Red Robin Clocks 41% Revenue Growth In Q4, Expects Margin Pressures To Persist During FY22

• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc (NASDAQ:RRGB) reported fourth-quarter FY21 sales growth of 40.9% year-on-year, to $283.38 million, missing the consensus of $292.14 million.
• Comparable restaurant revenue increased 40.1% Y/Y, driven by a 26.6% increase in the Guest count and a 13.5% increase in average guest check.
• The restaurant-level operating margin was 13% versus 6.2% last year.
• Adjusted EPS loss of $(1.03) missed the consensus of $(0.51).
• The operating loss narrowed to $(17.6) million from $(41.7) million last year.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $8.9 million versus a loss of $(6.4) million last year.
• The company held $22.8 million in cash and equivalents as of December 26, 2021.
• Outlook: Red Robin Gourmet sees FY22 adjusted EBITDA of $80 million - $90 million. It expects mid-to-high single-digit commodity and restaurant labor cost inflation.
• The company expects margin pressures to persist during 2022. It anticipates achieving the 2019 restaurant-level operating profit margin in 2023.
• Price Action: RRGB shares closed higher by 0.29% at $13.93 on Thursday.