Berto Acquisition Corp (TACO) 2021 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fiscal Third Quarter 2021 Conference Call and Webcast for Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Raphael Gross, Managing Director at ICR, to begin.

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. 2021 財年第三季電話會議和網路廣播。現在我想將電話轉給 ICR 董事總經理 Raphael Gross 先生。

Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome. On today's call are John Cappasola, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Steve Brake, Chief Financial Officer. After we deliver our prepared remarks, we will open the lines to your questions.

謝謝。下午好，歡迎光臨。出席今天電話會議的有總裁兼執行長約翰‧卡帕索拉 (John Cappasola)；和財務長史蒂夫·布雷克(Steve Brake)。在我們發表準備好的發言後，我們將開放您的提問線。

But first, let me remind everyone that part of our discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them. We do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements at a later date and refer you to today's earnings press release and our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact Del Taco's future operating results and financial condition.

但首先，讓我提醒大家，我們今天討論的一部分將包括前瞻性陳述。這些陳述並不是對未來績效的保證，因此，不應過度依賴它們。我們不承諾稍後更新這些前瞻性陳述，請參閱今天的收益新聞稿和我們向 SEC 提交的文件，以更詳細地討論可能影響 Del Taco 未來經營業績和財務狀況的風險。

Today's earnings press release also includes non-GAAP financial measures such as adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and restaurant contribution, along with reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the nearest GAAP measures. However, non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as alternatives to GAAP measures such as net income or loss, operating income or loss, net cash flows provided by operating activities or any other GAAP measure of liquidity or financial performance.

今天的收益新聞稿還包括非公認會計原則財務指標，例如調整後淨利潤、調整後 EBITDA 和餐廳貢獻，以及這些非公認會計原則指標與最接近的公認會計原則指標的調節表。然而，非公認會計原則財務指標不應被視為公認會計原則指標的替代品，例如淨收入或虧損、營業收入或虧損、經營活動提供的淨現金流量或任何其他流動性或財務表現的公認會計原則指標。

Let me now turn the call over to John Cappasola, President and Chief Executive Officer.

現在讓我將電話轉給總裁兼執行長約翰·卡帕索拉 (John Cappasola)。

Thank you, Raphael, and hello, everyone. We appreciate you all joining us for today's call. I'm very proud of our teams who continue to drive strong restaurant-level execution in this difficult operating environment. Our third quarter performance was in line with our expectations, which I would characterize as a good outcome, particularly in light of well-known cost pressures across the restaurant industry.

謝謝拉斐爾，大家好。我們感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我為我們的團隊感到非常自豪，他們在這個困難的營運環境中繼續推動餐廳級的強大執行力。我們第三季的業績符合我們的預期，我認為這是一個良好的結果，特別是考慮到整個餐飲業眾所周知的成本壓力。

On the top line, we drove positive comparable restaurant sales across company-operated and franchised restaurants compared to last year and compared to 2019 as we lapped strong performance driven by our very successful launch of Crispy Chicken and despite the emergence of the Delta variant along with well-documented staffing challenges in our category. At the same time, the inflationary headwinds impacting our industry were managed through menu pricing, totaling approximately 5%, paired with operational excellence and strong guest satisfaction scores across our drive-thru, take-out and delivery channels.

在營收方面，與去年和2019 年相比，我們在公司經營和特許經營的餐廳中實現了積極的可比餐廳銷售，因為我們在成功推出脆皮雞的推動下取得了強勁的業績，儘管達美變種的出現以及我們類別中的人員配置挑戰有據可查。同時，我們透過菜單定價（總計約 5%）來應對影響我們行業的通膨逆風，並輔以我們得來速、外賣和配送管道的卓越營運和強勁的客戶滿意度得分。

In addition, as you may have read in numerous recent press releases, we have been very active signing 4 additional new franchise development agreements from coast-to-coast since July, bringing our year-to-date total to 7 new development agreements for 53 future commitments. These new development agreements expand our pipeline and further support our ability to deliver 5% system-wide new unit growth, led by franchising, beginning in 2023.

此外，正如您可能在最近的許多新聞稿中讀到的那樣，自7 月以來，我們一直非常積極地從東海岸到西海岸簽署了4 份新的特許經營開發協議，使我們今年迄今為止的新開發協議總數達7 份，涉及53 家未來的承諾。這些新的開發協議擴大了我們的產品線，並進一步支持我們從 2023 年開始以特許經營為主導的全系統新單位增長 5% 的能力。

First, I will briefly review our third quarter highlights before discussing the specifics on these new franchise development agreements. During Q3, system-wide comparable restaurant sales grew 1.8% over the prior year, consisting of a 2% increase at franchise restaurants and a 1.6% increase at company-operated restaurants. During Q3, on a same-store basis compared to 2019, company sales grew at a low single-digit rate while franchised restaurants grew at a high single-digit rate. Geographically, on a same-store basis versus 2019, our primarily franchised non-California restaurants grew approximately 10% while California grew at approximately 4.6%.

首先，在討論這些新特許經營開發協議的具體細節之前，我將簡要回顧我們第三季的亮點。第三季度，全系統可比餐廳銷售額比上年增長 1.8%，其中特許經營餐廳增長 2%，公司經營餐廳增長 1.6%。第三季度，與 2019 年同店相比，公司銷售額以低個位數成長，而特許經營餐廳以高個位數成長。從地域上看，與 2019 年相比，我們的主要特許經營非加州餐廳增長了約 10%，而加州增長了約 4.6%。

Restaurant contribution margin decreased by 150 basis points to 16.5%, which primarily related to normalized advertising expense of 4% of restaurant sales versus 3% last year. In terms of profit, adjusted EBITDA decreased to $14.1 million from $15.3 million. This reduction was primarily due to the dollar impact of the normalized advertising.

餐廳貢獻利潤率下降 150 個基點至 16.5%，主要與餐廳銷售額的正常化廣告費用佔 4%（去年為 3%）有關。利潤方面，調整後 EBITDA 從 1,530 萬美元降至 1,410 萬美元。這一減少主要是由於標準化廣告的美元影響。

Through our quarterly dividend and share repurchases, we returned in aggregate $5.9 million of capital to shareholders and also reduced our outstanding revolver to $106 million from $110 million. Finally, during Q3, we opened 1 company and 3 franchised restaurants and closed 1 company and 1 franchised restaurant to end with 603 system-wide restaurants.

透過季度股息和股票回購，我們總共向股東返還了 590 萬美元的資本，並將未償還的左輪資金從 1.1 億美元減少到了 1.06 億美元。最後，在第三季度，我們開設了 1 家公司和 3 家特許經營餐廳，並關閉了 1 家公司和 1 家特許經營餐廳，最終達到 603 家全系統餐廳。

Now let's discuss restaurant development and specifically how our new agreements with experienced restaurant operators provide momentum for our franchise-led growth. So far this year, franchisees opened 8 new restaurants and the company has opened 3 company-operated restaurants. Our fourth and final 2021 company opening will be our first new Fresh Flex prototype in our new Orlando seed market, and we expect one additional franchise opening.

現在讓我們討論餐廳的發展，特別是我們與經驗豐富的餐廳經營者的新協議如何為我們以特許經營為主導的成長提供動力。今年到目前為止，加盟商新開了8家餐廳，公司也開設了3家自營餐廳。我們 2021 年第四家也是最後一家公司開業將是我們在新的奧蘭多種子市場上的第一個新的 Fresh Flex 原型，我們預計將開設特許經營店。

Following 3 development agreements for 30 units announced prior to our Q2 call, since July, we have signed an additional 4 new development agreements for another 23 units. These newest agreements cover future restaurants in 4 states from coast-to-coast, including the East Coast of Central Florida; and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; as well as Fresno, California; and nontraditional casino locations in Las Vegas.

繼第二季電話會議之前宣布的 30 個單元的 3 項開發協議之後，自 7 月以來，我們又簽署了另外 23 個單元的 4 項新開發協議。這些最新協議涵蓋了 4 個州從東海岸到西海岸的未來餐廳，其中包括佛羅裡達州中部東海岸；和北卡羅來納州羅利-達勒姆；以及加州弗雷斯諾；以及拉斯維加斯的非傳統賭場地點。

These signings demonstrate our growth potential not only in the Southeast, which we know has significant room to grow the brand, but also in California and in Las Vegas, where even with our current penetration, we believe there are still strong infill growth opportunities.

這些簽約不僅證明了我們在東南部的成長潛力（我們知道該地區有巨大的品牌發展空間），而且在加州和拉斯維加斯也證明了我們的成長潛力，即使以我們目前的滲透率，我們相信那裡仍然存在強大的填充成長機會。

Importantly, our steady stream of new franchise development agreements has been aided by very strong interest in QSR drive-thru development and ultimately made possible by highly desirable Del Taco traits, including our unique QSR+ positioning, ubiquitous menu that drives broad appeal, strong track record of 8 consecutive years of franchise comparable restaurant sales growth across 15 states and attractive new Fresh Flex prototype, which expands real estate opportunities to help lower net investment and modernizes the guest experience.

重要的是，我們源源不絕的新特許經營開發協議得益於對QSR 得來速開發的強烈興趣，並最終通過非常理想的Del Taco 特徵而成為可能，包括我們獨特的QSR+ 定位、帶來廣泛吸引力的無處不在的菜單、良好的業績記錄連續8 年特許經營可比餐廳銷售額在15 個州實現增長，並且具有吸引力的全新Fresh Flex 原型擴大了房地產機會，有助於降低淨投資並實現賓客體驗現代化。

On a related note, we recently announced a new delivery-only license agreement with REEF, a leader in the growing ghost kitchen space. We expect to open our first REEF outlet in the dense urban mid-city area of Los Angeles later this month, which is the first of several planned outlets. We are excited about this new delivery-only partnership to help expand access to the brand, where there is strong delivery demand, particularly in high-density urban areas.

與此相關的是，我們最近宣布了與 REEF 簽訂的新的僅限交付的許可協議，REEF 是不斷增長的幽靈廚房領域的領導者。我們預計本月晚些時候將在洛杉磯人口稠密的市中心地區開設我們的第一家 REEF 門市，這是計劃中的幾家商店中的第一家。我們對這一新的僅限送貨的合作夥伴關係感到興奮，該合作夥伴關係有助於擴大該品牌的覆蓋面，因為送貨需求強勁，特別是在高密度城市地區。

As a reminder, we expect a modest step-up in system-wide restaurants in 2022 compared to 2021 as existing franchisees begin to leverage Fresh Flex. However, we believe our growing franchise development pipeline, including 7 new agreements for 53 Del Taco restaurants signed this year, puts us in a strong position to deliver on our stated goal of system-wide new unit growth of 5% beginning in 2023.

提醒一下，隨著現有特許經營商開始利用 Fresh Flex，我們預計 2022 年全系統餐廳數量將比 2021 年略有增加。然而，我們相信，我們不斷增長的特許經營開發管道，包括今年為53 家Del Taco 餐廳簽署的7 份新協議，使我們處於有利地位，能夠實現我們的既定目標，即從2023 年開始，全系統新單位成長5%。

Regarding our test remodel program, we are currently integrating our Fresh Flex prototype into our remodel design and remain on track to complete up to 20 company-operated remodels for this year, including 10 extensive remodels of older facilities and 10 remodels of more modern facilities with primarily cosmetic upgrades at a lower investment level. We are excited about the transformative impact these remodels are having on the restaurant and expect to continue to invest in this important brand and AUV-driving initiative as we move into 2022.

關於我們的測試改造計劃，我們目前正在將Fresh Flex 原型整合到我們的改造設計中，並有望在今年完成多達20 項公司營運的改造，其中包括10 項對舊設施的廣泛改造和10 項對較現代設施的改造主要是在較低投資水準下進行外觀升級。我們對這些改造對餐廳產生的變革性影響感到興奮，並期望在進入 2022 年時繼續投資於這個重要的品牌和 AUV 驅動計劃。

Turning to sales and marketing. We continue to execute on our 5 sales acceleration drivers. And those are: value leadership, menu innovation, brand engagement, digital transformation and ultimate convenience. These pillars are anchored by our focus for better operations execution strategy, designed to ensure that we provide guests and employees outstanding brand experiences.

轉向銷售和行銷。我們繼續執行 5 個銷售加速驅動因素。這些是：價值領先、菜單創新、品牌參與、數位轉型和終極便利。這些支柱以我們對更好的營運執行策略的關注為基礎，旨在確保我們為客人和員工提供卓越的品牌體驗。

Let me start with operations. The entire industry is feeling the impact of labor staffing challenges, and we are no exception. For certain restaurants with labor availability challenges, we selectively increased wages and, in some cases, temporarily closed dining rooms or limit our late night and early morning hours of operation. The need to reduce operating hours increased throughout Q3 and impacted the company-operated comparable restaurant sales by slightly under 1% during fiscal Q3.

讓我從操作開始。整個產業都在感受到勞動力配置挑戰的影響，我們也不例外。對於某些面臨勞動力供應挑戰的餐廳，我們有選擇地提高工資，在某些情況下，暫時關閉餐廳或限制深夜和清晨的營業時間。第三季減少營業時間的需求增加，並影響了第三財季公司經營的可比餐廳銷售額略低於 1%。

We believe this impact has peaked at approximately 1% thus far during fiscal Q4 based on recent improvements from our efforts to combat the labor challenges. Specifically, we are executing our holistic staffing strategy focused on both recruitment and retention. On the retention side, we are showing appreciation for our teams through things like daily pay, free meals and doubling our referral bonuses, along with special events like employee appreciation month.

根據我們最近在應對勞動力挑戰方面所做的努力，我們認為這種影響在第四財季迄今已達到約 1% 的峰值。具體來說，我們正在執行專注於招募和留任的整體人員配置策略。在留住人才方面，我們透過每日薪資、免費餐食、雙倍推薦獎金以及員工感謝月等特殊活動來表達對團隊的感激之情。

We have also enhanced our talent acquisition through new digital recruiting efforts to increase our presence on job boards and simplify the application process to reduce friction for applicants. Recently, our actions have begun to translate into increased applicant flow that is allowing hotspot restaurants to return to more normalized operations. As we add staff to these locations, we're also investing in additional training to set the new team members up for success.

我們還透過新的數位招聘工作加強了人才招聘，以增加我們在招聘網站上的存在並簡化申請流程，以減少申請人的摩擦。最近，我們的行動已開始轉化為申請者流量的增加，使熱點餐廳能夠恢復更正常化的營運。當我們在這些地點增加員工時，我們也投資額外的培訓，以使新團隊成員成功。

Turning to sales and marketing. In August, we leveraged our menu innovation, introducing another exciting platform, Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos, which takes our fan-favorite quesadilla and adds creamy Queso Blanco folded into the shape of a taco shell and stuffed with grilled chicken, Carne Asada Steak or Crispy Chicken as well as our Fresh Guacamole as an add-on. These tacos represent a trade-up from our current tacos and have been met with strong consumer demand mixing at over 6% of sales thus far, which has helped us maintain our positive sales momentum as we lap the very successful Crispy Chicken launch a year ago.

轉向銷售和行銷。8 月份，我們利用菜單創新，推出了另一個令人興奮的平台，Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos，它採用了我們粉絲最喜歡的玉米餅，並添加奶油Queso Blanco，折疊成玉米餅殼的形狀，並塞滿烤雞、Carne Asada 牛排或脆皮雞以及我們的新鮮酪梨醬作為附加品。這些炸玉米餅是我們現有炸玉米餅的升級換代，迄今為止已滿足了強勁的消費者需求，佔銷售額的6% 以上，這有助於我們在一年前推出非常成功的脆皮雞時保持正向的銷售動能。

Next month, we welcome the seasonal return of our authentic tamales menu, which we consider a perfect holiday comfort food. Our tamales are made with seasoned, shredded pork in a fire-roasted salsa, surrounded by a layer of soft stone-ground corn masa and wrapped in an authentic corn husk. We will also offer Tamale Fiesta Pack with 12 tamales to feed the whole family with a simple trip through our convenient drive-thrus or delivery channels.

下個月，我們將迎來正宗玉米粉蒸肉菜單的季節性回歸，我們認為這是完美的節日舒適食品。我們的玉米粉蒸肉是用調味過的豬肉絲和火烤莎莎醬製成的，周圍是一層柔軟的石磨玉米粉糊，並包裹在正宗的玉米皮中。我們還將提供包含 12 個玉米粉蒸肉的玉米粉蒸肉嘉年華套裝，透過我們便利的得來速或送貨管道，讓全家人在一次簡單的旅行中吃飽。

On the daypart front, delivery remains a key driver of sales growth, representing over 7% of sales during the third quarter. Delivery is particularly well suited to capitalize on guest demand for convenience and value during our late night hours of operation when delivery over-indexes and is helping to drive outsized 1- and 2-year growth in our late night dayparts.

在時段方面，配送仍是銷售成長的關鍵驅動力，佔第三季銷售額的 7% 以上。送貨服務特別適合在深夜營業期間滿足客人對便利性和價值的需求，此時送貨超出了指標，並有助於推動我們深夜時段的 1 年和 2 年大幅增長。

Turning now to digital transformation. Last month, we successfully launched our new holistic CRM platform and introduced our new loyalty app called Del Yeah! Rewards. Del Yeah! Rewards is a point-based loyalty program featuring 4 tiers named Queso, Scorcho, Inferno and Epic that unlock exciting offers, rewards and experiences, which increase along with the usage of the app.

現在轉向數位轉型。上個月，我們成功推出了新的整體 CRM 平台，並推出了新的忠誠度應用程式 Del Yeah！獎勵。德爾 是啊！Rewards 是一項基於積分的忠誠度計劃，分為 Queso、Scorcho、Inferno 和 Epic 4 個級別，可解鎖令人興奮的優惠、獎勵和體驗，並隨著應用程式的使用而增加。

Del Yeah! Rewards also enables us to unlock our customer data to drive personalized and valued experiences by delivering unique messages and offers in a way that members are most apt to respond to. We are very excited by the launch of this loyalty program and look forward to sharing more on its impact to the business on future calls.

德爾 是啊！獎勵還使我們能夠解鎖客戶數據，以會員最容易回應的方式提供獨特的訊息和優惠，從而推動個人化和有價值的體驗。我們對這項忠誠度計畫的推出感到非常興奮，並期待在未來的電話中分享更多有關其對業務影響的資訊。

Finally, reflecting our commitment to deliver shareholder returns. We paid our third quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share in late August and today announced our fourth quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share, which will be paid on November 24. We also repurchased approximately $4.4 million of common stock during the quarter as part of our buyback program.

最後，體現了我們對股東回報的承諾。我們在 8 月底支付了每股 0.04 美元的第三季現金股息，今天宣布了每股 0.04 美元的第四季度股息，將於 11 月 24 日支付。作為回購計畫的一部分，我們還在本季回購了約 440 萬美元的普通股。

Looking ahead, although the current environment continues to present staffing challenges and inflationary pressure, our relevant QSR+ positioning, use of innovation and ability to deliver value across our barbell menu strategy provides us with significant pricing power that we will utilize to manage inflation as we exit 2021 and enter 2022. This focus, along with our strong foundation, which now includes our new Del Yeah! Rewards program and an expanding group of franchisees eager to invest in our brand for the long term, have set us up for continued growth and expansion.

展望未來，儘管當前環境繼續帶來人員配置挑戰和通膨壓力，但我們相關的QSR+ 定位、創新的運用以及在槓鈴菜單策略中提供價值的能力為我們提供了重要的定價能力，我們將利用這些能力在退出時管理通膨2021年，進入2022年。這一重點以及我們強大的基礎，現在包括我們的新 Del Yeah！獎勵計劃和不斷擴大的渴望長期投資我們品牌的特許經營商群體，為我們的持續成長和擴張奠定了基礎。

Now I'll turn the call over to Steve to review our Q3 financial results and outlook.

現在我將把電話轉給史蒂夫，以審查我們第三季的財務表現和前景。

Thanks, John. For the third quarter, total revenue increased 2.9% to $124.3 million from $120.8 million in the year ago period. Company restaurant sales increased 2.2% to $112 million from $109.5 million in the year ago period, which is primarily driven by positive comparable restaurant sales and, to a lesser extent, new company-operated restaurants.

謝謝，約翰。第三季總營收從去年同期的 1.208 億美元成長 2.9% 至 1.243 億美元。該公司餐廳銷售額從去年同期的 1.095 億美元增長 2.2%，達到 1.12 億美元，這主要是由於可比餐廳銷售額的增長以及公司新經營的餐廳的推動。

Franchise revenue increased 8.1% year-over-year to $5.6 million from $5.2 million last year. The growth was primarily driven by the increase in franchise comparable restaurant sales, coupled with additional franchise-operated restaurants compared to last year. As John said earlier, system-wide comparable restaurant sales increased 1.8%, consisting of a 1.6% increase at company-operated restaurants and a 2.0% increase at franchised restaurants.

特許經營收入年增 8.1%，從去年的 520 萬美元增至 560 萬美元。這一增長主要是由於特許經營可比餐廳銷售額的增長，以及與去年相比更多的特許經營餐廳的推動。正如約翰早些時候所說，全系統可比餐廳銷售額增長了 1.8%，其中公司經營餐廳增長 1.6%，特許經營餐廳增長 2.0%。

Turning to expenses. Food and paper costs as a percentage of company restaurant sales decreased approximately 30 basis points year-over-year to 26.2% from 26.5%. This was primarily driven by a menu price increase of approximately 5% that exceeded food inflation of just over 4%.

轉向開支。食品和紙張成本占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比年減約 30 個基點，從 26.5% 降至 26.2%。這主要是由於菜單價格上漲約 5%，超過了略高於 4% 的食品通膨。

As expected, inflationary pressure materialized during the second half of 2021, and our projected Q4 food inflation is approximately 5%, resulting in full year inflation of approximately 2%. To help manage this inflation, we accelerated the timing and magnitude of our fall price increase and now expect menu price of 5.5% in the fourth quarter.

如預期，通膨壓力在 2021 年下半年顯現，我們預期第四季食品通膨約為 5%，全年通膨約為 2%。為了幫助控制通貨膨脹，我們加快了價格上漲的時間和幅度，目前預計第四季的菜單價格將上漲 5.5%。

Looking ahead, we believe our QSR+ positioning and the attractive price points we offer across our barbell menu strategy drives a compelling value proposition and provides us with significant pricing power that we plan to utilize in the new year to help manage food inflation that will likely extend into the first half of 2022.

展望未來，我們相信我們的QSR+ 定位和我們在槓鈴菜單策略中提供的有吸引力的價格點推動了令人信服的價值主張，並為我們提供了重要的定價能力，我們計劃在新的一年中利用這些能力來幫助管理可能會持續的食品通膨。

Labor and related expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased 80 basis points to 33.2% from 32.4%, driven primarily by minimum wage increases in California and Nevada as well as wage rate pressure from restaurants with labor availability challenges where we selectively increase wages.

勞動力及相關費用占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比從32.4% 增加了80 個基點至33.2%，這主要是由於加州和內華達州最低工資的上漲，以及面臨勞動力供應挑戰的餐廳的工資壓力，我們有選擇地提高工資。

These impacts were partially offset by the impact from our positive comparable restaurant sales, including elevated menu pricing, effective management of variable labor and the reduction in workers' comp expense based on favorable underlying trends.

這些影響部分被我們積極的可比較餐廳銷售的影響所抵消，包括提高菜單定價、有效管理可變勞動力以及基於有利的基本趨勢減少工人補償費用。

Occupancy and other operating expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased by approximately 100 basis points to 24.1% from 23.1% last year. This increase was primarily due to higher advertising expense, which normalized at 4% of restaurant sales compared to 3% in the prior year quarter and higher utility expense.

入住率和其他營運費用占公司餐廳銷售額的百分比從去年的 23.1% 增加了約 100 個基點至 24.1%。這一增長主要是由於廣告費用增加（正常情況下佔餐廳銷售額的 4%，而去年同期為 3%）以及公用事業費用增加。

Restaurant contribution decreased 6.3% to $18.5 million compared to $19.7 million in the prior year while restaurant contribution margin decreased approximately 150 basis points to 16.5% from 18.0%, primarily due to the aforementioned higher advertising compared to last year.

餐廳貢獻下降 6.3% 至 1,850 萬美元，而前一年為 1,970 萬美元，餐廳貢獻利潤率下降約 150 個基點，從 18.0% 下降至 16.5%，這主要是由於上述廣告與去年相比較高。

General and administrative expenses were $11.2 million, up from $10.8 million last year and, as a percentage of total revenue, held steady at 9.0% compared to last year. The increase was primarily driven by increased noncash stock-based compensation, travel expense and general inflationary trends, partially offset by lower management incentive compensation expense.

一般及行政費用為 1,120 萬美元，高於去年的 1,080 萬美元，佔總收入的百分比與去年相比穩定在 9.0%。這一增長主要是由於非現金股票薪酬、差旅費用和整體通膨趨勢的增加，但部分被管理層激勵薪酬費用的下降所抵消。

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.0% to $14.1 million compared to $15.3 million last year and decreased as a percentage of total revenues to 11.3% from 12.7% last year. Depreciation and amortization was $6.0 million, down from $6.1 million last year due to the impact of fully depreciated assets and decreased 20 basis points to 4.8% as a percent of total revenue.

調整後 EBITDA 下降 8.0%，從去年的 1,530 萬美元降至 1,410 萬美元，佔總收入的比例從去年的 12.7% 降至 11.3%。由於資產完全折舊的影響，折舊和攤提為 600 萬美元，低於去年的 610 萬美元，佔總收入的百分比下降了 20 個基點至 4.8%。

Interest expense was $0.7 million compared to $0.9 million last year. The decrease was due to a lower average outstanding revolver balance and lower interest rate compared to 2020. During the third fiscal quarter, our outstanding revolving credit facility borrowing was reduced from $110 million to $106 million, and the remaining availability under the revolving credit facility was $130.6 million.

利息支出為 70 萬美元，而去年為 90 萬美元。減少的原因是與 2020 年相比，平均未償還左輪手槍餘額較低且利率較低。在第三財季，我們的未償還循環信貸額度借款從 1.1 億美元減少至 1.06 億美元，循環信貸額度下的剩餘可用資金為 1.306 億美元。

Along with this debt reduction, we also repurchased 449,324 shares of common stock at an average price of $9.87 per share during the third quarter for a total of $4.4 million and paid our third quarterly cash dividend totaling $1.5 million. At the end of the fiscal third quarter, approximately $10.6 million remained under our $75 million repurchase authorization.

在削減債務的同時，我們還在第三季以平均價格每股 9.87 美元回購了 449,324 股普通股，總額為 440 萬美元，並支付了總額為 150 萬美元的第三季現金股息。截至第三財季末，我們的 7,500 萬美元回購授權中仍有約 1,060 萬美元。

Net income was $3.8 million or $0.10 per diluted share compared to $5.8 million or $0.15 per diluted share last year. We also reported adjusted net income, which excludes items identified in our earnings release in the financial tables. Adjusted net income was $4.2 million or approximately $0.11 per diluted share compared to $6.0 million or $0.16 per diluted share of last year.

淨利潤為 380 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.10 美元，而去年為 580 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.15 美元。我們還報告了調整後的淨利潤，其中不包括我們在財務表格中發布的收益中確定的項目。調整後淨利為 420 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益約 0.11 美元，而去年為 600 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.16 美元。

In today's earnings press release, we formally announced our fourth quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share of common stock that will be paid on November 24, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 3, 2021.

在今天的收益新聞稿中，我們正式宣布第四季度股息每股普通股 0.04 美元，將於 2021 年 11 月 24 日向 2021 年 11 月 3 日收盤時登記在冊的股東支付。

Finally, through the first 5 weeks of our 16-week fiscal Q4, our company-operated comparable restaurant sales are up approximately 3% and franchise comparable restaurant sales are up over 4% despite the impact from reduced operating hours that John referenced. Please refer to today's earnings press release for our fiscal 2021 guidelines.

最後，在為期16 週的第四財季的前5 週，儘管受到約翰提到的營業時間縮短的影響，我們公司經營的可比餐廳銷售額增長了約3%，特許經營可比餐廳銷售額增長了4% 以上。請參閱今天的收益新聞稿，以了解我們的 2021 財年指南。

That concludes our formal remarks. As always, thank you for your interest in Del Taco, and we are happy to answer any questions.

我們的正式發言到此結束。一如既往，感謝您對 Del Taco 的興趣，我們很樂意回答任何問題。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question is from Alex Slagle with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Alex Slagle。

On same-store sales, I just wanted to walk through some of the drivers, trying to think through some of the biggest tailwinds and headwinds. And it sounds like the trends improved pretty good here quarter-to-date. But maybe first, just on the intro of the CRM platform and loyalty program and just how we should think about that in terms of directly impacting the comps in the early stages, if at all? Or how should we think about that piece?

在同店銷售方面，我只是想了解一些驅動因素，試著思考一些最大的有利因素和不利因素。聽起來本季迄今的趨勢改善得相當不錯。但也許首先是關於 CRM 平台和忠誠度計劃的介紹，以及我們應該如何考慮在早期階段直接影響競爭（如果有的話）？或者說我們該如何看待那件作品？

Yes. It's early, Alex. I mean we're seeing some really good directional trends, but we're only 4 weeks in. So as a reminder, we launched on September 9. And then we did the hard launch, which was point-of-purchase materials at the restaurant and starting to do some of the marketing on September 16, and so just a few weeks ago. And then really our second wave campaign, which was really a focus on marketing and acquisition and getting folks to transition, not only get new members but get folks to transition from the old app to the new app kicked off here on October 4 with some tags on television and radio and promoting it through our direct mail and FSI drops. And we've also got some digital media acquisition going. So it's early days.

是的。現在還早，亞歷克斯。我的意思是，我們看到了一些非常好的方向性趨勢，但我們才 4 週。提醒一下，我們於 9 月 9 日推出。然後，我們的第二波活動實際上側重於營銷和獲取以及讓人們過渡，不僅獲得新成員，而且讓人們從舊應用程序過渡到新應用程序，該活動於10 月4 日在這裡啟動，帶有一些標籤電視和廣播，並透過我們的直郵和 FSI 投遞進行宣傳。我們也進行了一些數位媒體收購。所以現在還為時過早。

But what I would say is that directionally it's -- what's happening is kind of what we wanted to have happened, which was you look at the motivation that occurs with both current and new members related to the point-based system and that structure designed to motivate and reward behavior. So we've seen these unique active users already in the first 4 weeks perform at a similar level that we had with our old app, and that's before we've even completed the migration, right? You've still got guests that are moving into the new app from the old app.

但我想說的是，從方向上來說，正在發生的事情正是我們想要發生的，這就是你看看當前和新會員與基於積分的系統相關的動機以及旨在實現這一目標的結構。因此，我們已經看到這些獨特的活躍用戶在前 4 週內就已經達到了與舊應用程式類似的水平，而且那是在我們完成遷移之前，對嗎？您仍然有客人從舊應用程式轉移到新應用程式。

The other kind of piece that we thought was really telling and interesting was that nearly 40% of the new -- of the members coming into Del Yeah! Rewards are actually new members. So these are folks that were not in the old app. So again, just kind of speaks to the motivation around that app not just being an offer engine, there's reasons to be involved with the brand and engage with the brand in that and certainly being able to earn points and move up into loyalty tiers is a big part of that.

我們認為真正有意義且有趣的另一類作品是，近 40% 的新成員進入 Del Yeah!獎勵實際上是新會員。所以這些人不在舊應用程式中。所以再說一次，這只是說明了該應用程式的動機不僅僅是作為一個報價引擎，還有理由參與該品牌並與該品牌互動，當然能夠賺取積分並提升到忠誠度級別是一個其中很大一部分。

So we feel great about the first 4 weeks. Execution has been good and a lot more marketing to come in regards to that app as we move to the back and here of Q4 and into, obviously, 2022.

所以我們對前 4 週感覺很好。該應用程式的執行情況良好，隨著我們進入第四季度的後面和這裡，顯然進入 2022 年，該應用程式還將進行更多的行銷活動。

Okay. And how many members are you up to now?

好的。目前您有多少會員？

So we have nearly 250,000 members in the first 4 weeks. So again, that's a combination of those new folks, I referenced, nearly 40%, and then folks migrating over from the old app into the new app. So again, just to underscore, when you see the unique active users performing at a similar level in the first 4 weeks in aggregate, in totality of that on that 250,000 number compared to the 1.5 million that we had in the old app, that's pretty impressive, and I think it speaks to the frequency and usage that's happening within the new loyalty program.

所以前 4 週我們就有將近 25 萬名會員。再說一次，我提到，這是新人的組合，將近 40%，然後是從舊應用程式遷移到新應用程式的人。再次強調一下，當您看到獨特的活躍用戶在前 4 週內總體表現相似時（總計 25 萬），與舊應用程式中的 150 萬相比，這是相當不錯的令人印象深刻，我認為這說明了新忠誠度計劃中發生的頻率和使用情況。

Okay. And then thinking about some of the other drivers, staffing, obviously, that -- you talked about that being a 100 basis point sort of impact and, I guess, working that down and then just in terms of menu innovation and promotional apps, I mean kind of what would you call out as the biggest driver for us to think about in terms of changing the trajectory and accelerating the comps?

好的。然後考慮其他一些驅動因素、人員配置，顯然，你談到了 100 個基點的影響，我想，將其降低，然後就菜單創新和促銷應用程式而言，我您認為我們在改變軌跡和加速比賽方面需要考慮的最大驅動力是什麼？

Yes. I think it's important to remember that Q3 was positive -- going over positive for both the company and franchise same-store sales trends. And Q4 thus far, as we noted, is also positive, going over positive for company and franchise. So it's important to remember that we were able to achieve same-store sales growth in Q3 and Q4 2020 despite the pandemic, and we just happened to roll over in Q3 one of the more successful product launches in the history of the company, which was the Crispy Chicken Taco or the Crispy Chicken menu in 2020.

是的。我認為重要的是要記住第三季是正面的——對公司和特許經營同店銷售趨勢來說都是正面的。正如我們所指出的，到目前為止，第四季度也是積極的，對公司和特許經營權來說都是積極的。因此，重要的是要記住，儘管發生了大流行，我們還是能夠在2020 年第三季度和第四季度實現同店銷售增長，而且我們恰好在第三季度推出了公司歷史上最成功的產品之一，即2020 年的脆皮雞肉玉米餅或脆皮雞肉菜單。

I think overall what I'd say on this front is the product launches with Stuffed Quesadilla Tacos and Double Cheese Breakfast Tacos along with Del Yeah! Rewards, which will continue to build momentum, are driving improved year-on-year same-store sales trends as we look at the first 5 weeks of Q4 compared to Q3. And that's really despite those operating -- the -- operating in a more challenging environment year-on-year due to some of those staffing challenges that we referenced in those hotspot stores.

我認為總體而言，我在這方面要說的是填充玉米餅玉米餅和雙奶酪早餐玉米餅以及 Del Yeah! 的產品發布。與第三季相比，第四季的前 5 週，獎勵將繼續增強勢頭，推動同店銷售趨勢同比改善。事實上，儘管由於我們在這些熱點商店中提到的一些人員配備方面的挑戰，這些經營者在比去年同期更具挑戰性的環境中經營，但情況確實如此。

So overall, we expect to finish 2021 with 6 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth in both the company and franchise. And that's basically going back to, obviously, the last negative quarter was Q2 of 2020, which was the first quarter of the pandemic. So I think overall, we feel good about the trend and the programs that we've launched recently, and we think that that's -- they're going a long way in helping us continue to drive same-store sales growth.

因此，總體而言，我們預計到 2021 年公司和特許經營店的同店銷售額將連續 6 個季度成長。顯然，這基本上可以追溯到 2020 年第二季度，也就是大流行的第一季。所以我認為總的來說，我們對這一趨勢和我們最近推出的計劃感覺良好，我們認為它們在幫助我們繼續推動同店銷售成長方面大有幫助。

Just the last question, I just wanted to see on delivery if you're seeing any changes in demand or anything (inaudible) moving past the potential -- some of the benefits of the stimulus and extended unemployment benefits. Have you seen anything there?

關於最後一個問題，我只是想看看交付時是否看到需求發生任何變化或任何超出潛力的事情（聽不清楚）——刺激計劃和延長失業救濟金的一些好處。你在那裡看到什麼了嗎？

We continue to see delivery for the system, both company and franchise, continue to grow modestly. Both company and franchise were north of 7% during fiscal Q3, which we view as a good sign, especially since we did implement another slight uptick to our menu price premium for delivery on the company's side, company restaurants at about 22.5%, franchisees also in that low to mid-20% area. So we feel good about the model and the trend.

我們繼續看到系統的交付，無論是公司還是特許經營，都繼續適度成長。在第三財季，公司和特許經營店的利潤率都超過了7%，我們認為這是一個好兆頭，特別是因為我們確實再次小幅提高了公司方面的送貨菜單價格溢價，公司餐廳約為22.5%，特許經營者也在那個低至中 20% 的區域。所以我們對這個模式和趨勢感覺很好。

Our next question is from Nick Setyan with Wedbush Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wedbush Securities 的 Nick Setyan。

What was the overall average check in the quarter, Steve?

史蒂夫，本季的整體平均支票是多少？

It was in the mid to high 9s.

當時的時間是 9 分左右。

Got it. And 5.5% pricing in Q4, assuming it kind of stays in that 5% range like in the first half of '22, you guys kind of gave us 5% food cost inflation in Q4. I mean does that imply like we should see COGS as a percentage of sales come down in Q4 versus Q4 of last year? Or is there some mix shift that we should think about?

知道了。第四季的定價為 5.5%，假設它像 22 年上半年一樣保持在 5% 的範圍內，你們給我們第四季的食品成本通膨率為 5%。我的意思是，這是否意味著我們應該看到第四季度的銷貨成本佔銷售額的百分比與去年第四季相比有所下降？或者我們應該考慮一些混合轉變？

Well, the commentary is looking at both food inflation and menu price, both being in that 5-plus percent area, which would imply flattish for Q4 on a year-over-year basis, which is, I think, directionally correct. As you know, waste and efficiencies can somewhat play into the food line as well, not to mention the product mix. But in general, that would be a flattish implication for Q4 year-over-year.

嗯，評論關注的是食品通膨和菜單價格，兩者都在 5% 以上的區域，這意味著第四季度同比持平，我認為，方向是正確的。如您所知，浪費和效率也會在某種程度上影響食品系列，更不用說產品組合了。但總的來說，這對第四季同比來說是平淡的影響。

And I guess the same question on labor. Q3, you saw about 5%, assuming 6% inflation. You saw about 80 bps of labor deleverage. Just given the level of pricing, perhaps I would have thought it would have been a little less. Is there like overtime pay? Has there been -- just kind of maybe go through the puts and takes on labor that we should think about in terms of how to think about the overall maybe hourly growth versus just inflation. How should we think about that as we kind of think about how to model the labor line?

我想關於勞工也有同樣的問題。第三季度，假設通貨膨脹率為 6%，您看到的成長率約為 5%。你看到勞動力去槓桿化了大約 80 個基點。考慮到定價水平，也許我會認為價格會低一些。有加班費之類的嗎？是否有過——也許我們應該考慮勞動力的看跌和承受，如何考慮整體每小時的成長與通貨膨脹。當我們思考如何對勞動力線進行建模時，我們應該如何思考這一點？

Yes. On labor, as typical with our California-heavy and Nevada-heavy footprint, the main driver of inflation is California and Nevada minimum wages that is working against us. I would say the operational efficiency has been very good at the restaurant level. So that's been a positive. Operators are executing that very well. But again, back to the minimum wage, that's the main driver. And then John touched on it. Certainly, it's more on a limited basis, but there are kind of hotspot restaurants, if you will, which are minority. But those are situations where we are paying a higher prevailing wage as appropriate.

是的。在勞動力方面，正如我們以加州和內華達州為代表的典型情況一樣，通貨膨脹的主要驅動因素是加州和內華達州的最低工資，這對我們不利。我想說，餐廳層面的營運效率非常好。所以這是積極的。運營商執行得非常好。但再次回到最低工資，這是主要驅動力。然後約翰談到了它。當然，它是在有限的基礎上進行的，但是如果你願意的話，也有一些熱點餐廳，但它們只是少數。但在這些情況下，我們會酌情支付更高的現行工資。

And then in addition, some of the labor availability challenges that John touched upon that, of course, does play into not just some curtailment of operating hours, but also indeed, you hit the nail on the head, an increased uptick in the overtime. So all of that serves to boost up average effective wage, which includes the impact of overtime. Any given year, average wage will continue to tick up during the course of the year. This year, that additional rate of growth has been higher intra-year than we've seen before.

此外，約翰提到的一些勞動力可用性挑戰，當然，不僅會導致工作時間的縮短，而且確實，你擊中要害，加班時間增加。因此，所有這些都有助於提高平均有效工資，其中包括加班的影響。任何一年，平均薪資都會在這一年持續上升。今年，年內的額外成長率比我們之前看到的還要高。

That's -- on a long-term basis, as you know, average wage with the California footprint, we are on a path towards $15 an hour where minimum wage culminates in California. Starting January 1, just a few months from now, in fact, that $15 level will then maintained through 2023. So it's certainly possible that some of this in-year uptick in wage we're experiencing may be more of a timing issue when you think about the long term.

如你所知，從長期來看，加州的平均工資，我們正朝著每小時 15 美元的方向發展，加州的最低工資達到頂峰。事實上，從 1 月 1 日開始，也就是幾個月後，15 美元的水準將維持到 2023 年。因此，從長遠來看，我們所經歷的年內工資上​​漲可能更多是一個時機問題。

That said, it was pressuring us a bit in Q3. It played into that 80 bps of deleverage that you saw. And given the trend, that will continue into Q4. We will again expect deleverage on that line. And again, with the low single digit, call it, same-store sales trajectory, that's what leads to the deleverage overall.

也就是說，第三季給我們帶來了一些壓力。它影響了你所看到的 80 個基點的去槓桿化。鑑於這一趨勢，這種情況將持續到第四季度。我們將再次預期這方面的去槓桿化。同樣，由於單位數較低，即同店銷售軌跡，這就是導致整體去槓桿化的原因。

Understood. And just last question. You kind of commented that more recently, you've seen some of the labor pressure come down. First, is that a correct interpretation? And second, I understand that you don't really have a crystal ball. But I guess what's your internal estimate or expectation or how you're strategizing for what -- when -- the time frame for when that may normalize? Is it by the end of Q4? Is it more like the middle of '22 in terms of the staffing issues?

明白了。最後一個問題。您曾評論說，最近，您已經看到勞動力壓力下降。首先，這是正確的解釋嗎？其次，我知道你並沒有真正的水晶球。但我猜你的內部估計或期望是什麼，或者你如何制定策略以實現正常化的時間框架？是第四季末嗎？就人員配置問題而言，現在更像是 22 年中期嗎？

So Nick, it remains very fluid. It's hard to predict exactly what's going to happen. But I'll say we've got a very holistic strategy that we've talked about on a couple of calls now in regards to how we're thinking about both acquiring quality talent as well as keeping quality talent and making sure that we're training and developing them. And overall, I think our operators and our franchisees are just doing an outstanding job leading in this environment with our people-first focus and navigating kind of a very challenging time.

所以尼克，它仍然非常不穩定。很難準確預測將會發生什麼。但我要說的是，我們已經制定了一個非常全面的策略，我們現在已經在幾次電話會議上討論過，關於我們如何考慮獲取優質人才以及留住優質人才並確保我們「重新培訓和發展他們。總的來說，我認為我們的營運商和特許經營商在這種環境下以人為本的理念做得非常出色，並度過了一個非常具有挑戰性的時期。

That said, the hotspot restaurants, where we've reduced operating hours by an hour or more or so, that roughly represented somewhere in the kind of mid- to high teens as a percent of restaurants. Kind of as you look at it week-to-week, it changes a little bit week-to-week depending on the situation with the restaurants. We are managing it. Our operators and our franchisees are managing it daily and weekly. But the commentary around it peaking so far in Q4 at about 1%, that's due to a really nice improvement in the applicant flow coming into the system in the last few weeks.

也就是說，我們將熱點餐廳的營業時間減少了一個小時或更長時間，大約佔餐廳總數的百分之十左右。當你每週查看它時，它會根據餐廳的情況每週發生一些變化。我們正在管理它。我們的經營者和特許經營者每天和每週都在管理它。但迄今為止，圍繞它的評論在第四季度達到了 1% 左右的峰值，這是由於過去幾週進入系統的申請人流量有了很大的改善。

And that is related to a digital recruitment campaign that we are investing into that we have the ability to kind of really target on a ZIP code basis and put extra dollars into stores that need more help and take some dollars away from stores that don't need quite as much help. And that's actually improved the applicant pool for us by 4x over the last few weeks.

這與我們正在投資的數位招聘活動有關，我們有能力以郵政編碼為基礎進行真正的定位，並向需要更多幫助的商店投入額外的資金，並從不需要幫助的商店中拿走一些美元。需要同樣的幫助。在過去的幾周里，這實際上使我們的申請者數量增加了 4 倍。

So those quality applicants coming into the system, that's step one for these hotspot restaurants. And then getting those folks trained properly and developed properly to create great guest experiences, that's step 2. But certainly, we've seen some of these hotspot restaurants start to return back to more normalized operating hours, I should say, in recent weeks.

因此，那些進入系統的優質申請者是這些熱門餐廳的第一步。然後讓這些人接受適當的培訓和適當的發展，以創造良好的客戶體驗，這是第二步。營業時間。

And our next question is from Todd Brooks with CL King & Associates.

我們的下一個問題來自 CL King & Associates 的 Todd Brooks。

Good job navigating a tough environment here. I wanted to lead off with just kind of same-store sales progression for the comparison. Obviously, Crispy Chicken a massive platform for you guys. Good success with new products during Q3, allowing you to still comp positively even with the headwinds from labor. How does the kind of comparison look across the back half of the fourth quarter relative to what you've talked about comparing against in that 3% to 4% range so far in the quarter? Does it ease at all as you move further into the Crispy Chicken launch?

在這裡艱難的環境中幹得好。我想先以同店銷售進度進行比較。顯然，脆皮雞對你們來說是一個巨大的平台。第三季新產品取得了巨大成功，即使面臨勞動力的不利影響，您仍能保持積極的競爭。與您所說的本季迄今為止 3% 至 4% 範圍內的比較相比，第四季度後半段的比較情況如何？當你進一步推出脆皮雞時，情況會有所緩解嗎？

For the system, Todd, both the company and franchise, we have a 16-week fourth quarter. The second -- the later 8 weeks did perform better a year ago than the first 8 weeks. So the compare, if you will, will get a little bit more difficult as we round out the back half of the quarter.

對於托德的系統，無論是公司還是特許經營權，我們都有一個為期 16 週的第四季。第二個——後 8 週確實比一年前的前 8 週表現更好。因此，當我們完成本季的後半段時，如果您願意的話，比較將會變得更加困難。

But I think at the same time, just note that the burn off from Crispy Chicken started to occur. We were maintaining higher sales mix, but that initial excitement around Crispy Chicken really was burning off in September, and now obviously having some of these new platforms that we've launched and hope to continue to see gaining momentum along with our Tamales LTO that happens kind of in November. We think we're in a pretty good position to obviously have a positive same-store sales on the company and the franchise business in Q4 and put up a nice result.

但我認為與此同時，請注意，脆皮雞開始燃燒。我們保持了較高的銷售組合，但最初圍繞脆皮雞的興奮確實在 9 月份消失了，現在顯然我們已經推出了一些新平台，並希望繼續看到我們的玉米粉蒸肉 LTO 的發展勢頭不斷增強有點像十一月。我們認為我們處於非常有利的位置，公司和特許經營業務在第四季度顯然有積極的同店銷售，並取得了不錯的成績。

Great. And you do have the benefit of Del Yeah! now, which you did not have last year as a driver?

偉大的。而且你確實有德爾的好處呀！現在，你去年當司機沒有什麼？

Definitely.

確實。

Okay. Great. Secondly, can you give us some details behind the REEF partnership? How does that work? Is that a royalty arrangement? And I guess if you look at the markets that you're operating, I know you're about to open the first later this month. But what's the potential of kind of densely urban markets that you could see if this works dropping a REEF ghost kitchen into?

好的。偉大的。其次，您能為我們介紹 REEF 合作背後的一些細節嗎？這是如何運作的？這是特許權使用費安排嗎？我想如果你看看你正在經營的市場，我知道你將於本月晚些時候開設第一個市場。但是，如果將 REEF 幽靈廚房投入其中，你可以看到密集城市市場的潛力是什麼？

Yes. We're excited about it. The first outlet we will open later this month, a very dense urban or a dense urban area of LA. Really the purpose here is expand access to the brand, particularly in dense areas where there's a lot of guests and occasions that we're just not servicing today. So we're excited about that. As we mentioned, there are several more planned. Overall, to your question, it really is very akin to franchising.

是的。我們對此感到興奮。我們將於本月稍後在洛杉磯的一個非常密集的城市或密集的市區開設第一家分店。實際上，這裡的目的是擴大品牌的接觸範圍，特別是在有很多客人和我們今天不提供服務的場合的密集區域。所以我們對此感到興奮。正如我們所提到的，還有更多計劃。總的來說，對於你的問題，它確實非常類似於特許經營。

It's a license deal, very similar to our franchise arrangements, although it does feature a reduced marketing contribution, which is appropriate based on the nature of this delivery-only channel. So really focus right now is having a good successful launch here, moving for the additional planned openings down the road and really learn from it and then decide from there, in partnership with REIT, what the future looks like. So we're excited, a lot more to come, including performance out of the first of several outlets.

這是一項授權協議，與我們的特許經營安排非常相似，儘管它確實減少了行銷貢獻，這根據這種僅交付管道的性質是適當的。因此，現在真正的重點是在這裡成功推出，為未來計劃中的其他空缺而努力，真正從中學習，然後與房地產投資信託基金合作，決定未來的樣子。因此，我們很興奮，還有更多的事情即將發生，包括幾家商店中第一家的表現。

Okay. Great. And then final one from me. Real acceleration in your franchising activity here in the third quarter with larger-scale partners, too, which is great to see. I guess 2 questions on this front. How does kind of the pipeline look behind it? Are there people that are conditioning their decision to go on seeing kind of the first Fresh Flex come out of the ground in Florida this quarter?

好的。偉大的。然後是我的最後一篇。第三季與規模更大的合作夥伴的特許經營活動也真正加速，這是很高興看到的。我想這方面有兩個問題。它背後的管道是什麼樣的？是否有人正在決定本季繼續看到第一個 Fresh Flex 在佛羅裡達州問世？

And secondly, with the types of partners that you're signing with, my sense is the bandwidth is there that a signed deal, if it works, could grow pretty dramatically. Could you talk about maybe other brand nameplates that these partners are running and a 10-unit deal and the potential for it to grow into something if it really works for them?

其次，根據您所簽約的合作夥伴類型，我的感覺是，所簽署的協議如果有效，可能會大幅成長。您能否談談這些合作夥伴正在運營的其他品牌銘牌以及 10 單位的交易，以及如果它確實適合他們的話，它發展成某種東西的潛力？

Yes. Sure, Todd. We -- so first off, from a pipeline perspective, we've been building -- obviously building pipeline with a great group of existing franchisees for some time now. And I think our existing group, that really is the foundation of our pipeline, has done a nice job and is really excited about Fresh Flex and continues to build opportunities. And especially now as you look at having with our Menu of Venues strategy, more assets to grow with than we had before.

是的。當然，托德。首先，從管道的角度來看，我們一直在與大量現有特許經營商建立管道，顯然已經有一段時間了。我認為我們現有的團隊確實是我們管道的基礎，做得很好，並且對 Fresh Flex 感到非常興奮，並將繼續創造機會。尤其是現在，當你看到我們的場地菜單策略時，我們擁有比以前更多的資產來成長。

It's not the old kind of cookie-cutter model anymore. And we've expanded the asset group to be drive-thru-only, which is a smaller footprint. Perhaps gives you the opportunity to access trade areas you couldn't have accessed before, all the way up to more of a standard prototype with a dining room. So that existing group is -- has been and will continue to build pipeline and be a good part of our growth story.

它不再是舊的千篇一律的模型了。我們已將資產組擴展為僅限得來速，佔地面積更小。也許讓您有機會進入以前無法進入的貿易區域，一直到帶有餐廳的標準原型。因此，現有的團隊已經並將繼續建立管道，並成為我們成長故事的重要組成部分。

And then what you referenced is the 7 new deals for 53 units that we signed this year. Obviously, those will start to come to fruition here over the next 18 to 24 months. So those initial stores are opening. And to your point, we are absolutely taking a quality over quantity type of an approach with these groups. We certainly see some operators that we've signed that have some big brand nameplates, to your point, and have capability and current store counts and the multi-dozen range and more.

然後你提到的是我們今年簽署的7個新協議，共53個單位。顯然，這些將在未來 18 至 24 個月內開始實現。所以那些最初的商店正在開業。就您而言，我們絕對對這些群體採取質量重於數量的方法。我們當然看到我們已經簽約的一些運營商擁有一些大品牌銘牌，就您的觀點而言，並且有能力和當前的商店數量以及數十個系列等等。

And we know that with success begets excitement and more success, and that's what we're intent on delivering and supporting the partners to do. So to your point, there's definitely some upside, but we need to execute, we need to deliver the brand and we need to give our new partners the support for them to be able to kind of get to that next level of growth, if you will.

我們知道，成功會帶來興奮和更多的成功，這就是我們致力於交付和支持合作夥伴要做的事情。因此，就您的觀點而言，肯定有一些好處，但我們需要執行，我們需要交付品牌，我們需要為我們的新合作夥伴提供支持，使他們能夠達到下一個增長水平，如果您將要。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question is from Nicole Miller with Piper Sandler.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Nicole Miller 和 Piper Sandler。

Just a couple of quick ones. On the fourth quarter price, 5.5%, did that start day 1 of 4Q or is that coming now?

只是幾個快速的。就第四季的價格而言，5.5%，是從第四季的第一天開始的還是現在就開始了？

It will evolve slightly throughout the quarter. But throughout the quarter, we will be maintaining somewhere between 5% and 6% based on the timing of what we're rolling over. So essentially, day 1, we're in the 5-plus area.

它會在整個季度略有變化。但在整個季度，我們將根據展期時間將利率維持在 5% 到 6% 之間。所以基本上，第一天，我們處於 5+ 區域。

Okay. I was just trying to true it up to the commentary of the quarter-to-date comps. So I appreciate that to see how much more price is on the comp against difficult compares, given the earlier question. And then second on comp, and this is probably maybe just nuanced, but company-owned improvement could reflect easing compares, but franchise comp gets more challenging and they're doing much better. We know price could be a factor. Is there anything else you would point to? Any other channel, daypart, regional trend that we should be aware of?

好的。我只是想根據季度至今的比較的評論來驗證它。因此，考慮到前面的問題，我很高興看到與困難的比較相比，價格要高出多少。然後是第二個比較，這可能只是細微差別，但公司擁有的改進可能反映了寬鬆的比較，但特許經營比較變得更具挑戰性，而且他們做得更好。我們知道價格可能是一個因素。您還有什麼要指出的嗎？還有其他我們應該注意的頻道、時段、區域趨勢嗎？

Yes. We still have a very fairly pronounced theme of geographic differences. So company is heavily California -- Southern California specifically in Las Vegas, whereas franchisees are operating across a 15-state footprint. So we continue to see, on a 1- and 2-year basis, we're really upsized, very strong performance, particularly outside of California, which is largely in favor of our franchise community, where we share markets with franchisees. And so the California performance is still much more aligned with much more modest franchise outperformance. So really that geographic theme continues to be fairly pronounced in favor of franchise.

是的。我們仍然有一個非常明顯的地理差異主題。因此，公司主要集中在加州——南加州，特別是拉斯維加斯，而特許經營商的業務遍及 15 個州。因此，我們繼續看到，在一年和兩年的基礎上，我們的規模確實擴大了，業績也非常強勁，特別是在加州以外的地區，這在很大程度上有利於我們的特許經營社區，我們與特許經營者共享市場。因此，加州的表現仍然與更溫和的特許經營表現更加一致。事實上，地理主題仍然相當明顯地有利於特許經營。

Okay. And then just the last one. I mean I was just kind of listening to the presentation and thinking at a very high level, this is really about swapping and refranchising some stores for a high flow-through EBITDA stream, right? And so I know there was a mention of like 2% revenue growth, but I'm looking at what was like 5% total system sales growth and up almost or more than 10% versus 2019. So have I characterized that properly and the system is probably growing faster than just looking at that total revenue line, right?

好的。然後就是最後一個。我的意思是，我只是在聽演示並在一個非常高的層面上思考，這實際上是關於交換和重新特許經營一些商店以獲得高流通的 EBITDA 流，對嗎？所以我知道有人提到了 2% 左右的收入成長，但我看到的是系統總銷售額成長了 5% 左右，與 2019 年相比成長了幾乎或超過 10%。那麼我是否正確地描述了這一點，系統的成長速度可能比僅僅看總收入線要快，對嗎？

Yes, something -- a metric like system-wide sales which captures barbell sales of a 600-unit system, it certainly would reflect the more robust growth you're describing, whereas in the company P&L, the revenue line is so heavily influenced by company restaurant sales that are certainly comping positive and growing, but at a lower rate compared to franchise, whereas franchise revenue does show that robust growth that you alluded to.

是的，像系統範圍內的銷售額這樣的指標，它捕捉了600 台系統的槓鈴銷售額，它肯定會反映您所描述的更強勁的增長，而在公司損益表中，收入線受到以下因素的嚴重影響：公司餐廳的銷售肯定是積極的並且在增長，但與特許經營相比，增長率較低，而特許經營收入確實顯示出您提到的強勁增長。

Yes. And you've [left out] some stores, right? And that's the plan, so again, in favor of a recurring royalty stream. So I guess I just want to make sure like we're all making that comparison as well. So just ticking and tying, and I think that's it from me.

是的。你[遺漏了]一些商店，對吧？這就是計劃，再次強調，有利於經常性的版稅流。所以我想我只是想確保我們都在進行比較。所以只是打勾和打結，我想這就是我的意思。

Welcome.

歡迎。

Thanks, Nicole.

謝謝，妮可。

And we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session, and I'll now turn the call back over to management for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節已經結束，我現在將把電話轉回給管理層做總結發言。

Okay. Thank you, operator. And we certainly appreciate everyone taking the time today with us, and we thank you for your interest in Del Taco. It's exciting, accelerated growth, and we feel great about our prospects on that front. So we look forward to sharing our progress on future calls. Have a great day.

好的。謝謝你，接線生。我們當然感謝大家今天抽出時間與我們在一起，我們感謝您對 Del Taco 的興趣。這是令人興奮的加速成長，我們對這方面的前景感到非常樂觀。因此，我們期待在未來的電話會議上分享我們的進展。祝你有美好的一天。

Thank you for joining us today. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you, and have a good day.

感謝您今天加入我們。此時您可以斷開線路。謝謝你，有美好的一天。