Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
said it plans to continue making strides to improve traffic following a sales miss.
Cracker Barrel (ticker: CBRL) posted fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.79 a share, higher than Wall Street’s call for $1.61, according to FactSet. Sales were $836.7 million, rising from the prior year but lower than the $842 million analysts had forecast. Same-store restaurant sales rose 2.4%—thanks to higher menu prices—while same-store retail sales declined 6.8% from the year-ago quarter.
Shares rose 3.7% on Wednesday. This year, the stock has tumbled 19%.
“We have taken and will continue to take numerous actions to improve our traffic performance on the marketing and operational front which we believe will be effective, particularly as we enter our important holiday season,” said CEO Sandra Cochran in the earnings release.
“Despite our recent traffic challenges, we remain confident that our continued focus on our strategic priorities … will improve performance in the near term and deliver value creation over the long term,” she continued.
The company also issued a fiscal first-quarter outlook that included a total revenue range of $800 million to $850 million, in line with the $849 million estimated by analysts. It also said it expects commodity deflation of 1% to 2% and wage inflation of 4% to 5%.
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