Benzinga | Jun 24, 2021 08:56AM EDT

Darden Restaurants Beats On Q4 Earnings, Provides Strong FY22 Outlook, Raises Quarterly Dividend By 25%

* Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales of $2.28 billion, up 79.5% year-on-year, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $2.19 billion.

* Same-restaurant sales increased 90.4% Y/Y.

* Darden clocked an operating margin of 14.2% compared to an operating loss last year due to the COVID-19 restaurant closing.

* EBITDA was $412 million.

* Adjusted EPS of $2.03, up 263.7% Y/Y, beat the consensus estimate of $1.79.

* Darden generated an operating cash flow of $1.19 billion for FY21, and the cash and equivalents stood at $1.2 billion.

* Darden's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.10 per share, up 25% from Q3 FY21.

* "Given the business transformation work we have done, and the demand we are seeing from the consumer, we are well-positioned to thrive in this operating environment," said Gene Lee, Chief Executive Officer.

* Guidance: Darden sees FY22 sales between $9.2 billion to $9.5 billion versus the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion.

* It expects FY22 EPS of $7.00-$7.50 versus the consensus estimate of $7.21.

* The restaurant chain Same-restaurant sales growth of 25%-29% Y/Y and ~35 to 40 new restaurant openings.

* Price action: DRI shares are trading higher by 1.16% at $137.02 premarket on the last check Thursday.