Nathan's Famous, Inc. Reports First Quarter Results

JERICHO, N.Y., Aug. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nathan's Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH) today reported results for the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year that ended June 30, 2013.

For the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2013:

• Net income increased by 67.2% to $3,354,000 as compared to $2,006,000 for the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012;
• Earnings per diluted share increased by 65.9% to $0.73 as compared to $0.44 for the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012; and
• Revenues increased by 15.9% to $23,401,000, as compared to $20,182,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012.

The Company also reported the following:

• Sales from the Branded Product Program, featuring the sale of Nathan's hot dogs to the foodservice industry, increased by 11.3% to $13,141,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013, as compared to sales of $11,806,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012.
• Sales from the Company-owned restaurants were $3,726,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013 as compared to $4,588,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012; however, 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 reopened until May 20, and operated for only 5 weeks of the quarter this year, compared to the full 13 weeks last year; and (2) The temporary closing of our Yonkers restaurant for redevelopment since December 2012.  We estimate that these two factors negatively impacted sales by approximately $1,400,000. 
• Since reopening, sales at our Flagship Coney Island restaurant for the five weeks ending June 30, 2013 were approximately 19% higher than the comparative five weeks of the previous fiscal period. Sales during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013 at our seasonal Boardwalk restaurant in Coney Island were approximately 35% higher than the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012, although there can be no assurance as to the continuation of these trends.
• Gross profit decreased to 20.6% of sales during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013, as compared to 20.8% of sales during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012 due primarily to the impact of lower sales at the Company-operated restaurants.
• License royalties were $2,265,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013, as compared to $2,229,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012.
• Revenues from franchise operations were $1,347,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013, as compared to $1,430,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 24, 2012. Eight new franchised units were opened during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 2013, including four Branded Menu Program outlets and our first location in Moscow.
• Nathan's realized a gain of $2,801,000 during the thirteen weeks ended June 30, 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. 

About Nathan's Famous

Nathan's products are currently distributed 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 310 units, comprised of 307 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 business and economic conditions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the ability to obtain an adequate supply of beef and other food products at competitive prices; capacity; the regulatory and trade environment; 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.

SOURCE Nathan's Famous, Inc.