Cheesecake Factory 4Q profit falls 46 percent

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif. - Cheesecake Factory Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent on lower sales and a $3 million write-down in the value of three underperforming restaurants.

The company, which operates 145 restaurants nationwide, posted earnings of $7.1 million, or 12 cents a share, in the quarter that ended Dec. 30, compared with $13.3 million, or 19 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding the impairment charge, the company earned $9 million, or 15 cents a share, on revenue that fell 1.5 percent to $400.4 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 14 cents a share on sales of $403.5 million.

For the year, the company reported earnings of $52.3 million, or 82 cents a share, compared with $74 million, or $1.01 a share a year earlier. Sales rose to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 84 cents per share on revenue of $1.6 billion.

Cheesecake Factory shares gained more than 3 percent, or 30 cents, to close at $9.69 before the results were released Thursday.

Chief executive David Overton said the company plans to use some of its $84 million in cash to pay down debt this year.

It plans to open one new restaurant in the first quarter.

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