California Pizza Kitchen 2Q profit up slightly

For the quarter ended June 29, the company said it earned nearly $6.6 million, or 26 cents a share, up from $6.3 million, or 21 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue grew more than 11 percent to $176.6 million, from 158.6 million in the year-ago period.

The earnings were generally in line with analyst expectations. According to a poll by Thomson Financial, analysts expected earnings of 26 cents per share on revenue of $176.8 million.

Same-store sales were up 1.4 percent in the quarter. Those sales--at restaurants open at least a year--are considered a key indicator of restaurant performance because they measure growth at existing locations rather than newly opened ones.

The company said average weekly sales at its 190 full-service restaurants were $68,708, up from $68,535 in the same quarter last year.

California Pizza Kitchen raised its earnings guidance for the year based on the results.

The earnings announcement came after the market closed Thursday.

California Pizza Kitchen's shares fell 39 cents, or 2.7 percent, to close at $14.01