The Cheesecake Factory Reports Higher Earnings for Q3

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated had higher earnings for this year’s third quarter after restaurant sales increased, the Calabasas Hills-based company announced. The company had net income of $22 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, on revenues of $418.4 million for the third quarter of this year. The numbers show improvement from the same quarter last year when the company had net income of $16.3 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, on revenues of $400.6 million. “We are experiencing increasing momentum in our business, with solidly positive guest traffic, expanding margins and strong earnings growth,” said Chairman and CEO David Overton. “Our restaurants remain competitively well positioned and we are clearly capturing market share.” For the third quarter of 2010, comparable restaurant sales at The Cheesecake Factory and Grand Lux increased by 2.8 percent from the third quarter of the previous year. The company opened a Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Bridgewater, New Jersey, during the third quarter, meeting its goal of opening three new restaurants during the year. “The financial returns from the restaurants we opened this year are exceeding our targets, and we continue to pursue an increasing number of prime locations that have the potential for great capital returns,” Overton added. Jessica Vernabe