According to Outback Steakhouse chairman ChrisSullivan, a search for another CFO is in process.
In particular, Merritt cited the way companies have toaccount for leases as "lunacy" – indicating thatrecent changes were the straw that broke theproverbial camel's back. Merritt was considered bymany Wall Street restaurant analysts to be one of thebest CFOs in the industry and several expressed shockand dismay about his departure. For example, MichaelSmith, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. has beenreported as saying that Merritt's resignation was a"complete surprise." Merritt had been with the chainsince 1990.
Merritt's announcement came in the midst of reportinga less-than-stellar quarter for Outback Steakhouse.The chain reported a net profit of nearly $51 million,or 66 cents per share, for the first quarter endedMarch 31, compared with $47.8 million, or 61 cents pershare for the same period last year. According toThomson Firstcall, the earnings fell a short ofanalyst expectations of 67 cents.
Revenues, however, increased 12.5% to $895 millioncompared with $793 million during the same quarterlast year. System-wide sales grew by 12.3% for thequarter compared to the same period last year, butcomp stores sales were slightly down, by 0.4%. Thechain's seafood brand, Bonefish Grill, showed thepoorest performance with a 2.2% same-store drop.
Outback Steakhouse reduced its comp store salesforecast to 3%. The chain operates 888 OutbackSteakhouses, 176 Carrabba's Italian Grills, 72Bonefish Grills, 32 Fleming's Prime Steakhouse andWine Bars, 19 Roy's, two Lee Roy Selmon's, three PaulLee's Chinese Kitchens, and 14 Cheeseburger inParadise restaurants in 50 states and 21 countries internationally.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
