Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK) has reported a 38.20 percent jump in profit for the quarter ended Oct. 02, 2016. The company has earned $31.98 million, or $0.97 a share in the quarter, compared with $23.14 million, or $0.63 a share for the same period last year. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were at $1.03 for the quarter compared with $0.62 in the same period last year. Revenue during the quarter grew 12.53 percent to $398.42 million from $354.07 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 13 basis points over the previous year period to 28.02 percent. Total expenses were 85.21 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 88.23 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 302 basis points in operating margin to 14.79 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $58.91 million, compared with $41.67 million in the previous year period.
Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Operating earnings per share for the fourth quarter exceeded our expectations, due primarily to a reduction in G&A costs resulting from our restructuring initiatives, as well as lower impairment charges and a lower tax rate. We were pleased that Jack in the Box® system same-store sales outperformed sluggish industry trends, and although sales and traffic growth at Qdoba were solid, margins were hampered by the impact of new restaurant openings."We are happy with the progress we made on our key strategic initiatives during the year, as we made significant headway on reducing our G&A, increased our borrowing capacity to support our capital structure goals, and began implementing plans to increase the franchise mix at Jack in the Box to over 90 percent of the system."
For financial year 2017, Jack in the Box Inc. projects diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $4.55 to $4.75.
Operating cash flow drops significantly
Jack in the Box Inc. has generated cash of $134.18 million from operating activities during the year, down 40.86 percent or $92.69 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $104.40 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $84.47 million in the last year.
The company has spent $30.45 million cash to carry out financing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $135.21 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $17.03 million as on Oct. 02, 2016, down 4.02 percent or $0.71 million from $17.74 million on Sep. 27, 2015.
Debt increases substantially
Jack in the Box Inc. has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $995.09 million as on Oct. 02, 2016, up 39.12 percent or $279.83 million from $715.26 million on Sep. 27, 2015. Total debt was 73.78 percent of total assets as on Oct. 02, 2016, compared with 54.85 percent on Sep. 27, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
