American fast-food restaurant chain Wendy’s has reported a net income of $42m for the first quarter of 2024, a 5.5% increase compared to $39.8m reported a year previously.
Total revenue for the quarter ending 31 March 2024 was $534.75m, up 1.1% from $528.8m in the first quarter of 2023.
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However, operating profit declined 3.9% to $81.15m from $84.47m in the first quarter of 2023.
The decline in operating profit is mainly due to increased investment in breakfast advertising, higher depreciation and higher general and administrative expenses.
The company’s diluted earnings per share rose 5.3% to $0.20 from $0.19 in the first quarter of 2023.
Its adjusted EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation for the quarter rose by 1.8% to $127.8m from $125.6m a year previously.
Wendy’s reported a 2.6% growth in system-wide sales globally in Q1 2024, with the US market growing by 1.7% and international markets seeing a significant 8.8% increase.
The company’s global system-wide sales grew from $3.36bn in the first quarter of 2023 to $3.44bn in the first quarter of 2024.
For same-restaurant sales, Wendy’s reported a global increase of 0.9%, with the US experiencing a 0.6% increase and international markets enjoying a 3.2% rise during the first quarter of 2024.
Wendy’s president and CEO Kirk Tanner said: “The momentum we built across our business in the first quarter puts us on track to achieve our 2024 outlook and on the path toward unlocking the full potential of the powerful Wendy’s brand.
“We delivered global same-restaurant sales growth, which accelerated by 120 basis points on a two-year basis versus the previous quarter. This was driven in part by high-single-digit year-on-year US breakfast sales growth and a global digital sales mix of nearly 17%.
“This performance supported a 60-basis point expansion in US company-operated restaurant margin versus the prior year, illustrating the benefits of these profitable initiatives. We remain focused on executing against our plans and investments through a customer-centric approach, supporting our ability to drive long-term shareholder value.”
