Reporting this morning on its second-quarter 2020 results, Dine Brands Global (DIN 1.21%) beat analyst consensus on revenue for the quarter and reported an extremely swift rebound in same-restaurant sales over the 13-week period. Known previously as IHOP, Inc., the parent company of the IHOP and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar chains has received positive investor attention since the release, with its share value climbing almost 11% by midday.
While COVID-19 clobbered Dine Brands' same-restaurant sales earlier in the year, with Applebee's sales down 77% during the week ending April 5 and IHOP's at negative 81.5% during the same period, today's report shows the company recovering rapidly. For the week ending June 28, the last of Q2, Applebee's sales had rebounded to negative 17.8% and IHOP's to negative 34.4% -- still in negative territory, but greatly improved.
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In the earnings release, CEO Steve Joyce highlighted Dine Brands' adaptability as one key source of the fast comeback, saying the easing restrictions on dining rooms and "the significant growth of our brands' off-premise business, contributed to the progress made during the quarter." By the end of June, 95% of restaurant locations were open and operational again, though some were using a delivery and take-out only model of service and others had reopened their dining rooms, depending on local conditions.
The company's financial position already looked solid a month ago, and today's press release confirms this. Joyce remarked on its "strong liquidity with approximately $342 million of cash, of which $279 million is unrestricted cash." Though the company's $109.7 million in revenue represents a 51.9% drop year over year, it still beat analyst estimates by roughly $10 million. The adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of negative 0.87% also surpassed consensus predictions, in this case by $0.06.
