Bj's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) Tops Q4 EPS by 4c

Bj's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ: BJRI) reported Q4 EPS of $0.43, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.39. Revenue for the quarter came in at $233.1 million versus the consensus estimate of $233.39 million.

“The 32.2% rise in fourth quarter net income and 38.7% growth in diluted net income per share concluded a record financial year for BJ’s and I am extremely proud of all that is being accomplished to extend BJ’s growth in 2016 and beyond,” commented Greg Trojan, President and CEO. “We finished the fourth quarter with 9.0% revenue growth, inclusive of positive comparable restaurant sales of 0.7%, despite the headwinds created by the Halloween and Christmas holiday calendar shifts. Our fourth quarter results continue the trend we have established over the last six quarters, as positive comparable restaurant sales, coupled with the ongoing success of our productivity initiatives, generated another quarter of impressive restaurant level cash flow margins, which rose to 19.9%, a 150 basis point year-over-year improvement. Additionally, our focus on leveraging general and administrative expenses and controlling what we can control resulted in a 170 basis point year-over-year improvement in operating income margins to 6.8%.”

Trojan continued, “Two years ago we began implementing a broad range of strategies intended to elevate our food offerings, productivity, sales and profitability to ensure that we best capitalize on the runway for restaurant expansion ahead of us while simultaneously generating growth from our existing restaurant base. Our efforts to-date have focused on menu innovation, affordability, speed and restaurant hospitality, coupled with productivity initiatives around Project Quality (‘Q’) and a bottoms-up approach to reducing operating and occupancy costs. Reflecting the passion of our local restaurant team members and their unwavering commitment to food quality and our guests’ experience, we finished 2015 with annual positive comparable restaurant sales of 1.7%, restaurant level cash flow margins of 19.9%, marking our highest four-wall restaurant margins in over four years, and delivered record net income and net income per share. While we are extremely proud of these and other accomplishments, we remain focused on the work ahead of us to ensure that BJ’s is the best casual dining restaurant in the industry.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Bj's Restaurants, Inc. (BJRI) click here.

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