St. Louis, Missouri—May 30, 2002—Panera Bread Company (Nasdaq: PNRA) today reported that its net income for first quarter ending on April 20th rose to $5,225,000, or $0.35 per diluted share, from $3,059,000, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the 16 weeks ended April 21, 2001.
Systemwide sales and total revenues increased 48% and 45%, respectively from same time last quarter numbers.
Comparable bakery-cafe sales (excluding specialty bakery-cafes and closed locations) increased systemwide by 5.5%, making this quarter the 25th consecutive quarter that Panera Bread (on a stand-alone basis) has reported positive comparable company bakery-cafe sales.
Panera opened twenty-four new bakery-cafes during the quarter and purchased three existing bakery-cafes and the development rights for the Jacksonville market from its Jacksonville franchisee. Additionally, the company closed three bakery-cafes during the first quarter—including two company-owned specialty bakery-cafes and one of the original Saint Louis Bread Co. locations acquired in 1993.
“We were very pleased with our record results in the first quarter,” Ron Shaich, chairman and chief executive officer, said. “These results were driven by our very strong average unit volumes. Even more significantly, the new bakery-cafes that were opened in the first quarter are on a pace to achieve an average annualized unit sales volume in excess of $2.0 million.
Mr. Shaich concluded, “As we look forward for the remainder of fiscal year 2002, we are increasing our development target to 115 bakery-cafes (25 company-owned and 90 franchised). We are also targeting a 3% to 4% increase in comparable bakery-cafe sales and a 0.8% to 1.0% improvement in bakery-cafe margins. As a result of our accelerating development, strong sales volumes, and expanding margins, we are raising our 2002 earnings per share target to $1.40 per share, representing a 54% increase over 2001. This breaks down to the following quarterly earnings per share targets: second quarter $0.26; third quarter $0.31; and fourth quarter $0.48. The company remains committed to its 2003 target of $1.85 per share.”
