CKE Posts Smaller Loss in Fiscal Fourth Quarter

CKE Restaurants Inc. narrowed its loss in its fiscal fourth quarter and posted strong sales growth at restaurants open at least one year, a key industry measure.

The company’s stock, which has nearly tripled in the last 52 weeks, fell 20 cents to $9.15 on the NYSE.

The operator of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s hamburger restaurants reported a net loss of $8.3million, or 16 cents a share, including special items, compared with a net loss of $148.3million, or $2.94, a year earlier.

Results for the latest period include a $6-million charge from a franchisee’s closure of 20 Hardee’s restaurants.

CKE said it had an operating profit of $1million in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28.

Revenue fell 14% to $301 million as the company shuttered under-performing restaurants.

But sales at Hardee’s outlets open at least one year jumped 6.4%, and those at Carl’s Jr. increased 4.3%.

Improved restaurant operations, the introduction of products such as chicken breast strips and CKE’s promotion of a $6 burger--a premium hamburger that actually sells for $3.95--have helped put CKE “on the right path,” said Mary Gilbert, an analyst at Imperial Capital in Beverly Hills.

CKE has moved its headquarters from Anaheim to Santa Barbara, where Chief Executive Andrew F. Puzder and Chairman William P. Foley live.