BurgerFi International Inc (BFI) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss BurgerFi International's financial results for the third quarter ended October 3, 2023. Joining us today are Carl Bachman, CEO; and Chris Jones, CFO. (Operator Instructions)

大家早安，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論 BurgerFi International 截至 2023 年 10 月 3 日的第三季度財務業績。今天加入我們的是首席執行官 Carl Bachman；和首席財務官克里斯瓊斯。 （操作員說明）

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be related to BurgerFi's estimates of its future business outlook, liquidity, store opening plans, same-store sales and restaurant operating margin growth plans, prospects or financial results, including projected sales, restaurant EBITDA.

在開始之前，我想提醒大家，本次電話會議可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》中定義的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述可能與 BurgerFi 對未來業務前景、流動性的估計有關。 、開店計畫、同店銷售及餐廳營業利潤成長計畫、前景或財務業績，包括預計銷售額、餐廳EBITDA。

Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by words such as anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, intends, plans, predicts, projects, will be, will continue, will likely result in similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the annual report on Form 10-K the year ended January 2, 2022 and those disclosed in other documents that the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

前瞻性陳述通常可以透過諸如預期、相信、估計、期望、打算、計劃、預測、項目、將是、將繼續、將可能導致類似表達等詞語來識別。這些前瞻性陳述是基於目前的預期和假設，這些預期和假設受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致公司的實際結果與前瞻性陳述中反映的結果有重大差異。可能導致或促成此類差異的因素包括但不限於截至 2022 年 1 月 2 日的 10-K 表格年度報告中討論的因素以及公司向證券交易委員會提交的其他文件中披露的因素委員會。

Our subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to BurgerFi or persons acting on BurgerFi's behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this conference call. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these statements and uncertainties, listeners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

我們隨後由 BurgerFi 或代表 BurgerFi 行事的人員所做的書面和口頭前瞻性聲明完全符合本次電話會議中包含的警告聲明的要求。除法律要求外，本公司不承擔修改或公開發布這些前瞻性陳述的任何修改結果的義務。鑑於這些陳述和不確定性，聽眾應注意不要過度依賴此類前瞻性陳述。

Also, the following discussion will contain non-GAAP financial measures. For a discussion and reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the earnings release for the third quarter 2023. I would also like to remind everyone that this call will be available via telephonic replay for two weeks starting today. A webcast replay will also be available via the link provided in today's press release as well as on the company's website at www.burgerfi.com.

此外，以下討論將包含非公認會計準則財務指標。有關這些非 GAAP 財務指標的討論和調節，請參閱 2023 年第三季的收益發布。我還想提醒大家，從今天開始，本次電話會議將透過電話重播進行兩週。也可透過今天新聞稿中提供的連結以及公司網站 www.burgerfi.com 進行網路廣播重播。

Now I would like to turn the call over to BurgerFi's CEO, Carl Bachmann. Carl, you may go ahead.

現在我想將電話轉給 BurgerFi 的執行長 Carl Bachmann。卡爾，你可以繼續了。

Thank you for joining us today, and we appreciate your interest in BurgerFi. Let me begin by thanking our entire team, franchisees, and employees for their dedication and hard work in this challenging environment. Our third-quarter performance is clearly unacceptable and certainly not reflective of what we believe these brands and the people of this organization can accomplish. Having arrived with the company only 10 days into the quarter, these results are in no way indicative of the work we are doing or where we intend to take the business.

感謝您今天加入我們，我們感謝您對 BurgerFi 的興趣。首先，我要感謝我們的整個團隊、加盟商和員工在這個充滿挑戰的環境中的奉獻和辛勤工作。我們第三季的業績顯然是不可接受的，當然也沒有反映出我們相信這些品牌和該組織的人員能夠實現的目標。該季度剛進入公司 10 天，這些結果並不能表明我們正在做的工作或我們打算將業務發展到哪裡。

As mentioned on our last quarterly earnings call, we are implementing strategic priorities that we believe are setting the company up for long-term profitable growth. And as we embed these positive changes into our operating model, we highlight our early and ongoing wins as part of this journey, so as to gain your confidence in our vision and ability to build shareholder value from current levels.

正如我們在上一季財報電話會議上提到的，我們正在實施戰略優先事項，我們相信這些戰略優先事項將為公司實現長期盈利增長奠定基礎。當我們將這些積極的變化融入我們的營運模式時，我們將強調我們在過程中的早期和持續的勝利，以便讓您對我們在當前水平上建立股東價值的願景和能力充滿信心。

Positive initial trends during the third quarter to come to softer performance later in the quarter as we [laugh] last year's 20th celebration at Anthony's, coupled with the impact of reduced marketing spend initiated prior to our arrival. Similar to others in the industry, we also were impacted by softer performance in South Florida, one of our key markets. We believe this was due to seasonality as the region returned to norm -- more normalized trends.

第三季最初的正面趨勢在本季稍後變得更加疲軟，因為我們[笑]去年在安東尼舉行了 20 週年慶祝活動，再加上我們到達之前開始減少行銷支出的影響。與業內其他公司類似，我們也受到我們主要市場之一南佛羅裡達州表現疲軟的影響。我們認為這是由於該地區恢復正常的季節性——更正常化的趨勢。

Importantly, such challenges of third quarter are behind us now with many of the initial initiatives we put in place taking hold, including the expanded menus at BurgerFi and the Anthony's. Most recently, we successfully executed the biggest advancement of the BurgerFi menu in the company's history, adding wings and salad bowls, and the response has been resounding. This is only the beginning as further menu refinement, including new chicken sandwiches, will hit company stores by the end of the month.

重要的是，隨著我們實施的許多初步措施（包括 BurgerFi 和 Anthony’s 的擴展菜單）的實施，第三季的此類挑戰已經成為過去。最近，我們成功地對 BurgerFi 菜單進行了公司歷史上最大的改進，並添加了雞翅和沙拉碗，反應熱烈。這只是一個開始，進一步改進的菜單（包括新的雞肉三明治）將在本月底登陸公司商店。

So it's official: BurgerFi has entered the chicken wars and we're only getting started. These are (inaudible) critical to the brand's turnaround as they eliminate the veto vote, expanding our high-quality offering to an even larger segment of the market.

官方消息：BurgerFi 已進入“雞戰”，而我們才剛開始。這些對於品牌的扭虧為盈至關重要，因為它們消除了否決權，將我們的高品質產品擴展到更大的市場領域。

BurgerFi is also accelerating the adoption of technology to drive food costs down, which are now approaching industry benchmark levels. Looking forward, with the combination of new unit growth and improving same-store sales trends, driven by our expanded offering and overall more effective marketing messages, we anticipate BurgerFi returning to positive comps in early 2024 and positive EBITDA by the second half of 2024.

BurgerFi 也加速採用科技來降低食品成本，目前食品成本已接近業界基準水準。展望未來，在我們擴大的產品範圍和整體更有效的營銷訊息的推動下，隨著新單位的成長和同店銷售趨勢的改善，我們預計BurgerFi 將在2024 年初恢復正值，並在2024 年下半年恢復正EBITDA。

Additionally, we are equally confident in the returns of positive comps at Anthony's driven by similar initiatives, including menu modification, an aggressive focus on food costs, and the benefits from an updated POS platform. Perhaps, most importantly, we are setting the stage for franchising company owned Anthony's stores, starting as early as the first quarter of 2024. But more on that later.

此外，我們同樣對 Anthony's 在類似舉措的推動下獲得積極的回報充滿信心，這些舉措包括修改菜單、積極關注食品成本以及更新 POS 平台帶來的好處。也許，最重要的是，我們正在為特許經營公司擁有的 Anthony's 商店奠定基礎，最早將於 2024 年第一季開始。但稍後會詳細介紹。

To give you a sense of why we are confident that we can reach these goals in 2024, I'm going to file the form from last quarter and provide a detailed update on our five strategic priorities. Step one is infrastructure. It starts with employees. I believe we must have the best team on the field to play and the need to develop and train them properly. In just a few months, we have already been able to decrease turnover at both brands and significantly reduce the training labor needed at the restaurant level.

為了讓您了解為什麼我們有信心在 2024 年實現這些目標，我將提交上季度的表格，並提供有關我們五個策略重點的詳細更新。第一步是基礎設施。這要從員工開始。我相信我們必須擁有場上最好的球隊，並且需要正確地培養和訓練他們。在短短幾個月內，我們已經能夠降低兩個品牌的營業額，並大幅減少餐廳層級所需的培訓勞動力。

These efforts have resulted in higher consumer satisfaction scores as well as faster throughput and ticket times. While these encouraging metrics are not reflected in our financial performance, they are leading indicators that we are on the right path towards higher sales and margins. We plan to build upon this during the remainder of the year and expect to see an improvement in the labor line at BurgerFi and Anthony's over the next year.

這些努力帶來了更高的消費者滿意度以及更快的吞吐量和票務時間。雖然這些令人鼓舞的指標並未反映在我們的財務表現中，但它們是我們正走在實現更高銷售額和利潤的正確道路上的領先​​指標。我們計劃在今年剩餘時間內在此基礎上再接再厲，並預計明年 BurgerFi 和 Anthony’s 的勞動力隊伍將得到改善。

As noted above, we are also upgrading our POS system across both brands. Still they are on one system to allow for better inventory control. At Anthony's, we are evaluating outfitting our servers with handheld tablets that allow them to beam orders directly to the kitchen, which will help drive efficiencies.

如上所述，我們也正在升級兩個品牌的 POS 系統。但他們仍然在一個系統上，以便更好地控制庫存。在 Anthony's，我們正在評估為我們的服務器配備手持平板電腦，使他們能夠將訂單直接發送到廚房，這將有助於提高效率。

Step two, taste and quality, which are paramount to everything we do and why are we going to make sure we continue to have a best products and most innovative LTOs. In October, Anthony's launched new classic menu items, including a chicken alfredo and artichoke pizza and two pasta dishes, spaghetti and meatballs and Italian fettuccine alfredo. Guest feedback has been encouraging so far.

第二步，口味和質量，這對我們所做的一切至關重要，為什麼我們要確保我們繼續擁有最好的產品和最具創新性的 LTO。十月份，Anthony's 推出了新的經典菜單，包括雞肉阿爾弗雷多和洋薊披薩以及兩種麵食、意大利麵條和肉丸以及意大利寬麵條阿爾弗雷多。到目前為止，客人的回饋令人鼓舞。

At BurgerFi, when reading guest comments, we know there's a lot of crisp around the French fries with taste loss due to prior cost cutting procedures. For receiving this feedback, we need to rechange the process to prepare the fries in a crisper way. So it bounce-back in taste satisfaction.

在 BurgerFi，當閱讀客人評論時，我們知道由於之前的成本削減程序，炸薯條周圍有很多脆皮，味道也有所損失。為了收到此回饋，我們需要重新更改流程，以更脆的方式準備薯條。所以它的口味滿意度會反彈。

Additionally, we also rightsized the menu at BurgerFi by removing less popular and process-intense items that slowdown throughput and ticket times. And on November 1, we launched all new menu items at BurgerFi, including three flavors of chicken wings and four types of BurgerFi's bowls. Additionally, we are launching a chicken sandwich option that will come [sweet], making it easy and efficient for our employees to prepare.

此外，我們還對 BurgerFi 的菜單進行了調整，刪除了不太受歡迎和流程密集的項目，這些項目會降低吞吐量和售票時間。 11 月 1 日，我們在 BurgerFi 推出了所有新菜單項目，包括三種口味的雞翅和四種類型的 BurgerFi 碗。此外，我們還推出了[甜]雞肉三明治選項，讓我們的員工可以輕鬆有效地準備。

Until now, we haven't really offered a compelling crispy chicken sandwich. We spent the last few months perfecting this crispy chicken sandwich as well as the new grilled chicken sandwich to close our menu gap. Our fast-casual burger branch, it has 10% to 15% chicken mix. And until now, we had virtually none. This will allow us to open a whole new audience of chicken fans.

到目前為止，我們還沒有真正提供引人注目的脆皮雞肉三明治。我們在過去的幾個月裡完善了這款脆皮雞肉三明治以及新的烤雞肉三明治，以縮小我們的菜單差距。我們的速食休閒漢堡店，有 10% 到 15% 的雞肉混合料。到目前為止，我們幾乎沒有。這將使我們能夠開拓全新的雞迷受眾群。

To add to the menu innovation, BurgerFi will also launch a seasonal white chocolate peppermint shake for a limited time only. These shake features vanilla frozen custard, mixed with white chocolate and peppermint, topped with whipped cream and crushed peppermint pieces.

為了增加菜單創新，BurgerFi 也將限時推出季節性白巧克力薄荷奶昔。這些奶昔的特點是香草冷凍蛋奶凍，與白巧克力和薄荷混合，上面撒上生奶油和碎薄荷片。

Step three is gold standards. Gold standards is the term that defines our product, process, and facility, and creates brand promises. We're executing at a higher level than before. With employee and guest feedback, we're moving in the right direction to drive long-term sales growth.

第三步是黃金標準。黃金標準是定義我們的產品、流程和設施並創造品牌承諾的術語。我們的執行水準比以前更高。根據員工和客人的回饋，我們正在朝著推動長期銷售成長的正確方向前進。

As I began getting a feel for the business through my store tours at Anthony's, I realize that neither employees nor customers were happy with our AI phone answering bot named Becky. As you might recall, Anthony's has added the AI bot to its 60 corporate locations last December to handle the roughly 500,000 phone orders that come in every year.

當我開始透過參觀 Anthony's 的商店來了解這家公司時，我意識到員工和顧客都對我們名為 Becky 的人工智慧電話應答機器人感到不滿意。您可能還記得，去年 12 月，Anthony's 在其 60 個公司地點添加了人工智慧機器人，以處理每年約 50 萬個電話訂單。

The goal this rollout was to drive labor savings and higher check averages. However, Becky wasn't doing a very good job. The system had too many prompts and too many steps which frustrated customers. Team members also expressed that they missed interacting with guests. As a result, one of my first act as CEO was to go back having employees answer the phone.

此次推出的目標是節省勞力並提高支票平均。然而，貝基的表現並不好。系統提示太多、步驟太多，讓客戶感到沮喪。團隊成員也表示很懷念與客人的互動。結果，我作為執行長的第一個行動就是回去讓員工接電話。

Removing Becky now allows employees to put a human touch back into their many hundreds of thousands of annual phone transactions. Every interaction with the guests is a moment of truth and hospitality can start first on the phone. Additionally, we expect to see some savings from dropping this costly system and have already started seeing a boost in call orders and check average as alienated customers have returned.

現在，解僱貝基可以讓員工在每年數十萬筆電話交易中重新註入人情味。與客人的每一次互動都是關鍵時刻，熱情好客可以先從電話開始。此外，我們預計放棄這個昂貴的系統會帶來一些節省，並且隨著疏遠的客戶回歸，呼叫訂單和檢查平均數已經開始增加。

Step four is telling the world about our brands through intentional marketing efforts. In September, we launched the Kids Eat Free program at BurgerFi. Every Monday, kind 12 and under can enjoy a free kids meal with a purchase for an adult meal. This is for our dining customers only.

第四步是透過有意識的行銷活動向世界展示我們的品牌。九月份，我們在 BurgerFi 推出了「兒童免費飲食」計畫。每週一，12 歲及以下的兒童購買成人餐即可免費享用兒童餐。這僅適用於我們的用餐顧客。

We continue to have some fun around holidays. On National Cheeseburger Day, we celebrated with a $3 cheeseburger with the purchase of a beverage. On National Cheese Pizza Day, we offered $10 16-inch cheese pizza. We're also focusing our efforts on driving digital engagement and our rewards program.

假期期間我們繼續享受一些樂趣。在全國起司漢堡日，我們買了一杯飲料，買了一個 3 美元的起司漢堡來慶祝。在全國起司披薩日，我們提供 10 美元的 16 吋起司披薩。我們也致力於推動數位參與和獎勵計劃。

Finally, I will end with step five to finding a portfolio, which is about both store development and optimization. It's not lost on us that while we make positive headway in products, labor and marketing, the most important part of driving profitability and cash flow is cycling out underperforming ones and opening new stores. Over the last three months, we've been closely reviewing our existing portfolio in addition to our pipeline.

最後，我將以第五步尋找投資組合作為結束，這涉及商店開發和優化。我們並沒有忘記，雖然我們在產品、勞動力和行銷方面取得了積極進展，但推動獲利能力和現金流的最重要部分是淘汰表現不佳的門市並開設新店。在過去的三個月裡，除了我們的管道之外，我們一直在仔細審查我們現有的產品組合。

The DMAs our restaurants are located in have the demographics to support our brands. We need to understand where we're successful and where we're struggling from a real estate regional or market perspectives. We're currently working on rightsizing our portfolio and closing underperforming restaurants.

我們餐廳所在的 DMA 擁有支持我們品牌的人口統計數據。我們需要從房地產區域或市場的角度了解我們在哪些方面取得了成功，以及在哪些方面遇到了困難。我們目前正在努力調整我們的投資組合併關閉表現不佳的餐廳。

Our growth going forward will be focused on infilling the eastern seaboard within existing markets, where we already have a strong brand awareness from corporate and franchise locations and spot risk around those core markets.

我們未來的成長將集中在現有市場中的東部沿海地區，我們已經在企業和特許經營地點擁有強大的品牌知名度，並發現這些核心市場周圍的風險。

We will also grow what we view as promising markets. As of October 2, our portfolio consisted of 110 BurgerFi restaurants, 26 corporate owned, and 84 franchised, and 59 corporate-owned Anthony's. During the third quarter, we closed one underperforming company owned and three franchised BurgerFi restaurants as we continued to right-size our portfolio. Additionally, we closed one underperforming company-owned Anthony's. For the full year, we now expect new store openings coming in at 12 to 15 new restaurants, all of which will be franchised with the exception of our flagship New York City location.

我們還將發展我們認為有前景的市場。截至 10 月 2 日，我們的投資組合包括 110 家 BurgerFi 餐廳，其中 26 家為企業所有，84 家為特許經營餐廳，59 家為企業所有 Anthony's。在第三季度，隨著我們繼續調整投資組合規模，我們關閉了一家表現不佳的公司自營餐廳和三家特許經營的 BurgerFi 餐廳。此外，我們也關閉了一家表現不佳的安東尼公司旗下的公司。目前，我們預計全年將有 12 至 15 家新餐廳開設新店，除紐約市旗艦店外，所有餐廳都將獲得特許經營權。

Turning to the fourth quarter, we acquired two franchised BurgerFi in South Florida to solidify our presence and help accelerate growth in this core market. These restaurants are located in Hallandale Beach and Miami Beach, two high-traffic popular spots and represented in the brand's evolution a commitment to continue development in primary markets across the country. We believe these restaurants to be high volume and margin accretive as we fortress South Florida.

談到第四季度，我們在南佛羅裡達州收購了兩家特許經營的 BurgerFi，以鞏固我們的地位並幫助加速這個核心市場的成長。這些餐廳位於哈倫代爾海灘和邁阿密海灘，這兩個人流量大的熱門地點，在品牌的演變中代表了繼續發展全國主要市場的承諾。我們相信，當我們佔領南佛羅裡達州時，這些餐廳的銷售和利潤都會增加。

In December, BurgerFi will be returning to New York City with the grand reopening of our flagship company owned BurgerFi restaurant and Better Burger Lab on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Being a born-and-raised New Yorker, reopening our Manhattan location is a passion point for me. There's no better market for us than New York City. It's the epicenter of food, entertainment, fashion, and culture. And having a flagship restaurant there is excellent for brand awareness beyond the immediate geographies.

12 月，BurgerFi 將重返紐約市，我們公司旗下的旗艦店 BurgerFi 餐廳和位於曼哈頓上東區的 Better Burger Lab 將隆重重新開幕。身為土生土長的紐約人，重新開設我們的曼哈頓分店對我來說是個熱情所在。對我們來說，沒有比紐約市更好的市場了。它是美食、娛樂、時尚和文化的中心。在那裡擁有一家旗艦餐廳對於提升鄰近地區的品牌知名度非常有幫助。

In addition to our standard menu, this location will offer an exclusive line of limited edition offerings, not available at other locations and a late-night menu with a variety of alcoholic beverages. This restaurant will also serve as a venue for special events.

除了我們的標準菜單外，餐廳還將提供其他餐廳所沒有的獨家限量版菜餚以及包含各種酒精飲料的深夜菜單。這家餐廳也將作為舉辦特別活動的場所。

South Florida, our home market, is a top destination for New Yorkers. And now, our guest can discover BurgerFi in South Florida and go back and enjoy year-round in Manhattan. This is a win-win for both guests and the brand.

我們的本土市場南佛羅裡達州是紐約人的首選目的地。現在，我們的客人可以在南佛羅裡達州發現 BurgerFi，然後返回曼哈頓全年享用。這對賓客和品牌來說都是雙贏。

We are also still on track to open our first-ever co-branded BurgerFi and Anthony's location in December with our franchisee NDM Hospitality Services. As a reminder, our agreement with them calls for three franchise Anthony's location in Florida over the next two years.

我們還計劃於 12 月與我們的特許經營商 NDM Hospitality Services 一起開設第一家 BurgerFi 和 Anthony 聯合品牌店。提醒一下，我們與他們達成的協議要求未來兩年內安東尼在佛羅裡達州擁有三家特許經營店。

The second and third Anthony's locations through the NDN agreement are expected to be of the smaller Anthony's prototype. The first of these smaller restaurants are supposed to open in the Miami Worldcenter development near the Miami Brightline Station.

根據 NDN 協議，第二個和第三個安東尼的地點預計將是較小的安東尼的原型。第一家小型餐廳預計將在邁阿密 Brightline 車站附近的邁阿密世界中心開發區開業。

We're also expanding our footprint through nontraditional spaces. We entered into a binding license agreement with Apple Cinemas to operate at BurgerFi franchise location within its Pittsford Plaza Apple Cinema in Rochester, New York.

我們也透過非傳統空間擴大我們的足跡。我們與 Apple Cinemas 簽訂了具有約束力的許可協議，在紐約羅徹斯特的 Pittsford Plaza Apple Cinema 內的 BurgerFi 特許經營店進行營運。

(inaudible) fly tick up in third party delivery service capabilities for non-theater customers. This location marks to new and exciting venture for BurgerFi. Nontraditional venues provide opportunities that would normally be available for restaurants and greatly increase our awareness and visibility of our brands.

（聽不清楚）為非影院客戶提供第三方交付服務能力。這個地點標誌著 BurgerFi 的新的、令人興奮的冒險。非傳統場所提供了通常為餐廳提供的機會，並大大提高了我們品牌的知名度和知名度。

In my experience, the best way to accelerate growth and evolution is through these non-traditional avenues. We are aggressively seeking new development opportunities, and our pipeline is growing. We continue to seek unique ways to connect our brand-new customers where they are in line.

根據我的經驗，加速成長和進化的最佳方式是透過這些非傳統途徑。我們正在積極尋求新的發展機會，我們的產品線正在不斷成長。我們繼續尋求獨特的方式來連結排隊的全新客戶。

And finally, one of my main priorities is buying well-capitalized franchisees with restaurant, retail, and hospitality experience. Bringing these operators into our system results in more disciplined and profitable growth over the long term.

最後，我的首要任務之一是購買資本雄厚、擁有餐廳、零售和酒店經驗的特許經營商。從長遠來看，將這些營運商納入我們的系統會帶來更規範、更有利可圖的成長。

We have already begun negotiations with several interested parties for multi-unit Anthony's franchise deals, including the sale of a handful of Anthony's locations. I look forward to sharing more in the coming quarters.

我們已經開始與幾個有興趣的各方就安東尼的多單位特許經營交易進行談判，包括出售安東尼的一些地點。我期待在未來幾季分享更多內容。

In closing, my first 90 days on job has been very productive. I'm more confident than ever that I made the right decision to join the company. Sales and margin improvement will not happen overnight, but we are laying the foundation to grow upon. We believe they will come, and these improvements will begin to become evident to you, our stakeholders.

最後，我工作的前 90 天非常有成效。我比以往任何時候都更有信心，我加入公司的決定是正確的。銷售額和利潤率的提高不會一蹴而就，但我們正在為成長奠定基礎。我們相信它們會到來，而這些改進將開始對我們的利害關係人變得顯而易見。

We're making very educated, smart decisions using a very simple formula. We must win for our guests, win for the team members, and win for the shareholders and franchisees.

我們正在使用一個非常簡單的公式來做出非常有根據的明智決策。我們必須為客人贏得勝利，為團隊成員贏得勝利，為股東和加盟商贏得勝利。

With that, I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Chris Jones, who will provide commentary on our third quarter 2023 performance and update our guidance. Go ahead, Chris.

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的財務長 Chris Jones，他將對我們 2023 年第三季的業績發表評論並更新我們的指導。繼續吧，克里斯。

Thank you, Carl, and good morning, everyone. Well, not evident yet in our financial, please know that this new management team is working hard every day executing a sound strategy that will increase sales and improved margins over time. While top line sales offer pressured margins, that didn't stop the company from continuing to drive labor and cost efficiencies as evidenced by the continued declines in payroll and corporate expense dollars. So bottom line is that the more work we do, log in efficiency today with greater margin expansion opportunity as we come out of the recovery.

謝謝你，卡爾，大家早安。好吧，這在我們的財務中尚不明顯，請注意，這個新的管理團隊每天都在努力執行一項合理的策略，隨著時間的推移，這將增加銷售額並提高利潤。儘管頂線銷售帶來了利潤壓力，但這並沒有阻止該公司繼續提高勞動力和成本效率，工資和企業費用的持續下降證明了這一點。因此，重點是，我們做的工作越多，今天的效率就會越高，隨著我們走出復甦，利潤率擴張的機會就越大。

Now briefly looking at key highlights for the third quarter. Third quarter total revenues were $39.5 million, decreasing 9% from $43.3 million from the same quarter last year. Revenues contributed $29.5 million to revenues in the current period. The decrease in revenues is a result of a decrease of 15% same-store sales of BurgerFi company stores and a 5% decrease in same-store sales at Anthony's.

現在簡要回顧一下第三季的主要亮點。第三季總營收為 3,950 萬美元，比去年同期的 4,330 萬美元下降 9%。本期收入貢獻了 2,950 萬美元。營收下降的原因是 BurgerFi 公司商店的同店銷售額下降了 15%，Anthony's 的同店銷售額下降了 5%。

As Karl noted earlier, Anthony's face an especially challenging comparison versus prior year due to aggressive promotional activity in the third quarter last year as part of the company's 20th anniversary. This was compounded by sequentially lower marketing spend in the quarter at the end of prior management. All of this was compounded by the fact that 3Q is Anthony's slowest quarter, unlike some of our peers' trends in sales, specifically in the Miami Fort Lauderdale region, are returning to more pre-COVID trends.

正如 Karl 之前指出的那樣，由於去年第三季度作為公司成立 20 週年紀念活動的一部分，安東尼開展了積極的促銷活動，因此與去年相比，Anthony's 面臨著特別具有挑戰性的挑戰。由於上任管理結束時該季度行銷支出的連續下降，雪上加霜。所有這一切都因第三季度是安東尼最慢的季度而變得更加複雜，這與我們的一些同行的銷售趨勢不同，特別是在邁阿密勞德代爾堡地區，正在恢復到新冠疫情前的趨勢。

Importantly, the company has returned to more normalized marketing program with an increased focus on driving awareness and ultimately traffic, which is already driving improved results. Restaurant level profit margin came in at 11.8%, down 100 basis points year over year.

重要的是，該公司已經恢復了更標準化的行銷計劃，更加重視提高知名度並最終提高流量，這已經推動了業績的改善。餐廳層級利潤率為11.8%，較去年同期下降100個基點。

Similar to last quarter, during the quarter, we saw a positive improvement in food, beverage, and paper, a trend that should continue. As you've probably heard from others in the industry, inflation is weighing on all commodities, except for beef. The new contracts are yielding lower forward pricing. These positive trends were more than offset by higher labor and other expenses largely due to lower sales volume in the period.

與上季類似，本季我們看到食品、飲料和紙張的正面改善，這一趨勢應該會持續下去。正如您可能從業內其他人那裡聽說的那樣，通貨膨脹正在給除牛肉之外的所有商品帶來壓力。新合約的遠期定價較低。這些正面趨勢被勞動力和其他費用的增加所抵消，這主要是由於該時期銷售下降所致。

Shifting to our individual brand results, for BurgerFi corporate owned restaurant, sales decreased 12% to $7.8 million, reflecting a decrease in same-store sales. System-wide sales of BurgerFi in third quarter decreased 9% to $35.7 million compared to $39.1 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to declines in same-store sales coupled with the closure of underperforming company stores.

轉向我們的個人品牌業績，BurgerFi 公司擁有的餐廳的銷售額下降了 12% 至 780 萬美元，反映出同店銷售額的下降。 BurgerFi 第三季的全系統銷售額下降了 9%，至 3,570 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,910 萬美元，這主要是由於同店銷售額下降以及業績不佳的公司商店關閉所致。

BurgerFi system-wide same-store sales decreased by 11% for the third quarter compared to the same period in 2022. For corporate-owned BurgerFi same-store sales increased 15% and franchise restaurants same-store sales decreased 9%.

與 2022 年同期相比，第三季 BurgerFi 全系統同店銷售額下降了 11%。對於企業擁有的 BurgerFi 同店銷售額成長了 15%，特許經營餐廳同店銷售額下降了 9%。

BurgerFi's restaurant-level operating margin increased 440 basis points to 2.2% for the quarter compared to 6.6% in the prior-year third quarter due to loss of leverage on fixed costs due to same-store sales declines. As mentioned earlier, food and paper margins continue to be a positive story, a trend we expect to continue despite the continued pressure on beef prices.

由於同店銷售額下降導致固定成本槓桿損失，BurgerFi 本季餐廳級營業利潤率成長 440 個基點至 2.2%，而去年同期第三季為 6.6%。如前所述，食品和紙張利潤仍然是一個積極的故事，儘管牛肉價格持續面臨壓力，但我們預計這一趨勢將持續下去。

While we are not immune to these increases, we don't expect to see the same level increases that others have seen. Additionally, we are well under discussion with a secondary supplier that should allow us to insulate ourselves from any volatility in beef prices in 2024 and beyond.

雖然我們不能免受這些增長的影響，但我們預計不會看到其他人所看到的相同水平的增長。此外，我們正在與二級供應商進行充分討論，這應該能讓我們免受 2024 年及以後牛肉價格波動的影響。

We are confident that we will continue to see improvements in food and paper margins due to these benefits and the positive impact in inventory management and procurement system that continue to yield improvements.

我們相信，由於這些效益以及庫存管理和採購系統的正面影響，我們將繼續看到食品和紙張利潤的改善，從而持續改善。

Looking into 2024, we believe the combination of menu enhancements, improved marketing and the contribution of new stores will return the positive total growth at BurgerFi, at which point we believe operating leverage of the BurgerFi business will start to emerge in a very compelling way.

展望 2024 年，我們相信菜單增強、行銷改善和新店貢獻的結合將為 BurgerFi 帶來積極的整體成長，屆時我們相信 BurgerFi 業務的營運槓桿將開始以非常引人注目的方式出現。

Turning to Anthony's, restaurant sales were $29.5 million in the third quarter compared to $31.5 million in the prior year. The decrease was driven by a 5% decrease in same-store sales when compared to the third quarter of 2022. Staying with Anthony's on the restaurant profitability, restaurant level operating margins decreased 20 basis points to 14.3% for the quarter compared to 14.5% for the prior-year third quarter. This was due to loss -- leverage on fixed costs because the same-store sales decline.

至於 Anthony's，第三季餐廳銷售額為 2,950 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,150 萬美元。與2022 年第三季相比，同店銷售額下降5%，導致這一下降。餐廳獲利能力與Anthony's 保持一致，該季度餐廳層面的營業利潤率下降20 個基點至14.3%，而上一季為14.5%。去年第三季。這是由於固定成本槓桿損失造成的，因為同店銷售額下降。

Food and paper margins declined modestly in the quarter, despite dramatically higher coal costs and somewhat higher wind prices. Importantly, we expect to see improvements in Anthony's fourth quarter of '23 and a meaningful improvement in 2024 as inventory management and procurement systems is currently positively impacting BurgerFi today, start to take hold of Anthony's.

儘管煤炭成本大幅上漲且風電價格有所上漲，但本季食品和紙張利潤略有下降。重要的是，我們預計 Anthony 的 23 年第四季會有所改善，並在 2024 年會出現有意義的改善，因為庫存管理和採購系統目前正在對 BurgerFi 產生積極影響，今天開始佔據 Anthony 的地位。

Additionally, we expect to start rolling out a new POS platform at Anthony's. We expect all 59 stores to be converted by the second half of 2024. The system is a significant upgrade to the 20-year-old-plus platform in stores today, employing handheld devices and advanced KDS technology to drive greater efficiency and customer engagement in the stores. Growth in Anthony's was also [see] as first franchise location opened this quarter, with expectation for more in 2024.

此外，我們預計將在 Anthony's 開始推出新的 POS 平台。我們預計所有 59 家商店將在 2024 年下半年完成改造。該系統是對當今商店已有 20 多年歷史的平台的重大升級，採用手持設備和先進的 KDS 技術來提高效率和客戶參與度商店。 Anthony’s 的成長也隨著本季開設第一家特許經營店而有所增長，預計 2024 年將有更多特許經營店。

Back to consolidated results, we reported a net loss of $5 million in the third quarter compared to a net loss of $3.3 million a year ago quarter. This year's net loss is primarily due to decrease in same-store sales and reduced gains on employment retention credits compared to the prior-year period, partially offset by lower depreciation and amortization expenses, lower share-based compensation expense, and gain on change in value of warranty liability.

回到合併業績，我們報告第三季淨虧損 500 萬美元，而去年同期淨虧損 330 萬美元。今年的淨虧損主要是由於與上年同期相比，同店銷售額下降以及就業保留信貸收益減少，但部分被折舊和攤銷費用減少、股權激勵費用減少以及收入變動收益所抵消。保固責任的價值。

Adjusted EBITDA was $813,000 in third quarter compared to $1.6 million in the prior-year third quarter. The decline in EBITDA was especially evident in BurgerFi business. The company saw lower royalty income in the quarter due to lower franchise sales volumes compounded by a challenging year-over-year comparison that include benefit of significant franchise termination fees in the prior-year quarter. Looking forward, as we look to top-line sales volume, we expect to see royalties to do the same and expect to benefit from new restaurant openings over the next several quarters.

第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 813,000 美元，而去年同期第三季為 160 萬美元。 BurgerFi 業務的 EBITDA 下降尤為明顯。該公司本季的特許權使用費收入較低，原因是特許經營銷量下降，加上同比比較具有挑戰性，其中包括去年同期大幅特許經營終止費的好處。展望未來，當我們著眼於最高銷售量時，我們預計特許權使用費也會出現同樣的情況，並預計將受益於未來幾季新餐廳的開幕。

Moving onto the balance sheet, our cash balance on October 3, 2023, was $9.7 million compared to $11.9 on January 2, 2023. When considering our available but undrawn $4 million line of credit, we had $13.7 million of liquidity at the end of the quarter. The decrease in cash of $2.2 million was primarily due to decrease in cash from operating activities of $3.2 million and investing activities of $4.5 million, partially offset by cash provided by financing activities of $1.5 million.

Moving onto the balance sheet, our cash balance on October 3, 2023, was $9.7 million compared to $11.9 on January 2, 2023. When considering our available but undrawn $4 million line of credit, we had $13.7 million of liquidity at the end of the四分之一.現金減少 220 萬美元主要是因為營運活動現金減少 320 萬美元和投資活動現金減少 450 萬美元，部分被融資活動提供的現金 150 萬美元抵銷。

Cash used in operating activities included severance payments due to restructuring professional services related to the continuing financing under the credit agreement, legal settlements, integration costs, and a decline in EBITDA, partially offset by proceeds to the employee retention credits. Cash outflows from investing activities was $500,000 due to capital expenditures, offset by proceeds from the sale of an asset.

經營活動中使用的現金包括因與信貸協議下的持續融資相關的專業服務重組而產生的遣散費、法律和解、整合成本以及 EBITDA 的下降，部分被員工保留信貸收益所抵消。由於資本支出，投資活動產生的現金流出為 500,000 美元，被出售資產的收益所抵銷。

Cash provided by financing activities $1 million due to proceeds from issuance of common stock from proceeds from related party note payable partially offset by term loans and lines of credit repayments. Looking forward, as we stabilize top line volumes and resolve nonrecurring cash events, we continue to refocus on use of cash for EBITDA growth.

融資活動提供的現金 100 萬美元，來自發行普通股的收益，該收益來自關聯方應付票據的收益，部分被定期貸款和信貸償還額度抵消。展望未來，隨著我們穩定營收規模並解決非經常性現金事件，我們將繼續重新專注於使用現金來實現 EBITDA 成長。

Now turning to our fiscal 2023 outlook, as a result of our year-to-date performance, we are updating our 2023 guidance. We now expect total revenues of $160 million to $170 million, which assumes a low-single digit decline in same-store sales for corporate owned locations and addition of 12 to 15 new franchise restaurants, including one new Anthony's and our BurgerFi flagship in New York. Adjusted EBITDA of $6 million to $8 million, and we're expecting capital expenditures to be approximately $2 million for the full year.

現在轉向我們的 2023 財年展望，根據我們今年迄今的表現，我們正在更新 2023 年指引。我們現在預計總收入為1.6 億至1.7 億美元，假設企業擁有的門市同店銷售額出現低個位數下降，並增加12 至15 家新的特許經營餐廳，包括一家新的Anthony's 和我們在紐約的BurgerFi 旗艦店。調整後的 EBITDA 為 600 萬至 800 萬美元，我們預計全年資本支出約為 200 萬美元。

With that, operator, please open up the call for questions. Thank you.

那麼，接線員，請撥打電話詢問問題。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Peter Saleh, BTIG.

（操作員說明）Peter Saleh，BTIG。

Great, thanks, and thanks for taking the question. I did want to ask maybe just on BurgerFi, about a 600 basis point gap between corporate performance and franchise performance, can you just guys talk a little bit about why that gap and why so wide is their pricing differential as a more regional? I guess that's my first question on the counter.

太好了，謝謝，感謝您提出問題。我確實想問 BurgerFi，公司業績和特許經營業績之間大約有 600 個基點的差距，你們能談談為什麼會出現這種差距，以及為什麼他們的定價差異如此之大？我想這是我在櫃檯上提出的第一個問題。

Yes, Peter, it's Carl. I think you answered your question. So I think it is a combination of both, different pricing strategies. Also, the franchise business is highly leveraged, I guess, in a positive way through the non-traditional space. So they do much higher volumes, obviously, so your airports, et cetera. I think that's the biggest difference.

是的，彼得，是卡爾。我想你回答了你的問題。所以我認為這是兩種不同定價策略的結合。此外，我認為，特許經營業務在非傳統領域以積極的方式發揮高槓桿作用。顯然，他們的產量要高得多，機場等也是如此。我認為這是最大的區別。

And then there's some regional performance too. We saw a back to pre-COVID normalcy of trends that we haven't seen in Florida in last few years. And the corporate restaurants are heavily -- may affect all, but one are in Florida, but I think that's the difference.

然後還有一些區域表現。我們看到了過去幾年在佛羅裡達州從未見過的趨勢，回到了新冠疫情前的常態。企業餐廳可能會影響所有人，但其中一家在佛羅裡達州，但我認為這就是區別。

Great. And then just on -- I think you guys mentioned you're assessing the system and closing some underperforming units. Any thoughts on when this assessment will be complete? How many units you plan to close? And just regionality, if you can offer that?

偉大的。然後，我想你們提到你們正在評估系統並關閉一些表現不佳的單位。關於評估何時完成有什麼想法嗎？您計劃關閉多少個單位？如果你能提供的話，只是地域性？

Sure. So we've already start, and we'll continue to do that through the end of the year. We're probably in the low single digits of looking at what's left in our portfolio. So we've already made some closures both on corporate and franchise side. So we're in a much better place today. So I think by the end of the year, we'll have a very good idea -- a full good amount of time to us.

當然。所以我們已經開始了，並將繼續這樣做到今年年底。我們可能只關注投資組合中剩下的部分。因此，我們已經在公司和特許經營方面關閉了一些公司。所以我們今天的處境好得多。所以我認為到今年年底，我們將會有一個非常好的主意——給我們充足的時間。

And then just, Carl, you mentioned in healthy fast-casual branch, it have 10% to 15% chicken mix because of launching the new chicken sandwich. You're not really involved in that category right now. How do you plan to get the word out on this -- kind of drive that mix higher, which in essence really should be incremental?

然後，卡爾，你提到在健康快餐休閒分支，由於推出了新的雞肉三明治，它有 10% 到 15% 的雞肉混合物。您現在還沒有真正參與該類別。你打算如何宣傳這種混合更高的驅動力，本質上應該是增量的？

Absolutely. Well, first of all, November 1, we launched the first leg of that with our new chicken wings. And it's been extremely successful. We love via the fall, football wings, comfort food, and we have a great product there. We've had great results.

絕對地。嗯，首先，11 月 1 日，我們用我們的新雞翅推出了第一站。而且它非常成功。我們喜歡秋天、足球翅膀、舒適的食物，我們在那裡有很棒的產品。我們取得了很好的成果。

As a matter of fact, the chicken wings were the highest reviewed new LTO in over four years at BurgerFi, of highest reviews we've gotten on any product line.

事實上，雞翅是 BurgerFi 四年多來評價最高的新型 LTO，也是我們在所有產品線上獲得的最高評價。

So that was step one. So that's already started. And really, being able to share that digitally and social media, tying it into the seasonality of football and wings, so we really think that was the starting point. And then when you think about comfort foods and chicken sandwiches and playing in the chicken wars, that's kind of our next step. And we're getting right ready to launch our new improved crispy chicken and our grilled chicken offerings. We'll be testing in our corporate restaurants at the end of this month. So that's really where we're starting with our launch.

這是第一步。所以這已經開始了。事實上，能夠透過數位和社交媒體分享，將其與足球和邊翼的季節性聯繫起來，所以我們真的認為這是起點。然後當你想到舒適的食物和雞肉三明治以及玩小雞大戰時，這就是我們的下一步。我們正準備推出新改良的脆皮雞和烤雞產品。我們將於本月底在我們的公司餐廳進行測試。這就是我們發布產品的真正起點。

Great. Thanks. I'll pass it along.

偉大的。謝謝。我會把它傳遞下去。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Albanese, EF Hutton.

（操作員說明）Mike Albanese，EF Hutton。

Yeah, hi. Good morning, guy. Thanks for taking my question. Just one regarding kind of the store optimization and what you're seeing regarding comp sales, maybe the divergence between your highest performing stores than your lowest performing stores, probably excluding the non-traditional mix? Any insight into kind of that divergence would be helpful.

是的，嗨。早上好，夥計。感謝您提出我的問題。只是關於商店優化類型以及您所看到的比較銷售方面的問題，也許您業績最高的商店與業績最低的商店之間的差異，可能不包括非傳統組合？任何對這種分歧的洞察都會有所幫助。

I mean, I think for our perspective, I think, we're talked about -- hey, this is Chris, Mike -- is originally, I've seen better trends -- there's really -- soon more recently post this launch. Trends will certainly within the BurgerFi business has really picked up from a traffic perspective. We feel certainly good about that.

我的意思是，我認為從我們的角度來看，我認為我們正在談論- 嘿，這是克里斯，邁克- 最初，我看到了更好的趨勢- 確實- 很快就會在這次發布後出現。從流量的角度來看，BurgerFi 業務的趨勢肯定會真正回升。我們對此感覺當然很好。

As you mentioned in terms of overall location, we are returning to a more seasonalized routines. So we have seen that in Miami Fort Lauderdale area. We will have -- we had challenging September than we were expecting. But as trends tick up late, in October, November, we should be seeing improving trends there as well.

正如您在總體位置方面提到的，我們正在回歸更季節性的慣例。我們在邁阿密勞德代爾堡地區看到了這一點。我們將度過一個比我們預期的更具挑戰性的九月。但隨著十月、十一月後期趨勢的上升，我們也應該看到那裡的趨勢有所改善。

I don't think we're alone since looking at some of our competitors out there, similar data trends there as well. So I'm not sure you can -- when we say there's annual regionality other than that and on the high gap, sort of high low performance, with specific to one area.

我認為我們並不孤單，因為我們觀察了一些競爭對手的情況，也發現了類似的數據趨勢。所以我不確定你能不能——當我們說除此之外還有年度區域性時，以及高差距、高低績效，特定於一個地區。

Got it. That's helpful. I guess just maybe to be more direct, I mean, are you seeing stores at some of your locations that are seeing positive comps versus you have underperforming stores, those things, very negative comp sales, right, because the number that we see is just kind of a mix of everything. I'm just curious what kind of the spread between the two are.

知道了。這很有幫助。我想也許更直接地說，我的意思是，你是否在某些地點看到商店看到了積極的競爭，而你的商店表現不佳，這些東西，非常負面的競爭銷售，對吧，因為我們看到的數字只是有點像一切的混合體。我只是好奇這兩者之間的差距是怎麼樣的。

Yeah, we have -- I think the thing we did when we first started here is we realigned our operational team and the corporate side is broken into three regions. And those three regions, there's some diversion between the three, but the first leader that we put in place has had the most time in place and you're seeing positive comps in his region. So I think that's a big part of that securing operations.

是的，我們——我認為我們剛開始在這裡時所做的事情是我們重新調整了我們的營運團隊，並將公司方面分為三個區域。在這三個區域中，這三個區域之間存在一些轉移，但我們任命的第一位領導者在位時間最長，並且您在他的區域中看到了積極的比較。所以我認為這是確保營運安全的重要組成部分。

The other is, for sure, this bifurcation, if you will, of stores that are high performers as well as stores that are not. But I think a lot of it was about solidifying our operational leadership team. Hence, as we've done that, well, a couple of things have happened. Our throughput has gotten better. Our ticket times have gotten better. Our turnovers significantly better, both hourly and management. Thus, really that piece of operational focus has helped us, and that's really kind of created that bifurcation. And early into the third quarter, we then added some more strength to our operational team. And now we're starting to see positive green shoots, if you will, in those two markets as well. So I think that's probably the separation as opposed to a regional separation, if that makes sense.

當然，另一個問題是，如果你願意的話，表現出色的商店和表現不佳的商店之間存在分歧。但我認為這很大程度上是為了鞏固我們的營運領導團隊。因此，當我們這樣做時，發生了一些事情。我們的吞吐量變得更好了。我們的售票時間變得更好了。我們的營業額顯著改善，無論是小時還是管理。因此，營運重點確實對我們有幫助，這確實造成了分歧。進入第三季初，我們為營運團隊增添了更多力量。現在，如果你願意的話，我們也開始在這兩個市場看到正面的萌芽。所以我認為這可能是分離而不是區域分離，如果這有意義的話。

Yes, it does. Thank you very much. That's helpful.

是的，它確實。非常感謝。這很有幫助。

And ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll be concluding today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to Carl Bachmann for any closing remarks.

女士們、先生們，我們今天的問答環節就到此結束。我想請卡爾·巴赫曼（Carl Bachmann）發表結束語。

Thank you. I just want to say thank you for your time and questions. Chris and myself and the entire team are really excited about our new direction and our recent momentum. I look forward to share our continued improvements on our next call as we progress on this journey. Have a great day. Thank you.

謝謝。我只想對您抽出時間並提出問題表示感謝。克里斯和我本人以及整個團隊對我們的新方向和最近的勢頭感到非常興奮。隨著我們在這趟旅程中取得進展，我期待在下次電話會議上分享我們的持續改進。祝你有美好的一天。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, with that. we'll conclude today's conference call and presentation. We thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，就這樣。我們將結束今天的電話會議和演示。我們感謝您的加入。現在您可以斷開線路。