CKE Restaurants Inc. Expects a Sales Rise

CKE Restaurants Inc. said it expects sales to increase by the fiscal second quarter at its Hardee’s restaurants that have been open at least a year.

Hardee’s same-store sales should be up 1% to 2% for the fiscal year, said Loren Pannier, senior vice president of investor relations for the Anaheim-based restaurant company.

CKE plans to convert 300 to 400 restaurants to its new Star Hardee’s concept. CKE said it expects its entire Hardee’s system, or 2,813 restaurants, to be converted by the end of fiscal 2002.

Concern about declining same-store sales at Hardee’s has hurt CKE’s shares, which have lost about half their value since the start of the year.

“It was a broken brand. We’re fixing it,” Pannier said at a restaurant conference in New York.

The company’s stock rose 38 cents a share Thursday, closing at $15.94.

In the last 18 months, CKE has made improvements in Hardee’s lunch and dinner sales by eliminating unpopular menu items and improving the ingredients in its hamburger, Pannier said.

The company also expects to expand its entire restaurant system, which also includes Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bueno chains, by 5%, or 150 to 200 restaurants, in the fiscal year. CKE operates 111 Taco Bueno and 852 Carl’s Jr. restaurants.