Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ: RRGB) reported Q4 EPS of ($1.03), $0.52 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.51). Revenue for the quarter came in at $283.4 million versus the consensus estimate of $292.14 million.

Outlook for 2022 and Guidance Policy:

The Company provides guidance of select information related to the Company's financial and operating performance, and such measures may differ from year to year. The Company’s guidance assumes there are no significant disruptions or impacts to its business due to the COVID-19 pandemic or the impact of, geopolitical events, or other factors affecting the macroeconomic environment during 2022. The projections are as of this date. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement this information.

The Company currently expects the following for full year 2022:

• Mid-to-high single digit commodity and restaurant labor cost inflation;
• Selling, general and administrative costs between $145 and $155 million;
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) between $80 and $90 million; and,
• Capital expenditures of $40 to $50 million, as we continue to progress our strategic initiatives and focus on operational execution as we emerge from the pandemic, including continued investment in maintaining our restaurants and systems, modest new restaurant growth, Donatos® expansion to approximately 50 restaurants, improvements to our operational technology solutions, and off-premises execution enhancements.

We currently expect to increase pricing in the mid-single digits during 2022, along with other operating initiatives underway, to mitigate cost inflation. We expect margin pressures to persist during 2022, but we expect our trajectory to improve through the year with increased staffing and dine-in sales, and reduced transitory costs. We expect to achieve 2019 restaurant-level operating profit margin in 2023.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB) click here.