Jack in the Box’s Net Income Rises

Burger chain operator Jack in the Box Inc. reported a slight increase in quarterly profit Wednesday, citing growth at its Qdoba Mexican Grill chain, a lower tax rate and a gain from selling 12 restaurants.

The company’s shares gained as much as 7.6% before retreating. The shares closed 3 cents lower at $33.60.

Jack in the Box, which operates or franchises more than 2,000 restaurants, reported net income of $21.5 million, or 59 cents a share, for it fiscal fourth quarter ended Oct. 2. A year earlier, the company earned $21 million, or 56 cents.

In September, the San Diego-based company forecast earnings of 56 cents a share, including a per-share charge of 5 cents for scrapping its test of the more upscale JBX Grill chain.

Excluding the charge, Jack in the Box earned 64 cents a share. On that basis, analysts had expected earnings of about 61 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Jack in the Box said revenue rose 1.3% to $601.4 million. Sales at the company’s namesake restaurants open at least a year, a key retail measure, rose 1.5%. The Qdoba Mexican Grill chain reported an 11.4% gain in same-store sales.

A lower tax rate added 4 cents a share to earnings. Hurricane Rita, which temporarily closed about 200 stores, reduced profit about 4 cents a share.

The company maintained its fiscal 2006 profit forecast in a range of $2.50 to $2.54 a share, compared with Wall Street expectations of $2.54.

For its first quarter, Jack in the Box repeated its profit forecast of 67 cents to 69 cents a share, compared with analysts’ expectations for 69 cents.

Prudential Equity Group analyst Larry Miller said in a note to clients that the company’s earnings forecast “continues to err on the conservative side.”