Papa John's International Inc (PZZA) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Papa John's first-quarter 2024 conference call and webcast. (Operator instructions) As a reminder, today's program is being recorded.

謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加棒約翰 2024 年第一季電話會議和網路廣播。（操作員說明） 提醒一下，今天的節目正在錄製中。

And now I'd like to introduce your host for today's program, Stacey Frole, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我想介紹一下今天節目的主持人，投資者關係副總裁 Stacey Frole。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to Papa John's first-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. This morning, we issued our first-quarter 2024 earnings release. A copy of the release can be obtained on our Investor Relations website at ir.papajohns.com under the News Release tab, or by contacting our Investor Relations department at investor_relations@papajohns.com. Joining me on the call this morning is Ravi Thanawala, our Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加棒約翰 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天上午，我們發布了 2024 年第一季財報。您可以在我們的投資者關係網站 ir.papajohns.com 的「新聞發布」標籤下取得該新聞稿的副本，或透過 Investor_relations@papajohns.com 聯絡我們的投資者關係部門。今天早上與我一起參加電話會議的是我們的臨時執行長兼財務長拉維‧塔納瓦拉 (Ravi Thanawala)。

Before we begin, I need to remind you that comments made during this call will include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. Forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements in our earnings release and the risk factors included in our SEC filings.

在我們開始之前，我需要提醒您，本次電話會議中發表的評論將包括聯邦證券法含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述可能涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與這些陳述有重大差異。前瞻性陳述應與我們的收益發布中的警示性陳述以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中包含的風險因素結合起來考慮。

In addition, please refer to our earnings release for the required reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures discussed on today's call. Lastly, let me thank you in advance for asking only one question and getting back in the queue for additional follow-ups.

此外，請參閱我們的收益報告，以了解今天電話會議上討論的非公認會計原則財務指標的必要調節。最後，讓我提前感謝您只提出一個問題並回到隊列中進行其他後續跟進。

And now let me turn the call over to Ravi.

現在讓我把電話轉給拉維。

A good morning to everyone. Before I jump into my prepared remarks, I'd like to convey my appreciation to the Papa John's team and our Board of Directors for entrusting me to lead the organization as interim CEO. I'd also like to acknowledge the passion and commitment of our talented team members and highly engaged franchisees who continue to deliver for our customers every day. There is so much to be proud of and excited for as we begin our next phase of growth.

祝大家早安。在我開始準備好的發言之前，我想向棒約翰團隊和我們的董事會表示感謝，感謝他們委託我作為臨時執行長領導該組織。我還要感謝我們才華橫溢的團隊成員和高度敬業的加盟商的熱情和承諾，他們每天都在繼續為我們的客戶提供服務。當我們開始下一階段的成長時，有很多值得自豪和興奮的事情。

We are navigating the current dynamic environment with a balanced approach to delivering improved unit-level economics and company operating profits, while also investing in the future. As such, in January, we launched our Back to Better 2.0 strategy, and then short period of time, we have achieved meaningful milestones.

我們正在以平衡的方式應對當前的動態環境，以改善單位層面的經濟效益和公司營運利潤，同時也對未來進行投資。因此，在一月份，我們啟動了「回歸更好2.0」策略，然後在很短的時間內，我們就實現了有意義的里程碑。

In the areas of enhancing national marketing investment and effectiveness, we launched our newest platform innovation, Crispy Cuppy 'Roni, across a trio of products and different accessible price points and introduce an all-new brand platform, Better Get You Some, that is part of our deepened commitment to an investment in our new marketing strategy.

在提高全國行銷投資和有效性方面，我們推出了最新的平台創新Crispy Cuppy 'Roni，涵蓋三種產品和不同的可負擔價格點，並推出了全新的品牌平台Better Get You Some，這是其中的有一部分我們加深了對新行銷策略投資的承諾。

Regarding our focus on accelerating North American development, we improved the cash-on-cash paybacks on new North American development through attractive incentives. We also remain focused on enhancing unit-level profitability and reducing overall build costs for new restaurant development.

關於加快北美發展的重點，我們透過有吸引力的激勵措施提高了北美新開發項目的現金回報率。我們也持續致力於提高單位層面的獲利能力並降低新餐廳開發的整體建設成本。

Finally, on our international transformation initiatives, we established international regional hubs led by proven leaders with direct industry and relevant market experience to help drive market share gains in key markets around the globe and are progressing the optimization of our UK market with the planned closure of 43 company-owned locations later in May and the active pursuit of refranchising opportunities for other locations. Our energy will remain focused on laying the right groundwork as we can continue to evolve our business, enhance our long-term performance, and create value for our shareholders, and ultimately, become the QSR's pizza brand of choice for consumers and franchisees around the world.

最後，在我們的國際轉型計劃中，我們建立了由擁有直接行業和相關市場經驗的成熟領導者領導的國際區域中心，以幫助推動全球主要市場的市場份額增長，並正在推進英國市場的優化，計劃關閉5 月下旬，公司擁有 43 個門市，並積極尋求其他門市的再特許經營機會。我們的精力將繼續集中在奠定正確的基礎上，因為我們可以繼續發展我們的業務，提高我們的長期業績，為我們的股東創造價值，並最終成為全球消費者和特許經營商選擇的 QSR 披薩品牌。

Now, I'd like to touch on our first-quarter performance. In our North America business, results were mixed. But thanks to our highly disciplined approach of our operators, especially in our company-owned restaurants, remaining diligent throughout the quarter, restaurant-level margins exceeded our expectations, leading to a higher adjusted operating income despite near-term sales pressure.

現在，我想談談我們第一季的業績。在我們的北美業務中，結果好壞參半。但由於我們的經營者，特別是我們公司擁有的餐廳，在整個季度保持勤奮，餐廳層面的利潤率超出了我們的預期，導致儘管近期銷售壓力較大，但調整後的營業收入仍然較高。

In the first quarter of 2024, North America comparable sales were down roughly 2% from a year ago. This was primarily due to lower transactions as the continued growth in our aggregator channel was more than offset by a decline in organic delivery while our carryout business remained consistent with the prior year. This shift in channel mix also led to a slightly lower average ticket as a relatively profit neutral revenue from our organic delivery fee decline. Strategic pricing actions by our revenue management team helped to somewhat mitigate this delivery fee impact.

2024 年第一季度，北美可比銷售額年減約 2%。這主要是由於交易量減少，因為我們的聚合管道的持續成長被有機交付的下降所抵消，而我們的結轉業務與上一年保持一致。通路組合的這種轉變也導致平均票價略有下降，因為我們的有機送貨費下降帶來了相對利潤中立的收入。我們的收入管理團隊採取的策略性定價行動有助於在一定程度上減輕這種送貨費用的影響。

In the current environment, we're also seeing customers become more deliberate in managing their overall order costs. So while our core offering, pizza, remained higher year over year, sides and beverages were lower. It has been my experience that brands that win consumers' hearts and minds on the most important days of the year have a unique role in their lives that brands are able to build upon. We are encouraged by our performance on the traditionally high-volume occasions for the pizza category during the first quarter, including Valentine's Day, Super Bowl weekend, and March Madness, reinforcing our confidence in the strength of our brand.

在當前環境下，我們也看到客戶在管理整體訂單成本方面變得更加謹慎。因此，雖然我們的核心產品披薩比去年同期仍然較高，但配菜和飲料卻較低。根據我的經驗，在一年中最重要的日子裡贏得消費者芳心的品牌在他們的生活中具有獨特的作用，品牌可以在此基礎上繼續發展。我們對第一季披薩類別傳統高銷售場合的表現感到鼓舞，包括情人節、超級盃週末和瘋狂三月，這增強了我們對品牌實力的信心。

From an international perspective, we are pleased with the progress we continue to make in this dynamic environment. As anticipated, our Middle East region impacted our first-quarter international comparable sales due to the ongoing conflict in this part of the world. Excluding this region, our international comparable sales were up approximately 1% from a year ago.

從國際角度來看，我們對在這個充滿活力的環境中不斷取得的進展感到高興。正如預期的那樣，由於中東地區持續的衝突，影響了我們第一季的國際可比銷售額。不包括該地區，我們的國際可比銷售額比一年前增長了約 1%。

For the first quarter 2024, global system-wide restaurant sales were $1.23 billion, down 1% in constant currency compared with the prior year's first quarter. The lower sales were largely due to the strong prior-year first quarter, which had a benefit of approximately $10 million from the high-volume week between Christmas and New Year's. The decrease in sales due to the calendar shift was partially offset by 3%, net unit growth from the prior year.

2024 年第一季度，全球全系統餐廳銷售額為 12.3 億美元，以固定匯率計算比去年第一季下降 1%。銷售額下降主要是由於去年第一季的強勁表現，聖誕節和新年之間的高銷量週為該季度帶來了約 1,000 萬美元的收益。由於日曆調整導致的銷售額下降被上一年 3% 的淨銷量成長部分抵消。

Total revenues for the first quarter were $514 million, down 2% from a year ago, primarily reflecting a $9 million decrease in North America commissary revenues due to lower commodity prices in the quarter and to a lesser extent, lower transaction volumes. A $9 million decrease in other revenues, which includes a $5 million impact from the sale of preferred marketing, our formerly wholly owned print and promotions business, and a $4 million decrease in domestic company-owned restaurants, reflecting lower transaction volumes, somewhat offset by a higher average ticket. Partially offsetting these revenue declines was an approximate $10 million contribution from the 2023 UK franchisee acquisition.

第一季總營收為 5.14 億美元，年減 2%，主要反映北美小賣部營收減少 900 萬美元，原因是本季大宗商品價格下跌以及交易量下降。其他收入減少900 萬美元，其中包括出售優先行銷（我們以前全資擁有的印刷和促銷業務）帶來的500 萬美元影響，以及國內公司自有餐廳的400 萬美元減少，反映出交易量減少，但在一定程度上被更高的平均票價。2023 年英國特許經營商收購貢獻了約 1,000 萬美元，部分抵消了這些收入下降。

Turning to profits, adjusted operating income for 2024 first quarter was $43 million, up from 39 million a year ago. The key drivers of our improvement over last year's first quarter include an approximate $2 million benefit from improved North America company-owned restaurant margins and domestic commissary margins, an approximate $3 million benefit from reduced local marketing reserves at our company-owned restaurants, a result of the recent change to our local and national marketing spend requirements, and an approximate $4 million benefit from equity forfeitures, primarily resulting from the recent CEO departure.

說到利潤，2024 年第一季調整後營業收入為 4,300 萬美元，高於一年前的 3,900 萬美元。與去年第一季相比，我們業績改善的主要推動因素包括北美公司自有餐廳利潤率和國內小賣部利潤率提高帶來的約200 萬美元收益，以及公司自有餐廳當地營銷儲備減少帶來的約300 萬美元收益。

These positive impacts were largely offset by a roughly $4 million year-over-year impact related to the operations of our UK franchisee acquisitions when taking into consideration a first-quarter 2024 operating loss in the first-quarter 2023 franchisee royalty fees. Higher G&A expenses of approximately $3 million as we continue to invest in our restaurants and technology platforms, along with the consolidation of the acquired UK restaurants and lower North America comp sales.

考慮到2023 年第一季特許經營商特許權使用費中的2024 年第一季營運虧損，這些正面影響在很大程度上被我們英國特許經營商收購業務相關的約400 萬美元的同比影響所抵消。由於我們繼續投資我們的餐廳和技術平台，以及收購的英國餐廳的整合和北美公司銷售額的下降，一般管理費用增加了約 300 萬美元。

Adjusted operating margins for the first quarter was 8.4%, up from 7.4% a year ago, primarily reflecting improved margins at our domestic company-owned restaurants and supply chain improvements. Overall, our domestic company-owned margins improved 220 basis points compared with the prior-year first quarter. Driving the improved margins was an approximate 110 basis points benefit from lower food basket costs as we continue to see relief in cheese and dairy prices. Lower operating costs and a slightly higher ticket at our company-owned restaurants also contributed to our margin improvement, while labor costs were only slightly higher by approximately 10 basis points. Our teams did a great job in the first quarter, optimizing our labor model to meet consumer demand and delivering an excellent customer experience while also adjusting for shifts in channel mix.

第一季調整後營業利潤率為 8.4%，高於去年同期的 7.4%，主要反映了我們國內公司自營餐廳利潤率的提高和供應鏈的改善。整體而言，我們的國內公司自有利潤率比去年第一季提高了 220 個基點。隨著起司和乳製品價格持續走低，食品籃成本下降約 110 個基點，推動了利潤率的提高。我們公司自營餐廳較低的營運成本和略高的票價也有助於我們的利潤率提高，而勞動成本僅略高約 10 個基點。我們的團隊在第一季做得很好，優化了我們的勞動力模式以滿足消費者需求，提供了卓越的客戶體驗，同時也適應了通路組合的變化。

Moving on to cash flow and our balance sheet. In the first quarter of 2024. Net cash provided by operating activities was $12 million, down from $41 million a year ago. After accounting for $13 million in capital expenditures for the development of new domestic restaurants and investments in technology innovation, we generated a cash outflow of $1 million. This compares with free cash flow of $22 million generated in the first quarter of 2023, primarily reflecting unfavorable working capital changes driven by the timing of payments in the first quarter of 2024.

轉向現金流和我們的資產負債表。2024年第一季。經營活動提供的淨現金為 1,200 萬美元，低於一年前的 4,100 萬美元。在考慮用於開發新的國內餐廳和技術創新投資的 1,300 萬美元資本支出後，我們產生了 100 萬美元的現金流出。相較之下，2023 年第一季產生的自由現金流為 2,200 萬美元，主要反映了 2024 年第一季付款時間所導致的不利的營運資本變動。

Our liquidity continues to be strong with $260 million in cash and borrowings available under our revolving credit facility and a gross leverage ratio of 3.1 times. Overall, our teams around the globe continue to take a disciplined approach to running the business.

我們的流動性依然強勁，循環信貸安排下提供 2.6 億美元的現金和借款，總槓桿率為 3.1 倍。總體而言，我們在全球的團隊繼續採取嚴格的方法來經營業務。

We've improved restaurant-level margins and operating profits to commodities normalization, revenue management, and labor optimization in the quarter despite the lower sales. Our efforts are having a positive impact on our bottom line. However, there is more work to do.

儘管銷售額較低，但本季我們透過商品標準化、收入管理和勞動力優化，提高了餐廳層面的利潤率和營業利潤。我們的努力正在對我們的利潤產生積極影響。然而，還有更多工作要做。

As I mentioned earlier, in January, we launched multi-year strategic initiatives that are designed to drive higher system-wide sales, enhance restaurant level profitability, and reinvigorate development over the long term in key markets around the world. I'm pleased to say while still in early innings, we've made meaningful progress against the foundational improvements we are implementing in our marketing platforms, our supply chain, and our international operations.

正如我之前提到的，一月份，我們啟動了多年戰略計劃，旨在推動更高的全系統銷售額、提高餐廳層面的盈利能力，並重振全球主要市場的長期發展。我很高興地說，雖然仍處於早期階段，但我們在行銷平台、供應鏈和國際營運方面實施的基礎性改進已經取得了有意義的進展。

First, product innovation remains a cornerstone to our brand promise of better ingredients, better pizza and will continue to be a focus of our strategy. In April, we launched our newest platform innovation, Crispy Cuppy 'Roni, which is available across a trio of products at different accessible price points. In conjunction with this new platform innovation, we launched a modern refresh of our brand visuals, tone, and message with Better Get You Some. This amplification of our brand is the culmination of our efforts over the past nine months where we focus on improving audience segmentation, building customer loyalty, and driving cultural relevance. This combination of brand and product innovation helps the consumer to appreciate the strong value proposition Papa John's provides. While it's only been five weeks since we launched our new brand platform, early research of the campaign showed an increase in the consumer's purchase intent. Moving ahead, we're focused on improving sales by our revenue management strategies, ongoing loyalty improvement, and adapting our media strategy mix to maximize effectiveness across channels.

首先，產品創新仍然是我們品牌承諾的基石，即更好的原料、更好的披薩，並將繼續成為我們策略的重點。4 月份，我們推出了最新的創新平台 Crispy Cuppy 'Roni，該產品以不同的價格點提供三種產品。結合這項新平台創新，我們透過「Better Get You Some」對我們的品牌視覺、基調和訊息進行了現代刷新。我們品牌的擴大是我們過去九個月努力的結晶，我們專注於改善受眾細分、建立客戶忠誠度和推動文化相關性。這種品牌與產品創新的結合有助於消費者欣賞棒約翰所提供的強大價值主張。雖然我們推出新品牌平台才過去五週，但對該活動的早期研究顯示消費者的購買意願增加。展望未來，我們的重點是透過收入管理策略、持續提高忠誠度以及調整媒體策略組合來提高銷售，以最大限度地提高跨渠道的效率。

Second, to support the new brand platform and leverage the scale national investments deliver, our franchisees voted last year to increase the contribution rate to the national marketing fund by 100 basis points of sales beginning in the second quarter. As part of the consolidation to national funding, we made local marketing spend optional for the system.

其次，為了支持新的品牌平台並利用國家投資規模，我們的加盟商去年投票決定從第二季開始將國家行銷基金的貢獻率提高 100 個銷售基點。作為整合國家資金的一部分，我們使本地行銷支出成為系統的可選支出。

For our domestic company-owned restaurants, we intend to optimize our local marketing spend in 2024 and still see value in investing in certain local marketing co-ops and brand partnerships within specific markets to build upon the strong community relations already in place. Many of our franchisees are taking a similar strategic and targeted approach given the additional optionality the new marketing fee structure provides.

對於我們國內公司擁有的餐廳，我們打算在2024 年優化我們的本地行銷支出，並且仍然認為在特定市場內投資某些本地行銷合作社和品牌合作夥伴關係以建立現有的強大社區關係是有價值的。鑑於新的行銷費用結構提供了額外的選擇，我們的許多特許經營商正在採取類似的策略和有針對性的方法。

The initial customer response and reviews to our new product innovations and brand platform have been positive, but the highly competitive promotional environment has been a headwind to transactions. We believe Papa John's perceived values about providing high-quality product innovation at the right time, at the right price. It is important that we maintain discipline in our limited-time offers, pricing strategies, and product innovations for the long-term success of the business. Although we won't hesitate to make short-term adjustments as we deem appropriate on a market-by-market basis to remain competitive.

客戶對我們的新產品創新和品牌平台的最初反應和評論是積極的，但競爭激烈的促銷環境一直是交易的阻力。我們相信棒約翰的價值觀，即在正確的時間以正確的價格提供高品質的產品創新。為了業務的長期成功，我們必須在限時優惠、定價策略和產品創新方面保持紀律。儘管我們會毫不猶豫地根據每個市場的情況進行我們認為適當的短期調整，以保持競爭力。

Third, as previously discussed, as part of our Back to Better 2.0 strategy, we're evolving our domestic commissary business to support additional investment in supply chain productivity. Beginning with the first quarter, we increased the fixed operating margin that our domestic compensation charged by 100 basis points from 4% to 5%. We plan to continue this annual increase until 2027 when the fixed operating margin reaches 8%. At the same time, our franchisees can now earn incentive base rebates by delivering higher volumes and new restaurant development.

第三，如前所述，作為「回歸更好 2.0」策略的一部分，我們正在發展國內小賣部業務，以支持對供應鏈生產力的額外投資。從第一季開始，我們將國內薪資收取的固定營業利潤率提高了100個基點，從4%提高到5%。我們計劃繼續這一年度成長，直到 2027 年固定營業利潤率達到 8%。同時，我們的特許經營商現在可以透過提供更高的銷售和新餐廳的開發來賺取激勵基礎回扣。

Through the first quarter, more than 40% of our franchisees are on track to earn a rebate in 2024. As we drive higher volumes through our supply chain model, we intend to reinvest into this segment to increase productivity throughout the system, making our supply chain even more effective. Modernizing equipment, automating processes, and negotiating contract renewals as we continue to scale are just a few examples of our opportunities available to Papa John's.

截至第一季度，我們超過 40% 的特許經營商預計在 2024 年獲得回扣。隨著我們透過供應鏈模型推動更高的產量，我們打算對這一領域進行再投資，以提高整個系統的生產力，使我們的供應鏈更加有效。隨著我們不斷擴大規模，實現設備現代化、流程自動化以及合約續約談判只是棒約翰所能獲得的機會的幾個例子。

Fourth, unit level productivity is a primary driver of unit development, and we are confident supply chain efficiencies will deliver improved results over the next several years. In addition, we have been focused on rebuilding and elevating our development team to accelerate North America new unit growth through franchisee cultivation, quality site selection, lower cost to build, and quicker speeds to open. As part of this process, we are evaluating and revamping every aspect of the development process from general contractor selection and architectural costs to leasehold improvements and furniture, fixtures, and equipment.

第四，單位級生產力是單位開發的主要驅動力，我們相信供應鏈效率將在未來幾年內帶來更好的結果。此外，我們一直致力於重建和提升我們的開發團隊，透過加盟商培育、優質選址、更低的建設成本和更快的開業速度來加速北美新單位的成長。作為此過程的一部分，我們正在評估和修改開發過程的各個方面，從總承包商的選擇和建築成本到租賃改進以及家具、固定裝置和設備。

These improvements are delivering real-time cost savings and will offer franchisees more resources throughout the development process in addition to greater contractors, supplier, and equipment optionality based on market and anticipated restaurant volumes. The development incentives announced last November, combined with the improving cost to build, significantly improves the cash-on-cash payback for our developing franchisees who opened new units in 2024/2025. The attractive ROI on new builds and the strength of our brand gives us confidence new unit development in North America will continue to accelerate.

這些改進正在實現即時成本節約，並將在整個開發過程中為特許經營商提供更多資源，此外還可以根據市場和預期餐廳數量提供更多的承包商、供應商和設備選擇。去年 11 月宣布的開發激勵措施，加上建造成本的改善，顯著提高了我們在 2024/2025 年開設新單位的發展中特許經營商的現金回報。新建專案具有吸引力的投資回報率和我們品牌的實力讓我們有信心北美的新單位開發將繼續加速。

Now, moving to our international transformation initiatives. Our number one focus is to ensure we have the right foundation to support and drive long-term success. This means being closer to the consumer, continue to focus on menu innovation that is locally relevant, and making sure we have the right insights to help our franchisees win in their markets.

現在，轉向我們的國際轉型計劃。我們的首要任務是確保我們擁有適當的基礎來支持和推動長期成功。這意味著更加貼近消費者，繼續專注於與當地相關的菜單創新，並確保我們擁有正確的見解來幫助我們的特許經營商贏得市場。

In the first quarter, we launched our international regional hub structure with proven leaders that have direct industry and relevant market experience. These hubs are designed to help our international franchisees to drive sales and profitability by aligning global best practices with local preferences and the resources to accomplish our long-term objective of increasing share in key markets around the world.

在第一季度，我們推出了國際區域中心結構，由擁有直接行業和相關市場經驗的成熟領導者組成。這些中心旨在透過將全球最佳實踐與當地偏好和資源結合起來，幫助我們的國際特許經營商提高銷售額和盈利能力，以實現我們增加全球主要市場份額的長期目標。

We are also advancing our efforts to optimize the UK business model. Most recently, we announced plans to close 43 underperforming company-owned restaurants later this month. We'll continue to evaluate our remaining portfolio as well as our franchisee locations, focusing on sales trends, overall profitability, and their lease and loan obligations. Through this process, additional strategic closures and refranchising opportunities will be considered as we look to drive profitability and strengthen our franchisee base. We believe with these actions, the UK market will become profit accretive in the second half of this year.

我們還在努力優化英國的商業模式。最近，我們宣布計劃在本月稍後關閉 43 家表現不佳的公司旗下餐廳。我們將繼續評估我們剩餘的投資組合以及特許經營地點，重點關注銷售趨勢、整體盈利能力以及他們的租賃和貸款義務。透過這個過程，我們將考慮額外的策略性關閉和重新特許經營機會，以提高盈利能力並加強我們的特許經營商基礎。我們相信，透過這些行動，英國市場將在今年下半年實現利潤成長。

Finally, we're investing in our international consumer-facing technology and digital infrastructure to improve purchase conversion, increase customer retention, and deliver faster consumer insights to franchisees. There remains significant whitespace for the Papa John's brand internationally. And while we still have more foundational investments to make, we're confident the actions we are taking are setting our largest international markets up for profitable market share gains over the long term.

最後，我們正在投資面向國際消費者的技術和數位基礎設施，以提高購買轉換率，提高客戶保留率，並為特許經營者提供更快的消費者洞察。棒約翰品牌在國際上仍然存在著很大的空白。儘管我們仍有更多基礎投資要做，但我們相信，我們正在採取的行動正在為我們最大的國際市場奠定基礎，以實現長期盈利的市場份額增長。

Looking at our outlook for the balance of the year. For the first four weeks of the second quarter, North America comp sales were down approximately 1% and may remain under pressure in the near term as the challenging macroeconomic environment continues and consumer confidence softened. Because of this, we have chosen to update our full-year guidance with a more cautious outlook. If orders remain at a similar level as the past four weeks, we anticipate 2024 North America comps to be flat to down low-single-digits for the full year 2024. As a reminder, we are in the early stages of our Back to Better 2.0 investments and are committed to providing updates as the year progresses.

看看我們對今年剩餘時間的展望。在第二季的前四個星期，北美公司銷售額下降了約 1%，由於充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境持續和消費者信心疲軟，短期內可能仍面臨壓力。因此，我們選擇以更謹慎的前景更新我們的全年指引。如果訂單保持在與過去 4 週類似的水平，我們預計 2024 年北美地區的比較將持平甚至下降到 2024 年全年的低個位數。提醒一下，我們正處於 Back to Better 2.0 投資的早期階段，並致力於隨著時間的推移提供更新。

Internationally, we remain in a dynamic environment and continue to maintain a cautious outlook on international comps in 2024. Based on the lower sales outlook and assuming we remain at similar levels for the remainder of 2024, we would anticipate 2024 adjusted operating income to be between $145 million and $155 million.

國際方面，我們仍處於充滿活力的環境中，並對 2024 年國際公司的前景繼續保持謹慎。基於較低的銷售前景，並假設我們在 2024 年剩餘時間內保持類似水平，我們預計 2024 年調整後營業收入將在 1.45 億美元至 1.55 億美元之間。

Our teams remain focused on executing against our strategies and maintaining cost discipline. We continue to expect benefits from the increase to our fixed commissary margin, our international transformation initiatives, notably the closure of UK restaurants we mentioned earlier, and an increase in North America development. However, these benefits will likely be offset by lower North America comparable sales, combined with higher G&A expenses and higher D&A expense that have been discussed previously.

我們的團隊仍然專注於執行我們的策略並維持成本紀律。我們繼續預計我們的固定小賣部利潤率的增加、我們的國際轉型舉措（特別是我們之前提到的英國餐廳的關閉）以及北美髮展的增加將帶來好處。然而，這些收益可能會被北美可比銷售額的下降以及先前討論過的較高的一般管理費用和較高的 D&A 費用所抵消。

In terms of other non-operating expense items, we expect net interest expense to be between $40 million and $45 million, our capital expenditures to be between $75 million and $85 million, and our tax rate to be between 23% and 26%, all consistent with our prior guidance.

就其他營業外支出項目而言，我們預期淨利息支出將在4,000 萬美元至4,500 萬美元之間，資本支出將在7,500 萬美元至8,500 萬美元之間，稅率將在23% 至26% 之間，所有與我們先前的指導一致。

From a development perspective, the North America market is our most accretive development for Papa John's, and we remain committed to accelerating the expansion of our domestic footprint moving forward. In the first quarter, we added 14 net new North America units, bringing our total North America restaurant count to 3,447. For fiscal year 2024, we expect net new units for North America to increase more than 20% relative to 2023 net unit openings.

從發展的角度來看，北美市場是棒約翰最有增值潛力的市場，我們將繼續致力於加速國內業務的擴張。第一季度，我們在北美淨新增 14 家餐廳，使北美餐廳總數達到 3,447 家。對於 2024 財年，我們預計北美的淨新單位數量將比 2023 年淨新單位數量增加 20% 以上。

From an international perspective, we saw 23 new restaurant openings on a gross basis. These new restaurant openings were offset by 29 closures, primarily in certain Middle East markets and China. This brings our total international restaurant count to 2,467. We are maintaining our cautious approach for our international markets and expect gross openings between 100 and 140 new international restaurants for fiscal 2024. We continue to review the performance of our international franchisees and may initiate additional strategic closures to improve marketplace health or exit unprofitable locations. As such, our net openings could be impacted by the closure of underperforming locations to enhance long-term profitability.

從國際角度來看，我們總共新開了 23 家餐廳。這些新開餐廳被 29 家餐廳關閉所抵消，這些餐廳主要位於某些中東市場和中國。這使得我們的國際餐廳總數達到 2,467 家。我們對國際市場保持謹慎態度，預計 2024 財年將新開 100 至 140 家國際餐廳。我們將繼續審查國際特許經營商的業績，並可能啟動額外的策略關閉，以改善市場健康或退出不獲利的地點。因此，我們的淨開業可能會受到關閉表現不佳的地點以提高長期獲利能力的影響。

Finally, as we look to the longer term, we continue to see significant opportunities to drive higher system-wide sales, global development, and overall profitability as we continue to execute on our strategy. Given the current dynamic environment and business trends we discussed today, our longer-term targets are under evaluation as we want to ensure our goals are achievable and aligned with our strategy.

最後，從長遠來看，隨著我們繼續執行我們的策略，我們將繼續看到推動更高的全系統銷售額、全球發展和整體獲利能力的重大機會。鑑於我們今天討論的當前動態環境和業務趨勢，我們正在評估我們的長期目標，因為我們希望確保我們的目標是可實現的並與我們的策略保持一致。

In summary, we are executing against our Back to Better 2.0 strategy. This strategy is designed to drive restaurant profitability, improve supply chain efficiency, increase marketing effectiveness, and reinvigorate global development. We are making steady progress as our teams are collaborating across departments and geographical borders, laying a solid foundation for our next chapter of growth. I'm confident in the strength of the Papa John's brand, our team, our company's long-term performance potential. I look forward to sharing our progress with you throughout the coming year.

總之，我們正在執行「回歸更好 2.0」策略。該策略旨在提高餐廳獲利能力、提高供應鏈效率、提高行銷效果並重振全球發展。我們的團隊跨部門、跨地域合作，正在穩步取得進展，為我們的下一個成長篇章奠定了堅實的基礎。我對棒約翰品牌的實力、我們的團隊以及我們公司的長期業績潛力充滿信心。我期待在來年與您分享我們的進展。

Now, I'll turn the call over to our operator to take your questions.

現在，我將把電話轉給我們的接線生來回答您的問題。

Jim Salera, Stephens Inc.

吉姆·薩萊拉，史蒂芬斯公司

Good morning, guys. Thanks for taking our questions. Ravi, can you just give us an update on what you're seeing in the aggregator channel as far as demand, especially as we've heard more consumers kind of engaging in value-seeking behavior, how -- your presence is on that in your own proprietary digital channel helps convey value?

早上好傢伙。感謝您回答我們的問題。拉維，您能否向我們介紹一下您在聚合管道中看到的需求最新情況，特別是當我們聽到越來越多的消費者參與價值尋求行為時，您的存在是如何在這方面出現的？

Yeah. Well, Jim, thanks for the question. And I'll start there, and I may need you to repeat the second half of that question in a moment. So first, we've been on the aggregators since 2019 and has been leading in that space more broadly, what we're seeing is that the pizza category continues to perform well and take share within the aggregator universe.

是的。好吧，吉姆，謝謝你的提問。我將從這裡開始，我可能需要您稍後重複問題的後半部分。首先，我們自 2019 年以來一直在聚合商領域，並在更廣泛的領域處於領先地位，我們看到的是，披薩類別繼續表現良好，並在聚合商領域佔據份額。

Second, the benefit of the aggregators is that they are highly convicted consumers that are ready to purchase when they're on those apps. What we're specifically seeing is continued growth year over year in the aggregators, it represents 16% of our business in Q1 relative to 12% in the prior year. Also, we continue to see growth quarter over quarter.

其次，聚合商的好處是，他們是高度確信的消費者，當他們使用這些應用程式時就準備好購買。我們特別看到的是聚合商的逐年持續成長，它占我們第一季業務的 16%，而前一年則為 12%。此外，我們繼續看到季度環比的成長。

We think that the aggregator experience and when consumers are on it is a very specific occasion. So how we communicate value and how we communicate growth there, we are continuing to stay really focused on menu innovation, cutting through, doing great jobs on making sure navigation is coming to life. And then we're in the market pretty consistently testing different pricing strategies to make sure we strike the right balance at a geography level, on balancing the premiumness of our product, as well as value that the consumer needs.

我們認為聚合器體驗以及消費者在其中的時間是一個非常特殊的場合。因此，我們如何傳達價值以及如何傳達成長，我們將繼續真正專注於菜單創新，突破，在確保導航變得栩栩如生方面做得很好。然後，我們在市場上不斷測試不同的定價策略，以確保我們在地理層面上取得適當的平衡，平衡我們產品的優質性以及消費者所需的價值。

Jim, I don't know if I got that second half of your question.

吉姆，我不知道我是否聽懂了你問題的後半部。

Yeah, the second part was just relative to what you're seeing on your own app or proprietary channel?

是的，第二部分只是與您在自己的應用程式或專有管道上看到的內容相關？

Yeah, absolutely. And similar to what we spoke about in prior quarters, we are seeing the aggregators outperform our organic delivery and carryout business, specifically organic delivery business, and maybe two important points.

是的，絕對是。與我們在前幾季談到的類似，我們看到聚合商的表現優於我們的有機交付和結轉業務，特別是有機交付業務，也許還有兩個重要點。

I think the good news in this is that like aggregators gives us a really clear opportunity to win new consumers who are a younger demographic, more diverse overall. So we see a lot of strategic benefit and continue to grow aggressively in this channel.

我認為好消息是，類似的聚合商為我們提供了一個非常明確的機會來贏得新消費者，這些消費者總體上更加年輕、更加多樣化。因此，我們看到了很多策略利益，並繼續在這個管道中積極成長。

Organic delivery has continued to decline year over year. And we're really focused in on the second half of this year on how do we communicate the value of our service, of our offers more clearly in our organic delivery business, and making sure everyone understands the value that our loyalty program provides in our native channels. But there has been a spread between the two. And just as a reminder, the margin profiles on the aggregator business and organic delivery business are slightly different given how the pricing architecture come to life.

有機交付量逐年持續下降。今年下半年，我們真正關注的是如何在有機配送業務中更清楚地傳達我們的服務和優惠的價值，並確保每個人都了解我們的忠誠度計劃在我們的有機配送業務中提供的價值。頻道。但兩者之間卻出現了分歧。提醒一下，考慮到定價架構的實現方式，聚合商業務和有機配送業務的利潤率略有不同。

Great. That's helpful. I appreciate it. I'll hop back into queue.

偉大的。這很有幫助。我很感激。我會跳回隊列。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Eric Gonzalez, KeyBanc.

艾瑞克‧岡薩雷斯 (Eric Gonzalez)，KeyBanc。

Thanks for taking the question. Good morning. I just want to talk about the current strategy. I mean, I want to maybe ask you about your confidence level that the strategy is working. And I realize the environment shifted with several of your competitors have called out the more cautious consumer. But how do you know that the shift away from regional marketing isn't having an adverse effect on your results as it seems like the quarter-to-date same-store sales trends are probably quite a bit below what you had hoped for back in January?

感謝您提出問題。早安.我只想談談目前的策略。我的意思是，我想問您對該策略正在發揮作用的信心程度。我意識到，隨著一些競爭對手的環境變化，消費者變得更加謹慎。但是，您如何知道從區域行銷的轉變不會對您的業績產生不利影響，因為似乎本季至今的同店銷售趨勢可能遠低於您在 2019 年的預期。

Yeah. Eric, thanks for the question. And I'm going to take that in two parts. First, like more broadly, the Back to Better 2.0 strategy and a couple of really clear filters to it. The first was find ways to improve unit economics that comes to life through continuing to remix the total amount of marketing spend to drive higher ROA assets, improve and incentivize supply chain, commissary margins by giving rebates for really meaningful growth, and three, this really clear focus that we're taking in terms of our new national marketing strategy.

是的。艾瑞克，謝謝你的提問。我將把它分成兩部分。首先，更廣泛地說，是「回歸更好 2.0」策略和一些非常清晰的過濾器。第一個是找到方法來提高單位經濟效益，透過繼續重新組合行銷支出總額來推動更高的資產回報率，透過為真正有意義的成長提供回扣來改善和激勵供應鍊和小賣部利潤率，第三，這確實是我們在新的全國行銷策略方面採取了明確的重點。

When we look at April results, there are a few things that we want to call out where we're seeing challenges from a traffic standpoint, actually started slightly prior to when we went live with the new marketing strategy. We saw a slightly softer sales in the month of March than what we expected. So that's one important thing.

當我們查看四月份的結果時，我們想要指出一些事情，從流量的角度來看，我們看到了挑戰，實際上在我們實施新的行銷策略之前就開始了。我們發現 3 月的銷售量比我們的預期略為疲軟。所以這是一件重要的事情。

Second is like when we actually look at consumer behavior, what we're actually seeing is that consumers are check managing a little bit more, and we're seeing slightly higher exit rates at certain points in the consumer funnel. Those to us give us the indication that this is more about a softening of the consumer and a slightly higher value orientation versus directly tied to anything in a creative and media strategy.

其次，就像當我們實際觀察消費者行為時，我們實際看到的是消費者正在檢查管理更多一點，並且我們看到消費者漏斗中某些點的退出率略高。這些向我們表明，這更多的是消費者的軟化和稍高的價值取向，而不是與創意和媒體策略中的任何內容直接相關。

What I will say is, we are five weeks in to our creative and media strategy, new visuals, new tone, new media mix. There's obviously some ongoing calibration that we're going to want to do. But as we've actually done the consumer testing work, we are absolutely seeing purchase intent go up as we've tested this new created and media strategy.

我要說的是，我們的創意和媒體策略、新視覺效果、新基調、新媒體組合已經五週了。顯然我們需要進行一些持續的校準。但當我們實際完成消費者測試工作時，我們絕對會看到購買意願隨著我們測試這項新創建的媒體策略而上升。

So we will continue to keep you in the loop and keep the investor community in the loop and [bonding] quarters of our progress, but we believe we are on the right track from a creative and a media standpoint.

因此，我們將繼續讓您了解情況，讓投資者社區了解我們的進展並[結合]季度，但我們相信，從創意和媒體的角度來看，我們走在正確的軌道上。

Sara Senatore, Bank of America.

薩拉·參議員，美國銀行。

Thank you. I guess, one question and then a follow-up, please. The first is that, the end of March, when you announced the CEO transition, I think you reiterated or reaffirmed the guidance for fiscal '24. It sounds like you said March was a little softer than you had expected. I'm trying to understand then maybe what's changed since the third week of March? And now given that it sounded like you're already perhaps seeing some of the softness materialized?

謝謝。我想，請提出一個問題，然後再跟進。首先是，3月底，當您宣布執行長換屆時，我認為您重申或重申了24財年的指導。聽起來你說三月比你預期的溫和一點。我想了解自三月第三週以來發生了什麼變化？現在，聽起來您可能已經看到了一些柔軟性的實現？

Yeah. To be clear and clarify, we were seeing some slight softness in traffic. However, we were continuing to work towards our creative launch and media launch, new innovation launch in the month of April. Throughout the month of April, we saw that the consumer behavior continue to soften, particularly in elements of traffic and check management. And that's really the differential of what we started to see in the month of April.

是的。需要明確的是，我們發現流量略有疲軟。然而，我們仍在持續致力於四月的創意發布、媒體發布、新創新發布。整個四月，我們看到消費者行為持續疲軟，特別是在交通和支票管理方面。這確實是我們在四月開始看到的差異。

Got it, okay. And then in that context, I know you mentioned you're -- it sounded like you're not looking to kind of match the promotional intensity that competitors are engaging in. But I guess, ultimately, to grow transactions, how do you plan to do that if what consumers are looking for is value? And I guess maybe said otherwise, do you have a choice but you try to be more aggressive or sharper on your price points if that's what consumers want and that's what's driving traffic growth elsewhere?

明白了，好吧。然後在這種情況下，我知道你提到過——聽起來你並不希望與競爭對手正在進行的促銷力度相匹配。但我想，最終，為了增加交易，如果消費者尋求的是價值，你打算如何做到這一點？我想也許換句話說，你是否有選擇，但如果這是消費者想要的，也是推動其他地方流量成長的原因，你會嘗試在價格點上更激進或更尖銳？

So we think we have multiple levers to be able to demonstrate value to our consumers. So first, like when we think about Q1, what happened from a comp standpoint was that pizza sales continue to be up year over year to size and beverages, and the profit neutral delivery fee is where we started to see compression. So we're actually pretty clear on where our opportunities are to continue to bend the curve from a sales comp standpoint. Second, our loyalty program is a great toolkit and a great opportunity for us to continue to reinforce the value that we can offer in our organic channels. And lastly, and importantly, we are testing continuously and will continue to test different pricing and promo strategies, particularly for the carryout business to ensure that we can communicate the great service we offer plus the value in our carryout business.

因此，我們認為我們有多種手段能夠向消費者展示價值。因此，首先，就像我們考慮第一季一樣，從比較的角度來看，披薩銷量繼續逐年增長，而尺寸和飲料的銷量則繼續上升，而利潤中性的送貨費用是我們開始看到壓縮的地方。因此，從銷售比較的角度來看，我們實際上非常清楚我們有機會繼續扭轉曲線。其次，我們的忠誠度計畫是一個很好的工具包，也是我們持續強化我們在有機通路中提供的價值的絕佳機會。最後，也是重要的一點，我們正在不斷進行測試，並將繼續測試不同的定價和促銷策略，特別是對於外帶業務，以確保我們能夠傳達我們提供的優質服務以及外賣業務的價值。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Brian Mullan, Piper Sandler.

布萊恩·穆蘭，派珀·桑德勒。

Thank you. Just a question on G&A, Ravi. Can you speak to what your expectations are for this year and what you incorporated into the operating income guidance. If I'm doing it right, it seems like Q1 was about $49 million or $50 million on an adjusted basis. Is that a good run rate for the next couple of quarters?

謝謝。只是一個關於 G&A 的問題，拉維。您能否談談您對今年的期望以及您在營業收入指引中納入的內容。如果我做得正確的話，調整後第一季的收入似乎約為 4900 萬美元或 5000 萬美元。對於接下來的幾個季度來說，這是一個良好的運行率嗎？

And then just related to that, you've had some more time in the seat versus CFO now you've stepped into a bigger role. Do you see any opportunities across the organization to get more efficient on G&A, bigger picture over the next couple of years? Is it possible to make cost about hurting sales, just fresh set of eyes would love to get your perspective?

與此相關的是，與財務長相比，你在這個職位上有更多的時間，現在你已經扮演了更重要的角色。您是否認為整個組織有任何機會在未來幾年內提​​高一般管理費用和更大的前景？是否有可能因損害銷售而付出代價，只是新鮮的眼光會喜歡了解您的觀點？

Yeah. So thanks for the question, Brian. So first on G&A. I just want to remind us that in Q1, there were a number of puts and takes that are happening that were one-time in nature. So on an adjusted basis, I think we're going to be slightly above $50 million for the run rate for the next few quarters. And I have to remind everyone that we are still lapping the UK acquisition that happened in 2023.

是的。謝謝你的提問，布萊恩。首先是一般行政費用。我只是想提醒我們，在第一季度，發生了許多一次性的看跌期權和賣出期權。因此，在調整後的基礎上，我認為未來幾季的運行費用將略高於 5000 萬美元。我必須提醒大家，我們仍在重複 2023 年發生的英國收購。

When we look at like opportunities, we're absolutely taking a really focused cost discipline approach to running and operating the business. We're going to want to continue to invest in our strategic growth drivers of the company in the future, which is really around product innovation, marketing, and our tech stack. We're looking for opportunities continuously to be highly streamlined as an organization and continuing to look to drive foundationally better unit economics for our restaurants.

當我們尋找類似的機會時，我們絕對會採取真正集中的成本紀律方法來經營和經營業務。我們未來希望繼續投資於公司的策略性成長動力，這實際上是圍繞產品創新、行銷和我們的技術堆疊進行的。作為一個組織，我們不斷尋找機會進行高度精簡，並繼續尋求從根本上為我們的餐廳帶來更好的單位經濟效益。

Brian Bittner, Oppenheimer.

布萊恩比特納，奧本海默。

Thank you. Good morning. My question is on the new EBIT outlook for 2024. I understand that you're now assuming lower same-store sales than you originally were. But when I take a step back and I look at 1Q's EBIT, it was very strong. Margins expanded 100 bps, EBIT grew 10%, be consensus by a meaningful amount on negative low single-digit same-store sales, which you're assuming moving forward? The guidance would assume this trend in EBIT changes pretty meaningfully for the rest of the year. Can you maybe just unpack some of the assumptions in EBIT moving forward versus maybe the strength that you saw in the first quarter?

謝謝。早安.我的問題是關於 2024 年新的息稅前利潤展望。據我所知，您現在假設的同店銷售額低於原來的水平。但當我退後一步，看看 1Q 的息稅前利潤時，它非常強勁。利潤率擴大了 100 個基點，息稅前利潤增長了 10%，同店銷售額呈負低個位數，達成了有意義的共識，您認為這種情況會繼續發展嗎？該指引假設息稅前利潤的趨勢在今年剩餘時間內發生相當有意義的變化。您能否對未來的息稅前利潤與您在第一季看到的實力進行一些假設？

Yeah, Brian. Thanks for the question. And first, I just want to reinforce that we are taking a really disciplined approach to running the business once we're in quarter, and we're thinking about how we're investing going forward. More broadly, if you actually look at the Q1 results from EBIT and unpack the one-times, we are slightly above last year on an adjusted basis if you exclude the impact of one-times this year versus last year. Well, broadly, if you look at the full-year guide and take the midpoint of that, that's effectively a flat OI versus last year on a 52-week basis. So I just want to provide that little bit of context.

是的，布萊恩。謝謝你的提問。首先，我想強調的是，一旦進入季度，我們就會採取非常嚴格的方法來經營業務，並且我們正在考慮未來如何投資。更廣泛地說，如果你實際查看第一季的息稅前利潤並解開一次性的結果，如果你排除今年一次性的影響與去年相比，我們在調整後的基礎上略高於去年。嗯，總的來說，如果你看一下全年指南並取其中值，那麼在 52 週的基礎上，這實際上與去年持平。所以我只想提供一點背景資訊。

Second, as we look through the balance of the year, we know that the consumer is going to be more value conscious as we see check management happening, and we're watching exit rates and abandonment rates throughout the consumer funnel. Second, we're going to want to take a more aggressive approach to testing strategies related to pricing, promotions, and our media mix for the balance of the year. So we're just taking a more cautious approach to how we think about the EBIT ROI outlook for the balance of the year. But I want to give confidence that if you look at our results in Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of 2024, we're highly focused on driving unit level economics, which we think will spur the right development for the brand over the long term.

其次，當我們回顧今年的剩餘時間時，我們知道，隨著我們看到支票管理的發生，消費者將更加重視價值，我們正在觀察整個消費者管道的退出率和放棄率。其次，我們將採取更積極的方法來測試與今年剩餘時間的定價、促銷和媒體組合相關的策略。因此，我們只是對今年剩餘時間的息稅前利潤投資回報率前景採取更加謹慎的態度。但我想充滿信心的是，如果你看看我們 2023 年第四季和 2024 年第一季的業績，我們高度關注推動單位層面的經濟效益，我們認為這將刺激品牌的長期正確發展。

Lauren Silberman, Deutsche Bank.

勞倫·西爾伯曼，德意志銀行。

Thank you very much. I wanted to ask about the international comps and what you're seeing there. One, are you seeing any signs of improvement in the Middle East? And if you can quantify the impact, and then two, can you talk about the performance across some of the other markets outside of the Middle East more specifically? Thank you.

非常感謝。我想詢問有關國際比賽的情況以及您在那裡看到的情況。第一，您是否看到中東地區有任何改善的跡象？如果您可以量化影響，然後是兩個，您能否更具體地談談中東以外的其他一些市場的表現？謝謝。

Thanks, Lauren. So we are seeing that the Middle East performed better in Q1 relative to the run rate that we had been on in the prior quarters. And just as a reminder, it's a small component of our business from a system-wide sales standpoint, but has been historically a really meaningful development driver of the company.

謝謝，勞倫。因此，我們看到中東地區在第一季的表現優於前幾季的運作率。提醒一下，從整個系統銷售的角度來看，它只是我們業務的一小部分，但歷史上一直是公司真正有意義的發展驅動力。

We have seen more than a 10-point acceleration in terms of the comp run rate as we progressed from 2023 in the fall and winter to what we were seeing in the first quarter of 2024. More broadly, when we think about our international strategy, we set up this hub strategy to give us laser focus on a few regions that matter the most for the business and company.

從 2023 年秋季和冬季到 2024 年第一季度，我們看到競爭運行率加快了 10 個百分點以上。更廣泛地說，當我們考慮我們的國際策略時，我們制定了這項樞紐策略，以便我們專注於對業務和公司最重要的幾個地區。

The way that's coming to life is like really clear, sharp perspective on products innovation and the consumer target. So in the UK, we've seen flat to slightly negative comps through the first quarter. And what's important there is, as we unpack it, is that restaurants that have changed to end to more seasoned operators, we're seeing double-digit increases in terms of sales performance.

實現這一點的方式就像對產品創新和消費者目標有非常清晰、敏銳的視角。因此，在英國，我們看到第一季的業績持平甚至略有下降。當我們解開它時，重要的是，那些已經轉向更經驗豐富的經營者的餐廳，我們看到銷售業績出現了兩位數的增長。

We recently launched a new product innovation across a platform of products, which had the highest penetration we've had for an innovation LTO for a couple of years. In LatAm, our largest market, Chile, we saw the strongest performance in this quarter and got us back on a good trajectory.

我們最近在一個產品平台上推出了一項新產品創新，這是我們多年來創新 LTO 滲透率最高的。在拉丁美洲，我們最大的市場智利，我們看到了本季最強勁的表現，並使我們回到了良好的軌道。

It's easy to read into like China and say, we had some strategic closures. I think the way that everyone should look at that and think about that is we're taking on the necessary pruning of locations that aren't productive, that aren't as fit to our go-forward strategy from a real estate standpoint. But ultimately, we are even seeing improvements in our China business from a comp standpoint in Q1 relative to the run rates that we've been on. So we have a laser focus on like the few regions and the few countries that matter the most in international.

就像中國一樣，我們很容易就會說，我們有一些策略性的關閉。我認為每個人都應該看待並思考這一點，我們正在對那些生產力低下、從房地產角度來看不適合我們前進策略的地點進行必要的修剪。但最終，從第一季的比較角度來看，相對於我們一直以來的運作率，我們甚至看到我們的中國業務有所改善。因此，我們將重點放在國際上最重要的少數地區和國家。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Andrew Strelzik, BMO Capital Markets.

Andrew Strelzik，BMO 資本市場。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the question. I wanted to ask about the development pipeline in North America and how you're seeing that build as you have a few more months of the incentives under your belt? What kind of visibility do you have to the guidance that you've given for this year? Do you have any visibility to next year as well? And I guess, I know you're doing a lot of things to support the economics currently, but I guess, do you see risk as given the top-line outlook that maybe some of those conversions get pushed out or don't come to fruition? I guess, how are you thinking about that? Thanks.

嗨，早安。感謝您提出問題。我想問一下北美的開發管道，以及您如何看待這項建設，因為您還有幾個月的激勵措施？您對今年給予的指導有何看法？您對明年有預見性嗎？我想，我知道您目前正在做很多事情來支持經濟，但我想，考慮到頂線前景，您是否認為其中一些轉換可能會被推遲或不會實現的風險成果？我想，你是怎麼想的？謝謝。

Yeah, well, thanks for the question, Andrew. There's quite a few things there that I want to unpack. First, just a little bit of context that like myself and Joe Sieve, are head of restaurants in North America and who also leads development. We're meeting every single month with a cross functional team to talk about the pipeline of restaurant openings for North America. And couple of really impactful things. One, we reaffirmed that development in North America is going to be upgraded at 20% year on year. As I look at the pipeline of restaurants that are in the pipe, whether they're leases that are being negotiated at LOI, that are in construction design, we're meaningfully above that 20%. So we feel good that we're tracking against those objectives.

是的，謝謝你的提問，安德魯。那裡有很多東西我想​​拆開。首先，簡單介紹一下我和喬·西夫 (Joe Sieve) 的背景，他們是北美餐廳的負責人，同時也是開發部門的負責人。我們每個月都會與跨職能團隊舉行會議，討論在北美開設餐廳的計畫。還有一些真正有影響力的事情。一、我們重申北美地區發展年增率將提升20%。當我查看正在籌備中的餐廳時，無論是在意向書上談判的租賃，還是正在建築設計中的餐廳，我們都有意義地高於這 20%。因此，我們對正在實現這些目標感到高興。

Second, we are really focused on unit level economics at Papa John's, and everything we do is balanced and things that we're doing that drive top line and great consumer demand and making sure that's flowing through to penny profits in our restaurants. And as we look at Q1, we talked about the fact that our restaurant margins were up 220 basis points.

其次，棒約翰餐廳真正關注的是單位層面的經濟效益，我們所做的一切都是平衡的，我們所做的一切都是為了推動收入和巨大的消費者需求，並確保這為我們的餐廳帶來微薄的利潤。當我們回顧第一季時，我們談到了我們餐廳的利潤率成長了 220 個基點的事實。

When we each even looked at the month of April and looked at what's happening from a product market margin standpoint even though we had a negative comp, we did deliver positive product margins for the month of April. What that means is we believe that we are on the right strategy to continue to focus on delivering really meaningful improvements in terms of our unit economics from a restaurant standpoint.

當我們每個人甚至查看 4 月並從產品市場利潤率的角度來看發生的情況時，儘管我們的業績為負，但我們確實在 4 月實現了正的產品利潤率。這意味著我們相信我們的策略是正確的，從餐廳的角度來看，我們將繼續專注於在單位經濟效益方面提供真正有意義的改進。

And then lastly, from a construction and a build out cost standpoint, we shared a little bit more detail in our prepared remarks around like the stringent and thoughtful RFP process we're going to make sure we're driving costs out in an effective way from general contractor spend to furniture and fixtures. And we're also doing things like taking a step back and looking at our holistic architectural design to making sure that we're optimizing for construction costs. So we are focused on it, and we're focused on making sure development comes to life because we have solid unit level economics, and we are delivering strong restaurant profitability.

最後，從建造和擴建成本的角度來看，我們在準備好的評論中分享了更多細節，例如嚴格且深思熟慮的 RFP 流程，我們將確保以有效的方式降低成本從總承包商支出到家具和固定裝置。我們還在做一些事情，例如退後一步，審視我們的整體建築設計，以確保我們正在優化建築成本。因此，我們專注於此，我們專注於確保發展成為現實，因為我們擁有堅實的單位層面的經濟效益，並且我們正在提供強勁的餐廳盈利能力。

Great. Thank you very much.

偉大的。非常感謝。

Alexander Slagle, Jefferies.

亞歷山大·斯萊格爾，傑弗里斯。

Thanks. Good morning, Ravi, I wanted to get your perspective, I guess a follow-up on Jim's question earlier in the third party, kind of what point does the third-party business get to an optimal size? And I know it's continued to grow nicely, and you've called out more opportunity for some of the non-core day parts and other growth avenues. Just trying to get a sense how big you think it could be. And if you get the sense franchisees are continuing to be happy with this trajectory and where it's gone?

謝謝。早安，拉維，我想聽聽你的觀點，我想是對吉姆早些時候在第三方提出的問題的後續，第三方業務達到最佳規模的程度是多少？我知道它繼續良好增長，並且您已經為一些非核心日間部分和其他增長途徑提供了更多機會。只是想了解一下您認為它有多大。如果您感覺到特許經營商繼續對這條軌跡感到滿意，那麼它去了哪裡？

Thanks for the question. And fundamentally, we're taking the mindset that the consumer decides. We are going to make sure that we are at the right places, at the right time, at the right price points. And while the aggregator business has continued to accelerate, we see that as a consumer pattern that pizza is taking more share in the aggregators, and we've continued to perform well because we've executed well in that space. So while I don't know what the ideal mix is, I think we should be watching consumer behaviors to see like how many, how much our consumers migrating to that.

謝謝你的提問。從根本上說，我們正在採取消費者決定的心態。我們將確保我們在正確的地點、正確的時間、以正確的價格點。雖然聚合商業務持續加速，但我們看到，作為一種消費模式，披薩在聚合商中佔據了更多份額，而且我們繼續表現良好，因為我們在該領域執行得很好。因此，雖然我不知道理想的組合是什麼，但我認為我們應該觀察消費者的行為，看看有多少消費者轉向了這種組合。

What I would say is what is unique to the organic channels is we have a strong royalty business. We have a large base with a high active rate. When I look at my experience at other digital first companies, we have a really solid active rate in terms of members, and we get to offer value to our most loyal consumers in a different way. So our objective long term is not to have our organic business decline and only our growth coming out of aggregators. We believe that there is going to be opportunity for us to continue to focus in through delivering great service and offering great value to our loyalty that has unique value that you can only get on our organic delivery and carryout channels.

我想說的是，有機通路的獨特之處在於我們擁有強大的版稅業務。我們擁有龐大的基數和較高的活躍率。當我回顧我在其他數位優先公司的經驗時，我們在會員方面擁有非常穩定的活躍率，並且我們可以以不同的方式為最忠誠的消費者提供價值。因此，我們的長期目標不是讓我們的有機業務下降，而是讓我們的成長來自聚合商。我們相信，我們將有機會繼續專注於提供優質的服務，並為我們的忠誠度提供巨大的價值，這種價值只有透過我們的自然交付和外送管道才能獲得。

Great, thanks.

萬分感謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Dennis Geiger, UBS.

丹尼斯蓋革，瑞銀集團。

Thank you. Ravi, wondering if you could talk a little bit more on the new build cost topic? Is there anything you can share on sort of how much lower you're targeting? Maybe how much lower those costs can be? Or even if you look at it from a return or payback period, is there something you're targeting there that you guys are able to share between lower build costs as well as incentives where you're at X and you're trying to get those paybacks to Y and that's kind of the magic number for the US franchisees. Anything there to share? Thank you.

謝謝。Ravi，想知道您是否可以多談談新的建造成本主題？關於您的目標要低多少，您有什麼可以分享的嗎？也許這些成本可以降低多少？或者，即使您從回報期或投資回收期來看，是否存在您的目標目標，你們能夠在較低的構建成本以及您處於 X 且您想要獲得的激勵之間分享Y 的回報對於美國特許經營商來說是一個神奇的數字。有什麼可以分享的嗎？謝謝。

Thanks for the question, Dennis. While we don't share what the build out cost is, I did reference earlier that Joe Sieve and myself are consistently in corporate real estate committees, and we're looking at both franchisee deals as well as corporate restaurant opportunities. And what I can say is that really solid pipeline of corporate restaurants that are generating solid IRRs that we as Papa John's would continue to invest our capital in, specifically in terms of like what we're doing to drive down cost. We're looking at a few big areas, but we're looking at the biggest blocks of expense, which is truly like in general contracting.

謝謝你的提問，丹尼斯。雖然我們沒有透露擴建成本是多少，但我之前確實提到過，喬·西夫和我自己一直是企業房地產委員會的成員，我們正在考慮特許經營商交易以及企業餐廳機會。我能說的是，真正可靠的企業餐廳管道正在產生可靠的內部收益率，我們作為棒約翰將繼續投資我們的資本，特別是在我們正在採取的降低成本方面。我們正在研究幾個大的領域，但我們正在研究最大的支出部分，這確實就像總承包一樣。

And second is around equipment. And we're running through a really deliberate process to ensure that we are getting great regional rates on our equipment and GC costs. We're providing more optionality for our franchisees based on volume of the store to make sure that we are building out the store appropriate to the volume that it's going to do and the location.

其次是設備。我們正在執行一個真正經過深思熟慮的流程，以確保我們的設備和氣相層析成本獲得良好的區域價格。我們根據商店的數量為我們的特許經營商提供更多的選擇，以確保我們正在建造適合其將要做的數量和位置的商店。

So while we don't share specifics, what I'll tell you is we're doing the right strategic and tactical efforts to drive down cost. And as a franchisor, we're continuing to develop. And we're developing because the IRRs are healthy on the deals we're signing.

因此，雖然我們不透露具體細節，但我要告訴您的是，我們正在採取正確的策略和戰術努力來降低成本。作為特許經營商，我們正在不斷發展。我們正在發展，因為我們簽署的交易的內部收益率很健康。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Todd Brooks, The Benchmark Company.

托德·布魯克斯，基準公司。

Okay. Thanks for taking my question. Wondering, Ravi, you talked about lower attach of beverages and sides. Can you comment what average check -- what the decline was during the first quarter just so we can get a sense of what that headwind is manifesting itself as? And just following up on a couple of the third-party delivery questions, I know the company's long talk to new entrants growing the category, but when you look at Uber Eats specifically, is Papa John's growing their share on that channel given new entrants recently? Thanks.

好的。感謝您提出我的問題。想知道拉維，你談到了飲料和配菜的低濃度。您能否評論一下第一季的平均下降幅度是多少，以便我們了解逆風的表現？就幾個第三方配送問題進行跟進，我知道該公司與新進入者進行了長時間的交談，以擴大該類別，但當你具體觀察Uber Eats 時，考慮到最近新進入者，棒約翰在該通路上的份額是否正在增加？謝謝。

Thanks for the question. So first, when it comes to average ticket, we just want to make sure we remind you and everyone that like ticket was actually up slightly for the -- slightly up to flat for the quarter. Driven by pizza sales being up, sized beverages and delivery fee coming down. We still believe that we can unlock some real value by having the right balance of focus on driving attachment, but also leaning into our core product proposition itself.

謝謝你的提問。首先，當涉及平均票價時，我們只是想確保我們提醒您和每個人，平均票價實際上在本季度略有上升 - 略有上升至持平。在披薩銷量上升的推動下，飲料尺寸和送貨費下降。我們仍然相信，透過在關注驅動依戀和關注我們的核心產品主張本身之間取得適當的平衡，我們可以釋放一些真正的價值。

Specific to Uber Eats, we have been tracking where we had been performing given that the competitive space has gotten more competitors on it. And as we previously stated that we believe that there is enough volume for the large chains to be on there, and we've been continuing to feel good that we are on track in our business on that channel relative to what our expectations were.

具體到 Uber Eats 優食，我們一直在追蹤我們的表現，因為競爭空間已經吸引了更多的競爭對手。正如我們之前所說，我們相信大型連鎖店有足夠的銷量，而且我們一直感覺良好，相對於我們的預期，我們在該渠道上的業務正步入正軌。

And Todd, I actually want to clarify that our ticket was down about half a percent for Q1. And again, that was all specifically related to sides, beverages, and the delivery fee.

托德，我實際上想澄清一下，我們的門票在第一季下降了約 0.5%。再說一遍，這都與配菜、飲​​料和送貨費用有關。

Thanks, Ravi.

謝謝，拉維。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Peter Saleh, BTIG.

彼得·薩利赫，BTIG。

Yeah, great. Thanks for taking the question. I did want to come back to the conversation around tech management or mix management. Ravi, are you seeing that check management just through your organic channels? Are you seeing it in third party as well? And can you comment on the behavior of, I guess, traditional customers versus rewards customers or loyalty customers in that context of the tech management? Thanks.

很好。感謝您提出問題。我確實想回到關於技術管理或混合管理的對話。拉維，您是否僅透過有機管道看到檢查管理？您也在第三方中看到它嗎？我想，在技術管理的背景下，您能否評論一下傳統客戶與獎勵客戶或忠誠客戶的行為？謝謝。

Thanks for the question, Peter. So there's a couple of factors. One, we believe in this notion like the consumer decides. So what we're seeing is that the consumer is mixing into their channels differently and into their day parts differently as well. So as we see check management coming to life, we're seeing that the organic carryout business was effectively flat in Q1 versus the organic delivery business, that was down. Naturally when you mix moves more towards carryout versus organic delivery, you see a slight decline in the attachment rate just because the mindset and the occasion for the consumer is slightly different.

謝謝你的提問，彼得。所以有幾個因素。第一，我們相信消費者決定的這個理念。因此，我們看到的是，消費者以不同的方式融入他們的管道，並以不同的方式融入他們的日常時段。因此，當我們看到支票管理開始生效時，我們發現第一季的有機結轉業務實際上持平，而有機配送業務則有所下降。當然，當你更多地轉向外賣而不是有機交付時，你會發現附著率略有下降，只是因為消費者的心態和場合略有不同。

I think more broadly, consumers are coming to Papa John's right now while they're doing check management. They're buying the things that we are famous for and that is for our core offerings of pizza and our specialty pizzas. So we are seeing that the consumer is spending more year over year in pizza, and they're pulling back in sides and beverages. We think that we're going to continue to test offers that continue to improve that mix. But ultimately, we're seeing that consumers are using the channels of -- how often they're using the channels of aggregators delivery carryout slightly different. And second that we're seeing that the consumer vote for the things that we're most famous for.

我認為更廣泛地說，消費者現在在進行支票管理時來到棒約翰商店。他們購買的是我們聞名的產品，也就是我們的核心產品披薩和特色披薩。因此，我們看到消費者在披薩上的花費逐年增加，而他們在配菜和飲料上的支出卻在減少。我們認為我們將繼續測試能夠繼續改進這種組合的產品。但最終，我們發現消費者使用聚合商交付管道的頻率略有不同。其次，我們看到消費者投票支持我們最著名的事物。

Specific to loyalty versus non-loyalty, we continue to see that our loyalty consumers are the core of our business and it is a highly active and engaged group. Well, I don't have any specifics at my fingertips in terms of differential behavior there. But what I will say is with our loyalty consumers, we have the ability to touch them much more frequently through emails and through app pushes that allow us to nudge behavior a little bit differently.

具體到忠誠度與非忠誠度，我們繼續看到忠誠度消費者是我們業務的核心，並且是一個高度活躍和參與的群體。嗯，我手頭上沒有關於那裡的差異行為的任何細節。但我要說的是，對於我們的忠誠消費者，我們有能力透過電子郵件和應用程式推送更頻繁地接觸他們，這使我們能夠以不同的方式推動行為。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thanks, Peter.

謝謝，彼得。

Jim Sanderson, Northcoast Research.

吉姆桑德森，北海岸研究中心。

Hey, thanks for the question. I wanted to go back to the international segment. I think you mentioned expecting that the back half of the year could be accretive and that you were also reviewing potential closures. Can you just provide a little bit more detail about what that entails? And that's in the context of McDonald's recently announcing that they did buy out a franchisee in the Middle East. Just wondering if that's on the table in other marketplaces or in --

嘿，謝謝你的提問。我想回到國際賽場。我認為您提到預計今年下半年可能會有所增長，並且您也在審查潛在的關閉情況。您能否提供更多關於這需要什麼的細節？麥當勞最近宣布，他們確實買下了中東的特許經營商。只是想知道其他市場或其他市場是否有這種情況--

Yeah. Thanks for the question, Jim, and I just want to make sure I clarify for the group we were specifically talking to the UK turning accretive in the second half of the year. We believe the fundamental of our business model is to be a franchisor. And that is the core of what we do is we provide great unit economics, we provide great brand and product innovation.

是的。謝謝你的提問，吉姆，我只是想向我們專門與英國交談的小組澄清一下，英國將在今年下半年實現成長。我們相信我們商業模式的基礎是成為特許人。我們所做的核心是提供出色的單位經濟效益，提供出色的品牌和產品創新。

As we think about like the success in the UK, I think there's some real natural learnings that we can continue to apply to other markets. We got highly consumer-centric in terms of what was the consumer telling us they needed from a value and a product innovation schedule standpoint. We made sure we were positioning our franchisees to deliver fantastic service. And as we started to change hands between franchisees and continue to get our stores into season, more seasoned operators in, we saw a meaningful sales list. And third, as we went back and remapped our trade zones, our DMAs, we saw opportunities where we should be making strategic closures because it makes the overall market more profitable, it improves unit economics, it allows us to have really cohesive trade zones.

當我們思考在英國的成功時，我認為我們可以繼續將一些真正自然的經驗應用於其他市場。我們高度以消費者為中心，從價值和產品創新計劃的角度來看，消費者告訴我們他們需要什麼。我們確保我們的特許經營者能夠提供優質的服務。當我們開始在特許經營商之間易手並繼續讓我們的商店進入旺季時，更多經驗豐富的經營者加入，我們看到了一份有意義的銷售清單。第三，當我們回去重新規劃我們的貿易區、DMA 時，我們看到了我們應該進行策略性關閉的機會，因為它使整個市場更有利可圖，它提高了單位經濟效益，它使我們能夠擁有真正有凝聚力的貿易區。

So we're partnering back with our franchisees across the world to take a similar playbook of being highly consumer-centric, making sure product innovation is coming through, and pushing us as an organization to making sure we're laser focused on the trade zones, the DMAs, and cities we want to win in.

因此，我們正在與世界各地的特許經營商合作，採取類似的策略，高度以消費者為中心，確保產品創新得以實現，並推動我們作為一個組織確保我們專注於貿易區、DMA 和我們希望贏得勝利的城市。

Okay. And just a quick-follow up in the UK specifically, do you think your service levels are improving?

好的。特別是在英國的快速跟進，您認為您的服務水準正在提高嗎？

Yes. When we look at delivery time, when we look at out the door times, we are seeing improvements.

是的。當我們查看交貨時間時，當我們查看送貨時間時，我們看到了改進。

All right, thank you.

好吧。

Thank you. This does conclude the question-and-answer session of today's program. I hand the program back to Ravi Thanawala for any further remarks.

謝謝。今天節目的問答環節到此結束。我將程式交還給拉維·塔納瓦拉以供進一步評論。

Thank you. I'd like to sincerely thank all of you for your time this morning and your continued interest in Papa John's. I hope that you've taken away from our conversation today that we're facing a challenging macro consumer environment where customers are of really being thoughtful about check management and their wallet. But we have a plan of action and remain confident in our Back to Better 2.0 strategy is going to set us up for long-term growth and success. We look forward to keeping you up to date on our progress in connecting again for our second-quarter results in August. Thank you.

謝謝。我衷心感謝大家今天早上抽出寶貴的時間以及對棒約翰的持續關注。我希望您從我們今天的談話中了解到，我們正面臨著充滿挑戰的宏觀消費環境，客戶對支票管理和錢包非常重視。但我們有一個行動計劃，並對「回歸更好 2.0」策略充滿信心，這將為我們的長期成長和成功奠定基礎。我們期待向您通報我們在 8 月再次連結第二季業績的最新進展。謝謝。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your participation in today's conference.

女士們、先生們，感謝你們參加今天的會議。