UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date
of Report (date of earliest event reported): December 28,
2005
CBRL
GROUP, INC.
|
Tennessee
|
0-25225
|
62-1749513
|
|
(State
or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation)
|
(Commission
File Number)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
305
Hartmann Drive, Lebanon, Tennessee 37087
(615)
444-5533
Check
the
appropriate box if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy
the
filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
[
]
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
CFR
230.425)
[
]
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
[
]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange
Act
(17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
[
]
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange
Act
(17 CFR.13e-4(c))
1
Item
7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On
December 28, 2005, CBRL Group, Inc.
issued the press release that is furnished as Exhibit 99 to this Current
Report
on Form 8-K, which by this reference is incorporated herein as if copied
verbatim, reporting comparable store sales for the four-week period ending
December 23, 2005 and discussing other information for the remainder of fiscal
2006.
Item
9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(a) Financial
Statements. None
(b) Pro
Forma
Financial Information. None
(c) Exhibits.
99 Press
Release issued by CBRL Group, Inc. dated December 28,
2005.
2
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report
to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.
| CBRL GROUP, INC. | ||
| |
|
|
| Date: December 28, 2005 | By: | /s/ N.B. Forrest Shoaf |
|
|
||
| Title: Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel | ||
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[CBRL
GROUP, INC. LOGO]
Post
Office Box 787
Lebanon,
Tennessee
37088-0787
Phone
615.443.9869
|
Contact:
|
Lawrence
E. White
|
|
Senior
Vice President/
|
|
|
Finance
and
|
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
CBRL
GROUP, INC. REPORTS DECEMBER SALES, DISCUSSES TRENDS AND
OUTLOOK
FOR FISCAL 2006
LEBANON,
Tenn. (December 28, 2005) -- CBRL Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CBRL)
today reported comparable store sales for the four-week period ending December
23, 2005. The Company also discussed the present outlook for its fiscal
2006
second quarter, second half and full year.
December
Sales
The
Company reported that comparable store restaurant sales for the four weeks
ending Friday, December 23, 2005 in its Cracker Barrel Old Country
Storeâ
(“Cracker Barrel”) units were up 0.9% from the comparable period last year, with
an approximately 3.4% higher average check, including approximately 2.5%
higher
average menu pricing. Cracker Barrel comparable store retail sales in December
were down 10.3%. Comparable restaurant sales in the Company’s Logan’s
Roadhouseâ
(“Logan’s”) restaurants in December were up 4.4%, with an approximately 3.9%
higher average check, including approximately 3.1% higher average menu
pricing.
The
Company’s Cracker Barrel and Logan’s locations close early on Christmas Eve.
These early closings benefited this year’s comparable December results because
the holiday fell in fiscal December last year but in fiscal January this
year.
The Company estimated that this shift in holiday timing benefited Cracker
Barrel’s comparable December restaurant and retail sales by approximately 2% and
Logan’s comparable December restaurant sales by approximately 2.5%.
The
Company urges caution in considering its current trends and the outlook
on
earnings disclosed in this press release. The restaurant industry is highly
competitive, and trends and earnings are subject to numerous factors and
influences, some of which are discussed in the cautionary language at the
end of
this press release. The Company disclaims any obligation to update disclosed
information on trends or targets other than in its periodic filings under
Forms
10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(“SEC”).
1
Outlook
The
Company provided an update on the present outlook for the second quarter
of
fiscal 2006, which ends January 27, 2006. The Company continued to note
a high
degree of uncertainty in its current sales trends due to weak consumer
sentiment
and the prospects for additional pressures on discretionary spending from
high
winter heating costs and rising interest rates. Given no change in current
trends, the Company anticipates:
§
Total
revenues for the
second quarter between 2% and 4% above prior year
§
Comparable
store restaurant sales at
Cracker Barrel for the full second quarter between negative 1% to flat
versus
prior year
§
Comparable
store retail sales declines
between 10% and 12%
§
Comparable
restaurant sales at Logan’s
for the second quarter up between 1% and 3% over prior year
§
Diluted
net income per share for the
second quarter of between $0.56 and $0.61 (including approximately $0.03
to
$0.04 per diluted share of stock option expense) compared with $0.63 per
share
in the second quarter last year.
The
Company also updated the outlook for the second half and full year of fiscal
2006. For the second half and full fiscal year, the Company presently
anticipates:
§
Full-year
total revenues from 3% to 5%
above prior year
§
Comparable
store restaurant sales for
Cracker Barrel in the second half of the year between down 1% to up 1%
from
prior year
§
Comparable
store retail sales declines
in the second half between 7% and 11%
§
Logan’s
comparable store restaurant
sales in the second half of the year up between 2% and 4% from prior year
§
Diluted
net income per share for fiscal
2006 of between $2.35 and $2.45, including approximately $0.12 to $0.14
per
diluted share of stock option expense, compared with $2.45 for fiscal
2005.
While
the
Company focuses on improving retail and restaurant execution, it plans
to reduce
its expected openings of new Cracker Barrel stores to 21 from 26 during
fiscal
2006 and defer opening dates for some new units in early fiscal 2007. As
previously disclosed, the Company already has reduced expected openings
of
Logan’s company-owned restaurants during fiscal 2006 to between 20 and 22,
representing unit growth of approximately 16% to 18%. From these actions,
the
Company anticipates a benefit in fiscal 2006 from lower pre-opening expenses
and
other costs associated with operating newly-opened stores. Combined with
other
cost pressures and sales softness, but improvements in cost of goods sold,
the
Company’s operating income margins for the full 2006 fiscal year are currently
expected to be down compared with prior year before the estimated 0.3%
to 0.4%
of total revenue effects of stock option expense. With the reduced number
of
openings and changes in the timing of openings expected in early fiscal
2007,
the Company presently expects capital expenditures (purchases of property
and
equipment) for the full 2006 fiscal year to be between $170 and $175 million,
down from previous expectations of $200 to $205 million. The Company has
0.8
million shares remaining to be repurchased under a previously announced
repurchase authorization.
2
Commenting
on the trends and outlook, Michael A. Woodhouse, Chairman, President and
Chief
Executive Officer noted, “Top line results continue to be disappointing,
especially in Cracker Barrel retail. The improvement we hoped for simply
did not
materialize during the important holiday shopping season, even with more
aggressive markdowns. Given these results, we believe that our restaurant
and
retail execution need to improve in operations, marketing and merchandising.
Therefore, we have taken the step of reducing our near-term new store
development in both concepts to allow us to put greater focus on execution
and
to strengthen cash flow. We remain confident that both concepts will continue
to
be long-term growth opportunities, but a near-term adjustment is
prudent.”
Headquartered
in Lebanon, Tennessee, CBRL Group, Inc. presently operates 540 Cracker
Barrel
Old Country Store restaurants and gift shops located in 41 states and 131
company-operated and 24 franchised Logan’s Roadhouse restaurants in 19
states.
Except
for specific historical information, many of the matters discussed in this
press
release may express or imply projections of revenues or expenditures, statements
of plans and objectives or future operations or statements of future economic
performance. These, and similar statements are forward-looking statements
concerning matters that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors
which may
cause the actual performance of CBRL Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries to
differ
materially from those expressed or implied by this discussion. All
forward-looking information is provided by the Company pursuant to the
safe
harbor established under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995
and should be evaluated in the context of these factors. Forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as “trends,” “assumptions,” “target,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “plans,”
“goals,” “objectives,” “expectations,” “near-term,” “long-term,” “projection,”
“may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “potential” or “continue” (or the negative or other derivatives of
each of these terms) or similar terminology. Factors which could materially
affect actual results include, but are not limited to: the effects of business
trends on the outlook for individual restaurant locations and the effect
on the
carrying value of those locations; actuarial estimate uncertainties with
respect
to self-insured workers’ compensation, general liability and group health; the
effects of uncertain consumer confidence, higher costs for energy, consumer
debt
payments, or general or regional economic weakness on sales and customer
travel,
discretionary income or personal expenditure activity; the ability of the
Company to identify, acquire and sell successful new lines of retail
merchandise; competitive marketing and operational initiatives; the ability
of
the Company to sustain or the effects of plans intended to improve operational
execution and performance; commodity, workers’ compensation, group health and
utility price changes; the availability and cost of suitable sites for
development and the Company’s ability to identify such sites; the ability of the
Company to open and operate new locations successfully; changes in building
materials and construction costs; the effects of plans intended to promote
or
protect the Company’s brands and products; the effects of increased competition
at Company locations on sales and on labor recruiting, cost, and retention;
changes in foreign exchange rates affecting the Company’s future retail
inventory purchases; consumer behavior based on negative publicity or concerns
over nutritional or safety aspects of the Company’s products or restaurant food
in general; changes in or implementation of additional governmental or
regulatory rules, regulations and interpretations affecting tax, wage and
hour
matters, health and safety, pensions,
3
insurance
or other undeterminable areas; practical or psychological effects of natural
disasters or terrorist acts or war and military or government responses;
disruptions to the company’s restaurant or retail supply chain; the ability of
and cost to the Company to recruit, train, and retain qualified hourly
and
management employees; changes in interest rates affecting the Company’s
financing costs; the actual results of pending, future or threatened litigation
or governmental investigations and the costs and effects of negative publicity
associated with these activities; implementation of new or changes in
interpretation of existing accounting principles generally accepted in
the
United States of America (“GAAP”); effectiveness of internal
controls over
financial reporting and disclosure; changes in capital market conditions
that
could affect valuations of restaurant companies in general or the Company’s
goodwill in particular; and other factors described from time to time in
the
Company’s filings with the SEC, press releases, and other
communications.
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END -
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