Golden Valley-based Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., on Wednesday posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings as revenue soared despite slight decreases in same-store sales.

Net earnings for the quarter that ended December 26 totaled $10.2 million, or 55 cents per share, up 22 percent from $8.3 million, or 46 cents per share, from the same period last year.

The increased earnings beat analyst expectations of 52 cents per share, according to those polled by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue during the quarter increased 13.1 percent to $163.9 million compared to $145 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Analysts expected the company to post fourth-quarter revenue of $163 million.

The restaurant chain saw a slight decline in same-store sales-sales at locations open at least a year and an industry barometer-with a 0.3 percent decrease at company-owned restaurants and a 1.1 decrease at franchised restaurants.

However, Buffalo Wild Wings reported that same-store sales for the first six weeks of 2011 have increased-up 3.8 percent at company-owned stores and 1.5 percent at franchised locations.

“The fourth quarter completed another successful year for Buffalo Wild Wings,” CEO Sally Smith said in a statement. “We increased our brand presence with 80 additional restaurants across the United States, and our system-wide sales topped $1.7 billion.”

Buffalo Wild Wings is among the state's 45-largest public companies based on revenue, which totaled $538.9 million for the fiscal year that ended in December 2009-the most recent year for which data is available.