NATHAN'S FAMOUS, INC. 
By JERICHO, N.Y., Nov. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nathan's Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ: NATH) today reported results for the second quarter of its 2014 fiscal year that ended September 29, 2013.
For the fiscal quarter ended September 29, 2013:
-- Net income was $2,648,000 as compared to $2,845,000 for the thirteen
weeks ended September 23, 2012;
-- Earnings per diluted share were $0.57 as compared to $0.62 for the
thirteen weeks ended September 23, 2012; and
-- Revenues increased by 10.8% to $23,662,000, as compared to $21,360,000
during the thirteen weeks ended September 23, 2012.
For the twenty-six weeks ended September 29, 2013:
-- Net income increased by 23.7% to $6,002,000 as compared to $4,851,000
for the twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012;
-- Earnings per diluted share increased by 22.6% to $1.30 as compared to
$1.06 for the twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012; and
-- Revenues increased by 13.3% to $47,063,000, as compared to $41,542,000
during the twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012.
The Company also reported the following:
-- In March 2014, our new license agreement will commence with John Morrell
& Co. replacing SMG, Inc. as Nathan's exclusive licensee to manufacture
and sell branded hot dog, sausage and corned beef products at retail. As
previously disclosed, we believe the financial terms of the John Morrell
agreement are more advantageous to us compared to the financial terms of
the current SMG agreement. Among those improved terms are royalties of
10.8% of net sales, compared to approximately 4.5% of net sales under
the SMG agreement, as well as significant minimum annual royalty
guarantees. Under the John Morrell Agreement, the minimum guarantee for
the first year is $10 Million, and we believe that actual royalties
should exceed the minimum. Royalties earned under the SMG agreement over
the last 12 months were $5,366,000.
-- License royalties pursuant to all license agreements were $4,416,000
during the twenty-six weeks ended September 29, 2013, as compared to
$4,351,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012.
-- Sales from the Branded Product Program, featuring the sale of Nathan's
hot dogs to the foodservice industry, increased by 16.4% to $27,101,000
during the twenty-six weeks ended September 29, 2013, as compared to
sales of $23,291,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended September 23,
2012.
-- Sales from the Company-owned restaurants were $9,545,000 during the
twenty-six weeks ended September 29, 2013 as compared to $10,697,000
during the twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012; the decline in
sales was due to the following: (1) Our Flagship Coney Island
restaurant, which was severely damaged by Superstorm Sandy, was not
fully repaired and did not reopen until May 20, 2013, and operated for
only 18 weeks of the current fiscal year, compared to the full 26 weeks
at this point of fiscal 2013; and (2) The temporary closing of our
Yonkers restaurant for redevelopment since December 2012. We estimate
that these two factors negatively impacted the sales comparison by
approximately $1,895,000.
-- Sales at our two Coney Island locations were approximately $801,000
higher in the aggregate than last season even though our Flagship Coney
Island restaurant only operated for 18 weeks during the fiscal period
ending September 29, 2013. Sales at our seasonal Boardwalk restaurant in
Coney Island were approximately 17.1% higher during the 26 weeks ended
September 29, 2013 than the 26 weeks ended September 23, 2012.
-- Gross profit decreased to 21.7% of sales during the twenty-six weeks
ended September 29, 2013, as compared to 23.9% of sales during the
twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012 due primarily to the impact of
the higher cost of beef. During the second quarter fiscal 2014, the cost
of our beef products were approximately 9.0% higher than the second
quarter fiscal 2013 due primarily to an unusual increase in the beef
trimmings markets during August and September 2013. We have begun taking
steps to pass the recent cost increases on through price increases but
there can be no assurance we will be successful in doing so.
-- Revenues from franchise operations were $2,863,000 during the twenty-six
weeks ended September 29, 2013, as compared to $2,938,000 during the
twenty-six weeks ended September 23, 2012. Fifteen new franchised units
were opened during the twenty-six weeks ended September 29, 2013,
including four Branded Menu Program outlets and seven locations in
Moscow.
-- Nathan's realized a gain of $2,801,000 during the twenty-six weeks ended
September 29, 2013 in connection with the settlement of its flood damage
and contents loss insurance claims relating to Superstorm Sandy.
-- Nathan's recognized an impairment charge of $400,000 in connection with
a long-term investment.
-- Nathan's final appeal in the SMG litigation was denied. As a result,
the judgment of $4,910,000 and all post-judgment interest of $1,099,000,
was satisfied on July 24, 2013. As previously described, we accrued the
expense of the judgment in October 2010, and have been accruing the
expenses for post-judgment interest on a monthly basis throughout the
appeals process.
-- In October, 2013, Nathan's was ranked #55 on the Forbes list of the Best
Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in
New York State.
About Nathan's Famous
Nathan's is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and nine foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. The Nathan's restaurant system currently consists of 314 units, comprised of 309 franchised units and five company-owned units (including one seasonal unit). For additional information about Nathan's please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.
Except for historical information contained in this news release, the matters discussed are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are based on the current belief of the Company's management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company's management. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: the effect of economic, weather (including the continued impact of Hurricane Sandy and the three-year drought in the Midwest which has caused an increase in corn pricing and reduced supply of cattle), continued increases in the price of beef trimmings; legislative and business conditions; the collectibility of receivables; changes in consumer tastes; the status of our licensing and supply agreements, including the impact of a new supply agreement for hot dogs with John Morrell & Co. and the termination in 2014 of our existing hot dog supply agreement with SMG and any issues arising from or related to the transition from SMG to John Morrell & Co. as our primary hot dog supplier; the ability to continue to attract franchisees; no material increases in the minimum wage; our ability to attract competent restaurant and managerial personnel; and the future effects of any food borne illness; such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
COMPANY Ronald G. DeVos, Vice President - Finance and CFO
CONTACT: (516) 338-8500 ext. 229
Nathan's Famous, Inc.
Financial Highlights
Thirteen weeks ended Twenty-six weeks ended
-------------------- ----------------------
Sept. 29, 2013 Sept. 23, 2012 Sept. 29, 2013 Sept. 23, 2012
-------------- -------------- -------------- --------------
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Total
revenues $23,662,000 $21,360,000 $47,063,000 $41,542,000
=========== =========== =========== ===========
Net income $2,648,000 $2,845,000 $6,002,000 $4,851,000
========== ========== ========== ==========
Basic income per share
Net income $0.59 $0.65 $1.35 $1.11
===== ===== ===== =====
Diluted income per share
Net income $0.57 $0.62 $1.30 $1.06
===== ===== ===== =====
Weighted-average shares used in
computing income per share
Basic 4,460,000 4,407,000 4,437,000 4,387,000
=====
Diluted 4,625,000 4,604,000 4,603,000 4,568,000
=======
SOURCE Nathan's Famous, Inc.
