4th-Quarter Profits Fall 16% at Cheesecake Factory

Cheesecake Factory Inc., the Calabasas-based chain of upscale restaurants, said its fourth-quarter profit fell 16% from a year earlier because of higher food and labor expenses and before opening costs at a new Atlanta outlet.

The company earned $1.28 million for the quarter that ended Jan. 2, compared with a profit of $1.53 million in the comparable period a year earlier. After news of the lower-than-expected earnings, the company’s stock fell $3.625 a share, to $29.375, on unusually heavy trading last Thursday.

Revenue for the latest quarter from restaurant and bakery sales surged 46% to $18.4 million, from $12.6 million a year earlier. Sales at restaurants open at least a year rose 4% in the latest quarter.

For its fiscal year that ended Jan. 2, the Cheesecake Factory posted a profit of $4.75 million, up 13% from the previous fiscal year. Revenue for the latest fiscal year surged 13% to $55.7 million, from $42.9 million.