Panera Bread Co.’s net income fell 8.3 percent for the Sept. 30-ended third quarter, with higher costs offsetting same-store sales growth, the company reported Tuesday.
The St. Louis-based bakery-café operator cited higher-than-anticipated food costs and expenses for several initiatives, including enhancements to operations, delivery hubs and technological capabilities. The company said total costs and expenses rose 11 percent.
In the latest quarter, same-store sales at company-owned locations rose 2.1 percent, with transactions increasing 1.4 percent. During the first 27 days of the current quarter, same-store sales at company-owned locations grew 3.3 percent.
“The fact that we had 1.4-percent transaction growth in Q3, the highest since Q1 2012, speaks to the progress we have made in bending the arc on transaction growth in our core cafe business,” Ron Shaich, Panera Bread’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Our initiatives to improve our core operations and thus increase throughput, along with food innovation and marketing innovation, are clearly having an impact.”
As of Sept. 30, Panera had 1,845 bakery-cafés in 45 states and Ontario, Canada, operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. and Paradise Bakery & Café names.
3Q NET INCOME
Result: $39.2 million, $1.46 per share% Decrease: 8.3% (from $42.8 million, or $1.48 per share)
3Q REVENUE
Result: $619.9 million% Increase: 8.3% (from $572.5 million)
3Q SAME-STORE SALES
% Increase systemwide: 1.4%
% Increase corporate units: 2.1%
% Increase franchised units: 0.7%
Source: Company report
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