DALLAS Dave & Buster’s Inc., parent to 52 dining and entertainment locations, said fourth-quarter income was cut by more than half, as sales, especially for corporate special events, deteriorated late last year.
For the quarter ended Feb. 1, the company earned $1.4 million, versus $4.0 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Latest-quarter revenues fell 7.2 percent to $134.9 million, which reflected a same-store sales drop of 10.2 percent.
Special events during the year-end holiday months typically are a boon to Dave & Buster’s sales, but not this year, the company said.
“As the macroeconomic environment deteriorated during the fourth quarter, our corporate special events business suffered significant sales declines, versus historical fourth quarters” said Steve King, chief executive.
Reports also said Dave & Buster’s took a near $1 million charge for severance costs related to corporate staff cuts earlier this year. The Dallas Morning News added that Dave & Buster’s planned to cut about 40 more jobs from its Dallas headquarters in 2009.
For the full fiscal 2008, the company’s net income totaled $1.6 million, compared with a loss of $8.8 million a year ago. Total revenues for the latest year fell 0.5 percent to $533.4 million. Annual same-store sales fell 2.8 percent.
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected].
