Cracker Barrel 3Q Profit Rises 14 Percent

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) — Restaurant operator Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 14 percent due to lower interest expenses and a dip in operating costs.

For the quarter ended May 1, net income climbed to $12 million, or 52 cents per share, from $10.4 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 44 cents per share.

The company said a 10 percent decline in interest expenses helped boost profit. General and administrative expenses and cost of good sold also both fell slightly.

Revenue was essentially flat at $567.6 million. Analysts predicted revenue of $568.7 million.

Restaurant same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 0.9 percent in the period while retail same-store sales dropped 7.4 percent. March appeared to be a low point with sales dropping steeply due, in part, to the shift in the Easter holiday from March to April.

Cracker Barrel also said it expects its 2009 profit to be between $2.70 and $2.90 per share. Analysts anticipate profit of $2.76 per share.