Ark Restaurants has reported a significant loss for the fourth quarter, primarily due to higher-than-expected expenses resulting from ongoing litigation associated with its Bryant Park operations.
Ark Restaurants owns and operates 16 restaurants and bars, 12 fast food concepts and catering operations in New York, Florida, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, Nevada and Alabama.
The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were negative $1 million for the quarter ended September 27, down from positive $503,000 in the prior year.
Management said the drop was due in large part to the expense of ongoing litigation involving the Bryant Park operations, which exceeded $400,000 in the quarter.
The company has been seeking to renew its leases for the Bryant Park Grill & Café and The Porch at Bryant Park locations, after its agreements with the landlord expired earlier this year.
Total revenue for the quarter fell 14 per cent to $37 million, partly due to the exclusion of sales from El Rio Grande and the Tampa Food Court after they were closed in January and last December, respectively. After removing this from calculations, same-restaurant sales slid 10 per cent.
Management noted that the DC market has been challenging over the period. The rest of our portfolio performed well, especially the operations at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Attributable net loss during the period narrowed from $4.4 million to $1.9 million.
For the full year, Ark Restaurants saw revenue decrease 9.7 per cent to $165.7 million, with same-store sales down 4.2 per cent. EBITDA fell from $6.1 million to $1.4 million.
