WRAPUP 1-Wendy's/Arby's misses view, CPK beats

Thu May 7, 2009 11:39pm BST

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* Wendy's/Arby's Q1 adj EPS 1 cent; Wall St view $0.02

* Calif Pizza Kitchen Q1 EPS $0.11; Wall St view $0.10

* Wendy's shares fall 9.2 pct; CPK unchanged (Adds executive comment on Arby's sales trend, updates shares)

LOS ANGELES, May 7 (Reuters) - Fast-food chain Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc (WEN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a quarterly profit excluding items on Thursday that missed Wall Street's view, while California Pizza Kitchen Inc (CPKI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) reported better-than-expected profits on cost controls.

News from the companies came as restaurants continue to struggle with a recession that has put millions of people out of work and forced people to cut back on meals away from home.

First-quarter sales at established North American restaurants rose 1 percent at Wendy's and fell 8.7 percent at Arby's.

Sales at established company-owned California Pizza Kitchen restaurants fell 5.9 percent.

As same-store sales tumble virtually across the industry, restaurants are slashing costs on everything from payroll to new restaurant openings and Wendy's/Arby's and California Pizza Kitchen were no exception. Continued...