Brinker International Down 8% After Reporting Earnings

Shares of Brinker International

are down nearly 8% after the company reported earnings yesterday. Highlights for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 include the following: Earnings per diluted share, before special items, increased 23.7 percent to $0.47 compared to $0.38 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 (see non-GAAP reconciliation below) On a GAAP basis, earnings per diluted share increased 7.3 percent to $0.44 from $0.41 in the second quarter of the prior year Total revenues increased 1.5 percent to $681.9 million "Brinker delivered another strong quarter as evidenced by a 24 percent increase in our EPS. This marked Brinker's fourth consecutive quarter of comp sales and traffic growth, which demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategies, the strength of our team and the receptivity of our guests to the changes we're making to our business," said Doug Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are confident we'll deliver on our promise to double EPS by 2015."