P.F. Chang’s 1Q profit falls 35 pct as discounts take toll on average check

P.F. Chang’s 1Q profit falls 35 pct, misses Street

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc.’s first-quarter profit dropped 35 percent as people spent less money on their meals, in part because the chain offered more discounts.

The results missed expectations, and shares fell in premarket trading.

In the three months ending April 4, the company earned $8.7 million, or 38 cents per share. That’s down from earnings of $13.3 million, or 57 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Revenue rose 0.2 percent to $310.4 million from $309.8 million last year.

The results missed analyst estimates. According to Thomson Reuters, analysts expected the restaurant operator to earn 48 cents per share on revenue of $310.1 million.

The restaurant industry has only just begun to rebound from the recession, when customers turned to eating at home more often to save money.

The company, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said revenue at its Bistro restaurants open at least a year fell 2.7 percent in the quarter. The same figure rose 2.2 percent at its Pei Wei locations.

That’s a key figure for restaurant operators because it measures growth at existing locations and excludes newly opened ones.

The company maintained its guidance, that revenue is expected to be flat with 2009’s $1.23 billion. P.F. Chang’s said it plans to raise the average amount people spend at its Bistro locations by offering fewer discounts and slightly increasing menu prices.

It maintained its expectation for earnings per share of about $2 in fiscal 2010, below analyst estimates for $2.03 per share.

Shares fell $2.73, or nearly 6 percent, to $43.70 in pre-market trading Wednesday.