Panera Bread Misses Q4 Revenue Expectations, Provides Limited Guidance; Down 8% After Hours

Panera Bread Co PNRA reported fourth quarter financial results Wednesday and missed expectations for revenue.

Revenues came in at $672.49 million, below estimates of $675.93 million. The company reported $661.73 million in the prior year period.

Net income was $48.49 million, or $1.82 per diluted share, $0.01 above estimates but below the $54.24 million reported in the year-ago period.

Diluted EPS for fiscal Q4 2014 was up 2 percent versus fiscal Q4 2013, excluding a goodwill impairment charge recorded in fiscal Q4 2014 of $2.1 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, and excluding the estimated $0.13 per diluted share benefit in fiscal Q4 2013 from the additional operating week.

In fiscal Q4 2014, on a calendar basis, company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 3.3 percent, franchise-operated comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 2.7 percent, and system-wide comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 3.0 percent compared to the same period in fiscal 2013.

For the full year of 2014, total revenue increased 6 percent while net income fell 9 percent compared to 2013.

Ron Shaich, Chairman and CEO, commented, "Our transaction growth of 1.3 percent in Q4 -- our third straight quarter of transaction growth and second straight quarter of growth above 1 percent -- speaks to the progress we continue to make in our efforts to bend the arc of transaction and comp growth in our core business. Our sharpened focus on operations, food innovation and marketing innovation continues to drive that momentum."

The company did not provide precise guidance for 2015.

It indicated that it is “targeting full year fiscal 2015 diluted earnings per share growth of flat to down mid- to high-single digits when compared to full year fiscal 2014.”

Panera Bread Co traded at $161.00 in the after hours session, down 8.77 percent.