On Monday, Shares of Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ:DENN), gained 2.93% to $10.88.
Denny’s Corporation, stated results for its first quarter ended April 1, 2015.
First Quarter Summary
- Domestic system-wide same-store sales growth of 7.2%, comprised of a 7.6% enhance at company restaurants and 7.1% enhance at domestic franchised restaurants.
- Opened nine system restaurants counting one non-traditional location.
- Accomplished 31 remodels counting seven at company restaurants.
- Adjusted EBITDA of $18.8 million, or 15.7% of total operating revenue, raised 14.8%.
- Net Income of $8.5 million raised 32.7% with Diluted Net Income per Share of $0.10 growing 37.8%.
- Adjusted Net Income of $8.7 million grew 36.0% with Adjusted Net Income per Share* of $0.10 increasing 41.2%.
- Generated $13.2 million of Free Cash Flow after remodel investments at company restaurants.
- Allocated $5.1 million to repurchase 450,000 shares during the first quarter.
First Quarter Results
Denny’s total operating revenue grew 7.4% to $120.2 million resulting from an enhance in both company restaurant sales together with franchise and license revenue. Franchise and license revenue of $34.2 million raised $1.6 million, or 4.8%, primarily due to higher royalty revenue resulting from an enhance in same-store sales. Company restaurant sales of $86.0 million grew $6.7 million, or 8.4%, primarily due to the enhance in same-store sales and the reopening of the Las Vegas Casino Royale restaurant in November 2014.
In the first quarter, Denny’s opened nine franchised restaurants, counting one non-traditional location, and closed seventeen system restaurants, counting one company restaurant, bringing the total number of restaurants to 1,694. Domestic system-wide same-store sales grew 7.2%, counting a 7.6% enhance at company restaurants and 7.1% enhance at domestic franchised restaurants. Franchise operating margin was $23.2 million, or 67.9% of franchise and license revenue, an enhance of $1.3 million, or 0.7 percentage points. This improvement was primarily due to an enhance in royalties offset by an enhance in direct costs. Company restaurant operating margin of $14.7 million, or 17.1% of company restaurant sales, raised $5.5 million, or 5.6 percentage points. The improvement in company margin was primarily driven by the leveraging effect from the growth in same-store sales and lower product costs.
Total general and administrative expenses were $16.9 million contrast to $14.1 million in the preceding year primarily due to higher payroll and benefits, and incentive and share-based compensation expenses. Depreciation and amortization expense of $5.0 million improved $0.2 million. Interest expense of $2.1 million improved $0.2 million primarily due to the expiration of capital leases and a $21.3 million reduction in total debt outstanding over the last 12 months. In the first quarter, the provision for income taxes was $4.7 million, reflecting an effective tax rate of 35.4%. Due to the use of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards, the Company only paid $0.3 million in cash taxes during the first quarter.
Denny’s generated $13.2 million of Free Cash Flow* in the first quarter, after investing $3.4 million on capital expenditures. During the quarter, the Company repurchased 450,000 shares for $5.1 million. At the end of the first quarter, the Company had 3.4 million shares authorized to be repurchased in addition to the $100 million multi-year share repurchase program approved by the Company’s Board of Directors on March 30, 2015. Denny’s ended the first quarter with $153.5 million of total debt outstanding, counting $135.5 million of borrowings under its revolving credit facility.
Denny’s Corporation, through its partner, Denny’s, Inc., owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Denny’s brand name. As of December 31, 2014, it operated 1,702 franchised, licensed, and company owned restaurants, counting 1,596 restaurants in the United States.
At the end of Monday’s trade, Shares of InterCloud Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICLD), skyrocketed 53.56% to $4.10.
InterCloud Systems, declared the launching of NFVGrid, a Network Functions Virtualization Orchestration platform.
InterCloud Vice President of Cloud Services, Aqeel Asim, stated: “The biggest motivation driving service providers and cloud providers to pursue NFV is the ability to quickly deploy services for new revenue opportunities. The virtualization is a reality and its going to change business models.” Asim added, “We have taken a pragmatic approach to implement network and service orchestration for virtualized network services keeping in mind the integration with existing BSS/OSS solutions. We are closely following the evolving role of standards in operationalizing of virtualized services.”
CEO Mark Munro stated, “Our NaaS offering, powered by NFVGrid is a major breakthrough for our Company. Infonetics forecasts the carrier SDN and NFV market to reach $11 Billion by 2018. We have positioned InterCloud to be a competitive force in the emerging growth of Next-Generation IT and telecom networks.”
InterCloud Systems, Inc. provides end-to-end IT and network solutions to the telecommunications service provider and corporate enterprise markets through cloud platforms and professional services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Applications and Infrastructure, Professional Services, and Cloud and Managed Services.
xG Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:XGTI), ended its last trade with 49.72% jump, and closed at $0.53.
xG Technology, declared that it has been awarded a new patent covering improved techniques for mitigating interference in wireless transmissions. The new patent, “Hybrid ARQ system with Snapshot Feedback Mechanism for Interference Prone Wireless Networks,” outlines a method for faster and more detailed analysis of data being received, which will assist deliver smoother and more reliable communications in crowded and challenged RF (radio frequency) environments.
xG Technology’s xMax mobile, secure, high-speed wireless network system has been engineered with sophisticated, multi-layered interference mitigation processes. Using an industry-leading suite of Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) techniques, patented spatial processing algorithms, and multi-antenna technologies, xMax enables the delivery of wireless services with exceptional resiliency and redundancy. This is a critical requirement for public safety, military and other users who must operate in unpredictable environments and fluid situations.
George Schmitt, CEO and Board Chairman of xG Technology, said, “This latest addition to our patent portfolio is the most recent example of our ability to expand our body of intellectual property with a focus on improving the fidelity and performance of wireless communications in critical industries. We will continue our efforts to make the duties of those who protect us easier to fulfill by adding more intelligence, reliability, and efficiency to the wireless systems they rely upon.”
xG Technology, Inc. develops communications technologies for wireless networks worldwide. The company’s intellectual property is embedded in proprietary software algorithms designed to offer cognitive interference mitigation and spectrum access solutions to organizations in a various industries, counting national defense and rural broadband.
Finally, Hill International, Inc. (NYSE:HIL), closed at $4.82, with 23.27% surge.
Hill International, declared financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Total revenue for the first quarter of 2015 was a record $171.6 million, an enhance of 14.4% from the first quarter of 2014. Consulting fee revenue for the first quarter of 2015 was a record $152.5 million, an enhance of 11.1% from last year’s first quarter.
EBITDA for the first quarter of 2015 was $8.3 million, a 1.0% enhance from the first quarter of 2014. Operating profit for the first quarter was $6.0 million, unchanged from last year’s first quarter. Net earnings for the first quarter of 2015 were up 1,966.0%, to $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, from net earnings of $0.1 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2014.
The company’s total backlog at March 31, 2015 was $1.039 billion contrast to $1.080 billion at December 31, 2014. Twelve-month backlog at March 31, 2015 was $445 million contrast to $470 million at December 31, 2014.
Hill International, Inc. provides program administration, project administration, construction administration, construction claims, and other consulting services primarily for the buildings, transportation, environmental, energy, and industrial markets worldwide.
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