Dine Brands Global Inc (DIN) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Dine Brands First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

美好的一天，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Dine Brands 第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄製中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your host today, Matt Lee, Senior Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給今天的東道主，財務和投資者關係高級副總裁馬特李 (Matt Lee)。請繼續。

Good morning and welcome to Dine Brands Global's first quarter fiscal 2024 conference call. This morning's call will include prepared remarks from John Peyton, CEO, and Vance Chang, CFO. Following those prepared remarks, Tony Moralejo, President of Applebee's, and Jay Johns, President of IHOP, will also be available to address questions from the investment community during the Q&A portion of the call.

早安，歡迎參加 Dine Brands Global 2024 財年第一季電話會議。今天早上的電話會議將包括執行長約翰·佩頓 (John Peyton) 和首席財務官萬斯·張 (Vance Chang) 準備好的演講。在這些準備好的演講之後，Applebee's 總裁 Tony Moralejo 和 IHOP 總裁 Jay Johns 也將在電話會議的問答部分回答投資界提出的問題。

Please remember our safe harbor regarding forward-looking information. During the call, management will discuss information that is forward-looking and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results to be different than those expressed or implied. Please evaluate the forward-looking information in the context of these factors, which are detailed in today's press release and 10-Q filing. The forward-looking statements are as of today, and we assume no obligation to update or supplement these statements.

請記住我們關於前瞻性資訊的安全港。在電話會議期間，管理階層將討論前瞻性訊息，涉及已知和未知的風險、不確定性和其他因素，這些因素可能導致實際結果與明示或暗示的結果不同。請在這些因素的背景下評估前瞻性信息，這些因素在今天的新聞稿和 10-Q 文件中進行了詳細介紹。前瞻性陳述截至今天，我們不承擔更新或補充這些陳述的義務。

We will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures which are described in our press release and available on Dine Brands Investor Relations website. For calendar planning purposes, we are tentatively scheduled to release our Q2 2024 earnings before the market opens on August 7, 2024, and to host a conference call that morning to discuss the results.

我們將參考我們的新聞稿中描述的某些非公認會計原則財務指標，這些指標可在 Dine Brands 投資者關係網站上找到。出於日曆規劃的目的，我們暫定於 2024 年 8 月 7 日開盤前發布 2024 年第二季度收益，並於當天上午召開電話會議討論結果。

With that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to Dine Brands CEO, John Peyton.

至此，我很高興將電話轉給 Dine Brands 執行長約翰·佩頓 (John Peyton)。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for our first quarter earnings call. Today, I'll share Dine's Q1 results and discuss trends in consumer behavior and discuss operational highlights across our portfolio. I'll also provide an update on our development strategy and then Vance will discuss our financial results and capital allocation plans in more detail. During the first quarter, like others in our industry, we saw large areas of the country experience poor weather, impacting sales and traffic. And consumer caution with respect to economic conditions persisted in the post-holiday period. As a result, the consumer has become more price sensitive, as indicated by the response to our limited time promotions. For example, at Applebee's, 28% of our transactions were tied to a limited time offer or promotion, which was up from 19% in the previous quarter as well as the prior year. We also continue to see guests trade down from higher priced items at both IHOP and Applebee's, another indicator that guests are managing their wallet. Despite the volatile macroenvironment causing a slower start to 2024 than we anticipated, we are encouraged to see that our value-driven strategy helped to mitigate some of the challenges in Q1 and importantly, drive sequential improvements throughout the quarter.

大家早安，感謝您參加我們的第一季財報電話會議。今天，我將分享 Dine 第一季的業績，討論消費者行為的趨勢，並討論我們投資組合的營運亮點。我還將提供有關我們發展策略的最新信息，然後萬斯將更詳細地討論我們的財務業績和資本分配計劃。在第一季度，與我們行業的其他人一樣，我們看到全國大部分地區經歷了惡劣的天氣，影響了銷售和流量。節後時期消費者對經濟狀況的謹慎態度依然存在。結果，消費者對價格變得更加敏感，正如對我們限時促銷的反應所顯示的那樣。例如，在 Applebee's，我們 28% 的交易與限時優惠或促銷相關，高於上一季和去年的 19%。我們也繼續看到客人在 IHOP 和 Applebee's 購買高價商品，這也是客人管理錢包的另一個跡象。儘管不穩定的宏觀環境導致2024 年開局比我們預期的要慢，但我們欣喜地看到，我們的價值驅動策略有助於緩解第一季的一些挑戰，更重要的是，推動整個季度的連續改進。

Our approach was validated by guest response to our LTOs and enthusiastic reactions to our continued menu innovation, and reinforced by strong marketing calendars and brand relevancy. So, with that, I'll walk through our key financial highlights, recognizing that we're comping over a strong Q1 2023. In Q1, our EBITDA was $60.8 million compared to $66.4 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues were down 3.5% for Q1. Applebee's reported a 4.6% reduction in comp sales lapping last year's positive 6.1% Q1 comp sales growth. IHOP posted negative 1.7% comp sales lapping a positive 8.7% increase in comp sales the same time last year and adjusted free cash flow was $29.7 million, which was an increase of $27.5 million. Overall, despite the slow start to the year, we remain committed to our guidance for the full year.

我們的方法得到了客人對 LTO 的反應和對我們持續菜單創新的熱情反應的驗證，並透過強大的行銷日曆和品牌相關性得到加強。因此，我將介紹我們的主要財務亮點，認識到我們在 2023 年第一季的表現強勁。第一季營收下降 3.5%。 Applebee's 報告稱，同業銷售下降了 4.6%，超過了去年第一季同業銷售 6.1% 的正成長。 IHOP 公佈的同業銷售額為負 1.7%，與去年同期的同業銷售額正增長 8.7% 相比，調整後的自由現金流為 2,970 萬美元，增加了 2,750 萬美元。總體而言，儘管今年開局緩慢，但我們仍然致力於全年的指導。

I'll turn now to highlights of Applebee's performance. In Q1, Applebee's results were impacted by challenges I referenced related to weather and consumer pullback after the holiday season. However, the brand's performance steadily improved throughout the quarter, supported by effective marketing and promotional campaigns, which contributed to Applebee's outperforming Black Box traffic in Q1. Applebee's innovation pipeline was particularly strong in Q1, with 3 limited time offerings strategically spaced throughout the quarter that delivered on our focus of offering compelling value, aligned with our brand promise, meeting the guest where they are, and pairing the relevancy of our brands with important cultural moments. In January, we kicked off the new year with our All You Can Eat promotion, which exceeded our expectations and outperformed All You Can Eat from the prior 2 years. In February, the Applebee's Date Night Pass, launched just in time for Valentine's Day, offered guests over $1,500 in dining value for the unbeatable price of just $200. It sold out within minutes, demonstrating the strong connection the brand holds with its guests. The Date Night Pass and the media coverage was outstanding, generating more than 2.4 billion impressions and the social conversation on Applebee's and date night increased by more than 115%.

現在我要來談談Applebee 的表演亮點。在第一季度，Applebee 的業績受到我提到的與天氣和假期後消費者回落相關的挑戰的影響。然而，在有效的營銷和促銷活動的支持下，該品牌的業績在整個季度穩步提高，這使得 Applebee 在第一季的流量表現優於 Black Box。 Applebee 的創新管道在第一季尤其強勁，整個季度策略性地分佈了3 種限時產品，這些產品體現了我們的重點：提供引人注目的價值，與我們的品牌承諾保持一致，在客人所在的地方滿足他們的需求，並將我們品牌的相關性與他們的需求結合。一月份，我們以「吃到飽」促銷活動拉開了新的一年的序幕，該活動超出了我們的預期，並且表現優於前兩年的「吃到飽」活動。今年 2 月，Applebee's Date Night Pass 恰逢情人節推出，為客人提供價值超過 1,500 美元的餐飲服務，價格僅為 200 美元。它在幾分鐘之內就被搶購一空，展示了品牌與客人之間的緊密聯繫。約會之夜通行證和媒體報導非常出色，產生了超過 24 億次展示次數，Applebee's 和約會之夜的社交對話增加了 115% 以上。

Turning now to March. Following a national double-blind taste test of our classic buffalo sauced boneless wings, Applebee's was crowned with the title of America's Favorite Boneless Wings, and we leveraged this to spotlight the brand and draw guests to our restaurants. This was the basis of our national campaign that ran during March Madness, where we offered guests $0.50 boneless wings. It was the first time we extended a disruptive value promotion, also to be available via to-go, which resulted in improved off-premise volumes while also maintaining a steady dine-in business. As we continue to look for new ways to reach our guests where they are, we're working to enhance our off-premise offerings, and we're pleased to see initial success with our boneless wings. This dine-in and off-premise combination drove a strong finish to the quarter, outpacing Black Box 5 times in Q1, 4 of which were the last 4 weeks of the quarter, setting us up well for Q2.

現在轉向三月。在對我們的經典水牛醬無骨雞翅進行全國雙盲口味測試後，Applebee's 榮獲“美國最受歡迎的無骨雞翅”稱號，我們利用這一點來突出該品牌並吸引客人光臨我們的餐廳。這是我們在瘋狂三月期間開展的全國活動的基礎，我們為客人提供 0.5 美元的無骨雞翅。這是我們第一次推出顛覆性的價值促銷，也可以透過外送進行，從而提高了店外銷量，同時也維持了穩定的堂食業務。隨著我們不斷尋找新的方式來接觸我們的客人，我們正在努力增強我們的場外服務，我們很高興看到我們的無骨雞翅取得了初步成功。這種堂食和店外組合推動了本季度的強勁業績，在第一季度超過 Black Box 5 次，其中 4 次是在本季度的最後 4 週，為我們第二季度做好了準備。

Our innovation pipeline is designed to drive steady cadence of exciting developments to showcase the brand and give guests more reasons to come back to Applebee's. Some highlights currently rolling out include the Whole Lotta Bacon Burger, which launched in April; our recently announced NFL sponsorship as the Official Grill and Bar of the Nfl; followed by the return of DOLLARITA just last week that features a new appetizer, our loaded chicken fries. Also of note, since the launch of Applebee's new website and mobile app in December, we've seen the highest conversion rates of the last 2 years. In fact, we're seeing a higher percentage of guests choosing to place their orders digitally, as well as higher check averages compared to our prior site and app. Applebee's performance improved throughout the quarter, and we're encouraged by the continued positive momentum so far in Q2, supporting our guidance for the year.

我們的創新管道旨在推動令人興奮的開發項目的穩定節奏，以展示品牌並讓客人有更多理由再次光臨 Applebee's。目前推出的一些亮點包括 4 月推出的 Whole Lotta Bacon Burger；我們最近宣布成為 NFL 官方燒烤店和酒吧的 NFL 贊助商；接下來，上週 DOLLARITA 又回歸了，推出了新的開胃菜——我們的炸雞薯條。另外值得注意的是，自從 Applebee 的新網站和行動應用程式於 12 月推出以來，我們看到了過去兩年來的最高轉換率。事實上，與我們之前的網站和應用程式相比，我們看到選擇以數位方式下訂單的客人比例更高，檢查平均值也更高。 Applebee 整個季度的業績都有所改善，我們對第二季度迄今為止持續的積極勢頭感到鼓舞，支持了我們今年的指引。

Now moving on to IHOP. While the top line experienced a slight pullback for the first time in 3 years, we maintained a steady flow of timely, relevant campaigns that helped offset the modest weather-related headwinds, a tough comp rollover due to the closure of our virtual brand partner Nextbite, and the impact of the economic pressures our guests are facing. Our strategy to focus on the guest experience, menu innovation and targeted marketing, executed in a very nimble and creative way, will allow us to deliver positive comps for the full year. We had a great run of sequential growth with 11 quarters of positive comps leading up to this quarter, and we're confident we will return to that pattern.

現在轉向 IHOP。雖然營收三年來首次出現小幅回落，但我們仍保持了穩定的及時、相關的營銷活動，幫助抵消了與天氣相關的溫和不利因素，以及由於我們的虛擬品牌合作夥伴Nextbite 關閉而帶來的艱難的補償調整，以及我們的客人面臨的經濟壓力的影響。我們的策略專注於賓客體驗、菜單創新和有針對性的行銷，並以非常靈活和富有創意的方式執行，這將使我們能夠在全年提供積極的業績。到本季為止，我們已經連續 11 個季度實現了積極的業績成長，並且我們有信心恢復到這種模式。

And now for a review of activity in the quarter. We started the year with the return of our guest favorite, Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity, featuring a new combo that allowed guests to customize their orders at a value price point of $7. As a result, IHOP's comp sales outperformed the Black Box family dining segment in 4 out of 6 weeks during the promotion. In February, we launched our new Pancake of the Month, where each month we are introducing a new pancake flavor and the opportunity for members to earn bonus loyalty points to keep guests engaged and coming back. In April, we launched national TV advertising to support the campaign, and sales have trended in line with our most popular flavored pancakes after only 2 months.

現在回顧本季的活動。新年伊始，我們的客人最喜歡的 Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity 再次回歸，推出了新的組合，讓客人可以以 7 美元的超值價格自訂自己的訂單。因此，在促銷期間，IHOP 的贈品銷售在 6 週內有 4 週的表現優於 Black Box 家庭餐飲部門。二月份，我們推出了新的本月煎餅，每個月我們都會推出新的煎餅口味，並讓會員有機會賺取獎勵忠誠積分，以保持客人的參與度並成為回頭客。 4 月份，我們推出了全國電視廣告來支持活動，僅 2 個月後，銷售趨勢就與我們最受歡迎的口味煎餅一致。

This is also a good example of how we pair new menu launches with exclusive loyalty benefits to continue to grow that platform. Our loyalty program signups steadily increased during the quarter and as of today, we are at 9 million members. In February, we also celebrated IHOP's National Pancake Day. This year was particularly special as we served over 1 million pancakes to our guests, and we launched a new nationwide community platform, Stacking Up Joy, designed to bring people together in the communities we serve. The Stacking Up Joy platform garnered 2.3 billion impressions and raised enough money to donate over 1 million meals to people facing hunger. As I mentioned earlier, the closure of our virtual brand partner Nextbite impacted our year-over-year comp sales. However, we still see opportunity with virtual brands that target IHOP's off-peak hours and utilize kitchen capacity outside of our traditional daypart to support incremental sales growth.

這也是我們如何將新菜單發布與獨家忠誠度福利結合起來以繼續發展該平台的一個很好的例子。我們的忠誠度計畫註冊人數在本季穩定成長，截至目前，我們的會員人數已達 900 萬人。二月份，我們也慶祝了 IHOP 全國煎餅日。今年特別特別，因為我們為客人提供了超過 100 萬份煎餅，並且我們推出了一個新的全國性社區平台 Stacking Up Joy，旨在將我們服務的社區中的人們聚集在一起。 Stacking Up Joy 平台獲得了 23 億次曝光，並籌集了足夠的資金，為面臨飢餓的人們捐贈了超過 100 萬份餐點。正如我之前提到的，我們的虛擬品牌合作夥伴 Nextbite 的關閉影響了我們的年比銷售。然而，我們仍然看到虛擬品牌的機會，這些品牌針對 IHOP 非高峰時段，並利用傳統時段以外的廚房容量來支持增量銷售成長。

In partnership with Virtual Dining Concepts, we recently introduced 2 new virtual brands, Refuel Tenders & Burgers, developed in collaboration with NASCAR, and MLB Ballpark Bites, created in partnership with Major League Baseball. Over 1,000 restaurants now offer at least 1 of these brands and 50% offer 2 or more as of May. Outside of our IHOP restaurants, our CPG coffee line is on more than 30,000 retail shelves across the U.S. and continues to grow, with 2 new varieties launching soon. This past quarter, we announced our limited-time partnership with Lay's to launch the IHOP Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity flavored Lay's potato chip, which reinforced brand awareness and was a sellout in retail channels.

我們最近與 Virtual Dining Concepts 合作推出了 2 個新的虛擬品牌：與 NASCAR 合作開發的 Refuel Tenders & Burgers 以及與美國職棒大聯盟 (Major League Baseball) 合作創建的 MLB Ballpark Bites。截至 5 月，目前已有 1,000 多家餐廳提供至少 1 個品牌，其中 50% 提供 2 個或更多品牌。除了 IHOP 餐廳之外，我們的 CPG 咖啡系列在美國各地的 30,000 多個零售貨架上有售，並且還在繼續增長，即將推出 2 個新品種。上個季度，我們宣布與樂事 (Lay's) 限時合作，推出 IHOP Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity 口味的樂事薯片，增強了品牌知名度，並在零售渠道銷售一空。

Operationally, our point-of-sale rollout is nearly complete, and we are now starting to shift our focus to tablets and payment devices. More than 50% of the IHOP system has implemented tablets and payment devices to date, and we are encouraged to see that transactions taken on tablets with payment devices have a higher beverage attachment rate, improved table turn times, decreased voids, and higher tips for servers. As you can tell, there's a lot going on at IHOP. While the performance was obscured by tough conditions and the virtual brand rollover in Q1, these initiatives give us confidence for improved performance through the remainder of the year.

在營運方面，我們的銷售點部署已接近完成，我們現在開始將重點轉向平板電腦和支付設備。迄今為止，超過50% 的IHOP 系統已經實施了平板電腦和支付設備，我們很高興地看到，在帶有支付設備的平板電腦上進行的交易具有更高的飲料附著率、改善的餐桌週轉時間、減少的空缺以及更高的小費。如你所知，IHOP 發生了很多事情。雖然業績因第一季的嚴峻形勢和虛擬品牌更新而受到影響，但這些舉措讓我們有信心在今年剩餘時間內提高業績。

Turning now to Fuzzy's. As a refresher, we acquired Fuzzy's in December 2022 to diversify our portfolio with a fast casual concept to offer franchisees in the Dine system a third brand in which to invest and because of its potential to accelerate our long-term growth. To contextualize its current scale, as of Q1 2024, Fuzzy's is a 128-unit brand in a highly-concentrated geographic footprint, with more than half of its locations in Texas. We've completed our integration and are starting to see the benefit of leveraging the capabilities and expertise of the Dine platform, particularly as it relates to Fuzzy's introduction of value-driven promotions and marketing. While the quarter was impacted by weather and high pricing from franchisees, we are executing near-term initiatives to support our long-term growth strategy for Fuzzy's.

現在轉向 Fuzzy 的。回顧一下，我們在 2022 年 12 月收購了 Fuzzy's，以快速休閒概念實現我們的產品組合多元化，為 Dine 系統中的特許經營商提供第三個投資品牌，因為它有加速我們長期增長的潛力。從目前的規模來看，截至 2024 年第一季度，Fuzzy's 是一個擁有 128 個單位的品牌，地理位置高度集中，其中超過一半的門市位於德克薩斯州。我們已經完成了整合，並開始看到利用 Dine 平台的功能和專業知識的好處，特別是因為它與 Fuzzy 引入價值驅動的促銷和行銷相關。雖然本季受到天氣和特許經營商高定價的影響，但我們正在執行近期計劃，以支持 Fuzzy's 的長期成長策略。

For example, during the quarter we tested a new advertising campaign, a first of its kind for Fuzzy's, highlighting the launch of its Primo Baja menu. We're pleased with the initial results and will continue to explore additional opportunities to grow the brand. While we're not yet giving development guidance for Fuzzy's, we'd like to provide an update given its strategic relevancy to Dine's overall growth. Over the past year, Fuzzy's has been focused on cleaning up its system, which included some strategic closures. We're excited to share that we recently signed 2 multiunit deals. An existing Fuzzy's franchisee has committed to developing 15 restaurants, and an IHOP franchisee has committed to develop 25 Fuzzy's restaurants over the course of the next several years. While we won't see impact in 2024, these deals speak to the potential of Fuzzy's as our growth brand in 2025 and beyond.

例如，在本季度，我們測試了一項新的廣告活動，這是 Fuzzy's 的首個此類廣告活動，重點介紹了 Primo Baja 菜單的推出。我們對初步結果感到滿意，並將繼續探索更多機會來發展品牌。雖然我們尚未為 Fuzzy’s 提供開發指導，但鑑於其與 Dine 整體成長的策略相關性，我們希望提供最新資訊。在過去的一年裡，Fuzzy's 一直致力於清理其係統，其中包括策略性關閉一些公司。我們很高興與大家分享，我們最近簽署了兩份多單元交易。現有的 Fuzzy's 特許經營商已承諾開發 15 家餐廳，IHOP 特許經營商已承諾在未來幾年內開發 25 家 Fuzzy's 餐廳。雖然我們不會在 2024 年看到影響，但這些交易證明了 Fuzzy's 作為我們在 2025 年及以後的成長品牌的潛力。

We're pleased with the opportunities we're seeing post-integration, and we'll continue to focus on driving brand awareness and supporting new functions. On the international side of the business, we're impacted by geopolitical conflict in some regions, and we remain focused on our long-term growth plans for the quarter. Our international dual-branded Applebee's-IHOP concepts are doing well and serve as a testing ground for future domestic application. Overall development remains steady with 4 new openings and 6 planned closures in Q1 for a net closure of 2 restaurants. We remain optimistic about our international growth and strategically scaling our global footprint.

我們對整合後看到的機會感到很高興，我們將繼續專注於提高品牌知名度並支持新功能。在國際業務方面，我們受到一些地區地緣政治衝突的影響，我們仍然專注於本季的長期成長計劃。我們的國際雙品牌 Applebee's-IHOP 概念表現良好，可作為未來國內應用的試驗場。整體發展保持穩定，第一季新開 4 家餐廳，計劃關閉 6 家餐廳，淨關閉 2 家餐廳。我們對我們的國際成長和策略性擴大我們的全球足跡保持樂觀。

And finally, to touch on our development strategy. We're continuing to establish a strong foundation to efficiently scale our development program, and we've made great progress this quarter, building on our internal capabilities to support development across the entire Dine platform, investing in nontraditional development, marketing, and making several key hires. The team is actively in market, reviewing opportunities for new sites, both traditional and nontraditional, and working closely with franchisees to support their growth plans that are aligned with our previously disclosed pipeline and guidance. We're creating a support team and developing incentives for our franchisees to make restaurant development more approachable. With new programs to provide access to capital. We continue to see and are very pleased by the cross-pollination of franchisees looking for new opportunities across the Dine system, an important pillar to the Dine development thesis. We're also looking to accelerate newbuilds by responding to the demand for dual-branded restaurants domestically. The interest we're receiving from franchisees about the dual-branded concepts are all very positive. Of course, there's still plenty of work and research to be done around this concept, and we're glad to see positive engagement from guests and franchisees alike.

最後，談談我們的發展策略。我們將繼續為有效擴展我們的開發計劃奠定堅實的基礎，本季度我們取得了巨大進展，利用我們的內部能力來支持整個Dine 平台的開發，投資於非傳統開發、營銷，並做出了一些貢獻。該團隊積極進入市場，審查傳統和非傳統的新地點的機會，並與特許經營商密切合作，支持他們的成長計劃，這些計劃與我們之前披露的管道和指導一致。我們正在創建一支支援團隊，並為我們的特許經營商制定激勵措施，以使餐廳的開發變得更加平易近人。透過新計劃提供獲得資本的機會。我們繼續看到特許經營者在整個餐飲系統中尋找新機會，並對此感到非常高興，這是餐飲發展論文的重要支柱。我們也希望透過滿足國內對雙品牌餐廳的需求來加速新建餐廳。我們從特許經營商收到的對雙品牌概念的興趣都是非常積極的。當然，圍繞著這個概念仍有大量工作和研究要做，我們很高興看到客人和加盟商的積極參與。

This quarter, we also launched the [Dine Forward] franchise program, known as Dine Forward . Dine Forward is aimed at incentivizing potential franchisees from underrepresented communities to establish restaurants within our system and provide enhanced operational and financial support. We're thrilled to announce that our first participant, a general manager who's been in the IHOP system for over 20 years, will open his first restaurant in DC later this month. It's important to reiterate that enhancements to our development function and the Dine Forward program are funded by reallocating costs within Dine's existing cost structure and not by increasing overall spend.

本季度，我們也推出了【Dine Forward】特許經營計劃，稱為Dine Forward。 Dine Forward 旨在激勵來自代表性不足社區的潛在特許經營商在我們的系統內開設餐廳，並提供增強的營運和財務支援。我們很高興地宣布，我們的第一位參與者，一位在 IHOP 系統工作了 20 多年的總經理，將於本月晚些時候在華盛頓開設他的第一家餐廳。需要重申的是，我們的開發功能和 Dine Forward 計劃的增強是透過在 Dine 現有成本結構內重新分配成本來提供資金的，而不是透過增加總體支出來提供資金。

Now to provide brand development updates from the quarter. As a reminder, we do not give quarterly guidance, but the following commentary is to offer context to how we remain in line with our annual domestic development guidance goals. First, at Applebee's, we're making progress on the freestanding prototype, which is currently in Phase I of a 9-month effort to significantly take out construction costs. In Q1, Applebee's had net domestic closures of 5, and we were on track with our domestic guidance of 25 to 35 net closures. These were planned closures and built into our guidance. For Q1, at IHOP, domestically, we opened 5 restaurants and closed 9 for a net closure of 4 restaurants. As is standard in IHOP's development cycle, we see more closures earlier in the year, with new openings concentrated toward the latter half of the year. We remain on target for our full year guidance with net 15 to 25 new domestic restaurants.

現在提供本季的品牌發展更新。提醒一下，我們不提供季度指導，但以下評論旨在為我們如何與年度國內發展指導目標保持一致提供背景。首先，在 Applebee's，我們正在獨立式原型機方面取得進展，該原型機目前處於為期 9 個月的第一階段，旨在大幅降低建築成本。第一季度，Applebee's 的國內淨關閉數量為 5 家，我們的國內指引目標為 25 至 35 家淨關閉。這些是計劃中的關閉並納入我們的指導中。第一季度，在 IHOP，我們在國內開設了 5 家餐廳，關閉了 9 家餐廳，淨關閉 4 家餐廳。按照 IHOP 開發週期的標準，我們在今年稍早看到更多的關閉，而新開幕的飯店則集中在下半年。我們仍保持全年指導目標，淨增 15 至 25 家新國內餐廳。

And with that I'll turn the call over to Vance.

然後我會將電話轉給萬斯。

Thank you, John. While the quarter was not as strong as we had anticipated due to external headwinds, we remain committed to our guidance for the full year. On the top line, consolidated total revenues decreased to $206.2 million in Q1 versus $213.8 million in the prior year, primarily driven by the negative comp sales growth across our brands. Our total franchise revenues decreased 2.3% to $175.9 million, compared to $180 million for the same quarter of 2023. Excluding advertising revenues, franchise revenues decreased 2.2%. Rental segment revenues for the first quarter of 2024 decreased compared to the same quarter of 2023, primarily due to prior year lease buyouts. G&A expenses increased 2.2% to $52.2 million in Q1 of 2024, up from $51.1 million in the same period of last year, mostly due to an increase in stock-based compensation and an increase in consumer research costs offset by a decrease in professional services. Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 of 2024 decreased to $60.8 million from $66.4 million in Q1 of 2023. Adjusted diluted EPS for the first quarter of 2024 was $1.33, compared to adjusted diluted EPS of $1.97 for the same period of last year.

謝謝你，約翰。儘管由於外部不利因素，本季的表現不如我們預期的那麼強勁，但我們仍然致力於全年的指導。在營收方面，第一季綜合總收入下降至 2.062 億美元，而去年同期為 2.138 億美元，這主要是由於我們各品牌的銷售收入負增長所致。我們的特許經營總收入下降了 2.3%，至 1.759 億美元，而 2023 年同一季度為 1.8 億美元。與 2023 年同季相比，2024 年第一季的租賃部門收入有所下降，這主要是由於前一年的租賃收購。 2024 年第一季，管理及行政費用成長2.2%，達到5,220 萬美元，高於去年同期的5,110 萬美元，主要原因是股票薪酬的增加以及消費者研究成本的增加，但被專業服務的減少所抵消。 2024 年第一季調整後EBITDA 從2023 年第一季的6,640 萬美元下降至6,080 萬美元。美元。

Now let's turn to the statement of cash flows. We had adjusted free cash flow of $29.7 million for the first 3 months of 2024, compared to $2.3 million for the same period of last year, driven by an increase in cash from operations and a decrease in CapEx as we concluded our technology initiatives from last year. Cash provided by operations at the end of the first quarter of 2024 was $30.6 million, compared to cash provided from operations of roughly $16.1 million for the same period of 2023. The increase was primarily due to a favorable increase in working capital. CapEx through Q1 of 2024 was $3.3 million, compared to $16 million for the same period of 2023. We finished the first quarter of total unrestricted cash of $145 million, compared with unrestricted cash of $146 million at the end of the fourth quarter. Additionally, we continue to return capital to investors. We repurchased $6 million in shares and paid $7.8 million in dividends in Q1 of 2024.

現在我們來看看現金流量表。我們將 2024 年前 3 個月的自由現金流調整為 2,970 萬美元，而去年同期為 230 萬美元，這是由於我們去年結束技術計劃後營運現金增加和資本支出減少所致年。截至 2024 年第一季末，營運提供的現金為 3,060 萬美元，而 2023 年同期營運提供的現金約為 1,610 萬美元。截至2024 年第一季的資本支出為330 萬美元，而2023 年同期為1,600 萬美元。總額為1.46 億美元。此外，我們持續向投資者返還資本。 2024 年第一季度，我們回購了 600 萬美元的股票，並支付了 780 萬美元的股息。

Next, let me discuss Applebee's performance. Q1 same-store sales were negative 4.6% as we lapped strong comps from the prior year and will continue to face a price sensitive consumer environment. Average weekly sales were over $54,700, including over $12,000 from off-premise, or over 22% of total sales, of which 10.7% is from to-go and 11.4% is from delivery. IHOP's Q1 same-store sales were negative 1.7% as we lapped strong comps from the year prior. Average weekly sales were $37,600, including $7.9 thousand from off-premise, or 21% of total sales, of which 8% is from to-go and 13% is from delivery. On the labor front, franchisees are reporting that staffing continues to improve and labor costs, while elevated, have stabilized.

接下來，我來談談Applebee的表現。第一季同店銷售額為負 4.6%，因為我們的業績較去年同期強勁，將繼續面臨價格敏感的消費者環境。平均每週銷售額超過 54,700 美元，其中場外銷售額超過 12,000 美元，佔總銷售額的 22% 以上，其中 10.7% 來自外賣，11.4% 來自送貨。 IHOP 第一季同店銷售額為負 1.7%，因為我們的業績較去年同期強勁。平均每週銷售額為 37,600 美元，其中 7,900 美元來自場外，佔總銷售額的 21%，其中 8% 來自外賣，13% 來自送貨。在勞動力方面，加盟商報告稱，人員配備持續改善，勞動力成本雖然有所上升，但已趨於穩定。

Turning to commodities, we are seeing improvement in both brands' full year-over-year market basket forecast, with IHOP improving 20 basis points and Applebee's improving 30 basis points since January. Applebee's commodity cost this quarter improved 2.4% versus Q1 of 2023, and we anticipate flat-to-low single-digit deflation for the remainder of the year. At IHOP, commodity costs improved 3.3% compared to the same period of 2023. However, we're still expecting low-single-digit inflation for the full year due to pressure primarily coming from bacon, beef, and orange juice. Our supply chain, co-op, CSCS, is working across the Applebee's and IHOP systems to identify additional cost saving opportunities and support restaurant profitability initiatives through both operational improvements and input costs. To date, in 2024, we have implemented projects resulting in over $12 million of annualized savings across the system. As a result of our restaurant profitability initiatives and the commodity deflation that we saw in Q4, on average, we have seen our franchisees' Q4 gross margins improve and overall their 4-wall dollars improve year-over-year.

至於大宗商品，我們看到兩個品牌的全年市場籃子預測均有所改善，自 1 月以來，IHOP 提高了 20 個基點，Applebee 提高了 30 個基點。 Applebee 本季的商品成本比 2023 年第一季提高了 2.4%，我們預計今年剩餘時間將出現持平至低個位數的通貨緊縮。在 IHOP，商品成本與 2023 年同期相比下降了 3.3%。我們的供應鏈、合作社、CSCS 正在 Applebee 和 IHOP 系統中開展工作，以發現額外的成本節約機會，並透過營運改善和投入成本來支援餐廳獲利計畫。到目前為止，到 2024 年，我們已經實施了一些項目，整個系統每年節省了超過 1200 萬美元。由於我們的餐廳盈利計劃和我們在第四季度看到的商品通貨緊縮，平均而言，我們看到特許經營商的第四季度毛利率有所提高，總體而言，他們的4 牆美元同比有所改善。

Before turning the call back over to John for Q&A, I'd like to quickly provide an update on our financial guidance for the year. As I mentioned, we remain committed to the guidance we provided at the end of the fourth quarter: G&A in the range of $200 million to $210 million, including noncash stock-based compensation and depreciation of approximately $35 million; EBITDA between $255 million to $265 million; CapEx in the range of approximately $15 million to $20 million; Applebee's domestic system-wide comp sales to range between 0% and 2%; IHOP domestic system-wide comp sales to range between 1% and 3%; and on 2024 development, we're expecting 25 to 35 net fewer domestic Applebee's restaurants and 15 to 25 new domestic IHOP restaurants.

在將電話轉回約翰進行問答之前，我想快速提供有關我們今年財務指引的最新資訊。正如我所提到的，我們仍然致力於第四季度末提供的指導：一般管理費用在 2 億至 2.1 億美元之間，包括非現金股票補償和約 3500 萬美元的折舊； EBITDA 在 2.55 億美元至 2.65 億美元之間；資本支出約 1,500 萬至 2,000 萬美元； Applebee 的國內全系統銷售額介於 0% 到 2% 之間； IHOP 國內系統範圍內的補償銷售額在 1% 至 3% 之間；就 2024 年的發展而言，我們預計國內 Applebee's 餐廳將淨減少 25 至 35 家，而新的國內 IHOP 餐廳將淨減少 15 至 25 家。

With that, I'll hand the call back over to John.

這樣，我會將電話轉回給約翰。

Thanks, Vance. To wrap up, thank you to our franchisees and team members for their ongoing work and commitment to growing our brands and serving our guests. In an environment in which our guests remain price sensitive, our brands are known for delivering abundant value. We're confident our recipe for growth and our focused development strategy will generate sustainable value over the long term for our shareholders and franchisees.

謝謝，萬斯。最後，感謝我們的特許經營商和團隊成員為發展我們的品牌和服務我們的客人所做的持續工作和承諾。在我們的客人對價格敏感的環境中，我們的品牌以提供豐富的價值而聞名。我們相信，我們的成長秘訣和重點發展策略將為我們的股東和特許經營商帶來長期可持續的價值。

And so, now we'll open up the call for questions and turn it back to the operator.

因此，現在我們將開放提問並將其交回給接線員。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from the line of Eric Gonzalez of KeyBanc.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 KeyBanc 的 Eric Gonzalez。

I just want to go back to the guidance. You're reiterating the 0% to 2% comp guidance for Applebee's. If I were to look at the midpoint of that range, that really implies that you need to comp in the 3s for the remainder of the year. That 3% level, that's clearly above where the industry seems to be running the last few months. So, I just want to talk about maybe some of the drivers of why you think you can get to that level or sustain at that level if you're already there, what you saw in March and as we got into April and early May that tells you that you can hit that range? And then I think you mentioned in your prepared remarks, this is a related question, but you said 28% of orders were on LTO. If you could put that into context, I think you said 19% last quarter, last year, but I'm not really sure where you were before COVID. And are you comfortable with that range and what's the ideal range for the value mix there?

我只想回到指導。您重申 Applebee's 的 0% 至 2% 補償指導。如果我看一下這個範圍的中點，這確實意味著你需要在今年剩餘的時間裡在 3 秒內進行比較。 3% 的水平顯然高於該行業過去幾個月的運行水平。所以，我只想談談為什麼你認為你可以達到這個水平或維持在這個水平（如果你已經達到了），你在三月看到的以及當我們進入四月和五月初時的一些驅動因素告訴你你可以達到這個範圍？然後我想你在準備好的發言中提到，這是一個相關的問題，但你說 28% 的訂單是在 LTO 上的。如果你能將這一點放在上下文中，我想你去年上個季度說過 19%，但我不太確定在新冠疫情爆發之前你的情況如何。您對該範圍感到滿意嗎？

Eric, it's John. I'll talk about the guidance at a high level and ask Tony to fill in the plans for the year that also add to our confidence. As I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we saw Applebee's performance improving month-over-month as well as improving versus Black Box month-over-month, and that continued from March into April. So, we're encouraged by the trend, and we're also encouraged by the plan for the year, which includes additional menu innovation that Tony will describe. The 28% LTO context, it was 18% the quarter before and tends to run in the middle in the mid-teens. One of the reasons it was accelerated in Q1 is because Applebee's ran 3 promotions during the quarter that Tony can give you some more detail on. And so, that does drive up the number somewhat. We're comfortable with that number because it's what we think is necessary now in an environment where the guest is so promotion driven across the segment. And then Tony, I think it'd be helpful if you fill in a little bit more color and what you've got planned for the year.

埃里克，這是約翰。我將在高層討論指導意見，並請托尼填寫今年的計劃，這也增加了我們的信心。正如我在準備好的演講中提到的，我們看到 Applebee 的性能逐月改善，並且與 Black Box 相比也逐月改善，這種情況從 3 月一直持續到 4 月。因此，我們對這一趨勢感到鼓舞，也對今年的計劃感到鼓舞，其中包括托尼將描述的額外菜單創新。 28% 的 LTO 背景下，上一季為 18%，並且往往處於十幾歲左右的中間水平。第一季加速的原因之一是 Applebee's 在該季度進行了 3 次促銷活動，Tony 可以向您提供更多詳細資訊。因此，這確實在一定程度上推高了這個數字。我們對這個數字感到滿意，因為我們認為在客戶在整個細分市場受到促銷推動的環境下，這是必要的。然後托尼，我認為如果你補充一點顏色以及你今年的計劃會很有幫助。

Yes, absolutely, John, happy to. So, from a big picture perspective, I'm not going to get into the details of our entire strategy, but it's important to have the right value proposition to work for your guests. That means we're going to make sure our promotional strategy continues to resonate with our guests. We'll have new compelling value-based promotions and mixed in with some of our fan favorites. We'll ramp up, as you've already seen in Q1 and Q2, our culinary and beverage innovation really across the entire barbell of menu platform. We're going to continue to focus on our off-premise business, which improved in Q1. We'll continue to focus on our operational efficiency, and we'll make sure that we elevate our operations and refresh our restaurants.

是的，當然，約翰，很高興。因此，從大局來看，我不會詳細介紹我們整個策略的細節，但為您的客人提供正確的價值主張非常重要。這意味著我們將確保我們的促銷策略繼續引起客人的共鳴。我們將推出新的引人注目的基於價值的促銷活動，並與我們的一些粉絲最愛的活動混合在一起。正如您在第一季和第二季所看到的那樣，我們將在整個菜單平台上加強我們的烹飪和飲料創新。我們將繼續專注於我們的場外業務，該業務在第一季有所改善。我們將繼續關注我們的營運效率，我們將確保提升我們的營運水準並更新我們的餐廳。

Now that's a big picture recap of our strategy. The confidence that we have for the balance of the year is that we moved in the right direction, at the end of Q1 and certainly at the beginning of Q2. The America's Favorite Boneless Wing campaign, which we offered wings at $0.50, it helped us significantly in March, and that trend extended into early April. And so it was a very disruptive campaign that really changed the trendline that we saw from January and February. And then we obviously followed that campaign with the Whole Lotta Bacon Burger that John referenced in his opening comments. And that was at $9.99, which again, is tremendous value when you consider the quality of that product. And then a week ago, we launched DOLLARITA. And DOLLARITA is another abundant value campaign that has a really strong history of sales and traffic performance, and that promotion will run for the entire month of May. So, look, it's a difficult road, as you pointed in your question, and there's going to be some bumps down the road, but we've got the right promotional strategy, and that's why we've reaffirmed our guidance today.

現在這是我們策略的總體回顧。我們對今年剩餘時間的信心是，我們在第一季末和第二季初都朝著正確的方向前進。美國最受歡迎的無骨雞翅活動，我們以 0.5 美元的價格提供雞翅，它在 3 月對我們幫助很大，而且這種趨勢一直延續到 4 月初。因此，這是一場非常顛覆性的活動，真正改變了我們從一月和二月看到的趨勢線。然後我們顯然跟隨了約翰在開場評論中提到的整塊培根漢堡的活動。價格為 9.99 美元，考慮到該產品的質量，這又是一個巨大的價值。一週前，我們推出了 DOLLARITA。 DOLLARITA 是另一個豐富的價值活動，具有非常強大的銷售和流量表現歷史，而該促銷活動將持續整個 5 月。所以，看，正如您在問題中指出的那樣，這是一條艱難的道路，並且一路上會遇到一些坎坷，但我們已經制定了正確的促銷策略，這就是我們今天重申我們的指導的原因。

And Tony, it's John. The last comment I would make is that the guest satisfaction OSAT for Applebee's and for IHOP as well improved each month during the quarter and into April as well, reflecting that during tough times like this, our restaurants really focused on the guest experience, which is a big part of distinguishing ourselves from alternatives and drawing them into the restaurants.

東尼，是約翰。我要說的最後一點是，Applebee's 和 IHOP 的顧客滿意度 OSAT 在本季度和四月份每個月都有所提高，這反映出在這樣的困難時期，我們的餐廳真正注重顧客體驗，即將我們與其他選擇區分開來並吸引他們進入餐廳的一個重要部分。

Our next question comes from the line of Nick Setyan of Wedbush.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush 的 Nick Setyan。

That was really helpful color on the promotional cadence around Applebee's. Can we just have that same discussion on IHOP as well coming out of the quarter and maybe quarter-to-date, how you feel the trends, and what's driving it?

這對 Applebee's 周圍的促銷節奏確實很有幫助。我們能否就 IHOP 以及本季甚至季度至今的情況進行同樣的討論，您對趨勢有何看法，以及推動趨勢的因素是什麼？

Sure. Short answer on that, Nick, is that IHOP also was improving sequentially throughout the quarter, which is encouraging. And we'll go right to Jay for his counter response to Tony's comments.

當然。 Nick 對此的簡短回答是，IHOP 在整個季度也持續改善，這是令人鼓舞的。我們將直接聯繫傑伊，以了解他對托尼評論的反駁。

Nick, it's Jay. Just to put that in context, I think Tony said that really well, value is critically important when you get these economic times. As the question was posed before, what gives you confidence you're going to be able to finish the year well? And in our position, we had 2 big impacts that John spoke about in his opening comments. And you had a weather impact which we don't think is going to repeat, obviously, as we get into the next quarter. And then you've got, for us, we had this rollover of our Nextbite virtual brand concepts that closed down at the end of Q2 last year. And we do have replacements for those coming with new virtual brands that we have been launching starting in about February. And they've been cascading into our restaurants continuously until now also. So, a February through May launch for those. Those should help replace those lost sales. From that, you eliminate the weather impact, you still have the economic challenges. But we were not quite as aggressive on the price-pointed value as Applebee's was. And I think you'll see us do a little more of that and plan through the year. This is not a reaction to what's going on. We intentionally went for a little more of an abundant value play in March with promoting our very popular omelets. But I think what we found was the guests are in a position where price-pointed value may be more important to them than even abundant value at this point.

尼克，是傑伊。就具體而言，我認為托尼說得很好，當你進入經濟時代時，價值至關重要。正如之前提出的問題，是什麼讓您有信心能夠出色地完成這一年？在我們的立場上，我們產生了約翰在開場白中談到的兩大影響。顯然，當我們進入下一個季度時，天氣的影響不會再次出現。然後，對於我們來說，我們對去年第二季末關閉的 Nextbite 虛擬品牌概念進行了更新。我們確實有替代品來取代我們從二月左右開始推出的新虛擬品牌。直到現在，它們也一直源源不絕地湧入我們的餐廳。因此，我們將在 2 月到 5 月期間推出這些產品。這些應該有助於彌補銷售損失。由此看來，排除天氣影響，經濟挑戰仍然存在。但我們在價格上並不像 Applebee 那樣激進。我想你會看到我們在這方面做得更多，並製定全年計劃。這不是對正在發生的事情的反應。三月份，我們特意做了一些更豐富的價值活動，推廣了我們非常受歡迎的煎蛋捲。但我認為，我們發現，對客人來說，此時價格指向的價值可能比豐富的價值更重要。

So, I think you'll see a little bit a correction on that as we move through the rest of the year. But that was preplanned already. Just timing-wise, when we try to do certain things during the year, we have a strategy that we always want to pulse in, not only price-pointed value, but abundant value, innovations with new menu items. We just launched a new promotion this week actually with the movie IF with a Kids Eat Free promotion with that. And family movies, in particular, when we have a Kids Eat Free promotion tied with them and unique food offerings tend to do very well for us. And that's what we're moving into right now. So, we're also very confident that we're going to see improvement as we get through the year. And we were rolling over 8.7% from last year in the first quarter. We knew that was going to be a tough lap, probably the toughest for the year.

因此，我認為隨著今年剩餘時間的推移，您會看到對此進行一些修正。但這是早有計劃的。就時間安排而言，當我們嘗試在一年中做某些事情時，我們總是希望融入一個策略，不僅是價格導向的價值，而且是豐富的價值，以及新菜單項目的創新。我們本週剛推出了一項新的促銷活動，實際上是與電影 IF 一起推出的兒童免費用餐促銷活動。尤其是家庭電影，當我們與兒童免費用餐促銷活動相關時，獨特的食品往往對我們來說非常有利。這就是我們現在要做的事。因此，我們也非常有信心，隨著這一年的過去，我們將會看到進步。第一季我們比去年同期滾動了 8.7%。我們知道這將會是艱難的一圈，可能是今年最艱難的一圈。

And then just for both concepts, what was the pricing in Q1 and what's the expected pricing in Q2 and for the full year?

那麼對於這兩個概念，第一季的定價是多少，第二季和全年的預期定價是多少？

Nick, I'll take that for both brands. We've talked for a long time about how the historical price increases that our franchisees take before this inflationary period was about 2% to 3%. And then we saw over the last 6 or 8 quarters that spiked anywhere from 5% to 8% or 9% on an annual basis. Because, as Vance mentioned in his remarks, we're seeing the cost of goods into the restaurants stabilize at around that flat rate and because we're also seeing labor stabilize a bit, with the exception of California, franchisee margins are improving, beginning to improve, and so we expect that they'll begin to move back toward that historical 2% to 3% over time. Can't tell you exactly when, but the pressure for them to raise prices above the historical run rate is beginning to ease.

尼克，我認為這兩個品牌都是如此。我們已經討論了很長時間，我們的加盟商在這個通貨膨脹時期之前所承受的歷史價格上漲約為 2% 至 3%。然後我們看到在過去的 6 或 8 個季度中，年增長率從 5% 飆升至 8% 或 9%。因為，正如萬斯在他的演講中提到的，我們看到餐廳的商品成本穩定在統一費率附近，而且因為我們也看到勞動力略有穩定，除了加州外，特許經營商的利潤正在改善，開始改善，因此我們預計隨著時間的推移，他們將開始回到歷史上的 2% 到 3%。無法告訴你確切的時間，但他們將價格提高到歷史運行水平之上的壓力正在開始緩解。

Our next question comes from the line of Dennis Geiger of UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的丹尼斯蓋革。

I wanted to see if you could talk a little bit more about franchisee sentiment, perhaps at both Applebee's and IHOP right now, which sounds pretty encouraging as you make some of those comments around margins. Curious, though, just with respect to how they're managing in the current environment, particularly as we think about value incidents, at least that Applebee's, picking up. Just any commentary or your thoughts on everything going on in the environment. And again, maybe what that means from a development demand perspective, please.

我想看看您是否可以多談談加盟商的情緒，也許現在在 Applebee's 和 IHOP 都可以，當您圍繞利潤率發表一些評論時，這聽起來相當令人鼓舞。不過，令人好奇的是他們在當前環境下的管理方式，特別是當我們考慮價值事件時，至少是 Applebee 的事件正在發生。只是您對環境中發生的一切的評論或想法。再說一遍，也許從發展需求的角度來看這代表什麼。

Sure. So, why don't we begin, Vance, with you talking about margins, and then we can ask Tony and Jay to talk about specifically how their franchisees are reacting in this environment.

當然。那麼，萬斯，我們為什麼不從你談論利潤開始，然後我們可以請托尼和傑伊具體談論他們的特許經營商在這種環境下的反應。

Dennis, this is Vance. So, as we mentioned in the prepared remarks, both systems are in good shape based on the financials that are shared with us from our franchisees. Of course, not all of them are back to 2019 levels yet, but their financial health, a lot of it is driven by the strong AUV growth that we've seen. And then we talked about commodity inflation easing. So, their cost of goods sold as a percentage of sales is really trending towards pre-COVID levels at this point. And then labor availability is better, and labor percent of sales is also roughly par to pre-COVID levels. So, all that equates to their 4-wall dollars trending towards pre-COVID levels and seeing growth year-over-year. And so, those are good setups for our franchisees in both systems.

丹尼斯，這是萬斯。因此，正如我們在準備好的評論中所提到的，根據特許經營商與我們分享的財務數據，這兩個系統都處於良好狀態。當然，並非所有這些公司都已恢復到 2019 年的水平，但他們的財務狀況在很大程度上是由我們看到的 AUV 強勁成長所推動的。然後我們討論了大宗商品通膨的緩解。因此，目前他們的商品銷售成本佔銷售額的百分比確實趨向於新冠疫情前的水平。然後，勞動力供應情況會更好，勞動力佔銷售額的百分比也大致與新冠疫情前的水平持平。因此，所有這些都意味著他們的四牆資金趨向疫情前的水平，並且逐年增長。因此，對於我們在這兩個系統中的加盟商來說，這些都是很好的設定。

Appreciate that, Vance. Maybe just 1 more. I appreciate the color on some of the customer behaviors and spending patterns that you observed in the quarter. Is there anything else, and maybe I missed it, but anything else by customer cohorts, thinking about income, demographics, etcetera, where that shifted? Is it still lower income, where the most pressure is being observed? Has that risen at all to middle? Any kind of other observations on the customer in the quarter would be curious.

很欣賞這一點，萬斯。也許還有 1 個。我很欣賞您在本季觀察到的一些客戶行為和支出模式的色彩。還有其他什麼嗎？壓力最大的地方是否仍是收入較低的地方？已經上升到中間了嗎？本季度對客戶的任何其他觀察都會令人好奇。

Yes, Dennis, it's John. That's exactly right. We see the biggest movement, and by movement, we see less business from, less visits from the lower cohort, which we define as $50,000 and below. And the higher you go in the income ranges, the more consistent the performance has been quarter-to-quarter. And we've also observed that when our guests are in the restaurant, again, particularly our lower income consumers, they're more aggressively managing their check, finding our value-oriented items, etcetera. And that's been consistent the last couple of quarters, but more pronounced in Q1.

是的，丹尼斯，是約翰。完全正確。我們看到了最大的變動，並且根據變動，我們看到來自較低群體（我們定義為 50,000 美元及以下）的業務減少，訪問量減少。收入範圍越高，季度與季度的表現就越一致。我們也觀察到，當我們的客人在餐廳時，特別是我們的低收入消費者，他們會更積極地管理他們的支票，尋找我們以價值為導向的物品，等等。這在過去幾個季度一直是一致的，但在第一季更為明顯。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from the line of Todd Brooks of The Benchmark Company.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Benchmark 公司的 Todd Brooks。

I know you don't talk current quarter same-store sales trends. I'm just wondering with how unique Q1 was with the difficult compares, a lot of that being Omicron emergence earlier in the quarter, the weather compares. Would you be willing to talk exit rates to same-store sales in March for both brands, so that we can get a sense of where things normalized as we moved farther away from some of those pressures earlier in the quarter?

我知道您不會談論當前季度的同店銷售趨勢。我只是想知道第一季的獨特之處與困難的比較，其中許多是本季度早些時候 Omicron 的出現，天氣比較。您是否願意談談這兩個品牌三月同店銷售的退出率，以便我們能夠了解隨著我們遠離本季度早些時候的一些壓力，情況已經恢復正常？

Sure. Vance, I'll defer to you in terms of what we can share there.

當然。萬斯，我會聽從你的意見，我們可以在那裡分享什麼。

Of course, yes, Todd. So, first of all, just a quick reminder, Todd, that on a 2-year basis, Q1 was actually positive comps for both of our brands. But of course, this is not the quarter we like to post. But generally speaking, as John and Jay and Tony mentioned, the sequential improvement throughout the quarter, it's been encouraging and that trend has continued well into Q2. So, we won't quantify exactly the month-to-month, but it's encouraging to see this positive momentum in both comps and traffic for both our brands.

當然，是的，托德。因此，首先，托德，我要快速提醒一下，從兩年的角度來看，第一季實際上對我們兩個品牌來說都是正面的比較。但當然，這不是我們喜歡發布的季度。但總的來說，正如約翰、傑伊和托尼所提到的，整個季度的連續改善令人鼓舞，而且這種趨勢一直持續到第二季​​。因此，我們不會準確量化每個月的情況，但看到我們兩個品牌的比較和流量的積極勢頭令人鼓舞。

Okay, great. And then my second question, given the difficult environment, just the lens that you look at your G&A spend through, and we've been at a $200 million-plus type of level now for a few years. Would love to know what initiatives are maybe within G&A that couldn't be delayed some, and especially thinking other potential uses of capital, including maybe some accelerated share repurchase at historically low valuations if we were a little bit more efficient with G&A, would love to get the thoughts on that.

好的，太好了。然後是我的第二個問題，考慮到困難的環境，只是你審視 G&A 支出的鏡頭，幾年來我們一直處於 2 億美元以上的水平。我很想知道 G&A 中可能有哪些不能推遲的舉措，特別是考慮資本的其他潛在用途，包括如果我們在 G&A 方面提高一點效率的話，可能會以歷史低估值加速股票回購，我會喜歡以獲得對此的想法。

Sure. So the G&A level we have right now is what we believe the right level to run the company going forward with the growth plan that we have in mind. As we talked about before, the technology initiatives, we've concluded with that. So, that's impacting G&A and CapEx both, right? But within G&A, we're redeploying those, the G&A resources towards development now. So, we're keeping G&A at a fairly constant level, but we're investing in the development capabilities, and that includes a lot of the functionalities that John talked about before, which is to source deals in a different way, to support the franchisees in a different way on a more centralized fashion. And so, that's what we plan on doing going forward. One other reminder is just that for this quarter, if we do not count the noncash items, which is stock-based comp and depreciation and amortization within our G&A, the cash portion of the G&A is actually $2 million to $3 million lower versus the year before. So, we have been and we will always be very disciplined with G&A management. And then your second part of the question in regards to buybacks, we believe that there's growth potential with the stock and with the company, and there's opportunities to create shareholder value for us in the long term. So, we have been, and we will always be in the market when we see that there is a disconnect with the intrinsic value of the company and where the shares are trading at. So, that will always be an important part of how we return capital to shareholders.

當然。因此，我們現在的一般管理費用水平是我們認為正確的水平，可以讓公司按照我們心目中的成長計畫繼續前進。正如我們之前談到的技術舉措，我們已經對此進行了總結。那麼，這會影響一般管理費用和資本支出，對吧？但在 G&A 內部，我們現在正在重新部署這些 G&A 資源用於開發。因此，我們將 G&A 保持在相當穩定的水平，但我們正在投資開發能力，其中包括約翰之前談到的許多功能，即以不同的方式獲取交易，以支持特許經營商以不同的方式採用更集中的方式。所以，這就是我們計劃繼續做的事情。另一個提醒是，對於本季度，如果我們不計算非現金項目，即我們的 G&A 中的基於股票的補償以及折舊和攤銷，那麼 G&A 的現金部分實際上比去年減少了 200 萬至 300 萬美元前。因此，我們一直並將永遠嚴格遵守一般行政管理管理規定。然後是關於回購的問題的第二部分，我們相信股票和公司具有成長潛力，並有機會為我們長期創造股東價值。因此，當我們看到公司的內在價值和股票交易價格存在脫節時，我們一直並且將永遠在市場上。因此，這始終是我們向股東返還資本的重要組成部分。

Our next question comes from the line of Brian Vaccaro of Raymond James.

我們的下一個問題來自 Raymond James 的 Brian Vaccaro。

Just a few follow ups, if I could. I believe you said that Applebee's traffic outperformed in the first quarter. Just to make sure we're on the same page. Could you level set where average check was for each brand in the first quarter?

如果可以的話，只需進行一些跟進。我相信你說過 Applebee 第一季的流量表現出色。只是為了確保我們在同一頁上。您能否對第一季每個品牌的平均檢查水準進行調整？

Sure. I don't have that data in front of me. Vance, can you address that question?

當然。我面前沒有這些數據。萬斯，你能回答這個問題嗎？

Sure, yes. Brian, so average check for Applebee's is slightly positive, offsetting the negative traffic. But the traffic, we did beat Black Box for the quarter. For IHOP, average check was probably in more the high-single-digit range given the menu pricing increase, the effect of menu pricing increase in Q1. So, that's the context.

當然，是的。 Brian，Applebee 的平均檢查量略為正，抵銷了負流量。但就流量而言，我們本季確實擊敗了 Black Box。對於 IHOP 來說，考慮到菜單價格上漲以及第一季菜單價格上漲的影響，平均支票可能處於高個位數範圍內。所以，這就是上下文。

Okay. So check slightly positive at Applebee's and IHOP in the high-single digits. Okay. Might have misheard it, but I think your comments on franchisee profitability, were those as of the fourth quarter? I guess that's the most recent quarter you have visibility on, you have financials on.

好的。因此，請檢查 Applebee's 和 IHOP 的高個位數的輕微正面情況。好的。可能聽錯了，但我認為您對加盟商盈利能力的評論是截至第四季度的嗎？我想這是您能看到的最近一個季度的財務數據。

Yes.

是的。

Okay. So with sales mix on value promotions jumping now into the high 20s, can you speak to the impact that's having on franchisee profitability? It sounds like you've got a good guide on the commodity side insulating. But to what degree has that jump in promotion impacted profitability? And is this level sustainable in your view?

好的。那麼，隨著價值促銷的銷售組合現在躍升至 20 多歲，您能談談這對加盟商獲利能力的影響嗎？聽起來您對商品側絕緣有很好的指南。但促銷力道的提升對獲利能力的影響有多大？您認為這個水平可持續嗎？

Brian, it's John. I'll start with that and Vance, fill in if I miss anything you think is important. The most important thing about our approach, meaning all 3 brands' approach to promotions, Brian, is that they are profitable promotions as they're designed. And that is the case, and it's ensured by the fact that we construct promotions with input from our franchisees and they're onboard with doing them. A good example is even DOLLARITA. A margarita for $1 is profitable in itself. And the last time we ran it in the fall, 90%-plus of those DOLLARITA tickets included other items, which is exactly what it's designed to do. So, we believe that as long as the promotions are constructed to drive profit as a standalone, to be profitable standalone, and then drive additional business, that is the strategy that we're following in conjunction with our franchisees. Vance, is there any color you can add that would be helpful?

布萊恩，是約翰。我會從這個開始，萬斯，如果我錯過了你認為重要的任何內容，請填寫。 Brian，我們的方法最重要的是，這意味著所有 3 個品牌的促銷方法都是有利可圖的促銷活動。事實就是如此，我們根據特許經營商的意見制定促銷活動，他們也參與其中，這一事實確保了這一點。 DOLLARITA 就是一個很好的例子。 1 美元一杯瑪格麗特酒本身就是有利可圖的。上次我們在秋季運行時，90% 以上的 DOLLARITA 門票都包含其他項目，這正是它的設計目的。因此，我們相信，只要促銷活動是為了獨立推動利潤，獨立盈利，然後推動額外業務，這就是我們與特許經營商一起遵循的策略。萬斯，您可以添加任何有幫助的顏色嗎？

Yes, Brian, so as John mentioned, it's all about driving incremental profitable traffic. So, another detail I would add on the DOLLARITA is that it's more than just the DOLLARITA itself. There are different shots, flavors, different additions we're offering that adds to the margin of that drink in addition to the food attachment rate of that order, right? So the point of it is to drive the lifetime value of that guest and increase the long-term market share of the brand. So, we're not giving things away. These are prudent, methodical, creative campaigns that we're running.

是的，布萊恩，正如約翰所提到的，這一切都是為了推動增量獲利流量。因此，我要在 DOLLARITA 上添加的另一個細節是，它不僅僅是 DOLLARITA 本身。我們提供不同的鏡頭、口味和不同的添加物，除了增加該訂單的食物附著率之外，還增加了該飲料的利潤，對嗎？因此，重點是提高客人的終身價值並增加品牌的長期市場份額。所以，我們不會放棄東西。我們正在進行審慎、有條理、富有創意的活動。

Okay. And then just the last 1 for me. In the first quarter, just looking at the financials, it looked like advertising accrual at Applebee's was down 4% or so. And is that representative of the actual spend or TRPs in the market in the first quarter? I know sometimes there can be differences versus what's in the financials versus actual spend. But if that was the case, did that have a negative impact on your comps? And just thinking more broadly, in the more competitive value environment, what's a reasonable expectation on advertising at Applebee's for the rest of the year? Might that be down as well or just any color there would be great.

好的。然後是我的最後 1 個。第一季度，僅從財務數據來看，Applebee's 的廣告收入似乎下降了 4% 左右。這是否代表第一季市場的實際支出或 TRP？我知道有時財務數據與實際支出可能有差異。但如果是這樣的話，這會對你的比賽產生負面影響嗎？更廣泛地思考，在更具競爭性的價值環境中，Applebee's 今年剩餘時間的廣告合理預期是什麼？可能也會下降或只是任何顏色都會很棒。

John, I can take it. So, on a very high-level basis, think of advertising spend as roughly -- it should trend similarly as comps, right? So if sales are up, advertising spend will be up; if sales are down, advertising spend will be slightly down. But what you're referring to also is driven by timing. So, the dollar spend isn't exactly tying to -- it just depends on payment timing, depends on the campaigns we're running, depends on things we'll work out with our agency. So, there's going to be some of that noise in there, but for the most part, it should be fairly consistent with sales trends.

約翰，我能接受。因此，在非常高的水平上，將廣告支出視為粗略的——它的趨勢應該與比較類似，對嗎？因此，如果銷售額增加，廣告支出就會增加；如果銷售額增加，廣告支出就會增加。如果銷售額下降，廣告支出也會略微下降。但你所指的也是由時機驅動的。因此，美元支出並不完全取決於——它只取決於付款時間，取決於我們正在進行的活動，取決於我們將與我們的機構合作的事情。因此，其中會有一些噪音，但在大多數情況下，它應該與銷售趨勢相當一致。

And then, Vance, I think it would be helpful if Tony addressed the advertising strategy overall for Brian.

然後，萬斯，我認為如果托尼為布萊恩解決整體廣告策略將會有幫助。

Yes. Happy to, John. Hey, Brian. I can't get into specific plans, obviously due to competitive reasons, but we feel really confident where our calendar sits for the remainder of the year. We're not going to be spending less money. We are spreading it out over more calendars and windows. And we're changing our mix a little bit between traditional media and digital. But the strategy remains the same. And the volume, the breadth and depth of the marketing plan remains the same. We're going to provide our guests with value, especially during these inflationary times. And we'll lean hard on our award-winning advertising and our robust fund to support the entire portfolio of propositions that you'll see for 2024.

是的。很高興，約翰。嘿，布萊恩。我無法制定具體計劃，顯然是由於競爭原因，但我們對今年剩餘時間的日程安排非常有信心。我們不會花更少的錢。我們正在將其分散到更多的日曆和視窗中。我們正在對傳統媒體和數位媒體之間的組合進行一些改變。但策略不變。行銷計劃的數量、廣度和深度保持不變。我們將為客人提供價值，尤其是在通貨膨脹時期。我們將大力依靠我們屢獲殊榮的廣告和強大的基金來支持您在 2024 年看到的整個主張組合。

Our next question comes from the line of Jeffrey Bernstein of Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的傑弗裡·伯恩斯坦。

This is Pratik on for Jeff. I just had a quick modeling question and then a real question. I apologize if it's already out there, but are we going to get 4 quarters worth of historical results for Fuzzy's now that the brand is fully integrated, or will we just continue to get quarterly updates with the current quarter and the prior year quarter?

這是傑夫的普拉蒂克。我只是有一個快速的建模問題，然後是一個真正的問題。如果它已經存在，我深表歉意，但既然 Fuzzy's 品牌已完全整合，我們是否會獲得 4 個季度的歷史業績，或者我們是否會繼續獲得當前季度和上一年季度的季度更新？

I can answer that. So, the reason why we didn't provide comps the year before is because last year was the first year we've owned the company. And so, going forward, we'll provide quarterly comp performance versus last year. But we wouldn't provide last year's comp because we didn't own the company the year before that, if that makes sense.

我可以回答這個問題。所以，我們前年沒有提供補償的原因是因為去年是我們擁有這家公司的第一年。因此，展望未來，我們將提供與去年相比的季度業績比較。但我們不會提供去年的比較，因為前一年我們並不擁有該公司，如果這有意義的話。

Got it. Yes. Understood. And then my real question was really following up on Dennis's question. Your brands have obviously always been positioned for value, and there's been a lot of talk from your peers the past few days about consumers feeling pressured. Can you just talk about if you've seen a meaningful change in the types of guests that you're seeing in your brands? Like maybe some at the low end have been trading out, but maybe some other guests have been trading into your brands. Just any color on what you're seeing right now would be really helpful.

知道了。是的。明白了。然後我真正的問題是對丹尼斯問題的後續。顯然，您的品牌一直以價值定位，過去幾天您的同行有很多關於消費者感到壓力的討論。您能否談談您在品牌中看到的客人類型是否發生了有意義的變化？就像也許一些低端客人已經退出，但也許其他一些客人已經購買了您的品牌。只要您現在看到的任何顏色都會非常有幫助。

Pratik, it's John. Yes, I don't know that we have that much more to add to what we've already said in that we are -- what I can clarify, though, is that we're seeing more change in terms of our lower income guests having less visits with us than we are in seeing growth in the upper tiers of our income band, meaning we're not seeing as much trade down into the brands. We're seeing some. But the most impactful change in consumer behavior is clearly at the $50,000 and below segment.

普拉蒂克，我是約翰。是的，我不知道除了我們已經說過的內容之外，我們還有更多的內容要補充——不過，我可以澄清的是，我們在低收入客人方面看到了更多的變化我們的訪問量比我們看到的高收入階層的成長要少，這意味著我們沒有看到那麼多的品牌交易。我們看到了一些。但消費者行為最有影響力的變化顯然是在 50,000 美元及以下的細分市場。

I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to John Peyton, Dine Brands CEO, for closing remarks.

我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。現在我想請 Dine Brands 執行長約翰佩頓 (John Peyton) 發表結束語。

Julia, thank you for your expert moderation. We appreciate it. Thanks to Jay, Tony, and Vance. And thank you guys for joining us this morning and asking us your questions. We'll talk to you throughout the quarter and look forward to next August call. Have a great day, everybody.

朱莉婭，謝謝您的專業主持。我們很感激。感謝傑伊、托尼和萬斯。感謝你們今天早上加入我們並向我們提問。我們將在整個季度與您交談，並期待下一次八月的電話會議。祝大家有美好的一天。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。這確實結束了該程式。您現在可以斷開連線。