Luby’s, Inc. reported a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.13 per share, in its first fiscal quarter of 2010. Same store sales fell by 13.5% after adjusting for a hurricane that affected comparability. The quarter ended November 18, 2009.

Chris Pappas, the CEO of Luby’s, said, “During the first quarter, we launched our previously announced Cash Flow Improvement and Capital Redeployment Plan, strengthening our core store base and positioning ourselves to better weather this challenging economic environment.”

Luby’s concentrated on expense control during the first fiscal quarter in order to deal with the drop in sales. The company cut payroll costs by $2.4 million compared to the same quarter of last year. Luby’s reduced food costs by $2.6 million on a year over year basis, and the company also benefited from lower commodity prices and operational improvements.

Luby’s also cut other operating expenses by $1.7 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2009. These expenses include repairs, utilities, maintenance, advertising, supplies, insurance, services, and occupancy costs.

Luby’s owns a chain of 96 restaurants in Texas, and provides onsite food service to corporate and educational customers.

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