Shares of the Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava sizzled some 12% higher in premarket deals trading after the company reported its first quarterly profit since going public in June.
Cava, in a statement after Tuesday's close, posited second-quarter net income of $6.5 million, $0.21 per share, compared to a net loss of $8.2 million, $6.23 per share, a year earlier. Revenue came in at $172.9 million.
Analysts had called for a loss of $0.02 per share and revenue of $163.21 million. Net sales also impressed, growing 62% to $172.9 million thanks in large part to new restaurant openings. The company said it opened 16 net new Cava restaurants during the quarter, bringing its total to 279.
Same-store sales increased 18.2% in the period and traffic increased 10.3%. The latter is something of an anomaly, as most restaurants have seen traffic decline in recent months.
Looking ahead, Cava projects full-year same-store sales growth to land between 13% and 15% and plans to open 65 to 70 new restaurants.
In New York, Cava stock was up US$5.60 or 12.6% changing hands US$51.99.
Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com
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