American sandwich chain Potbelly has reported attributable net income of $2.7m for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with $2.65m in the same period of the previous year.
The company's financial performance has been marked by an increase in both total revenues and average weekly sales.
For the quarter ending 31 December 2023, Potbelly's total revenues rose by 4.7% to $125.7m, up from $120.2m in the same period of the previous year.
The restaurant chain's average weekly sales saw a 3.4% increase, reaching $24,960, which includes the impact of refranchising efforts.
Potbelly's total company shop sales also experienced a rise by 2.7% to $122.3m compared to $119m in the previous year.
The company has reported positive same-store sales for the eleventh consecutive quarter, ending the fourth quarter with a 6.3% increase. The growth in same-store sales was driven by an increase in customer traffic.
As part of its franchise growth acceleration Initiative, Potbelly has committed to opening 202 new shops to date.
Potbelly president and CEO Bob Wright said: “I am very proud of what our team accomplished in the fourth quarter and full year 2023. Our five-pillar strategy maintains our focus on what matters most to our customers and associates while growing our brand to the benefit of our franchisees and shareholders. Traffic-driven sales, shop level and company profitability and unit growth development efforts headlined our success.
“Our strong quarter capped an outstanding year where we strengthened the Potbelly brand with increased systemwide sales, driven by 12.0% same-store sales and improved profitability with a 370-basis point improvement to shop margin achieving 14.2% for the year.
“We made significant progress with our franchise growth acceleration initiative and ended 2023 with 612 open and committed shops. We’re excited to have delivered another quarter and full-year performance in support of our long-term sustainable growth.”
In November 2023 Potbelly signed a 20-unit deal with Sound Sandwich to expand its footprint in the greater Seattle-Tacoma region of Washington state.
The deal included the transfer of ownership of nine existing units and the development of 13 new restaurant venues in King, Pierce and Thurston counties up to 2031.
