2013-03-14 21:03:49 -
CONTACT: William Koziel
(847) 597-8800
Così, Inc. Reports 2012 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results
DEERFIELD, IL - March 14, 2013 - Così, Inc. (NASDAQ: COSI), the fast casual
restaurant company, today reported a net loss for the fourth quarter ended
December 31, 2012 of $(2,036,000), or $(0.03) per basic and diluted common
share, compared with a net loss of $(2,274,000), or $(0.04) per basic and
diluted common share in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Così's total revenues for the 2012 fourth quarter decreased 13.7% to $22,612,000
from $26,193,000 in the 2011 fourth quarter. The 2011 fourth quarter included
one additional week of revenues versus the 2012 fourth quarter. Company-owned
restaurant net sales decreased by 13.6% in the fourth quarter to $21,894,000,
compared to $25,334,000 in the previous year's quarter, due to net sales of
$1,375,000 from the one additional week of sales in 2011, a sales decline of
$744,000 from restaurants closed subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2011, a
decline in sales of $580,000 during the fourth quarter resulting from the impact
of Hurricane Sandy and a 3.2% decrease in comparable store net sales when
measured on a thirteen-week comparable basis. Franchise fees and royalty
revenues for the 2012 fourth quarter contributed $718,000 compared to $859,000
in the 2011 fourth quarter. The year over year fourth quarter decrease in
franchise fees and royalties was largely due to royalties associated with the
additional week of sales in the 2011 fourth quarter as well as royalties
associated with locations closed subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2011.
System-wide comparable restaurant sales, assuming a 13 week quarter as measured
for restaurants in operation for more than 15 months and excluding the impact of
Hurricane Sandy on Company-owned locations, recorded an aggregate 3.9% decrease
compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. The breakdown in comparable sales
between Company-owned and franchise-operated restaurants are as follows:
For the 13 weeks ended
December 31, 2012
Company-owned (3.2%)
Franchise-operated (4.9%)
Total System (3.9%)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 Così reported a net loss of
$(4,441,000) or $(0.07) per basic and diluted common share, compared to fiscal
2011, when Così's net loss was $(6,539,000), or $(0.13) per basic and diluted
common share.
Così's total revenues for fiscal 2012 decreased 4.1% to $97,952,000 from
$102,135,000 in fiscal 2011. Fiscal 2011 included one additional week of
revenues versus fiscal 2012. Company-owned net restaurant sales declined 4.2% in
fiscal 2012 to $94,757,000, compared to $98,920,000 in fiscal 2011 due to a
$2,000,000 decline in net sales related to restaurants closed during and
subsequent to fiscal 2011, the additional fifty-third week of sales in 2011, and
a comparable 52 week net sales decrease of 0.3% after excluding the $580,000
impact on sales from Hurricane Sandy in the fourth quarter of 2012. Franchise
fees and royalty revenues for fiscal 2012 contributed $3,195,000 compared to
$3,215,000 in fiscal 2011. The year over year decrease in franchise fees and
royalties was largely the result of royalties associated with the additional
week of sales in 2011.
System-wide comparable restaurant sales for fiscal 2012, assuming a 52-week year
as measured for restaurants in operation for more than 15 months and excluding
the sales impact of Hurricane Sandy on Company-owned locations, recorded an
aggregate 0.5% increase compared to fiscal 2011. The breakdown in comparable
sales between Company-owned and franchise-operated restaurants are as follows:
For the 52 weeks ended
December 31, 2012
Company-owned (0.3%)
Franchise-operated 1.8%
Total System 0.5%
"Despite the challenging results of the fourth quarter which include the adverse
impact of Hurricane Sandy on sales and margins at many of our restaurants,"
Carin Stutz, Così's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "I want to
assure you that we are making good progress on our initiatives to improve the
freshness and quality of our menu as well as the ambience and hospitality of the
restaurants to unlock the exciting long-term potential of the Così brand."
2012 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Performance Review
For the fourth quarter, Così reported a 230 basis point increase in costs and
expenses related to Company-owned restaurant operations as a percentage of
restaurant net sales compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. The change resulted
from increases of 100, 70 and 60 basis points, as a percentage of restaurant net
sales, in occupancy and other restaurant operating expenses, cost of food and
beverage and labor and related benefits, respectively. The increase in occupancy
and other restaurant operating expenses was due primarily to the beneficial
impact on the fixed portion of these costs from the additional week of sales in
2011 partially offset by lower utility costs in 2012 as compared to the prior
year quarter. The increase in cost of food and beverage was largely due to
higher costs on certain commodities, primarily poultry, the impact of a higher
mix of breakfast sales which have a higher cost as a percent to sales coupled
with a decline in beverage sales which have a lower cost as a percent to sales.
The increase in labor and related benefits was largely due to the impact of the
comparable sales decline on the fixed portion of labor costs, including the
impact resulting from Hurricane Sandy.
During the 2012 fourth quarter, the Company reported general and administrative
expense of $2,947,000 or 13.0% of total revenues as compared to $4,065,000 or
15.5% for the 2011 fourth quarter. The decrease in expense for 2012 as compared
to 2011 was due primarily to lower legal fees and certain settlement-related
costs, lower professional fees and lower marketing production costs primarily
outside agency fees. The 2011 fourth quarter also included one-time expenses
related to the chief executive officer search and certain other shareholder
activities.
For the 2012 full year, Così reported a 10 basis point increase in costs and
expenses related to Company-owned restaurant operations as a percentage of
restaurant net sales compared to 2011. The change resulted from increases of 30
and 20 basis points, as a percentage of restaurant net sales, in occupancy and
other restaurant operating expenses and cost of food and beverage, respectively,
partially offset by a 40 basis point decrease in labor and related benefits.
During fiscal 2012, general and administrative expenses decreased by $2,183,000
to $11,641,000 from $13,824,000 due primarily to lower legal, professional and
board fees as compared to 2011. Fiscal 2011 also included certain one-time fees
related to the chief executive officer search and certain other shareholder
activities. As a percentage of total revenues, general and administrative
expenses improved to 11.9% in fiscal 2012 as compared to 13.5% in 2011.
Così reported that as of December 31, 2012 it had cash and cash equivalents of
$15,417,000 and virtually no debt other than lease obligations.
About Così, Inc.
Così(®) (
www.getcosi.com) is a national fast casual restaurant chain that
has developed featured foods built around a secret, generations-old recipe for
crackly crust flatbread. This artisan bread is freshly baked in front of
customers throughout the day in open-flame stone-hearth ovens prominently
located in each of the restaurants. Così's warm and urbane atmosphere is geared
towards its sophisticated, upscale, urban and suburban guests. There are
currently 74 Company-owned and 50 franchise restaurants operating in sixteen
states, the District of Columbia, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates. The
Così(®) vision is to become America's favorite fast casual restaurant by
providing customers authentic, innovative, savory food while remaining an
affordable luxury.
The Così(®) menu features Così(®) sandwiches, freshly-tossed salads, bowls,
breakfast wraps, melts, soups, Così(®) Squagels(®), flatbread pizzas, S'mores,
snacks and other desserts, and a wide range of coffee and coffee-based drinks
and other specialty beverages. Così(®) restaurants are designed to be welcoming
and comfortable with an eclectic environment. Così's sights, sounds, and spaces
create a tasteful, relaxed ambience that provides a fresh and new dining
experience.
"Così," "(Sun & Moon Design)" and related marks are registered
trademarks of
Così, Inc. in the U.S.A. and certain other countries. Copyright © 2013 Così,
Inc. All rights reserved.
"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF
1995. This press release contains statements that constitute forward- looking
statements under the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are
statements about future events and expectations and not statements of historical
fact. The words "believe," "may," "will,"
"should," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"expect," "intend," "objective," "seek,"
"plan," "strive," or similar words, or
negatives of these words, identify forward- looking statements. We qualify any
forward-looking statements entirely by these cautionary factors. Forward-looking
statements are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of
our future economic performance, taking into account the information currently
available to management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or financial
condition to differ materially from the expectations of future results,
performance or financial condition we express or imply in any forward-looking
statements. Factors that could contribute to these differences include, but are
not limited to: the cost of our principal food products and supply and delivery
shortages and interruptions; labor shortages or increased labor costs; changes
in demographic trends and consumer tastes and preferences, including changes
resulting from concerns over nutritional or safety aspects of beef, poultry,
produce, or other foods or the effects of food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli,
"mad cow disease" and avian influenza or "bird flu"; competition in our
markets,
both in our business and in locating suitable restaurant sites; our operation
and execution in new and existing markets; expansion into new markets including
foreign markets; our ability to attract and retain qualified franchisees and our
franchisees' ability to open restaurants on a timely basis; our ability to
locate suitable restaurant sites in new and existing markets and negotiate
acceptable lease terms; the rate of our internal growth and our ability to
generate increased revenue from our existing restaurants; our ability to
generate positive cash flow from existing and new restaurants; fluctuations in
our quarterly results due to seasonality; increased government regulation and
our ability to secure required government approvals and permits; our ability to
create customer awareness of our restaurants in new markets; the reliability of
our customer and market studies; cost effective and timely planning, design and
build out of restaurants; our ability to recruit, train and retain qualified
corporate and restaurant personnel and management; market saturation due to new
restaurant openings; inadequate protection of our intellectual property; our
ability to obtain additional capital and financing; adverse weather conditions
which impact customer traffic at our restaurants; and adverse economic
conditions. Further information regarding factors that could affect our results
and the statements made herein are included in our filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Additional information is available on Così's website at
www.getcosi.com in the investor relations section.
Financial Statements:
hugin.info/152638/R/1685458/552164.xls
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Così, Inc via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1685458]
