March 21 (Reuters) - Olive Garden ( DRI ) parent Darden

Restaurants ( DRI ) lowered its annual same-store sales forecast

on Thursday, as customers avoid dining out to keep their

spending under check amid inflation.

Shares of the Orlando, Florida-based company, which has

casual and fine dining restaurant brands, fell nearly 4% in

premarket trading after Darden also missed market expectations

for third-quarter sales.

Darden joined its fast food industry rivals McDonald's

, Yum Brands ( YUM ) and Starbucks ( SBUX ) in taking a

sales hit, as consumers preferred affordable meals at home to

spending at restaurants.

In 2023, restaurant visit share dropped to 11.7% from a

13.8% rise seen in 2019, as per Placer.ai data.

For fiscal 2024, Darden expects same-store sales growth of

1.5% to 2%, down from 2.5% to 3% it forecast previously.

Analysts on average estimate growth of 2.73%, as per LSEG data.

"While Darden's mix of restaurants allows it to appeal to

diners across income levels, the company's lowered outlook

indicates that it expects consumer spending to remain under

pressure this year," said Rachel Wolff, analyst at eMarketer.

The Longhorn Steakhouse-owner, however, slightly raised the

lower end of its annual profit forecast in the range of $8.80 to

$8.90 per share.

The company posted net sales of $2.97 billion for the

quarter ended Feb. 25, compared with analysts' average estimate

of $3.03 billion.

Same-store sales at Olive Garden ( DRI ) business, which is its

highest revenue contributor, fell 1.8% in the quarter compared

to a 12.3% rise a year earlier.

Darden's total same-store sales fell 1.8%, compared with a

4.1% rise in the prior quarter.

(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)