Business
Cracker Barrel Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2019 Results, Increases Quarterly Dividend, Declares Special Dividend, And Authorizes Share Repurchases
LEBANON, Tenn., June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. ("Cracker Barrel" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: CBRL) today reported its
About this update from Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"LEBANON, Tenn., June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (\"Cracker Barrel\" or the \"Company\") (Nasdaq: CBRL) today reported its financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2019 ended May 3, 2019.\nThird Quarter Fiscal 2019 Highlights\nComparable store restaurant sales growth of 1.3% and traffic of -1.8% outperformed the casual dining industry. Earnings per diluted share were $2.09, a 3.0% increase compared to $2.03 in the prior year third quarter. The Company announced its Board of Directors increased the quarterly dividend to $1.30 per share on the Company's common stock, which represents a 4.0% increase over the Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share. The Board of Directors also declared a special dividend of $3.00 per share on the Company's common stock and authorized new share repurchases for up to $50 million of the Company's outstanding common stock.Commenting on the third quarter results, Cracker Barrel President and Chief Executive Officer Sandra B. Cochran said, \"I am pleased that we again delivered positive comparable store restaurant sales growth and outperformed the casual dining industry. Our teams continued to make progress on key initiatives, and I am encouraged by our performance, in particular with the early results of our new Signature Fried Chicken initiative.\" \nThird Quarter Fiscal 2019 Results Revenue The Company reported total revenue of $739.6 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2019, representing an increase of 2.5% over the third quarter of the prior year. Cracker Barrel comparable store restaurant sales increased 1.3%, representing a 3.1% increase in average check and a 1.8% decrease in comparable store restaurant traffic. The average menu price increase for the quarter was approximately 1.8%. Comparable store retail sales decreased 2.6% from the prior year quarter. \nCracker Barrel comparable store restaurant traffic, average check, and comparable store restaurant sales and retail sales for the third quarter were as follows: \nOperating IncomeOperating income in the third quarter was $65.1 million, representing an increase of 2.8% over the prior year quarter operating income of $63.3 million. As a percentage of total revenue, operating income was 8.8%, which was flat to the prior year quarter. As a percentage of total revenue, increases in la...