PTLO - Portillo's stock pops on big bottom line beat

Shares of Illinois-based hot dog purveyor Portillo’s ( NASDAQ: PTLO ) rose sharply on Thursday after reporting far stronger than anticipated Q4 profits and an upbeat 2023 forecast.

A report of $0.08 in GAAP earnings per share came in $0.07 above the Street consensus despite a narrow miss on sales expectations. The company indicated that same-restaurant sales increased 6% and overall Q4 revenue was headed for a strong finish before Winter Storm Elliott significantly hampered results.

“We ended 2022 with strong momentum that we’re already using as a springboard into 2023,” Michael Osanloo commented. “Looking ahead, I’m particularly excited about our near-term development pipeline. We’re building our presence in the Sunbelt where we’ve already received warm welcomes from Portillo’s fans that have been waiting for us for a long time.”

Management anticipates the opening of 9 new restaurants in 2023, adding to 4 new restaurants added in 2022. Capital expenditures are expected to range from $70M to $75M for the fiscal year.

Subsequent to the fourth quarter of 2022, we have seen improvements in our sales trends as same-restaurant sales grew 12.3% in our first fiscal period of 2023 and we estimate same-restaurant sales to grow 7.9% in our second fiscal period of 2023,” the company earnings release added. “We currently anticipate our same-restaurant sales growth to be in the range of 8% to 10% and total revenue growth to be in the range of 16% to 18% for the first quarter of 2023.”

The company experienced approximately 15.2% commodity inflation in 2022. That rate is expected to slow to a “mid single digits” percentage, while additional wage inflation is also expected in the year ahead. The company anticipates the potential for further price increases to offset these impacts following a 2% hike approved in January.

Shares of Portillo’s ( PTLO ) rose 3.98% in premarket trading on Thursday.

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