Krispy Kreme Q1 Profit Rises - Update

(RTTNews) - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD) on Wednesday reported an increase in profit for the first quarter, as revenues increased reflecting higher store count and strong same-store sales, with earnings topping Wall Street estimates. Following the news, Krispy Kreme shares gained over 4 percent in after-hours trade.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme's first-quarter profit rose to $10.7 million or $0.16 per share from $9.7 million or $0.14 per share a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter improved to $16.6 million or $0.24 per share from $15.8 million or $0.23 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.22 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The doughnut chain's revenue for the first quarter rose 9 percent to $132.47 million from $121.58 million a year earlier. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $135.99 million for the quarter.

System-wide domestic same store sales rose 5.2 percent, while constant-currency international franchise same store sales declined 1.7 percent. System-wide store count rose 17.3 percent since the first quarter of last year to 1,003 company and franchise shops worldwide.

CEO Tony Thompson said, "Solid domestic same store sales growth and improved margin performance at our Company shops enabled us to exceed our internal projections for the first quarter, providing us a strong start to the fiscal year."

Direct operating expenses for the quarter rose to $103.8 million from $96.4 million last year. General and administrative costs rose to $7.6 million from $7.0 million a year ago.

Looking forward, the company lifted its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $0.80 and $0.85 to reflect share repurchase activity. The company's earlier expected adjusted earnings of $0.79 to $0.85 per share for 2016. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.84 per share for 2016.

KKD closed Wednesday's trading at $17.40, up $0.12 or 0.69%, on the NYSE. The stock further gained $0.70 or 4.02% in the after-hours trading.