Chili’s powers double-digit sales surge for Brinker 

close up photo of a dish from Chili's
Brinker International has reported double-digit sales growth for the second quarter. (Source: Chili’s Grill & Bar/Facebook)

Brinker International has reported double-digit sales growth for the second quarter, fueled by an impressive performance at Chili’s.

The company’s sales for the quarter ended December 25 were $1.346 billion compared to $1.063 billion in the year-ago period.

Overall comparable restaurant sales jumped 27.4 per cent, mainly driven by a 31.4 per cent surge at Chili’s. At Maggiano’s, comparable sales were up 1.8 per cent.

The company attributed Chili’s growth to a 19.9 per cent increase in traffic as investments in advertising helped attract both new and returning customers.

Higher sales also resulted in the operating income margin increasing to 11.5 per cent and the restaurant operating margin increasing to 19.1 per cent.

Operating income rose 150 per cent to $156 million, and net income grew 180 per cent to $118 million.

“Improving fundamentals continues to drive a better guest experience and sustained business results,” said president and CEO Kevin Hochman. “These results would indicate we are building a much stronger business for the long term.”

The company expects revenues to be in the range of $5.15 billion – $5.25 billion for the full year.

Brinker previously reported a 12.5 per cent increase in revenues and a 434.7 per cent increase in net income for the first quarter.

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