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The ONE Group Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Provides Update on Impact of COVID-19 Sixteen Restaurant Dining Rooms Expected to Be Re-Opened by the End of Day May 11
May 11, 2020 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (“The ONE Group” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: STKS) today reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and provided an update related to COVID-19.
Highlights for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 compared to the same period last year are as follows:
Total GAAP revenues increased 78.8% to $40.7 million from $22.8 million;
Consolidated comparable sales* decreased 14.1%;
March comparable sales decreased 55.9%;
January and February comparable sales increased 10.0%;
Comparable sales* for STK decreased 12.8%;
March comparable sales decreased 58.1%;
January and February comparable sales increased 11.4%;
Comparable sales* for Kona Grill decreased 15.5%;
March comparable sales decreased 53.7%;
January and February comparable sales increased 8.4%;
GAAP net loss attributable to The ONE Group was $4.6 million, or $0.16 net loss per share, compared to GAAP net income of $0.9 million, or $0.03 net income per share. The quarter loss includes $1.1 million of integration costs related to the Kona Grill acquisition and $1.3 million of incremental costs related to COVID-19; and,
Adjusted EBITDA** decreased 41.4% to $1.6 million compared to $2.7 million.
For the month of April 2020, the Company averaged $380,000 in weekly sales for pick-up and delivery service, growing sequentially 1.5 times from the first to last week of the month.
*Comparable sales represent total U.S. food and beverage sales at owned and managed units opened for at least a full 18-month period. This measure includes total revenue from our owned and managed locations. Revenues from locations where we do not directly control the event sales force (The W Hotel Westwood, CA) are excluded from this measure.
** Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash impairment loss, non-cash rent expense, pre-opening expenses, non-recurring gains and losses, stock-based compensation and certain transactional costs. Adjusted EBITDA has been presented in this press release and is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. Refer to the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income in this release.
“Our first quarter results reflect the many challenges we experienced due to COVID-19, and particularly during the last two weeks of March. These included the temporary closures of all restaurant dining rooms and the shift in operations to take-out and delivery only service at all domestic restaurants, with the exception of Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and Puerto Rico, which were temporarily closed. Although we implemented numerous measures to reduce expenses during the first quarter, such as significant reductions in employees, suspension of third-party services and deferral of non-essential cash payments including all capital projects, we still incurred approximately $1.3 million of costs directly related to COVID-19. These consisted primarily of payments to employees for paid-time off during restaurant closures, inventory waste, rent and rent-related costs for closed and limited-operations restaurants from the day that the restaurant dining room closed,” said Emanuel “Manny” Hilario, President and CEO of The ONE Group.
“We recently launched STK Meat Market, an e-commerce platform that allows guests to purchase a wide array of signature Choice, Prime, and Waygu steak cuts for home delivery nationwide. This follows the rollout of our Take-Out Menu that features signature appetizers, entrees and sides, as well as the STK@Home meal kit that includes everything needed to bring the ‘vibe dining’ steakhouse experience right to your home kitchen. Customers can also complete their in-home STK experience by visiting www.STKradio.com, which features six playlists of live sets from STK Steakhouses around the globe. Take-out and delivery service are also sharply in focus at Kona Grill while the brand’s namesake radio station, which can be accessed by visiting www.KonaGrillradio.com, is quickly becoming part of ‘vibe dining’ for us and for our guests,” continued Hilario.
“We are excited to have recently re-opened eleven restaurant dining rooms and we expect to re-open an additional five restaurant dining rooms today. In all of our opened restaurant dining rooms, we are following all ‘social distancing’ and other guidelines and requirements. The safety of our guests and employees remains our number one concern. We expect to re-open another five to ten restaurant dining rooms in the upcoming two weeks. Although we cannot reasonably predict when we will be able to re-open other closed restaurants and return to normal restaurant dining room operations, we intend to re-open as soon as local jurisdictions permit. We look forward to welcoming our guests back to our restaurant dining rooms,” concluded Hilario.
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Bloomin’ Brands Announces 2020 Q1 Financial Results
Company Prices $200 Million Convertible Notes Expects Sales to Strengthen As Dining Rooms Re-Open
May 08, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLMN) today announced a business update related to COVID-19 as well as first quarter 2020 financial results.
Statement from David Deno, Chief Executive Officer
Our priorities remain unchanged as we continue to address these challenging times. We are focused on taking care of our people and serving food in a safe environment that protects both our Team Members and customers.
Since the beginning of the pandemic and closing of our dining rooms on March 20th, we have leveraged our strong off-premises business. As a result, we have tripled our average off-premises sales per restaurant since the beginning of March. We have begun reopening dining rooms as state and local governments allow. We have 355 restaurant dining rooms opened with limited seating capacity across multiple states as of Thursday evening. Early results have been promising.
As these dining rooms reopen, we are adhering to the strongest of safety measures, including additional sanitation and disinfecting practices, enhanced hand-washing protocols, use of gloves and facial protection of our employees, and we are providing contactless payment options for our customers. In addition, each dining room seating configuration has been modified to adhere to social distancing and reduced capacity standards, and we are leveraging our table management notification system to allow guests to wait in their cars for their table.
Concurrently, we took steps to further strengthen our liquidity position through the issuance of $200 million convertible notes. In addition, we expect our weekly cash burn rate of $6 million to $8 million to improve as dining rooms continue to open. These funds and our reduced burn rate provide us with additional flexibility to navigate economic uncertainty over the medium to long-term.
As it relates to our first quarter results, we were on track to deliver a strong quarter prior to the impact of the pandemic. The strategies to enhance Total Shareholder Return that we outlined on our Q4 earning’s call were working. Through February all of our concepts were positive in sales and traffic. We achieved meaningful expansion of our adjusted operating margins during those eight weeks, and we had begun to see the benefits of our expected $40 million of cost savings that we outlined in February. Once we have successfully navigated the ongoing crisis, we believe that we will be well positioned to build on our early 2020 success and emerge a stronger company.
View full version at Bloomin' Brands
Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. Provides Business Update Related to COVID-19 and Reports First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
May 08, 2020 06:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
WINTER PARK, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: RUTH) today provided a business update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported unaudited financial results for its first quarter ended March 29, 2020.
COVID-19 Business Update:
During the first quarter of 2020, the Company began to experience the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business. While first limited to franchise locations in Asia, by the middle of March, the effect of the pandemic was felt throughout the Company’s entire operations. These effects have continued in the second quarter, resulting in a significant decline in sales and traffic. During April, Ruth’s Chris dining rooms were closed in all domestic U.S. locations, and the Company transitioned its services to take-out and delivery operations.
The Company has taken several steps to leverage its Ruth’s Anywhere program by offering simplified, menu options, as well as expanding significantly its participation in third-party delivery networks and more recently launching online ordering and payment. The Company is currently operating take-out and delivery in 56 Company-owned restaurants and 30 Company-owned and managed restaurants have been closed. All dining rooms in Company-owned restaurants remain closed. Of the 73 franchisee-owned restaurants, 14 restaurants are open, 28 are operating take-out and delivery and 31 are closed. In April 2020, comparable restaurant sales decreased 83.5% from the prior year for Company-owned restaurants that were open for take-out and delivery and average weekly sales were $19.2 thousand.
Cheryl Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ruth's Hospitality Group, Inc., stated, “I want to express my extreme gratitude to the incredible group of people that I have the privilege of serving with – our Ruth’s Chris team members and franchise partners. It is no surprise to me that they have risen to meet this unique challenge. Our brand has a rich history of successfully responding to adversity and I am enormously proud of the tireless efforts of our people to transform our business and continue to take care of our guests. We are planning for the re-opening of our dining rooms and welcoming our guests and employees back with their safety and well-being remaining our primary concern.”
In response to the business disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the Company has taken the following actions to enhance financial flexibility and increase available liquidity. The Company continues to engage in discussions with various parties to explore financing opportunities to further enhance its liquidity.
During the first quarter, the Company secured an amendment to, and borrowed the remaining availability under its $150.0 million revolving credit facility. The Company’s cash balance as of March 29, 2020 was $70.8 million.
In May, the Company entered into a Third Amendment to its Credit Agreement, which waived financial covenants until the first quarter of 2021, further relaxed the leverage covenant restrictions through the remainder of 2021, and added a monthly liquidity covenant. The Company’s cash balance as of May 4, 2020 was $62.5 million.
The Company has suspended all new restaurant construction and non-essential capital expenditures, which are expected to lower annual capital expenditures by over $35 million.
The Company has suspended its quarterly cash dividend, share repurchases and made significant reductions in ongoing operating expenses, including conducting a furlough and reducing base salaries of all non-furloughed team members.
As a result of these actions, the Company expects its average weekly cash-burn rate for the remainder of the second quarter to be $2.4 million per week, which includes partial rent payments, re-opening costs, and one-time COVID-19 expenses. If the Company were unable to re-open its dining rooms, it estimates that the average weekly cash-burn would be below $2.0 million per week.
Highlights for the first quarter of 2020 were as follows:
Total revenues in the first quarter of 2020 decreased 9.4% to $108.5 million, compared to $119.7 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2020 was $3.8 million, or ($0.13) per diluted share, compared to net income of $13.9 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2020 included a loss on impairment of $8.7 million (which includes a $5.6 million impairment loss related to long-lived assets and a $3.1 million impairment loss related to territory rights) and $0.1 million income tax benefit related to the impact of discrete income tax items. Net income in the first quarter of 2019 included $39 thousand acquisition-related expenses associated with the acquisition of the three restaurants from our Philadelphia and Long Island franchisee, and a $0.5 million income tax benefit related to the impact of discrete income tax items.
Excluding these items, non-GAAP diluted earnings per common share were $0.09 in the first quarter of 2020, compared to $0.45 in the first quarter of 2019. The Company believes that non-GAAP diluted earnings per common share provides a useful alternative measure of financial performance to improve comparability of diluted earnings per common share between periods. Investors are advised to see the attached Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measure table for additional information.
During the first quarter of 2020, and prior to the impact of COVID-19, the Company returned $13.2 million through share repurchases.
Review of first quarter 2020 operating results
Restaurant sales in the first quarter of 2020 decreased 8.8% to $103.0 million compared to $113.0 million in the first quarter of 2019. Average restaurant weekly sales were $96.0 thousand in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 13.8% compared to $111.4 thousand in the first quarter of 2019. The sales declines are attributed to the impact of COVID-19 on March sales.
View full version at Ruth's Hospitality Group
Farmer Bros. Co. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results and Provides COVID-19 Update
May 07, 2020 16:05 ET
NORTHLAKE, Texas, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmer Bros. Co. (NASDAQ: FARM) (the "Company") today reported financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020. The Company also provided an update on its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Third Quarter Fiscal 2020 Highlights:
Volume of green coffee processed and sold decreased by 2.2 million to 25.7 million pounds, a 7.9% decrease over the prior year period partially due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic discussed below;
Green coffee pounds processed and sold through our DSD network were 8.4 million, or 32.5% of total green coffee pounds processed and sold
Direct ship customers represented 17.1 million, or 66.4%, of total green coffee pounds processed and sold
Distributor customers represented 0.3 million pounds, or 1.0%, of total green coffee pounds processed and sold
Net sales were $129.1 million, a decrease of $17.5 million, or 12.0%, from the prior year period;
Gross margin increased to 29.4% from 27.2% in the prior year period;
Operating expenses as percentage of sales, inclusive of a $42.0 million intangible asset impairment charge increased to 64.4% from 31.4% in the prior year period;
Net loss was $39.8 million compared to net loss of $51.7 million in the prior year period; and
Adjusted EBITDA was $6.6 million compared to $4.5 million in the prior year period.*
(*Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, is reconciled to its corresponding GAAP measure at the end of this press release.)
“Farmer Brothers has moved rapidly to address unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and I am proud of the way we have adapted our operations to new ways of working,” said Deverl Maserang, President and CEO. “Our response to the COVID-19 crisis has been focused on three priorities including: protecting the health and safety of our employees and customers; preserving liquidity and supporting the long-term sustainability of our business; and pivoting our business to accelerate many of our strategies including our e-commerce initiatives, expanding our roastery direct services, and enhancing pop-up and additional retail sales opportunities. I am encouraged by the significant progress we saw through January, February and early March across both DSD and Direct Ship. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were on track to exceed our expectations and deliver adjusted EBITDA in excess of prior quarters, demonstrating that our strategies are working. We continue to believe our turnaround strategy provides the foundation we need to position Farmer Brothers to support our customers through this crisis and beyond.”
COVID-19 Business Update:
The COVID-19 pandemic and the related shelter-in-place orders, as well as changes in recent consumer behavior, have had an adverse impact on certain of the Company's DSD customers, particularly restaurants, hotels, casinos and coffeehouses. Many of these customers have been forced to close or curtail operations, and are purchasing at reduced volumes if at all. As a result, in the last two weeks of March and into April, sales from the Company’s DSD customers declined between 65% to 70% from the pre COVID-19 pandemic average sales. The Company is unable to predict the rate at which these customers will resume operations and purchases as shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted. We do not expect to see a meaningful improvement in our operating results until federal, state and local government authorities ease travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, and shutdowns.
View source version at Farmer Bros. Co.
Souplantation Considering Filing for Bankruptcy as Pandemic Struggles Continue
By Claudette Stefanian • Published May 7, 2020 • Updated on May 7, 2020 at 11:44 pm
Souplantation’s doors closed temporarily when the state ordered restaurants to cease dine-in services, and now the buffet-style favorite is considering filing for bankruptcy and shutting its doors for good.
Signs posted to the front doors at the restaurant in Kearny Mesa read, “closed temporarily” on Thursday. John Haywood, CEO for Souplantation’s parent company Garden Fresh Restaurants, said reopening looks bleak.
“We’ve engaged in bankruptcy counsel to explore the best option for our company,” Haywood told NBC 7.
Longtime fan Kyle Canfield said he’s been coming to Souplantation since he was a kid. The news of the closure spread throughout his family across the country.
“ It’s funny you guys stopped me because I just got off the phone with my parents who live in Florida and the news got to them as well and they were sad,” Canfield said.
USD economics professor Alan Gin said a bankruptcy filing wouldn’t necessarily mean the end for the popular chain, which has seven county locations from Rancho Bernardo to Chula Vista.
“Sometimes when you go to bankruptcy it's possible your business doesn't close for good ...reorganize maybe get some debt relief and later on get back to business,” Gin said.
On the other hand, Gin said Souplantation's buffet-style model is a little harder to adjust to COVID-19 restrictions.
Garden Fresh Restaurants is based in San Diego and owns Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2016 but made a comeback after it was acquired by an investment firm the following year.
View source version at Garden Fresh Restaurants
BJ’s Inks $70 Million Deal with Panera Bread Founder Ron Shaich
THE COMPANY SAID FUNDS WILL HELP RESTAURANT REHIRE EMPLOYEES AND REOPEN UNITS.
MAY 2020 BEN COLEY
BJ’s Restaurants announced an injection of capital Friday in the form of a $70 million investment from Act III Holdings.
CEO Greg Trojan said the deal will enhance BJ’s liquidity and strengthen its ability to rehire employees and re-open dining rooms within social distancing guidelines.
“The capital raise announced today, together with other recent actions we have taken, will enhance BJ’s liquidity and strengthen our ability to welcome back our team members and reopen dine-in service at our restaurants in accordance with the social distancing and safety protocols mandated by state and local governments to ensure the health and safety of our guests and team members," Trojan said in a statement. "BJ’s maintains a strong concept and brand, with a long-term focus on sales driving and productivity initiatives, future growth prospects, and the daily commitment of our valued team members. We believe this investment will prove invaluable as we reopen our dining rooms and continue to deliver the delicious food, dining experiences and guest service and hospitality that consumers have come to love and expect from BJ’s.”
Act III is owned by Ron Shaich, the founder and former CEO of Panera Bread, who sold the bakery-café chain to JAB Holding Company in 2017 for $7.5 billion. Act III was responsible for facilitating Cava’s $300 million acquisition of Zoës Kitchen in 2018.
“I have long admired BJ’s differentiated position within casual dining and the quality of its execution,” Shaich said in a statement. “The result is a company that is generating some of the highest average unit sales and guest traffic metrics in the industry. This is a testament to the strength and tenure of BJ’s management team, from the Restaurant Support Center down to the restaurants themselves. BJ’s ability to stay ahead of changing consumer trends, while remaining true to its brand heritage, provides a platform to ignite future growth, and the opportunity to more than double its current restaurant footprint. In sum, we have made this investment to help ensure BJ’s has the resources and capabilities to thrive well into the future.”
The restaurant’s comps were down 82 percent in the week ending March 24, but have since lifted to negative 70 percent in the week ending April 21. The improvement has been supported by a weekly growth in off-premises business in the mid-teens. In the week ending April 21, BJ’s earned $31,716 in average off-premises sales, up from $11,402 in the week ending March 17.
The company, which is set to announce its Q1 earnings next week, laid off 16,000 hourly employees, 200 restaurant managers, and 40 Restaurant Support Center employees. Trojan and other leaders took a 20 percent pay cut and Restaurant Support employees making over $100,000 had their salary reduced. BJ’s is currently burning about $2.5 million per week. As of April 24, 205 of the casual-dining chain’s 209 restaurants were open.
Bank of America Securities served as exclusive financial adviser on the deal and Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP served as legal advisor to BJ’s Restaurants. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal advisors to Act III.
View source version at BJ's Restaurants
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Provides Business Update
May 07, 2020 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Fiesta" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: FRGI), parent company of the Pollo Tropical® and Taco Cabana® restaurant brands, today reported results for the 13-week first quarter 2020, which ended on March 29, 2020 and provided a business update related to current operations.
Fiesta President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockinger said, "Our priorities in this time of crisis have been and will continue to be as follows: Taking steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our team members and customers, protecting the reputation of our brands and the Company, doing right by our employees, shareholders, vendor partners, service providers and landlords, and continuing to be a leader in our communities. I am proud of our team for their focus on those priorities, while developing new and better ways to drive sales and maximize results."
Mr. Stockinger continued, "Post COVID-19 comp sales declines stabilized in late March and early April at both brands, and we have realized sequential sales improvement weekly at both brands since that time. Aided by strong drive thru and carry out sales, recent weekly Taco Cabana comparable restaurant sales for the two weeks ended May 3, 2020 have improved to down 18.6% compared to the same weeks last year. Pollo Tropical comparable restaurant sales trends have improved to down 37.8% compared to the same weeks last year, supported by increased drive thru and delivery sales. At those sales trends we estimate that we generate break-even profitability, which we believe should be sustainable and provide us a base from which to rebuild the bottom line as the economy re-accelerates."
Mr. Stockinger added, "We are seizing the opportunity created by changes in response to COVID-19 to create a better business model designed to enable our customers to enjoy our brands safely wherever and however they choose. We have expanded and will continue to expand delivery options, we are creating more in-home dining options including Pollo Pantry and TC Pantry and we are rapidly improving our curbside and pick up capabilities to be faster and safer for our customers. Additionally, we have completed our re-opening plans in compliance with applicable state and local guidelines for the return of safe dine-in activity in Texas and Florida in markets that are allowing dine-in activity."
Mr. Stockinger concluded, "We have been working to maximize efficiency and operating flexibility since this crisis began. Early in the second quarter of 2020 we drew down all revolver capacity under our senior credit facility and had a total cash balance of approximately $91.6 million as of May 6. We have been successfully working with our vendor partners, service providers and landlords regarding more flexible payment terms and cost reductions. We cut our 2020 capex plans in half and are focusing only on necessary capital projects. We were in full compliance with our loan financial covenants under our senior credit facility at the end of the first quarter of 2020, and we are proactively working with our lenders to amend our financial covenants under our senior credit facility to avoid any potential issues in the future given the economic uncertainty related to the pandemic. In conclusion, we are confident that we will ultimately exit this crisis as a company better positioned for future sales and profit growth."
View full version at Fiesta Restaurant Group
Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the First Quarter 2020 and Provides Business Update
May 07, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SYRACUSE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (“Carrols” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: TAST) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2020 and provided a business update.
Highlights for the First Quarter of 2020 versus the First Quarter of 2019 Include:
Total revenue increased 20.9% to $351.5 million (including $67.4 million in restaurant sales from restaurants acquired in the Cambridge acquisition completed in the second quarter of 2019) from $290.8 million in the prior year quarter;
Comparable restaurant sales for the Company’s Burger King® restaurants decreased 5.7% compared to a 2.4% increase in the prior year quarter, and during the last month of the quarter comparable restaurant sales decreased 16.8%;
Comparable restaurant sales for the Company’s Popeyes® restaurants increased 3.2% compared to comparable restaurant sales under previous ownership in the prior year quarter, and during the last month of the quarter comparable restaurant sales decreased 2.8%;
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $4.0 million compared to $13.3 million in the prior year quarter;
Adjusted Restaurant-Level EBITDA(1) was $22.8 million compared to $28.7 million in the prior year quarter;
Net loss was $22.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $11.5 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter; and
Adjusted Net Loss(1) was $19.3 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared to Adjusted Net Loss of $10.2 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.
(1) Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Restaurant-Level EBITDA and Adjusted Net Loss are non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to the definitions and reconciliation of these measures to net income (loss) or to income (loss) from operations in the tables at the end of this release.
Business Update
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken numerous steps to adapt our business to the current environment as well as to better position the Company for the future. These steps include:
Continuing to serve drive-thru and, at certain locations, at the counter for take-out as we prioritize the health and safety of our employees and customers. Take-out and drive-thru orders comprised approximately 75% of restaurant sales in 2019;
Keeping our restaurants stocked with hand sanitizers, masks, gloves, and thermometers;
Launching delivery services to the majority of our Burger King and Popeyes restaurants, ahead of our original timetable. Delivery sales are now approximately $800,000 per week (approximately 3% of total restaurant sales);
Modifying restaurant operating hours based on day-part sales trends and local ordinances while making adjustments to have the appropriate amount of labor for all operating day parts;
Rationalizing all ongoing expenses, and where possible, reducing corporate and regional overhead and restaurant labor, cost of sales, and operating expense levels. These adjustments include reducing regional and corporate overhead by $5 million to $7 million on an annualized basis, achieved by streamlining our regional management structure, a 10% reduction in non-restaurant wages, instituting a company-wide hiring freeze, and adjusting restaurant labor costs to reflect revised restaurant hours and accessibility;
Working closely with our landlords to negotiate reduced or deferred cash rent obligations and optimizing payment terms with key vendors and suppliers;
Revaluating all capital expenditures and delaying all projects that have not yet commenced other than critical restaurant maintenance issues. Approximately $25 million of capital expenditure spending was incurred during the first quarter, the majority of which was carryover spend from projects commenced in 2019. Full year estimated range of capital expenditure spending is $35 million to $40 million, net of sale lease-back proceeds;
Suspending any acquisition activity and our stock repurchase program;
Temporarily closing 46 locations in March, 2020, including 42 Burger King and four Popeyes restaurants that were geographically close to other Company restaurants;
Opening five Burger King restaurants to date in 2020 that commenced construction in 2019 and closing 11 restaurants year-to-date that were EBITDA negative; and
Enhancing our sources of liquidity by increasing our revolver borrowing capacity by $30.8 million to a total of $145.8 million on April 8, 2020. As of May 5, 2020, we had $111.8 million of outstanding borrowings and $9.7 million of letters of credit issued under our revolving credit facility. In terms of liquidity, as of May 5, 2020 the Company had $77.8 million of available funds consisting of $24.4 million available to be drawn on the Company’s revolving credit facility and approximately $53.4 million in cash deposits.
Recent Weekly Comparable Restaurant Sales Trends Comparable restaurant sales for our Burger King restaurants have improved over the past several weeks from a low of (33.8%) during the last week of March to (6.4%) over the past week, while our Popeyes restaurants improved from (19.0%) to 14.5%, respectively. At this revenue trajectory combined with the operational actions taken, we currently estimate that the Company is on a path to generating positive free cash flow during the second quarter of 2020.
View full version at Carrols Restaurant Group
BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. Provides Business Update and Reports Fiscal 2020 First Quarter Results
May 07, 2020 16:02 ET
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) today provided an update of certain business and financial metrics given the current COVID-19 environment and reported financial results for its 2020 first quarter ended Tuesday, March 31, 2020.
“I am extremely proud of the amazing dedication, creativity and grit of our team members as they continue building sales and taking care of our guests during these difficult times for our country,” commented Greg Trojan, BJ’s Chief Executive Officer. “As our country and the communities in which we operate slowly re-open, we are ensuring that we have gold standard safety and social distancing protocols in place to allow our guests to return to our restaurants and safely enjoy BJ’s food and beverages.
“Last week we re-opened the dining rooms in our Texas, Oklahoma and Tennessee locations on a limited capacity basis and this week opened additional dining rooms in Florida and Kansas. Guests are now being served in dining rooms in more than a quarter of our 205 open restaurants. We are encouraged by early dine-in sales trends, as well as the continued elevated off-premise sales levels at our recently opened locations. As more BJ’s dining rooms begin to re-open with limited capacity, we believe that our large restaurants and flexible seating layouts provide us a strong advantage to take care of our guests’ needs and grow sales as we transition back to more regular operations.”
Current Trends and Business Update
Comparable restaurant sales are down by 67.6% for the week ending May 5, 2020, which is a 1,410 bps improvement since the week ending March 24, 2020, when sales declines peaked at 81.7%. This recent improvement has been driven by growth in the Company’s off-premise sales from both take-out and delivery channels and more recently the re-opening of certain dining rooms. For the week ending May 5, 2020, off-premise sales continued to grow, improving to $31,688, or 4% over the prior week, even with dining rooms beginning to re-open. Recent sales on a weekly basis through May 5, 2020 were as follows:Week Ended3/17/20203/24/20203/31/20204/7/20204/14/20204/21/20204/28/20205/5/2020Comparable Restaurant Sales-34.3%-81.7%-81.0%-77.5%-74.8%-70.9%-72.9%-67.6%Weekly Sales Average$78,361$21,343$21,563$24,667$27,981$31,716$30,582$34,921Change from Prior Week-30.3%-72.8%1.0%14.4%13.4%13.3%-3.6%14.2%
Our ongoing focus on growing off-premise sales, including our recent enhancements to our mobile app and online ordering platform, as well as the expansion of our large party menu and third party delivery partnerships, has enabled us to seamlessly transition to higher off-premise volumes during this pandemic. Higher off-premise volumes are driven by both traffic and check growth resulting from more items per order and growth in certain menu items, such as our Family Feast offerings that feed 4 to 6 guests, our $6 take-home entrees and our to-go beverage sales that include BJ’s award winning craft beer in six packs and growlers, bottles of wine and 32 oz. margaritas.
Certain states where we operate restaurants have recently allowed dining rooms to re-open, including Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas and Tennessee. As of today 55 locations, or 27%, of our 205 restaurants currently operating, are now serving guests in dining rooms in a limited capacity. Additionally, our six restaurants in Indiana, six restaurants in Arizona and two restaurants in Arkansas are scheduled to re-open their dining rooms, also in a limited capacity, next week.
The Company closed its previously announced $70 million common stock sale to Act III Holdings, LLC, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. on May 5, 2020, and currently has $134 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand.
As previously announced, the Company drew down the remaining available balance on its revolving credit facility to increase liquidity and enhance financial flexibility given the uncertain market conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company is in compliance with its financial covenants for the first quarter of 2020. Additionally, the Company amended its credit agreement effective April 30, 2020, to modify certain financial covenants. The amended credit agreement is secured by the Company’s assets and suspends the testing of the lease adjusted leverage ratio and the fixed charge coverage ratio until the fourth fiscal quarter ending December 29, 2020, at which time a modified lease adjusted leverage ratio and fixed charge ratio tests will resume. Additionally, through December 29, 2020, a monthly liquidity balance must be maintained, including cash and cash equivalents and availability under the line of credit.
First Quarter 2020 Highlights Compared to First Quarter 2019
Total revenues decreased 12.4% to $254.6 million
Total restaurant operating weeks increased approximately 3.2%
Comparable restaurant sales declined 15.5% -- Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and for the first eight weeks of the quarter, revenues and expenses were in line with management’s expectations as comparable restaurant sales increased by 1.5% -- Comparable restaurant sales for the last five weeks of the quarter declined by 40.4%
Net loss of $4.3 million, inclusive of a pretax impairment charge of $2.3 million, compared to net income of $12.9 million
Diluted net loss per share of $0.22, inclusive of an impairment charge of $0.12 per share, compared to diluted net income per share of $0.60
In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, BJ’s opened its first restaurant in the state of Massachusetts in North Attleboro. While there were plans to open eight to ten restaurants in 2020, the Company now anticipates opening one additional restaurant later this year and has either canceled or delayed its remaining new restaurant openings for fiscal 2020. “The current environment has not changed our view of the long-term growth potential for BJ’s. While we manage through these challenging times with all other restaurant concepts, we are as optimistic as ever that BJ’s will continue to grow and expand our market share. Once we have resumed normal operations, as conditions permit, we expect to resume our restaurant opening objectives as we continue our national expansion to at least 425 BJ’s restaurants,” concluded Trojan.
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Noodles & Company Announces First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
May 06, 2020 16:05 ET
Continues to Leverage Strong Off-Premise Capabilities Strong Sales First Ten Weeks of Year Offset by COVID-19 Impact In Latter March
BROOMFIELD, Colo., May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noodles & Company (Nasdaq: NDLS) today announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Key highlights for the first quarter of 2020 versus the first quarter of 2019 include:
Total revenue decreased 8.8% to $100.3 million from $110.0 million, primarily due to the decrease in comparable restaurant sales as a result of mandated dining room closures in response to COVID-19 as well as the refranchising of fourteen restaurants since the first quarter of 2019.
Comparable restaurant sales decreased 7.2% system-wide, comprised of a 7.0% decrease at company-owned restaurants and an 8.9% decrease at franchise restaurants.- Comparable sales growth system-wide increased 5.5% during the first ten weeks of the year through March 10th. - Comparable sales were negatively impacted by COVID-19 during the last three weeks of the fiscal quarter, resulting in a system-wide comparable sales decline of 46.3% from March 11th to March 31st.
Strengthened existing off-premise capabilities by: launching curbside pickup in 350 restaurants, expanding delivery options through existing digital channels, adding Uber Eats as a delivery partner to complement existing partnership with Door Dash, and launching direct delivery channel.
Digital sales grew 44.2% and accounted for 31.0% of sales; contributed to a 6.0% increase in the total percentage of off-premise sales from 55.7% to 61.7% of all sales.
Net loss was $5.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.04 per diluted share.
Adjusted net loss(1) was $3.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to an adjusted net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.
Restaurant contribution margin(1) decreased 190 basis points to 10.7%.
Opened one new company-owned restaurant and sold nine restaurants to an existing franchisee.
Enhanced cash position with precautionary revolving credit draws totaling $47.0 million.
(1) Adjusted net loss and restaurant contribution margin are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of net loss to adjusted net loss and of operating income (loss) to restaurant contribution margin are included in the accompanying financial data. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
“I am proud of all of our team members and partners for their tremendous commitment to quickly evolve and address the needs of the consumer during this unprecedented time,” said Dave Boennighausen, Chief Executive Officer. “After a strong 2019 reflecting continued growth in comparable sales, margin and earnings, 2020 began with significant business momentum as our off-premise, culinary and operational initiatives continued to resonate with our guests. As we previously disclosed, the company achieved mid-single digit comparable sales growth during the first ten weeks of the quarter before sales were abruptly disrupted by the current COVID-19 crisis.”
Boennighausen continued “Fortunately, Noodles & Company’s investment in building a strong off-premise business, which represented over 60% of sales quarter-to-date prior to the COVID-19 crisis, has allowed the company to navigate this downturn. We are seeing a steady rebound in company-owned comparable sales growth, which declined 54.7% during the last week of March but has since improved to a decline of just 33.6% for the fiscal week ended May 5, 2020 as our digital and off-premise innovation is helping offset the continued closure of our restaurant dining rooms. Our balance sheet remains strong, with cash on hand of $61.1 million as of May 5, 2020.”
“We continue to maintain our intense focus on ensuring the health and safety of our team members and guests, including several process enhancements enacted over the past several weeks. Although we are prepared and excited to welcome guests back into our dining rooms as the situation allows, our strong off-premise business and increased digital capabilities give us increased confidence in both the company’s ability to navigate this current crisis but also strengthen our competitive position going forward.” Boennighausen concluded.
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The Wendy's Company Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
May 06, 2020, 07:00 ET
DUBLIN, Ohio, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wendy's Company (Nasdaq: WEN) today reported unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2020 and provided an update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business.
Note from President and CEO, Todd Penegor
At Wendy's, the health, safety and well-being of our teams and customers has always been, and will continue to be, our top priority. We are focused on actions where we can make a positive difference to advance public health goals, safeguard our team members and customers from the spread of COVID-19, maintain essential access to high quality, affordable food, and support our franchisees and employees around the world.
I am very proud of the significant momentum our business generated in 2019 and carried into March of 2020 prior to the negative impact of COVID-19. Our U.S. breakfast launch in early March exceeded our initial expectations and the breakfast daypart continues to perform well in today's environment, which is encouraging. We believe that we have a breakfast business that is built to last. We have also seen strong growth in our U.S. digital business to approximately 5.5% of sales currently, with the addition of two new delivery partners in the first quarter to meet increasing consumer demand for this offering.
Delivering high quality food at an affordable price is more important than ever and I am humbled by the stories of how our system continues to support our communities. From delivering breakfast and hot meals to our much appreciated first responders and healthcare workers, to modifying procedures to enable truck drivers and others with large vehicles who are unable to access our drive-thru to continue to get their favorite Wendy's food through temporary curbside procedures, to volunteering personal time to local causes and charitable organizations, I am very proud of how we collectively strive to do the right thing and give something back.
Wendy's is a people business, and the spirit of our Wendy's people remains strong during this challenging time. Our restaurants are essential to feeding our communities, and we could not do this without great leadership and support from our dedicated General Managers and restaurant teams who are on the frontlines. We have taken steps to help protect our team members and customers during these uncertain times, including utilizing no-contact and limited-contact ordering options and focusing on social distancing practices at our restaurants. We have invested in training across our system to ensure employee and customer safety in areas such as handwashing and hygiene re-certifications, social distancing, and proper mask utilization. We also instituted an Emergency Paid Sick Leave policy for our Company hourly employees to provide additional support for employees affected by COVID-19 and have implemented Restaurant Recognition Pay in which hourly crew members, shift managers, and assistant General Managers in Company restaurants receive a 10% increase in hourly pay. We recently announced that we are extending both programs through the end of May.
We have worked diligently with our franchisees to ensure that they are set up in the best position possible to navigate through this disruption, both operationally and financially. On the operational front, we have worked to ensure that our teams are receiving the supplies they need, made changes to evolve and simplify our menu, and updated staffing and procedures to continue to run great restaurants through the drive-thru and with delivery during this time. Financially, we have worked to help franchisees preserve cash flow with royalty, advertising, and rent payment deferrals, we have extended our new build and reimaging requirements by a year and we have worked directly with our largest franchise lenders on behalf of our system to move to interest only loans for a period of time.
At the corporate level, we have taken several steps to ensure financial flexibility during this unprecedented time. We have fully drawn our Variable Funding Senior Secured Notes revolving financing facility, suspended all share repurchase activity, reduced our second quarter dividend, and identified approximately $30 million of savings in 2020 within capital expenditures and non-people related general & administrative expenses. As a result of these efforts, our cash balance remains strong at approximately $365 million as of May 3, 2020.
I continue to be amazed and humbled at how well our team is working together during this challenging time. We are getting things done and finding new ways of working which will make us even more nimble and stronger as an organization into the future. Most important, we are supporting our restaurant teams and, our communities the only way we know how, The Wendy's Way.
I could not be more proud of the work being done by our employees, franchisees and supplier partners across the globe during this difficult time, and I know that we will get through this and will emerge stronger on the other side. I am more confident than ever that we will achieve our long-term vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand.
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Grubhub Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Grubhub generates 12% revenue growth in the first quarter
May 06, 2020, 16:05 ET
CHICAGO, May 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB), a leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery marketplace, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 and also posted a letter to shareholders on its investor relations website. The Company reported revenues of $363 million, which is a 12% year-over-year increase from $324 million in the same period last year. Gross Food Sales grew 8% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, up from $1.5 billion in the same period last year.
"The restaurant industry is facing enormous challenges in light of the difficult, but necessary, steps taken to keep us safe as we fight COVID-19," said Matt Maloney, Grubhub founder and CEO. "Grubhub is using nearly all of our profits in the second quarter to generate as many additional orders for our restaurant partners as possible. We hope that the darkest days are behind our restaurant partners and they can start focusing on the recovery."
First Quarter Financial Highlights
Revenues: $363.0 million, a 12% year-over-year increase from $323.8 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Net Income (Loss): $(33.4) million, or $(0.36) per diluted share, a decrease from $6.9 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA: $21.0 million, a 59% year-over-year decrease from $50.9 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss): $(37) thousand, or $(0.00) per diluted share, a decrease from $27.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019.
First Quarter Key Business Metrics Highlights1
Active Diners: 23.9 million, a 24% year-over-year increase from 19.3 million Active Diners in the first quarter of 2019.
Daily Average Grubs (DAGs): 516,300, a 1% year-over-year decrease from 521,000 DAGs in the first quarter of 2019.
Gross Food Sales: $1.6 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase from $1.5 billion in the first quarter of 2019.
"COVID-19 has driven a significant uptick in new diners and orders from existing users as most restaurant dining rooms have been temporarily closed nationwide," said Adam DeWitt, Grubhub president and CFO. "At current volume trends, we could be generating meaningful Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter. But as Matt highlighted, we believe the absolute best use of our cash is to support our restaurants, their employees, our drivers and the entire takeout ecosystem through this crisis, by generating as many orders as possible while funding extra safety measures for restaurants, drivers and diners. We hope that these additional sales help make a difference to our partners in this time of crisis."
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Wingstop Inc. Provides Business Update and Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
May 06, 2020 07:30 ET
DALLAS, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wingstop Inc. (“Wingstop” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: WING) today announced financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended March 28, 2020.
Business Update from Charlie Morrison, Chairman and CEO of Wingstop:
In our last business update to investors and fans of the brand, I was happy to report that the Wingstop brand remained resilient during this unprecedented time for us all. Our performance actually improved in the last two weeks of the first quarter ended in March. I attribute that resiliency and performance to the strength of our system, led by our team members, our franchisees (whom we affectionately call our brand partners) and our supplier partners – all of whom remain committed to our mission of Serving the World Flavor! We have leveraged our core values of Authentic, Service-Minded, and Entrepreneurial as our guide for the decisions and actions we have taken to ensure Wingstop remains one of the best-positioned brands to navigate a situation like the COVID-19 crisis. We call it the Wingstop Way, and I believe in times like these, our shared, behaved values are the best indicator of the past, present, and future success of any company.
As I shared in my letter on April 7, we proactively focused on three key priorities to navigate this trying time:
Support the well-being and safety of our team members, brand partners, and guests
Continuing to serve our Wingstop fans flavor in a safe and clean environment
Give back to our communities where we operate
These priorities are the foundation of our operations for our 1,400+ global restaurants each day. The strength of our performance is certainly reflected in our results, including a very strong start to the second quarter, with April same-store sales growth in our domestic operations exceeding 30%. This topline performance, coupled with significantly reduced bone-in wing prices, means that our brand partners are seeing incredibly strong four-wall performance in their restaurants. Because of our good fortune and anchored in our core values, we launched our “Flavor for Good” week. From April 19 through April 25, we engaged our brand partners as well as the support of Wingstop Charities to give back and serve flavor to the teachers, healthcare workers and first responders in our communities, who are on the front-lines of this pandemic. Our generous brand partners, along with Wingstop Charities, provided more than one million meals to those impacted by the pandemic through cash and food donations. In addition to our outreach to those on the front lines, we also supported our brethren in the restaurant industry by joining forces with the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and Guy Fieri to support the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. Wingstop donated $1 million to the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund to provide access to $500 grants per person for restaurant workers who will desperately need aid in the coming weeks and months as our industry gets back on its feet post-COVID-19.
I would like to provide more clarity on our performance and a preliminary update on domestic same-store sales for the first four weeks of the second quarter of 2020. As a reminder, our domestic same-store sales experienced a slight uptick as we closed out the first quarter with an 8.9% increase from March 15 to March 28. The first four weeks of April were even stronger. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, our off-premise sales accounted for 80% of our domestic system sales, and digital sales consisted of just over 40% of our sales. Since closing our dining rooms on March 16, 2020, 100% of sales are off premise and digital orders account for nearly 65% of our sales. We believe the investments made over the past few years to build a world-class digital and delivery foundation for our brand positioned us for the success we have seen during this time. To quantify that, our domestic same-store sales increased more than 30% in the month of April, far exceeding our own expectations. However, our brand partners, supplier partners, and our delivery partner Doordash have not missed a beat with this strong increase. We are humbled by our performance and remain confident in the solid positioning of our brand in life during the COVID-19 outbreak and after the pandemic subsides. Our international business, which consists of 160 restaurants, has not fared as well during this time. Our international brand partners rely more heavily on the availability of dining rooms for locations in large malls as well as a market like Mexico, where our business is more of a casual dining model. Internationally, we have been more adversely impacted due to the closure of these dining rooms in response to COVID-19, but have seen the teams react well to this change by leveraging our domestic experience to provide access to take-out and delivery in all markets. We continue working closely with our international brand partners by providing support to help mitigate the impact financially so they can re-emerge stronger and ready for continued growth.
In addition to acknowledging our team members, brand partners, supplier partners and guests, I would like to close by thanking our shareholders who have provided so much support and confidence to us during this time and throughout the past five years. At Wingstop, we recognize the corporate responsibility we have to the various stakeholders we serve, including our team members, brand partners, supplier partners, shareholders and the communities in which we operate. We appreciate how these stakeholders have come together in a supportive way to enable us to continue our mission to Serve the World Flavor.
With my prayers for your health and safety during this challenging time,
Charlie
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Papa John’s Announces First Quarter 2020 Results and Provides Business Update in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
May 06, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 29, 2020. The company also provided an update on the business impact of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Highlights
First quarter 2020 earnings per diluted share of $0.15 compared to first quarter 2019 loss per diluted share of ($0.12)
System-wide North America comparable sales increase of 5.3%
International comparable sales increase of 2.3%
Cash flow from operations of $33.7 million; free cash flow of $24.4 million for first quarter 2020
Launched No Contact Delivery and Carryout domestically and in many international markets and on plan to hire thousands of new team members
Preliminary estimated April fiscal period comparable sales increases of 26.9% for North America and 1.4% for international
Rob Lynch, President & CEO said, “Thanks to the tremendous effort of our team members and franchisees, I’m proud to say that Papa John’s has kept its doors open and continued feeding our customers and neighbors in North America and most markets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by the needs of our team members and the communities we serve, we have implemented rigorous additional health and safety measures, including No Contact Delivery, and expanded our health and paid-leave benefits. Our team members and franchisees have also served more than two million free slices of pizza to those on the front lines and in need. As seen in our April North America comparable sales, after the close of the first quarter, unprecedented numbers of families are relying on Papa John’s. We are rising to this challenge, hiring thousands of new team members, safeguarding our supply chain and carefully managing our finances. It's an honor to deliver BETTER INGREDIENTS. BETTER PIZZA. to our new and returning customers, especially in these trying times.”
Global Restaurant and Comparable Sales Information
Global restaurant and comparable sales information and operating highlights for the first quarter ended March 29, 2020, compared to the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 are as follows:
First QuarterMar. 29, 2020Mar. 31, 2019Global restaurant sales growth / (decline) (a)
4.3%
(5.5%)Global restaurant sales growth / (decline),excluding the impact of foreign currency (a)
5.4%
(3.7%)Comparable sales growth / (decline) (b)Domestic company-owned restaurants
6.1%
(9.0%)North America franchised restaurants
5.1%
(6.1%)System-wide North America restaurants
5.3%
(6.9%)System-wide international restaurants
2.3%
(0.1%)
(a) Includes both company-owned and franchised restaurant sales.
(b) Represents the change in year-over-year sales for the same base of restaurants for the same fiscal periods. Comparable sales results for restaurants operating outside of the United States are reported on a constant dollar basis, which excludes the impact of foreign currency translation.
We believe North America, international and global restaurant and comparable sales growth information, as defined in the table above, is useful in analyzing our results since our franchisees pay royalties and marketing fund contributions that are based on a percentage of franchise sales. Franchise sales also generate commissary revenue in the United States and in certain international markets. Franchise restaurant and comparable sales growth information is also useful for comparison to industry trends and evaluating the strength of our brand. Management believes the presentation of franchise restaurant sales growth, excluding the impact of foreign currency, provides investors with useful information regarding underlying sales trends and the impact of new unit growth without being impacted by swings in the external factor of foreign currency. Franchise restaurant sales are not included in the company’s revenues.
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The Cheesecake Factory Reports Preliminary Results for First Quarter of Fiscal 2020
May 05, 2020 04:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time
CALABASAS HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) today reported preliminary financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2020, which ended on March 31, 2020.
Total revenues were $615.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to $599.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Preliminary net loss and diluted net loss per share were $3.9 million and $0.09, respectively, in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 reflecting the impact of COVID-19. The results in this press release include the acquisition of North Italia and the remaining business of Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC (“FRC”) on October 2, 2019.
The Company recorded pre-tax COVID-19 related charges of $4.0 million primarily related to healthcare and meal benefits for the Company’s furloughed staff members. Excluding the after-tax impact of this and certain other items, adjusted preliminary net income and adjusted diluted preliminary net income per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 were $1.6 million and $0.04, respectively. Please see the Company’s reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures at the end of this press release.
The impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business has resulted in the need to perform impairment assessments of the Company’s long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets and a revaluation of contingent consideration associated with the acquisition of FRC, which will delay the filing of the Company’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q. These preliminary financial results do not include these items and the corresponding tax effects, all of which are currently being evaluated. While these items are non-cash in nature, the impact on reported results is expected to be material.
Comparable restaurant sales at The Cheesecake Factory restaurants decreased 12.9% in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, reflecting the impact of COVID-19. Currently, 32 locations across the Company’s concepts, including three Cheesecake Factory restaurants, are temporarily closed with the remaining locations shifted to an off-premise only operating model.
“Our first quarter was off to a solid start with comparable sales growth both ahead of plan and outperforming the broader casual dining industry trend, which drove solid restaurant-level margin results through February,” said David Overton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “That trajectory was impacted by the onset of COVID-19 and the associated social distancing and shelter-in-place orders that required us to close our restaurant dining rooms and shift to an off-premise only operating model in March.”
Overton continued, “Our restaurant teams have done a tremendous job executing in this environment in the face of significant adversity, and we have seen sales volumes accelerate. At the same time, we have made very difficult, yet necessary decisions to manage costs and preserve cash, while ensuring that we are well-positioned for the eventual reopening of our restaurant dining rooms, although we expect capacity restrictions for some time as social distancing protocols remain in place. With our experienced management teams, long-standing and strong off-premise business and a strengthened liquidity position, we believe we will continue to be able to effectively manage through and ultimately emerge from this crisis even stronger as we have proven in prior cycles.”
Overton concluded, “I want to thank our teams for everything they are doing to support our business during this unprecedented time. While the duration of COVID-19 and what the reopening of the economy will look like remains uncertain, we look forward to getting our affected staff members back to work as soon as practicable.”
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Texas Roadhouse, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2020 Results and Provides Business Update in Response to COVID-19
Founder Writes Personal Letter
May 04, 2020 16:03 ET
LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NasdaqGS: TXRH), today provided a statement from Kent Taylor, Founder of Texas Roadhouse, announced financial results for the 13 week period ended March 31, 2020 and provided a business update in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Founder Letter
Hello Roadies, Shareholders, Loyal Guests, and Interested Folks,
As everyone’s world has obviously changed, so has ours. I still remember the early days of Texas Roadhouse back in the mid-1990’s, when three of our first five stores failed. Survival mode was where I lived for quite a few years. Well, damn, if I didn’t find myself right back there again. Five restaurants have become 600 and 400 employees have become 75,000+. Back then in my mid-30’s, our Roadies were close to my age, and I thought of our company as a people company that happened to serve steaks. We were a family. Today, I still view us as a people company that serves steaks, however the stakes (no pun intended) and our family are obviously quite larger.
Somehow my early struggles, along with my many years of operating restaurants (some fifteen years of running daily shifts), have helped provide me with a unique perspective. Perhaps a different perspective than that of a marketing or finance person that may be running a restaurant company (no offense, just sayin'). I try as much as possible to live in the mindset of our store Managing Partners.
A few weeks into March, when the “you-know-what” hit the fan, we had two choices: (a) hunker down, lay people off, conserve cash, and wait it out; or (b) deal with the reality of each day, pivot, experiment, learn, and pivot again. We went with (b) and jumped in headfirst! We quickly learned from our individual operators, especially some of our crazy, out-of-the-box thinkers, like me, who were not afraid to push the boundaries and try new things.
What normally would take six months, we were able to do in just a few days. We made the pivot quickly and safely from dine-in to traditional To-Go before pivoting again to To-Go/Curbside before adding family value packs (both hot and cold) and ready-to-grill steaks. Who knows what our operators will come up with next, but I’m sure it will be amazing and probably a little out-of-the-box.
While many cautioned against some of these ideas, guess what? We tried. We failed. We tried some more. And, we succeeded a lot. We also learned there is a difference in playing to win and playing not to lose. I am proud to say that our operators and Support Center teams played to win!!
We also quickly learned from our operators outside the United States who have been through this before. Notable learnings came from our Taiwan restaurants provided to me by Hugh Carroll, our President of International Operations. Taiwan, with strict protocols in place, and a population of 23 million, had 400 confirmed COVID-19 cases and six deaths. First and foremost, we learned the value of personal protective equipment in restaurants, so we quickly ordered gloves, masks and eyewear. Within a few days, we had gloves in place for all employees (always protocol in the kitchen, but now also mandatory for our front-of-house employees) and were using do-it-yourself masks until personal protective equipment arrived. We also began taking temperatures and conducting symptom surveys of our employees to provide another level of safety for guests and employees.
As I approach the ripe-old age of 65, I have found what matters to me most is the health and well-being of my family, which includes my parents, kids and grandchildren. But, I am also blessed with an extended family of over 75,000 Roadies and their health and safety is also a personal priority to me.
For example, we provided a stimulus package to our front-line employees in March, allowed for early vacation use, paid health insurance premiums for our employees, and in April paid an additional stimulus (April Love!) to our employees working hard to “Feed America.”
What kind of company does these things? Well, that would be a people company that happens to serve steaks, that’s who.
Thanks and God bless our wonderful country,
/s/ Kent
P.S. Happy belated birthday to our friend and legend Willie Nelson! Also, ya’ll might want to check out my Top Ten for Safety list and a link to a fun safety video created by our Lubbock, Texas restaurant at www.texasroadhouse.com.
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Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. Reports Fiscal First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Provides Business Update Related to COVID-19
May 04, 2020 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. (“Del Taco” or the “Company”), (NASDAQ: TACO), the second largest Mexican-American quick service restaurant chain by units in the United States, today reported fiscal first quarter 2020 financial results for the 12-week period ending March 24, 2020 and provided a business update related to the impact of COVID-19.
Fiscal First Quarter 2020 Highlights
System-wide comparable restaurant sales decreased 3.1%;
Company-operated comparable restaurant sales decreased 2.5%. Company-operated comparable restaurant sales were comprised of average check growth of 3.7% offset by a transaction decline of 6.2%;
Franchised comparable restaurant sales decreased 3.7%;
For the first 10 weeks of the fiscal first quarter through March 10, 2020, system-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 1.0%, company-operated comparable restaurant sales increased 1.5%, and franchised comparable restaurant sales increased 0.3%;
For the final two weeks of the first fiscal quarter ended March 24, 2020, system-wide comparable restaurant sales decreased 21.4%, company-operated comparable restaurant sales decreased 21.1%, and franchised comparable restaurant sales decreased 21.6%;
Total revenue of $109.8 million, representing a 3.8% decline from the fiscal first quarter 2019;
Company-operated restaurant sales of $100.3 million, representing a 5.3% decline from the fiscal first quarter 2019;
Net loss of $102.5 million, or $2.76 per diluted share (inclusive of non-cash pre-tax charges of $87.3 million and $11.9 million for the impairment of goodwill and trademarks, respectively, as well as impairment of long-lived assets of $8.3 million), compared to net income of $1.4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the fiscal first quarter 2019;
Adjusted net loss* of $0.3 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income* of $1.9 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, in the fiscal first quarter 2019;
Restaurant contribution* margin of 12.7% compared to 15.8% in the fiscal first quarter 2019;
Adjusted EBITDA* of $8.7 million compared to $12.1 million in the fiscal first quarter 2019; and
Three system-wide openings, including two company-operated and one franchised restaurant, as well as one company-operated and two franchise closures. Del Taco also refranchised a total of five restaurants in the Yuma, AZ and El Centro, CA region.
* Adjusted net income/loss, restaurant contribution, and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures and defined below under “Key Financial Definitions”. Please see the reconciliation of non-GAAP measures accompanying this release.
Fiscal Second Quarter 2020 Comparable Restaurant Sales to Date
Three weeks ended April 14, 2020
Two weeks ended April 28, 2020
Company-operated
-27.6%
-14.9%
Franchised
-27.3%
-10.0%
System-wide
-27.4%
-12.6%
The results in the table above are compared to the comparable prior year period.
Business Update Related to COVID-19
With the health and safety of its employees, franchisees, and guests in mind, Del Taco has maintained operations during the COVID-19 pandemic through its drive-thru, take-out and rapidly expanding delivery channels, without laying-off or furloughing any restaurant employees. The Company has made dozens of changes to its operating procedures such as promoting social distancing procedures in its kitchens and for carry-out, closing dining rooms, providing gloves and facemasks to all employees, increasing cleaning frequency, improving contactless service, and preparing for employee health and wellness procedures.
There are currently four temporary closures, including one company-operated restaurant, representing less than 1% of the Del Taco system. During the fiscal first quarter 2020, third party delivery was available in substantially all company-operated restaurants and represented more than 3% of company-operated restaurant sales. Through the first five weeks of the fiscal second quarter 2020 third party delivery has increased to approximately 8% of company-operated restaurant sales. Third party delivery through one or more providers is also now available in more than 90% of franchised restaurants.
Del Taco successfully transitioned its restaurant support center into a virtual office on March 16, 2020 and has maintained business continuity through a combination of existing and new technologies. The Company has maintained proactive communications with its distributor and key suppliers and has not experienced any meaningful disruptions to its supply chain.
Del Taco will be recognizing its general managers and restaurant teams for their efforts to serve their communities through several programs, including guaranteed fiscal first and second quarter 2020 bonuses for all general managers, maintaining planned annual merit increases, and providing free meals for team members. These initiatives have been funded through a series of cost-cutting measures including implementing voluntary salary reductions for all Vice Presidents and above, reducing board member compensation, eliminating all non-essential general and administrative expense, deferring or eliminating all open support center positions and conducting a small reduction in force at the restaurant support center.
The Company has actively partnered with its franchisees to help ensure their success including sharing best practices, holding regular owner conference calls with the executive team and ongoing discussions with franchise support teams. To enhance franchisee liquidity, Del Taco is deferring half of franchisees’ royalty payments for the first seven weeks of the crisis, waiving 1.5% of the typical 4% system-wide marketing fee payment for eight weeks, and deferring franchise sublease rent payments for six weeks.
View full version at Del Taco
Restaurant Brands International Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
May 01, 2020, 06:30 ET
RBI establishes support programs for restaurant owners and team members impacted by COVID-19
Response to COVID-19 crisis includes the rapid advancement of digital platforms
POPEYES® delivers remarkable system-wide sales growth of 32% led by the Chicken Sandwich
RBI further enhances strong liquidity position of $2.5 billion by adding $500 million of 1st Lien Notes in April
TORONTO, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Restaurant Brands International Inc. (TSX/NYSE: QSR, TSX: QSP) today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.
Jose Cil, Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Brands International Inc. ("RBI") commented, "I am very proud of the entire RBI family through these early days of the COVID-19 crisis. Our teams have taken thoughtful and immediate actions to protect and serve our guests and our restaurant owners have shown great resilience in overcoming the challenges we all face. In particular, we have worked very closely with our restaurant owners to help them and their team members weather this global crisis."
"We are fortunate to have drive-thru, take-out, mobile order and payment, curbside and delivery options in many of our restaurants that have allowed us to be a safe, trusted and convenient choice for millions of guests who have had to change their routines or stay at home in these extraordinary times. The groundwork our technology teams have put in place over the last two years allowed us to rapidly accelerate valuable improvements to our loyalty, CRM and mobile app platforms that ultimately improve guest engagement and differentiate our iconic brands," continued Cil.
"We came into 2020 in a position of strength in our industry. All of RBI has rallied in the face of the COVID-19 crisis and through the strength of our brands, commitment of our restaurant owners, dedication of their team members and the resilience of our brand teams, I am confident that we will finish 2020 as a stronger organization than when we started the year," concluded Cil."
Consolidated Operational Highlights
Three Months Ended March 31,
2020
2019
(Unaudited)
System-wide Sales Growth
TH
(9.9)%
0.5%
BK
(3.0)%
8.2%
PLK
32.3%
6.8%
Consolidated
0.0%
6.4%
System-wide Sales (in US$ millions)
TH
$
1,382
$
1,547
BK
$
4,999
$
5,289
PLK
$
1,258
$
955
Consolidated
$
7,639
$
7,791
Net Restaurant Growth
TH
1.2%
1.9%
BK
5.8%
5.7%
PLK
6.9%
6.6%
Consolidated
5.0%
5.1%
System Restaurant Count at Period End
TH
4,925
4,866
BK
18,848
17,823
PLK
3,336
3,120
Consolidated
27,109
25,809
Comparable Sales
TH
(10.3)%
(0.6)%
BK
(3.7)%
2.2%
PLK
26.2%
0.6%
Note: System-wide sales growth and comparable sales are calculated on a constant currency basis and include sales at franchise restaurants and company-owned restaurants. System-wide sales are driven by sales at franchise restaurants, as approximately 100% of current restaurants are franchised. We do not record franchise sales as revenues; however, our franchise revenues include royalties based on a percentage of franchise sales. Additionally, if a restaurant is closed for a significant portion of a month, the restaurant is excluded from the monthly comparable sales calculation.
Consolidated Financial Highlights
Three Months Ended March 31,
(in US$ millions, except per share data)
2020
2019
(Unaudited)
Total Revenues
$
1,225
$
1,266
Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders and Noncontrolling Interests
$
224
$
246
Diluted Earnings per Share
$
0.48
$
0.53
TH Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$
189
$
237
BK Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$
200
$
222
PLK Adjusted EBITDA(1)
$
55
$
41
Adjusted EBITDA(2)
$
444
$
500
Adjusted Net Income(2)
$
227
$
255
Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share(2)
$
0.48
$
0.55
As of March 31,
2020
2019
(Unaudited)
LTM Free Cash Flow(2)
$
1,382
$
1,346
Net Debt
$
10,852
$
11,364
Net Leverage(2)
4.8x
5.1x
(1)
TH Adjusted EBITDA, BK Adjusted EBITDA and PLK Adjusted EBITDA are our measures of segment profitability.
(2)
Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, LTM Free Cash Flow, and Net Leverage are non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for further detail.
The year-over-year change in Total Revenues on a GAAP basis was primarily driven by a decline in system wide sales at TH and BK and a decrease in supply chain sales, partially offset by an increase in system wide sales at PLK. FX movements added to the year-over-year decrease in Total Revenues on a GAAP basis.
The decrease in Net Income Attributable to Common Shareholders and Noncontrolling Interests for the first quarter was primarily driven by a decrease in TH and BK segment income, partially offset by an increase in PLK segment income, a decrease in interest expense and a decrease in income tax expense.
The year-over year change in Adjusted EBITDA as reported and on an organic basis was primarily driven by the decrease in TH and BK Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by an increase in PLK Adjusted EBITDA.
As the quarter progressed, the COVID-19 global pandemic began to significantly impact our three brands' operations and sales performance, first in Asia, and then around the world. Our Q1 results were obviously impacted by COVID-19 despite the strength and expertise of our diversified global businesses that quickly responded to the crisis.
In North America, substantially all of our restaurants were open as of the end of the quarter. In Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as Latin America, approximately half of our restaurants were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 as of the end of the quarter. In Asia Pacific approximately 20% of our restaurants were temporarily closed due to COVID-19 as of the end of the quarter, an improvement from February.
Where permitted, many of our restaurants are operating with limited service modes serving food through channels such as drive-thru, delivery, and take-out.
While we do not know the future impact COVID-19 will have on our business, or when our business will return to normal operations, we expect a more significant impact from COVID-19 on our full quarter results in Q2 than it had on our full quarter results in Q1.
View full version at Restaurant Brands International
Dunkin' Brands Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Apr 30, 2020, 06:00 ET
CANTON, Mass., April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
First quarter highlights include:
Dunkin' U.S. comparable store sales decline of 2.0%; comparable store sales growth of 3.5% in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, including positive ticket and traffic, was offset by a comparable store sales decline of 19.4% in the last three weeks of the quarter
Baskin-Robbins U.S. comparable store sales growth of 1.8%; comparable store sales growth of 11.0% in the first 10 weeks of the quarter, including positive ticket and traffic, was partially offset by a comparable store sales decline of 23.3% in the last three weeks of the quarter
Added 7 net new Dunkin' locations in the U.S. inclusive of the closure of 12 Speedway locations; total of 38 net new Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins locations globally
Revenues increased 1.3%
Diluted EPS of $0.63, unchanged from the prior year period
Diluted adjusted EPS of $0.67, unchanged from the prior year period
Due to the uncertainty related to the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company withdraws its fiscal year 2020 targets and long-term targets
The Company's Board of Directors is suspending its regular dividend program
Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN), the parent company of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins (BR), today reported results for the first quarter ended March 28, 2020.
"Prior to the crisis, we experienced strong first quarter performance across the system, including Dunkin' U.S. which was on track to have its highest quarterly comps in more than six years and positive traffic," said Dave Hoffmann, Dunkin' Brands Chief Executive Officer. "With the number one priority being the safety of crew members and our guests, early in the crisis we implemented strong safety measures at our restaurants with gloves, masks, and plexiglass shields, and now we are shipping an infrared thermometer to every U.S. restaurant to help monitor crew health. Solidarity with our great franchisees has never been stronger, and as a 100-percent franchised business we are supporting our franchisees and will continue to focus on their overall business health. In addition to the relief we are providing to them, Dunkin' Brands is very grateful for the support from the Federal government to all U.S. small business owners, including many of our franchisees."
Hoffmann continued, "At Dunkin' Brands, we feel an obligation to do our part to keep America working by avoiding any corporate furloughs. Our focus has been to preserve our strong balance sheet by aggressively reducing operating expenses and preserving cash, including suspending our quarterly dividend and share repurchase programs. Simultaneously, our management team and Board of Directors are voluntarily taking salary and fee reductions with the savings generated going to the Dunkin' Brands Family Fund, which supports Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins crew members in times of crisis. Throughout this pandemic, we have been guided by our corporate values of strong, smart, and kind, which includes striving to do the right thing for our communities."
"This morning we announced that our Board of Directors has suspended our regular dividend program, which will result in cash savings of approximately $33 million in the second quarter, and reinforces our already strong balance sheet. We believe a temporary suspension of our dividend and share repurchase program is the prudent and responsible thing to do in this time of unprecedented uncertainty," said Kate Jaspon, Chief Financial Officer, Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. "Additionally, due to this uncertainty and the impact of COVID-19 on financial and operational results, we are withdrawing both our fiscal 2020 and long-term growth targets."
View full version at Dunkin' Brands
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
April 30, 2020 16:05 ET
COSTA MESA, Calif., April 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LOCO) today announced financial results for the 13-week period ended March 25, 2020 and provided a business update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights for the first quarter ended March 25, 2020, compared to the first quarter ended March 27, 2019 were as follows:
Total revenue was $105.2 million compared to $109.0 million.
System-wide comparable restaurant sales decreased 1.5%, including a 0.7% decrease for company-operated restaurants, and a 2.2% decrease for franchised restaurants.
Net income was $3.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.9 million, or $0.02 per diluted share in the prior year period. During the first quarter of 2020, the Company recognized a $1.9 million pre-tax expense related to the impairment of the right-of-use assets ("ROU assets") of one restaurant in Texas and the long-lived assets of three restaurants in California. The first quarter of 2019 includes a loss on assets held for sale of $4.1 million.
Pro forma net income(1) was $5.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to $5.9 million, or $0.15 per diluted share.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $13.4 million, compared to $14.2 million.
(1) Pro forma net income and adjusted EBITDA are not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and are defined below under "Key Financial Definitions." A reconciliation of GAAP net income to pro forma net income and adjusted EBITDA is included in the accompanying financial data. See also “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
Bernard Acoca, President and Chief Executive Officer of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., stated, "2020 was off to a strong start, as we built on last year’s momentum, with system-wide and company-operated comparable restaurant sales up 3.7% and 4.2%, respectively, with positive transactions through February. While we naturally experienced a slowdown in March as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic set in, and restaurant sales remain down overall due to the government-mandated closure of our dining rooms, we have refocused our business to maximize sales in our drive-thru, take-out, delivery, e-commerce and mobile pickup channels. I am pleased with the trajectory of our sales trends, having seen sequential improvement in each of the last six weeks with system same store sales over the last week coming in at slightly better than negative 10%.”
Acoca concluded, “I have never been more proud of a team than I am of my El Pollo Loco family during these last two months. I am blessed to be in the trenches with this phenomenal group of people who are working tirelessly to provide a valued service to our communities. I am especially grateful to our restaurant teams, who are on the front lines every day working to provide an essential service to our customers. There is no doubt in my mind that our success in dealing with this pandemic has strengthened, and will continue to strengthen, the foundation of our business and aid in our long term success.”
COVID-19 Impact
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and in conjunction with government mandated restrictions, El Pollo Loco restaurants are operating on a take-away, mobile pick-up and delivery basis only, as well as maintaining drive-thru operations where available, in order to protect employees and customers from the spread of this virus. Currently, 192 out of 195 company-operated El Pollo Loco restaurants are in operation, while 279 of 283 franchised El Pollo Loco restaurants are in operation. Franchisees closed four restaurants during the quarter and one additional restaurant subsequent to the end of the first quarter.
Below is a summary of other actions we have taken, or plan to take to enhance financial and operating flexibility for the Company and for our franchisees, and to protect our employees and customers:
As a precautionary measure, the Company bolstered its existing cash position by fully drawing down its $150 million 2018 Revolver, adding $34.5 million of cash to the balance sheet. At current sales levels, the Company expects to be at least cash flow breakeven.
The Company has temporarily suspended all but essential capital spending and share repurchase activity, reevaluated essential support center general and administrative expenses, and fine-tuned its restaurant labor model based on dining room closures and sales volumes.
For El Pollo Loco franchisees, the Company is deferring 50% of April royalties until July 1, 2020, which will be repaid evenly over the remainder of fiscal 2020, and also suspending 100% of franchisee 2020 remodel and new build requirements until 2021. The Company has also established a support team to assist franchisees in accessing funds and benefits provided by the CARES Act legislation.
The Company continues to implement actions to help protect its employees from COVID-19 while working in El Pollo Loco restaurants. These actions include implementing enhanced cleaning procedures in all restaurants, providing gloves and masks to all system restaurant employees, installing plexiglass shields at company restaurant cashier stations and initiating other social distancing measures. Additionally, the Company is providing extended sick leave benefits to employees impacted by COVID-19.
The Company has shifted its marketing to highlight a new free delivery program; Family Meals as a healthier and affordable option; and a meaningful value platform.
First Quarter 2020 Financial Results
Company-operated restaurant revenue in the first quarter of 2020 was $92.6 million, compared to $97.2 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decline in company-operated restaurant sales was primarily due to a $5.0 million decrease in revenue from the closure of four restaurants and the 16 company-operated restaurants sold by the Company to franchisees during or subsequent to the first quarter of 2019. Additionally, there was a decrease of $0.6 million from a 0.7% decline in company-operated comparable restaurant sales, which we believe was primarily related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was partially offset by an increase in revenue generated from the two new restaurants opened during the same time period.
Comparable company-operated restaurant sales in the first quarter decreased 0.7%, driven by a 4.5% decrease in transactions, partially offset by a 3.8% increase in average check.
Franchise revenue in the first quarter of 2020 increased 9.6% to $7.1 million, compared to $6.4 million in the first quarter of 2019. This increase was primarily due to the opening of three new franchised restaurants and revenue generated from 16 company-operated restaurants sold by the Company to franchisees during or subsequent to the first quarter of 2019. This was partially offset by a franchise comparable restaurant sales decrease of 2.2%, which we believe was primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of six franchise locations during the same period.
Income from continuing operations in the first quarter of 2020 was $5.7 million, compared to $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2019. Restaurant contribution was $16.3 million, or 17.6% of company-operated restaurant revenue, compared to $17.2 million, or 17.7% of company-operated restaurant revenue, in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease was largely due to the impact of wage increases in California, unfavorable sales mix, higher workers’ compensation expense, higher commodity inflation, increased delivery fees and lower revenue which we believe was primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease was partially offset by higher prices and the transfer of lower-performing company-owned restaurants to franchisees during 2019. Restaurant contribution is a non-GAAP measure defined below under "Key Financial Definitions." A reconciliation of GAAP income from operations to restaurant contribution is included in the accompanying financial data. See also “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
General and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were $9.3 million, compared to $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease for the quarter was due primarily to a $1.7 million decrease in legal expenses, primarily related to a decrease in securities class action litigation costs, and a $0.6 million decrease in labor related costs, primarily related to a decrease in management bonus expense. These were partially offset by a $0.3 million increase in other general and administrative expenses.
During the first quarter of 2020, the Company recognized a $1.9 million pre-tax expense, related to the impairment of the ROU assets of one restaurant in Texas and the long-lived assets of three restaurants in California. The first quarter of 2019 includes a loss on assets held for sale of $4.1 million.
Net income for the first quarter of 2020 was $3.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.9 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2019. Pro forma net income was $5.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2020, compared to $5.9 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, during the first quarter of 2019. A reconciliation between GAAP net income and pro forma net income is included in the accompanying financial data. See also “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
View full version at El Pollo Loco
South Florida-based TooJay's files for bankruptcy
TooJay's operates 16 locations in Broward, Palm Beach counties
By: Peter Burke Posted at 6:20 PM, Apr 29, 2020
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A popular South Florida-based deli has filed for bankruptcy.
TooJay's, which operates 16 locations in Broward and Palm Beach counties, on Wednesday announced the decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a statement from president and CEO Maxwell Piet.
Piet called the decision "the best path forward" for TooJay's. He went on to say it is "the direct result of the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our restaurants throughout Florida."
"This course of action will enable us to remain open to serve our communities with the same great food and service we are known for," the statement said. "As we learn of the reopening plans for our dining rooms, we will rehire more employees and expand our services as restrictions allow."
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a tiered reopening plan for the state Wednesday, but it excludes South Florida.
South Florida is the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 17,000 confirmed cases and hundreds of death.
TooJay's opened in 1981 with a single location in Palm Beach. Other locations in Palm Beach County include Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter.
View source version at TooJay's
Boston Market Partners With Engage Brands To Support Next Chapter Of Growth
Strategic and financial partnership brings an enthusiastic, experienced, and successful ownership group to Boston Market
Apr 29, 2020, 08:30 ET
GOLDEN, Colo., April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Market® is pleased to announce that it has been acquired by Engage Brands, LLC, one of the Rohan Group of Companies, owned by real estate investor and restaurant operator, Jignesh (Jay) Pandya of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Engage Brands will now assume ownership of Boston Market, purchasing the brand from affiliates of Sun Capital Partners, Inc. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
The Rohan Group of Companies is a well-established organization with ownership interests in a wide array of business enterprises, including operations with multiple franchised restaurant concepts.
"We are very pleased to partner with Engage Brands as we embark on our next chapter of growth," said Eric Wyatt, Chief Executive Officer of Boston Market. "Engage Brands brings an enthusiastic, experienced, and successful ownership group to Boston Market, as well as access to resources that we need to continue to operate our business in this challenging environment. With the strategic and financial backing Jay and his team bring, we will continue to focus on key operational initiatives to improve guest experience, menu development, and focus on the growth of our brand. We are now well-positioned to achieve future success during a period of unprecedented disruption for our industry."
"I am thrilled to be a part of such an iconic brand as Boston Market, a truly great American restaurant chain with a high quality and delicious menu. I look forward to working with and being a resource for the Boston Market team, preserving the jobs of our more than 5,500 team members, and helping set the brand on solid footing for the future," said Mr. Pandya.
Boston Market was assisted in establishing the partnership with Engage Brands by Piper Sandler Companies who provided investment banking services and Mackinac Partners, Inc. who provided business advisory and restructuring services.
About Boston Market Headquartered in Golden, Colorado, Boston Market Corporation has given time back to busy families and individuals for more than 30 years with quality, home style meals at a convenient value in more than 300 U.S. locations. Known as the experts in rotisserie cooking, the company prepares fresh chicken and USDA choice Prime Rib in signature rotisserie ovens and features an extensive selection of home style sides and made-from-scratch cornbread. As one of the country's largest providers of catering services, Boston Market offers convenient, same-day orders and delivery for corporate and personal events of all sizes. In January 2017, Boston Market officially launched its "Quality Guarantee," which acts as a continued commitment to all guests that Boston Market will serve all-natural and fresh, never frozen, gluten-free, whole chicken with no added hormones, steroids, antibiotics or MSG. For more information, visit the company's website at www.bostonmarket.com. For the latest news and deals, follow @bostonmarket on Twitter or join us on Facebook.
View source version at Boston Market
Brinker International Reports COVID-19 Impact Update And Third Quarter Of Fiscal 2020 Results
Apr 29, 2020, 06:45 ET
DALLAS, April 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT) today announced a business update related to the novel strain of coronavirus ("COVID-19"), in addition to results for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 ended March 25, 2020.
Brinker began experiencing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 8, 2020 resulting in decreased traffic and the closure of all of our dining rooms as we transitioned to a 100% off-premise model by the end of the third quarter. We have adapted our existing to-go and delivery sales channels in order to deliver a safe and quality experience for team members and guests during this pandemic. Our strategic decision to enhance our off-premise business over the last few years including online ordering, mobile app, curbside service and third-party delivery, has enabled us to conveniently serve a significantly higher volume of off-premise guests during this pandemic.
"Before the crisis hit, Brinker's strategies were working extremely well and the third quarter was shaping up to be very strong," said Wyman Roberts, CEO. "Since COVID-19, we have focused on the safety and health of our team members and guests while shifting to a to-go and delivery only model. We have supported our team members with a relief fund of more than $15 million, and worked hard to keep as many employees as possible. Our absolute and relative sales growth is a testament to the strength of the strategies we have been working on the past few years and will ensure our continued strength post COVID-19."
In the third quarter of fiscal 2020, through March 8, 2020, our multi-year strategies were delivering comparable restaurant sales growth. Company-owned Chili's comparable restaurant sales had increased by 3.3%, and Company-owned Maggiano's comparable restaurant sales had increased by 0.6%. Our Chili's off-premise sales, which includes both to-go and delivery, also grew reaching approximately 20% of sales, with approximately 14% coming from to-go and 6% from delivery. While the spread of COVID-19 dramatically changed the full-quarter results, we believe these intra-quarter results are further evidence and provide a good foundation for our brands as they move forward our multi-year strategies.
As Chili's and Maggiano's operate in an off-premise only model, below are some current preliminary results related to Company-owned restaurants for the weeks subsequent to the third quarter of fiscal 2020:
Off-premise sales have grown each week since the COVID-19 pandemic, and have captured 57% of prior year Company total restaurant sales during the week ended April 22, 2020, adjusted to exclude the Midwest region acquisition that occurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2020
Online ordering at Chili's accounted for approximately 70% of all off-premise orders from March 26, 2020 to April 22, 2020
Delivery sales are approximately 20% of total sales from March 26, 2020 to April 22, 2020
Total restaurant sales represent the total sales dollars per week of Company-owned restaurants, including the Midwest region restaurants, as well as the percentage change from the prior week from April 1, 2020 to April 22, 2020:
Total Restaurant Sales
Week Ending
Percent Change from Prior Week
4/1/2020
4/8/2020
4/15/2020
4/22/2020
4/1/2020
4/8/2020
4/15/2020
4/22/2020
Company-owned
$
23.9
$
26.2
$
30.9
$
34.3
12.7
%
9.6
%
17.9
%
11.0
%
Chili's
22.2
24.3
28.3
32.2
13.3
%
9.5
%
16.5
%
13.8
%
Maggiano's
1.7
1.9
2.6
2.1
6.3
%
11.8
%
36.8
%
(19.2)
%
Comparable restaurant sales represents the percentage change in Company-owned comparable restaurant sales for weekly results from April 1, 2020 to present:
Comparable Restaurant Sales
Fiscal 20 vs Fiscal 19
Week Ending
4/1/2020
4/8/2020
4/15/2020
4/22/2020
Company-owned
(64.6)
%
(59.7)
%
(53.1)
%
(46.8)
%
Chili's
(62.9)
%
(57.8)
%
(51.6)
%
(42.5)
%
Maggiano's
(77.0)
%
(73.7)
%
(64.6)
%
(73.7)
%
As of April 24, 2020, we have total liquidity of $175 million, comprised of total cash and revolver availability. Given the current sales levels and reductions in expenses, we estimate an average cash burn level of approximately $5 million per week while our business is primarily operating as off-premise. As a precautionary measure, we continue to evaluate additional sources of capital as we navigate through this evolving situation, and the Company is filing an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3ASR to provide the Company with flexibility to access the public capital markets in order to respond to future financing and business opportunities if and when the Company deems appropriate.
We do not have any further updates on our fiscal 2020 withdrawn guidance as discussed in our April 2, 2020 press release.
View full version at Brinker International
Dine Brands Global, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2020 Results
Comments on Strong Liquidity and Cash Position
April 29, 2020 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN), the parent company of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar® and IHOP® restaurants, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2020.
“As we continue to face new challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our family of team members and franchisees for their tireless dedication and resilience. Despite the tremendous adversity we’ve seen, and will continue to see, I could not be prouder of how our teams, franchisees and brands have come together to support one another and their communities. As we work to navigate this situation together, protecting our team members and our guests has remained our number one priority and guides every decision. We have enhanced procedures throughout our system to improve upon restaurant health and safety amid this pandemic, leveraging information from the experts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local governments, as well as our own guidelines to protect our people and the communities we serve as best as we can,” said Steve Joyce, chief executive officer of Dine Brands Global, Inc.
Mr. Joyce added, “The physical distancing measures, shelter-in-place orders and government mandates requiring restaurants to close dining rooms, while critical to flatten the curve, have made a significant impact on the operations of our business and that of the entire industry. As you’ll see, our operating results in the first quarter were affected by the meaningful decline in traffic in March. It’s clear that we are operating in a time of great uncertainty and we expect this trend to continue for the near term. Looking to the future, we are uniquely positioned with two of the industry’s most iconic brands, IHOP and Applebee’s, highly experienced franchisees and dedicated team members. In addition, we have very strong liquidity with approximately $395 million of cash, of which $345 million is unrestricted cash. Our ability to swiftly pivot to an off-premise business model, our responsive approach to our franchisees and our ability to adapt and serve our guests in these ever-changing times will continue to serve us well in this adverse environment. Over their storied histories, IHOP and Applebee’s have been steadfast partners to their communities and neighbors around the world and that will undoubtedly continue. We know no other way.”
Cash Position
Dine Brands has taken precautionary measures to increase the Company’s financial flexibility due to the unprecedented conditions caused by COVID-19. As previously disclosed on March 19, 2020, the Company has drawn down a total of $220 million from its revolving financing facility.
As of March 31, 2020, the Company had $395.1 million of cash, including restricted cash of $34.2 million and non-current restricted cash of $16.4 million. The Company believes that its asset-light business model and cash position will provide strong liquidity during the crisis.
The Company estimates its cash general and administrative expenses to be approximately $35 million per quarter. The Company has $16.4 million of quarterly interest payments on its Series 2019-1 Class A-2-I, Fixed Rate Senior Secured Notes and Series 2019-1 Class A-2-II, Fixed Rate Senior Secured Notes.
These projections exclude gross lease exposure of approximately $1.3 million per quarter on franchised restaurants that are currently closed and being evaluated by the Company.
The Company has temporarily suspended its quarterly cash dividend due to the COVID-19 crisis. On April 16, 2020, the Company announced that it had terminated all outstanding orders for repurchases of its common stock in the open market.
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Yum! Brands Reports First-Quarter System Sales Decline of (3)% with a Same-Store Sales Decline of (7)% Offset by 4% Net-New Unit Growth; GAAP Operating Profit Decline of (42)%; Core Operating Profit Decline of (6)%
April 29, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today reported results for the first-quarter ended March 31, 2020. Worldwide system sales excluding foreign currency translation declined (3)%, with 4% net-new units and (7)% same-store sales decline. First-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.27, a decrease of (68)%. First-quarter EPS excluding Special Items was $0.64, a decrease of (23)%.
DAVID GIBBS COMMENTS
David Gibbs, CEO, said “First-quarter results reflect two different realities. We began the year with momentum across many of our businesses, however as the quarter progressed we were heavily impacted by the unfortunate spread of COVID-19. Around the world, we took extraordinary measures to protect the health and safety of our employees, customers, franchisees and restaurant team members. We partnered with our franchise operators on our shared mission during this global crisis to provide affordable, convenient food in a safe, low contact environment with drive-thru, curbside carryout, and contactless delivery all enabled by our digital capability. As a result, our restaurants around the world remain largely open for business, serving customers and supporting frontline workers and other essential workers in our communities.
I’m tremendously proud of all those executing across our company and franchise system and am encouraged by the second-quarter sales trends of many of our businesses in Asia and in the U.S. Over the previous three years, we transformed Yum! to be a stronger company for its stakeholders and believe we are well positioned to weather this unprecedented crisis owing to the strength of our system-wide talent, operating capabilities, global best practices, and our healthy balance sheet and liquidity position.”
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FAT Brands Inc. Provides Business Update Related to COVID-19 and Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Results
Conference call and webcast will be held at 5:00 p.m. ET today
April 27, 2020 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FAT (Fresh. Authentic. Tasty.) Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT) (“FAT Brands” or the “Company”) today provided an update on the business as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and reported fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 financial results for the 13-week and 52-week periods ending December 29, 2019.
Andy Wiederhorn, President and CEO of FAT Brands, commented, “We are committed to supporting our franchise partners in these challenging times; their health and safety, along with that of their guests, remains our top priority. Our franchisees are complying with all state and local regulations, temporarily closing dining rooms and shifting to a take-out and delivery model only, where it makes sense. We are helping franchisees to acquire personal protective equipment for their staff, so that they may safely serve their communities. In order to facilitate their long-term wellbeing, we have secured extended terms from suppliers on our franchise partners’ behalf, and we are coaching them to access funds provided by the CARES Act and negotiate rent deferrals from their landlords. I’m proud of the way our team and franchisees have come together to successfully navigate this new landscape.”
Wiederhorn continued, “Before the COVID-19 pandemic ramped up in the U.S., we were very excited about the coming year. 2019 had ended with solid business momentum across many of our brands, which had continued through January and February. Furthermore, in March, we completed our whole business securitization transaction, which not only significantly lowered our cost of capital, but also provided ample fuel for our brand acquisition strategy. While the world now looks very different than it did just a few short months ago, the strength of our platform and of our brands remains the same. We are well positioned to weather this crisis, and I am confident that FAT Brands will emerge even stronger than before.”
COVID-19 Business Update Highlights
Strengthened liquidity position following completion of whole business securitization transaction in March
Helping franchise partners access funds provided by the CARES Act and negotiate rent deferrals
Secured extended terms from suppliers on behalf of franchise partners
Supporting franchisees through the development of enhanced safety, social distancing, and cleaning procedures
Experiencing significant increases in to-go and delivery orders within the system
Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2019 Highlights
Total revenues of $5.3 million, up 17.3% from $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Excluding advertising revenues, revenues grew 20.8% to $4.3 million from $3.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
System-wide sales growth of 8.1% y/y
System-wide sales growth (excluding Ponderosa & Bonanza) of 18.1% y/y
United States sales growth of 4.8% y/y
Canada sales growth of 4.0% y/y
Other International(1) sales growth of 25.5% y/y
System-wide same-store sales decline of 0.6% y/y
System-wide same-store sales decline (excluding Ponderosa & Bonanza) of 0.5% y/y
United States same-store sales growth of 0.2% y/y
Canada same-store sales growth of 1.6% y/y
Other International(1) sales decline of 6.4% y/y
5 new franchised store openings during the fourth quarter 2019
Store count as of December 29, 2019: 374 stores system-wide
Net loss of $953,000 or $0.08 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis, as compared to net loss of $2.7 million or $0.23 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis in the fourth quarter of 2018
EBITDA(2) of $726,000 as compared to a loss of $467,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018
Adjusted EBITDA(2) of $1.8 million as compared to $732,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018. The reconciliation of EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA can be found in the accompanying financial tables.
Fiscal Year 2019 Highlights
Total revenues of $22.5 million, up 26.2% from $17.8 million in 2018. Excluding advertising revenues, revenues grew 25.5% to $18.4 million from $14.7 million in 2018.
System-wide sales growth of 4.0% y/y
System-wide sales growth (excluding Ponderosa & Bonanza) of 15.0% y/y
United States sales growth of 2.5% y/y
Canada sales growth of 4.4% y/y
Other International(1) sales growth of 10.7% y/y
System-wide same-store sales decline of 0.7% y/y
System-wide same-store sales growth (excluding Ponderosa & Bonanza) of 0.9% y/y
United States same-store sales growth of 0.4% y/y
Canada same-store sales growth of 2.5% y/y
Other International(1) sales decline of 8.7% y/y
24 new franchised store openings during 2019
Store count as of December 29, 2019: 374 stores system-wide
Net loss of $1.0 million or $0.09 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis, as compared to net loss of $1.8 million or $0.16 per share on a basic and fully diluted basis in 2018
EBITDA(2) of $6.8 million as compared to $3.1 million in 2018
Adjusted EBITDA(2) of $7.7 million as compared to $5.0 million in 2018. The reconciliation of EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA can be found in the accompanying financial tables.
(1)
Excludes Canada, includes Puerto Rico.
(2)
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP measures defined below, under “Non-GAAP Measures”. A reconciliation of GAAP net income to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA is included in the accompanying financial tables.
COVID-19 Business Update
The Company’s top priority is ensuring the health and safety of its employees, franchise partners, and communities. In compliance with state and local regulations, dining rooms have been temporarily closed. Many of our franchisees are operating on a take-out and delivery basis only, and we have seen a significant shift to these type of sales in both our burger and chicken wing brands. Across the system, approximately 150 restaurants are temporarily shut down completely, primarily across the steakhouse concepts as well as the Fatburger restaurants located inside casinos.
The Company is supporting franchise partners by coaching them to access funds made available through the CARES Act and negotiating deferred rent from landlords. In addition, the Company is helping franchisees procure PPE for their staff and instituting enhanced cleaning procedures in order to safeguard everyone in the restaurants. Lastly, the Company has secured extended terms from suppliers on behalf of franchise partners.
At the corporate level, the Company has taken measures to reduce expenditures, including layoffs of non-essential team members representing approximately 20% of headcount.
The Company has strengthened its liquidity position through the completion of the whole business securitization transaction in March.
View full version at FAT Brands
Domino's Pizza® Announces First Quarter 2020 Financial Results and Business Update
Global retail sales growth (excluding foreign currency impact) of 5.9%
U.S. same store sales growth of 1.6%
International same store sales growth of 1.5%
Global net store growth of 69
Diluted EPS up 39.5% to $3.07
Apr 23, 2020, 07:30 ET
ANN ARBOR, Mich., April 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Domino's Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), the largest pizza company in the world based on global retail sales, announced results for the first quarter. Global retail sales increased 4.4% in the first quarter, or 5.9% excluding foreign currency impact. U.S. same store sales grew 1.6% during the quarter versus the year-ago period, continuing the positive sales momentum in the Company's U.S. stores business. The international business also posted positive results, with same store sales growth of 1.5% during the quarter. The first quarter marked the 105th consecutive quarter of international same store sales growth and the 36th consecutive quarter of U.S. same store sales growth.
During the quarter, the Company opened 178 gross new stores and 69 net new stores, comprised of 30 net new U.S. stores and 39 net new international stores. The Company's net store growth includes the closure of its South Africa market, unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic, comprising 71 stores in total.
First quarter diluted EPS was $3.07, up 39.5% over the prior year quarter. On April 21, 2020, the Company's Board of Directors declared a $0.78 per share quarterly dividend for shareholders of record as of June 15, 2020 to be paid on June 30, 2020.
"In a time of unprecedented change in our industry, I am pleased to report that Domino's is in a very strong financial position, both at the brand and franchisee levels," said Ritch Allison, Domino's Chief Executive Officer. "We can't predict the full impact of COVID-19 on the broader economy and we don't know how consumer behavior and restaurant purchasing patterns may evolve coming out of this crisis. What I do know is that our franchisees and teams in the U.S. and across the globe will remain focused on safely serving our customers and our communities in this time of need. I have great confidence in our people and our ability to manage through this crisis, and I remain optimistic about the long-term potential of the Domino's brand."
View full version at Domino's
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