News

Boston pizza same-store sales making a comeback

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Boston Pizza International announced Q1 results and a 6.2 percent increase in cash distributions to store owners.

May 11, 2015

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based Boston Pizza International announced Q1 results and a 6.2 percent increase in cash distributions to store owners. The company declared system-wide gross sales for the first quarter to be $248.7 million, an increase of $10.7 million compared to 2014,and same store sales growth of a positive 2.1 percent for the period compared to negative 1.7 percent a year ago. Distributable cash per unit increased 5.5 percent for Q1.

Eight net new Boston Pizza restaurants opened in 2014 and were added to the fund's royalty pool on January 1, 2015, the announcement said. BPI attributes the $7 million increase in franchise sales to these openings. Trustees declared an April 2015 increase in distributions to unit holders of  0.63 cents or 6.2 percent at 10.83 cents per unit. Franchise sales for the royalty pool were $193.4 million for Q1 compared to $186.4 million in the same period in 2014. 

"We are very pleased to announce a 6.2 percent increase to monthly cash distributions to unitholders of the fund, beginning with the distribution to be paid on May 29, 2015. This distribution increase is a direct result of the fund's accretive transaction, which closed on May 6, 2015, under which it effectively acquired an additional 1.5 percent of franchise revenues from BPI and it marks the 17th time that the fund has increased distributions since the initial public offering in 2002," said Mark Pacinda, president and CEO of BPI, in a statement. "For the first quarter of 2015, highlights included positive SSSG, the opening of two new Boston Pizza restaurants and the launch of our new marketing campaign using the tagline 'We'll Make You a Fan'."

Boston Pizza reported that the two principle factors impacting same-store sales growth include changes in customer traffic and changes in average guest check. BPI's strategized to attract a wide variety of guests into the restaurant, and leveraged its sports bar and take-out/delivery at each location, along with its new marketing campaign, to drive higher guest traffic. The company expects increased average check levels to continue through a combination of culinary innovation and annual menu re-pricing, according to the announcement.