Ruby Tuesday, Inc. Beats Q1 Views, Boosts Margin Outlook

Ruby Tuesday, Inc. RT posted a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss for its fiscal first-quarter and boosted its 2015 profit margin forecast. In after-hours trading, shares of the Maryville, Tennessee-based restaurant chain jumped more than 18 percent, trading recently at $7 a share. The company boosted its 2015 operating-margin forecast Wednesday to between 16 percent and 17 percent of sales, up from prior guidance of 15 percent to 16 percent. It also forecast second-quarter same-store sales growth of 1 percent to 2 percent, up from its prior prediction of flat to up 2 percent. In the recent period, restaurant-level margins of 17.4 percent widened by 420 basis points from a year earlier. Same-store sales grew 1 percent, although the figure grew 6 percent at 61 outlets owned as franchises in the U.S. Chief Executive James J. Buettgen said the company's fiscal 2015 plans is focused on menu improvements, "guest experience" and on improving restaurant-level margins. In the recent period ended September 2, net income was $256 million or $0.04 a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $22.24 million or $0.37 a share. Sales fell to $281.18 million, from $289.7 million a year ago. Excluding items, the adjusted loss for the recent period was $0.01 a share. Wall Street expected an adjusted loss of $0.12 a share on sales of $283.2 million.