Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. on Tuesday outlined a new strategic roadmap that includes driving average unit volumes to $2 million, increasing domestic franchisee profitability and nearly doubling its global unit count.
The plan was revealed as the Atlanta-based chain reported global same-store sales growth of 5.9 percent for the fiscal year ended Dec. 27. Domestic same-store sales increased 5.7 percent, while international same-store sales rose 7 percent for the year.
Net income for the year was $44.1 million, or $1.91 per share, compared with $38 million, or $1.60 per share, the prior year. Revenues were $259 million, rising nearly 10 percent.
The chain also surpassed 2,500 units after opening a record 219 new restaurants in 2015. Popeyes estimates its market share of the domestic quick-service chicken space reached 25.5 percent in 2015, an increase from 23.2 percent in 2014.
For the fourth quarter, net income was $9.6 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with $8.8 million, or 37 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenues for the quarter were $59 million on global same-store sales that increased 2.8 percent, including a 2-percent increase for domestic units and an 8.5 percent increase for international locations.
“We are pleased to report another year of strong performance and continued growth in the Popeyes system,” said Cheryl Bachelder, Popeyes CEO. “Our powerful brand and collaborative relationship with Popeyes franchise owners continues to drive industry-leading performance. Having established a pattern of delivering superior results, it is now time to introduce new bold goals for the Popeyes’ brand and a new, next-generation strategic roadmap created to deliver sustained superior results.”
The new goals focus on the next seven to 10 years, including the growth in average unit volume from the current $1.4 million to $2 million.
The company aims for domestic franchise profitability to grow from $340,000 to $500,000 per restaurant, representing profit margins of 25 percent. And it plans for the global restaurant count to increase from 2,500 to 4,000.
The company said those results will be driven by a continued focus on the brand’s Louisiana heritage, passionate teams and operational excellence.
Plans include a $2 million investment in 2016 on initiatives such as sending additional field operations teams to restaurants more often to coach for continuous improvement, as well as hiring a chief information officer and consultants to develop a new go-forward technology platform.
More detail is expected on Wednesday when company officials host a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
For fiscal 2016, Popeyes expects same-store sales to increase between 2 percent to 3 percent, and to open 200 to 235 new restaurants, including 85 to 100 units internationally.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
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