WICHITA, Kan., July 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Inc. ("Lone Star") (Nasdaq:STAR) held its annual meeting of shareholders July 11, 2003 in Denver, Colorado.
At the meeting, approximately 90% of the outstanding shares were voted in favor of the re-election of Clark R. Mandigo, John D. White and Thomas C. Lasorda and accordingly they will each serve until the 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In addition, the shareholders approved the proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 30, 2003. Institutional Shareholders Services recommended a vote for all of the Company proposals on the ballot for this year's annual meeting.
The Company is proud to report that its Corporate Governance Quotient as compiled and reported by Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS) indicates that Lone Star outperformed 91.3% of the companies in the S&P 600 and 94.8% of the companies in the Hotels, Restaurant & Leisure group in the Industry rating category. Chief Executive Officer Jamie B. Coulter said, "We have worked hard on our Corporate Governance Policies and are very pleased to receive these outstanding ratings from ISS."
Lone Star owns and operates 249 domestic and 20 international Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants; 15 Sullivan's Steakhouse restaurants; five Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House restaurants and one Frankie's Italian Grille restaurant. Licensees operate three domestic and one international Lone Star restaurants, and one domestic Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House restaurant.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although the Company believes the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein, including 2003 operating performance, and comparable sales of the Company, are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained in the press release will prove to be accurate.