Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ruby Tuesday Plunges on Weak Sales and Guidance

Ruby Tuesday (RT) fell 9% after-hours as the company released guidance at the low end of analysts’ expectations.

Ruby Tuesday posteda nickel of EPS for the fiscal first quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations. Domestic same-restaurant sales fell 3.7%. The restaurant chain also said it now expects full-year earnings of 60 to 75 cents per share, against expectations for 75 cents. The company also expects same-restaurant sales to be flat to down 2% for the year.

“We continue to operate in an aggressive competitive promotional environment with very heavy advertising levels and we expect these competitive marketing trends to continue given the soft economy and low consumer confidence,” said CEO Samuel Beall.

Beall said Ruby Tuesday has “several initiatives in test that are designed to position our brand favorably with the consumer and help us increase our same-restaurant sales.” Among the ideas: a Seafood Festival for $9.99.

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