JERICHO, N.Y., June 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nathan's Famous, Inc. (“Nathan’s”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) (NASDAQ:NATH) today reported results for its fiscal year and fourth quarter ended March 29, 2020.

Effective June 12, 2020, the Board of Directors declared its first quarterly cash dividend for fiscal 2021 of $0.35 per share, which is payable on June 26, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 22, 2020.           
 
For the fiscal year ended March 29, 2020:

• Revenues were $103,325,000 for the fifty-two weeks ended March 29, 2020 (“fiscal 2020”), as compared to $101,849,000 for the fifty-three weeks ended March 31, 2019 (“fiscal 2019”);
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) for fiscal 2020, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $29,964,000, as compared to $30,399,000 for fiscal 2019;
• Income before provision for income taxes was $18,014,000 for fiscal 2020, as compared to $29,410,000 for fiscal 2019;
• Net income was $13,435,000 for fiscal 2020, as compared to $21,493,000 for fiscal 2019;
• Earnings per diluted share was $3.19 per share for fiscal 2020, as compared to $5.09 per share for fiscal 2019; and
• Excluding the gain from the sale of property and equipment, net income would have been $13,325,000 or $3.16 per diluted share for fiscal 2019 as compared to net income of $13,435,000 or $3.19 per diluted share for fiscal 2020.

For the fourth quarter ended March 29, 2020:

• Revenues were $21,705,000 for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2020 (“fourth quarter fiscal 2020), as compared to $22,129,000 during the fourteen weeks ended March 31, 2019 (“fourth quarter fiscal 2019”);
• Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the fourth quarter fiscal 2020, a non-GAAP financial measure, was $7,124,000, as compared to $6,199,000 for the fourth quarter fiscal 2019;
• Income before provision for income taxes was $4,153,000 for the fourth quarter fiscal 2020, as compared to $3,079,000 for the fourth quarter fiscal 2019;
• Net income was $3,195,000 for the fourth quarter fiscal 2020, as compared to $2,492,000 for the fourth quarter fiscal 2019; and
• Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter fiscal 2020 were $0.76 per share, as compared to $0.59 per share for the fourth quarter fiscal 2019.
  
  (1) EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures.  Please see the definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA on page 3 of this release and the reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income in the table at the end of this release.

The Company also reported the following:                             

• License royalties increased to $25,859,000 during fiscal 2020, as compared to $23,615,000 during fiscal 2019. During fiscal 2020, total royalties earned under the John Morrell & Co., agreement increased 11.3% to $23,680,000, as compared to $21,271,000 of royalties earned during fiscal 2019.  Licensee sales and royalties, which are reported by our licensees, were not affected by the additional week in fiscal 2019.
  
  
• In the Branded Product Program, which features the sale of Nathan’s hot dogs to the foodservice industry, income from operations decreased by approximately $2,614,000 to $7,688,000 during fiscal 2020, as compared to $10,302,000 during fiscal 2019.  Sales for the Branded Product Program were $57,586,000 during fiscal 2020, compared to sales of $57,960,000 during fiscal 2019. During the 52-week fiscal 2020 period, the volume of business decreased by approximately 2.1% and our average selling prices increased by approximately 0.8% as compared to the 53-week fiscal 2019 period. Foodservice sales during the 53rd week of fiscal 2019 were $2,090,000. On a comparative 52-week basis, sales would have been approximately $55,870,000 for fiscal 2019.
  
  
• Sales from Company-operated restaurants were $12,973,000 during the fiscal 2020 period compared to $13,601,000 during the fiscal 2019 period. Sales were reduced by $1,188,000 associated with the sale of a restaurant during the fiscal 2019 period. Sales from our Company-owned restaurants during the 53rd week of fiscal 2019 were approximately $142,000. Comparable Company-owned restaurant sales in fiscal 2020, excluding sales from the restaurant that was sold in fiscal 2019, increased by approximately $560,000 or 4.5% as compared to the comparable period last year. 
  
  
• Revenues from franchise operations were $4,572,000 during fiscal 2020, as compared to $4,171,000 during fiscal 2019. Total royalties declined by $339,000 or 9.2% to $3,327,000 in the fiscal 2020 period as compared to $3,666,000 in the fiscal 2019 period. Total franchise fee income, including cancellation fees, was $1,245,000 during fiscal 2020, as compared to $505,000 during fiscal 2019. Sixteen new franchised outlets opened during fiscal 2020, including five international locations.
  
  
• Advertising fund revenue was $2,335,000 during fiscal 2020 and $2,502,000 during fiscal 2019.
  
  
• During fiscal 2019, Nathan’s sold its restaurant, including land, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York and its regional office building in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida recognizing gains, before transaction costs of $11,177,000, or $8,168,000 net of tax.
  
  
• On March 6, 2020, we paid the $0.35 per share regular cash dividend that was declared by the Board of Directors effective February 7, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 24, 2020.
   
• Effective June 12, 2020, the Board of Directors declared its first quarterly cash dividend for fiscal 2021 of $0.35 per share, which is payable on June 26, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 22, 2020.       

COVID-19 Update

Since the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak and the implementation of “stay-at-home” and dining room closure orders in mid-March 2020, operations at our Company-owned restaurants and our franchisees' restaurants have been disrupted. As of March 29, 2020, three of our four Company-owned restaurants were open, and those three Company-owned restaurants were only offering food through take-out and delivery as we were prohibited from offering dine-in seating and service at our restaurants resulting from restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our seasonal location on the Coney Island Boardwalk opened on May 15, 2020, observing the same cautions and restrictions.

The majority of our franchised locations have been temporarily closed due to their locations in venues that are closed (such as shopping malls and movie theaters) or venues operating at significantly reduced traffic (such as airports and highway travel plazas). Such closures and disruptions have materially impacted revenues at our Company-owned restaurants with significant declines since the middle of March 2020, as compared to the same period last year. Although franchisees are beginning to slowly re-open, we expect that franchised locations and the royalty revenue we receive from our franchisees will be negatively impacted. We are principally focused on the well-being and safety of our guests, franchisees, restaurant associates and all other employees. Since the situation around the COVID-19 virus is constantly changing, we may implement additional measures to ensure the safety of our team members and guests over time. We also expect to realize declines in sales and profits from our Branded Product Program during this period as many of our customers operate in venues that are currently closed and may be slow to reopen, such as professional sports venues, amusement parks, shopping malls and movie theaters. During March 2020, royalties from license agreements were significantly higher than March 2019 due to significantly higher sales of consumer-packaged goods through grocery channels. During the continuation of shut-down regulations in response to COVID-19, we currently expect similar results although there can be no assurance that this will continue to occur during such time.

Certain Non-GAAP Financial Information:

In addition to disclosing results that are determined in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America ("US GAAP"), the Company is disclosing EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure which is defined as net income, excluding (i) interest expense; (ii) provision for income taxes and (iii) depreciation and amortization expense. The Company is also disclosing Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure which is defined as EBITDA, excluding (i) share-based compensation and (ii) gain on disposal of property and equipment that the Company believes will impact the comparability of its results of operations.
                                
The Company believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are useful to investors to assist in assessing and understanding the Company's operating performance and underlying trends in the Company's business because EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are (i) among the measures used by management in evaluating performance and (ii) are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties as a common performance measure.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized terms under US GAAP and should not be viewed as alternatives to net income or other measures of financial performance or liquidity in conformity with US GAAP. Additionally, our definitions of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may differ from other companies. Analysis of results and outlook on a non-US GAAP basis should be used as a complement to, and in conjunction with, data presented in accordance with US GAAP.  Please see the table at the end of this press release for a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income.

About Nathan’s Famous 
Nathan’s is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and 11 foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. Last year, over 700 million Nathan’s Famous hot dogs were sold. Nathan’s was ranked #22 on the Forbes 2014 list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. For additional information about Nathan’s, please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.

Except for historical information contained in this news release, the matters discussed are forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that involve risks and uncertainties.  Words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are based on the current belief of the Company’s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company’s management.  Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include but are not limited to: the impact of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the status of our licensing and supply agreements, including the impact of our supply agreement for hot dogs with John Morrell & Co.; the impact of our indebtedness, including the effect on our ability to fund working capital, operations and make new investments; economic; weather (including the impact on the supply of cattle and the impact on sales at our restaurants particularly during the summer months), and change in the price of beef trimmings; our ability to pass on the cost of any price increases in beef and beef trimmings; legislative and business conditions; the collectability of receivables; changes in consumer tastes; the ability to attract franchisees; the impact of the minimum wage legislation on labor costs in New York State or other changes in labor laws, including regulations which could render a franchisor as a “joint employee” or the impact of our new union contracts; our ability to attract competent restaurant and managerial personnel; the enforceability of international franchising agreements; the future effects of any food borne illness, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE and e coli; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.

Nathan's Famous, Inc.

Nathan's Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

COMPANY    Ronald G. DeVos, Vice President - Finance and CFO
CONTACT:    (516) 338-8500 ext. 229

Source: Nathan's Famous Inc