Bloomin’ Brands Announces 2022 Q3 Financial Results

Q3 Combined U.S. Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth of 1.4%

Q3 Diluted EPS of $0.34 and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.35

Reiterates Full Year Adjusted EPS Expectations

Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.14 per share

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2022-- Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLMN) today reported results for the third quarter 2022 (“Q3 2022”) compared to the third quarter 2021 (“Q3 2021”).

CEO Comments

“We are pleased with the consistent performance of our brands as Q3 represented another quarter of strong results. U.S. comparable sales improved throughout the quarter while our margins remain well above pre-pandemic levels” said David Deno, CEO. “Importantly, we achieved this performance despite persistent inflationary pressures that were well ahead of menu price increases. We remain focused on executing our strategy to elevate the customer experience and drive innovation while achieving sustainable sales and profits.”

Diluted EPS and Adjusted Diluted EPS

The following table reconciles Diluted earnings per share to Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the periods indicated (unaudited):

• The increase in Total revenues was primarily due to higher comparable restaurant sales and the net impact of restaurant openings and closures.

• Operating income margin increased primarily due to an increase in restaurant-level operating margin as described below and lower share-based and incentive compensation.

• Restaurant-level operating margin increased primarily due to: (i) lapping the Carrabba’s Italian Grill royalty termination, (ii) increases in average check per person and (iii) lapping the impact of COVID-19 in Brazil. These increases were partially offset by: (i) commodity inflation, (ii) increased labor costs primarily due to wage rate inflation, (iii) higher operating expenses including utilities and (iv) higher advertising expense.

• Adjusted operating income and adjusted restaurant-level operating margins for Q3 2021 exclude the impact of the Carrabba’s Italian Grill royalty termination.

Third Quarter Comparable Restaurant Sales

The following table includes Company-owned comparable restaurant sales for the third quarter ended September 25, 2022 as well as performance relative to 2019 for improved comparability to pre-COVID-19 restaurant sales:

The following table includes Company-owned average restaurant unit volumes for the periods indicated:

Dividend Declaration and Share Repurchases

On October 18, 2022, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share to be paid on November 23, 2022 to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 9, 2022.

On February 8, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a $125 million share repurchase program. Through October 27, 2022, we repurchased 4.7 million shares for a total of $95 million and had $30 million remaining under this authorization. This authorization will expire on August 9, 2023.

Fiscal 2022 Financial Outlook

The table below presents our updated expectations for selected 2022 financial operating results. We have increased our full year outlook for total revenues and expect the profit benefits from the increased revenues to be offset by higher than expected inflation. We are reaffirming all other aspects of our full-year financial guidance as previously communicated in our July 29, 2022 earnings release.

Q4 2022 Financial Outlook

The financial outlook includes the negative impact of Hurricane Ian which was estimated to be 0.3% to U.S. comparable sales and approximately $0.03 to diluted earnings per share, inclusive of storm-related costs. The table below presents our expectations for selected fiscal Q4 2022 financial operating results:

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call today, October 28, 2022 at 8:15 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) Restaurant-level operating margin and adjusted restaurant-level operating margin, (ii) Adjusted income from operations and the corresponding margin, (iii) Adjusted net income, (iv) Adjusted diluted earnings per share and (v) Adjusted segment income from operations and the corresponding margin.

Restaurant-level operating margin is a non-GAAP financial measure widely regarded in the industry as a useful metric to evaluate restaurant-level operating efficiency and performance of ongoing restaurant-level operations, and we use it for these purposes, overall and particularly within our two segments.

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 four, five, six and seven 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 owns and operates more than 1,450 restaurants in 47 states, Guam and 15 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”, “Fiscal 2022 Financial Outlook” and “Q4 2022 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; increases in labor costs and fluctuations in the availability of employees; increases in unemployment rates and taxes; price and availability of commodities and other impacts of inflation; competition; local, regional, national and international economic conditions; our ability to preserve the value of and grow our brands; interruption or breach of our systems or loss of consumer or employee information; our dependence on a limited number of suppliers and distributors; political, social and legal conditions in international markets and their effects on foreign operations and foreign currency exchange rates; government actions and policies; the effects of changes in tax laws; changes in patterns of consumer traffic, consumer tastes and dietary habits; challenges associated with our remodeling, relocation and expansion plans; consumer confidence and spending patterns; the seasonality of the Company’s business; weather, acts of God and other disasters; compliance with debt covenants and the Company’s ability to make debt payments and planned investments; the cost and availability of credit; interest rate changes; and any impairments in the carrying value of goodwill and other assets. 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.

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

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221026006143/en/

Mark Graff
SVP, Financial Planning and Investor Relations
(813) 830-5311

Source: Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.