CKE Restaurants Inc., owner and franchiser of Carl's Jr. and Hardee's fast food chains, said Tuesday its profit rose 14 percent in the third quarter even as sales fell because it trimmed operating costs.
But its shares fell in after-hours trading after its results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
CKE earned $6.2 million, or 11 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Nov. 2. That is up from the $5.4 million, or 10 cents per share, it earned a year earlier. The latest quarterly profit fell short of a 14-cent-per-share prediction of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue fell 4 percent to $324.2 million from $336.6 million. Analysts had expected $324 million.
CKE has suffered along with other restaurants as people eat out less to save money amid high unemployment and economic uncertainty.
Sales at stores open at least a year fell 3.7 percent during the quarter. Sales at stores open at least a year is a key measure of retailer performance because it is not skewed by new store openings and closings.
Shares of CKE, based in Carpinteria, fell 29 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $8.36 in after-hours trading Tuesday after closing at $8.65, down 7 cents from a day earlier.
