NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wendy's International raised its estimates for 2002 earnings on the strength of better-than-expected first-quarter sales growth and cost-control measures.

The fast-food chain now expects to report 2002 earnings of between $1.85 and $1.90 a share, up from its previous forecast of $1.83 to $1.88. The consensus 2002 estimate of analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call is for a result of $1.87 a share.

For the first quarter, Wendy's expects earnings of 39 cents a share, up 18.2 percent from the 33 cents it reported for the year-earlier quarter. The company had reported had two cents per share in asset gains in the year-earlier quarter, it said. The First Call estimate for the first quarter is for a result of 36 cents a share.

Excluding a 1-cent asset gain in the 2001 first quarter, earnings growth would be 21.9 percent, Wendy's (WEN: Research, Estimates) said.

Wendy's said its first-quarter sales and earnings performance was stronger than expected, as same-store sales for the March period increased by 6.1 percent at Wendy's U.S. restaurants, 7.7 percent at its Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada and 10 percent at its Tim Hortons restaurants in the U.S. The company said the results were especially strong considering the further weakening of the Canadian dollar during the quarter, but added that it had additional training costs in the quarter associated with the rollout of Garden Sensations salads at Wendy's.

Wendy's, which is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, said it plans to publish its first-quarter 2002 results on May 1, 2002, during its annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

Wendy's International is one of the world's largest restaurant operating and franchising companies, with more than 8,000 restaurants under its Wendy's hamburgers and Tim Hortons coffee and fresh baked goods brands.