Comparable store sales for Rubio's Restaurants Inc. decreased 2.7 percent during its fourth quarter ended Dec. 27, 2009. Comps decreased 0.2 percent during the same quarter last year.
For the company's fiscal-year 2009 period, same-store sales decreased 0.7 percent compared to a comps decrease of 2.4 percent in 2008. In both the fourth quarter and FY 2009, the impact of decreased transaction volume more than offset an increase in the average check per customer, the company said in its earnings release.
Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 totaled $45.4 million, an increase of 1 percent from $45 million reported in the same year-ago quarter. Revenue for the full-year of 2009 totaled a record $188.9 million, up 5 percent from $179.3 million in the same year-ago period.
Net loss was $852,000 versus a net loss of $295,000 in the same year-ago quarter. The fourth quarter of 2009 included an asset impairment charge of $683,000 and non-recurring expenses associated with the ongoing evaluation of strategic alternatives of $211,000. Net loss before non-cash impairment charges and non-recurring expenses was $311,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009, versus a net loss of $295,000 in the same year-ago quarter, during which there were no impairment charges.
Fiscal 2009 net income was $392,000 versus net income of $84,000 in the same year-ago period. For the year, net income included asset impairment charges of $1.1 million and non-recurring expenses associated with the ongoing evaluation of strategic alternatives of $211,000, versus a store closure reversal credit of $46,000 in 2008.
Fiscal 2009 net income before non-cash impairment charges and non-recurring expenses was $1.2 million. The asset impairment charges in both the fourth quarter and full year 2009 relate to units targeted for closure upon lease expiration and units concentrated in areas particularly hard-hit by the economic downturn, according to the company.
Average unit volume was slightly less than $1.0 million, which was virtually unchanged from the same year-ago quarter.
Meanwhile, restaurant operating margin was 17.1 percent, as compared to 15.3 percent in the same year-ago quarter. For fiscal 2009, restaurant operating margin was 16.4 percent as compared to 15.9 percent in 2008.
Rubio's opened one restaurant in the fourth quarter of 2009, as compared to five in the same period last year, increasing the total to 10 units opened during 2009. Pre-opening expenses in the fourth quarter of 2009 were $14,000, a decrease of 93 percent from $201,000 in the same quarter last year.
"Despite a still-challenging economy, we have continued to drive both sales and cash generation, closing the fiscal year with record annual revenues and adjusted EBITDA," said Dan Pittard, Rubio's president and CEO. "Our market research confirms our guests understand our value proposition, and it resonates particularly well with our customers in this economy. They appreciate that we provide an attractive casual ambiance along with a menu selection priced significantly below casual dining price points. We believe we are very well-positioned to build our customer base as the economy improves."
