SPARTANBURG S.C. Denny's Corp., operator or franchisor of 1,545 namesake family-dining restaurants, swung to a profit of $2.3 million, or 2 cents per share, from a net loss a year earlier, on reduced operating costs and a 0.4-percent uptick in revenues to $244.4 million.
Same-store sales for the quarter ended Dec. 27 increased 1.6 percent at corporate units and 2.3 percent at franchised units. During the quarter, Denny's closed 16 underperforming units.
In 2006, Denny's divested 86 real estate assets for gains of $56.8 million, which was used to help reduce corporate debt by more than $100 million, or by 18 percent, Denny's said.
For the full year, Denny's earned $30.3 million, or 31 cents per share, versus a net loss of $7.3 million, or 8 cents per share, in fiscal 2005. Revenues rose 1.6 percent to $994 million. Same-store sales increased 2.5 percent at corporate units and 3.6 percent at franchised restaurants.