Wingstop (WING) has reported 13.62 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $4.31 million, or $0.15 a share in the quarter, compared with $3.80 million, or $0.13 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $4.38 million, or $0.15 a share compared with $3.80 million or $0.13 a share, a year ago.
Revenue during the quarter grew 20.29 percent to $24.75 million from $20.58 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 70 basis points over the previous year period to 71.90 percent. Total expenses were 66.65 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 68.37 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 172 basis points in operating margin to 33.35 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $8.26 million, compared with $6.51 million in the previous year period.
However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $10.03 million compared with $7.90 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin improved 216 basis points in the quarter to 40.53 percent from 38.37 percent in the last year period.
President and chief executive officer Charlie Morrison stated, "2016 was an incredibly productive year at Wingstop as we executed on our key strategic and financial objectives and delivered exceptionally strong results for our shareholders. Our system-wide restaurant count grew 18.1% including 153 net new store openings, and we ended the year with 998 restaurants worldwide. We have now passed the 1,000 restaurant milestone, reflecting yet another step torward our goal of 2,500+ domestic restaurants and living out our mission to Serve the World Flavor."
For fiscal year 2017, Wingstop forecasts net income to be in the range of $18.50 million to $18.80 million.
Working capital turns negativeWorking capital of Wingstop has turned negative to $5.62 million on Dec. 31, 2016 from positive $7.05 million on Dec. 26, 2015. Current ratio was at 0.66 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 1.56 on Dec. 26, 2015. Days sales outstanding went down to 6 days for the quarter compared with 8 days for the same period last year.
At the same time, days payable outstanding was almost stable at 10 days for the quarter, when compared with the previous year period.
Debt increases substantiallyWingstop has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $150.72 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 58.64 percent or $55.71 million from $95.01 million on Dec. 26, 2015. Short-term debt stood at $3.50 million as on Dec. 31, 2016. Total debt was 134.81 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 78.43 percent on Dec. 26, 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
