Darden Restaurants Inc. DRI, owner of Olive Garden and Longhorn Steak House, on Thursday reported an 11.8% increase in fourth-quarter net income to $315.1 million, or $2.61 a share, from $281.7 million, or $2.26 a share, in the year-ago quarter. The company beat the Wall Street profit forecast of $2.54 a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue increased to $2.77 billion from $2.6 billion and matched analyst forecasts. “We had a solid quarter to conclude a strong year in which we met or exceeded our financial outlook, despite a tough operating environment,” said Darden president and CEO Rick Cardenas. Looking ahead, Darden expects adjusted fiscal 2024 profit of $8.55 to $8.85 a share, ahead of the analyst estimate of $7.96 a share. Darden also projected fiscal 2024 revenue of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion, ahead of the Wall Street view of $11.17 billion. Darden is also boosting its quarterly dividend by 8% to $1.31 a share. Darden stock is down 4.3% in premarket trades.
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