May 16, 2005

Chain Update

Yum, Brinker and Panera are among the restaurant chains that announced significant financial or operational news of late.

O’Charley’s Inc. announced that it has signed a 50-store franchise development agreement with Covelli Enterprises. The restaurants are to be located in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The first of the units is to be opened in 2006, and a minimum of eight restaurants is slated to be in operation by 2007.

Yum! Brands announced its domestic same-store sales results for the five-week period that closed on May 14. Same-store sales at KFC grew by 7% vs. the year-ago period. Taco Bell’s same-store sales grew by 4% and Pizza Hut’s by 1%. The company’s blended domestic same-store sales increased by 4% during the period.

Brinker International reported its blended same-store sales for the five weeks that ended on May 4 grew by 3.7% vs. the same period a year earlier. Same-store sales grew by 4.8% at Chili’s, 4.3% at On The Border and 3.3% at Maggiano’s. The company’s Macaroni Grill concept posted a 1.5% decline in same-store sales.

Panera Bread reported its revenue for the first quarter grew by 37% vs. the year-ago period to $178.1 million. Net income increased by 47% to $13.9 million, while same-store sales for the quarter increased by 6.5%.

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants said it has hired Citigroup Global Markets to help it identify ways to enhance shareholder value. According to the company, its board of directors believes the chain’s stock price does not represent the financial performance of the company. Among the options that will be explored are the sale of the company, acquisitions and share buy-back plans.

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