Dunkin' Brands Group Inc, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, raised its earnings forecast for the year after its third-quarter results came in above analyst estimates, due to sales growth at its U.S. coffee and doughnut shops.
Domestic Dunkin' Donuts shops make up almost 75 percent of the company's revenue and more than 80 percent of its profit.
Dunkin' earned $29.5 million for the three months ended Sept. 29, compared with $7.4 million a year ago. On a per-share basis, profit was 26 cents per share, up from a loss of $1.01 per share last year. The loss stemmed from an accounting adjustment related to its initial public offering of stock last July.
"The third quarter marked our fifth quarter as a public company, and our fifth consecutive quarter with double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth," Dunkin Brands Group Inc. CEO Nigel Davis said in a statement.
"With the exceptional growth of the Dunkin' Donuts brand over the past two years and our intense focus on franchisee profitability, our franchisees are seeing very strong unit economics and in turn are driving our robust restaurant expansion across the U.S."
Dunkin' Brands' revenue rose 5 percent to $171.7 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 29, falling short of Wall Street estimates. Net income jumped 298.4 percent to $29.5 million due to an increase in operating income and a drop in debt refinancing charges. Excluding one-time items, the company earned 37 cents per share.
Dunkin' Brands franchisees and licensees opened 187 net new stores around the world in the third quarter.
Growth was slower in the U.S., climbing 1.1 percent at Baskin-Robbins, which was down from 1.7 percent a year earlier. It rose 3 percent overseas.
