Ruby Tuesday Misses Estimates, High Spending From Restaurant Closure

released its Q4 results after market close on Thursday. Earnings per share came in below Wall Street consensus expectations, sending shares down 11.26 percent. Ruby Tuesday reported EPS of $0.1 and revenues of $279.3 million. Analyst consensus had an EPS estimate of $0.11 and revenues of $285 million. Same-restaurant sales declined 3.7% following a 1.7% decline in the fourth quarter of the prior fiscal year. Additionally, closure and Impairment expense was $43.8 million primarily due to the announced restaurant closures, compared to $4.0 million last year. Ruby Tuesday saw FY17 EPS at $0.05-$0.09 vs. estimates of $0.07. "Our fourth quarter was impacted by softness in the casual dining industry and increased promotional activity by our peers. Given that we expect the macro environment to remain challenging for some time, we are taking the necessary steps to change the trajectory of our business," said JJ Buettgen, chairman, president and CEO. Buettgen added "Our Fresh Start Initiative has been designed to streamline our organization through asset rationalization, improve financial profitability, and ultimately create long-term value for shareholders. Our Fresh New Menu, Fresh New Garden Bar, and Fresh Experience initiatives will position us to accelerate traffic and will be supported by better in-restaurant execution, refining our media and targeting plans, and incorporating the insights from our Garden Bar and remodel tests into our go forward strategy. Through our goal of attracting more women and young families as well as increasing visits from our current Ruby Tuesday guests, we believe we can return to positive same-restaurant sales, expand restaurant level margins, and increase operating profit." At the time of writing, Ruby Tuesday traded at $3.31 in Thursday's after-hours session.