Brinker International Reports August Comparable Sales

DALLAS, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Brinker International, Inc. , announced today August comparable store sales decreased 2.6 percent for the four-week period ending Aug. 30, 2006.

Comparable store sales for Brinker and the four brands were as follows: Month of August Comparable Store Sales August FY07 and August FY06; Percentage August FY07 August FY06 Comp-Store Comp-Store August FY07 August FY07 Sales Sales Price Increase Mix-Shift Brinker International (2.6)% 3.0 % 2.6 % 0.6 % Chili's (2.8)% 4.8 % 3.0 % 0.1 % Macaroni Grill (2.5)% (1.0)% 1.3 % 1.2 % On The Border (1.9)% (0.5)% 2.2 % 3.6 % Maggiano's (2.0)% 3.0 % 3.0 % 0.1 %

A recorded message providing August sales will be available beginning Thursday, Sept. 7, at 4:30 p.m. EDT through Thursday, Sept. 28 by dialing 1-973-528-0005 and entering pass code 1313. The company plans to release first quarter fiscal year 2007 financial results as well as September comparable store sales on Oct. 24, 2006.

At the end of fiscal year 2006, Brinker International either owned, operated, or franchised 1,622 restaurants under the names Chili's Grill & Bar (1,200 units), Romano's Macaroni Grill (241 units), Maggiano's Little Italy (37 units), and On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina (144 units). The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and, consequently, could be affected by general business and economic conditions, the impact of competition, the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, the seasonality of the company's business, adverse weather conditions, future commodity prices, fuel and utility costs and availability, terrorists acts, consumer perception of food safety, changes in consumer taste and behavior, health epidemics or pandemics, changes in demographic trends, availability of employees, unfavorable publicity, the company's ability to meet its growth plan, acts of God, governmental regulations, and inflation.

Contacts: Stacey Calbert, Media Relations (800) 775-7290 Lynn Schweinfurth, Laura Conn, Investor Relations (972) 770-7228, (972) 770-5810