Posted on 11/22/2004 8:43:00 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Shares of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.'s fell sharply Monday as a 79 percent plunge in third quarter earnings and an intensifying accounting investigation overshadowed the pastry maker's statement that the low-carb craze might be easing. The Winston-Salem-based company also withdrew its sales forecast and said it would not provide an outlook for the current quarter and 2005.
Losses for the quarter were $3 million, or 5 cents per share, from a profit of $14.5 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding the one-time charges related to discontinued operations, the company earned $2.4 million, or 4 cents per share, in the latest quarter.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had expected Krispy Kreme to earns 13 cents per share.
In late morning trading, Krispy Kreme shares were down $1.96, or 17 percent, at $9.54 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares are off more than 70 percent since the beginning of the year.
"Clearly we are disappointed with our third quarter results," chairman and chief executive officer Scott Livengood said in a statement. "We are focused on addressing the challenges facing the company and regaining our business momentum."
Those challenges include a federal investigation into its accounting practices. The company said earlier this year that the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into its franchise reacquisitions and its future earnings outlooks.
Krispy Kreme said Monday that it incurred about $3 million in fees during the third quarter from the SEC probe and related matters, and expects more such expenses going forward.
The company also said it has set aside $2 million to deal with potential expenses related to accounting issues involving two franchisees.
On a conference call with analysts, Livengood said the low-carb dieting phenomenon is still a factor in the company's soft sales, but he believes the trend might have peaked. Krispy Kreme had previously blamed the diet for much of its sales difficulties this year.
He declined to answer any questions during the call, citing the pending investigations. Instead, the company said it would post answers to questions submitted by analysts on its Web site.
Total sales for the quarter ended Oct. 31 increased 1.4 percent to $170.1 million from $167.8 million in the third quarter of last year. Company store sales overall were up 9.6 percent to $121.2 million, though sales at company stores open at least one year fell 6.2 percent.
Fifteen new Krispy Kreme stores - 13 factory stores and two satellites - opened during the quarter. Nine stores, comprised of seven stores and two satellites, were closed.
That brought the number of stores systemwide at quarter-end to 429.
The company's net loss for the first nine months was $21.7 million, or 34 cents per share, on sales of $531.9 million, compared with net income of $40.7 million, or 66 cents per share, on sales of $475.6 million in the year-ago period.
Dunkin' Donuts are my favorite. Kripsies taste like crap. And the new store they opened in my area has an empty parking lot after nine months of operation. Part of the reason may be the lack of hygiene I witnessed by some of the workers. They wear those plastic throw away gloves to keep food handling germ free. But they are wearing the gloves when they make change and clean off the tables and wipe down the counters after spraying them with some cleaning chemical! Barf
YOU have a discriminating palate... : ) I totally agree!
:o)
(((I was referring to the KK fad. You can get them everywhere now - including grocery stores. I'm dating myself, but I remember when Coors beer could not be had here. People would bring cases back from Colorado in the trunks of their cars. We thought it was great. Then Coors became available and I stopped drinking it - realized that it wasn't as good as I thought. Same way with the KK's.)))
Yes, red face...I realized that after I hit SEND! Automatic reaction...I keep hearing about how "the low carb" diet is trending down...and I always jump on that with righteous indignation! :-D
I prefer Honey Dew, maybe just for the checkered-ambience and the teddy bear...
Buy low.
I've been on a diet lately.
My sentiments exactly. (And no, I'm not overweight!)
I don't doubt you, HJ. Just making a point about how things we remember from our childhood seem so much larger than life.
They're working on it.
Semper Caffine
8-)
you need to be pun-ished for that!
I can't taste the donut at all in a KK. The glazing is overwhelming, it tastes like frosting. Also, the chocolate icing tastes pretty odd, kind of bitter.
I used to dislike donuts growing up, but the only donuts we had were KKs. Now I've discovered the joys of Wegman's, Tim Hurton's, and that old standby DD's. :)
I dunno. The other day I saw them building a Starbucks -- INSIDE A STARBUCKS! ;)
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