Frisch’s Restaurants Inc. saw net earnings rise 12.2 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, due to marked improvement in the profitability of its Golden Corral segment and a lower effective tax rate, the company reported Tuesday.
The Cincinnati-based operator or franchisor of 120 Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants and operator of 29 Golden Corral locations reported net income of $2.8 million for the 12 weeks ended Dec. 13, 2011, compared with $2.5 million in the prior year second quarter. Net earnings per share increased 14.3 percent to 56 cents per share, compared with 49 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenue, however, was essentially flat compared with a year earlier, rising to $70.74 million from $70.65 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. That difference largely reflected the closure of six underperforming Golden Corral units on Aug. 23, 2011. Excluding those shuttered units, revenue would have grown 4 percent in the second quarter.
Same-store sales rose 0.4 percent at Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants during the quarter, while Golden Corral’s same-store sales increased 7.8 percent. That division’s profitability jumped 39.1 percent compared with a year earlier, resulting from stronger same-store sales and the closure of the six unprofitable units.
“Although the restaurant industry continues to suffer from declining customer counts and overcapacity driven by the soft economy, the strength of our company’s brands allowed us to deliver solid results in the quarter,” said Craig F. Maier, president and chief executive of Frisch’s. “Our Golden Corral restaurants posted a strong same-store sales increase during the quarter as the national marketing campaigns of Golden Corral drove revenue gains, along with the migration of some customers from our six closed restaurants to nearby locations.”
Frisch’s opened one new Big Boy Restaurant in the first quarter and another in the second quarter.
All the company’s Big Boy units are located in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, while its Golden Corral units are located in Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Contact Mark Brandau at mark.brandau@penton.com.
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