By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Olive Garden apparently sold fewer breadsticks, but boy did the profit roll in.
Shares of parent company Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE:DRI) rose 6% after reporting adjusted earnings per share of 56 cents, 51 cents higher than the estimate, on sales of $1.53 billion versus the expected $1.56 billion. Revenue fell 28% from last year's quarter, but business is bouncing back from Covid-19 lockdowns.
The company also provided guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, projecting EPS even higher, at between 65 cents and 75 cents. Sales are expected to be at 82% the level of the year prior. Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization are expected in the range of $200 million to $215 million.
Shares are down 12% for the year, but have recovered from March, and are getting close to tripling since then.