Red Lobster 2005 Annual Report Download - page 2

Shareholder Information
Transfer Agent, Registrar and Dividend Payments
Wachovia Bank National Association
1525 West W.T. Harris Boulevard, 3C3
Charlotte, NC 28288-1153
Phone: [phone]
Address correspondence as appropriate
to the attention of:
Address Changes
Stock Transfers
Shareholder Services
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
KPMG LLP
111 North Orange Avenue
Suite 1600
Orlando, FL 32801
Phone: [phone]
Form 10-K Report
Shareholders may request a free copy of our
Form 10-K, including schedules but excluding
exhibits, by writing to:
Investor Relations, Darden Restaurants, Inc.,
P.O. Box 593330, Orlando, FL 32859-3330.
Shareholder Reports/Investor Inquiries
Shareholders seeking information about Darden
Restaurants are invited to contact the Investor Relations
Department at [phone]. Recorded summaries
of quarterly earnings announcements and other news
are available on the toll-free line. Shareholders may also
request to receive, free of charge, copies of quarterly
earnings releases.
Information may also be obtained by visiting our Web
site at www.darden.com. Annual reports, SEC filings,
press releases, and other Company news are readily
available on the Web site.
Our Web site also includes corporate governance
information, including our Corporate Governance
Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and
board committee charters, including the charters for our
Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Governance
Committees. We believe we are in compliance with the
applicable corporate governance listing standards of the
New York Stock Exchange, as of the date of this report.
Darden Restaurants Foundation Annual Report
To receive a copy of the 2005 Darden Restaurants
Foundation Annual Report, mail a request to the
Foundation Administrator, Darden Restaurants, Inc.,
P.O. Box 593330, Orlando, FL 32859-3330, or visit
our Web site at www.darden.com.
Notice of Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held at
10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time, Wednesday,
September 21, 2005, at Gaylord Palms Orlando Resort
Hotel, 6000 W. Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, FL 34746.
As of the close of business on July 25, 2005, we had
40,602 shareholders of record.
Markets
New York Stock Exchange
Stock Exchange Symbol: DRI
Certifications
We have filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended May 29, 2005, the Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer certifications
required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We
have also submitted the required annual Chief Executive
Officer certification to the New York Stock Exchange.
Company Address
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
5900 Lake Ellenor Drive
Orlando, FL 32809
Phone: [phone]
Mailing Address
Darden Restaurants, Inc.
P.O. Box 593330
Orlando, FL 32859-3330
Web Site Addresses
www.darden.com
www.redlobster.com
www.olivegarden.com
www.bahamabreeze.com
www.smokeybones.com
www.seasons52.com
Darden Restaurants 61
Designed and produced by Corporate Reports Inc./Atlanta www.corporatereport.com
Our last three annual reports to shareholders have each featured one of
Darden’s key strategic imperatives:
• Culinary and Beverage Excellence was highlighted in 2002, focusing
on our commitment to continually improve and innovate in this critically
important part of our business and redefine culinary and beverage excel-
lence in casual dining.
• Service and Hospitality Excellence was underscored in 2003, empha-
sizing our fundamental recognition that the restaurant business is about
creating great experiences, in addition to great menu offerings. Our goal is
to establish and sustain the industry’s very highest service and hospitality
standards as defined by casual dining guests.
• Leadership Excellence was the focus in 2004, as we made it clear that
achieving our ultimate goal – to be the best in casual dining now and for
generations – requires having leaders throughout the Company who inspire
in their teams a great passion and enthusiasm for people, restaurants
and dining.
This year, our 2005 Annual Report concludes this series with an examina-
tion of a fourth strategic imperative, Brand Building Excellence – a look
at how we develop, build and sustain casual dining restaurant brands that
endure for generations.
Two strategic enablers – diversity excellence and process and technology
excellence – support these imperatives. And our entire strategic framework
rests on our core values: Integrity and Fairness, Respect and Caring, Diversity,
Always Learning/Always Teaching, Being of Service, Teamwork and Excellence.
To learn more about our strategies and values, we encourage you to visit
www.darden.com.
Our Strategies and Values
Diluted Net Earnings
Per Share (In Dollars)
* Includes asset impairment and
restructuring charges
Total Restaurants
Sales (Dollars In Billions)
*Includes extra operating week
Bahama Breeze
With its unique combination of Caribbean-inspired cuisine, hand-crafted tropical drinks,
vibrant atmosphere and people who are happy to be of service, Bahama Breeze gives
guests the feeling of a Caribbean escape. Now in its tenth year, Bahama Breeze operates
32 restaurants in 19 states and had sales of $164 million in fiscal 2005, with average
annual sales per restaurant of $5.1 million.
Olive Garden
Olive Garden helped define the Italian segment of casual dining when it opened in 1982
and today is the world’s largest full-service casual dining Italian restaurant company, with
557 restaurants in the United States and six in Canada. Olive Garden posted its 43rd con-
secutive quarter of U.S. same-restaurant sales growth in fiscal 2005, and sales totaled
$2.4 billion, with average annual sales per restaurant of $4.4 million.
Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill
Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill is Darden’s fastest-growing concept, with 104 restau-
rants in 27 states. Since opening in 1999, the brand has offered great-tasting genuine
barbeque and other American favorites in a mountain-lodge setting with televised sports
viewing. In fiscal 2005, Smokey Bones had sales of $269 million and average annual sales
per restaurant of $3.1 million.
Operating Company Overview
New Business Development
Seasons 52, the newest test concept developed by Darden’s New Business team, cele-
brates living well by offering a seasonally inspired and healthier dining option. Debuting
in 2003, Seasons 52 continued its initial test phase in fiscal 2005 with the opening of
two additional Florida locations. The fresh grill restaurants feature lower-calorie, nutri-
tionally balanced meals, complemented by quality wines from around the world.
Red Lobster
An American icon that helped change the nation’s dining habits, Red Lobster has been
the market leader in casual dining seafood since the first restaurant opened in 1968.
With 648 restaurants in the United States and 31 in Canada, Red Lobster’s fiscal 2005
sales were $2.4 billion, and average annual sales per restaurant were $3.6 million.
    

  


























    

   






