UPDATE 2-Texas Roadhouse Q3 profit tops Street, raises FY view

* Q3 EPS $0.15 vs est $0.12

* Revenue rise 4 pct to $226.5 mln

* Sees FY09 EPS to rise 20 pct

* Shares up 6 pct in post-market trade (Recasts; Adds analysts' comments, conference call details)

By Renju Jose

BANGALORE, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Texas Roadhouse Inc's (TXRH.O) quarterly profit topped market estimates on lower commodity costs, and the bar-and-grill restaurant chain raised its 2009 earnings view, sending its shares up 6 percent in after-hours trade.

For 2010, the company expects earnings growth to be flat to 10 percent, if same-store sales were to range between a fall of 2 percent to flat for the year.

"Their initial guidance for 2010 seems somewhat prudently conservative... and I think in the context of that conservative topline growth, that is a very strong outlook," Oppenheimer analyst Matthew DiFrisco said by phone.

The company expects earnings to rise about 20 percent in 2009 over the year-ago period. In August, it had expected 2009 profit to rise 5 percent to 10 percent.

On a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive G.J. Hart said he anticipates a favorable cost environment for the rest of 2009, led by commodity deflation and lower year-over-year natural gas and electricity rates.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 29, Texas Roadhouse earned $10.7 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $8.6 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 12 cents a share, before items, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 4 percent to $226.5 million in the quarter, marginally below analysts' expectations of $226.7 million.

Morgan Keegan analyst Destin Tompkins said same-store sales held up "respectfully" well in the quarter and accelerated from where they were early in the quarter.

Same-store restaurant sales fell 4.6 percent at company-owned restaurants and 3.6 percent at franchise restaurants in the quarter.

Shares of the Louisville, Kentucky-based restaurant chain rose 56 cents to $9.95 in post-market trade. They closed at $9.39 Monday on Nasdaq.

For related alerts double click [ID:nWNAB8519] (Reporting by Renju Jose in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)