Darden Restaurants posts 1Q profit, results top Wall Street forecasts

Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $86.4 million.

On a per-share basis, the Orlando, Florida-based company said it had net income of 67 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 68 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 58 cents per share.

The owner of Olive Garden and other chain restaurants posted revenue of $1.69 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.68 billion.

Darden Restaurants expects full-year earnings in the range of $3.15 to $3.30 per share.

Darden Restaurants shares have climbed 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has decreased 4.5 percent. The stock has increased 37 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DRI at http://www.zacks.com/ap/DRI

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Keywords: Darden Restaurants, Earnings Report