MiamiGent
13 years ago
PNRA Panera 1Q Net Up 26% On Same-Store Sales Growth, Margins
PROVIDED BY Dow Jones & Company, Inc. - 4:20 PM 04/24/2012
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=PNRA
Panera Bread Co.'s (PNRA) first-quarter earnings rose a better-than-expected 26%, as same-store sales continued to grow at the bakery-cafe chain.
The company raised its full-year earnings guidance by 8 cents from its February view, now forecasting $5.58 to $5.63 a share. For the second-quarter, Panera sees earnings of $1.40 to $1.43, mostly topping estimates of $1.40 from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Panera, which hasn't reported a bottom-line decline since the beginning of 2008, has been fueling its recent growth with new products, a rebound in catering and price increases.
Lately, Panera has been tinkering with its business model with an aim to open more locations in urban areas, a departure from its stronghold in U.S. suburbs. It has also raised the possibility of expanding overseas, such as China, where other U.S. companies have tapped huge demand. Nearly all Panera's locations are in the U.S.
The company has seen significant changes in its top management this year. Last month, Panera shifted to a co-chief executive model, with founder and Chairman Ron Shaich sharing the top office with Bill Moreton, previously the sole CEO. Additionally, Chief Operating Officer John Maguire recently left to become chief executive of Friendly's Ice Cream LLC, and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Kip left to become the finance chief for IAC/InterActiveCorp. (IACI), owner of Ask.com and dating site Match.com.
In the latest quarter, Panera posted a profit of $41.2 million, or $1.40 a share, up from $32.8 million, or $1.09 a share, a year earlier. In February, the company predicted earnings of $1.33 to $1.35.
Revenue increased 18% to $498.6 million. Analysts most recently predicted $501 million.
Operating margin widened to 13.5% from 12.6%.
Comparable bakery-cafe sales grew 7.5% at company-owned restaurants and rose 5.2% at franchise-operated locations.
Shares closed Tuesday at $148.25 and were up 1.2% after hours. The stock was hitting all-time highs through March but has scaled back some in recent weeks. Since Tuesday's close, shares were up 4.8% so far this year.
-By Ben Fox Rubin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3108; ben.rubin@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-24-12 1620ET
MiamiGent
13 years ago
PNRA Panera profit matches Street, shares fall
PROVIDED BY Reuters - 4:52 PM 02/07/2012
FEB 7 - Panera Bread Co (PNRA), one of the top
performing U.S. restaurant chains, reported fourth-quarter
adjusted profit that just matched Wall Street's estimates on
soft revenue and traffic that was up only slightly from the year
earlier.
Shares of the company fell 2.4 percent to $156.20 in
extended trading.
KEY POINTS:
Q4 2011 Estimate* Q4 2010
Revenue $495.8 mln $499.03 mln $428.2 mln
Adj Net $42 mln $37 mln
income
Adj EPS $1.42 $1.42 $1.21
- Adjusted results from the latest quarter exclude a
one-time pretax charge of $5 million, related to a proposed
legal settlement of alleged violations of the California Labor
Code's rules on breaks.
- Panera expects to close its purchase of the Raleigh-Durham
franchise market for $48 million by end of the first quarter.
- Chief Financial Officer Jeff Kip will leave company on
March 15 to become CFO at IAC/InterActiveCorp.
- Fourth quarter sales at restaurants open at least 18
months were up 5.9 percent at company-owned units and up 3.2
percent at franchised units. Overall, same-restaraunt sales were
up 4.4 percent. Sales at company-operated units got a boost from
recent menu price increases.
- Traffic to company-owned units was up just 0.2 percent for
the quarter, while average spending per visit grew 5.7 percent.
- Panera forecast Q1 earnings in the range of $1.33 to $1.35
per share, above analysts' average target of $1.28 per share,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. That assumes a 7 percent
to 7.5 percent increase in company-owned same-restaurant sales.
- It also raised its 2012 earnings target to a range of
$5.50 to $5.55. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average,
were targeting a 2012 profit of $5.52 per share. That forecast
includes a 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent increase in company-owned
same-restaurant sales. It also includes a 2 cent to 3 cent per
share gain from the pending acquisition of the Raleigh-Durham
market.
- Panera said sales at established company-operated
restaurants in the first 41 days of the first quarter were up
about 8.9 percent. In the year-ago quarter, inclement weather
weighed on sales.
MARKET REACTION
- Shares, which are up 65 percent from a year ago and
trading at all-time highs, fell 2.4 percent to $156.20 in
extended trading.
BACKGROUND/LINKS
- Panera, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and Starbucks Corp (SBUX), and other chains that cater to higher-income diners
with specialty products ranging from gourmet coffee to organic
and artisanal products, have been outperforming the U.S.
restaurant industry as a whole.
- Panera, which opened its first location in Manhattan on
Tuesday, had 1,541 restaurants in the United States as of Dec.
27.
Note:
* Average analyst estimate according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernard
Orr)
xanadu
15 years ago
New Panera location says pay what you want
May 18, 2010 12:15 PM
The Associated Press
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — Panera Bread Co. is asking customers at a new restaurant to pay what they want.
The national bakery and restaurant chain launched a new nonprofit store here this week that has the same menu as its other 1,400 locations. But the prices are a little different — there aren't any. Customers are told to donate what they want for a meal, whether it's the full suggested price, a penny or $100.
The new store in the upscale St. Louis suburb of Clayton is the first of what will Panera hopes will be many around the country. Ronald Shaich, Panera's CEO until last week, was on hand at the new bakery Monday to explain the system to customers.
The pilot restaurant is run by a nonprofit foundation. If it can sustain itself financially, Panera will expand the model around the country within months. It all depends on whether customers will abide by the motto that hangs above the deli counter: "Take what you need, leave your fair share."
Panera hopes to open a similar location in every community where it operates. Other nonprofits have opened community kitchens, where customers set the price, and the idea has spread among food enthusiasts and philanthropists. But Panera brings new scale to the idea — its community restaurants will use the company's distribution system and have access to its national food suppliers.
The first location bears the name St. Louis Bread Co. Cares — the chain's former name and one it still uses in its hometown. Customers seemed alternately puzzled and pleased by the concept.
Dawn Frierdich, 52, came in to buy three loaves of bread an iced tea. She asked how much the drink would cost.
"About $1.85," said the 21-year-old cashier, Michael Miller.
And the whole order?
"It would be, like, $12," Miller told her, reminding her she didn't have to pay if she didn't want to. Frierdich tried to hand him $12 in cash, but he directed her to put it in the donation jar.
"This is a little hard. I just can't wrap my head around this," Frierdich said.
A young man spoke on his cell phone nearby. "Seriously," he said. "They don't charge tax or anything."
The clientele at the Clayton location is a mix of well-to-do attorneys and bankers from Clayton, as well as lower-income customers who work nearby or are visiting the sprawling St. Louis County offices and courthouse nearby. Miller, the cashier, said most customers paid full price for their meals Monday, but some took a discount of a few dollars, or paid half-price.
Panera is using its nonprofit foundation to support the restaurant and any future locations. The foundation will pay the new restaurant's bills, including staff salaries, rent and food costs. At the end of each month, the foundation will tally donations to see if they cover food costs. The Panera parent company won't bear losses if the experiment fails.
Saich was CEO of Panera until he stepped down Thursday, taking the post of executive chairman. He will run the nonprofit along with other projects for Panera.
Other similar experiements have worked. The One World Salt Lake City restaurant has operated as a nonprofit with pay-what-you-want prices since 2003, said founder Denise Cerreta. She works for a foundation that helps similar restaurants open around the county. She said the places don't get swarmed by crowds and emptied, but have managed to stay afloat based on the honor system.
"It somehow stays in balance," Cerrata said. "I think ultimately people are good. They want to contribute."
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/new-40330-pay-clayton.html