Carrols Restaurant (TAST) Announces Mild Growth

By Tamara Parker • Monday, January 08 11:29 • Permanent Link

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST) has released its preliminary sales results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, reporting a positive performance. The company revealed that total restaurant sales for the fourth quarter of 2023 increased by 5.7% to $470.4 million compared to $445.1 million in the same quarter of 2022. Additionally, comparable restaurant sales for the company's Burger King® restaurants and Popeyes® restaurants saw healthy growth, with increases of 7.2% and 7.6% respectively.

Deborah M. Derby, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carrols, attributed the strong growth to various factors, stating, "Our strong Burger King comparable restaurant sales growth of 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 was driven by average check growth of 4.2%, along with a 2.9% increase in traffic. This result was primarily due to the combination of the continued operational improvement efforts by the Carrols' team and the positive impact of our franchisor's reclaim the flame initiative, as well as a benefit from the timing of the holidays as compared to last year. Our Popeyes restaurants also continued to perform well as comparable restaurant sales grew 7.6% in the fourth quarter. We expect to see continued momentum at both of our brands in 2024."

Regarding the company's financial outlook, Carrols now anticipates that fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA will be at the high end or slightly above the high end of the previously provided range of $28 million to $32 million. This is attributed in part to lower than expected beef costs contributing to the favorable results. The company also used its cash balances during the fourth quarter of 2023 to repay a portion of its outstanding borrowings, indicating a proactive approach to managing its balance sheet.

Carrols will be participating in the 26th Annual ICR Conference on January 8, 2024, and January 9, 2024, in Orlando, FL, where it will host investor meetings.

Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. is one of the largest restaurant franchisees in North America, operating 1,022 Burger King® restaurants in 23 states, as well as 60 Popeyes® restaurants in six states. The company has been operating Burger King® restaurants since 1976 and Popeyes® restaurants since 2019.

The company's full 8-K submission is available here.

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