Darden Restaurants, Inc. Q3 Earnings Dip; Matches Estimates; Declares Dividend (DRI)

Before the opening bell on Friday morning, Darden Restaurants (DRI) reported its third quarter earnings, posting lower overall sales compared to last year’s third quarter.

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DRI’s Earnings in Brief

DRI reported third quarter sales of $2.23 billion, which were slightly below last year’s Q3 sales of $2.26 billion. Net earnings for the quarter came in at $109.7 million, down from last year’s Q3 figure of $134.5 million. The company's diluted EPS came in at 82 cents, which is significantly than last year’s Q3 EPS of $1.02. DRI met analysts’ estimates of 82 cents EPS, but came in slightly below revenue expectations of $2.26 billion. The company placed some of the blame for its lower earnings on higher direct costs and severe winter weather. Darden affirmed that diluted net EPS for FY2014 will decline between 15% and 20% compared to last year.

DRI’s Dividend

Darden declared a quarterly dividend of 55 cents, which is payable on May 5 to all shareholders on record as of April 10. The stock goes ex-dividend on April 8.

Stock Performance

DRI stock was inactive in pre-market trading. YTD, Darden stock is down 7.95%.