Darden quarterly sales up 4.9 percent, Olive Garden comps up 0.5 percent
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Reuters] - December 17, 2014 -
Darden Restaurants Inc, whose entire board was replaced by activist investor Starboard Value LP, reported a 4.9 percent rise in quarterly sales and raised the lower end of its adjusted profit forecast for the full year.
The company's shares were up 1.9 percent in extended trading.
The quarterly report was the first since Starboard ousted Darden's board in a stunning move for the largest full-service restaurant operator in the United States.
Same-restaurant sales at Olive Garden rose 0.5 percent in the quarter, compared with a 0.4 percent fall expected by analysts polled by Consensus Metrix.
Sales were also helped by a steady rise in online ordering and take-out sales, the company said on the call.
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