Darden Results Come in Line Amid Focus on Olive Garden Renaissance

Darden Restaurants reported fiscal first quarter earnings on Friday that were in line with the pre-announced results it gave last week. The company also maintained its fiscal year 2015 earnings per share guidance. Sales at Olive Garden slipped 0.5%, while Longhorn Steakhouse sales rose 9.7% and the specialty restaurants sales climbed 14.5% in the quarter. Gene Lee, President and Chief Operating Officer of Darden said, 'The Olive Garden brand renaissance is well underway, and the improvements we are seeing in guest satisfaction and traffic trends reinforce our confidence in Olive Garden's potential.'