Winter Olympics boosts Buffalo Wild Wings earnings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. said Monday that its first-quarter net income jumped 73 percent from a year ago as more people went to its restaurants to watch the Winter Olympics and college basketball. It also benefited from lower chicken wing prices and the opening of more locations.

Its earnings beat Wall Street expectations and its shares rose in trading after the stock market closed Monday.

Buffalo Wild Wings, based in Minneapolis, has more than 1,012 locations in North America. Sports fans can watch games while they eat and drink.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 6.6 percent at company-owned locations and 5 percent at franchised ones. Sales at stores open at least a year is considered a key indicator of a retailer's financial health. It strips away the impact of recently opened or closed stores.

It hopes to get people into restaurants in the next quarter with NBA and NHL playoffs and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament which starts in June.

Its net income rose to $28.3 million, or $1.49 per share, in the quarter ended March 30, compared with $16.4 million, or 87 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue rose 21 percent to $367.9 million from $304.4 million.

Analysts expected earnings of $1.34 per share and revenue of $363.1 million, according to FactSet.

Looking ahead, it now expects 2014 net income to rise 25 percent, up from its previous forecast of 20 percent growth.

In after-hours trading, shares rose 5 percent to $140.37. Shares closed at $133.39 Monday.