Operations

Sales up, revenues dip in Q2 for Papa Johns

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August 3, 2023

While Papa Johns' International Inc.'s North America comparable sales dipped 1% in Q2, compared to a year ago, global systemwide restaurant sales hit $1.22 billion, a 2% increase year-over-year.

International comparable sales were down 1% from a year ago but improved 5% from Q1, according to a press release on the Q2 earnings.

The brand had 47 unit openings and is on track to open 270 to 310 units this year.

Total revenues of $515 million were down 2% from Q2 2022 which the company attributed to lower revenues in its North American commissary segment due to commodity price declines.

"We are pleased with the solid execution that our teams have demonstrated in what continues to be a challenging operating environment," Rob Lynch, president and CEO, said in the release. "Our company restaurants continued their strong performance with positive comp sales growth and year-over-year margin improvement above and beyond the benefits of moderating food costs. However, this solid performance was not enough to offset the lower-than-anticipated comps our franchisees experienced during the quarter. That being said, our entire system saw sequential sales improvement throughout the quarter with positive North America comp sales in June. This positive momentum has carried over, and accelerated, into the third quarter and we expect it to continue as we optimize our system's revenue management strategies and expand one of our most popular pizza platforms with the recent introduction of Garlic Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza."

Lynch called the international business a "long-term driver" and noted the company recently established a corporate-owned restaurant portfolio in the U.K., its largest market.

"While we know there will be macro-economic challenges ahead, particularly in the short term, we're confident that we can improve sales and profitability within our U.K. market, and in our international segment overall," he said in the release.

In April Papa John's International Inc. announced a partnership with PJP Investments Group to open 650 restaurants in India by 2033, with the first scheduled to open in 2024 in Bangalore, according to a press release.