CONTACT: |
Richard
Bagge
Interim Chief Financial Officer |
(857-415-5020)
InvestorRelations@getcosi.com
Così, Inc. Reports
2014 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results
Boston, MA - March 26, 2015 -
Così, Inc. (NASDAQ: COSI), the fast casual restaurant company,
today reported a net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 29,
2014 of $(4,537,000), or $(0.18) per basic and diluted common
share, compared with a net loss of $(4,113,000), or $(0.23) per
basic and diluted common share in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Così's total revenues for the 2014
fourth quarter decreased 2.2% to $19,503,000 from $19,946,000 in
the 2013 fourth quarter.
System-wide comparable restaurant
sales for the fourth quarter as measured for restaurants in
operation for more than 15 months recorded an aggregate 3.9%
increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The
breakdown in comparable sales between Company-owned and
franchise-operated restaurants are as follows:
For the 13 weeks
ended
December 29, 2014
Company-owned
4.2%
Franchise-operated
3.5%
Total
System
3.9%
For the fiscal year ended December
29, 2014 the net loss was $(16,625,000) or $(0.82) per basic and
diluted common share, compared to fiscal 2013, when the net loss
was $(11,444,000), or $(0.64) per basic and diluted common
share.
Così's total revenues for fiscal
2014 decreased 9.9% to $77,758,000 from $86,327,000 in fiscal 2013.
Company-owned net restaurant sales declined 10.1% in fiscal 2014 to
$74,905,000, compared to $83,338,000 in fiscal 2013.
System-wide comparable restaurant
sales for fiscal 2014 as measured for restaurants in operation for
more than 15 months recorded an aggregate 3.5% decline when
compared to fiscal 2013. The breakdown in comparable sales
between Company-owned and franchise-operated restaurants are as
follows:
For the 52 weeks ended
December 29, 2014
Company-owned
(4.7%)
Franchise-operated
(1.7%)
Total
System
(3.5%)
"We are fortunate to benefit from a
combination of a positive business environment for fast casual
along with strong consumer reaction to the work we are doing"
stated RJ Dourney, Cosi, Inc's President and CEO. Dourney
went on to say "I am pleased with the fourth quarter 2014 results
and remain confident in our plan for 2015 and beyond".
.
2014 Fourth Quarter Financial Performance
Review
Company-owned restaurant net sales decreased by 3.3% in the fourth
quarter to $18,596,000, compared to $19,226,000 in the previous
year's quarter due to a sales decline of $1,910,000 from
restaurants closed subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2013 which
was offset by a 4.2% increase in comparable restaurant net
sales. Additionally, roughly $637,000 of sales came from 1
new location and 3 locations transferred from Franchisees.
Fiscal 2014
Financial Performance Review
Restaurant net sales decreased by approximately $8.4 million, or
10.1%, during fiscal 2014, as compared to fiscal 2013, due to a
$7.9 million decrease in net sales related to closing 10
Company-owned restaurants during fiscal 2014 and approximately $3.5
million, or 4.7%, decrease in net sales in our comparable
restaurant base, partially offset by $3.0 million in sales from the
conversion of 3 franchised restaurants to Company owned and 1 new
restaurant opening. The decrease in comparable net sales was
comprised of 5.1% decrease in traffic, partially offset by 0.4%
increase in average check.
Così reported that as of December
29, 2014 it had cash balances of $21,560,000
As previously announced, the
Company expects to host an investor teleconference webcast at 5:00
p.m. Eastern Time on March 26, 2015 to discuss the Company's
results for the fourth quarter 2014. The webcast will be
broadcast live and available for replay for a limited time
thereafter at:
Audio
Dial-In Number: 877 474 9503
Secondary Dial-In Number: 857 244 7556
Participant Code: 77005019
Note: Participants should dial in a few minutes prior to
the start time
Webcast
Website link: http://investors.getcosi.com
Note: Live, then archived for one year
Replay
Dial-In Number: 888-286-8010
Secondary Dial-In Number: 617-801-6888
Participant Code: 51951306
Note: Available from March 26, 2015 (at 9:00 PM ET)
until April 2, 2015 (at 11:59 PM ET)
.
About Così, Inc.
Così®
(http://www.getcosi.com) is an upscale national fast casual
restaurant company. At the heart of every restaurant is
a hearth where the Così® signature
flatbread is made from scratch throughout the day. The
flatbread is made from a generations-old recipe and is part of many
Così®
favorites. Così® was founded
on the idea that good for you food should be
delicious. Menu items are made using fresh ingredients
and distinctive sauces and spreads to create edgy
flavors. The menu features made-to-order sandwiches,
tossed salads, bowls, breakfast wraps, melts, all natural soups,
signature Squagels®, artisan
flatbread pizzas, S`mores, snacks and desserts. Guests
can also enjoy handcrafted beverages and a variety of coffee-based
and specialty beverages.
Così® employees
create a welcoming environment where guests are invited to relax
and enjoy great food. In many cases, Così®
is the cornerstone of the communities that they are in and take
pride in supporting community organizations and local charities.
There are currently 63 Company-owned and 49 franchise restaurants
operating in sixteen states, the District of Columbia, Costa Rica
and the United Arab Emirates.
"COSÌ," and related marks are
registered trademarks of Così, Inc. in the U.S.A. and certain other
countries. Copyright © 2015 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
http://www.getcosi.com in the investor relations section.
This
announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Così, Inc via Globenewswire
HUG#1906311