Dallas, Texas 05/09/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – The Wendy’s Co (NASDAQ:WEN) said that its Q1 earnings surged since the company posted gains from sale of its company-owned locations. Like many other restaurant chains, like Burger King Worldwide & DineEquity and Applebee’s, WEN has also been selling numerous company-owned-restaurants to its franchisees to ensure a much more predictable cash-flow & higher margins. The company reported earnings of $46.3M or 12 cents a share, which is a rise from $2.1M, or a penny per share, in the previous year. This latest period included the gain of a $44M in its facilities actions that was related to restaurant sales.
The stats
Excluding the benefit and some other special items, the earnings rose to 7 cents from 3 cents a share. Revenue dropped 13% to $523.2M, due to the lost revenue from it s locations following these restaurant sales. The much lower company-owned-store count helped in cutting down the operating expenses that shrank 25%. On an average, analysts had projected EPS of 5 cents a share & $498 million in revenue. The same-restaurant sales climbed 1.3% for the company-operated locations & 0.6% for its franchisee North America sites. The Wendy’s Co (NASDAQ:WEN) also backed the full-year guidance.
The products
The company plans on continuing with its strategy to offer premium-priced & low-cost menu items. On its higher end, recently, the company unveiled the Tuscan Chicken sandwich on the ciabatta bread, along with some other higher-priced offerings. It also offers many value items, like 99-cent sandwiches. The Wendy’s Co (NASDAQ:WEN) is a quick-service-restaurant company that operates in the hamburger-sandwich segment. It is mainly involved in operating, developing & franchising the system of its distinctive quick-service restaurants that serve food. At Dec 30, 2012, 6,186 Wendy’s restaurants were in operation in NA. Of all these restaurants, 1,427 had been operated by the company & 4,759 by 439 different franchisees.
