Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group saw sales decline at two of its three brands and customer traffic slip at the third in the second quarter, the company said Thursday.
Same-store sales decreased by 6.3 percent at Del Frisco’s Grille and 3 percent at Sullivan’s Steakhouse. Comp sales at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House increased slightly, by just over 1 percent, which the company acknowledged was a result of higher check averages that offset a 4.8 percent decrease in customer count during the quarter ended June 16.
Weather, in part, was to blame for the decline, executives said.
"The second quarter fell short of our expectations due to choppy sales that were broad based geographically and spread across all three brands,” said Mark S. Mednansky, CEO of Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, Inc., in a statement. “We also contended with limited patio use in some markets mainly because of inclement weather. These factors led to lackluster comparable restaurant sales and higher operating costs as a percentage of revenues."
Net income for the company fell nearly 23 percent, to $3.71 million from $4.77 million during the same period last year.
As a result of the second-quarter slide, the company revised its expectations for the rest of the fiscal year, lowering its projection for same-store sales to an increase of 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent, from earlier expectations of 2 to 3 percent.
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