DUBLIN, Ohio, Aug. 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ: WEN) today reported unaudited results for the second quarter ended June 29, 2014. As part of its ongoing system optimization initiative, the Company also announced a plan to sell all of its Company-operated Canadian restaurants to franchisees and reinvest the sale proceeds to promote incremental development of franchised restaurants in Canada.

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President and Chief Executive Officer Emil Brolick said that the Company's second-quarter results and accelerated Canadian growth initiative reflect the continued progress of its ongoing brand transformation. "Our second-quarter Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Earnings Per Share growth were in line with our expectations," Brolick said. "Also included in our expectations was a 20-percent year-over-year net reduction in revenue resulting from the franchising of 418 Company-operated restaurants during the past year. Our Image Activation program and spring product promotions, including our Tuscan Chicken on Ciabatta sandwich and our new Asian Cashew Chicken, Barbeque Ranch Chicken and Strawberry Fields Chicken salads, helped drive sales in the second quarter by successfully leveraging our brand heritage of quality and innovation."

Brolick said the sale of approximately 135 Company-operated Canadian restaurants will further unlock the Company's growth potential in North America by generating incremental commitments for its Image Activation program and the development of new franchised restaurants in Canada. "We believe a franchise model will help us penetrate the market more quickly than under a Company-operated restaurant model, as we plan to grow our Canadian restaurant base by approximately one-third and reimage approximately 60 percent of our Canadian restaurants by 2020," Brolick said. "In addition, we anticipate that the Canadian growth strategy will benefit the quality and consistency of our earnings through increased rental income and royalties.

"Along with our new Canadian growth strategy, our goal of returning our U.S. restaurant system to positive net development will be a key component of our long-term strategic plan," Brolick said.

Second-quarter 2014 summary
Highlights from the second quarter include the following (see "Disclosure Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures included herein, i.e., Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Earnings Per Share):