Buffalo Wild Wings profit up 22 percent in 4Q

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. shares fell in after-hours trading Tuesday after the restaurant chain's fourth-quarter profit came in below the market's expectations.

The Minneapolis-based said its net income increased 22 percent to $16.7 million, or 89 cents per share, for the period that ended Dec. 30. That is up from $13.6 million, or 73 cents per share, in the same quarter of the prior year.

Revenue increased nearly 38 percent to $303.8 million from $220.5 million, with help from added restaurants and an extra week in the most recent quarter.

Its total costs and expenses rose 39 percent to $280.5 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting the company to earn 96 cents per share on revenue of $293 million.

Buffalo Wild Wings said that revenue from stores open at least a year increased 5.8 percent at company-owned restaurants and 7.4 percent at franchised restaurants. That metric is considered a key measure of retailers' financial performance as it strips away the impact of recently opened or closed sites.

The company's CEO Sally Smith said for the first weeks of 2013, the measure is "challenging to interpret" because many sporting events do not align with the same period in its previous fiscal year, due to the extra week in its 2012 fiscal year. However, the company expects positive gains ahead by any measure.

Buffalo Wild Wings earned $57.3 million, or $3.06 per share, for the full year compared with $50.4 million, or $2.73 per share. Its annual revenue grew to $1.04 billion from $784.5 million.

The company said it expects its earnings will increase 25 percent for 2013 when compared on a 52-week basis to 2012, which equates to 17 percent over the full fiscal year. Analysts are expecting the company to earn $3.59 per share on revenue of $1.24 billion.

Smith said the company expects to open 60 company-owned and 45 franchised Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants during the year.

Shares fell $3.84, almost 5 percent, to $77.23 in after-hours trading. Its shares increased more than 5 percent to close regular trading at $81.07. The company's stock has traded between $68.71 and $94.81 in the past 52 weeks.