Bloomin’ Brands Announces 2021 Q1 Financial Results and Strong Operating Margin Expansion

Q1 Diluted EPS of $0.63 and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.72

Q1 Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth of 4.1% at Outback Steakhouse and 3.3% Combined U.S.

U.S. Digital Revenue Increased 147% Versus 2020

Strengthening Second Quarter-to-Date Sales Trends

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 29, 2021-- Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLMN) today reported results for the first quarter 2021 (“Q1 2021”) compared to the first quarter 2020 (“Q1 2020”).

CEO Comments

“The first quarter was a strong start to the year. We are well positioned to grow sales, and capture additional market share as the economic recovery continues,” said David Deno, Chief Executive Officer. “As a result of investments made over the last few years we are making great progress in growing off-premises sales, improving margins, and increasing cash flow as dining rooms reopen. Our sales momentum has continued through the first four weeks of the second quarter with U.S. comp sales up 12.6% on a two-year basis versus 2019.”

Diluted EPS and Adjusted Diluted EPS

The following table reconciles Diluted earnings (loss) per share attributable to common stockholders to Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the periods indicated:

First Quarter Financial Results

• The decrease in Total revenues was primarily due to: (i) lower international comparable restaurant sales, (ii) the effect of foreign currency translation of the Brazil Real relative to the U.S. dollar and (iii) the net impact of restaurant closures and openings. The decrease in Total revenue was partially offset by higher U.S. comparable restaurant sales.

• Restaurant-level operating margin increased due to: (i) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020, including relief pay, (ii) lower advertising expense, (iii) a reduction in prep labor hours, (iv) cost savings from our waste reduction initiatives and (v) reduced operating and utilities expenses. These increases were partially offset by incremental delivery related costs.

• GAAP operating income margin increased due to: (i) an increase in restaurant-level operating margin as described above, (ii) 2020 asset impairment charges and general and administrative expense related to the COVID-19 pandemic and (iii) the impact of restructuring and transformational initiatives during 2020, including severance and impairment charges. Charges related to the COVID-19 pandemic and restructuring and transformational initiatives were excluded from our 2020 Adjusted operating income margin.

First Quarter Comparable Restaurant Sales

The following table includes company-owned comparable restaurant sales for the first quarter ended March 28, 2021 as well as performance relative to fiscal year 2019 for improved comparability due to the impact of COVID-19:

Recent Sales Results - U.S.

Second quarter-to-date U.S. comparable restaurant sales results have continued to strengthen due to our sales building initiatives, easing of in-restaurant capacity restrictions, pent up consumer demand and additional stimulus.

The following tables include quarter-to-date U.S. company-owned comparable restaurant sales for the four-week period ended April 25, 2021 and weekly U.S. comparable average unit volumes for the periods indicated:

Recent Sales Trends - Brazil

Brazil sales have been impacted by a rise in COVID-19 cases that resulted in significantly reduced or closed in-restaurant dining capacity for a majority of the country. During this period, our restaurants primarily operated in an off-premises only model. In recent weeks, we have seen in-restaurant dining capacity begin to increase which has resulted in improving weekly sales volumes. In addition, São Paulo, which represents our largest market with 46% of stores, recently reopened in-restaurant dining at 25% capacity on April 24, 2021 providing optimism about the continued recovery.

The following table includes second quarter-to-date Brazil company-owned restaurant sales for the full weekly periods ended as indicated, comparable to fiscal year 2020:

Refinancing of Credit Facility and Issuance of New Senior Notes

On April 16, 2021, we entered into two separate agreements that provide diversified funding sources and increased maturity to our capital structure.

• Entered into a five-year restated credit agreement with our lenders for a $1 billion credit facility consisting of a $200 million Term loan A and an $800 million revolving credit facility
• Issued $300 million of unsecured 5.125% senior notes due 2029

Q2 2021 Financial Outlook

The table below presents our expectations for selected fiscal Q2 2021 financial operating results. Our Outlook contemplates the following considerations:

• Continuing momentum in U.S. sales trends;
• Achieving ongoing operating efficiencies including labor benefits from simplification efforts, waste reduction and lower advertising; and
• Impact of restrictions on in-restaurant dining room capacity on Brazil sales and profits.

Fiscal 2021 Financial Outlook

The Company remains focused on emerging from the pandemic a better, stronger, operations-focused company. We are reaffirming all aspects of our full-year guidance measures that were previously communicated in our February 18, 2021 earnings release. However, we are not providing any additional sales or profit guidance for the full-year due to the ongoing uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today, April 29, 2021 at 8:30 AM EDT. The conference call will be webcast live from the Company’s website at http://www.bloominbrands.com under the Investors section. A replay of this webcast will be available on the Company’s website after the call.

Non-GAAP Measures

In addition to the results provided in accordance with GAAP, this press release and related tables include certain non-GAAP measures, which present operating results on an adjusted basis. These are supplemental measures of performance that are not required by or presented in accordance with GAAP and include the following: (i) Adjusted restaurant-level operating margin, (ii) Adjusted income from operations and the corresponding margin, (iii) Adjusted net income, (iv) Adjusted diluted earnings per share, (v) Adjusted segment restaurant-level operating margin, (vi) Adjusted segment income from operations and the corresponding margin and (vii) Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”).

We believe that our use of non-GAAP financial measures permits investors to assess the operating performance of our business relative to our performance based on GAAP results and relative to other companies within the restaurant industry by isolating the effects of certain items that may vary from period to period without correlation to core operating performance or that vary widely among similar companies. However, our inclusion of these adjusted measures should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or infrequent items or that the items for which we have made adjustments are unusual or infrequent or will not recur. We believe that the disclosure of these non-GAAP measures is useful to investors as they form part of the basis for how our management team and Board of Directors evaluate our operating performance, allocate resources and administer employee incentive plans.

These non-GAAP financial measures are not intended to replace GAAP financial measures, and they are not necessarily standardized or comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. We maintain internal guidelines with respect to the types of adjustments we include in our non-GAAP measures. These guidelines endeavor to differentiate between types of gains and expenses that are reflective of our core operations in a period, and those that may vary from period to period without correlation to our core performance in that period. However, implementation of these guidelines necessarily involves the application of judgment, and the treatment of any items not directly addressed by, or changes to, our guidelines will be considered by our disclosure committee. You should refer to the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures in tables five, six, seven and ten included later in this release for descriptions of the actual adjustments made in the current period and the corresponding prior period.

About Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. is one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world with a portfolio of leading, differentiated restaurant concepts. The Company has four founder-inspired brands: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar. The Company operates more than 1,450 restaurants in 47 states, Guam and 20 countries, some of which are franchise locations. For more information, please visit www.bloominbrands.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein, including statements under the headings “CEO Comments”, “Q2 2021 Financial Outlook” and “Fiscal 2021 Financial Outlook” are not based on historical fact and are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such as “guidance,” “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “on track,” “feels,” “forecasts,” “seeks,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: consumer reaction to public health and food safety issues; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainties about its depth and duration, as well as the impacts to economic conditions and consumer behavior, including, among others: the inability of workers, including delivery drivers, to work due to illness, quarantine, or government mandates, temporary restaurant closures and capacity restrictions due to reduced workforces or government mandates, the unemployment rate, the extent, availability and effectiveness of any COVID-19 stimulus packages or loan programs, the ability of our franchisees to operate their restaurants during the pandemic and pay royalties, and trends in consumer behavior and spending during and after the end of the pandemic; competition; increases in labor costs; government actions and policies; increases in unemployment rates and taxes; local, regional, national and international economic conditions; consumer confidence and spending patterns; price and availability of commodities; the effects of changes in tax laws; challenges associated with our remodeling, relocation and expansion plans; interruption or breach of our systems or loss of consumer or employee information; political, social and legal conditions in international markets and their effects on foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to preserve the value of and grow our brands; the seasonality of the Company’s business; weather, acts of God and other disasters; changes in patterns of consumer traffic, consumer tastes and dietary habits; the cost and availability of credit; interest rate changes; and compliance with debt covenants and the Company’s ability to make debt payments and planned investments. Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial results of the Company and its forward-looking statements is included in its most recent Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as may be required by law. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Note: Numerical figures included in this release have been subject to rounding adjustments.

Restaurant-level Operating Margin Adjustments - Following is a summary of (favorable) unfavorable adjusted restaurant-level operating margin adjustments recorded in Other restaurant operating expense (unless otherwise noted below) for the following activities, as described in table six of this release:

Following is a summary of the financial statement line item classification of the net income (loss) adjustments:

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Mark Graff
Group Vice President, IR & Finance
(813) 830-5311

Source: Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.