OAKVILLE Ontario Tim Hortons Inc., parent company to the mostly franchised 3,047-unit namesake chain, posted a more than four-fold increase in fourth-quarter net income from a year earlier when its profit was hurt by impairment charges and additional expenses related to the company’s spin off from Wendy’s International Inc.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Tim Hortons earned $67.9 million Canadian, or US $58.3 million, versus profit of $16.4 million Canadian, or US $14.1 million, a year earlier. Per-share earnings totaled 35 Canadian cents per share, versus 10 Canadian cents per share a year ago. Revenues increased 15.5 percent to $466.5 million Canadian, or US $400.3 million. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 included an asset write down of $53.1 million Canadian, or US $45.6 million, related to the 2004 Tim Hortons acquisition of Bess Eaton outlets in New England.
In addition, in the company’s latest quarter, general and administrative expenses were reduced by 25.9 percent because of year-earlier costs related to the company’s initial public offering and its full spin off from Wendy’s. Fourth-quarter same-store sales rose 9.3 percent at outlets in Canada and 8.3 percent at U.S.-based locations, the company reported.