Bravo Brio Restaurant (BBRG) Tops Q4 EPS by 4c; Issues Mixed Outlook

Bravo Brio Restaurant (NASDAQ: BBRG) reported Q4 EPS of $0.23, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.19. Revenue for the quarter came in at $107.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $105.98 million.

Comparable restaurant sales decreased 5.2% at BRAVO! and decreased 4.3% at BRIO.

GUIDANCE:

Bravo Brio Restaurant sees FY2016 EPS of $0.65-$0.73, versus the consensus of $0.70. Bravo Brio Restaurant sees FY2016 revenue of $424-432 million, versus the consensus of $435.2 million.

Brian O'Malley, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Although we met our most recent earnings guidance, we are disappointed with our sales and traffic performance. We are now reviewing all aspects of our business including our culinary, marketing and training programs as well as conducting an evaluation of our restaurant portfolio. Our clear objective is to improve our financial performance by rebuilding sales, driving guest counts, and increasing our operating margins."

"In order to better differentiate ourselves within the upscale affordable Italian dining segment, we will elevate our culinary programs through menu innovation and will use limited time offers (LTOs) to highlight both new and classic menu items. These LTOs will run for a few weeks within each quarter and focus exclusively on items that are relevant to BRAVO! and BRIO guests. In January, we rolled out a $10.99 Fall In Love All Over Again with Italian classic combinations at BRAVO! and introduced a Tale of Two Risottos at BRIO.”

“We opened a BRIO in Cincinnati, Ohio and our franchise partner opened a BRIO in San Juan, Puerto Rico during the fourth quarter for a total of seven restaurant openings in 2015. This year we will open three new restaurants - a BRAVO! in Dayton, Ohio and Grand Rapids, Michigan and a BRIO in Del Amo, California.”

“Utilizing our free cash flow to reduce debt and repurchase shares remains an important component of our business strategy. During the fourth quarter, we paid down $8.2 million in debt and repurchased $4.6 million of our common shares under our $15 million share repurchase program. These steps demonstrate the tangible means we have at our disposal to return capital to shareholders,” concluded O’Malley.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Bravo Brio Restaurant (BBRG) click here.

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