Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Lowers Outlook; Q3 Topline Results Miss Expectations

(RTTNews) - Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (RRGB) announced the company now expects earnings per share to range from $2.16 to $2.31 for full-year 2017. Comparable restaurant revenue is projected to range from flat to up 0.5% for full-year 2017. Previously, the company projected earnings per share to approximate the low end of the $2.80 to $3.10 guidance for full-year 2017. Earnings per share is projected to range from $0.45 to $0.60 for the fourth quarter.

Denny Marie Post, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. CEO, said: "Although we grew our share while beginning to implement service model changes that address rising labor costs, category volatility underscores our cautious outlook for the remainder of 2017 and our intention to pause unit growth as of year-end 2018. This decision will give us needed time to test new approaches to inform future growth."

Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share were $0.21 compared to $0.38, prior year. Total revenues were $304.2 million, an increase of 2.3%. Comparable restaurant revenue decreased 0.1%.

"Despite topline results that fell short of our expectations, Red Robin significantly outperformed the casual dining industry on traffic for a fifth consecutive quarter. Our focus on compelling Every Day Value and the progress we have made in growing our off-premise business continued to pull us away from the category and we are now competing favorably with best-in-class casual dining chains," said Denny Marie Post.

Shares of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers were down 24% after hours.