From Nation's Restaurant News · · 2m
Outback Steakhouse sales grow but holiday season expected to be quieter
Outback Steakhouse reports 1.9% same-store sales growth but forecasts a quieter holiday season due to pricing and calendar shifts.
In brief
Outback Steakhouse reports 1.9% same-store sales growth but forecasts a quieter holiday season due to pricing and calendar shifts. Outback Steakhouse saw 1.9% same-store sales growth in Q3 but expects 0-1% growth in Q4 due to calendar shifts and limited promotions. Originally reported by Nation's Restaurant News.
Outback sales growth
Outback Steakhouse reported 1.9% same-store sales growth year over year in the third quarter.
Customer satisfaction improves
Customer satisfaction scores improved for the fifth consecutive quarter, including plus 3 for service, atmosphere, and intent to return.
Traffic declines
Traffic declined 1.5% year over year in the third quarter.
Holiday season forecast
Outback expects 0% to 1% same-store sales growth in the fourth quarter due to calendar shifts and pricing decisions.
Halloween and Christmas shifts
Halloween fell on a Saturday and Christmas falls on a Friday this year, reducing operating days in the quarter.
Limited promotions
Outback will not run holiday promotions that drove business but were 'overmixed' last year.
Pricing strategy
CEO Mike Spanos stated prices will be about 4% higher in the quarter but no additional price hikes will be made.
Full-year expectations
Outback narrowed full-year same-store sales growth expectations to 1% to 1.5% from 1% to 2%.
Profitability impact
Turnaround investments cost profits, with adjusted restaurant-level margins declining 0.2% to 9.3%.
Digital marketing shift
Outback plans to double digital advertising mix to 60% by year-end, with the rest dedicated to linear TV.
Other brands performance
Carrabba’s Italian Grill saw 0.6% sales growth and 2.9% traffic decline, Bonefish Grill rose 5.3% sales and 0.8% traffic decline.
Financial results
Total revenue grew 1.7% to $944.3 million, net income was a $1.7 million loss, compared to $45.9 million loss a year ago.
Stock impact
Bloomin' stock dropped 4% on Friday morning following the earnings report.
The essence
Outback Steakhouse saw 1.9% same-store sales growth in Q3 but expects 0-1% growth in Q4 due to calendar shifts and limited promotions.
