Cheesecake Factory 2Q earns rise 15 percent

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif. (AP) ? Restaurant operator Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported a 15 percent increase in second-quarter earnings Wednesday on the strength of improved sales in its namesake chain.

Results topped Wall Street's expectations and the stock climbed in after-hours trading.

Net income for the April-through-June period was $28.4 million, or 52 cents per share, up from $24.7 million, or 42 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2011.

Excluding proceeds from a variable life insurance contract, the company said adjusted income was 51 cents per share.

Revenue was $454.7 million, up 6 percent from $430.7 million a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 49 cents per share on revenue of $457 million, according to FactSet.

The company said comparable sales ? those from restaurants open more than a year ? were up 2.1 percent from a year earlier at The Cheesecake Factory but down 2.9 percent at its Grand Lux Cafe chain.

Cheesecake Factory, which runs 173 restaurants nationwide, also said its board approved the initiation of quarterly dividend. The first dividend of 12 cents per share will be paid Aug. 21 to shareholders of record Aug. 8.

Shares in the company jumped $1.87, or 6.2 percent, to $32 in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report. In the regular session, they declined 6 cents to $30.38.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cheesecake-factory-2q-earns-rise-15-percent-222215297--finance.html

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