Papa John’s International (Nasdaq: PZZA) today announced third quarter and year-to-date financial results.

Revenues for the period fell from $241.4 million in third quarter 2001 to $227.9 million in third quarter 2002, a drop of 5.6%. Net income was flat compared to third quarter 2001 at $10.5 million.

Diluted earnings per share increased from $0.46 in 2001 to $0.53 for third quarter 2002. The increase in EPS was influenced partly by the repurchase of 1.4 million shares of stock at a cost of $42 million. Share repurchases contributed $0.04 to third quarter 2002 earnings per share.

Year-to-date revenues for the nine months ended September 29, 2002 were $710.1 million, a decrease of 2.9% from 2001 revenues of $731.1 million. Net income for the same period was flat at $35.7 million. Diluted earnings per share increased from $1.57 in the same period in 2001 to $1.72 in 2002. Share repurchases for the year contributed $0.09 to EPS for the nine months ended September 29.

Results were similarly negative on the store level. Systemwide comparable sales decreased 2.5% for the third quarter (-0.7% for company-owned stores and –3% for franchises) and 1.2% for the nine months ended September 29, 2002. The drop in systemwide sales was attributed partly to the competitive environment and heavy discounting by competitors.

The Papa John’s chain netted 5 new stores in the third quarter, with 27 new stores opened and 22 closed.