Back Yard Burgers, Inc., announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2001.
Total revenues for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, were $7,739,000, a fourth-quarter record for the company and an increase of 8.3 percent over total revenues for the 13-week period ended December 30, 2000. The increase is primarily the result of improvements in same-store sales and net store unit growth of 11.8 percent over the prior year.
Net income for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, was $231,000, or $.05 per diluted share, an increase of $196,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, over net income for the 13-week period ended December 30, 2000. Pre-tax income for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, was reduced by $111,000 for a reserve on a note receivable from a former franchisee and $70,000 for a land lease reserve relating to a restaurant building the company assumed as collateral under the provisions of the note.
Excluding the $181,000 in reserves described above, pre-tax income for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, would have been $458,000, an increase of $401,000 over the prior year. This increase was primarily due to an additional $189,000 in franchise fees and royalty fees over the prior year, as well as improvements in company-operated restaurant operating margins. Restaurant operating expenses, consisting of labor, supplies, utilities, maintenance, rent, and certain other unit level operating expenses, decreased as a percentage of sales from 50.2 percent in the prior year to 47.4 percent in the current year. Labor cost management accounted for 1.8 percent of the 2.8 percent cost improvement over the prior year.
Same-store sales for company-operated restaurants increased 3.5% for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, and 3.3 percent for the year ended December 29, 2001. Same-store sales for franchised restaurants increased 3.5 percent for the 13-week period ended December 29, 2001, and 0.5 percent for the year ended December 29, 2001.
Unit activity for the quarter included four franchised store openings and one company-operated store opening.
The company also reported record fiscal year revenues for the year ended December 29, 2001. Year-to-date revenues for the company increased 6.4 percent to $31,138,000 from $29,260,000 in the prior year. Net income increased 120.4 percent to $1,027,000, or $0.22 per diluted share, from $466,000, or $0.10 per diluted share in the prior year. Prior year-to-date pre-tax income included $271,000 in gains on the sales of unutilized assets.
As of December 29, 2001, the company’s restaurant system comprised 104 units, including 37 company-operated stores and 67 franchised stores. Expansion plans for fiscal year 2002 include seven company-operated stores, eight or more franchised stores, and six outlets co-branded with Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and/or KFC operations under our Multi-Brand Development Agreement with Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc.
Back Yard Burgers operates and franchises quick-service restaurants in Memphis, Little Rock, Nashville and other markets across 17 states.
