Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) Tops Q3 EPS by 7c; SSS Up 6% at Co-Owned Stores

Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ: BWLD) reported Q3 EPS of $1.14, $0.07 better than the analyst estimate of $1.07. Revenue for the quarter came in at $373.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $373.4 million. Same-store sales increased 6.0% at company-owned restaurants and 5.7% at franchised restaurants

Sally Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We're pleased with our results in the third quarter. Same-store sales increased 6.0% at company-owned restaurants and 5.7% at franchised locations. Our strong same-store sales continued during the World Cup tournament, introducing the brand to new Guests. Fantasy football draft parties helped maintain the sales momentum through the quarter. Our restaurant teams were excited for the start of college and professional football and are delivering a great game-day experience to our Guests."

Ms. Smith continued, "Our cost of sales percentage was lower than the prior year, driven by a decrease in the price per pound for traditional chicken wings and leverage from menu price increases taken over the last 12 months. We are nearing completion of staffing all of our company-owned Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants with Guest Experience Captains. These Team Members engage our Guests to deliver the ultimate social experience for sports fans and are an integral component of our Guest Experience strategy. Our strong sales growth, lower food costs, and a lower effective tax rate more than offset the increased labor cost of the Guest Experience Captains, producing net earnings growth of 21.7% and earnings per diluted share of $1.14 in the third quarter."

2014 and 2015 Outlook

Ms. Smith remarked, "Our restaurant teams are focused on providing our Guests with a unique and compelling social experience during football season, and we're pleased with our continued sales strength. Same-store sales increased about 5.4% at company-owned restaurants and 5.1% at franchised locations for the first four weeks of the fourth quarter compared to 5.3% and 3.0%, respectively, for the same period last year. Current costs for traditional chicken wings of $1.98 per pound are 30% higher than our third quarter average cost. Given this trend and known raises in certain minimum wage rates, we are increasing menu prices an average of 3.0% at the end of November. With our results for the first nine months and our outlook for the fourth quarter, we believe net earnings growth will exceed 28% for 2014."

Ms. Smith concluded, "Buffalo Wild Wings continues to expand toward our goal of 1,700 restaurants in the United States and Canada. In 2015, we plan to open approximately 50 company-owned Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants and expect our franchisees in the United States to add 40 franchised locations. Our international franchisees plan on opening eight to ten restaurants. We also plan to open a total of five company-owned Rusty Taco and PizzaRev locations, and both brands will continue their expansion through franchising. We believe with our planned unit growth and ongoing operational diligence we can achieve 18% net earnings growth for 2015."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) click here.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH) Tops Q1 EPS by 151c; offers guidance
• FS Bancorp (FSBW) Tops Q1 EPS by 8c
• Alamos Gold (AGI) Misses Q1 EPS by 1c