Del Taco Restaurants (TACO) Tops Q2 EPS by 8c, Comps Fall 10.1%

Del Taco Restaurants (NASDAQ: TACO) reported Q2 EPS of $0.00, $0.08 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.08). Revenue for the quarter came in at $104.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $104.32 million.

• System-wide comparable restaurant sales decreased 10.1%;
  • Company-operated comparable restaurant sales decreased 12.6%;
  • Franchised comparable restaurant sales decreased 7.2%;

John D. Cappasola, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Del Taco, commented, “Our restaurant teams, franchise partners and support staff are doing exceptional work supporting our people, serving our guests and strengthening our brand as we successfully navigate the business recovery phase of our strategy while preparing for brand acceleration. Despite the pandemic-induced headwind affecting our industry, our system-wide comparable restaurant sales continue to improve sequentially and are slightly positive thus far in the fiscal third quarter, led by our franchise base who is sustaining positive comparable restaurant sales across a broad 14 state geographic footprint.”

Cappasola continued, “Importantly, the sequential company comparable restaurant sales improvement paired with strong cost controls helped optimize restaurant contribution and Adjusted EBITDA performance during the second quarter. This performance, coupled with the deferral of certain non-essential capital expenditures, enabled us to reduce our outstanding debt, net of cash, at the end of the second quarter by over $9 million and maintain a relatively stable net debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio compared to the end of fiscal 2019. Our financial stability and profitability improvements have allowed us to reinforce our people-centric culture by paying company General Managers healthy second quarter bonuses and introducing an enhanced employee meal program to reward our restaurant teams for their leadership and dedication to serving their communities.”

Cappasola concluded, “As 2020 progresses we will further optimize performance while laying the groundwork for brand acceleration. We plan to leverage our QSR+ strengths with innovation across our powerful barbell menu, expand our engagement in social and digital channels, and further our strategy to be a trusted and safe brand for our guests and employees. Next week, we will launch New Crispy Chicken, a unique protein within the Mexican QSR category, which will debut on the Del’s Dollar Deals menu as a new $1 Crispy Chicken Taco and in a New $5 Epic Burrito with Fresh Guacamole. We are excited to bring this new protein to market on the heels of a recent successful launch of Fresh Guacamole.”

GUIDANCE:

As a reminder, Del Taco previously withdrew guidance for the 52-week fiscal year 2020 ending December 29, 2020. However, the Company expects to demonstrate sequential improvement in year over year restaurant contribution* margin trends during the third and fourth fiscal quarters due to our comparable restaurant sales recovery coupled with sequentially less commodity inflation and a continued focus on managing our other restaurant expenses.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Del Taco Restaurants (TACO) click here.

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