News

Fiesta Restaurant Group increases revenue in Q2

August 9, 2013

Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc., owner, operator and franchisor of Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana, reported results for the second quarter of 2013, which ended June 30. Fiesta expects to exceed the high-end of its previously announced 2013 restaurant development expectations, driven by new Pollo Tropical restaurant openings, according to a company press release.

Highlights of Q2 results include:

• Total revenues increased 9.4 percent to $140.9 million, compared to $128.8 million in the prior year period.
• Comparable restaurant sales increased 6.4 percent at Pollo Tropical and 1.1 percent at Taco Cabana.
• Comparable restaurant guest traffic increased 2.8 percent at Pollo Tropical and decreased 0.5 percent at Taco Cabana.
• Four company-owned Pollo Tropical and three company-owned Taco Cabana restaurants were opened and
• Net income increased $1.0 million to $5.0 million in the second quarter of 2013, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared to net income of $3.9 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2012.

"We are successfully executing against our stated objectives and are very excited by what we expect to accomplish this year," said Tim Taft, president and CEO of Fiesta. "Our team is growing comparable restaurant sales against robust comparisons, expanding profitability through effective cost controls and sales leverage, making infrastructure investments to support anticipated growth, and moving closer to completing our administrative transition from Carrols."

With industry-leading restaurant economics and limited direct fast casual competitors in the markets, Taft said Pollo Tropical is the company's primary expansion vehicle for the foreseeable future.

"In 2013, 12 of our now planned 18 new company-owned restaurants will be Pollo Tropical, and we will look to accelerate the brand's pace of new openings over the next several years as we backfill Florida, increase our penetration in Georgia and Tennessee, and build a scalable footprint in Texas," he said. "Taco Cabana is also a proven concept and an exceptionally strong cash generator. In the near-term, we are concentrating on backfilling Texas, while preparing to enter a new Southeastern market, in the first quarter of 2014. Development outside of Texas will showcase an elevated concept offering that we hope will lead to a second growth concept for FRGI."

Read more about operations management.