Bloomin’ Brands Inc.
BLMN,
on Friday reported a lower fourth-quarter profit, but its adjusted earnings for the period beat analyst estimates on a strong holiday season. The owner of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill also said the first three weeks of the first quarter were negatively impacted by weather. The company estimated an impact of about 1.3% to its U.S. comparable sales for the first quarter, and 5 cents a share to its adjusted earnings per share. Bloomin’ Brands said its profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 dropped to $43.27 million, or 45 cents a share, from $48.05 million, or 61 cents a share in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 75 cents as share beat the FactSet consensus estimate of 69 cents a share. Fourth-quarter revenue rose to just under $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion in the year-ago period and matched the analyst estimate. “The fourth quarter was a good finish to 2023, especially the holiday season,” said Chief Executive David Deno said in a statement. Looking ahead, Bloomin’ Brands expects first-quarter adjusted profit of 70 to 75 cents a share, below the analyst estimate of 93 cents a share. For 2024, it’s forecasting adjusted profit of $2.51 to $2.66 a share, compared to the analyst estimate of $2.58 a share. Bloomin’ Brands stock was down by 0.4% in premarket trading.
