The company generated sales increases of 3.1% at its 177 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants; 0.6% at 22 Bugaboo Creek Steak House locations; and 7.3% at 15 Capital Grille sites. The firm has set a 2Q earnings guidance of 42 cents to 44 cents per share.

"This 2Q guidance is based on targeted same-store sales at each concept for the quarter in a range of 1% to 2%," company chairman and CEO Philip J. Hickey Jr. says in a prepared statement. The numbers "assume a continuing fragile economy, further uncertainty due to the war, and the impact of the shift in the Easter weekend this year to the second quarter," Hickey says.

The projected 1Q diluted earnings per share of 50 cents to 51 cents compares with 43 cents per diluted share achieved in 1Q 2002.

"We expect to achieve earnings within our published guidance for the first quarter, which was a challenging period for many in the restaurant industry," Hickey says. "While our sales growth benefited slightly from the shift in Easter weekend to the second quarter for 2003 from the first quarter last year, we believe our first quarter 2003 results primarily reflect the dedication of our restaurant team members to building guest loyalty."