Starbucks Corp’s fiscal first quarter earnings have soared 82 per cent as the coffee chain attracted more customers who snapped up an expanded offerings of food and drinks over the holidays. Starbucks has enjoyed healthy sales growth, but is seeking to keep its momentum going by expanding on a number of fronts. To convince more customers to get something to eat with their drinks, the company has been introducing new and revamped baked goods, sandwiches and salads and wants to become more o
f a destination for grabbing a quick lunch.
In the evenings, it plans to offer beer and wine in a quarter of its US stores over the next five years.
The idea is to drive up sales throughout the day, not just during the morning rush when people are getting their caffeine fixes.
Starbucks said it earned $US983.1 million ($A1.22 billion) in the quarter ended December 28, or $US1.30 per share.
That compared with $US540.7 million or 71 US cents per share, a year earlier.
On a per share basis, Starbucks said it had profit of $US1.30.
Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were 80 US cents per share.
The results met Wall Street expectations.
The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 80 US cents per share.
The coffee chain posted revenue of $US4.8 billion in the period, beating Street forecasts.
Analysts expected $US4.79 billion, according to Zacks.
Revenue at its stores that have been open for at least a year rose 5 per cent.
Customer traffic was up 2 per cent in the quarter, compared with 1 per cent in the previous period.
For the current quarter ending in March, Starbucks expects its per share earnings to range from 64 US cents to 65 US cents.
The company expects full year earnings in the range of $US3.09 to $US3.13 per share.
Shares of Starbucks rose nearly 4 per cent, or $US2.99 in after hours trading when the report was released.
During regular trading, shares rose nearly 2 per cent, or $US1.45 to $US82.74.
AP
