Company Expects to Complete Refinancing in Third Quarter;?Anticipates $25 Million in Annual Interest Expense Savings
Image Activation Initiative and New Restaurant Development on Track for 2012?
DUBLIN, Ohio ? The Wendy?s Company (NASDAQ: WEN) today reported its results for the first quarter ended April 1, 2012.
Highlights from the first quarter included the following:?
– Consolidated revenues were $593.2 million in the first quarter of 2012, compared to $582.5 million in the first quarter of 2011.??
– Wendy?s? North America Company-operated restaurants generated a same-store sales increase of 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2012. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales. Franchise same-store sales in North America increased 0.7 percent during the quarter.?
– Company-operated restaurant margin was 11.8 percent in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 13.4 percent in the first quarter of 2011. The margin decline was due primarily to the impact from higher commodity costs ? especially for fresh beef ? and the impact from unfavorable product mix. Sales and margins during the first quarter were negatively affected by the promotion of the ?W? cheeseburger.?
– Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations was $63.9 million in the first quarter of 2012, compared to first quarter 2011 Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $73.7 million. See ?Disclosure Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures? below for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures (i.e., Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations and Adjusted Earnings Per Share from continuing operations).?
– Income from continuing operations attributable to The Wendy?s Company was $12.4 million in the first quarter of 2012, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2011.??
– Adjusted Earnings Per Share from continuing operations were $0.01 in the first quarter of 2012, compared to $0.02 in the first quarter of 2011.??
– Earnings per share were $0.03 in the first quarter of 2012, compared to $0.00 in the first quarter of 2011.
Based on these results, the Company has revised its 2012 outlook for Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations to a range of $320 million to $335 million.?
President and Chief Executive Officer Emil Brolick said: ?We produced our fourth consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales, but it was not enough to offset restaurant-level margin pressure, especially the impact from higher fresh beef costs. We are allocating substantial resources toward restaurant development, marketing, product innovation and customer service initiatives that we believe will ultimately accelerate sales growth, enhance the quality of our store base and grow our worldwide presence over time. This is a transition year for our new management team, and we are making progress on our long-term ?Recipe to Win? plan, as we invest in our strategic growth initiatives.??
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