TAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ Bloomin' Brands Inc. (BLMN) on Friday reported a third-quarter loss of $17.6 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Tampa, Florida-based company said it had a loss of 20 cents. Losses, adjusted for severance costs and amortization costs, were 12 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 34 cents per share.

The owner of Outback Steakhouse and other casual dining spots posted revenue of $771.3 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $748.5 million.

Bloomin' Brands shares have declined 20% since the beginning of the year. The stock has fallen slightly more than 5% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BLMN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BLMN

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