Quarterly earnings are mixed for Austin firms

Chuy’s reports gains; USA Compression falls short of expectations.

A number of Austin’s publicly traded companies issued their quarterly earnings reports this week. The reports were a mixed bag, with some companies showing progress and beating Wall Street’s expectations, and others seeing their numbers fall short of projections.

Here’s a look at how some of those Central Texas companies did this week:

Chuy’s Holdings

Austin-based Chuy’s Holdings Inc. saw both its revenue and profit rise in its first quarter, the Tex-Mex chain reported Thursday.

For the quarter ended March 26, Chuy’s had revenue of $86.9 million, an 11.3 percent increase from the same quarter last year. The chain reported net time of $4.6 million or 27 cents per share, compared to net income of $4.5 million, or 27 cents per share, in the same quarter the previous year.

Chuy’s said it continues to expand, having opened three new restaurants so far this year.

“Our unique positioning, the broad appeal of our concept, and our flexible real estate strategy all contribute to our ability to deliver segment-leading unit growth. Over the last two years, we’ve expanded our store base by over 35 percent, and our 2017 development is off to an active start with three new restaurants open year to date,” Chuy’s president and CEO Steve Hislop said in a written statement.

For full-year 2017, Chuy’s now projects it will open 12 to 14 new restaurants, and expects net income per share of $1.11 to $1.15.

Chuy’s was started by Mike Young and John Zapp in 1982 with a single restaurant on Barton Springs Road in South Austin. The company now owns and operates 83 restaurants in 16 states.

Chuy’s shares closed Thursday down 20 cents, or less than 1 percent, at $31.05.

USA Compression Partners

Austin-based USA Compression Partners on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $1.6 million, or 2 cents per share.

The results fell short of Wall