Fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s has booked lower profit for the third quarter amid a slower pace of sales growth.
The company’s systemwide sales were up 1.8 per cent year on year, compared to the 2.6 per cent in the second quarter. This also came off the back of a 4.8 per cent increase in the year-ago period.
By segment, US sales edged up 0.9 per cent, while international sales rose 7.7 per cent.
On a same-restaurant comparable basis, third-quarter sales were up only 0.2 per cent, with a 0.2 per cent increase in the US and 0.7 per cent bump in international markets.
“Wendy’s restaurants continued to deliver sales growth during the third quarter, maintaining overall traffic and dollar share in the QSR burger category,” said president and CEO Kirk Tanner.
“We continued to strengthen the relationship with our customers through our digital and loyalty platforms while driving growth for the breakfast and late-night dayparts.”
On the bottom line, operating profit was down 6.8 per to $94.7 million, primarily due to increased investment in breakfast advertising, higher expenses, and higher depreciation. Net income also decreased 13.4 per cent to $50.2 million and adjusted EBITDA fell 2.9 per cent to $135.2 million.
For the full year, the company expects global systemwide sales growth of approximately 3 per cent and adjusted EBITDA of $535 to $545 million.
The chain is planning to close 140 underperforming stores by the end of this year to strengthen its profit forecasts, the US Sun reported, citing Tanner during an earnings call on Thursday.
