Casual dining restaurants company Brinker International, home to Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy, reported a 3 per cent increase in its total revenues for the third quarter of this year at $1.425 billion from $1.120 billion in the same period last year. 

Its comparable restaurant sales increase was recorded at 28.2 per cent, with Chili’s seeing a 31.6 per cent increase in comparable restaurant sales and a 0.4 per cent increase for Maggiano’s. 

Chili’s attributed this growth to increased traffic and advertising that encouraged guest trials and its industry-leading value, with operational improvements leading to repeat visits.

Through this, Brinker accelerated investments and repaid $125 million in funded debt. 

This increased the company’s operating income margin by 11 per cent to $156.9 million and its operating margin by 18.9 per cent, from $157.1 million to $266.8 million, year over year.

Brinker’s adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of this year was $220.6 million, up from $ 122.4 million during the same period last year. 

“Chili’s delivered another positive quarter in our turnaround with a 31 per cent increase in same-store sales driven by a 21 per cent increase in traffic,” said Kevin Hochman, president and CEO of Brinker International. 

“Our continued progress on the fundamentals of great food, great service in a fun, friendly atmosphere is clearly winning with guests.”

Brinker expects to record a total revenue between $5.33 billion and $5.35 billion by the end of this fiscal year.