{"id":451231,"date":"2021-03-04T16:08:19","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T21:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=451231"},"modified":"2021-03-04T16:08:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-04T21:08:19","slug":"fiesta-restaurant-group-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-2020-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/fiesta-restaurant-group-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-2020-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2020 Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2020 Results<\/b><\/p>\n

Improvement in Comparable Restaurant Sales Trend Compared to Third Quarter<\/i><\/p>\n

Net Income was $0.9 million for the Fourth Quarter of 2020<\/i><\/p>\n

Pollo Tropical Q4 Adjusted EBITDA % of Restaurant Sales Increased from 11.8% in 2019 to 13.8% in 2020<\/i><\/p>\n

Taco Cabana Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 million Compared to Adjusted EBITDA loss in 2019<\/i><\/p>\n

DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nFiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. (“Fiesta” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FRGI), parent company of the Pollo Tropical\u00ae and Taco Cabana\u00ae restaurant brands, today reported results for the 14-week fourth quarter 2020, which ended on January 3, 2021 and provided a business update related to current operations. The Company uses a 52 or 53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday nearest to December 31. The fourth quarter of 2019 included 13 weeks.\n<\/p>\n

\nFiesta President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockinger said, “Both of our brands showed improvement in comparable restaurant sales from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. Pollo Tropical comp sales accelerated from -11.1% in the third quarter of 2020 to -8.2% in the fourth quarter of 2020 and improved to -6.4% in December. After adjusting for the impact of named storms in the third and fourth quarters, Pollo Tropical’s sales growth in the fourth quarter would have been even stronger, with adjusted fourth quarter 2020 comp sales approximately 40 basis points higher. Taco Cabana also improved its comparable restaurant sales trend from -14.2% in the third quarter of 2020 to -10.0% in the fourth quarter of 2020. January 2021 comp sales trends showed growth compared to the fourth quarter at both brands. In February 2021, we began to open additional dining rooms at both brands based on what we believe to be an increase in consumer demand for dine-in visits.”\n<\/p>\n

\nStockinger added, “As we closed 2020, we were pleased with the progress we made against our priorities identified in March when the pandemic began: We continue to place the safety of our guests and employees first, we maximized liquidity through increased restaurant EBITDA margins, working capital efficiency and property sales, and we made important investments in our digital platform that we expect will contribute to strong sales growth in 2021. In addition, we made progress in aggressively growing all off-premise sales channels in an effort to offset our pre-COVID estimated dine-in sales mix of approximately 25% for both brands. In the fourth quarter, both brands generated drive-thru comparable restaurant sales growth of at least 24% compared to the same period last year and we more than tripled our delivery sales compared to the same period last year.”\n<\/p>\n

\nStockinger continued, “In the fourth quarter of 2020, we improved Adjusted EBITDA margins at both brands compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Net income was $0.9 million and pre-tax income was $1.5 million for the quarter, which included total gains on the sale or sale-leaseback of properties of $2.2 million. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure(1)<\/sup>, increased 42% compared to the same period last year to $14.6 million. After excluding the extra week in the 2020 fiscal year, estimated fourth quarter Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA grew 13.4% compared to 2019. The impact of the extra week in fiscal 2020 on Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is estimated at $2.9 million. Our overall financial position improved from the start of the pandemic, with a reduction in total debt from $148.4 million as of March 18, 2020 at the start of the pandemic to $73.3 million as of January 3, 2021 and net debt, a non-GAAP financial measure(2)<\/sup>, of $23.3 million as of January 3, 2021. In addition, we generated full year cash flow provided by operating activities of $40.3 million.”\n<\/p>\n

\nStockinger concluded, “In 2021 we will continue to concentrate on non-dine-in trade channels to match the evolving changes in customer behavior, and will focus on creating a great guest experience across all channels. We are planning to make further enhancements to our digital platform and improvements in the speed and ease of use for off-premise sales channels such as an enhanced digital drive-thru experience, geofencing technology designed to improve curbside speed and infrastructure changes designed to improve order cycle times for drive-thru and delivery orders. We also intend to continue to drive traffic and check through differentiated new menu introductions, effective LTO’s and improved marketing. We are optimistic about 2021 and believe that our growth initiatives will build momentum and accelerate sales over the course of 2021.”\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
_____________________________<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

\n(1)\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\nSee non-GAAP reconciliation table below.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

\n(2)\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\u00a0<\/td>\n\n

\nWe define net debt as long-term debt, including current portion of long-term debt, as reported in our balance sheet less unrestricted cash as reported in our balance sheet, which were $73.3 million and $50.0 million, respectively, as of January 3, 2021. We define net revolver debt as outstanding revolving credit facility borrowings under our former credit facility plus outstanding letters of credit less unrestricted cash balance as defined in our former credit agreement (generally cash in bank less outstanding payments), which were $146.4 million, $3.5 million and $75.5 million, respectively, as of March 18, 2020. Net revolver debt and net debt are non-GAAP measures which we believe assist investors in understanding of our management of our overall liquidity and financial flexibility.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Summary<\/b><\/p>\n