Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN), the parent company of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins (BR), today reported results for the third quarter ended September 29, 2018.
"For the third quarter 2018, we delivered positive comparable store sales for all four of our business segments. Dunkin' U.S. comparable store sales growth was led by strong beverage sales, coupled with new product innovation, and the Dunkin' Run snacking platform which delivered our highest afternoon comparable store sales growth in more than two years," said David Hoffmann, Dunkin' Brands Chief Executive Officer and President Dunkin' U.S. "Additionally, our new simplified branding for Dunkin' and our recently announced plans to transform the espresso experience at Dunkin' demonstrate our commitment to our beverage-led strategy and, importantly, we have strong alignment with our franchisees around the world, as evidenced by their record attendance at our 2018 Global Convention."
"Earlier this year we announced that we would be investing approximately $100 million into Dunkin' U.S., a substantial amount of which will be in equipment to support our multi-year plan to expand our beverage portfolio beyond traditional drip coffee, including new espresso equipment. We, along with our franchisees, who are significantly investing in this new program, are excited to introduce the new Dunkin' espresso to America in the fourth quarter," said Kate Jaspon, Dunkin' Brands Chief Financial Officer. "We are also pleased to have completed our previously announced $650 million accelerated share repurchase program during the third quarter, demonstrating our continued commitment to utilizing our strong balance sheet to return capital to shareholders."
Third quarter highlights include:
- Dunkin' U.S. comparable store sales increase of 1.3%
- Baskin-Robbins U.S. comparable store sales increase of 1.8%
- Added 77 net new Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins locations globally including 52 net new Dunkin' locations in the U.S.
- Revenues increased 6.0%
- Diluted EPS increased by 75.6% to $0.79
- Diluted adjusted EPS increased by 69.4% to $0.83
