CHICAGO – CBRL Group Inc. (CBRL), operator of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants, on Tuesday said earnings for the current quarter would miss analysts estimates, and it cut its revenue outlook.
Shares of CBRL, based in Lebanon, Tenn., fell about 3 percent. CBRL said it expects earnings of 54 cents to 56 cents a share in the fiscal third quarter ending April 29. Analysts on average forecast 57 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Sales at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants (search) open at least 18 months rose 3.5 percent in the four weeks ended March 25, but would have been up only 2 percent to 2.5 percent without the shift of the pre-Easter period into the March sales period, the company said.
Retail sales in the stores were up 1.8 percent in the month on a same-store basis, but would have been down 0.7 percent to 1.2 percent without the shift in the Easter holiday, the company said.
The company forecast an 8 percent to 9 percent increase in total revenue for the quarter. In February, CBRL had forecast a 9 percent to 10 percent increase in revenue.
CBRL stood by its full-year forecast for earnings growth in the mid-to-high teens from $2.18 a share a year earlier. The year earlier figure is restated for a change in lease accounting and excludes a settlement charge.
CBRL shares were down $1.23 at $42.48 on Nasdaq (search).