Among the company's different brands, however, the picture was a bit more mixed. Fourth-quarter comparable-restaurant sales declined 1.7% for domestic Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants, but increased 3.1% for Sullivan's Steakhouse restaurants, 17% for Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak Houses and 7.9% for Texas Land & Cattle Steak Houses; fiscal year 2004 comp restaurant sales growth was 0.6%, 5.6%, 23.2%, and 9.9%, respectively. Lone Star owns and operates 251 domestic Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants; 15 Sullivan's Steakhouses; five Del Frisco's and 20 Texas Land & Cattle Steak Houses. Licensees operate three domestic and 13 international Lone Star restaurants, and one domestic Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House.

The company attributed the uneven results to higher beef prices, among other factors. "Beef prices remained high versus historical levels throughout the year, exacerbated by the continuation of the mad cow problem," noted Lone Star CEO Jamie B. Coulter. "Unfortunately, this situation will result in the company having to continue dealing with volatile beef prices for the foreseeable future."

Indeed, wholesale beef prices will set a new record annual high during 2004 by averaging $137.50 per hundredweight, according to the Cattlemen's Beef Board and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, slightly higher than the $137 per hundredweight average of 2003. The prices stemmed from both a decline in domestic production—24.5 billion pounds in 2004, nearly 7% smaller than a year previously—and an increase in demand among US consumers, despite the news of the first American case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in December 2003.