Sbarro posts wider 3Q loss on impairmentSbarro posts wider 3Q loss on impairment

Alan J. Liddle

MELVILLE N.Y. Sbarro Inc., operator or franchisor of 1,056 Italian quick-service restaurants worldwide, detailed this week a much wider net loss of $24.5 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 27, compared with a net loss of $1.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.

The quarterly loss, the Melville-based company said, included goodwill and other asset impairments of $31.5 million, offset by an income tax benefit of $9.8 million. About $22 million of the impairment charge was tied to the company’s trademark.

Latest-quarter revenue fell 7 percent to $85.5 million, resulting primarily from same-store sales declines of 5.2 percent at corporate restaurants, 7.1 percent at domestic franchised locations and 27.3 percent at overseas franchised outlets. Excluding foreign currency fluctuations, it explained, international franchise same-store sales would have fallen 13 percent.

Sbarro said lower mall traffic throughout the United States, as a result of the economic downturn, hurt its same-store sales.

For the nine months ended Set. 27, Sbarro lost $36.7 million, compared with a net loss of $8.9 million a year earlier, as revenue fell 5.9 percent to $245.2 million. Same-store sales fell 5 percent at corporate stores, 5.4 percent at domestic franchised locations and 25.9 percent at franchised units abroad.

Sbarro said it ended the quarter with 485 corporate restaurants, 17 joint-venture sites and 554 franchised units.

Contact Alan Liddle at [email protected].