Cheesecake Factory Inc. said that its second-quarter net income grew 16 percent as sales improved at its restaurants despite a still-slow economy. Adjusted profit exceeded Wall Street forecasts, but revenue was slightly lower than expected.

The Calabasas Hills casual dining chain late Thursday reported net income of $19.2 million (32 cents per share), compared with $16.6 million (28 cents) a year earlier.

Revenue rose 3 percent to almost $419 million. Combined same-stores sales at Cheesecake Factory and Grand Lux Cafe restaurants open at least one year was up 1.6 percent.

Excluding a pretax payment related to debt reduction, adjusted per-share profit was 39 cents. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected adjusted profit of 38 cents on revenue of more than $419 million.

“Despite a still sluggish economy, we delivered our second consecutive quarter of positive comparable restaurant sales,” Chief Executive David Overton said in a statement. “As our revenue grows, we are managing our business to retain the efficiencies from the cost management initiatives implemented last year.

Shares were down $1.71, or 6.7 percent, to $24.02 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.