Buffalo Wild Wings Lowers Full-Year Earnings View

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. said labor costs and the timing of sports events hurt third-quarter results, driving quarterly profit down, and the restaurant company lowered its full-year earnings guidance.

Shares fell 11.6% to $163.01 in after-hours trading.

Buffalo Wild Wings said the sports calendar resulted in one less week of football and fewer pay-per-view events, hurting same-store sales by about 0.80 percentage point.

Buffalo Wild Wings now projects single-digit earnings growth for the year, down from a prior goal of 13%. For next year, it expects earnings will rise by more than 20%.

Same-store sales increased 3.9% at company-owned restaurants and 1.2% at franchised locations for the quarter.

Net income fell to $19.2 million, or $1 a share, from $21.8 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier. Revenue increased to $455.5 million from $373.5 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.29 a share on revenue of $465 million.

For the first four weeks of the fourth quarter, same-store sales were up 2.8% at company-owned restaurants and 0.8% at franchised sites.

Raymond James downgraded Buffalo Wild Wings and three other restaurant chains on Oct. 12, saying "momentum could slow in coming quarters."

Buffalo Wild Wings has more than 1,140 locations.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2015 17:25 ET (21:25 GMT)

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