DEERFIELD Ill. Cosi Inc., operator or franchisor of 141 namesake fast-casual locations, posted a larger net loss in its latest fourth quarter, when compared with a year earlier, as increased operating costs and impairment charges offset the company’s 7.9-percent jump in quarterly revenues.
For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Cosi’s net loss totaled $6.2 million, or 16 cents per share, versus the year-earlier loss of $4.8 million, or 12 cents per share. The company recorded in its latest quarter about $2.7 million in asset impairment charges, according to its Monday report. Higher occupancy and commodity costs also ate into the company’s bottom line. Costs at corporate restaurants, as a percentage of sales, rose 1.9 percentage points from a year earlier, it said.
Revenues for the latest quarter totaled $33.1 million, up from $30.7 million a year earlier. Systemwide same-store sales increased 2.1 percent.
For the full year, Cosi posted a net loss of $20.8 million, or 53 cents per share, which included $4.4 million in losses from impairment charges, closed-stores costs and lease terminations. A year earlier, Cosi recorded a net loss of $12.3 million, or 32 cents per share, which included a net benefit of $465,100 from a gain on a lease termination reversal and other one-time items.
Fiscal 2007 revenues totaled $134.6 million, up 8.8 percent from fiscal 2006 revenues of $123.7 million.
