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Blog
No optimism, just caution, at Darden
June 25, 2008
Restaurant analysts generally agree that governent rebate checks provided the boost to same-store sales in May. Darden Restaurants, for example, the country's largest casual-dining company, posted a 2 percent overall gain. So, during the company's Q4 conference call, UBS analyst Michael Binetti wondered aloud if it's "reasonable" to assume sales will hold up after the rebate money runs out. CEO Clarence Otis had this to say in response:
"Probably not reasonable. What we saw in May, it is hard to gauge. We do get weekly Knapp-Track numbers. And our best guess as we look at that data is a lift of maybe a point on a same-store sales basis. But that data does not reflect the run up we have seen in June in some of the costs that consumers are facing, especially gasoline. And so we would say there is still enough going on out there to be fairly cautious.... We are approaching a relatively uncertain environment with caution."
Otis: Currently cautious
Posted by David Farkas on June 25, 2008 | Comments (0)