MINNEAPOLIS - Feb. 24, 2016 // GLOBE NEWSWIRE // - Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending January 3, 2016.
Highlights for the fourth quarter of 2015 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2014:
Highlights for fiscal 2015 as compared to fiscal 2014:
Adam Wright, CEO, commented, “We would like to discuss a few significant recent announcements. On February 2nd we opened our first restaurant outside of North America in Abu Dhabi. Our Founder, Dave Anderson and I attended the opening and it is a beautiful restaurant that opened with strong sales and guest reviews. Our UAE partner TABLEZ, has signed a four restaurant development deal with us and we anticipate them opening one or two additional restaurants later this year. We plan to continue to dedicate some resources to international expansion, as we believe there is demand overseas for our brand.
Last week we announced that Alfredo Martel has joined us as our Chief Marketing Officer. Alfredo is a proven marketing leader and was instrumental in the turnaround of Caribou Coffee where he led a marketing team that delivered 28 quarters of positive same store sales growth. While at Caribou, he also ran innovation and most recently served as COO of international overseeing international development. He is an experienced marketing leader who has also has worked in collaboration with franchisees from his time at Yum! Brands. He brings discipline, process and a guest centric focus to all decisions to our team.
A core tenet of our corporate strategy is to better serve our franchisees and refranchising this market allows us to have fewer restaurants under our control. Operating fewer restaurants allows us to improve our focus on serving franchisees and the entire system instead of another corporate market. Our franchise partner who is acquiring our Chicago market restaurants posted mid-single digit positive same store sales growth in his existing Famous Dave’s last year. As part of the transaction he has agreed to invest in the existing restaurants, and has also signed a development agreement for the entire market. We anticipate that sales will grow under his leadership, both in the existing stores and from new unit growth and that, over time, the future royalties we will receive will grow as well. It is important to note, the large accounting impairment we recorded with respect to this transaction excludes the economic value of the future royalties we receive and that we will also add a deferred tax asset from the sale that will lower our future tax liabilities.
The fourth quarter results were disappointing, the company’s new Board and senior leadership team continue to dedicate significant attention to improving the performance of the Famous Dave’s system. We are focused on improving our guest experience, improving food and labor cost management and improving the effectiveness and impact of our marketing efforts. We have encouraging signs from our current work as in January we returned our menu and guest satisfaction metrics to the baseline levels prior to the implementation of initiatives last year which hurt guest experience and intent to return. Notably the course correction in portion sizes, returning to our iconic Corn bread muffin recipe and the addition of guest favorites such as Drunkin’ Apples, Firecracker Green Beans, Brisket Burgers & Cajun Chicken sandwich. All Famously delicious!
Of course, we are also continuing to test and identify ways to further enhance our guest experience. We are focused on rebuilding our culture and passion for serving the best barbecue, improving training and hospitality. We are rolling out, in the coming week to all company owned locations, fried chicken on Sunday nights. Fried Chicken drove significant traffic increases during its test. We are also introducing further value focused items into test in our East coast restaurants in the coming weeks that remain our most challenged market.
While the significant actions have not yet taken translated into increased same-store sales, we are seeing positive feedback from our guests. Our guest's satisfaction scores have increased by 16.6% for the period ending January versus the period immediately before the leadership change and our guest’s likelihood to return has increased 17.4% for the period ending January vs the period before the management change. We believe that these are very important metrics to measure our restaurant operations and leading indicators of improving sales. With the significant improvement in our guest feedback, combined with a new CMO and revised marketing strategy in place, we are now in position as we move into BBQ season this spring to invest back in marketing and to drawing guests back into our restaurants.
The Famous Dave’s organization is getting excited about the long-term prospects for Famous Dave’s as a concept. Not only to the return of positive same-store sales, but long-term highly profitable growth.”
Famous Dave’s opened one franchise-operated restaurant and closed one franchise-operated restaurant in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Famous Dave's ended the quarter with 179 restaurants, including 44 Company-owned restaurants and 135 franchise-operated restaurants, located in 33 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and Canada.
The company will host a conference call, February 24, 2016, at 3:30 p.m. Central Time to discuss its fourth quarter financial results. There will be a live webcast of the discussion through the Investor Relations section of Famous Dave's web site atwww.famousdaves.com.
Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. develops, owns, operates and franchises barbeque restaurants. As of today, the company owns 44 locations and franchises 134 additional units in 33 states, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Its menu features award-winning barbequed and grilled meats, a selection of salads, sandwiches, side items, and made-from-scratch desserts.
To supplement its financial statements, Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. also provides investors with Adjusted net (loss) income per share from continuing operations and Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations which are non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to its financial condition and results of operations. Famous Dave’s management uses these non-GAAP measures to compare the Company's performance to that of prior periods for trend analysis and planning purposes.
Adjusted net (loss) income per share from continuing operations consists of net (loss) income plus non-cash items, such as, asset impairment, estimated lease termination and other closing costs and net loss on disposal of equipment divided by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period presented. Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. believes adjusted net (loss) income per share from continuing operations is useful to an investor because it is widely used to measure a company's operating performance.
EBITDA consists of (loss) income from operations plus depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations consists of EBITDA plus non-cash items, such as, asset impairment, estimated lease termination and other closing costs and net loss on disposal of equipment. Famous Dave’s uses Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations as a measure of operating performance because it assists the Company in comparing performance on a consistent basis, as it removes from operating results the impact of non-cash events. The Company believes Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations is useful to an investor in evaluating the company's operating performance because it is widely used to measure a Company's operating performance without the impact of items such as depreciation and amortization, which can vary depending upon accounting methods and the book value of assets, and to present a meaningful measure of corporate performance exclusive of the impact of non-cash events and the method by which assets were acquired.
These non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the company's financial statements and are subject to inherent limitations. Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. urges investors to review the reconciliation of its non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures that are included in this press release. The tables appearing at the end of this release provide reconciliations of net income from continuing operations to Adjusted net (loss) income per share from continuing operations and Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations.
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Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical, including but not limited to statements regarding the timing of our restaurant openings and the timing or success of our expansion plans, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from expected results. Although Famous Dave's of America, Inc. believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectation will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Famous Dave's expectation include financial performance, restaurant industry conditions, execution of restaurant development and construction programs, franchisee performance, changes in local or national economic conditions, availability of financing, governmental approvals and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SECreports.
SOURCE Famous Dave's of America, Inc
Richard Pawlowski
Chief Financial Officer
952-294-1300
Famous Dave's of America, Inc. develops, owns, operates and franchises Bar B Que restaurants.