Same-store sales at Darden Restaurants rose 1.6 percent during the second quarter of 2016, bolstered by comps growth among its seven restaurant concepts, including Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse.
Comps at Olive Garden rose 1 percent during Q2, despite a slight dip in traffic year over year. Same-store sales at LongHorn Steakhouse grew 2.6 percent during the period.
Net income at Darden grew to $43.2 million, up from a $32.8 million loss during the year-ago quarter. Total sales at the company increased 3.2 percent, to $1.61 billion.
"We saw continued momentum this quarter, with all our brands once again posting positive same-restaurant sales growth and delivering meaningful margin improvement," CEO Gene Lee said in a statement. "These results reflect our continuous focus on operating great restaurants and leveraging our competitive advantages to drive sales and profitability."
The company raised its guidance for the full fiscal year, estimating comp sales in the 2.5 percent to 3 percent range.
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