TAMPA, Fla. (AP) _ Bloomin' Brands Inc. (BLMN) on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $68.9 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Tampa, Florida-based company said it had profit of 63 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 34 cents per share.

The owner of Outback Steakhouse and other casual dining spots posted revenue of $987.5 million in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $954.6 million.

For the current quarter ending in July, Bloomin' Brands expects its per-share earnings to be 60 cents.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $1.03 billion for the fiscal second quarter.

Bloomin' Brands shares have increased 48% since the beginning of the year. The stock has more than doubled 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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