Cracker Barrel ends fiscal 2019 with strong growth

Restaurant chain Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) on Tuesday reported a 2.9% decline in fourth-quarter sales to $787.1 million, but this was higher than the street expectation of $775 million.

The top-line growth was spurred by a 3.8% growth in comparable restaurant sales, as well as a narrow increase in traffic of about 0.2%.

Meanwhile, net income for the quarter came in at $2.70 per share, compared to $2.55 per share in the same period last year. The bottom-line topped analysts’ projection of $2.48 per share by a wide margin.

The better-than-expected results sent the stock up 3.1% during pre-market trading hours. The stock is up 2.5% so far this year.

CEO Sandra Cochran said, “We ended the fiscal year with a strong quarter, delivering comparable store restaurant sales and traffic growth in the fourth quarter that outperformed the casual dining industry.”

Outlook

The restaurant company also provided its expectations for the upcoming financial year. For fiscal 2020, the Lebanon, Tennessee-based firm sees revenues between $3.15 billion and $3.20 billion, as Comparable store restaurant sales is projected to grow 2-3%.

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Excluding the unfavorable impact from the investments it made in Denver-based Punch Bowl Social, earning for this period is expected between $9.30 and $9.45 per share.

 Cracker Barrel is also hoping to spend $115 million to $125 million in capital expenditures during fiscal 2020.

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