ORLANDO, FL - It’s been an interesting year of movement for Darden, with Investor Group Starboard making moves and coming off strong projections over the last quarter. Now the company has reported a steady final few months for fiscal 2016, despite a decrease in total sales that it attributed to an extra week of operations.

"I'm pleased with the results we achieved during the fourth quarter, which wrapped up a year of significant progress improving our operations and financial performance," said CEO Gene Lee, according to a press release. "These results reinforce our firm belief that our strategy is working as we continue to build guest loyalty by relentlessly focusing on our back-to-basics operating philosophy. This focus, together with our competitive advantages, drove our strong performance for the year and increased shareholder value."

Highlights for Darden’s Q4 2016 included:

• Total sales from continuing operations decreased 4.7% to $1.79 billion; Increased 2.1% excluding the impact of the extra week
• On a 13-week basis, reported diluted net earnings per share from continuing operations increased 19.6% to $1.10 and increased 8.9% from last year's adjusted diluted net earnings per share
• Same-restaurant sales increased 1.7% on a fiscal calendar basis

The company also noted that it repurchased approximately $45 million of its outstanding common stock, and that this was based on a transition from a 53-week to a 52-week fiscal year, with the 13-weeks having ended May 29, 2016 versus last year’s 13-weeks ended May 24, 2015.

For 2017, Darden looks to grow with a projected 24 to 28 new restaurants opening, as well as an anticipated same-restaurant sales growth of 1.0% to 2.0%.

Darden Restaurants