has fully repaid its $750 million credit facility on May 5, 2020.

With about $700 million of cash on hand as of May 17, Darden said it is well positioned for the near term while retaining financial flexibility to fully access its $750 million credit facility in the event capital requirements present.

Including cash available through the credit facility and cash on hand, the company has access to more than $1.4 billion of liquidity.