- Papa John's International Inc (NASDAQ:PZZA) reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales growth of 12.6% year-on-year, to $528.88 million, beating the consensus of $523.54 million.
- Adjusted EPS of $0.75 topped the Street view of $0.71.
- Comparable sales growth was 8.6% in Q4, versus 15.6% growth recorded last year. Comparable sales improved 11.1% in North America and 2.4% Internationally.
- Total global system-wide restaurant sales growth was 13.1%.
- Related: Papa John's Ramps Up China Expansion Via FountainVest Partnership
- The operating margin was 7.2%, and operating income for the quarter rose 93.8% to $38.2 million.
- The company held $70.6 million in cash and equivalents as of December 26, 2021. It generated an operating cash flow of $184.7 million for the fiscal year with a free cash flow of $109.7 million.
- Papa John's recorded 81 net unit growth in the quarter. As of December 26, 2021, there were 5,650 Papa John's restaurants operating in 50 countries and territories.
- The company has $411.5 million remaining available under its share repurchase program as of February 17, 2022.
- Papa John's did not provide comprehensive outlook metrics for 2022 at this time, citing uncertainty surrounding the future impact of COVID-19, and especially the Omicron variant.
- Price Action: PZZA shares traded lower by 3.40% at $102.92 on the last check Thursday.
