1112 ET - Chili's is increasing its lead in casual dining, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman says on a call with analysts Wednesday. He credits the continued progress to the chain's ongoing turnaround efforts, which focus on long-term sustainable growth, improvements to food, service and atmosphere, and position the brand to be more relevant. "These experience improvements, coupled with our everyday value leadership--represented by a per-person average spend that is $3 to $4 below competition--are supporting a powerful flywheel of traffic and sales growth, margin expansion, and then reinvestment into our business," Hochman says. "We still have room to improve, but our progress gives us confidence that we will sustain traffic gains and repeat business." Shares are up 5.3%.