021036 Wendy's Earnings Climb 16 PercentOctober 24, 2002Dublin, OH - Fast-food giant Wendy's International Inc. said that its third-quarter earnings rose 16% as it pushed it value menu, and said it is buying a 25% stake in a California-based Italian restaurant chain. The owner of the Wendy's hamburger and Tim Horton doughnut chains earned $60.9 million, or 52 cents a share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30 on sales of $722.1 million compared with profits of $52.4 million, or 44 cents a share, on sales of $610.4 million a year ago. The latest earnings matched expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. "We have focused on restaurant operations again this year while our competition has moved to more discounting," said Jack Schuessler, Wendy's chairman and chief executive. Schuessler said the company featured its value menu, which has 10 items priced for 99 cents, in its national marketing campaign in July and September. For the first nine months of the year, the company earned $168 million, or $1.45 a share, on revenue of $2 billion compared with profits of $147 million, or $1.24 a share, on revenue of $1.8 billion last year. Wendy's also said it was investing $12 million in Pasta Pomodoro, a fast-casual chain with 24 restaurants, mainly in the San Francisco area. Pomodoro chief executive Andriano Paganini said the company plans to have 75 to 100 stores by 2005. The restaurants typically seat between 70 and 80 people. The average check per person at lunch is about $9 and $14 to $15 for dinner. It is Wendy's third investment in another chain this year. Five months ago, Wendy's said it would buy Baja Fresh Mexican Grill of Thousand, Oaks, Calif., and in February said it would invest up to $10 million for a 45% stake in Cafe Express, a Houston-based restaurant that offers upscale meals in a fast-food format.
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