Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2022 Results

Fourth Quarter 2022 Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth of 11.0% vs. Fourth Quarter 2021

January 2023 Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth of 10.2% and Positive Comparable Transaction Growth vs. January 2022

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Fiesta" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: FRGI), parent company of the Pollo Tropical® restaurant brand, today reported results for the 13-week fourth quarter, which ended on January 1, 2023, and provided a business update related to current operations.

Fiesta Interim Chief Executive Officer Dirk Montgomery said, "During the fourth quarter, we continued the double-digit comparable restaurant sales momentum from the third quarter with improved margins while continuing to make progress on the key priorities we communicated previously, including ongoing increases in operations staffing levels and tangible headway on G&A expense reduction."

Montgomery added, "As discussed in prior quarters, we are intensely focused on transaction growth. We are pleased that the decline in year-over-year comparable transactions, which had slowed in previous quarters and reached -2.4% in December, turned positive to modest year-over-year transaction growth at the start of 2023, and further improved in fiscal February month-to-date. In addition, early 2023 transaction momentum has been strong in our key South Florida markets, which are generating positive transaction growth in 2023 vs. 2022 year-to-date."

Montgomery added, "Fourth quarter 2022 loss from operations was $4.4 million and (4.5%) of restaurant sales compared to a loss from operations in the fourth quarter 2021 of $7.1 million and (8.0%) of restaurant sales. The decrease in loss from operations was primarily driven by increased revenue partially offset by increased commodity costs and restaurant operating expenses."

Montgomery further commented, “Similar to the third quarter 2022, we generated continued year-over-year growth in Restaurant-level Operating Profit⁽¹⁾ a non-GAAP financial measure, driven by our comparable sales growth and targeted margin improvement actions. Restaurant-level Operating Profit Margins of 16.2% improved vs. third quarter 2022 restaurant-level operating margins of 14.1% and vs. fourth quarter 2021 restaurant-level operating margins of 14.3%. Pricing originally targeted for December 2022 was deferred to allow us to obtain additional marketing insights and competitive benchmarks that support selective pricing action that will now be taken in March 2023. This year we are targeting restaurant-level operating margins of 18% on a run rate basis through the combination of continuing transaction growth and pricing."

Montgomery added, "After transitioning to the interim CEO role in December, I moved quickly to ensure that we maintained momentum while sharpening our focus on operations excellence and the opportunities that we believe will have the biggest impact on transaction growth and margin expansion. We have developed four key themes to guide our revised strategic focus - all still aimed at growing traffic and improving margins but with a more focused and disciplined approach: 1) Building operations excellence; 2) Creating a great guest experience across all channels; 3) Enhancing the Pollo Tropical brand; and 4) Developing great teams."

Montgomery further commented, "We also continued our ongoing progress during the fourth quarter on two other key strategic initiatives. Our refresh/remodel program is generating a consistent sales lift⁽²⁾ in comparison to Pollo Tropical local market unit restaurant sales trends, and we completed 32 refreshes and remodels through the end of the fourth quarter. In addition, we are realizing G&A efficiencies through the implementation of a number of initiatives including accounting outsourcing and downsizing of the Dallas office completed in February 2023 and service vendor renegotiations. Those initiatives are expected to meaningfully contribute toward our target of reducing our G&A expense run rate to 8.5% to 9.0% of restaurant sales."

Montgomery concluded, "Our leadership team looks forward to building on the momentum we established in 2022. Going forward, we expect our more focused approach to accelerate ongoing traffic growth across all channels while we also take action to improve margins."

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Summary

• Total revenues from continuing operations increased 9.3% to $97.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 from $89.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2021;
• Comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical increased 11.0% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021;
• Net loss of $(4.1) million, or $(0.16) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to net loss of $(4.7) million, or $(0.19) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021;
• Net loss from continuing operations of $(4.9) million, or $(0.20) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to net loss from continuing operations of $(6.8) million, or $(0.27) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021;
• Adjusted net loss (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $(1.9) million, or $(0.08) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to adjusted net loss of $(4.3) million, or $(0.17) per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below);
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $6.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below); and
• Loss from Operations of $(4.4) million, or (4.5)% of restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to a loss from operations of $(7.1) million, or (8.0)% of restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Restaurant-level Operating Profit (formerly Restaurant-Level Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure) of $15.7 million, or 16.2% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $12.7 million, or 14.3% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

Fourth Quarter 2022 and January Comparable Restaurant Statistics to Fourth Quarter 2021 and January

• Fourth quarter 2022 comparable restaurant sales were negatively impacted by the effects of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. After adjusting for the impact of the Hurricanes, we estimate that fourth quarter 2022 comparable restaurant sales would have been higher by approximately 60 basis points.
• December 2022 comparable restaurant sales were negatively impacted by the effects of delaying a planned menu price increase, compared to December 2021 when we increased menu prices by 5.2%.

Cash and Liquidity

Excluding $3.6 million in restricted cash, our cash balance decreased from $42.6 million at October 2, 2022 to $32.2 million at January 1, 2023. Significant cash outflows for the fourth quarter included, $7.3 million in capital expenditures, a software licensing payment of $2.5 million, $3.8 million in tax payments including property tax payments and $1.7 million in deferred social security payments related to 2020 deferrals under the CARES Act.

Fourth Quarter Pollo Tropical Results

Total Pollo Tropical restaurant sales increased 9.6% to $97.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $88.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 primarily due to a comparable restaurant sales increase of 11.0%, despite the impacts of Hurricanes Ian and Nicole during the fourth quarter of 2022. We estimate the Hurricanes negatively impacted restaurant sales and comparable restaurant sales by 60 basis points. The increase in comparable restaurant sales resulted from a net impact of pricing and product/channel mix of 16.3% and a decrease in comparable restaurant transactions of 5.3%, including approximately 50 basis points related to the impact of the Hurricanes. The increase in pricing and product/channel mix was driven primarily by menu price increases of 14.5% and increases in dine-in and delivery average check. Pollo Tropical dine-in and counter take-out comparable restaurant sales increased from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022 due primarily to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dine-in traffic during a portion of the fourth quarter of 2021. Digital channel sales (delivery/online) growth continued to be strong in the fourth quarter of 2022, with 11.3% comparable restaurant sales growth vs. 2021 and average check growth of 22.3% vs. fourth quarter of 2021.

Net loss decreased to $(4.1) million, in the fourth quarter of 2022, from net loss of $(4.7) million in the fourth quarter of 2021 due primarily due to a comparable restaurant sales increase of 11.0% offset by increases in cost of sales, restaurant operating expenses and general and administrative expenses. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) increased to $6.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 from $2.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily due to higher restaurant sales partially offset by higher commodity costs, insurance costs, utilities costs, general and administrative expenses, and repair and maintenance costs.

Pricing action has been taken to offset labor, food and operating cost increases. In order to minimize sales traffic risk, we have taken a phased approach to menu price increases and are also targeting lower pricing increases on menu items purchased by value-conscious customers including our "Pollo Time" promotional items. Price increases taken in 2022 include a 5.0% increase in March 2022 and a 1.4% increase in June 2022 and a 4.0% increase in September. In order to offset cost inflation and to expand margins, price increases are targeted in 2023 with initial pricing changes planned for March.

Loss from Operations of $(4.4) million, or (4.5)% of restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2022 improved compared to a loss from operations of $(7.1) million, or (8.0)% of restaurant sales, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Restaurant-level Operating Profit (a non-GAAP financial measure) as a percentage of restaurant sales increased, with fourth quarter Restaurant-level Operating Profit as a percentage of restaurant sales of 16.2% in 2022 compared to 14.3% in 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

General and Administrative expenses were $15.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and $12.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2022 included $3.4 million in non-recurring expenses comprised of $1.6 million of general and administrative efficiency initiative costs, which includes $1.3 million for accelerated charges related to deferred implementation and service contract costs related to our accounting system, $1.4 million of restructuring costs primarily related to the departure of our former CEO, and $0.3 million digital platform costs. General and administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 included $1.0 million related to non-recurring digital platform costs. During the third quarter of 2022, we announced that we would be outsourcing certain of our accounting processes and systems in order to improve overall general and administrative expense efficiency and we made measurable progress with the implementation of in February 2023. Additional G&A reduction initiatives are being implemented to achieve targeted general and administrative expenses in the range of 8.5% to 9.0% of current restaurant sales on a run rate basis.

Refresh and Remodel Status and Results

Our refresh/remodel program continues to exceed initial sales growth expectations, generating consistent sales growth in comparison to Pollo Tropical local market restaurant trends. Refreshes completed to date have generated a sales lift of approximately 4.0%, when comparing the sales trend of each restaurant before and after the refresh to a control group of other Pollo Tropical units in each refresh restaurant’s local market.

Through the 2022 fiscal year, 32 refreshes and remodels have been completed.

Full Year 2022 Financial Summary

Total revenues increased 8.4% in 2022 to $387.4 million from $357.3 million in 2021, driven primarily by an increase in comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical. Comparable restaurant sales increased 9.1% for our Pollo Tropical restaurants resulting from an increase in the net impact of product/channel mix and pricing of 15.2%, partially offset by a decrease in comparable restaurant transactions of 6.1%.

We recognized net loss of $(14.6) million, or $(0.58) per diluted share, in 2022 compared to net income of $10.4 million, or $0.40 per diluted share in 2021, due primarily to the impact of income from discontinued operations of $18.5 million driven primarily by the impact of the gain on the sale of Taco Cabana and related costs in 2021 compared to $1.1 million in 2022. The loss in 2022 was primarily the result of higher cost of sales, restaurant operating expenses and general and administrative expenses. Higher Pollo Tropical commodity costs, labor costs, insurance costs, utilities costs, general and administrative expenses, and repair and maintenance costs in 2022 were partially offset by increased comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical.

We recognized a loss from continuing operations of $(15.7) million, or $(0.62) per diluted share, in 2022 compared to a loss from continuing operations of $(8.1) million, or $(0.31) per diluted share, in 2021 primarily as a result of the foregoing.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA decreased $3.2 million for the year ended January 1, 2023 to $21.8 million compared to $25.0 million for the year ended January 2, 2022, driven primarily by higher commodity costs, labor costs, insurance costs, utilities costs, general and administrative expenses, and repair and maintenance costs, partially offset by higher restaurant sales. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure of performance (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

Loss from Operations of $(14.4) million, or (3.7)% of restaurant sales, in 2022 compared to a loss from operations of $(6.6) million, or (1.9)% of restaurant sales, in 2021. Restaurant-level Operating Profit was $59.4 million, or 15.4% of restaurant sales, and $62.8 million, or 17.7% of restaurant sales, in 2022, and 2021, respectively (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

Restaurant Portfolio

As of January 1, 2023, there were 137 Company-owned Pollo Tropical restaurants, and 32 franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants in the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Panama, Guyana, Ecuador and the Bahamas.

Investor Conference Call Today

We will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET today. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 412-542-4158 which will be answered by an operator or by clicking Call me^™: Link. The passcode is 6459939. The conference call should be accessed at least 10 minutes prior to its scheduled start.

A replay will be available after the call until Thursday, March 9, 2023 and can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6671. The passcode is 10175222.

The conference call will also be webcast live and archived on the corporate website at www.frgi.com, under the "Investor Relations" section.

About Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., owns, operates and franchises the Pollo Tropical® restaurant brand and prior to August 16, 2021, owned, operated, and franchised the Taco Cabana® restaurant brand. The brands specialize in the operation of fast casual/quick service restaurants that offer distinct and unique flavors with broad appeal at a compelling value. The brands feature fresh-made cooking, drive-thru service and catering. For more information about Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., visit the corporate website at www.frgi.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release and in our public disclosures, whether written, oral or otherwise made, relating to future events or future performance, including any discussion, express or implied regarding our anticipated growth, plans, objectives and the impact of our initiatives, including our efforts to reduce general and administrative expenses, our investments in strategic and sales building initiatives, including those relating to operations improvements, marketing and brand building, unit remodels and refreshes, and planned price increases on future sales, transaction growth, margins, earnings and liquidity, contain 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. These statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "positioned," "target," "continue," "expects," "look to," "intends" and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or the affirmative, that are not statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our actual results and timing of certain events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements and the internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations included in this release are made only as of the date of this release and may change. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.

Supplemental Non-GAAP Information

The following table sets forth certain unaudited supplemental financial data for the periods indicated

(In thousands):

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and margin and Restaurant-level Operating Profit (formerly Restaurant-Level Adjusted EBITDA), and margin are non-GAAP financial measures. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges (recoveries), goodwill impairment, closed restaurant rent expense, net of sublease income, stock-based compensation expense, other expense (income), net, and certain significant items that are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of our restaurants as set forth in the reconciliation table below. Restaurant-level Operating Profit is defined as Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA excluding franchise royalty revenues and fees, pre-opening costs and general and administrative expenses (including corporate-level general and administrative expenses).

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA is the primary measure of profit or loss used by our chief operating decision maker for purposes of assessing performance. In addition, management believes that Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant-level Operating Profit, when viewed with our results of operations calculated in accordance with GAAP and our reconciliation of net income (loss) to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant-level Operating Profit (i) provide useful information about our operating performance and period-over-period changes, (ii) provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the operating performance of our business, and (iii) permit investors to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing earnings, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced. However, such measures are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should not be considered as alternatives to net income or cash flow from operating activities as indicators of operating performance or liquidity. Also, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies.

FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.

Supplemental Non-GAAP Information

The following table sets forth certain unaudited supplemental financial data for the periods indicated

(In thousands of dollars, except per share amounts):

Adjusted net income (loss) and related adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) before discontinued operations, impairment and other lease charges (recoveries), goodwill impairment, closed restaurant rent expense, net of sublease income, other expense (income), net, and other significant items that are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of our restaurants. Management believes that adjusted net income (loss) and related adjusted earnings (loss) per diluted share, when viewed with our results of operations calculated in accordance with GAAP (i) provide useful information about our operating performance and period-over-period growth, (ii) provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the operating performance of our business, and (iii) permit investors to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing earnings, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced. However, such measures are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly should not be considered as alternatives to net income or net income per share as indicators of operating performance or liquidity. Also, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies.

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