For the 13-week period ended Dec. 31 sales at comparable company-owned restaurants increased 7.4% due in large part to a 5.3% growth in the average check size and a 2% growth in entrée spending. The company says entry growth was related to Christmas, which occurred on Monday in 2006 and on Sunday in 2005.
Increased per-entrée spending was related to a 3.5% year-over-year price increase as well as additional guest spending on wine and other beverages. Same-restaurant sales at company-owned eateries lapped last year's fourth quarter growth of 8.5%, the firm said.
The restaurant chain, which recently completed its first full year as a public company, operates 100 Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurants, including 10 international franchise-owned eateries. Ruth's Chris added 10 new company-owned and franchise locations to its lineup in the last three months of the year, including two franchise restaurants in Chicago, IL and Troy, MI. The additional locations accounted for an uptick in the sales numbers, the company says.
For the quarter, total revenue from continuing operations, which includes franchise and other income, was expected to be between $83.8 and $84.0 million, a solid increase over the $58 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005.
The company says it expects full-year earnings of between 96 cents and $1 per share, between 6 cents and 10 cents more than analysts' projections. Insurance proceeds, impairment charges and the costs associated with last year's hurricanes were expected to be about 7 cents per share. Total revenue for the year, including the extra week, is expected to be between $267.2 million and $267.4 million, an increase of more than $55 million over the previous year's revenue of $211.6 million and on par with the $267 million projected by analysts.
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