By Sabela Ojea

Kura Sushi posted higher sales its latest quarter, helped by higher menu prices and new locations, even as restaurant traffic declined.

The Irvine, Calif.-based sushi restaurant chain on Tuesday posted a net loss of $3.8 million, or 31 cents a share, for its second quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with a loss of $998,000, or 9 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast a per-share loss of 11 cents.

Its adjusted loss was 14 cents a share. Analysts expected an adjusted loss of 9 cents a share.

Sales rose 13% to $64.9 million, in line with Wall Street expectations, according to FactSet. Meanwhile, comparable restaurant sales fell 5.3% from the year-earlier period, primarily due to a decline in traffic.

"While the inclement weather was an unexpected sales pressure, we're pleased overall with the quarter due to the great progress we've made across our initiatives," Chief Executive Hajime Uba said.

Food and beverage costs as a percentage of sales declined to around 29% from around 30% due to increases in menu prices and supply chain initiatives, which helped offset food cost inflation. Overall, the company also booked higher general and administrative expenses following a litigation settlement of $2.1 million.

Kura Sushi kept its sales outlook for fiscal 2025 unchanged at $275 million to $279 million. Wall Street analysts expected full-year revenue of $280.5 million.

Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2025 16:33 ET (20:33 GMT)

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