A customer wearing a face mask enters a Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. restaurant. from San Francisco, California. .
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Chipotle Mexican Grill reported on Tuesday that its sales in the same store increased by more than 5% in the last quarter, fueled by higher digital orders and the return of asada meat.
Citing the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the company declined to provide a forecast for increased sales in the same store in fiscal year 2021, but said it expects a strong first quarter.
Chipotle shares fell 4% in extended transactions. The stock reached an all-time high of $ 1,553.55 during early trading on Tuesday.
Here’s what the company reported for the December 31 quarter compared to what Wall Street expected, based on a poll conducted by analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: 3.48 USD, adjusted, compared to 3.73 USD expected
- Revenue: $ 1.61 billion compared to $ 1.61 billion expected
Chipotle reported fourth-quarter net income of $ 190.9 million, or $ 6.69 per share, up from $ 72.4 million or $ 2.55 a share a year earlier. The company recorded a profit tax benefit of $ 3.77 for that quarter.
Excluding income tax benefits, corporate restructuring expenses and other items, Chipotle earned $ 3.48 per share, missing $ 3.73 per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales rose 11.6 percent to $ 1.61 billion, meeting expectations.
Sales in the same store increased by 5.7%. The return of his asada meat in September boosted demand. In addition, digital sales almost tripled and accounted for almost half of the company’s quarterly revenue. In the second and third quarters of Chipotle, online sales tripled.
By January, sales in the same store had increased by 11%. And if the pandemic doesn’t get worse, the company expects sales to increase at the same store in middle-aged to older teens in the first trimester.
The company also said it has increased menu prices for delivery orders. Third-party applications such as DoorDash charge restaurants a fee, consuming their profits. Chipotle said in previous quarters that the higher incidence of crisis-driven delivery orders affected its profit margins.
The company opened 61 new locations during the quarter, moved two restaurants and closed one. In fiscal year 2021, Chipotle expects to open about 200 new restaurants, assuming it faces few construction delays and allows for crisis-related delays.
Read the full earnings report here.