American fast casual restaurant chain Shake Shack has reported an attributable net income of $2.2m for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, marking a turnaround from a net loss of $1.6m in Q1 2023.
For the quarter ended 27 March 2024, total revenue was $290.5m, up 14.7% from $253.28m reported a year earlier.
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System-wide sales rose 12.3% year-on-year to $443.3m.
The restaurant-level profit registered a surge of 22.4% to $54.7m from $44.7m in Q1 2023.
Profit margin at the restaurant level, representing a percentage of the chain’s sales, improved to 19.5% from 18.3% the previous year.
Shake Shack’s total expenses for the quarter were $290.47m, up 13.3% from $256.46m reported in the same period of the previous year.
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By GlobalDataAdjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation] for the period under review was $35.88m, up 30.2% year-on-year.
Shake Shack chief financial officer Katie Fogertey said: “We laid a strong foundation in the first quarter as we plan to drive profitable sales and expand margins again in 2024, by growing revenue by 15% year-on-year, expanding restaurant-level profit margins by 120 bps [basic points] and growing adjusted EBITDA by more than 30% year-on-year”.
During the first quarter, Shake Shack expanded its footprint by opening four new company-operated locations, including two drive-throughs, and four new licensed locations.
Looking ahead, the company has provided guidance for the second quarter, with plans to open 10 company-operated locations and eight to nine licensed locations.
The company anticipates total revenue to be between $308.9m and $314.3m, with a restaurant-level profit margin between 21.5% and 22.0% for the second quarter of the year.
Fogertey added: “Our teams are executing on our 2024 strategies to drive better overall guest experience, grow sales, expand restaurant-level profit margins and lower build costs as we look to grow sales year-on-year by 12% to 15% and adjusted EBITDA by [between] 21% [and] 29% to $160m to $170m.”
