DENVER, CO – Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has announced its Q4 2014 results. Though the fast casual chain saw a revenue increase of 26.7% to $1.07 billion, 35% of that total went to rising food costs due to avocado, dairy and meat price increases.
“We continue to make significant progress on our important journey to change the way people think about and eat fast food,” said Steve Ells, Chairman and Co-CEO of Chipotle. “Consumer trends are changing, which we believe is a great result of people becoming more discerning about where their food comes from, how it was raised, and how their meal was prepared.”
Other highlights from the report include:
- Restaurant level operating margin was 26.6%, an increase of 100 basis points
- Net income was $121.2 million, an increase of 52.3%
- Diluted earnings per share was $3.84, and increase of 51.8%
- Comparable restaurant sales increase of 16.1%
- 60 new restaurants, bringing the total to 1,783
Ells added, “The continued loyalty we see from our customers as well as third party research, and the growing number of concepts imitating Chipotle, all point to the relevance of our vision and the impact we are having on food culture. We are delighted to see that this vision, a very lofty goal, is becoming a reality.”
These gains, however, did not prove to be enough to meet Wall Street’s very high expectations. The company’s stock fell more than 5% in after hours trading yesterday, despite these high gains.
This could be due in part to the rising cost of foods. According to the financial release, food costs were 35% of revenue, an increase of 110 basis points due primarily to higher avocado, dairy and beef costs, partially offset by the benefit from the menu price increases.
CNBC reports that Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung said in a conference call that the chain is also considering increasing the prices of some of its entrees but still wants its prices to remain accessible.
“We don’t have any plans for across the board menu increases in 2015,” but the chain is considering a targeted price increase for steak and possibly its barbacoa product, Hartung added.
Even with this dip in stocks, Chipotle is going full steam ahead for 2015. The chain is expecting to open between 190 to 205 new restaurants and forecasts low to mid-single digit comparable restaurant sales increases.
