Sweetgreen Inc. Chief Concept Officer and Co-Founder Nicholas Jammett (right) eats a salad during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA on Thursday. I’m here. November 18, 2021.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
sweet green on thursday report After slowing expansion to focus on profitability, the first quarter loss was smaller than expected.
The salad chain, which went public in November 2021, aims to become profitable for the first time by 2024. Last quarter, it announced a more conservative approach to entering new markets. It also reduces support center costs and simplifies the management structure.
Sweetgreen shares rose 7% in long-term trading.
Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street had expected, based on analyst research by Refinitiv.
- Loss per share: 30 cents vs expected 35 cents
- Earnings: $125.1 million vs. $126 million forecast
Salad Chain posted a first quarter net loss of $33.7 million, or 0.30 cents per share, down from a net loss of $49.7 million, or 0.45 cents per share, in the same period last year.
Sweetgreen said restaurant-level profit margins improved 1% during the quarter.
net sales Growing 22% year-over-year to $125.1 million, same-store sales increased 5%, beating FactSet’s estimate of 4.9%. Quarterly traffic increased his 2% and menu prices increased 3% compared to the same period last year.
Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman told CNBC that the chain’s Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl has attracted new customers and made headlines.
But some of the buzz may have come from Chipotle Lawsuit Against Sweetgreen for alleged copyright infringement of the original name of the product, the Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl. The two fast-casual chains reached a tentative settlement that included renaming Bowl shortly after Chipotle filed a lawsuit.
Digital transactions accounted for 61% of sales, down slightly from the previous year when they accounted for two-thirds of revenue. Neman said the decline was a result of Sweetgreen’s overall sales as well as increased in-person orders.
The company opened nine new restaurants during the quarter. The company plans to open 30 to 35 new locations in 2023. acquisition of spicesThe first restaurant, called Infinite Kitchens, opens Wednesday in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Illinois.
“We expect a higher margin profile and better unit economics from this,” Neman said. As such, I am very excited to make this happen.”
Sweetgreen largely repeats its forecasts for 2023, predicting revenue of $575 million to $595 million and same-store sales growth of 2% to 6%.
However, it has updated its guidance for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from a loss of $13 million to $15 million to a loss of $13 million to $3 million. The company said the renewal was due to his $6.9 million gain from employee retention tax credits.
