Panera Bread (PNRA) Raises Q4 EPS Guidance Well Above the Street; Comps Up 7.4% During Qtr.

Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) reports same store sales rose: 6.8% in October, 6.1% in November, 9.6% in December and 9.4% in January. Overall for Q4, same store sales rose 7.4%.

The company also raised its Q4 EPS guidance to $0.94-$0.95, which compares to the Street estimate of $0.68.

Chairman and CEO Ron Shaich commented, "Our 7.4% growth in comparable bakery-cafe sales in the fourth quarter, capped by comparable bakery-cafe sales growth in excess of 9% in December and in January-to-date, validates our commitment to invest in our business to benefit the customer. Simply put, our strategy is working and our customers continue to respond to Panera with enthusiasm."

The Company will update its fiscal 2010 EPS and metric targets in its fourth quarter fiscal 2009 press release on February 11, 2010 after the market close.

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