Operations

Wingstop delcares special dividend after strong Q3

Provided

November 2, 2020

After reporting that Q3 system-wide sales were up nearly 33%, Wingstop Inc.'s board of directors has approved a special cash dividend of $5 per share in conjunction with the completion of its previously announced $480 million recapitalization.

Stockholders of record as of Nov. 20, will receive the payout Dec. 3, according to a company press release, which also highlighted the company's financial results for the fiscal third-quarter ending Sept. 26.

"The third quarter saw continued topline momentum with domestic same-store sales growth of 25.4%, 37.7% on a two-year basis, resulting in our restaurant average unit volumes now exceeding $1.4 million, further enhancing our best in class unit economics, which led to 43 net new restaurants and the strengthening of our development pipeline," Charlie Morrison, CEO and chairman said in the release. "The special dividend we announced today of $5.00 per share underscores the strength of our asset-lite, highly franchised model and our ability to return capital to stockholders. I would like to express my gratitude to our team members and brand partners for delivering these tremendous results."

Q3 highlights

• System-wide sales increased 32.8% to $509.2 million.
• 43 openings in the fiscal third quarter 2020.
• Domestic same-store sales increased 25.4%.
• Digital sales increased to 62%.
• Total revenue increased 28.3% to $64.0 million.
• Net income increased 70.7% to $10.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to $5.9 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, in the prior fiscal third quarter.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, increased 19.5% to $18.4 million.

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas, Wingstop operates and franchises over 1,450 locations worldwide.