UPDATE 2-Cheesecake Factory earnings drop on lower traffic

(Adds details on forecast and store openings)

LOS ANGELES, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Cheesecake Factory Inc (CAKE.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday posted quarterly earnings that fell more than Wall Street expected and shares shed 6.6 percent after a soft U.S. economy prompted it to lower full-year forecasts.

Sit-down restaurants like Cheesecake Factory have seen their margins under pressure as their customers grapple with a downturn in the U.S. economy and as well as higher food and energy costs.

For 2008, the restaurant chain said it now expects revenue growth of 10 percent to 12 percent and earnings per share growth of 10 percent to 15 percent.

In October, it forecast 2008 revenue growth of 14 percent to 15 percent and earnings per share growth of 22 percent to 24 percent.

The company also cut its plan for new restaurant openings in a bid to lower costs and improve results at existing outlets. It now plans to open seven to nine new restaurants in 2008, versus an earlier plan to open as many as 17.

The Calabasas Hills, California-based company known for its generous portions and exhaustive menu said fourth-quarter net income fell 34.8 percent to $13.3 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with its year-earlier net income of $20.4 million, or 26 cents per share.

Excluding one-time, pretax legal-related charges totaling $2.6 million, the company had a profit of 22 cents per share.

Revenue was up 12.6 percent to $406.3 million from $360.7 million.