El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc (LOCO) 2019 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings and welcome to El Pollo Loco first quarter 2019 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions.] Please note this conference is being recorded.

歡迎來到 El Pollo Loco 2019 年第一季度收益電話會議。（操作員說明。] 請注意正在錄製此會議。

I will now turn the conference over to your host today, Larry Roberts, Chief Financial Officer. Please proceed.

現在，我將把會議轉交給今天的主持人，首席財務官拉里·羅伯茨 (Larry Roberts)。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. By now everyone should have access to our first quarter 2019 earnings release. If not, it can be found at www.elpolloloco.com in the Investor Relations section.

謝謝接線員，下午好。到目前為止，每個人都應該可以訪問我們 2019 年第一季度的收益發布。如果沒有，可以在 www.elpolloloco.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that our discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore you should not put undue reliance on them. These statements are also subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. We refer all of you to our recent SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我需要提醒大家，我們今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述不是未來業績的保證，因此您不應過分依賴它們。這些陳述還受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與我們的預期存在重大差異。我們建議大家參考我們最近提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，以更詳細地討論可能影響我們未來經營業績和財務狀況的風險。

We expect to file our 10-Q for the first quarter of 2019 tomorrow, and we encourage you to review that document at your earliest convenience.

我們預計將於明天提交 2019 年第一季度的 10-Q，我們鼓勵您在方便時儘早查看該文件。

During today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures are available in our earnings release.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論非 GAAP 措施，我們認為這些措施對評估我們的業績很有用。這些額外信息的呈現不應被孤立地考慮或替代根據 GAAP 編制的結果，我們的收益發布中提供了與可比較的 GAAP 措施的調節。

I'd like to now turn the call over to President and Chief Executive Officer, Bernard Acoca.

我現在想把電話轉給總裁兼首席執行官 Bernard Acoca。

Thanks, Larry. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you all for joining us today. We are pleased with our results in the first quarter, which continue to be driven by the execution of our transformation agenda. For the quarter we achieved 2.4% systemwide comparable restaurant sales growth and pro forma EPS of $0.15. This marks the third quarter in a row of positive systemwide comparable sales growth since our transformation agenda was implemented. These results were achieved despite adverse weather conditions in California, where 80% of our restaurants are located.

謝謝，拉里。大家下午好，感謝大家今天加入我們。我們對第一季度的業績感到滿意，這繼續受到我們轉型議程執行的推動。本季度，我們實現了 2.4% 的全系統可比餐廳銷售額增長和 0.15 美元的預估每股收益。這標誌著自我們的轉型議程實施以來，全系統可比銷售額連續第三個季度實現正增長。儘管我們 80% 的餐廳所在的加利福尼亞州天氣條件惡劣，但仍取得了這些成果。

Restaurant contribution margin was 17.7%, which reflected the sales headwinds and higher labor costs we expected. Looking forward to the second quarter, we believe that our new Queso Fresco Tostadas and Overstuffed Quesadilla promotions, which historically have been strong, limited-time offers, will help us regain traffic momentum. In addition, we have gone back to advertising a $20 price point on family meals, which we had stopped advertising in February.

餐廳貢獻利潤率為 17.7%，反映了我們預期的銷售逆風和更高的勞動力成本。展望第二季度，我們相信我們新推出的 Queso Fresco Tostadas 和 Overstuffed Quesadilla 促銷活動將幫助我們重新獲得流量勢頭，這些促銷活動歷來都是強勁的限時優惠。此外，我們還重新宣傳了 20 美元的家庭聚餐價格點，我們在 2 月份就停止了宣傳。

Over the longer term, we remain focused on executing our transformation agenda, which as you know consists of 4 key strategies: one, developing a people-first culture by investing in and growing our talent; two, differentiating the brand by accentuating our strengths and building upon them; three, simplifying operations, thereby making it easier to be an employee and franchisee; and four, growing the business responsibly and profitably for the long term.

從長遠來看，我們仍然專注於執行我們的轉型議程，如您所知，該議程包括 4 個關鍵戰略：第一，通過投資和培養我們的人才來發展以人為本的文化；第二，通過突出我們的優勢並以此為基礎使品牌與眾不同；三、簡化操作，從而更容易成為員工和加盟商；第四，以負責任和盈利的方式長期發展業務。

I'd like to now update you on some of our key accomplishments over the past 2 months supporting these strategies. As I discussed, we believe that culture is the foundation for all great companies. It is therefore critical that we continue to invest in and develop our talent. With the goal of creating a people-first culture, we have set out to drive a performance-based culture with heart. This was embodied in the first quarter by our extremely successful inaugural employee appreciation month, a 4-week program designed to celebrate, invest in and thank our greatest asset, our employees.

現在，我想向您介紹過去 2 個月我們在支持這些策略方面取得的一些重要成就。正如我所討論的，我們相信文化是所有偉大公司的基礎。因此，我們繼續投資和發展我們的人才至關重要。我們以創建以人為本的文化為目標，著手推動以績效為基礎的文化。這在第一季度體現在我們極其成功的首屆員工感謝月中，這是一個為期 4 週的計劃，旨在慶祝、投資和感謝我們最大的資產，即我們的員工。

We started the program in week 1 by focusing on employee recognition, including the launch of our dedicated service awards celebrating our long-term employees. During week 2, we invested in our employees' professional development and personal well-being. Week 3 showcased our employees' unique talents and tapped into their creativity to help us come up with our next great new products.

我們在第 1 周啟動了該計劃，重點關注員工認可，包括推出我們的敬業服務獎以表彰我們的長期員工。在第 2 週，我們投資於員工的職業發展和個人福祉。第 3 週展示了我們員工的獨特才能，並利用他們的創造力幫助我們設計出下一個偉大的新產品。

And finally, week 4 focused on volunteerism and giving back to the communities we serve, culminating in a huge community service event in east Los Angeles on April 1, Cesar Chavez day, a day intended to commemorate his legacy by giving back to those in need. During that event, over 500 employees, franchisees and customers worked side by side to beautify Theodore Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles. This week of volunteerism also included events in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston, where 5,000 meals were served to feed the hungry.

最後，第 4 週的重點是志願服務和回饋我們所服務的社區，最終於 4 月 1 日塞薩爾查韋斯日在洛杉磯東部舉行了一場大型社區服務活動，這一天旨在通過回饋有需要的人來紀念他的遺產.在那次活動中，超過 500 名員工、特許經營商和客戶並肩工作，美化了東洛杉磯的西奧多羅斯福高中。本週的志願活動還包括在菲尼克斯、拉斯維加斯、達拉斯和休斯頓舉辦的活動，為飢餓的人們提供了 5,000 份餐點。

We believe this focus on our employees is starting to bear fruit, as evidenced by our Q1 2019 turnover rate. As compared to our full year 2018 results, we saw an 8-percentage-point improvement in general manager turnover, which came in at 17%, and a 21-percentage-point improvement for crew members, which came in at 115%. Our management and crew turnover continue to be well below industry averages, which we believe can be further improved upon in our commitment to become an employer of choice in the industry.

我們相信，這種對員工的關注正在開始取得成果，我們 2019 年第一季度的離職率就證明了這一點。與我們 2018 年的全年業績相比，我們看到總經理更替率提高了 8 個百分點，達到 17%，而船員更替率提高了 21 個百分點，達到 115%。我們的管理人員和員工流動率繼續遠低於行業平均水平，我們相信在我們致力於成為行業首選雇主的承諾的基礎上可以進一步改善這一點。

Furthermore, we've continued to strengthen our team with the addition of the third new member to the El Pollo Loco leadership team in the last 12 months, Chief Operating Officer Miguel Lozano. Miguel returned to El Pollo Loco in April after spending 23 years at Starbucks, where he most recently led operations for 780 stores in southern California, one of Starbucks's top-performing regions. Prior to Starbucks, he spent 6 years at El Pollo Loco, starting as a restaurant general manager before working his way up to area leader and eventually becoming a franchisee. He and his family successfully owned and operated an El Pollo Loco restaurant in La Habra, California, for 7 years.

此外，在過去 12 個月中，El Pollo Loco 領導團隊增加了第三位新成員，即首席運營官 Miguel Lozano，我們繼續加強我們的團隊。Miguel 在星巴克工作了 23 年後，於 4 月回到了 El Pollo Loco，他最近領導了南加州 780 家門店的運營，這是星巴克業績最好的地區之一。在加入星巴克之前，他在 El Pollo Loco 工作了 6 年，從一名餐廳總經理開始，然後逐步晉升為區域負責人，並最終成為特許經營商。他和他的家人在加利福尼亞州拉哈布拉成功擁有並經營一家 El Pollo Loco 餐廳 7 年。

We're thrilled to have Miguel back in the El Pollo Loco family. Miguel is the consummate servant leader who has proven he knows how to achieve results through others by building strong teams. I know he will play a key role in formulating organizational strategy, creating memorable customer experiences we can be proud of and ultimately driving brand growth and profitability.

我們很高興 Miguel 回到 El Pollo Loco 家族。Miguel 是一位完美的僕人式領導，他已經證明他知道如何通過建立強大的團隊來通過他人取得成果。我知道他將在製定組織戰略、創造令人難忘的客戶體驗並最終推動品牌增長和盈利方面發揮關鍵作用。

In addition, we recently hired a Vice President of Digital Marketing, Brian Wallunas, who started last week and comes to us from Coca-Cola, where he was Director of Marketing Technology. Prior to Coke, Brian held digital strategy positions at Arby's and Domino's. This is a critical hire as we look to make our local rewards loyalty program a bigger part of how we go to market and migrate more of our advertising media mix to digital channels. Brian will be tasked with growing our loyalty, digital and social media channels to not only drive brand affinity, but also incremental sales opportunities as we expand and deepen our efforts in e-commerce and delivery.

此外，我們最近聘請了一位數字營銷副總裁 Brian Wallunas，他上週從可口可樂來到我們這裡，擔任營銷技術總監。在加入可口可樂之前，Brian 在 Arby's 和 Domino's 擔任數字戰略職位。這是一個重要的聘用，因為我們希望讓我們的本地獎勵忠誠度計劃成為我們進入市場並將更多廣告媒體組合遷移到數字渠道的更重要部分。Brian 的任務是增加我們的忠誠度、數字和社交媒體渠道，以不僅推動品牌親和力，而且隨著我們在電子商務和交付方面的擴展和深化努力，增加銷售機會。

Our second strategy involves accentuating and building upon our brand strengths in order to differentiate the brand and enlist our values as a source of competitive advantage. As we highlighted on our last call, we initiated a brand relaunch in early March and have now completed the systemwide rollout of our new logo, advertising campaign, Feed the Flame tagline, menu boards and point-of-purchase materials. We plan to introduce a new mobile app and e-commerce site in the third quarter, with new packaging and uniforms to follow later in the year.

我們的第二個戰略涉及強調和建立我們的品牌優勢，以使品牌與眾不同並將我們的價值觀作為競爭優勢的來源。正如我們在上次電話會議中強調的那樣，我們在 3 月初啟動了品牌重新啟動，現在已經完成了我們新徽標、廣告活動、Feed the Flame 標語、菜單板和購買點材料的全系統推出。我們計劃在第三季度推出新的移動應用程序和電子商務網站，並在今年晚些時候推出新的包裝和製服。

This brand relaunch highlights the craft, hard work and love behind what we do, with a strong focus on both our signature flame-grilled chicken and our Better for You LA Mex cuisine, which appeals to our Hispanic and general market consumers alike.

這個品牌的重新推出突出了我們所做工作背後的工藝、辛勤工作和熱愛，重點關注我們的招牌火焰烤雞和 Better for You LA Mex 美食，這對我們的西班牙裔和一般市場消費者都有吸引力。

Our third strategy is to simplify operations for our employees and franchisees. A key focus of this goal has been the reduction of back-of-house complexity to free up capacity in order to deliver a better customer experience. On this front we have successfully implemented our simplified menu across the system, which eliminated approximately 20% of lower-mixing, lower-margin menu items.

我們的第三個戰略是簡化員工和加盟商的運營。這一目標的一個重點是降低後台複雜性以釋放容量，從而提供更好的客戶體驗。在這方面，我們已經成功地在整個系統中實施了簡化菜單，消除了大約 20% 的低混合、低利潤菜單項。

In addition, we have rolled out a new back-of-house management system to approximately 90 restaurants and expect to complete the implementation by the end of this year. This system should streamline our operations and is expected to free up at least 1 hour per day for our restaurant general managers. Moreover, we are currently testing several new procedures and equipment that will further reduce back-of-house complexity. These include new cooking procedures, marinating processes and holding cabinets.

此外，我們已為約 90 家餐廳推出新的後台管理系統，預計在今年年底前完成實施。該系統應簡化我們的運營，預計每天至少為我們的餐廳總經理騰出 1 小時的時間。此外，我們目前正在測試幾種新的程序和設備，它們將進一步降低後台的複雜性。其中包括新的烹飪程序、醃製過程和保溫櫃。

Everything we do in our kitchens is being reevaluated in order to make things easier for our team members and franchisees. We're convinced that improved operations can significantly enhance our employees' ability to provide better food and service to our guests, all while having the added benefit of lowering turnover and increasing retention, which is particularly important in today's tight labor environment.

我們正在重新評估我們在廚房所做的一切，以便讓我們的團隊成員和特許經營商的工作更輕鬆。我們相信，改善運營可以顯著提高我們員工為客人提供更好的食物和服務的能力，同時還能帶來降低人員流動率和提高保留率的額外好處，這在當今緊張的勞動力環境中尤為重要。

This final strategy for our transformation agenda is growing our business profitably and responsibly for the long term. We are setting the foundation for new market expansion and continue to target a 2020 date for entry into 1 or 2 new markets. We recently hired Chute Gerdeman, an internationally recognized design firm, to help us develop our restaurant of the future. Development of this new prototype, which will incorporate our new brand visual expression and a more simplified back-of-house operating platform, is expected to be completed by the fall. We firmly believe that our work to streamline our menu and simplify our operations platform will facilitate success as we expand to new markets.

我們轉型議程的最終戰略是讓我們的業務長期盈利並負責任地發展。我們正在為新市場擴張奠定基礎，並繼續以 2020 年為目標進入 1 或 2 個新市場。我們最近聘請了國際知名設計公司 Chute Gerdeman 來幫助我們開發未來的餐廳。這個新原型的開發將結合我們新的品牌視覺表達和更簡化的後台操作平台，預計將於秋季完成。我們堅信，我們精簡菜單和簡化運營平台的工作將有助於我們在拓展新市場時取得成功。

As part of our strategy to grow responsibly and profitably, after the end of the quarter we sold 4 company-operated restaurants in the East Bay area and agreed in principle to sell 7 company-operated restaurants in Phoenix to 2 franchisees. We're excited to put these restaurants into the hands of strong-performing franchisees, and both transactions include development agreements to ensure continued growth in these markets. The sale of Phoenix is expected to close in the second quarter.

作為我們負責任和盈利增長戰略的一部分，本季度結束後，我們出售了東灣地區的 4 家公司經營的餐廳，並原則上同意將鳳凰城的 7 家公司經營的餐廳出售給 2 家特許經營商。我們很高興將這些餐廳交到業績強勁的特許經營商手中，並且這兩項交易都包含開發協議，以確保這些市場的持續增長。Phoenix 的出售預計將在第二季度完成。

In summary, we remain excited about our transformation agenda and by the results we've achieved. We believe our momentum continue to accelerate as our transformation agenda gains traction, and I look forward to updating you on our progress on future calls as we continue to elevate the El Pollo Loco brand.

總之，我們對我們的轉型議程和我們取得的成果仍然感到興奮。我們相信，隨著我們的轉型議程獲得牽引力，我們的勢頭將繼續加速，我期待著在我們繼續提升 El Pollo Loco 品牌的同時向您通報我們在未來電話會議上的最新進展。

Before I turn the call over, I would like to thank all of our employees and franchisee partners for making these results possible. Your passion, commitment and dedication are what make this brand and this family truly special.

在我結束電話會議之前，我要感謝我們所有的員工和加盟商合作夥伴使這些結果成為可能。您的熱情、承諾和奉獻精神使這個品牌和這個家庭真正與眾不同。

I'll now hand the call over to Larry to review our first quarter results in detail.

我現在將電話轉給拉里，詳細審查我們的第一季度業績。

Thanks, Bernard. Before we get into our first quarter results, I'd first like to touch on our store base. During the first quarter the company closed 2 restaurants, while franchisees opened 2 new restaurants, both in California. Looking ahead, we continue to expect to open 3 to 4 company-operated restaurants along with 3 to 5 franchise restaurants in 2019.

謝謝，伯納德。在我們進入第一季度業績之前，我想先談談我們的商店基礎。第一季度，公司關閉了 2 家餐廳，而特許經營商新開了 2 家餐廳，均在加利福尼亞州。展望未來，我們繼續預計 2019 年將開設 3 至 4 家公司經營的餐廳以及 3 至 5 家特許經營餐廳。

As for remodels, the company completed 1 vision remodel in the first quarter and franchisees completed an additional 3. For 2019, we continue to expect to complete 10 to 15 company remodels and expect our franchise partners to complete another 10 to 15.

至於改造，公司在第一季度完成了 1 個願景改造，加盟商完成了另外 3 個。對於 2019 年，我們繼續期望完成 10 到 15 個公司改造，並期望我們的特許合作夥伴完成另外 10 到 15 個。

Now on to our financial results. For the first quarter ended March 27, 2019, total revenue increased 3% to $109 million from $105.8 million in the first quarter of 2018. The growth was largely the result of the increase in company-operated restaurant sales, which increased 2.7% in the quarter to $97.2 million. Company-operated restaurant sales growth was driven by a 1.5% increase in company-operated comparable restaurant sales as well as by the contribution from 8 new restaurants opened during and subsequent to the first quarter of 2018, partially offset by 9 restaurant closures during the same period. The increase in company-operated comparable restaurant sales was comprised of a 4.6% increase in average check, inclusive of 3% effective pricing and a 3.1% decrease in transactions.

現在談談我們的財務業績。截至 2019 年 3 月 27 日的第一季度，總收入從 2018 年第一季度的 1.058 億美元增長 3% 至 1.09 億美元。增長主要是公司經營餐廳銷售額增長的結果，本季度增長 2.7% 至 9720 萬美元。公司經營的餐廳銷售額增長的推動因素是公司經營的可比餐廳銷售額增長 1.5%，以及 2018 年第一季度及之後新開的 8 家餐廳的貢獻，但被同期關閉的 9 家餐廳部分抵消時期。公司經營的可比餐廳銷售額的增長包括平均支票增長 4.6%，包括 3% 的有效定價和 3.1% 的交易減少。

Franchise revenue increased 5.5% in the first quarter to $6.4 million compared to $6.1 million in the prior year period. The increase was largely driven by a 3.2% increase in franchise comparable restaurant sales as well as by the contribution of the 11 new franchise restaurants opened during and subsequent to the first quarter of 2018, partially offset by 3 restaurant closures during the same period.

第一季度特許經營收入增長 5.5% 至 640 萬美元，而去年同期為 610 萬美元。增長的主要原因是特許經營可比餐廳銷售額增長 3.2%，以及 2018 年第一季度及之後開設的 11 家新特許經營餐廳的貢獻，部分被同期關閉的 3 家餐廳所抵消。

Turning to expenses, food and paper costs as a percentage of company restaurant sales decreased 90 basis points year-over-year to 27.9%. The improvement was predominantly due to higher menu prices and favorable sales mix. Looking ahead, we continue to expect commodity inflation of 1% to 2% in 2019.

談到開支，食品和紙張成本占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比同比下降 90 個基點至 27.9%。這一改善主要是由於更高的菜單價格和有利的銷售組合。展望未來，我們繼續預計 2019 年商品通脹率為 1% 至 2%。

Labor and related expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased 110 basis points year-over-year to 30.4%. The increase in labor expenses was due primarily to higher hourly wages in California, especially Los Angeles, and higher worker's compensation expense, partially offset by increased menu prices. We continue to expect labor inflation of about 6% in 2019.

勞動力及相關費用占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比同比增長 110 個基點至 30.4%。人工費用的增加主要是由於加利福尼亞州（尤其是洛杉磯）的小時工資增加，以及工人補償費用增加，部分被菜單價格上漲所抵消。我們繼續預計 2019 年的勞動力通脹率約為 6%。

Occupancy and other operating expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased 70 basis points year-over-year to 23.9%. The increase was primarily due to increases in occupancy, utilities and repair and maintenance costs, partially offset by higher pricing.

入住和其他運營費用占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比同比增長 70 個基點至 23.9%。這一增長主要是由於入住率、公用事業和維修和維護成本的增加，部分被更高的價格所抵消。

General and administrative expenses decreased by $1.9 million year-over-year to $11.3 million. Included in G&A are $2.1 million of legal expenses associated with a securities litigation as compared to $3.7 million in securities litigation costs in the first quarter of 2018. Excluding the costs associated with the securities litigation and CEO transition costs, G&A expenses in the first quarter of 2019 increased approximately $320,000 year-over-year to 8.4% of total revenue, which is flat versus the prior year. The dollar increase in G&A expenses resulted primarily from a higher bonus accrual.

一般和行政費用同比減少 190 萬美元至 1130 萬美元。G&A 中包括與證券訴訟相關的 210 萬美元法律費用，而 2018 年第一季度的證券訴訟費用為 370 萬美元。不包括與證券訴訟和 CEO 過渡成本相關的成本，2019 年第一季度的 G&A 費用同比增長約 320,000 美元，佔總收入的 8.4%，與上年持平。G&A 費用的美元增加主要是由於更高的應計獎金。

Depreciation and amortization expense increased to $4.8 million from $4.2 million in the first quarter of last year. The increase was primarily due to new restaurant openings and remodels completed during and after the first quarter of 2018, partially offset by restaurants closed or impaired during the same time period. As a percentage of company revenue, depreciation and amortization increased 40 basis points year-over-year.

折舊和攤銷費用從去年第一季度的 420 萬美元增加到 480 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於 2018 年第一季度及之後新餐廳的開業和改造完成，部分被同期關閉或受損的餐廳所抵消。作為公司收入的百分比，折舊和攤銷同比增長 40 個基點。

During the quarter we recorded a $4.1 million loss on assets held for sale as the result of the sale of 4 restaurants in the East Bay area to an existing franchisee, which was completed after the end of the quarter, and an agreement in principle to sell 7 restaurants in Phoenix to another franchisee.

本季度，我們記錄了 410 萬美元的待售資產損失，原因是東灣地區的 4 家餐廳在本季度末完成出售給現有特許經營商，並且原則上同意出售鳳凰城的 7 家餐廳轉讓給另一家加盟商。

We recorded a provision for income taxes of $349,000 in the first quarter of 2019 for an effective tax rate of 27.7%. This compares to a provision for income taxes of $1.9 million and an effective tax rate of 43.5% in the prior year first quarter.

我們在 2019 年第一季度記錄了 349,000 美元的所得稅撥備，有效稅率為 27.7%。相比之下，去年第一季度的所得稅準備金為 190 萬美元，有效稅率為 43.5%。

We reported GAAP net income of $913,000 or $0.02 per diluted share in the first quarter compared to net income of $2.5 million or $0.06 per diluted share in the prior year period.

我們報告第一季度的 GAAP 淨收入為 913,000 美元或攤薄後每股收益 0.02 美元，而去年同期的淨收入為 250 萬美元或攤薄後每股收益 0.06 美元。

Pro forma net income for the quarter was $5.9 million as compared to pro forma net income of $6.7 million in the first quarter of last year. Pro forma diluted earnings per share were $0.15 for the first quarter of 2019 compared to $0.17 in the prior year period. For a reconciliation of pro forma net income and earnings per share to the comparable GAAP figures, please refer to our earnings release.

本季度的預計淨收入為 590 萬美元，而去年第一季度的預計淨收入為 670 萬美元。2019 年第一季度的備考稀釋每股收益為 0.15 美元，而去年同期為 0.17 美元。如需將備考淨收入和每股收益與可比較的 GAAP 數據進行核對，請參閱我們的收益發布。

In terms of our liquidity and balance sheet, we had $6.7 million in cash and equivalents as of March 27, 2019, and $71.1 million in debt outstanding. For the foreseeable future, we expect to finance our operations, including new restaurant development and maintenance capital, through cash from operations and borrowing under our credit facility. For 2019, we expect our capital expenditures to total $14 million to $19 million.

就我們的流動性和資產負債表而言，截至 2019 年 3 月 27 日，我們擁有 670 萬美元的現金和等價物，以及 7110 萬美元的未償債務。在可預見的未來，我們希望通過運營現金和信貸額度下的借款為我們的運營提供資金，包括新餐廳開發和維護資本。2019 年，我們預計資本支出總額為 1400 萬至 1900 萬美元。

During the quarter we repurchased 255,554 shares for approximately $3.4 million for an average price of $13.24. As of March 27, 2019, we had approximately $15.6 million remaining on our current share repurchase program. Subsequent to the end of the quarter, our Board of Directors approved an additional $30 million share repurchase program, which will run from June 27, 2019, to March 25, 2020.

本季度，我們以 13.24 美元的平均價格以約 340 萬美元的價格回購了 255,554 股股票。截至 2019 年 3 月 27 日，我們目前的股票回購計劃剩餘約 1560 萬美元。本季度末，我們的董事會批准了額外的 3000 萬美元股票回購計劃，該計劃將從 2019 年 6 月 27 日持續到 2020 年 3 月 25 日。

Turning to our outlook for 2019, we are maintaining guidance for the full year as follows. Excluding the impact of potential share repurchases, we expect pro forma diluted net income per share of $0.70 to $0.75. This compares to pro forma diluted net income per share of $0.74 in 2018. Our pro forma net income per share guidance for 2019 is based in part on the following annual assumptions.

談到我們對 2019 年的展望，我們維持全年指導如下。排除潛在股票回購的影響，我們預計預計每股攤薄淨收益為 0.70 美元至 0.75 美元。相比之下，2018 年的備考稀釋每股淨收益為 0.74 美元。我們對 2019 年的預計每股淨收入指引部分基於以下年度假設。

We expect systemwide comparable restaurant sales growth to be approximately 2% to 4%. As I noted, we expect to open 3 to 4 new company-owned restaurants and expect our franchisees to open 3 to 5 new restaurants. We expect restaurant contribution margin of between 18.2% and 18.9%. We expect G&A expenses of between 8.4% and 8.6% of total revenue, excluding legal fees related to the securities class action litigation and reflecting our change in accounting for franchise advertising fees. We expect adjusted EBITDA of between $62 million and $65 million, and we are using a pro forma income tax rate of 26.5%.

我們預計全系統可比餐廳銷售額增長率約為 2% 至 4%。正如我所指出的，我們預計將開設 3 至 4 家新的公司自營餐廳，並預計我們的特許經營商將開設 3 至 5 家新餐廳。我們預計餐廳的邊際貢獻率在 18.2% 至 18.9% 之間。我們預計 G&A 費用佔總收入的 8.4% 至 8.6%，不包括與證券集體訴訟相關的法律費用，並反映我們對特許經營廣告費會計處理的變化。我們預計調整後的 EBITDA 在 6200 萬美元至 6500 萬美元之間，我們使用的預估所得稅率為 26.5%。

This concludes our prepared remarks. I'd like to thank you again for joining us on the call today, and we are now happy to answer any questions you may have.

我們準備好的發言到此結束。再次感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議，我們現在很樂意回答您可能提出的任何問題。

[Operator Instructions.] Our first question comes from Matthew DiFrisco with Guggenheim.

[操作員說明。]我們的第一個問題來自古根海姆的 Matthew DiFrisco。

Larry and Bernard, can you just dig in a little bit into the traffic decline there? How much of that potentially, if any, could come from cutting back the menu by about 20%? I realize those probably were the slower velocity, not the most appealing items, or so you were sensitive to that fact. But was there a drag? Some of your competitors have trimmed their menu, optimized their menus, and there's somewhat of a drag on the traffic when that happens. Did you witness any of that?

Larry 和 Bernard，你們能深入了解一下那裡的流量下降情況嗎？如果有的話，其中有多少可能來自將菜單減少約 20%？我意識到那些可能是速度較慢的東西，而不是最吸引人的東西，或者你對這個事實很敏感。但是有拖累嗎？您的一些競爭對手已經削減了他們的菜單，優化了他們的菜單，並且在發生這種情況時會在一定程度上拖累交通。你親眼目睹過這些嗎？

No, Matt, we didn't This is something that we tested pretty extensively in Los Angeles for multiple months prior to rolling it out. And when we actually implemented it throughout the system, we saw it play out in our national rollout, or essentially our official rollout we saw in our test rollout. So we didn't see any degradation in transactions driven by the simplification of our menu.

不，馬特，我們沒有。在推出之前，我們在洛杉磯進行了數月的廣泛測試。當我們在整個系統中實際實施它時，我們看到它在我們的全國推廣中發揮作用，或者基本上是我們在測試推廣中看到的官方推廣。因此，我們沒有看到因簡化菜單而導致的交易量下降。

Okay, and then looking at the franchise comp, did they have a similar traffic decline, or were you exposed more to the weather, so -- and could you sort of quantify what the weather may have been?

好的，然後看看特許經營補償，他們是否有類似的流量下降，或者你是否更容易受到天氣的影響，所以 - 你能量化一下天氣情況嗎？

Sure. So if we use a system transaction number, which we don't typically report because it's estimated. We put far more reliance on the integrity of the data of our company transactions. But if we go off of the estimated system transaction number, it actually looks better. It was negative 2.3% system transactions versus the 3 -- roughly 3 -- negative 3% we saw on the company side. So the transaction picture looks a little bit better there.

當然。因此，如果我們使用系統交易編號，我們通常不會報告它，因為它是估計的。我們更加依賴公司交易數據的完整性。但是，如果我們不考慮估計的系統交易數量，它實際上看起來會更好。這是負 2.3% 的系統交易，而我們在公司方面看到的是 3%——大約 3%——負 3%。所以那裡的交易情況看起來好一點。

And then I'm sorry, I missed the second part of your question. Can you repeat that?

然後我很抱歉，我錯過了你問題的第二部分。你可以再說一遍嗎？

No, that was pretty much it, and then the weather side of it.

不，差不多就是這樣，然後是天氣方面。

Yes, it's hard to really attribute the impact in terms of assigning a specific number to it. But our best estimates in terms of the data that we were able to triangulate there tells us that it was about a little bit more over a point in comp impact, perhaps slightly above a point in terms of the weather impact on our business over the quarter.

是的，很難根據為其分配特定數字來真正歸因於影響。但是，根據我們能夠在那裡進行三角測量的數據，我們的最佳估計告訴我們，它對公司影響的影響略高於一個點，就本季度天氣對我們業務的影響而言，可能略高於一個點.

Okay, and then my last question. What, if any, is there a benefit to the margins from the selling of the -- the re-franchising of the company-owned stores in Arizona and San Francisco? Does that improve your mix of company-owned stores going forward?

好的，然後是我的最後一個問題。如果有的話，出售公司在亞利桑那州和舊金山的商店的重新特許經營權對利潤有什麼好處？這是否會改善您未來的公司直營店組合？

Yes, it does. Selling the East Bay and Phoenix will both be accretive to margins.

是的，它確實。出售東灣和鳳凰城都將增加利潤。

Is that factored into your -- or is it to be determined later? Maybe that 18.2% to 18.9%, does that have an opportunity to be higher?

這是你的考慮因素 - 還是稍後確定？也許是 18.2% 到 18.9%，那有機會更高嗎？

Well, at this point, Matt, yes, I took a look at that and just thought this early in the year and given other variables during the year that we may hit up against, and the impact is not insignificant, but it's not big enough to warrant adjusting the range at this time.

嗯，在這一點上，馬特，是的，我看了一下，只是在今年年初想到了這一點，並考慮到這一年我們可能遇到的其他變量，影響並非微不足道，但還不夠大保證此時調整範圍。

Our next question comes from David Tarantino with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 David Tarantino 和 Baird。

First question's on the sales trends. Last time we talked, you did call out the weather, and it does seem like the weather maybe normalized exiting the quarter and into this quarter. So would you be willing to share kind of what your trends did following the weather issues exiting the quarter and what you're seeing so far in the second quarter?

第一個問題是關於銷售趨勢。上次我們交談時，您確實公佈了天氣情況，看起來天氣可能會從本季度開始正常化並進入本季度。那麼，您是否願意分享您的趨勢在本季度結束後的天氣問題以及您在第二季度到目前為止所看到的情況？

Yes. So we entered in or exited April kind of flattish on our sales situation, but that was expected based on what we were rolling over from last year in terms of a very strong tostada promotion. And we expect, now that -- at the beginning of May we kicked off our tostada promotion this year at this time, which is historically our strongest promotion. We have confidence that we are going to pick up momentum as the quarter progresses. But we knew April was going to be tough, and we've got confidence that, based on what we are currently promoting now, that the momentum will get increasingly stronger.

是的。因此，我們在 4 月份進入或退出 4 月份的銷售情況有點平淡，但根據我們從去年開始推出的非常強勁的 tostada 促銷活動，這是預期的。我們預計，現在 - 在 5 月初，我們在這個時候開始了今年的 tostada 促銷活動，這是我們歷史上最強勁的促銷活動。我們有信心，隨著本季度的進展，我們將加快發展勢頭。但我們知道 4 月會很艱難，而且我們有信心，根據我們目前正在推廣的內容，勢頭會越來越強勁。

Got it. Just so I understand, flattish meaning flattish year-over-year or flat relative to what you reported for Q1?

知道了。據我了解，持平意味著同比持平或與您報告的第一季度持平？

Year-over-year.

一年又一年。

Okay, thank you for that. And then a couple of questions on menu simplification. Thank you for the update there. I guess what are you seeing so far in terms of the operations benefit from having reduced that complexity back of the house? Are you starting to see any improvements on some of the metrics you're tracking on that front?

好的，謝謝你。然後是關於菜單簡化的幾個問題。謝謝你那裡的更新。我想到目前為止，您從減少內部複雜性中獲得的運營收益方面看到了什麼？您是否開始看到您在這方面跟踪的某些指標有任何改進？

I think we've done a few things. Menu simplification was certainly one of them, and as you can recall, we also kind of reduced the number of promotions we were running annually from 9 to 6, and I think the net impact of all of that has been just better execution against the products that we're serving day in and day out, only because we're not having to train so often on new LTOs and our people can focus on executing much better against a lower number of SKUs. So while it's still early days, of course, this coupled with a bunch of the initiatives we're working on, is really intended to improve our overall operations.

我認為我們已經做了一些事情。菜單簡化當然是其中之一，您還記得，我們也將每年進行的促銷活動數量從 9 次減少到 6 次，我認為所有這些的淨影響只是更好地執行產品我們日復一日地提供服務，只是因為我們不必經常針對新的 LTO 進行培訓，而且我們的員工可以專注於針對較少數量的 SKU 更好地執行。因此，雖然現在還處於早期階段，但當然，這與我們正在進行的一系列舉措相結合，確實旨在改善我們的整體運營。

I think where we saw it most dramatically, if I was to point to a data reference, is NPD data is data that we look at on a quarterly basis. And what was really impressive -- although again, early days -- we registered the highest food score that we've seen in over 12 months in the first quarter of 2019. So to put that in perspective, our food scores have always been significantly above QSR by at least almost 10 points. And so we exited, for instance, 2018 with food scores that typically averaged 77 or 76, whereas QSR typically comes in -- average QSR typically comes in around 64 or 65. Q1 2019 food scores came in at 80, so we think that's somewhat indicative of this greater focus against execution that we're placing on op simplification.

我認為，如果我要指出數據參考，我們最引人注目的地方是 NPD 數據是我們每季度查看的數據。真正令人印象深刻的是——雖然還是早期——我們在 2019 年第一季度錄得了 12 個月以來的最高食品評分。因此，從正確的角度來看，我們的食物分數始終明顯高於 QSR 至少近 10 分。因此，例如，我們在 2018 年退出時，食物得分通常平均為 77 或 76，而 QSR 通常會出現——平均 QSR 通常在 64 或 65 左右。2019 年第一季度的食品得分為 80，因此我們認為這在某種程度上表明我們更加關注我們對操作簡化的執行。

Great, that's encouraging. So last question. On the selling of the company units, I just wanted to understand your strategy around that concept. Is this more a couple of one-off transactions, or is this going to be more of a broader theme as we move forward?

太好了，這令人鼓舞。最後一個問題。關於出售公司單位，我只是想了解您圍繞該概念的策略。這是更多的一次性交易，還是隨著我們的前進，這將成為一個更廣泛的主題？

So I think in the case of the East Bay and Phoenix, one, we had franchisees that expressed -- very, very strong performing franchisees that we have a longstanding relationship with -- that expressed an interest in those restaurants. And given that we had a much smaller presence relative to our franchisees in those markets, it made sense for us to sell them while also ensuring that we put a development agreement in place so that those markets continue to grow into the foreseeable future.

因此，我認為在東灣和鳳凰城的情況下，我們的特許經營商表示 - 與我們有長期關係的非常非常強大的表現特許經營商 - 表達了對這些餐廳的興趣。鑑於我們在這些市場中的影響力相對於我們的加盟商要小得多，因此出售它們對我們來說是有意義的，同時還要確保我們制定開發協議，以便這些市場在可預見的未來繼續增長。

In regards to further refranchising, there's nothing on the horizon right now. Frankly speaking, that's not to say that we wouldn't look at something if something opportunistic presented itself, but there's no immediate plans to do anything else on that front.

關於進一步的重新特許經營，目前還沒有任何進展。坦率地說，這並不是說如果出現機會主義的事情我們就不會考慮，但是我們沒有立即計劃在這方面做任何其他事情。

[Operator Instructions.] Our next question comes from Andy Barish with Jefferies.

[操作員說明。]我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Andy Barish。

I guess I was wondering if you could just give us a little bit more detail on sort of the traffic and the mix divergence, just promotionally, maybe what was going on, and then going forward, kind of key contributors that you expect to drive both components there.

我想我想知道您是否可以向我們提供更多關於流量和混合差異的詳細信息，只是為了促銷，也許正在發生什麼，然後繼續前進，您希望推動兩者的關鍵貢獻者那裡的組件。

Well, obviously, the check, as Bernard highlighted, was the big driver of the comps and where 3% of that was price. That was for the quarter. And then the mix was up, and then really several things that we think led to the mix upside. One was just a little bit lower discounting in our loyalty program. The other was we promoted a Dinner for Two promotion, which actually drove some mix benefit. And so -- and then there were a couple of other things. So those are some of the drivers of the mix benefit.

好吧，很明顯，正如伯納德強調的那樣，支票是補償的主要驅動力，其中 3% 是價格。那是本季度的。然後混合起來，然後我們認為真正導致混合上升的幾件事。一個是我們的忠誠度計劃中的折扣略低。另一個是我們推出了兩人晚餐促銷活動，這實際上帶來了一些混合效益。所以 - 然後還有其他一些事情。因此，這些是混合收益的一些驅動因素。

Balance of the year as it plays out, I don't expect the mix benefit to be as high, mainly because some of those things will come off the table. We did them in Q1; we won't be doing them the balance of the year. Also, as I look at balance of the year, when you look at some of the promotion we're doing, especially we're probably doing a $5.00 type of promotion like we did last year, those obviously are lower mix drivers but higher transaction drivers than we've had in the first quarter.

今年的餘額，我預計混合收益不會那麼高，主要是因為其中一些事情會被排除在外。我們在第一季度做到了；我們不會在今年餘下的時間里為他們做事。此外，當我查看年度餘額時，當您查看我們正在進行的一些促銷活動時，尤其是我們可能會像去年那樣進行 5.00 美元的促銷活動，這些顯然是較低的混合驅動因素，但交易量較高比我們在第一季度擁有的驅動程序。

So against a very strong check driven by mix in the first quarter, I expect to see that mix benefit decline and kind of level out during the balance of the year.

因此，針對第一季度由混合驅動的非常強勁的支票，我預計混合收益會下降，並在今年餘下時間趨於平穩。

Great. And then, Larry, can you give us an update on kind of where -- or Bernard -- where Texas stands today? Kind of the impact on the overall enterprise and sort of the 2019 plans for that market after menu simplification and some other things?

偉大的。然後，拉里，你能否向我們介紹一下德克薩斯州今天所處的位置或伯納德的最新情況？在菜單簡化和其他一些事情之後，對整個企業的影響以及該市場 2019 年的計劃是什麼？

Yes, really, the story hasn't changed tremendously in terms of the impact. As an impact, again, it continues to be a 130-basis-point margin hit, probably a 20-basis-point or so same-store -- maybe 30-basis-point, 20- to 30-basis-point same-store sales drag.

是的，真的，就影響而言，故事並沒有發生巨大變化。作為影響，它仍然是 130 個基點的利潤率打擊，可能是 20 個基點左右的同店 - 可能是 30 個基點，20 到 30 個基點 -門店銷售拖累。

The thing I will say is we have seen some improvement in the same-store sales trends in both markets, so we're a long way from being where we need to be, but at least that's somewhat encouraging. We continue to invest in the markets operationally. We've made investments, and when you look at the ops metrics, Texas and Houston are both amongst the best we have in our system. We're also just investing in billboards in Dallas, so we continue to do things that move the sales in those markets. So we continue to do what we can to improve the sales results and continue on a long journey of getting the sales up to levels and margins up to levels where long term, it's a viable market for us. But still a lot of work to do, but obviously, they continue to be a drag on our overall results.

我要說的是，我們已經看到這兩個市場的同店銷售趨勢有所改善，因此我們距離我們需要達到的目標還有很長的路要走，但這至少有點令人鼓舞。我們繼續在市場上進行運營投資。我們已經進行了投資，當您查看運營指標時，德克薩斯和休斯頓都是我們系統中最好的。我們也只是在達拉斯投資廣告牌，所以我們會繼續做一些事情來推動這些市場的銷售。因此，我們繼續盡我們所能來改善銷售業績，並繼續進行漫長的旅程，使銷售額和利潤率達到長期水平，這對我們來說是一個可行的市場。但仍有很多工作要做，但顯然，它們繼續拖累我們的整體業績。

Thank you. At this time there are no further questions in queue. I would like to turn the call back over to Mr. Bernard Acoca for closing comments.

謝謝。目前隊列中沒有其他問題。我想將電話轉回 Bernard Acoca 先生以徵求結束意見。

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us on our quarterly call, and we look forward to speaking to you again in the future. So be well.

好吧，謝謝大家參加我們的季度電話會議，我們期待將來再次與您交談。所以，要好。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a great day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。你可以在這個時候斷開你的線路，祝你有美好的一天。