CALABASAS HILL, Calif. The Cheesecake Factory Inc. posted a 9.4-percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, versus a year earlier, as stock-based compensation expense and increased total costs offset the company’s 9.8-percent increase in revenues.
For the quarter ended Jan. 2, Cheesecake earned $20.4 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with year-earlier earnings of $22.6 million, or 28 cents per share. Revenues totaled $360.7 million.
Cheesecake booked 5 cents per share for stock option expensing in its latest quarter, and the company's total costs and expenses increased 13.9 percent to $337 million.
Systemwide same-store sales increased 0.8 percent, which reflected gains of 0.4 percent at its Cheesecake Factory brand and 7.8 percent at its Grand Lux Cafe concept. The company opened 13 new restaurants during the quarter.
For the full year, Cheesecake earned $81.3 million, or $1.02 per share, versus profit of $87.9 million, or $1.10 per share, a year earlier. Revenues for fiscal 2006 rose 11.3 percent to $1.32 billion. The Cheesecake Factory operates 123 namesake dinnerhouses and eight Grand Lux Cafes.
