News

Pizza Inn's Q1 net up 33%, comps dip

November 5, 2009

Pizza Inn Inc. today released an earnings statement for the first quarter ended Sept. 27 that cited a 33 percent rise in net income.

Comps were down, however. Comparable domestic buffet restaurant sales decreased 3.6 percent for the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Chain-wide comparable domestic restaurant sales decreased 4.2 percent for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Revenues for Q1 2009 were off 12 percent at $10 million, down from $11.4 million in Q1 2008. Sales from company-owned restaurants increased 186 percent, or $0.4 million, in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 compared to the same quarter of the prior fiscal year, primarily due to the opening of new buffet locations in Denton, Texas, in October 2008 and Ft. Worth, Texas, in September 2009.

First quarter net income rose 33 percent to land at $0.4 million, or $0.05 per share, for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 27 copmared with net income of $0.3 million, or $0.03 per share, for the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Charlie Morrison, Pizza Inn CEO, said he was pleased with the company's numbers and revealed his methods for keeping the recession at bay.

"Over the past two years, we have communicated that the keys to long-term sustainable growth and rejuvenation of the Pizza Inn brand centered around slowing the rate of buffet closures, successfully opening new company-operated restaurants, and building a pipeline of new franchise openings for the future," Morrison said. "First quarter results demonstrate that these initiatives are working."

Other highlights provided for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 included:

• Franchise revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 was flat compared to the same quarter of the prior fiscal year at $1.1 million, despite the decline in same store sales due to four new franchise store openings in the current fiscal quarter compared to one new opening in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.
• For the second consecutive fiscal quarter, there were no buffet restaurant closures in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared to three such closures in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.