Shares of fast-food restaurant operator Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) sunk in after-hours trading after the release of the company’s fouth-quarter and fiscal 2016 results Monday. This, despite high year-over-year growth in earnings for the burger chain.
For the quarter, Jack in the Box’s revenue rose by 13% on a year-over-year basis to $398 million. Net income also increased, by 38% to nearly $32 million ($1.00 per diluted share). The adjusted operating earnings per share figure was $1.03.
Jack in the Box’s same-store sales at its namesake restaurants saw a 2% gain. Comps at Qdoba Mexican Eats, the chain of fast-casual Tex-Mex eateries the company bought in 2003, rose by only 0.8%.
In the press release unveiling the Q4 results, the company attributed its bottom-line growth mainly to “a reduction in [general and administrative] costs resulting from our restructuring initiatives, as well as lower impairment charges and a lower tax rate.”
The revenue figure was roughly in line with analysts’ estimates. The adjusted operating EPS, on the other hand, came in well above the $0.88 average projection from the market.
For the entirety of fiscal 2016, Jack in the Box drew revenue of just under $1.6 billion, a 4% improvement over the 2015 tally. Net profit rose 14% to $124 million.
The company also proffered guidance for the current quarter, and for fiscal 2017. For the former period, it is expecting a same-store sales increase of 2% to 4% at Jack in the Box eateries, and flat to 1% growth at Qdoba restaurants.
The company believes it will post operating earnings per share of $4.55 to $4.75. That’s somewhat disappointing, as analysts had been modeling $4.75, which is at the very top of that range.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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