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Brinker International Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2010 EPS

10/20/09

DALLAS, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) announced first quarter fiscal 2010 earnings per diluted share of $0.17 compared to $0.20 for the first quarter of fiscal 2009, before special items and excluding Romano's Macaroni Grill® (reconciliation included in Table 2). On a GAAP basis, earnings per diluted share decreased to $0.15 from $0.23 for the first quarter in the prior year.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2009, the company completed the sale of Macaroni Grill while retaining a minority ownership interest. The information presented below includes Macaroni Grill unless otherwise noted.

Quarterly Revenues

Brinker reported revenues for the 13-week period of $778.1 million, a decrease of 21.0 percent compared with $984.4 million reported for the same period of fiscal 2009. The company experienced a 6.0 percent decrease in comparable restaurant sales (see Table 1) in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Revenues were also negatively impacted by a net decline in capacity of 18.6 percent due to the sale of 198 restaurants since the first quarter of fiscal 2009 (189 of which were Macaroni Grills) and 49 restaurant closures (three of which were Macaroni Grills). Royalty and franchise revenues were $15.8 million for the quarter.


    Table 1: Q1 comparable restaurant sales
    Q1 10 and Q1 09, company and three reported brands; percentage

                                  Q1 10        Q1 09       Q1 10
                                Comparable  Comparable    Pricing      Q1 10
                                  Sales       Sales       Impact     Mix-Shift
                               -----------  ----------    -------    ---------
    Brinker International(1)       (6.0)       (3.0)        1.8        (2.5)
      Chili's                      (6.0)       (3.0)        1.9        (2.4)
      On The Border                (5.1)       (3.3)        2.2        (4.1)
      Maggiano's                   (6.6)       (3.3)        0.9        (2.0)

    (1) Brinker International comparable restaurant sales exclude the impact
        of Macaroni Grill.

Quarterly Operating Performance

Cost of sales, as a percent of revenues, decreased from 28.4 percent in the prior year to 28.2 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Menu changes at Chili's® Grill & Bar and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina® and favorable price changes resulted in improvements in cost of sales. These improvements more than offset the impact of recent promotions and unfavorable commodity prices primarily related to dairy, chicken and beef.

Restaurant expenses, as a percent of revenues, decreased to 58.5 percent from 58.8 percent in the prior year primarily due to lower utility and pre-opening expenses, partially offset by higher labor costs.

Depreciation and amortization decreased $2.3 million compared to the prior year due to fully depreciated assets and restaurant closures, partially offset by asset replacements and investments in existing restaurants.

General and administrative expense decreased $3.8 million for the quarter primarily due to reduced salary expense from lower headcount and income related to transitional services provided to Macaroni Grill, partially offset by increased insurance expense.

Interest expense decreased $2.5 million due to lower interest rates and lower average borrowings.

The effective income tax rate decreased to 26.1 percent in the current quarter as compared to 26.5 percent in the same quarter of last year due to leverage from FICA tip credits.


    Special Items
    -------------
    Table 2: Reconciliation of net income, before special items (1)
    Q1 10 and Q1 09; $ millions and $ per diluted share after-tax

                                                  EPS                  EPS
    Item                                 Q1 10   Q1 10     Q1 09      Q1 09
    ----                                 -----   -----     -----      -----
    Net Income                            15.8    0.15      23.8       0.23
      Other (Gains) and Charges            1.7    0.02       3.1       0.03
                                           ---    ----       ---       ----
    Net Income before Special Items       17.5    0.17      26.9       0.26
      Macaroni Grill before Special Items    -       -      (6.3)     (0.06)
                                          ----    ----     -----      -----
    Adjusted Net Income before Special
     Items and Macaroni Grill             17.5    0.17      20.6       0.20
                                          ====    ====      ====       ====

    (1) The company believes excluding other gains and charges and Macaroni
        Grill from its financial results provides investors with a clearer
        perspective of the company's ongoing operating performance and a more
        relevant comparison to prior period results.

Cash Flow and Capital Allocation

Cash flow from operations for the first quarter fiscal 2010 increased to $66.4 million compared to $53.4 million in the prior year. Capital expenditures totaled $13.5 million, a reduction of $17.8 million compared to the prior year resulting from a decrease in new company-owned restaurant development. Due to strong cash flows, the Company has elected to pay $50.0 million on the outstanding term loan on October 21, 2009 which will reduce the balance to $340.0 million.

Web-cast Information

Investors and interested parties are invited to listen to today's conference call, as management will provide further details of the quarter. The call will be broadcast live on the Brinker web site (www.brinker.com) at 9 a.m. CDT today (Oct. 20). For those who are unable to listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available shortly thereafter and will remain on the Brinker web site until the end of the day on Nov. 17, 2009.

Additional financial information, including reconciliation details and debt covenant information, is also available on the Brinker web site under the Financial Information section of the Investor tab.

Forward Calendar

    --  SEC Form 10-Q for first quarter fiscal 2010 filing on or before Nov. 2,
        2009; and

    --  Second quarter earnings release, before market opens, on Jan. 20, 2010.

At the end of the first quarter fiscal year 2010, Brinker International either owned, operated, or franchised 1,699 restaurants under the names Chili's® Grill & Bar (1,493 restaurants), On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina® (162 restaurants) and Maggiano's Little Italy® (44 restaurants). Brinker also holds a minority investment in Romano's Macaroni Grill®.

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and, consequently, could be affected by general business and economic conditions, financial and credit market conditions, credit availability, reduced disposable income, the impact of competition, the impact of mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic transactions, the seasonality of the company's business, adverse weather conditions, future commodity prices, product availability, fuel and utility costs and availability, terrorists acts, consumer perception of food safety, changes in consumer taste, health epidemics or pandemics, changes in demographic trends, availability of employees, unfavorable publicity, the company's ability to meet its growth plan, acts of God, governmental regulations, and inflation.


                            BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                        Consolidated Statements of Income
                     (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                                   (Unaudited)

                                         Thirteen Week Periods Ended
                                         ---------------------------
                                            Sept. 23,     Sept. 24,
                                              2009          2008
                                              ----          ----

    Revenues                                $778,081      $984,407
    Operating Costs and Expenses:
      Cost of sales                          219,477       278,967
      Restaurant expenses                    455,082       579,127
      Depreciation and amortization           38,869        41,156
      General and administrative              35,924        39,764
      Other gains and charges (a)              2,787         4,953
                                               -----         -----
      Total operating costs and expenses     752,139       943,967
                                             -------       -------

    Operating income                          25,942        40,440

    Interest expense                           6,948         9,457
    Other, net                                (2,342)       (1,372)
                                             -------       -------

    Income before tax expense                 21,336        32,355

    Income tax expense                         5,569         8,574
                                               -----         -----

    Net income                               $15,767       $23,781
                                             =======       =======

    Basic net income per share                 $0.15         $0.23
                                               =====         =====

    Diluted net income per share               $0.15         $0.23
                                               =====         =====

    Basic weighted average
     shares outstanding                      102,243       101,630
                                             =======       =======

    Diluted weighted average
     shares outstanding                      103,016       102,762
                                             =======       =======

    (a) Current year other gains and charges primarily includes lease
        termination costs of $2.0 million and severance costs of $0.5 million.

        Prior year other gains and charges primarily includes lease
        termination costs of $2.0 million, uninsured costs related to
        hurricanes of $1.7 million and expenses related to the pending sale of
        Macaroni Grill of $1.3 million.


                              BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                        CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                                    (In thousands)

                                                      Sept. 23,   June 24,
                                                        2009        2009
                                                        ----        ----
                                                     (Unaudited)
    ASSETS
      Current assets                                  $370,514    $369,215
      Net property and equipment (a)                 1,370,233   1,400,352
      Total other assets                               180,683     179,380
                                                       -------     -------
      Total assets                                  $1,921,430  $1,948,947
                                                    ==========  ==========

    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
      Current installments of long-term debt            $1,859      $1,815
      Current liabilities                              374,754     407,067
      Long-term debt, less current installments        726,990     727,447
      Other liabilities                                164,177     165,694
      Total shareholders' equity                       653,650     646,924
                                                       -------     -------
      Total liabilities and shareholders' equity    $1,921,430  $1,948,947
                                                    ==========  ==========

    (a) At September 23, 2009, the company owned the land and buildings for
        224 of the 1,023 company-owned restaurants.  The net book values of
        the land and buildings associated with these restaurants totaled
        $178.2 million and $947.1 million, respectively.


                               BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                                   RESTAURANT SUMMARY

                                      First       First
                                     Quarter     Quarter
                          Total     Openings/    Closings/  Total    Projected
                       Restaurants Acquisitions   Sales   Restaurants Openings
                         June 24,     Fiscal      Fiscal   Sept. 23,   Fiscal
                          2009         2010        2010      2009       2010
                          ----         ----        ----      ----       ----
    Company-Owned
     Restaurants:
      Chili's              858           -           1        857         -
      On The Border        122           -           -        122         1
      Maggiano's            44           -           -         44         1
      International(a)       -           -           -          -         -
                         -----       -----       -----      -----     -----
                         1,024           -           1      1,023         2
                         =====       =====       =====      =====     =====

    Franchise
     Restaurants:
      Chili's              434           6            1       439     13-16
      On The Border         30           1            -        31       1-3
      International(a)     201           5            -       206     30-35
                          ----       -----        -----     -----     -----
                           665          12            1       676     44-54
                         =====       =====        =====     =====     =====

    Total
     Restaurants:
      Chili's            1,292           6            2     1,296     13-16
      On The Border        152           1            -       153       2-4
      Maggiano's            44           -            -        44         1
      International        201           5            -       206     30-35
                         -----       -----        -----     -----     -----
                         1,689          12            2     1,699     46-56
                         =====       =====        =====     =====     =====

    (a) At September 23, 2009, international franchise restaurants by brand
        were 197 Chili's and nine On The Border restaurants.

SOURCE Brinker International, Inc.

Media Relations
Stacey Sullivan
1-800-775-7290
or Investor Relations
Marie Perry
+1-972-770-1276
both of Brinker International, Inc.