Starbucks quarterly cafe sales top expectations, shares up

(Reuters) - STARBUCKS (SBUX.NQ)Corp said on Thursday sales at its coffee shops in the Americas region grew more than expected, calming concerns about cooling growth and sending shares up 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Sales at Starbucks shops open at least 13 months were up 7 percent in the Americas region for the fiscal second quarter that ended March 29. Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix expected a rise of 5.1 percent.

Quarterly same-store sales included a 2 percent rise in traffic. Starbucks' Americas region, which includes the United States, Canada and Latin America, contributes the majority of company revenue.

Customer visits to Starbucks' Americas-region cafes have decelerated in the last year and a half, causing some investors and analysts to worry that the company's increased focus on food had slowed service.

Same-store sales were up 5 percent in the Americas region in the first quarter that ended Dec. 28. That included a 2 percent increase in traffic, which was an acceleration from the 1 percent gain posted in the prior quarter.

The world's biggest coffee chain reported quarterly net earnings of $494.9 million, or 33 cents per share, up from $427 million, or 28 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Total revenue was up almost 18 percent to $4.56 billion.

The Seattle-based company stood by its fiscal 2015 revenue growth forecast of 16 percent to 18 percent and its call for full-year earnings, excluding items, of $1.55 to $1.57 per share.

Shares in Starbucks were up $1.97 to $51.40 on the news. Starbucks stock on April 9 underwent a two-for-one stock split, its sixth since the company went public in 1992.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)