Steady Same Store Sales and Earnings Growth – 10,000 Store Milestone Achieved
Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, today announced results for the third quarter ended September 9, 2012. Domestic stores posted a healthy same store sales increase of 3.3%. The international division again posted strong results with net store growth of 121 stores in the quarter and same store sales growth of 5.0%, marking this division’s 75th consecutive quarter of same store sales growth. Diluted EPS was 44 cents as reported for the quarter. On an as adjusted basis, diluted EPS was 43 cents, a 22.9% increase over the third quarter of 2011. During the quarter, the Company also repurchased and retired 189,718 shares of its common stock, at a total cost of $5.9 million.
J. Patrick Doyle, Domino’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “I believe that the consistent, positive performance we have been able to achieve is the mark of a great brand and a great team. This quarter, our franchise partners around the world have collectively reached an important 10,000-store milestone. This puts Domino’s among the largest international restaurant brands in the world. Our system’s ability to repeat and maintain strong results – coupled with our commitment to innovation and continuous improvement – gives us confidence that we have lots of runway for growth in the years to come.”
Third Quarter Highlights:
| (dollars in millions, except per share data) | Third Quarter of 2012 |
Third Quarter of 2011 |
Three?Fiscal Quarters of 2012 |
Three?Fiscal Quarters of 2011 |
|||
| Net income | $ ?26.0 | $ ?22.1 | $ ?74.8 | $ ?74.5 | |||
| Weighted average diluted shares | 58,519,573 | 61,833,635 | 59,240,919 | 62,577,561 | |||
| Diluted earnings per share, as reported | $ ?0.44 | $ ?0.36 | $ ?1.26 | $ ?1.19 | |||
| Items affecting comparability (see section below) | (0.01) | (0.01) | 0.11 | (0.02) | |||
| Diluted earnings per share, as adjusted | $ ?0.43 | $ ?0.35 | $ ?1.38 | $ ?1.17 |
| Note:? Diluted earnings per share figures may not sum to the total due to the rounding of each individual calculation. |
- ?Revenues?were up 0.5% for the quarter versus the prior-year period, due primarily to higher same store sales in domestic and international stores and store count growth in international markets. These increases were partially offset by lower Company-owned store revenues resulting from the sale of Company-owned stores in 2011 and the adverse impact of the stronger dollar on international royalty revenues.
- Net Income?was up 17.6% for the quarter versus the prior-year period, primarily due to domestic and international same store sales growth, international store growth and higher domestic Company-owned store margins. The stronger dollar partially offset these increases due to the adverse foreign currency exchange impact on international royalties. For the three fiscal quarters of 2012, higher domestic and international same store sales and international store growth led to higher net income, which was partially offset by expenses incurred in connection with the Company’s 2012 recapitalization.
- Diluted EPS?was?44 cents?on an as-reported basis for the quarter versus?36 cents?in the prior-year quarter. On an as-adjusted basis, diluted EPS was?43 cents?for the quarter versus prior year adjusted EPS of?35 cents. The?eight cent?or 22.9% increase in adjusted EPS was primarily due to both domestic and international same store sales growth, international store growth, higher domestic Company-owned store margins and lower weighted average diluted shares outstanding as a result of share repurchases over the trailing four quarters.? This was partially offset by foreign currency exchange rates and a higher adjusted effective tax rate. (See the?Items Affecting Comparability?section and the?Comments on Regulation G?section.)
- Global Retail Sales?were up 4.9% in the third quarter, or up 8.4% when excluding the impact of foreign currency.
| Third Quarter of 2012 |
Third Quarter of 2011 |
||
| Same store sales growth:?(versus prior year period) | |||
| ? Domestic Company-owned stores | + ?0.5% | + ?4.2% | |
| ? Domestic franchise stores | + ?3.6% | + ?2.9% | |
| ? Domestic stores | + ?3.3% | + ?3.0% | |
| ? International stores | + ?5.0% | + ?8.1% | |
| Global retail sales growth:?(versus prior year period) | |||
| ? Domestic stores | + ?3.7% | + ?3.1% | |
| ? International stores | + ?6.0% | +25.1% | |
| ? Total | + ?4.9% | +13.3% | |
| Global retail sales growth:?(versus prior year period,excluding foreign currency impact) | |||
| ? Domestic stores | + ?3.7% | + ?3.1% | |
| ? International stores | +12.9% | +16.0% | |
| ? Total | + ?8.4% | + ?9.0% |
| DomesticCompany-owned Stores | Domestic Franchise Stores | TotalDomestic Stores | International Stores | Total | |||||
| Store counts: | |||||||||
| Store count at June 17, 2012 | 387 | 4,514 | 4,901 | 5,023 | 9,924 | ||||
| ? Openings | – | 10 | 10 | 130 | 140 | ||||
| ? Closings | – | (15) | (15) | (9) | (24) | ||||
| Store count at September 9, 2012 | 387 | 4,509 | 4,896 | 5,144 | 10,040 | ||||
| Third quarter 2012 net change | – | (5) | (5) | 121 | 116 | ||||
| Trailing four quarters net change | (8) | 13 | 5 | 494 | 499 |
Conference Call Information
The Company will file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q this morning.? As previously announced,?Domino’s Pizza, Inc.?will hold a?conference call today?at?10 a.m.?(Eastern) to review its third quarter 2012 financial results. The call can be accessed by dialing (888) 306-6182 (U.S./Canada) or (706) 634-4947 (International). Ask for the Domino’s Pizza conference call.? The call will also be webcast at?www.dominosbiz.com. If you are unable to participate on the call, a replay will be available for 30 days by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S./Canada) or (404) 537-3406 (International), Conference ID 41247893. The webcast will also be archived for 30 days on?www.dominosbiz.com.
Share Repurchases
During the third quarter of 2012, the Company repurchased and retired 189,718 shares of its common stock under its Board of Directors-approved open market share repurchase program, at a total cost of approximately?$5.9 million, or an average price of?$30.85?per share. Subsequent to the third quarter of 2012, the Company repurchased and retired an additional 106,573 shares of its common stock at a total cost of approximately?$3.7 million, or an average price of?$34.98?per share.
Items Affecting Comparability
The Company’s reported financial results for the third quarter and three fiscal quarters of 2012 are not comparable to the reported financial results for the equivalent prior-year period. The table below presents certain items affecting comparability between 2012 and 2011 financial results. Management believes including such information is critical to the understanding of its financial results for the third quarter and three fiscal quarters of 2012 as compared to the same periods in 2011 (See the?Comments on Regulation Gsection).
In addition to the items noted in the table below, the Company had lower weighted average diluted shares outstanding that resulted in an increase in diluted EPS of approximately two and one-half cents in the third quarter of 2012 and seven and one-half cents in the three fiscal quarters of 2012.
| Third Quarter | Three Fiscal Quarters | ||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | Pre-tax | After-tax | Diluted EPS Impact | Pre-tax | After-tax | Diluted EPS Impact | |||||
| 2012 items affecting comparability: | |||||||||||
| Recapitalization expenses: | |||||||||||
| ?? General and administrativeexpenses (1) | $ ? ? – | $ ? ? – | $ ? ? – | $ ? ? (293) | $ ? (182) | $(0.00) | |||||
| ?? Additional interest expense (2) | – | – | – | (10,222) | (6,348) | (0.11) | |||||
| Subtotal | – | – | – | (10,515) | (6,530) | (0.11) | |||||
| Deferred tax asset valuationallowance (3) | – | – | – | – | (868) | (0.01) | |||||
| Tax benefit for increased tax basis in certain assets (4) | – | 735 | 0.01 | – | 735 | 0.01 | |||||
| Total of 2012 items | $ ? ? – | $ ? 735 | $ ?0.01 | $(10,515) | $(6,663) | $(0.11) | |||||
| 2011 items affecting comparability: | |||||||||||
| Gain on the sale of Company-owned stores (5) | $ ? ?506 | $ ? 314 | $ ?0.01 | $ ?1,560 | $ ? ?962 | $0.02 | |||||
| Gain on Netherlands operations (6) | – | – | – | 678 | 417 | 0.01 | |||||
| Total of 2011 items | $ ? 506 | $ ? 314 | $ ?0.01 | $ ?2,238 | $ 1,379 | $0.02 | |||||
| (1)???? Primarily includes stock compensation expenses, payroll taxes related to the payments made to certain stock option holders, and legal and professional fees incurred in connection with the Company’s 2012 recapitalization. |
| (2)???? Primarily includes the write-off of deferred financing fees related to the extinguishment of the 2007 debt in connection with the Company’s 2012 recapitalization. Additionally, the Company incurred $2.1 million of interest expense on the 2007 borrowings subsequent to the closing of the 2012 recapitalization but prior to the repayment of the 2007 borrowings, resulting in the payment of interest on both the 2007 and 2012 facilities for a short period of time. |
| (3)???? Represents a valuation allowance recorded on a deferred tax asset related to a capital loss that resulted from a write-off of the tax basis goodwill associated with the sale of the six remaining Company-owned stores in a certain market in the first quarter of 2012. |
| (4)???? During the third quarter of 2012 a tax benefit of $0.7 million was recorded to reflect an increased tax basis in certain assets due to the issuance of final tax rules in the quarter. |
| (5)???? The income recognized primarily relates to the sale of 30 Company-owned stores during the third quarter of 2011 and 56 stores during the three fiscal quarters of 2011.? The income in the third quarter is net of related expenses of approximately $0.3 million and net of a reduction in goodwill of approximately $0.3 million.? The income during the three fiscal quarters is net of related expenses of approximately $0.3 million and net of a reduction in goodwill of approximately $0.7 million. |
| (6)???? Relates to the recognition of a contingent gain in connection with the previous sale of the Netherlands operations to the current master franchisee.? The amount was received by the Company during the first quarter of 2011 as a portion of the contingency was finalized. |
Liquidity
As of?September 9, 2012, the Company had approximately:
- $34.6 million?of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents,
- $1.57 billion?in total debt,
- $60.3 million?of available borrowings under its?$100.0 million?variable funding notes, net of letters of credits issued of?$39.7 million.
The Company’s cash borrowing rate averaged 5.3% in the third quarter of 2012, versus 5.9% in the third quarter of 2011. The Company invested?$14.3 million?in capital expenditures during the three fiscal quarters of 2012 versus?$13.1 million?in the three fiscal quarters of 2011.
During the second quarter of 2012, the Company paid approximately?$184.9 million?related to the?$3.00?per share special dividend and equivalents declared by the Company’s Board of Directors in connection with the 2012 recapitalization.
The Company’s free cash flow, as reconciled below to cash flows from operations as determined under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), was approximately$87.0 million?in the three fiscal quarters of 2012.
| (in thousands) | Three Fiscal Quarters of?2012 |
| Net cash provided by operating activities (as reported) | $101,252 |
| Capital expenditures (as reported) | (14,301) |
| Free cash flow | $86,951 |
Comments on Regulation G
In addition to the GAAP financial measures set forth in this press release, the Company has included non-GAAP financial measures within the meaning of Regulation G due to items affecting comparability between fiscal quarters.? The Company has also included metrics such as global retail sales growth and same store sales growth, which are commonly used statistical measures in the quick-service restaurant industry that are important to understanding Company performance.
The Company uses “Diluted EPS, as adjusted,” which is calculated as reported Diluted EPS adjusted for the items that affect comparability to the prior year period discussed above.? The most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP is Diluted EPS.? Management believes that the Diluted EPS, as adjusted measure is important and useful to investors and other interested persons and that such persons benefit from having a consistent basis for comparison between reporting periods.? Management uses Diluted EPS, as adjusted to internally evaluate operating performance, to evaluate itself against its peers and to determine future performance targets and long-range planning.? Additionally, the Company believes that analysts covering the Company’s stock performance generally eliminate these items affecting comparability when preparing their financial models, when determining their published EPS estimates and when benchmarking the Company against its competitors.
The Company uses “Global retail sales” to refer to total worldwide retail sales at Company-owned and franchise stores. Management believes global retail sales information is useful in analyzing revenues because franchisees pay royalties that are based on a percentage of franchise retail sales. Management reviews comparable industry global retail sales information to assess business trends and to track the growth of the Domino’s Pizza??brand. In addition, domestic supply chain revenues are directly impacted by changes in domestic franchise retail sales. Retail sales for franchise stores are reported to the Company by its franchisees and are not included in Company revenues.??
The Company uses “Same store sales growth,” calculated by including only sales from stores that also had sales in the comparable period of the prior year.? International same store sales growth is calculated similarly to domestic same store sales growth.? Changes in international same store sales are reported on a constant dollar basis, which reflects changes in international local currency sales.
The Company uses “Free cash flow,” calculated as cash flows from operations less capital expenditures, both as reported under GAAP.? Management believes that the free cash flow measure is important to investors and other interested persons, and that such persons benefit from having a measure which communicates how much cash flow is available for working capital needs or to be used for repurchasing debt, making acquisitions, repurchasing common stock, paying dividends or other similar uses of cash.
About Domino’s Pizza?
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery.?As of third quarter 2012, Domino’s operated a network of 10,040 franchised and Company-owned stores in the U.S. and over 70 international markets. During the third quarter, Domino’s had global retail sales of nearly?$1.7 billion: nearly?$800 million?domestically and over?$862 million?internationally. Domino’s had global retail sales of over?$6.9 billion?in 2011. In?October 2012, Domino’s debuted its?Handmade Pan Pizza, touting the product’s fresh, never-frozen dough and establishing itself as a player in the Pan Pizza market. In?September 2012, Domino’s opened its 10,000th?store, becoming one of only eight restaurant chains in the world to reach that milestone. In?May 2011, Pizza Today named Domino’s its “Chain of the Year” for the second straight year ? making the company a three-time overall winner, and the first pizza delivery company to receive the honor in back-to-back years. In 2011, Domino’s was ranked #1 in Forbes Magazine’s “Top 20 Franchises for the Money” list.