UPDATE 1-Buffalo Wild Wings Q1 profit rises
* Q1 EPS $0.47 vs $0.36 last year
* Revenue up 35 pct to $131.6 mln
* Reiterates 2009 revenue, EPS growth goals
* Sees additional expenses in Q2
April 28 (Reuters) - Restaurant operator Buffalo Wild Wings Inc's (BWLD.O) quarterly profit grew 30 percent, helped by a rise in company-owned restaurant sales and increased revenue from franchises.
For the first quarter, the operator of Buffalo Wild Wings Grill and Bar restaurants posted net earnings of $8.5 million, or 47 cents a share, compared with $6.5 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.
Total revenue increased 35 percent to $131.6 million. Company-owned restaurant sales grew 37 percent to $119.4 million. Franchise royalties and fees rose 17 percent.
Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 46 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $129.6 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
The company reaffirmed its 2009 goals of 25 percent growth in revenue, and 20 percent to 25 percent growth in net earnings.
Buffalo Wild Wings said it was on track to open more restaurants by the end of third quarter than it opened in all of 2008.
"We will, however, have additional expense in the second quarter as a result of this accelerated opening schedule and a shift in stock-based compensation," Chief Executive Sally Smith said in a statement.
Shares of the Minneapolis-based company closed at $42.98 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Sumedha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)
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