DineEquity Inc., the parent company of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP restaurants, announced financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.
Total sales at Applebee’s were $4.475 billion in 2013 compared to $4.234 billion in 2012. IHOP franchise restaurant sales in 2013 topped $2.55 billion vs. $2.43 billion the prior year, and sales for IHOP area license restaurants were $249.5 million in 2013 vs. $234.7 million in 2012.
Full-year domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales decreased 0.3 percent at Applebee's and increased 2.4 percent at IHOP. For the fourth quarter, Applebee's domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales decreased 0.7 percent compared to the same quarter of 2012, and IHOP's domestic system-wide same restaurant sales increased 4.5 percent over the same period in the prior year.
In the company’s statement, Julia A. Stewart, DineEquity chairman and CEO, states: "For DineEquity, 2013 marked the first full year as a 99 percent franchised company and a year of significant progress. IHOP achieved three consecutive quarters of increasingly positive same-restaurant sales and the highest annual increase since 2006. We are extremely proud of the results that the IHOP team and franchisees have achieved and hope to build on this success going forward. Applebee's continued to outperform its category, but we know that we can do better.”
Looking ahead to 2014, Applebee's domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales performance is expected to range between negative 2.0 percent and positive 1.0 percent, while IHOP's domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales performance is expected to range between positive 0.5 percent and positive 2.0 percent.
Applebee's franchisees are projected to develop between 40 and 50 new restaurants, the majority of which are expected to be opened in the U.S. Similarly, IHOP franchisees and its area licensees are projected to develop between 40 and 50 new restaurants, the majority of which are expected to be domestic openings. Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $10 million in fiscal 2014.
In 2013, Applebee’s opened 26 new franchise locations and closed 49 franchise locations, ending the year with a total of 2,011 units (1,988 franchise units and 23 company-owned units) vs. 2,034 units at the end of 2012.
IHOP had a total of 58 new openings in 2013 (54 franchise restaurants and 4 area license restaurants), and closed a total of 19 units (17 franchise restaurants and 2 area license restaurants), ending the year with 1,620 locations vs. 1,581 units in 2012. Of those 1,620 units, 1,439 are franchise restaurants, 168 are area license restaurants, and 13 are company-owned.
Based in Glendale, California, DineEquity franchises and operates more than 3,600 restaurants in 19 countries, making it one of the largest full-service restaurant companies in the world.
