HOUSTON Shares in Luby's Inc. fell nearly 10 percent Thursday, a day after the 120-unit cafeteria operator reported a third-quarter loss on declining customer traffic.
Luby's reported Wednesday afternoon a net loss of $1.1 million, or 4 cents a share, for the quarter ended May 6. In the year-ago period, the company posted net income of $949,000, or 3 cents a share. Third-quarter revenue dropped 7.5 percent, to $69 million.
Same-store sales in the third quarter fell 8.9 percent, which Luby's said reflected a drop-off in customer traffic that was partially offset by higher menu prices.
"In the third quarter we experienced a continuation of the macro-economic environment pressure and its effect on customer frequency and sales," said Chris Pappas, president and chief executive of Luby's.
Pappas said the company was adjusting prices to increase customer visits. Some stores now are offering the LuAnn platter, which includes an entree, two sides and a roll, for $5.99, which trims 50 cents off the price earlier in the year.
Most of Luby’s cafeterias are in Texas.
In trading Thursday, Luby's stock fell 9.7 percent to close at $4.19 a share. Over the past 52 weeks, the company share price has ranged between $3.23 and $8.70.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].