California Pizza Kitchen net income climbs 7%

Restaurant chain California Pizza Kitchen Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit rose 7%, aided by higher same-store sales.

Quarterly earnings grew to $3.7 million, or 19 cents a share, from $3.5 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $146 million from $125.4 million.

Wall Street, on average, expected quarterly earnings of 16 cents a share on $144.8 million in revenue, according to an analyst poll by Thomson Financial.

Westchester-based California Pizza Kitchen said quarterly same-store sales, or sales at restaurants open more than one year, rose 6.9%.

Full-year earnings rose to $21 million, or $1.06 a share, from $19.5 million, or 99 cents. Annual revenue climbed to $554.6 million from $479.6 million in 2005. Same-store sales rose 5.9% in the year.

Shares of California Pizza Kitchen fell $1.20 to $34.06 in after-hours trading after the earnings news, after losing 9 cents to close at $35.26.