BWLD Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (delisted)

- 2017 Earnings Per Diluted Share Outlook of $5.60 to $6.00 -

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWLD) announced today financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 25, 2016.

Key metrics for the fourth quarter, versus the same period a year ago, were:

• Total revenue increased 0.8% to $494.2 million
• Company-owned restaurant sales increased 0.9% to $470.5 million
• Same-store sales decreased 4.0% at company-owned restaurants and 3.9% at franchised restaurants
• Net earnings decreased 38.2% to $15.6 million from $25.3 million, and earnings per diluted share decreased 34.1% to $0.87 from $1.32

Key metrics for the full year 2016, versus 2015, were:

• Total revenue increased 9.6% to $2.0 billion
• Company-owned restaurant sales increased 10.3% to $1.9 billion
• Same-store sales decreased 2.4% at company-owned restaurants and 2.7% at franchised restaurants
• Net earnings decreased 0.3% to $94.7 million from $95.1 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 3.0% to $5.12 from $4.97

Sally Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The challenging restaurant environment continued in the fourth quarter and culminated with a difficult December. Our key programs to drive traffic at Buffalo Wild Wings, including FastBreak™ Lunch, Half-Price Wing Tuesdays®, and our Blazin' Rewards® loyalty program, have driven positive traffic so far in the first quarter."

Ms. Smith concluded, "Our focus for the year is to gain momentum on sales, improve our cost structure, grow internationally, optimize our domestic restaurant portfolio, and lower our cost of capital. The Buffalo Wild Wings brand remains differentiated, healthy, and strong and with operating income growing throughout the year. In 2017, we anticipate earnings per diluted share in the range of $5.60 to $6.00. We also recently announced an expanded share repurchase program with an accelerated timeline to achieve our target of 1.5x net debt to EBITDA by year-end."

Revenue

• Total revenue increased 0.8% to $494.2 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $490.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. Full year total revenue increased 9.6% to $2.0 billion compared to $1.8 billion last year.
• Company-owned restaurant sales for the fourth quarter increased 0.9% over the same period in 2015, to $470.5 million.
• Franchise royalties and fees decreased 0.4% on lower revenues to $23.7 million for the quarter, versus $23.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
• Average weekly sales for company-owned Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants were $59,120 for the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $61,971 for the same quarter last year, a 4.6% decrease due to same-store sales declines and more smaller-store openings.
• Franchised Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the United States averaged $61,397 for the period versus $64,032 in the fourth quarter a year ago, a 4.1% decrease.

Restaurant-level costs and expenses

• Cost of sales for the fourth quarter was 31.1% of restaurant sales compared to 29.5% in the fourth quarter last year, driven by higher traditional wing costs.
  • Traditional wings were $1.99 per pound in the fourth quarter, $0.18, 9.9%, higher than last year's fourth quarter average of $1.81.
• Cost of labor for the fourth quarter was 31.8% of restaurant sales, 90 basis points higher than fourth quarter last year, resulting from sales deleverage, partially offset by lower Guest Experience Captain hours.
• Restaurant operating expenses as a percentage of restaurant sales were 15.7%, an increase of 30 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2015, primarily driven by higher insurance and repair and maintenance expenses.
• Occupancy costs were 5.9% as a percentage of restaurant sales, 30 basis points higher compared to the same quarter last year.
• Restaurant-level profit was $73.2 million, or 15.6%, of restaurant sales, compared to $86.7 million, or 18.6%, in the fourth quarter last year. Full year restaurant level profit was $333.9 million, or 17.7%, 90 basis points lower than the prior year's $319.0 million or 18.6% due largely to sales deleverage and higher cost of goods and labor.

Other Expenses

• Depreciation and amortization expense for the fourth quarter was $38.3 million, increasing 4.6%, due to new unit openings.
• General and administrative expenses were $29.4 million in the fourth quarter, decreasing 5.9% from the same period last year, due to lower compensation expense.
  • Stock-based compensation was ($2.1) million in the fourth quarter compared to $2.0 million of expense in the prior year period.
• Preopening expenses for the quarter totaled $3.5 million, versus $4.9 million in the fourth quarter last year, due to smaller openings as well as reduced lease expense.
• Loss on asset disposal for the fourth quarter totaled $3.9 million compared to last year of $3.3 million.
• Interest expense was $1.6 million in the fourth quarter, compared to $0.8 million in the prior year period. The increase is a result of higher borrowing on the line of credit.
• Other expense (income) was $(1.3) million for the quarter compared to $73,000 of expense in 2015, due to the recognition of a gain from contingent consideration.
• The effective tax rate during the quarter was 27.9%, compared to 24.7% in the prior year.

Earnings

• Operating income was $21.8 million in the fourth quarter, or 4.4% of total revenue, compared to $34.5 million and 7.0% in the prior year. For the year, operating income was $136.7 million, or 6.9% of total revenue, compared to $138.5 million and 7.6%.
• Net earnings decreased 38.2% to $15.6 million in the fourth quarter, versus $25.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. For the full year, net earnings decreased 0.3% to $94.7 million, versus $95.1 million in 2015.
• Earnings per diluted share were $0.87, compared to fourth quarter 2015 earnings per diluted share of $1.32. Earnings per diluted share increased 3.0% to $5.12 in 2016, compared to $4.97 in 2015, driven by the $232.7 million of share repurchases in fiscal 2016.

Balance Sheet

• Cash totaled $49.3 million at the end of 2016.
• The credit facility had an outstanding balance of $170.0 million as of the end of the year.
• The year ended with over $1.0 billion in total assets and $517.9 million in total equity.

Cash Flow

• Cash flow from operations was $68.7 million for the quarter, a 2.5% decrease over the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, cash flow from operations was $282.6 million, a 19.1% increase over 2015.
• Free cash flow in the fourth quarter was $44.8 million, compared to $22.1 million in the prior year. Free cash flow in 2016 was $140.9 million, compared to $64.7 million in the prior year.
• 827,639 shares were repurchased for a total of $126.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2016. For the year, 1,586,533 shares were repurchased for a total of $232.7 million.

2017 Outlook

The company expects the following approximate new unit development in 2017:

• 15 company-owned Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in the United States
• 15 franchised Buffalo Wild Wings locations in the United States
• 20 franchised Buffalo Wild Wing locations internationally
• 2 company-owned and 12 to 15 franchised R Taco restaurants

The company expects the following in 2017:

• Same-store sales growth of 1% to 2%
• Restaurant-level margin improvement of 10 to 30 basis points
• Traditional chicken wing inflation of 3.5% to 4.5%
• Depreciation and amortization expense of $153 to $157 million
• General and administrative expense of $149 to $153 million, including stock-based compensation of $12 to $13 million
• Operating income growth of 9% to 13% over 2016, including the 53rd week
• Interest and other expense of $15 million
• Achieving leverage of 1.5x net debt to EBITDA by the end of the fiscal year
• Share repurchases of $450 to $500 million
• Earnings per diluted share of $5.60 to $6.00
• Capital expenditures of approximately $100 million
• Free cash flow of $160 to $170 million

Buffalo Wild Wings will be hosting a conference call today, February 7, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time to discuss these results. There will be a simultaneous webcast conducted at our investor website IR.BuffaloWildWings.com.

A replay of the call will be available until February 14, 2017. To access this replay, please dial 1.844.512.2921 password 8999778.

About the Company

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, is a growing owner, operator and franchisor of Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurants featuring a variety of boldly-flavored, made-to-order menu items including its namesake Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. The Buffalo Wild Wings menu specializes in 21 mouth-watering signature sauces and seasonings with flavor sensations ranging from Sweet BBQ™ to Blazin’®. Guests enjoy a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere that includes an extensive multi-media system for watching their favorite sporting events. Buffalo Wild Wings is the recipient of hundreds of "Best Wings" and "Best Sports Bar" awards from across the country. There are currently more than 1,220 Buffalo Wild Wings locations around the world.

To stay up-to-date on all the latest events and offers for sports fans and wing lovers, like Buffalo Wild Wings on Facebook, follow @BWWings on Twitter and visit www.BuffaloWildWings.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations or beliefs and can be identified by the use of terminology such as “anticipate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” and similar words or expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include those relating to our future financial and restaurant performance measures, including but not limited to those relating to sales trends and projected unit and earnings growth, our growth strategy, planned sales efforts, unit development and expansion, costs, share repurchase activity and cash requirements. Actual results may vary materially from those contained in forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to achieve and manage our planned expansion, the ability of our franchisees to open and manage new restaurants, market acceptance in the new geographic regions we enter (particularly non-U.S. locations), success of acquired restaurants, success of investments in new or emerging concepts, unforeseen obstacles in developing nontraditional sites or non-U.S. locations, our ability to obtain and maintain licenses and permits necessary to operate our existing and new restaurants, our franchisees’ adherence to our system standards, the cost of commodities such as traditional chicken wings and supply chain consistency, the success of our key initiatives and our advertising and marketing campaigns, our ability to control restaurant labor and other restaurant operating costs, the continued service of key management personnel, our ability to protect our name and logo and other proprietary information, economic conditions (including changes in consumer preferences or consumer discretionary spending), the impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating to our employees, the sale of food and alcoholic beverages, the effect of competition in the restaurant industry, our capital allocation plans, and other factors disclosed from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors described under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 27, 2015, as updated by subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Investors should take such risks into account when making investment decisions. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

 

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS(Dollar and share amounts in thousands except per share data)(unaudited)

    Three months ended Twelve months ended December 25, 2016   December 27, 2015 December 25, 2016   December 27, 2015 Revenue: Restaurant sales $ 470,474 466,405 1,891,616 1,715,000 Franchise royalties and fees   23,717   23,818   95,177   97,722   Total revenue   494,191   490,223   1,986,793   1,812,722   Costs and expenses: Restaurant operating costs: Cost of sales 146,199 137,414 564,687 507,812 Labor 149,675 144,262 598,992 542,847 Operating 73,847 72,039 285,142 250,755 Occupancy 27,535 26,015 108,859 94,569 Depreciation and amortization 38,293 36,616 152,140 127,503 General and administrative 29,359 31,196 123,109 129,133 Pre-opening 3,539 4,903 8,730 14,154 Loss on asset disposals and impairment   3,945   3,282   8,434   7,462   Total costs and expenses   472,392   455,727   1,850,093   1,674,235   Income from operations 21,799 34,496 136,700 138,487 Interest expense 1,589 839 4,160 1,685 Other expense (income)   (1,268 ) 73   (1,464 ) 661   Earnings before income taxes 21,478 33,584 134,004 136,141 Income tax expense   5,992   8,292   39,791   41,265   Net earnings including noncontrolling interests   15,486   25,292   94,213   94,876   Net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests   (133 ) 21   (532 ) (193 ) Net earnings attributable to Buffalo Wild Wings $ 15,619   25,271   94,745   95,069   Earnings per common share – basic $ 0.87 1.33 5.14 5.00 Earnings per common share – diluted $ 0.87 1.32 5.12 4.97 Weighted average shares outstanding – basic 17,955 19,036 18,445 19,013 Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted 18,014 19,173 18,491 19,131  

The following table expresses results of operations as a percentage of total revenue for the periods presented, except for restaurant operating costs which are expressed as a percentage of restaurant sales:

    Three months ended Twelve months ended

December 25,2016

 

December 27,2015

December 25,2016

 

December 27,2015

Revenue: Restaurant sales 95.2 % 95.1 % 95.2 % 94.6 % Franchise royalties and fees 4.8   4.9   4.8   5.4   Total revenue 100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   Costs and expenses: Restaurant operating costs: Cost of sales 31.1 29.5 29.9 29.6 Labor 31.8 30.9 31.7 31.7 Operating 15.7 15.4 15.1 14.6 Occupancy 5.9 5.6 5.8 5.5 Depreciation and amortization 7.7 7.5 7.7 7.0 General and administrative 5.9 6.4 6.2 7.1 Pre-opening 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.8 Loss on asset disposals and impairment 0.8   0.7   0.4   0.4   Total costs and expenses 95.6   93.0   93.1   92.4   Income from operations 4.4 7.0 6.9 7.6 Interest expense 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 Other expense (income) (0.3 ) 0.0   (0.1 ) 0.0   Earnings before income taxes 4.3 6.9 6.7 7.5 Income tax expense 1.2   1.7   2.0   2.3   Net earnings including noncontrolling interests 3.1   5.2   4.7   5.2   Net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests (0.0 ) 0.0   (0.0 ) (0.0 ) Net earnings attributable to Buffalo Wild Wings 3.2 % 5.2 % 4.8 % 5.2 %      

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESCONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET(Dollar amounts in thousands) (unaudited)

 

December 25,2016

December 27,2015

Assets Current assets: Cash $ 49,266 11,220 Marketable securities — 9,043 Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $251 and $25 34,225 34,087 Inventory 16,532 15,351 Prepaid expenses 9,075 6,386 Refundable income taxes 1,018 21,591 Restricted assets   66,471   100,073   Total current assets 176,587 197,751   Property and equipment, net 592,806 604,712 Reacquired franchise rights, net 118,973 129,282 Other assets 41,625 26,536 Goodwill   117,228   114,101   Total assets $ 1,047,219   1,072,382   Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity Current liabilities: Deferred revenue $ 3,089 2,144 Accounts payable 45,797 44,760 Accrued compensation and benefits 47,304 55,578 Accrued expenses 32,347 21,678 Current portion of long-term debt and capital lease obligations 3,745 2,147 Current portion of deferred lease credits 873 59 System-wide payables   108,814   137,257   Total current liabilities 241,969 263,623 Long-term liabilities: Other liabilities 16,109 16,473 Deferred income taxes 21,588 23,726 Long-term debt and capital lease obligations, net of current portion 205,312 70,954 Deferred lease credits, net of current   44,341   41,869   Total liabilities   529,319   416,645   Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity: Undesignated stock, 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued — — Common stock, no par value. Authorized 44,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 17,462,465 and 18,917,776, respectively 147,234 160,353 Retained earnings 374,683 499,085 Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (3,878 ) (4,094 ) Total stockholders’ equity   518,039   655,344   Noncontrolling interest   (139 ) 393   Total equity   517,900   655,737   Total liabilities and equity $ 1,047,219   1,072,382      

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESCONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS(Dollar amounts in thousands)(unaudited)

  Twelve months ended

December 25,2016

 

December 27,2015

Cash flows from operating activities: Net earnings including noncontrolling interests $ 94,213 94,876 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operations: Depreciation and amortization 152,140 127,503 Loss on asset disposals and impairment 8,434 7,462 Deferred lease credits 4,284 4,052 Deferred income taxes (2,138 ) (281 ) Stock-based compensation 325 13,647 Excess tax benefit from stock issuance (204 ) (5,455 ) Change in fair value of contingent consideration (3,691 ) — Loss on investments in affiliates 2,805 687 Provision for bad debt expense 226 — Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions: Trading securities — (495 ) Accounts receivable 4,358 (4,313 ) Inventory (1,148 ) (2,407 ) Prepaid expenses (2,677 ) (691 ) Other assets (7,778 ) (6,381 ) Deferred revenue 945 100 Accounts payable 4,462 4,445 Income taxes 20,777 (6,356 ) Accrued expenses   7,256   10,867   Net cash provided by operating activities   282,589   237,260   Cash flows from investing activities: Acquisition of property and equipment (141,699 ) (172,548 ) Acquisition of businesses/investments in affiliates (3,862 ) (203,642 ) Purchase of marketable securities (488 ) (12,301 ) Proceeds from sale of marketable securities   1,205   23,300   Net cash used in investing activities   (144,844 ) (365,191 ) Cash flows from financing activities: Proceeds from revolving credit facility 668,377 352,678 Repayments of revolving credit facility (532,907 ) (318,148 ) Proceeds from related party borrowing 6,365 36,179 Repurchases of common stock (232,696 ) (25,000 ) Other financing activities (3,901 ) (3,173 ) Issuance of common stock 4,209 5,355 Excess tax benefit from stock issuance 204 5,455 Tax payments for restricted stock units   (9,317 ) (7,847 ) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities   (99,666 ) 45,499   Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents   (33 ) 323   Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 38,046 (82,109 ) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year   11,220   93,329   Cash and cash equivalents at end of year $ 49,266   11,220    

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESSupplemental Information

 

Restaurant Count

 

Company-owned Restaurants (includes Buffalo Wild Wings, R Taco, and Buffalo Wild Wings-owned PizzaRev locations):

       

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2016 603 609 617 631 2015 501 517 573 596 2014 443 449 463 491 2013 397 407 415 434 2012 327 330 343 381  

Franchised Restaurants (includes Buffalo Wild Wings and R Taco locations):

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

2016 587 596 602 609 2015 593 593 569 579 2014 569 579 588 591 2013 514 525 534 559 2012 505 505 511 510    

Restaurant Count Rollforward:

  Twelve months ended December 25, 2016   December 27, 2015 Corporate   Franchise   Total Corporate   Franchise   Total Buffalo Wild Wings Beginning of period 590 573 1,163 487 584 1,071 Opened 34 36 70 51 50 101 Acquired 1 (1 ) — 54 (54 ) — Closed/Relocated (4 ) (6 ) (10 ) (2 ) (7 ) (9 ) End of period 621 602 1,223 590 573 1,163 R Taco Beginning of period 4 6 10 2 7 9 Opened 5 1 6 1 — 1 Acquired — — — 1 (1 ) — Closed/Relocated (1 ) —   (1 ) —   —   —   End of period 8 7 15 4 6 10 PizzaRev Beginning of period 2 n/a 2 2 n/a 2 Opened — n/a — — n/a — Acquired — n/a — — n/a — Closed/Relocated —   n/a   —   —   n/a   —   End of period 2 n/a 2 2 n/a 2 Consolidated             End of the period 631   609   1,240   596   579   1,175    

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIESSupplemental Information

         

Same-Store Sales at Buffalo Wild Wings locations in United States and Canada

 

Company-owned Restaurants:

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Year

2016 (1.7%) (2.1%) (1.8%) (4.0%) (2.4%) 2015 7.0% 4.2% 3.9% 1.9% 4.2% 2014 6.6% 7.7% 6.0% 5.9% 6.5% 2013 1.4% 3.8% 4.8% 5.2% 3.9% 2012 9.2% 5.3% 6.2% 5.8% 6.6%  

Franchised Restaurants:

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Year

2016 (2.4%) (2.6%) (1.6%) (3.9%) (2.7%) 2015 6.0% 2.5% 1.2% 0.1% 2.5% 2014 5.0% 6.5% 5.7% 5.1% 5.6% 2013 2.2% 4.1% 3.9% 3.1% 3.3% 2012 7.3% 5.5% 5.8% 7.4% 6.5%    

Average Weekly Sales Volumes at Buffalo Wild Wings locations in United States and Canada

 

Company-owned Restaurants:

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Year

2016

$

62,829

59,894 59,690 59,120 60,366 2015 64,851 61,960 61,831 61,971 62,529 2014 60,966 59,403 59,643 62,119 60,470 2013 56,953 54,759 55,592 58,204 56,392 2012 55,131 51,524 52,561 55,595 53,783  

Franchised Restaurants:

 

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Year

2016

$

65,636

62,454 61,497 61,397 62,662 2015 67,075 63,904 62,819 64,032 64,474 2014 63,852 61,845 61,586 63,949 62,595 2013 60,050 58,186 58,926 61,167 59,594 2012 57,282 54,766 55,608 58,490 56,570  

Restaurant-Level Profit and Restaurant-Level Margin

Restaurant-level profit and restaurant-level margin are neither required by, nor presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and are non-GAAP financial measures. Restaurant-level profit is defined restaurant sales less restaurant operating costs (cost of sales, labor, operating, and occupancy expense). Restaurant-level margin is defined as restaurant-level profit as a percentage of restaurant sales. Restaurant-level profit and restaurant-level margin have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be evaluated in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Management believes the restaurant-level profit and restaurant-level margin are important tools for investors because they are widely-used metrics within the restaurant industry to evaluate restaurant-level productivity, efficiency and performance. Management uses restaurant-level profit and restaurant-level margin as key performance indicators to evaluate the profitability of company-owned restaurants.

A reconciliation of restaurant sales to restaurant-level margin is provided below:

        Three months ended Twelve months ended

December 25,2016

December 27,2015

December 25,2016

December 27,2015

Restaurant sales $ 470,474 466,405 1,891,616 1,715,000 Restaurant operating costs   397,256   379,730   1,557,680   1,395,983   Restaurant-level profit   73,218   86,675   333,936   319,017   Restaurant-level margin 15.6 % 18.6 % 17.7 % 18.6 %  

EBITDA

EBITDA is not required by, nor presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and is a non-GAAP financial measure. The Company defines EBITDA as net earnings including non-controlling interests plus interest expense, income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization. EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be evaluated in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Management believes investors' understanding of our performance is enhanced by including this non-GAAP financial measure as a reasonable basis for evaluating our ongoing results of operations, without the effects of interest, taxes, and depreciation and amortization.

A reconciliation of net earnings including noncontrolling interests to EBITDA is provided below:

        Three months ended Twelve months ended

December 25,2016

December 27,2015

December 25,2016

December 27,2015

Net earnings including noncontrolling interests $ 15,486 25,292 94,213 94,876 Income tax expense 5,992 8,292 39,791 41,265 Interest expense 1,589 839 4,160 1,685 Depreciation and amortization   38,293   36,616   152,140   127,503   EBITDA $ 61,360   71,039   290,304   265,329    

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Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc.Investor Relations Contact:Heather Pribyl, 952-540-2095