Good Times Restaurants Q1 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

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January 31, 2024

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Good Times Restaurants Inc. Fiscal 20 24 First Quarter Earnings Call. By now, everyone should have access to the company's earnings release, which is available in the Investors section of the company's website. As a reminder, a part of today's discussion will be I'm sorry, will include forward looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws.

Operator

These forward looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, you should not put undue reliance on them. These statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from results expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the market price of the company's stock prevailing from time to time the nature of other investment opportunities presented to the company the disruption to our business from pandemics and other public health emergencies the impact and duration of staffing constraints at our restaurants The impact of supply chain constraints and inflation the uncertain nature of current restaurant development plans and the ability to implement those plans and integrate new restaurants delays in developing and opening new restaurants because of weather, local permitting or other reasons increased competition cost increases or shortages in raw food products other general economic and operating conditions risks associated with our share repurchase program, risk associated with the acquisition of additional restaurants, the adequacy of cash flows and the cost and availability of capital or credit facility borrowings to provide liquidity, changes in federal, state or local laws and regulations affecting the operation of our restaurants, including minimum wage and tip credit regulations and other matters discussed under the Risk Factors section of Good Times' Annual Report on Form 10 ks for the fiscal year ended September 26, 2023, filed with the SEC and other filings with the SEC.

Operator

During today's call, the company will discuss non GAAP measures, which they believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP and reconciliation to comparable GAAP measures available in our earnings release. And now, I would like to turn the call over to Ryan. Please go ahead, sir.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Christina, and thank you all for joining us on the call today. As mentioned, everyone should now have access to our Q1 earnings release. Joining me today is our recently appointed Senior Vice President of Finance and Accounting, Keri August. In a few minutes, she will review the quarter's results. We engaged Carrie in a consulting arrangement last August, and she immediately impressed me with her ability to quickly understand the company's structure, identify opportunities within Finance and Accounting and quickly build relationships with her now peers as part of our senior leadership team.

Speaker 1

I couldn't be more pleased to have her join our team. Top line results this quarter were much the same as we reported last quarter with Good Times Continuing to generate year over year sales growth and strong unit level margins, while at Bad Daddy's, we continue to work at turning around same store sales declines. Our results in December were encouraging. And even in the 1st week of Q2, we saw exceptional sales results at several stores, which posted single store weekly sales records. January sales have softened in part due to extreme cold and snow in both our Colorado market, has experience with winter weather, but also in Tennessee and Alabama, where the city and county are not equipped to deal with the snow and ice on the roads.

Speaker 1

And interestingly in Huntsville, even the airport closed due to excess snow on the runways. In Colorado, the Stream cold contributed to softer sales at both brands with Denver staying below the 0 degree mark for nearly 3 full days. Nevertheless, Bad Daddy's performance versus the Black Box Index has improved significantly from November. And not only has the gap narrowed, but we have beat the USA Comp Sales Index now the past 2 weeks in a row. In particular, our dinner daypart has recovered nicely with sales now nearly achieving prior year sales on a same store basis.

Speaker 1

We attribute this to the extra hour of operations and focus on last hour sales, delivering the same in the last half hour of dining as in any other hour of the day. On January 17, We launched concept wide daily drink specials along with the Last Call Happy Hour, where we have discounted apps during the last two hours of each business day. Additionally, our winter seasonal specials began on that same day. Our seasonal specials are a key way in which we demonstrate the unique culinary capabilities of Bad Daddy's and that extends to our beverage offerings now as well. We're bringing chili back to the menu for the winter season, which has been a long requested burger topping that we eliminated during the pandemic, and it is featured on our Cowboy Crunch Burger and individually as a side.

Speaker 1

Bad Daddy's Bacon Hummus and a Cherry Chocolate shake round out the food offerings With tequila and rum based mule interpretations called the Moho Mule and the Silver Blood and Ginger, those getting rounded out with the cranberry and pear Pretty in Pink mocktail that is an excellent fit for the season. Our next iteration of culinary innovation will create mass at both the high end and low end of price points for our burgers, providing options for those seeking value and for those who are less price sensitive and are looking for insanely large burgers that Bad Daddy's has become known for. We took a blended menu price increase of approximately 1.1% in January and are currently sitting on about 5% year over year menu price in Colorado and 3% year over year in the rest of the country, with our January price increase being limited to the Colorado and Atlanta markets. Colorado continues to be the highest cost market in which we operate, driven by statutory and market based wage pressures, with our Atlanta market falling in between Colorado and the rest of the system in terms of wage pressure. Our Madison restaurant, Huntsville weather notwithstanding continues to perform remarkably well as we discussed in the press release a couple of weeks ago.

Speaker 1

We have a highly capable, very dedicated team in that restaurant and our Madison restaurant was one of the very few restaurants in Huntsville that did not close during the extreme weather. We're working on a development pipeline and are looking at opportunities both in Birmingham and Charlotte. We're currently negotiating 2 leases and have several other LOIs that are under negotiation. At Good Times, We are focused on customer adoption of our loyalty platform GT Rewards. We continue to believe that digital engagement with our customers at Good Times is critical continuing our sales momentum.

Speaker 1

By reducing friction at all points in the transaction, we can improve speed, accuracy and ultimately customer satisfaction. We've installed digital boards at the walk up windows at our company owned restaurants, eliminating all print merchandising across the company owned system. We have yet to realize the full capability of the digital boards, which will enable daypart merchandising strategies, weather enabled pricing and product decisions and other opportunities to adjust pricing, promotion and general merchandising in near real time. 6 franchise restaurants still do not have digital walk up boards, 2 of which are co branded with Taco John's. Of those, we have commitments to install digital walk up boards at 3 franchise restaurants and the commitment of the last Colorado franchisee with a legacy drive through board to convert to digital this year.

Speaker 1

We've remodeled 3 of our Good Times Restaurants, including murals by local artists, new awnings and new signage. We expect to complete one more remodel this year, a more extensive one in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. This is one of 3 good times that has never had a prior remodel and has an older kitchen layout that is less efficient. We expect this remodel to include the closure of the restaurant for 3 to 4 weeks. We purchased just over 160,000 shares during the quarter at an average price of $2.70 per share.

Speaker 1

We believe that the share repurchase program, particularly at current trading prices for our stock, generates a good return for shareholders. Good Times continues to generate reliable cash flow, and we have confidence in our turnaround strategy for Bad Daddy's. Our stock is currently trading below book value per share and a low multiple of cash flow, and we believe that the true value of the business is greater than what the market is currently valuing it. At the end of the quarter, we had approximately $1,300,000 remaining under the as authorized under the current repurchase program. I will now turn the call over to Carrie to review our performance for the quarter.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Ryan, and thanks for your kind words earlier. I'm happy to be here today and happy to be part of the team. I'll now review this quarter's results. Total revenues decreased approximately 0.8 percent for the quarter to 33,100,000 Total restaurant sales for Bad Daddy's Restaurants decreased $1,100,000 to $24,100,000 for the quarter. The sales decline was a combination of reduced sales associated with the closure of the Cherry Creek restaurant in prior year, reduced customer traffic in several key markets, partially offset by an approximate 4.2 percent menu price increase, as well as sales from the Madison, Alabama restaurant, which opened during Q4 of 2023.

Speaker 2

Same store sales declined 6.2% for the quarter, with 39 Bad Daddy's in the comp base at quarter end. Cost of sales at Bad Daddy's were 31.5 percent for the quarter, a 20 basis point decrease from last year's quarter, with benefits from costs versus the prior year period across our basket. Though we have experienced lower purchase prices for food and paper goods recently, We expect ground beef and other food based commodities to increase in the second half of fiscal twenty twenty four. Bad Daddy's labor costs increased by 100 basis points compared to the prior year quarter to 35.8 percent for the quarter. This increase as a percentage of sales reflects higher wage rates and the deleveraging impact of lower sales on management costs.

Speaker 2

Occupancy costs at Bad Daddy's increased 20 basis points to 7.1%. Bad Daddy's other operating costs increased by 80 basis points compared to the prior year quarter to 14.8% for the quarter, primarily the result of increased repair and maintenance, Technology and utility expenses, offset by lower delivery commissions. Overall, restaurant level operating profit, a non GAAP measure, for Bad Daddy's was approximately $2,600,000 for the quarter, or 10.7 percent of sales, compared to $3,200,000 or 12.7 percent last year. Total restaurant sales for company owned Good Times Restaurants increased approximately 800,000 to $8,800,000 for the Q1 compared to the prior year Q1. The average menu price increase for the quarter was 4.6% over the same prior year quarter.

Speaker 2

Same store sales increased 4.1% for the quarter, with 25 Good Times Restaurants in the comp base at quarter end. Food and packaging costs for Good Times were 30.8% for the quarter, a decrease of 2 10 basis points compared to last year's quarter, as we experienced lower purchase prices in our commodity basket compared to the prior year period. As is the case with Bad Daddy's, the longer term forecast indicates resumed pressure on beef and other food prices from current levels. Total labor costs for Good Times decreased 33.8%, a 110 basis point decrease from the 34.9% we ran during last year's quarter, due to the 4.6% menu price increase, as well as increased productivity, partially offset by higher wage rates. Occupancy costs at Good Times were 8.9%, a decrease of 20 basis points from the prior year quarter.

Speaker 2

Good Times' other operating costs were 13.0 percent for the quarter, an increase of 90 basis points, primarily due to increased delivery commissions, as well as increased repair and maintenance and utility expenses. Good Times restaurant level operating profit increased by $300,000 for the quarter to 1,200,000 As a percent of sales, restaurant level operating profit increased by 2 40 basis points versus last year to 13.5%, due primarily to the improvement in food and packaging costs. Combined general and administrative expenses were $2,300,000 during the quarter, or 7% of total revenues, a 10 basis point decrease from last year. Our net loss to common shareholders for the quarter was 600,000 or loss of $0.05 per share versus net loss of $100,000 or $0.01 per share in the Q1 last year. Approximately $100,000 of income tax expense was reported during the quarter.

Speaker 2

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $300,000 compared to $700,000 for the Q1 of 2023. We finished the quarter with $3,500,000 in cash and $1,300,000 of long term debt. With that, I will turn the call back to Ryan.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Carrie. Christina, we can now open the call for questions.

Operator

Thank you. Thank you. Our first question comes from Sanjay Raghida, who is a personal investor. Please go ahead, sir.

Speaker 3

Hi, Ryan. So I wanted to talk about I think you touched on the cash flow aspect of it. So I think fiscal year 2023 operating cash flow was about $8,000,000 Is that Kind of the projection for this year, how is it looking for this year?

Speaker 1

Yes. So I think in terms Of adjusted EBITDA, last year was a little bit less than that. I'm going from the top of my head to say that full year was on the order of between $5,000,000 $6,000,000 I think for this year, obviously, we have started off the year Behind last year's cash flow and adjusted EBITDA, I do expect for improvement in future quarters from what we're from what we'd produced this quarter. And so I think my best projection for that, although we're not offering any official guidance, is really that on the same order of last year is probably reasonable to expect for this year.

Speaker 4

Okay.

Speaker 3

And for Bad Daddy's, are you still Expecting same store sales increase in the second half of the fiscal year?

Speaker 1

So I think on the last call that we had, I had said that I wasn't making any official projections, but that I had hoped that by the second half of the year, that that might be possible. I think one of the things that we've noticed in the Black Box numbers, which is A benchmarking service that's specific to the restaurant industry and also if you're familiar with Knapp Track is that there's been some deterioration in the Casual Dining segment. And so that's somewhat affected my point of view around that. However, I do think that our performance relative to Black Box, As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, has improved and I do attribute A substantial amount of that improvement compared to the index to the initiatives that we talked about earlier on this call and some on our last call. And so while I'm not Prepared to prognosticate that we're going to get back to positive comps by the back half of the year.

Speaker 1

I think directionally, we see comp sales improving from where we reported them at for this quarter.

Speaker 3

Okay. And I mean, so bad that is, do you feel like operationally You've been able to identify where things slipped a bit and are all of those you feel being addressed now?

Speaker 1

So during the call last quarter, we did address several things specifically related to hospitality And our focus on the bar aspect of the business that we had felt had slipped a bit. I would say in terms of both of those, we have programs in place To improve those going forward, I think we have already made progress, specifically with the bar And the return of happy hour or daily drink specials, I think was one big aspect that we had been missing for quite some time. We have new bar training, as well as a new beverage menu that is very soon to be released. That's another element of what we're doing to improve the operations, in particular, in the front of the house. And then we have, as mentioned on the prior call, invested in training, learning and development resources, in terms of people that We believe are going to help our operating teams improve in their assessment of their front of house, but also in their training and development and their servers, their hosts and their bartenders.

Speaker 1

And so this is a bit of a process and not the flip of a light switch. But I think we have the right programs in place to continue to make advancements. And I believe that we already have, in terms of a mindset shift, really changed the point of view of our operators in terms of where performance has been at and where it needs to be.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of David Schwartz from Morningstar. Your line is open.

Speaker 4

Yes. Thanks for taking my question. So looking at the restaurant level operating margins that you just reported, And given that expenses are higher than they have been in past years, is there any reason why you cannot reach historical restaurant level operating margins and what would be the same store sales numbers that you would need to report to reach the historical higher levels?

Speaker 1

Yes. I think there are a couple of elements To that, one is the labor pressures, particularly in Colorado. Although To a certain extent, we have also seen wage pressure, particularly among salaried managers in our other markets. And so I think depending upon what you're referring to, if you're referring to, say, the peak in 2021, I don't know that the peak margins that we attained in 2021 are realizable. I think that was a moment in time.

Speaker 1

But I would say that our vision is to improve restaurant level operating profit, restaurant level margins Closer to 15%, particularly in the Southeast part of the country where wage pressures are less And maybe a little less so, so blended in the 13% to 14% range. That is going to take same store sales On the order of 3.5% to 4%. I think the other element of this, which applies to same store sales as well is that as we discussed in prior calls, we have a handful of stores that have had sequential declines in same store sales and turning those around or identifying other solutions for those restaurants, it would be part of our approach to improving restaurant level margins.

Speaker 4

Yes, thank you. That's helpful. And looking at the development plan, Are you holding off on opening more Bad Daddy's until the results improve or what's the current outlook for new stores over the next couple of years?

Speaker 1

Yes. So we are developing a pipeline, I think less concerning maybe than current operating results, which we believe we can improve upon is really the cost of development and the cost of construction, which we have less control over outside of reengineering aspects of the concept. We are confident in our ability to develop new units. We do want to take that reasonably slow both for operating and financial reasons. And so as of last quarter, I think we had said we expected to develop 1 in fiscal 2025, And I think that's still our point of view.

Speaker 1

That said, we're taking a very measured approach and making sure that the economics, including the development costs makes sense.

Speaker 4

Yes. Thank you. And maybe I missed this, but what were The stock buybacks in the quarter, were there stock buybacks?

Speaker 1

There were. So we repurchased me go back to that page in my prepared remarks. We repurchased 160,772 shares during the quarter.

Speaker 4

All right. Thanks a lot. That's all I had.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Mark Schuler, who is a personal investor. Your line is open.

Speaker 5

Hi, Ryan. Welcome, Perry. Thanks for taking my questions. So over the last year, you've made significant investments to include the joint venture purchase, The stock repurchase, which you just discussed, the purchases of 2 Good Times and then you've also made some rather significant investments in Good Times. And earlier you mentioned that somewhere around that $6,000,000 in cash flow is kind of a target that you'd probably be looking at Running going forward, what in 2024 here are we looking at as far as From a perspective of the kind of the big ticket items, where you're at from a CapEx standpoint on these Good Times redevelopment related activities?

Speaker 5

Any color you can put to that?

Speaker 1

Yes. I would say that in terms Of just maintenance CapEx. So we'll break down the CapEx in a couple of different ways. In terms of maintenance CapEx, we generally budget about 1% of sales for ongoing routine maintenance CapEx. We have had a significant amount of More project CapEx and we have completed signage at, I want to say, 7 of our restaurants.

Speaker 1

We've done full remodels of 3

Speaker 3

of those.

Speaker 1

So, just a little over, say 12% of the system, those remodels are on the order of 80,000 to 100,000 with signage being on top of that. 3 of our restaurants need more extensive remodels similar to the one I described in my prepared remarks today. And we are looking to schedule those in over time, over the next over fiscal 2025 And maybe fiscal 2026, I think my hope would be to be able to get the entire system remodeled by the end of fiscal 2025, but cash flow And other opportunities for capital use will really determine that. So did that answer your question?

Speaker 5

It did. Thank you very much. And then along those lines too, you talked about the stock price and the value and the Below book value state of where the stock is right now, have you discussed in the past, and I'm sure at some point you have, with Bad Daddy's being the growth vehicle and being a more recognized brand operating in more states, have you ever considered a name change, a stock symbol like Bady, b a d y or something along those lines, something that would draw additional kind of interest or perhaps better reflect where The company is going forward with good times, doing great things in Colorado right now, but being kind of a limited vehicle going forward.

Speaker 1

Yes. So we actually had in the past, and we had considered A rename of the company and a change of the ticker symbol just as you described, that was Pre pandemic, the pandemic came and things somewhat changed. I think it's an interesting question Because you are right in terms of our point of view that Bad Daddy's is the growth vehicle. Nevertheless, Good Times is performing remarkably well. And so I think it's an ongoing topic of conversation, but I think not something that we think is really In and of itself, it's going to drive the business results.

Speaker 1

It's really more around optics around the investment community. And so that's a It's something that we continue to bat around, but haven't taken any action on. And I can't say that we have any specific plans to do something like that in the near future.

Speaker 3

Okay. Thanks, guys.

Speaker 1

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. And with no further questions, I'd like to turn the floor back over to Ryan.

Speaker 1

I'm encouraged by recent performance at Bad Daddy's and believe that the investments at Good Times we've been making are a large part of the strong performance that brand is generating. I would again like to thank the more than 2,500 team members, managers and leaders throughout our organization to create great experiences and great food for our guests every day. Thank you all for joining our call today.

Operator

Thank you. Once again, this does conclude today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

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