CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) announced today period 11 same-store sales for the four weeks ended December 2, 2002, for each of its major brands -- Carl's Jr., Hardee's and La Salsa.
Carl’s Jr. saw a jump of 3.8% over period 11 in fiscal 2002, Hardee’s fell 5.8%, and La Salsa dropped 1.6%. For year-to-date fiscal 2003. Carl’s Jr. is up 0.6%, Hardee’s is down 1.9% and La Salsa is down 1.0%
Commenting on the period's performance, Andrew F. Puzder, Chief Executive Officer and President said, "Carl's Jr. posted an impressive same-store sales increase this period in light of the substantial level of discounting by our competitors. As forecasted in the last same-store sales press release, this positive trend was developing as we ceased to roll-over the prior year introduction of The Six Dollar Burger(TM) and introduced the Chili Burger, Chili Cheese Fries and the Chili Cheese Omelet Burrito, which have been well received. At Hardee's, our top-line results also reflect the impact of competitive discounting and the fact that we embarked on a premium products strategy with less of an emphasis on discounting and more of an emphasis on margin improvement. In addition, as with Carl's Jr. in the third quarter, in period 11 Hardee's began to roll over its very successful introduction of The Six Dollar Burger(TM) last year."