VAUGHAN, Ont. — Recipe Unlimited Corp. is reporting a 62 per cent increase in net profits last quarter despite 79 fewer restaurants and forced closures because of COVID-19.
The Ontario-based restaurant company said it earned $21.1 million or 36 cents per diluted share in the first quarter, compared with $13 million or 22 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenues for the three months ended March 27 were $272.6 million, up 40 per cent from $194.1 million in the first quarter of 2021 as same restaurant sales grew 38.8 per cent.
Recipe was expected to post $254 million in revenues, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
Total system sales increased to $721.4 million from $537.6 million in the prior-year quarter.
Recipe had 1,251 restaurants at the end of the quarter, down from 1,330 last year. However, it plans to add 30 new locations in 2022 and renovate 40 existing restaurants.
"I am proud of the resilience of our franchise partners and all of our front-line teammates, who once again did a remarkable job managing through a difficult environment," stated CEO Frank Hennessey in a news release.
"The Omicron variant forced the closure of dining rooms and reduced capacity for 61 per cent of our Operating weeks in Q1. Despite these restrictions, system sales increased 34 per cent as our teams welcomed guests back to our restaurants with strong sales in March as restrictions eased."
E-commerce sales increased 13.3 per cent to $169.8 million compared with the prior year while retail and catering sales were up 3.3 per cent to $90.5 million.
Recipe Unlimited operates and franchises restaurant brands including Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, The Keg, St-Hubert, Montana's and Kelsey's. The company sold its Milestones restaurant brand on Sept. 26.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX:RECP)
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