EAT Brinker International Inc

DALLAS, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT), announced today January comparable restaurant sales decreased 4.5 percent for the five-week period ending Jan. 31, 2007. Comparable restaurant sales for Brinker and the four brands were as follows: Month of January Comparable Restaurant Sales January FY07 and January FY06; Percentage January FY07 January FY06 Comp-Store Comp-Store January FY07 January FY07 Sales Sales Price Increase Mix-Shift Brinker International (4.5%) 6.7% 1.2% (0.8%) Chili's (4.9%) 7.2% 1.2% (1.1%) Macaroni Grill (3.9%) 4.6% 1.3% (0.9%) On The Border (5.4%) 5.7% 0.9% 2.6% Maggiano's (2.2%) 8.2% 1.2% (1.3%) Brinker's January sales results were negatively impacted by approximately 1.1 percent due to unfavorable weather offset by a favorable trading day shift for New Year's Day. Additionally, comparability of results was affected by a change in Chili's marketing calendar versus the prior year. A recorded message providing January sales will be available beginning Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 4:30 p.m. EST through Thursday, March 1 by dialing 1-973-528-0005 and entering pass code 1313. The company plans to release February comparable store sales on March 7, 2007. At the end of second quarter fiscal year 2007, Brinker International either owned, operated, or franchised 1,712 restaurants under the names Chili's Grill & Bar (1,275 units), Romano's Macaroni Grill (247 units), On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (151 units) and Maggiano's Little Italy (39 units). The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and, consequently, could be affected by general business and economic conditions, the impact of competition, the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, the seasonality of the company's business, adverse weather conditions, future commodity prices, fuel and utility costs and availability, terrorists acts, consumer perception of food safety, changes in consumer taste and behavior, health epidemics or pandemics, changes in demographic trends, availability of employees, unfavorable publicity, the company's ability to meet its growth plan, acts of God, governmental regulations, and inflation. DATASOURCE: Brinker International, Inc. CONTACT: Stacey Calbert, Media Relations, +1-800-775-7290, or Laura Conn, Investor Relations, +1-972-770-5810, both of Brinker International, Inc. Web site: http://www.brinker.com/

Copyright