NATHANS FAMOUS, INC. - Quarter Report: 2008 December (Form 10-Q)
FORM
10-Q
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
(Mark
One)
x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the
quarterly period ended December
28, 2008.
OR
¨
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT of 1934 |
For the
transition period from
to
.
Commission
file number 0-3189
NATHAN’S FAMOUS,
INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
11-3166443
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
|
incorporation or organization)
|
Identification
No.)
|
1400 Old Country Road,
Westbury, New York 11590
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(Zip
Code)
(516)
338-8500
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last
report)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One):
Large
accelerated filer ¨
|
Accelerated
filer x
|
Non-accelerated
filer ¨ (Do
not check if a smaller reporting company)
|
Smaller
reporting company ¨
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
At January 31, 2009, an
aggregate of 5,715,890 shares of the registrant's common stock, par value of
$.01 per share, were outstanding.
NATHAN'S
FAMOUS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
INDEX
Page
|
||
Number
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||
PART
I.
|
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
|
|
Item
1.
|
Financial
Statements
|
3
|
Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
|
||
Consolidated
Balance Sheets – December 28, 2008 (Unaudited) and
|
||
March
30, 2008
|
3
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Earnings (Unaudited) - Thirteen Weeks
|
||
Ended
December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
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4
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Earnings (Unaudited) - Thirty-nine weeks
|
||
Ended
December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
|
5
|
|
Consolidated
Statement of Stockholders’ Equity – Thirty-nine weeks
|
||
Ended
December 28, 2008 (Unaudited)
|
6
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) – Thirty-nine weeks
|
||
Ended
December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
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7
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
8
|
|
Item
2.
|
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial
|
|
Condition
and Results of Operations
|
17
|
|
Item
3.
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Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
26
|
Item
4.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
27
|
PART
II.
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
|
Item
1.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
28
|
Item
1A.
|
Risk
Factors
|
28
|
Item
2.
|
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
|
31
|
Item
6.
|
Exhibits
|
32
|
SIGNATURES
|
33
|
|
Exhibit
Index
|
34
|
-2-
PART
I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Financial Statements.
Nathan’s
Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
December
28, 2008 and March 30, 2008
(in
thousands, except share amounts)
December 28,
2008
|
March 30,
2008 |
|||||||
(Unaudited)
|
||||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT
ASSETS
|
||||||||
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
$ | 7,535 | $ | 14,371 | ||||
Marketable
securities
|
27,003 | 20,950 | ||||||
Accounts and other receivables,
net
|
5,108 | 3,830 | ||||||
Note receivable
|
284 | 606 | ||||||
Inventories
|
592 | 822 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets
|
954 | 1,493 | ||||||
Deferred income
taxes
|
697 | 697 | ||||||
Current assets held for
sale
|
- | 13 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
42,173 | 42,782 | ||||||
Note receivable
|
1,540 | 1,305 | ||||||
Property and equipment,
net
|
4,244 | 4,428 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
95 | 95 | ||||||
Intangible assets,
net
|
1,353 | 1,353 | ||||||
Deferred income
taxes
|
613 | 436 | ||||||
Other assets, net
|
150 | 150 | ||||||
Non-current assets held for
sale
|
- | 653 | ||||||
$ | 50,168 | $ | 51,202 | |||||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT
LIABILITIES
|
||||||||
Accounts payable
|
$ | 1,955 | $ | 2,805 | ||||
Accrued expenses and other current
liabilities
|
4,937 | 4,014 | ||||||
Deferred franchise
fees
|
211 | 284 | ||||||
Current liabilities held for
sale
|
- | 29 | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
7,103 | 7,132 | ||||||
Other liabilities
|
1,142 | 1,137 | ||||||
Non-current liabilities held for
sale
|
- | 325 | ||||||
Total
liabilities
|
8,245 | 8,594 | ||||||
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES (Note J)
|
||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
|
||||||||
Common stock, $.01 par value;
30,000,000 shares authorized; 8,305,683 and 8,180,683
shares issued; and 5,715,890 and 6,180,683 shares outstanding
at December 28, 2008 and March 30, 2008, respectively
|
83 | 82 | ||||||
Additional paid-in
capital
|
48,938 | 47,704 | ||||||
Deferred
compensation
|
(9 | ) | (63 | ) | ||||
Retained earnings
|
10,284 | 3,746 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive
income
|
156 | 225 | ||||||
59,452 | 51,694 | |||||||
Treasury
stock, at cost, 2,589,793 and 2,000,000
shares at December 28, 2008 and
March 30, 2008, respectively.
|
(17,529 | ) | (9,086 | ) | ||||
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
41,923 | 42,608 | ||||||
$ | 50,168 | $ | 51,202 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
-3-
Nathan’s
Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
Thirteen
weeks ended December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
(in
thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
December 28,
2008
|
December 23,
2007
|
|||||||
REVENUES
|
||||||||
Sales
|
$ | 7,949 | $ | 7,775 | ||||
Franchise fees and
royalties
|
1,188 | 1,232 | ||||||
License royalties
|
1,182 | 942 | ||||||
Interest income
|
288 | 287 | ||||||
Other income
|
13 | 5 | ||||||
Total
revenues
|
10,620 | 10,241 | ||||||
COSTS
AND EXPENSES
|
||||||||
Cost of sales
|
6,297 | 5,883 | ||||||
Restaurant operating
expenses
|
710 | 715 | ||||||
Depreciation and
amortization
|
210 | 190 | ||||||
General and administrative
expenses
|
2,135 | 2,167 | ||||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
9,352 | 8,955 | ||||||
Income
from continuing operations before provision for income
taxes
|
1,268 | 1,286 | ||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
411 | 424 | ||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
857 | 862 | ||||||
Income
from discontinued operations before provision for income
taxes
|
- | 26 | ||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
- | 11 | ||||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
- | 15 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 857 | $ | 877 | ||||
PER
SHARE INFORMATION
|
||||||||
Basic
income per share:
|
||||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
$ | .15 | $ | .14 | ||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
.00 | .00 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | .15 | $ | .14 | ||||
Diluted
income per share:
|
||||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
$ | .14 | $ | .14 | ||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
.00 | .00 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | .14 | $ | .14 | ||||
Weighted
average shares used in computing income per share:
|
||||||||
Basic
|
5,756,000 | 6,092,000 | ||||||
Diluted
|
6,022,000 | 6,492,000 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
-4-
Nathan’s
Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
Thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
(in
thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
December 28,
2008 |
December 23,
2007 |
|||||||
REVENUES
|
||||||||
Sales
|
$ | 30,383 | $ | 28,853 | ||||
Franchise fees and
royalties
|
3,531 | 3,838 | ||||||
License royalties
|
4,425 | 3,438 | ||||||
Interest income
|
810 | 811 | ||||||
Other income
|
38 | 61 | ||||||
Total
revenues
|
39,187 | 37,001 | ||||||
COSTS
AND EXPENSES
|
||||||||
Cost of sales
|
23,230 | 21,294 | ||||||
Restaurant operating
expenses
|
2,586 | 2,466 | ||||||
Depreciation and
amortization
|
608 | 564 | ||||||
General and administrative
expenses
|
6,829 | 6,380 | ||||||
Recovery
of property taxes
|
(441 | ) | - | |||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
32,812 | 30,704 | ||||||
Income
from continuing operations before provision for income
taxes
|
6,375 | 6,297 | ||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
2,304 | 2,270 | ||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
4,071 | 4,027 | ||||||
Income
from discontinued operations before provision for income
taxes
|
3,914 | 2,791 | ||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
1,447 | 1,015 | ||||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
2,467 | 1,776 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 6,538 | $ | 5,803 | ||||
PER
SHARE INFORMATION
|
||||||||
Basic
income per share:
|
||||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
$ | .68 | $ | .67 | ||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
.42 | .29 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 1.10 | $ | .96 | ||||
Diluted
income per share:
|
||||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
$ | .65 | $ | .62 | ||||
Income
from discontinued operations
|
.39 | .27 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 1.04 | $ | .89 | ||||
Weighted
average shares used in computing income per share:
|
||||||||
Basic
|
5,968,000 | 6,076,000 | ||||||
Diluted
|
6,268,000 | 6,518,000 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
-5-
Nathan’s
Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008
(in
thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional
|
Other
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
|
Common
|
Paid-in
|
Deferred
|
Retained
|
Comprehensive
|
Treasury Stock, at Cost
|
Stockholders’
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Stock
|
Capital
|
Compensation
|
Earnings
|
Income
(Loss)
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Equity
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
March 30, 2008
|
8,180,683 | $ | 82 | $ | 47,704 | $ | (63 | ) | $ | 3,746 | $ | 225 | 2,000,000 | $ | (9,086 | ) | $ | 42,608 | ||||||||||||||||||
Shares
issued in connection with the exercise of employee stock
options
|
125,000 | 1 | 411 | - | - | - | - | - | 412 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income
tax benefit on stock option exercises
|
- | - | 502 | - | - | - | - | - | 502 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based
compensation
|
- | - | 321 | - | - | - | - | - | 321 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repurchase
of common stock
|
- | - | - | - | - | - | 589,793 | (8,443 | ) | (8,443 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization
of deferred compensation relating to restricted stock
|
- | - | - | 54 | - | - | - | - | 54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized
losses on marketable securities, net of deferred income tax benefit of
$(49)
|
- | - | - | - | - | (69 | ) | - | - | (69 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
- | - | - | - | 6,538 | - | - | - | 6,538 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 28, 2008
|
8,305,683 | $ | 83 | $ | 48,938 | $ | (9 | ) | $ | 10,284 | $ | 156 | 2,589,793 | $ | (17,529 | ) | $ | 41,923 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
-6-
Nathan’s
Famous, Inc. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007
(in
thousands)
(Unaudited)
December 28,
2008
|
December 23,
2007
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Net income
|
$ | 6,538 | $ | 5,803 | ||||
Adjustments to reconcile net
income to net cash provided by operating activities
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
608 | 567 | ||||||
Amortization
of intangible assets
|
3 | 69 | ||||||
Gains
on disposals of subsidiaries and leasehold interest
|
(3,906 | ) | (2,489 | ) | ||||
Provision
for doubtful accounts
|
151 | - | ||||||
Amortization
of bond premium
|
189 | 218 | ||||||
Amortization
of deferred compensation
|
54 | 54 | ||||||
Share-based
compensation expense
|
321 | 251 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
(129 | ) | (24 | ) | ||||
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable and other receivables, net
|
(1,427 | ) | (640 | ) | ||||
Inventories
|
235 | (8 | ) | |||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
539 | (46 | ) | |||||
Other
assets
|
- | (1 | ) | |||||
Accounts
payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities
|
63 | (829 | ) | |||||
Deferred
franchise fees
|
(73 | ) | (83 | ) | ||||
Other
liabilities
|
8 | 557 | ||||||
Net cash provided by operating
activities
|
3,174 | 3,399 | ||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||
Proceeds from sale of
available-for-sale securities
|
500 | 800 | ||||||
Purchase
of available-for-sale securities
|
(6,860 | ) | (1,089 | ) | ||||
Purchase
of property and equipment
|
(429 | ) | (763 | ) | ||||
Payments received on notes
receivable
|
337 | 95 | ||||||
Proceeds
from sales of subsidiary and leasehold interest
|
3,961 | 1,691 | ||||||
Net cash (used in) provided by
investing activities
|
(2,491 | ) | 734 | |||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||
Repurchase
of common stock
|
(8,443 | ) | (1,928 | ) | ||||
Proceeds
from the exercise of stock options
|
412 | 591 | ||||||
Income
tax benefit on stock option exercises
|
502 | 415 | ||||||
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
(7,529 | ) | (922 | ) | ||||
Net
(decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
(6,846 | ) | 3,211 | |||||
Cash
and cash equivalents, beginning of period
|
14,381 | 6,932 | ||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents, end of period
|
$ | 7,535 | $ | 10,143 | ||||
Cash
paid during the period for:
|
||||||||
Interest
|
$ | - | $ | - | ||||
Income taxes
|
$ | 2,063 | $ | 2,539 | ||||
Noncash
Financing Activities:
|
||||||||
Loan
made in connection with the sale of subsidiary
|
$ | 250 | $ | 2,150 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these statements.
-7-
NATHAN'S
FAMOUS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December
28, 2008
(Unaudited)
NOTE
A - BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements of Nathan's Famous, Inc. and
subsidiaries (collectively “Nathan’s”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) as of
and for the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended December 28, 2008 and
December 23, 2007, have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America. The unaudited
financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring
adjustments) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair
presentation of financial condition, results of operations and cash flows for
the periods presented. However, these results are not necessarily
indicative of results for any other interim period or the full fiscal
year.
Certain
information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America have been omitted pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Management believes that the disclosures
included in the accompanying interim financial statements and footnotes are
adequate to make the information not misleading, but should be read in
conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto
included in Nathan’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March
30, 2008.
A summary
of the Company’s significant accounting policies is identified in Note B of the
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s 2008 Annual
Report on Form 10-K. There have been no changes to the Company’s significant
accounting policies subsequent to March 30, 2008, except as disclosed
in Note C.
On April
23, 2008, Nathan’s completed the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, NF
Roasters Corp. and on June 7, 2007, Nathan’s completed the sale of its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Miami Subs Corporation (See Note D).
NOTE B -
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS –NOT YET ADOPTED
In
December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) SFAS No. 141 (revised
2007), “Business Combinations” (“SFAS No. 141R”),
which establishes principles and requirements for how an acquirer recognizes and
measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the
liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in an acquiree, including
the recognition and measurement of goodwill acquired in a business combination.
The requirements of SFAS No. 141R are effective for fiscal years beginning on or
after December 15, 2008, which for us is fiscal 2010. Earlier adoption is
prohibited. We are currently evaluating the impact of SFAS No. 141R
on our consolidated financial position and results of operations.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements — an amendment of ARB No. 51” (“SFAS No.
160”). SFAS No. 160 amends ARB No. 51 to establish accounting and reporting
standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the
deconsolidation of a subsidiary. It clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in
a subsidiary, which is sometimes referred to as minority interest, is an
ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as equity
in the consolidated financial statements. Among other requirements, this
statement requires consolidated net income to be reported at amounts that
include the amounts attributable to both the parent and the noncontrolling
interest. It also requires disclosure, on the face of the consolidated income
statement, of the amounts of consolidated net income attributable to the parent
and to the noncontrolling interest. SFAS No. 160 is effective for fiscal years
and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning on or after
December 15, 2008, which for us is the first quarter of fiscal 2010.
Earlier adoption is prohibited. Based upon Nathan’s current organization
structure, we do not expect the implementation of SFAS No. 160 to have any
impact on our consolidated financial position and results of
operations.
In
April 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position No. 142-3 (“FSP No. 142-3”),
“Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets”, which amends the
factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions
used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS
No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets”. FSP No. 142-3 is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008, which for us is
the first quarter of fiscal 2010. We do not expect the adoption of
FSP No. 142-3 to have a material effect on our consolidated financial position
and results of operations.
In June
2008, the FASB ratified Emerging Issues Task Force 08-3 (“EITF 08-3”),
“Accounting by Lessees for Maintenance Deposits”, which provides guidance for
accounting for maintenance deposits paid by a lessee to a
lessor. EITF 08-3 is effective for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2008, which for us is the first quarter of fiscal
2010. We do not expect the adoption of EITF 08-3 to have a
significant impact on our consolidated financial position and results of
operations.
-8-
NOTE C –
ADOPTION OF ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS No. 157”), to
eliminate the diversity in practice that existed due to the different
definitions of fair value. SFAS No. 157 retained the exchange price notion in
earlier definitions of fair value, but clarified that the exchange price is the
price in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell an asset or
liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or
liability. SFAS No. 157 stated that the transaction is hypothetical at the
measurement date, considered from the perspective of the market participant who
holds the asset or liability. As such, fair value is defined as the price that
would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly
transaction between market participants at the measurement date (an exit price),
as opposed to the price that would be paid to acquire the asset or received to
assume the liability at the measurement date (an entry price). SFAS No. 157
also established a three-level hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize
the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when
measuring fair value.
In
February 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position No. 157-2, “Effective Date of
FASB Statement No. 157”, which delayed the
effective date of SFAS No. 157 for all non-financial assets and
non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized or disclosed at
fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least
annually). Nathan’s adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 157 on March
31, 2008 and elected the deferral option for non-financial assets and
liabilities. The effect on our consolidated financial position and results of
operations of adopting this standard was not significant.
In
October 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position No. 157-3, “Determining the
Fair Value of a Financial Asset When the Market for That Asset Is Not Active”
(“FSP No. 157-3”). FSP No. 157-3 applies to financial assets within
the scope of accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value
measurements in accordance with SFAS No. 157. FSP No. 157-3 clarifies
the application of SFAS No. 157 in a market that is not active and provides an
example to illustrate key conditions in determining the fair value of a
financial asset when the market for that financial asset is not
active. FSP No. 157-3 became effective upon issuance, including prior
periods for which financial statements have not been issued. Nathan’s
adopted the provisions of FSP No. 157-3 effective September 28, 2008. The effect
on our consolidated financial position and results of operations of adopting
this standard was not significant.
The
valuation hierarchy established by SFAS No. 157 is based upon the transparency
of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability on the measurement date. The
three levels are defined as follows:
· Level 1 - inputs to
the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for an identical asset
or liability in an active market
· Level 2 -
inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for a similar asset or
liability in an active market or model-derived valuations in which all
significant inputs are observable for substantially the full term of the asset
or liability
· Level 3 -
inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair
value measurement of the asset or liability
The
following table presents assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a
recurring basis as of December 28, 2008 by SFAS No. 157 valuation hierarchy: (in
thousands)
Carrying
|
||||||||||||||||
Level 1
|
Level 2
|
Level 3
|
Value
|
|||||||||||||
Marketable
securities
|
$ | - | $ | 27,003 | $ | - | $ | 27,003 | ||||||||
Total
assets at fair value
|
$ | - | $ | 27,003 | $ | - | $ | 27,003 |
Nathan’s
marketable securities, which primarily represent municipal bonds, are not
actively traded. The valuation of such bonds is based upon quoted
market prices for similar bonds currently trading in an active
market.
The
carrying amounts of cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable
approximate fair value due to the short-term maturity of the
instruments. The carrying amount of the note receivable approximates
fair value as determined using level three inputs as the current interest rate
on such instrument approximates current market interest rates on similar
instruments.
In
February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for
Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities — Including an amendment of FASB
Statement No. 115” (“SFAS No. 159”). This standard amends SFAS No.
115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities,” with
respect to accounting for a transfer to the trading category for all entities
with available-for-sale and trading securities electing the fair value option.
SFAS No. 159 allows companies to elect fair value accounting for many financial
instruments and other items that currently are not required to be accounted for
as such, allows different applications for electing the option for a single item
or groups of items, and requires disclosures to facilitate comparisons of
similar assets and liabilities that are accounted for differently in relation to
the fair value option. Nathan’s adopted the provisions of SFAS No.
159 on March 31, 2008. The adoption of SFAS No. 159 had no impact on our
consolidated financial position and results of operations as Nathan’s did not
elect the fair value option to report its financial assets and liabilities at
fair value and elected to continue the treatment of its marketable securities as
available-for-sale securities with unrealized gains and losses recorded in
accumulated other comprehensive income.
-9-
In May
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 162, “The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles” (“SFAS No. 162”). SFAS No. 162 identifies the sources of
accounting principles and the framework for selecting the principles to be used
in the preparation of financial statements of nongovernmental entities that are
presented in conformity with GAAP. SFAS No. 162 became effective on
November 15, 2008. We adopted SFAS No. 162 during our fiscal quarter
ended December 28, 2008. Our adoption of SFAS No. 162 did not have
any effect on our consolidated financial position and results of
operations.
NOTE D –
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
The
Company follows the provisions of SFAS No. 144, "Accounting for the Impairment
or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets" ("SFAS No. 144"), related to the accounting
and reporting for components of a business to be disposed of. In
accordance with SFAS No. 144, the definition of discontinued operations includes
components of an entity whose cash flows are clearly identifiable. SFAS No. 144
requires the Company to classify as discontinued operations any restaurant,
property or business outlet that Nathan’s sells, abandons or otherwise disposes
of where the Company will have no further involvement in the operation of, or
cash flows from, such restaurant, property or business outlet
operations.
1.
|
Sale
of NF Roasters Corp.
|
On April 23, 2008, Nathan’s completed the
sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, NF Roasters Corp. (“NF Roasters”), the
franchisor of the Kenny Rogers Roasters concept, to Roasters Asia Pacific
(Cayman) Limited. Pursuant to the Stock
Purchase Agreement (“NFR Agreement”), Nathan’s sold all of the stock of NF
Roasters for $4,000,000 in cash.
In
connection with the NFR Agreement, Nathan’s and its previously owned subsidiary,
Miami Subs, may continue to sell Kenny Rogers products within the existing
restaurant systems without payment of royalties.
The
following is a summary of the assets and liabilities of NF Roasters, as of the
date of sale, that were sold:
Cash
|
$ | 8,000 | (A) | |
Accounts
receivable, net
|
1,000 | |||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
230,000 | |||
Intangible
assets, net
|
391,000 | |||
Other
assets
|
30,000 | |||
Total
assets sold
|
660,000 | |||
Accrued
expenses
|
27,000 | (B) | ||
Other
liabilities
|
328,000 | |||
Total
liabilities sold
|
355,000 | |||
Net
assets sold
|
$ | 305,000 |
(A)
|
–
Represents unexpended marketing
funds.
|
(B)
|
–
Includes unexpended marketing funds
of $8,000.
|
Nathan’s
has realized a gain on the sale of NF Roasters of $3,656,000 net of professional fees
of $39,000 and recorded income
taxes of $1,352,000 on the gain during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 28,
2008. Nathan’s has
determined that it will not have any significant cash flows or continuing
involvement in the ongoing operations of NF Roasters. Therefore, the results of
operations for NF Roasters, including the gain on disposal, have been presented
as discontinued operations for all periods presented. The accompanying balance
sheet for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2008, has been revised to reflect the
assets and liabilities of NF Roasters that were subsequently sold, as held for
sale as of that date.
2.
Sale of Miami Subs Corporation
On June
7, 2007, Nathan’s completed the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Miami Subs
Corporation (“Miami Subs”) to Miami Subs Capital Partners I, Inc. (“Purchaser”).
Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement (“MSC Agreement”), Nathan’s sold all of
the stock of Miami Subs in exchange for $3,250,000, consisting of $850,000 in
cash and the Purchaser’s promissory note in the principal amount of $2,400,000
(the “MSC Note”). The MSC Note bears interest at 8% per annum and is
secured by a lien on all of the assets of Miami Subs and by the personal
guarantees of two principals of the Purchaser. The Purchaser may also prepay the
MSC Note at any time. In the event the MSC Note was fully repaid within one year
of the sale, Nathan’s would have been required to reduce the amount due by
$250,000. Due to the ability to prepay the loan and reduce the amount due, the
recognition of $250,000 was initially deferred. The note was not prepaid within
the requisite timeframe and Nathan’s recognized the deferred amount of $250,000
as additional gain and recorded income taxes of $92,000 during the first quarter
ended June 29, 2008. Effective August 31, 2008, Nathan’s and Purchaser agreed to
extend the due date of the MSC Note from its initial four-year term until April
2014, to reduce the monthly payment and to settle certain claims under the MSC
Agreement. At that time, management evaluated the restructured MSC Note for
impairment by comparing the present value of the future cash flows on the MSC
Note to the current carrying value and determined that no impairment
existed. The current and long-term portions of the MSC Note have been
adjusted in the accompanying financial statements to reflect the terms of the
restructured MSC Note. In accordance with the MSC Agreement, Nathan’s
retained ownership of Miami Subs’ then-owned corporate office in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
-10-
The
following is a summary of the assets and liabilities of Miami Subs, as of the
date of sale, that were sold:
Cash
|
$ | 674,000 | (A) | |
Accounts
receivable, net
|
213,000 | |||
Notes
receivable, net
|
153,000 | |||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
119,000 | |||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
719,000 | |||
Property
and equipment, net
|
48,000 | |||
Intangible
assets, net
|
1,803,000 | |||
Other
assets, net
|
46,000 | |||
Total
assets sold
|
3,775,000 | |||
Accounts
payable
|
27,000 | |||
Accrued
expenses
|
1,373,000 | (A) | ||
Other
liabilities
|
395,000 | |||
Total
liabilities sold
|
1,795,000 | |||
Net
assets sold
|
$ | 1,980,000 |
(A) –
Includes unexpended marketing funds of $565,000.
In
connection with the MSC Agreement, the Purchaser may continue to sell Nathan’s
Famous and Arthur Treachers products within the existing restaurant system in
exchange for a royalty payment of $6,000 per month.
Nathan’s
initially realized a gain on the sale of Miami Subs of $983,000, net of
professional fees of $37,000, and recorded income taxes of $334,000 on the gain
during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007. Nathan’s also recognized
an additional gain of $250,000, or $158,000 net of tax, during the thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008, resulting from the contingent consideration which
was deferred at the time of sale. Nathan’s has determined that it will not have
any significant cash flows or continuing involvement in the ongoing operations
of Miami Subs. Therefore, the results of operations for Miami Subs, including
the gains on disposal, have been presented as discontinued operations for all
periods presented.
3.
Sale of Leasehold Interest
During
the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007, Nathan’s completed a Lease
Termination Agreement with respect to three leased properties in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, with its landlord, and CVS 3285 FL, L.L.C., (“CVS”) to sell
our leasehold interests to CVS for $2,000,000. As the properties were subject to
certain sublease and management agreements between Nathan’s and the then-current
occupants, Nathan’s made payments to, or forgave indebtedness of, the
then-current occupants of the properties and paid brokerage commissions of
$494,000 in the aggregate. Nathan’s made the property available to
CVS by May 29, 2007, and Nathan’s received the proceeds of the sale on June 5,
2007. Nathan’s recognized a gain of $1,506,000 and recorded income taxes of
$557,000 during the thirty-nine week period ended December 23, 2007. The results
of operations for these properties, including the gain on disposal, have been
included as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
The
following is a summary of all discontinued operations for the thirteen and
thirty-nine week periods ended December 28, 2008 and December 23,
2007:
Thirteen
weeks ended
December 28,
2008
|
Thirteen
weeks ended
December 23,
2007
|
Thirty-nine
weeks ended
December 28,
2008
|
Thirty-nine
weeks ended
December 23,
2007
|
|||||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
|||||||||||||
Revenues
(excluding gains from dispositions)
|
$ |
-
|
$ | 39 | $ | 10 | $ | 551 | ||||||||
Gain
from dispositions before income taxes
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | 3,906 | $ | 2,489 | ||||||||
Income
before income taxes
|
$ | - | $ | 26 | $ | 3,914 | $ | 2,791 |
-11-
NOTE E -
INCOME PER SHARE
Basic
income per common share is calculated by dividing income by the weighted-average
number of common shares outstanding and excludes any dilutive effect of stock
options or warrants. Diluted income per common share gives effect to all
potentially dilutive common shares that were outstanding during the period.
Dilutive common shares used in the computation of diluted income per common
share result from the assumed exercise of stock options and warrants, as
determined using the treasury stock method.
The
following chart provides a reconciliation of information used in calculating the
per share amounts for the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended December
28, 2008 and December 23, 2007, respectively.
Thirteen
weeks
Income
from
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income
from
|
Continuing Operations
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Continuing Operations
|
Number of Shares
|
Per Share
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
(in
thousands)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Basic EPS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basic
calculation
|
$ | 857 | $ | 862 | 5,756 | 6,092 | $ | 0.15 | $ | 0.14 | ||||||||||||||
Effect
of dilutive employee stock options and warrants
|
- | - | 266 | 400 | (0.01 | ) | (0.00 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Diluted EPS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Diluted
calculation
|
$ | 857 | $ | 862 | 6,022 | 6,492 | $ | 0.14 | $ | 0.14 |
Thirty-nine
weeks
Income
from
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Income
from
|
Continuing
Operations
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Continuing Operations
|
Number of Shares
|
Per Share
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
(in
thousands)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Basic EPS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basic
calculation
|
$ | 4,071 | $ | 4,027 | 5,968 | 6,076 | $ | 0.68 | $ | 0.67 | ||||||||||||||
Effect
of dilutive employee stock
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
options
and warrants
|
- | - | 300 | 442 | (0.03 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Diluted EPS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Diluted
calculation
|
$ | 4,071 | $ | 4,027 | 6,268 | 6,518 | $ | 0.65 | $ | 0.62 |
Options
to purchase 110,000 shares of common stock in the thirteen and thirty-nine week
periods ended December 28, 2008 were not included in the computation of diluted
EPS because the exercise prices exceeded the average market price of common
shares during the period.
Options
to purchase 110,000 and 37,000 shares of common stock in the thirteen and
thirty-nine week periods ended December 23, 2007, respectively, were not
included in the computation of diluted EPS because the exercise prices exceeded
the average market price of common shares during the period.
NOTE F –
INCOME TAXES
The
income tax provisions on continuing operations for the thirty-nine week periods
ended December 28, 2008 and December 23, 2007, reflect effective tax rates of
36.1% and 36.0%, respectively. Nathan’s expects its annual tax rate
for its current fiscal year ending March 2009 to be approximately 36.0% to
38.0%. The final annual tax rate cannot be determined until the end
of the fiscal year; therefore, the actual tax rate could differ from our current
estimates.
Nathan’s
adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes” (“FIN No. 48”) and FIN No. 48-1, “Definition of
Settlement in FASB Interpretation No. 48”, an amendment of FASB Interpretation
FIN No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” (“FIN No. 48-1”) on
March 26, 2007 which resulted in a $155,000 adjustment to increase tax
liabilities and decrease opening retained earnings in connection with a
cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle. The amount of
unrecognized tax benefits at December 28, 2008 was $478,000, all of
which, if recognized, would impact Nathan’s effective tax
rate. Nathan’s recognizes accrued interest and penalties associated
with unrecognized tax benefits as part of the income tax
provision. As of December 28, 2008, Nathan’s had $336,000 of accrued interest and
penalties in connection with unrecognized tax benefits.
-12-
During
September 2008, Nathan’s received notices from the Internal Revenue Service and
the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance that they would be
reviewing our income tax returns for the fiscal year ended March 2007 and the
fiscal years ended March 2005 through March 2007, respectively. There was no
material change in the amount of uncertain tax benefits recognized during the
thirty-nine week period ended December 28, 2008. It is possible that the amount
of unrecognized tax benefits could change in the next 12 months, however,
Nathan’s does not expect the change to have a significant impact on its results
of operations or financial position during the next 12 months.
NOTE G –
SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
Total
share-based compensation during the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended
December 28, 2008 was $125,000 and $375,000, respectively. Total share-based
compensation during the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended December 23,
2007 was $125,000 and $305,000, respectively. Total share-based compensation is
included within general and administrative expense in our accompanying
Consolidated Statements of Earnings. As of December 28, 2008, there was
$1,007,000 of
unamortized compensation expense related to stock options. We expect to
recognize this expense over approximately two years, nine months, which
represents the remaining requisite service periods for such awards.
There
were no share-based awards granted during the thirty-nine week period ended
December 28, 2008.
During
the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007, the Company granted 110,000 stock
options having an exercise price of $17.43 per share, all of which expire five
years from the date of grant. 60,000 of the options granted will be
vested as follows: 25% on the first anniversary of the grant, 50% on the second
anniversary of the grant, 75% on the third anniversary of the grant and 100% on
the fourth anniversary of the grant. 50,000 of the options granted
will be vested as follows: 33.3% on the first anniversary of the grant, 66.7% on
the second anniversary of the grant and 100% on the third anniversary of the
grant.
The
weighted-average option fair values, as determined using the Black-Scholes
option valuation model, and the assumptions used to estimate these values for
stock options granted during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007 are
as follows:
Thirty-nine
weeks ended
|
||||
December 23,
|
||||
2007
|
||||
Weighted-average
option fair values
|
$ | 5.8270 | ||
Expected
life (years)
|
4.25 | |||
Interest
rate
|
4.21 | % | ||
Volatility
|
32.93 | % | ||
Dividend
yield
|
0 | % |
Stock options
outstanding:
Transactions
with respect to stock options for the thirty-nine weeks ended December 28, 2008,
are as follows:
Weighted-
|
Weighted-
|
|||||||||||||||
Average
|
Average
|
Aggregate
|
||||||||||||||
Exercise
|
Remaining
|
Intrinsic
|
||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Price
|
Contractual Life
|
Value (A)
|
|||||||||||||
Options
outstanding at March 30, 2008
|
1,152,308 | $ | 6.54 | 3.67 | $ | 8,521,000 | ||||||||||
Granted
|
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
Expired
|
- | - | ||||||||||||||
Exercised
|
125,000 | 3.30 | - | - | ||||||||||||
Options
outstanding at December 28, 2008
|
1,027,308 | $ | 6.94 | 3.17 | $ | 6,327,220 | ||||||||||
Options
exercisable at December 28, 2008
|
830,475 | $ | 5.07 | 2.51 | $ | 6,327,220 |
(A)
Excludes options having an exercise price that exceeds the market
price.
The
aggregate intrinsic value of the stock options exercised during the
thirty-nine-week period ended December 28, 2008 was $1,275,000.
-13-
NOTE H –
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
On
September 14, 2001, Nathan’s was authorized to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares
of its common stock. Pursuant to this first stock repurchase program, we
repurchased 1,000,000 shares of common stock in open-market transactions and a
private transaction at a total cost of $3,670,000. On October 7, 2002, Nathan’s
was authorized to purchase up to 1,000,000 additional shares of its common
stock. Nathan’s concluded the second authorized stock repurchase program of
1,000,000 shares of common stock at a total cost of approximately $5,416,000. On
November 5, 2007, Nathan’s Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to
an additional 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. On June
11, 2008, Nathan’s and Mutual Securities, Inc. (“MSI”) entered into a 10b5-1
Agreement pursuant to which MSI was authorized to purchase shares of the
Company’s common stock having a value of up to an aggregate $6,000,000; the
purchases were completed during the quarter ended December 28,
2008. On November 25, 2008, Nathan’s concluded the third authorized
stock repurchase program of 500,000 shares of common stock at a cost of
approximately $7,312,000, including 404,629 shares at a cost of approximately
$6,000,000 completing the purchases made pursuant to the 10b5-1
Agreement.
On
November 13, 2008, Nathan’s was authorized to purchase up to an additional
500,000 shares of its common stock. There are 410,207 remaining
shares to be repurchased in order to complete Nathan’s fourth stock repurchase
plan. Nathan’s has cumulatively purchased 2,589,793 shares of its
common stock under all of its previously-announced stock repurchase plans at a
cost of approximately $17,529,000. Future purchases may be made from time to
time, depending on market conditions, in open market or privately-negotiated
transactions, at prices deemed appropriate by management. There is no
set time limit on the repurchases.
On
February 5, 2009, Nathan’s and MSI entered into another agreement (the “second
10b5-1 Agreement”) pursuant to which MSI has been authorized to purchase shares
of the Company’s common stock, having a value of up to an aggregate $3.6
million, which purchases may commence on March 16, 2009. Both the
first and second 10b5-1 Agreements were adopted under the safe harbor provided
by Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to assist the
Company in implementing its previously announced stock purchase plans, in
each case for the purchase of up to 500,000 shares. There is no
set time limit on the repurchases to be made under the fourth stock repurchase
plan. The second 10b5-1 Agreement shall terminate no later than March 15,
2010.
On June
4, 2008, Nathan’s approved the amendment of its then-existing shareholder rights
plan to accelerate the final expiration date of the common stock purchase rights
to June, 4, 2008, thereby terminating the then-existing rights, as well as the
adoption of a new stockholder rights plan (the “New Rights Plan”) under which
all stockholders of record as of June 5, 2008 received rights to purchase shares
of common stock (the “New Rights”). The New Rights Plan replaced and updated the
Company’s previously existing rights plan, which was in place since 1995, and
which was previously scheduled to expire on June 19, 2010.
The
New Rights were distributed as a dividend. Initially, the New Rights will attach
to, and trade with the Company’s common stock. Subject to the terms,
conditions and limitations of the New Rights Plan, the New Rights will become
exercisable if (among other things) a person or group acquires 15% or more of
the Company’s common stock. Upon such an event and payment of the purchase price
of $30 (the “New Right Purchase Price”), each New Right (except those held by
the acquiring person or group) will entitle the holder to acquire one share of
the Company’s common stock (or the economic equivalent thereof) or, if the
then-current market price is less than the New Right Purchase Price, a number of
shares of the Company’s common stock which at the time of the transaction has a
market value equal to the New Right Purchase Price. The Company’s Board of
Directors may redeem the New Rights prior to the time they are triggered. At
December 28, 2008, the Company has reserved 16,674,111 shares of common stock
for issuance upon exercise of the New Rights.
NOTE I -
COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
The
components of comprehensive income are as follows:
Thirteen
weeks ended
December 28,
2008
|
Thirteen
weeks ended
December 23,
2007
|
Thirty-nine
weeks ended
December 28,
2008
|
Thirty-nine
weeks ended
December 23,
2007
|
|||||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
(in thousands)
|
|||||||||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 857 | $ | 877 | $ | 6,538 | $ | 5,803 | ||||||||
Unrealized
gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax
provision (benefit) of $134, $71, ($49) and $115,
respectively
|
200 | 106 | (69 | ) | 170 | |||||||||||
Comprehensive
income
|
$ | 1,057 | $ | 983 | $ | 6,469 | $ | 5,973 |
-14-
Accumulated
other comprehensive income at December 28, 2008 and March 30, 2008 consists
entirely of unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities, net of
deferred taxes.
NOTE J -
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
1.
|
Commitments
|
In
January 2008, the Company entered into a commitment to purchase 1,785,000 pounds
of hot dogs for $2,740,000 from its primary hot dog manufacturer between April
through August 2008. As of December 28, 2008, Nathan’s fulfilled its entire
commitment yielding savings of approximately $462,000 as compared to the
then-current market prices during the thirty-nine week period ended December 28,
2008. In January 2009, the Company entered into another commitment to
purchase 2,700,000 pounds of hot dogs at a cost not to exceed
$4,610,000. Nathan’s may enter into new commitments to purchase hot
dogs in the future, based upon market conditions.
2. Contingencies
The
Company and its subsidiaries are from time to time involved in ordinary and
routine litigation. Management presently believes that the ultimate
outcome of these proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, cash flows or
results of operations. Nevertheless, litigation is subject to
inherent uncertainties and unfavorable rulings could occur. An
unfavorable ruling could include money damages and, in such event, could result
in a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations for the
period in which the ruling occurs.
The
Company is also involved in the following legal proceedings:
On
March 20, 2007, a personal injury lawsuit was initiated seeking unspecified
damages against the Company's subtenant and the Company's master
landlord at a leased property in Huntington, New York. The claim relates
to damages suffered by an individual as a result of an alleged "trip and fall"
on the sidewalk in front of the leased property, maintenance of which is the
subtenant's responsibility. Although the Company was not named as a
defendant in the lawsuit, under its master lease agreement the Company may have
an obligation to indemnify the master landlord in connection with this
claim. The Company did not maintain its own insurance on the property
concerned at the time of the incident; however, the Company is named as an
additional insured under its subtenant's liability policy.
Accordingly, if the master landlord is found liable for damages and seeks
indemnity from the Company, the Company believes that it would be entitled to
coverage under the subtenant's insurance policy. Additionally, under
the terms of the sublease, the subtenant is required to indemnify the
Company, regardless of insurance coverage.
The
Company is party to a License Agreement with SMG, Inc. ("SMG") dated as of
February 28, 1994, as amended (the "License Agreement") pursuant to which: (i)
SMG acts as the Company's exclusive licensee for the manufacture, distribution,
marketing and sale of packaged Nathan's Famous frankfurter product at
supermarkets, club stores and other retail outlets in the United States; and
(ii) the Company has the right, but not the obligation, to require SMG to
produce frankfurters for the Company's Nathan's Famous restaurant system and
Branded Product Program. On July 31, 2007, the Company provided
notice to SMG that the Company has elected to terminate the License Agreement,
effective July 31, 2008, due to SMG's breach of certain provisions of the
License Agreement. SMG has disputed that a breach has occurred and has
commenced, together with certain of its affiliates, an action in state court in
Illinois seeking, among other things, a declaratory judgment that SMG did not
breach the License Agreement. The Company filed its own action on August 2,
2007, in New York State court seeking a declaratory judgment that SMG has
breached the License Agreement and that the Company has properly terminated the
License Agreement. On January 23, 2008, the New York court granted SMG’s motion
to dismiss the Company’s case in New York on the basis that the dispute was
already the subject of a pending lawsuit in Illinois. The
Company has answered SMG's complaint and asserted its own counterclaims which
seek, among other things, a declaratory judgment that SMG did breach the License
Agreement and that the Company has properly terminated the License
Agreement. On July 31, 2008, SMG and Nathan’s entered into a
stipulation pursuant to which Nathan’s agreed that it would not effectuate the
termination of the License Agreement on the grounds alleged in the present
litigation until such litigation has been successfully adjudicated, and SMG
agreed that in such event, Nathan’s shall have the option to require SMG to
continue to perform under the License Agreement for an additional period of up
to six months to ensure an orderly transition of the business to a new
licensee/supplier. The parties are currently proceeding with the
discovery process.
3.
Guarantee
At
the time of the sale of Miami Subs, a severance agreement, previously entered
into between Miami Subs and one executive of Miami Subs, remained in force along
with the guaranty by Nathan’s of Miami Subs’ obligations under that
agreement. The agreement provided for a severance payment of $115,000
payable in six (6) monthly installments and payment for post-employment health
benefits for the employee and dependants for the maximum period permitted under
Federal Law. The executive terminated his employment with Miami Subs,
effective October 5, 2007 and agreed to receive his severance payment over a
56-week period. Nathan’s had the right to seek reimbursement from
Miami Subs in the event that Nathan’s must make payments under the guarantee of
the agreement. Nathan’s initially recorded a liability of $115,000 at
the date of sale in connection with this guarantee. The severance obligation was
fully satisfied by Miami Subs during the thirteen weeks ended December 28, 2008.
Nathan’s was not required to make any payments under this
guarantee.
-15-
NOTE K
- SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
1.
|
License
Agreement
|
Effective
January 1, 2009, Nathan’s entered into a License Agreement for the rental of its
seasonal location in Coney Island, New York. The term of the agreement expires
on December 31, 2009 and is subject to minimum and percentage
rents.
2.
|
Commitment to
purchase
|
In
January 2009, Nathan’s entered into a commitment to purchase 2,700,000 pounds of
hot dogs at a cost not to exceed $4,610,000 from its primary manufacturer.
Nathan’s expects to order this product between April and August 2009. The hot
dogs to be purchased represent approximately 54% of Nathan’s estimated usage
during the period.
3.
|
Sub-lease
of property
|
Effective
January 26, 2009, Nathan’s entered into a Franchise Agreement and a Sub-lease
Agreement with a franchisee for its Company-owned restaurant in Farmingdale, New
York. The term of the Sub-lease Agreement expires on April 30, 2018
and is subject to certain early termination provisions. As Nathan’s expects to
have a continuing stream of cash flows from this restaurant, the results of
operations are expected to be included as a component of continuing
operations in the future.
4. Other
On
February 5, 2009, Nathan’s and Mutual Securities, Inc. (“MSI”) entered into an
agreement (the “second 10b5-1 Agreement”) pursuant to which MSI has been
authorized to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, having a value of
up to an aggregate $3.6 million, which purchases may commence on March 16,
2009. The second 10b5-1 Agreement was adopted under the safe
harbor provided by Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order
to assist the Company in implementing a previously announced stock purchase plan
for the purchase of up to 500,000 shares. The second 10b5-1 Agreement
shall terminate no later than March 15, 2010. There is no set time
limit on the repurchase plan.
-16-
Item
2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations.
Forward-Looking
Statements
Statements
in this Form 10-Q quarterly report may be “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that
express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any
other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or
conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by
management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
These risks and uncertainties, many of which are not within our control, include
but are not limited to: the adverse effect that increasing commodity costs has
on our profitability and operating results; the pending litigation with the
primary supplier of hot dogs to our Branded Product Program may result in a
disruption in that supply or increased costs, which would adversely effect our
operating results; current economic conditions could result in decreased
consumer spending on discretionary products, such as fast food; as well as those
risks discussed in this Form 10-Q, in the Company’s Form 10-K annual report for
the year ended March 30, 2008, and in other documents which we file from time to
time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Therefore, actual outcomes and
results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the
forward-looking statements. We generally identify forward-looking statements
with the words “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,”
“will,” “should” and similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date on which they are made, and we do not undertake any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this Form 10-Q.
Introduction
As
used in this Report, the terms “we”, “us”, “our”, “Nathan’s” or “the Company”
mean Nathan’s Famous, Inc. and its subsidiaries (unless the context indicates a
different meaning).
Our
revenues are generated primarily from selling products under Nathan’s Branded
Product Program, operating Company-owned restaurants, franchising the Nathan’s
restaurant concept, including the Arthur Treacher’s brand, and licensing the
sale of Nathan’s products within supermarkets and other retail
venues. The Branded Product Program enables foodservice operators to
offer Nathan’s hot dogs and other proprietary items for sale within their
facilities. In conjunction with this program, foodservice operators
are granted a limited use of the Nathan’s trademark with respect to the sale of
hot dogs and certain other proprietary food items and paper goods.
During
the fiscal year ended March 25, 2007, we established a new franchising program,
to offer limited-menu "Nathan's Famous" ("limited-menu franchise outlets")
products to be included into new or existing food service
establishments. We began to market limited-menu franchise outlets
during the fiscal year ended March 30, 2008. Pursuant to this program, operators
are permitted to make limited use of the "Nathan's Famous" trade dress,
trademarks and design for the purpose of adding "Nathan's Famous" hot
dogs, crinkle-cut French fries and a limited number of other approved "Nathan's
Famous" menu items to the menu of a new or existing food service
establishment. The location of the new or existing food service
establishment, the specific manner in which the limited-menu franchise outlet is
incorporated into the operation of the food service establishment and the
specific use of our trade dress, trademarks and design are all subject to our
prior written approval and must meet our specifications. The initial
fee for a limited-menu franchise outlet is $7,500. Operators
participating in this program are not required to pay any royalties on their
sale of "Nathan's Famous" products, or make any contributions to the “Nathan’s
Famous” advertising fund; however, substantially all products offered through
the limited-menu franchise outlet must be purchased through a distributor
approved by us, and we will make a profit on all such sales. In
certain instances, Nathan’s may pay a fee to the sponsoring organization in
exchange for their operational assistance or for marketing support.
On April
23, 2008, Nathan’s completed the sale of its subsidiary, NF Roasters Corp.
(“Roasters”). Nathan’s previously concluded the sale of its subsidiary, Miami
Subs Corporation (“Miami Subs”) on June 7, 2007. The following discussion of
continuing operations excludes all of the Roasters and Miami Subs operations,
which were not retained by us. Nathan’s has determined that it will not have any
significant cash flows or continuing involvement in the ongoing operations of
Roasters or Miami Subs and accordingly, has reflected such results in
discontinued operations. See Note D to the Consolidated Financial Statements
contained in Item 1 for a description of the terms of such sales.
In
order to help the reader better understand Nathan’s continuing operations,
certain non-financial information, which was previously reported on a combined
basis, has also been included in this Management Discussion and Analysis. At
December 28, 2008, our restaurant system consisted of 244 Nathan’s franchised
or licensed outlets, including 54 limited-menu franchise outlets and six
Company-owned outlets (including one seasonal outlet), located in 25 states and
four foreign countries. At December 23, 2007, our restaurant system consisted of
220 Nathan’s franchised or licensed
outlets including 23 limited-menu franchise outlets and six Company-owned
outlets (including one seasonal outlet), located in 23 states and four foreign
countries. The Roasters restaurant system included approximately 97 outlets
operating in eight foreign countries and one outlet operating in the United
States at December 23, 2007.
-17-
The
following summary reflects the franchise openings and closings, excluding the
Roasters franchise system which was sold on April 23, 2008, for the fiscal years
ended March 30, 2008, March 25, 2007, March 26, 2006, March 27, 2005 and March
28, 2004.
March
30,
2008
|
March
25,
2007
|
March
26,
2006
|
March
27,
2005
|
March
28,
2004
|
||||||||||||||||
Franchised
restaurants operating at the beginning of the period
|
196 | 192 | 174 | 147 | 140 | |||||||||||||||
New
franchised restaurants opened during the period
|
46 | 21 | (A) | 27 | 36 | 21 | ||||||||||||||
Franchised
restaurants closed during the period
|
(18 | ) | (17 | ) | ( 9 | ) | ( 9 | ) | (14 | ) | ||||||||||
Franchised
restaurants operating at the end of the period
|
224 | 196 | 192 | 174 | 147 |
(A)
Includes the opening of two test limited-menu franchise outlets.
Impact
of Economic Environment on Nathan’s Results of Operations
During
the quarter ended December 28, 2008, Nathan’s experienced a sales decline at
both our Company-owned and franchised restaurants which we believe is
due to the effects of the slowing economy. Sales at our Company-owned
restaurants declined by 6.5% when compared to the same period a year ago,
approximately two-thirds of which decline occurred during the four
weeks ended October 26, 2008. Sales at our comparable franchised restaurant
locations declined 8.3% compared to the prior years’ comparable fiscal quarter.
Throughout the quarter, the decline in sales at franchised restaurants was
concentrated within our travel, entertainment, retail and venues, such as
airports, casinos and shopping malls.
Nathan’s
has also experienced some slow-down in collections of accounts receivable during
the second and third quarters ended September 28, 2008 and December 28, 2008,
respectively, as further described within the following results of operations.
We were notified of five bankruptcy filings and that a certain existing
franchisee and a potential new franchisee have been unable to secure funding due
to the slowing economy and related credit crisis.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
As
discussed in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2008, the
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are
based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. The preparation of these financial statements require us to
make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets,
liabilities, revenues and expenses reported in those financial statements. These
judgments can be subjective and complex, and consequently, actual results could
differ from those estimates. Our most critical accounting policies and estimates
relate to revenue recognition; impairment of goodwill and other intangible
assets; impairment of long-lived assets; impairment of notes receivable;
share-based compensation and income taxes (including uncertain tax
positions). Since March 30, 2008, there have been no changes in our
critical accounting policies or significant changes to the assumptions and
estimates related to them, except for the accounting for fair value measurements
of financial assets and liabilities and related disclosures, which is discussed
in Note C to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1 of this Form
10-Q.
Adoption
of Accounting Pronouncements
See Note
C to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 1, for a complete
discussion of the impact of SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS No.
157”) and SFAS No. 159, “The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and
Financial Liabilities – Including an amendment of FASB Statement No. 115” (“SFAS
No. 159”), on the Company’s financial position and results of
operations.
Recently
Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted
See Note
B to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 1 for a discussion
of recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted.
-18-
Results
of Operations
Thirteen
weeks ended December 28, 2008 compared to thirteen weeks ended December 23,
2007
Revenues
from Continuing Operations
Total
sales increased by $174,000 or 2.2% to $7,949,000 for the thirteen weeks
ended December 28, 2008 (“third quarter fiscal 2009 period”) as compared to
$7,775,000 for the
thirteen weeks ended December 23, 2007 ("third quarter fiscal 2008
period"). Sales from the Branded Product Program increased by 9.4% to $5,284,000
for the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to sales of $4,831,000 in
the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. This increase was primarily attributable
to price increases of approximately 8.7%, partly offset by lower sales volume of
approximately 1.8%. Nathan’s performed reviews of its accrued rebates with two
of its distributors and reversed approximately $165,000 of estimated rebates in
connection with their sales programs and another $35,000 related to
forfeitures. Total Company-owned restaurant sales (representing five
comparable Nathan’s restaurants) decreased by $146,000 or 6.5% to $2,085,000 as
compared to $2,231,000 during the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. We believe
the sales decline was primarily due to the continuing effects of the slowing
economy and the erosion in consumer confidence. During the third quarter fiscal
2009 period, sales to our television retailer were approximately $133,000 lower
than the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. Nathan’s products were on
air 12 times during the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to 15 times
during the third quarter fiscal 2008 period.
Franchise
fees and royalties decreased by $44,000 or 3.6% to $1,188,000 in the third quarter
fiscal 2009 period compared to $1,232,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. Franchise restaurant sales were $22,286,000 in the third quarter fiscal
2009 period as compared to $23,214,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008 period.
Comparable domestic franchise sales (consisting of 133 Nathan’s restaurants,
excluding sales by the limited-menu franchise outlets) were $16,196,000 in the
third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to $17,663,000 in the third quarter
fiscal 2008 period. We believe that sales at our comparable franchised
restaurants this quarter have been negatively affected by the eroding economic
conditions and consumer confidence levels, primarily in our travel, retail and
entertainment venues, where sales declined by approximately 10% as compared to
the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. Total royalties were
$979,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to $1,022,000 in
the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. During the third quarter fiscal 2009
period, we did not recognize revenue of $46,000 for royalties deemed to be
uncollectible as compared to the third quarter fiscal 2008 period, when we did
not recognize revenue of $26,000 for royalties deemed to be uncollectible. Total
royalties, excluding the adjustments for royalties deemed uncollectible as
described above, were $1,025,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as
compared to $1,048,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. During the third quarter fiscal 2009 period, Nathan’s earned
$18,000 of higher royalties from our manufacturers and primary distributor on
sales to our limited-menu franchisees. At December 28, 2008,
254 domestic and
international franchised or limited-menu franchise outlets were operating as
compared to
220 domestic and
international franchised or limited-menu franchise outlets at December 23, 2007.
Royalty income from 15 franchised outlets was
deemed unrealizable during the thirteen weeks ended December 28, 2008, as
compared to four franchised outlets during the thirteen weeks ended December 23,
2007. Domestic franchise fee income was $199,000 in the third quarter fiscal
2009 period as compared to $161,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008 period due
to the type of franchises opened during the third quarter fiscal 2009 period
that generated higher fees. International franchise fee income was $10,000 in
the third quarter fiscal 2009 period, as compared to $49,000 during the third
quarter fiscal 2008 period. During the third quarter fiscal 2009 period, 13 new franchised outlets
opened, including nine limited-menu franchise outlets. During the third quarter
fiscal 2008 period, 14 new franchised outlets were opened including 10
limited-menu franchise outlets and one unit in the Dominican
Republic.
License
royalties increased by $240,000 or 25.5% to $1,182,000 in the third quarter
fiscal 2009 period as compared to $942,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. Total royalties earned on sales of hot dogs from our retail and
foodservice license agreements of $899,000 increased by $274,000 or 43.8% as a
result of higher licensee sales during the third quarter fiscal 2009
period. Royalties earned from our primary licensee, primarily from
the retail sale of hot dogs, were $601,000 during the third quarter fiscal 2009
period as compared to $546,000 during the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. Royalties earned from
another licensee, primarily from sales to Sam’s Club, were $298,000 during the
third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to $79,000 during the third quarter
fiscal 2008 period. Beginning March 2008, Nathan’s hot dogs were introduced into
over 500 of the foodservice cafes operating in Sam’s Clubs throughout the United
States. Net royalties from all other license agreements in the third quarter
fiscal 2009 period were $34,000 less than the third quarter fiscal 2008
period.
Interest
income was $288,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to
$287,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. The difference was primarily
due to lower interest earned on our MSC Note (as defined) receivable, received
in connection with the sale of Miami Subs on June 7, 2007. Interest income on
the MSC Note was $39,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to
$47,000 during the third quarter fiscal 2008 period, resulting primarily from
the ongoing repayments of the outstanding principal. Interest income
on our invested cash and marketable securities was approximately $9,000 more
than the third quarter fiscal 2008 period, due primarily to a shift of cash from
Treasury Bills into longer-term municipal securities during the third quarter
fiscal 2009.
Other
income was $13,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to $5,000
in the third quarter fiscal 2008 period.
-19-
Costs and Expenses from
Continuing Operations
Overall,
our cost of sales increased by $414,000 to $6,297,000 in the third quarter
fiscal 2009 period as compared to $5,883,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. Our gross profit (representing the difference between sales and cost of
sales) was $1,652,000 or 20.8% of sales during the third quarter fiscal 2009
period as compared to $1,892,000 or 24.3% of sales during the third quarter
fiscal 2008 period. In the Branded Product Program, our costs of sales increased
by approximately $586,000 during the third quarter fiscal 2009 period when
compared to the third quarter fiscal 2008 period, primarily as a result of
product cost increases of 21.5%. Throughout the third quarter fiscal
2009 period, the cost of beef and beef trimmings continuously declined from the
highs of the summer-time resulting in a decline of approximately 25% from the
prior fiscal period. However, during January 2009, the cost of beef and beef
trimmings have increased, causing our per pound beef costs to increase by
approximately 10% over December 2008. With respect to our six Company-owned
restaurant outlets, our cost of sales during the third quarter fiscal 2009
period was $1,451,000 or 69.6% of restaurant sales, as compared to $1,513,000 or
67.8% of restaurant sales in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. During the third quarter fiscal 2009 period, we experienced
higher labor and labor-related costs as a percentage of sales, due primarily to
the effect that lower sales had on our fixed labor components. Cost of sales to
our television retailer decreased by $110,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009
period primarily due to lower sales volume which was partly offset by our higher
cost of hot dogs.
Restaurant
operating expenses decreased by $5,000, to $710,000 in the third quarter fiscal
2009 period as compared to $715,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2008
period. The decrease during the third quarter
fiscal 2009 period when compared to the third quarter fiscal 2008 period
resulted primarily from lower maintenance costs of $16,000, lower marketing
costs of $15,000 and lower occupancy costs of $7,000, which were partly offset
by higher insurance costs of $24,000 and higher utility costs of
$7,000. Despite reductions in the commodity markets for oil and
natural gas over the past six months, we remain concerned over the uncertain
market conditions for oil and natural gas. We may continue to incur
high utility costs in the future.
Depreciation and amortization was
$210,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009 period as compared to $190,000 in the
third quarter fiscal 2008 period.
General
and administrative expenses were $2,135,000 in the third quarter fiscal 2009
period as compared to $2,167,000 in the third quarter
fiscal 2008 period. During the third quarter fiscal 2009 period,
Nathan’s incurred lower legal fees of $21,000 which fees were primarily
associated with Nathan’s litigation against SFG (see “Legal Proceedings” Part
II, Item 1 of this report). The actual amount and timing of future SFG
litigation costs is not presently determinable. Nathan’s incurred higher
professional fees of approximately $81,000 in connection with accounting and tax
preparation services, which were more than offset by various corporate cost
reductions.
Provision for Income Taxes
from Continuing Operations
In
the third quarter fiscal 2009 period, the income tax provision was $411,000 or
32.4% of income from continuing operations before income taxes as compared to
$424,000 or 33.0% of income from continuing operations before income taxes in
the third quarter fiscal 2008 period. For the thirteen weeks ended December 28,
2008 and December 23, 2007, Nathan’s tax provisions, excluding the effects of
tax-exempt interest income, were 40.3% and 40.5%, respectively.
Thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008 compared to thirty-nine weeks ended December 23,
2007
Revenues from Continuing
Operations
Total
sales increased by $1,530,000 or 5.3% to $30,383,000 for the thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008 (“fiscal 2009 period”) as compared to
$28,853,000 for the
thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007 ("fiscal 2008
period"). Sales from the Branded Product Program increased by 14.0% to $18,184,000
for the fiscal 2009 period as compared to sales of $15,955,000 in the fiscal
2008 period. This increase was primarily attributable to increased sales volume of
approximately 7.6% and of price increases of approximately 6.0%, which took
effect beginning July 2008. Nathan’s performed reviews of its accrued
rebates with two of its distributors and reversed approximately $165,000 of
estimated rebates in connection with their sales programs and another $35,000 of
forfeitures. Total Company-owned restaurant sales (representing five
comparable Nathan’s restaurants and one seasonal restaurant) were $10,625,000 as
compared to $10,798,000 during the fiscal 2008 period. The sales decline at our
Company-owned restaurants was concentrated during September and October 2008,
experiencing declines of 18.6% and 11.6% respectively, from the same months in
the fiscal 2008 period, which we believe was primarily due to the slowing
economy. During the fiscal 2009 period, sales to our television retailer were
approximately $526,000 lower than the fiscal 2008 period. Although Nathan’s
products were on air 55 times during the fiscal 2009 period as compared to 50
times during the fiscal 2008 period, last years’ airings included 15 “Try Me”
special promotions and two, half-hour food shows.
-20-
Franchise
fees and royalties decreased by $307,000 or 8.0% to $3,531,000 in the fiscal 2009
period compared to $3,838,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. Total royalties were
$3,072,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $3,211,000 in the fiscal
2008 period. During the fiscal 2009 period, we did not recognize revenue of
$144,000 for royalties deemed to be uncollectible as compared to the fiscal 2008
period, when we recognized $29,000 of royalty income that was previously deemed
to be uncollectible. Total royalties, excluding the adjustments for royalties
deemed uncollectible as described above, were $3,216,000 in the fiscal 2009
period as compared to $3,182,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. During
the fiscal 2009 period, Nathan’s earned $132,000 of higher royalties from our
manufacturers and primary distributor on sales to our limited-menu franchisees.
Franchise restaurant sales were $71,185,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as
compared to $73,985,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. Comparable domestic franchise
sales (consisting of 133 Nathan’s outlets, excluding sales of the limited-menu
franchisees) were $52,143,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to
$54,878,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. Franchise sales have been
negatively affected since September 2008, when the economy and consumer
confidence began to erode. Approximately 76% of the decline during
the fiscal 2009 period occurred from September through December 2008,
particularly at our travel, retail and entertainment venues. At December 28,
2008, 254 domestic and
international franchised or limited-menu franchise outlets were operating as
compared to
220 domestic and
international franchised or limited-menu franchise outlets at December 23, 2007.
Royalty income from 14 domestic franchised
outlets was deemed unrealizable during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 28,
2008, as compared to three franchised outlets during the thirty-nine weeks ended
December 23, 2007. Domestic franchise fee income was $325,000 in the fiscal 2009
period as compared to $411,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. International
franchise fee income was $89,000 in the fiscal 2009 period, as compared to
$131,000 during the fiscal 2008 period due primarily to fewer openings of
franchised restaurants. During the fiscal 2009 period, 37 new franchised outlets
opened, including 25 limited-menu franchise outlets, two units in Kuwait and one
unit in Dubai. During the fiscal 2008
period, 35 new franchised outlets were opened including 20 limited-menu
franchise outlets, three units in Kuwait and one unit in the Dominican
Republic.
License
royalties increased by $987,000 or 28.7% to $4,425,000 in the fiscal 2009 period
as compared to $3,438,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. Total royalties earned on
sales of hot dogs from our retail and foodservice license agreements of
$3,342,000 increased 31.8% from $2,536,000 as a result of higher licensee sales
during the fiscal 2009 period. Royalties earned from our primary
licensee, primarily from the retail sale of hot dogs, were $2,439,000 during the
fiscal 2009 period as compared to $2,217,000 during the fiscal 2008 period. Royalties earned from
another licensee, primarily from sales to Sam’s Club, were $903,000 during the
fiscal 2009 period as compared to $319,000 during the fiscal 2008 period.
Beginning March 2008, Nathan’s hot dogs were introduced into over 500 of the
foodservice cafes operating in Sam’s Clubs throughout the United States. We
earned higher revenues of $264,000 from our agreement for the manufacture of
Nathan’s proprietary ingredients, including $234,000 received as a result of the
settlement of a multi-year discrepancy under that agreement related to the
unauthorized use of certain ingredients. We earned lower royalties of $57,000
from our agreement for the sale of Nathan’s pet treats, primarily because there
was a substantial sales promotion supporting the introduction of our pet treats
into Wal-Mart during the fiscal 2008 period. Net royalties from all other
license agreements in the fiscal 2009 period were $26,000 less than the fiscal
2008 period.
Interest
income was $810,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $811,000 in the
fiscal 2008 period, primarily due to lower interest income on our invested cash
and marketable securities of approximately $16,000 due primarily to the reduced
interest rate environment and the liquidity crisis which caused Nathan’s to
shift its short-term investments into secure, but low yielding, Treasury Bills
earlier in the year. During the second and third quarters fiscal
2009, we began investing additional cash into longer-term municipal
securities. Interest earned on our MSC Note (as defined) receivable,
received in connection with the sale of Miami Subs on June 7, 2007, was $124,000
in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $109,000 in the fiscal 2008 period.
This increase was primarily due to the MSC Note being outstanding for nine
months during the fiscal 2009 period as compared to six months during the fiscal
2008 period.
Other
income was $38,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $61,000 in the
fiscal 2008 period. During the second quarter fiscal 2008 period, Nathan’s
earned a $30,000 consent fee in connection with a licensee’s
refinancing.
Costs and Expenses from
Continuing Operations
Overall,
our cost of sales increased by $1,936,000 to $23,230,000 in the fiscal 2009
period as compared to $21,294,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. Our gross profit
(representing the difference between sales and cost of sales) was $7,153,000 or
23.5% of sales during the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $7,559,000 or 26.2%
of sales during the fiscal 2008 period. In the Branded Product Program, our cost
of sales increased by approximately $2,378,000 during the fiscal 2009 period
when compared to the fiscal 2008 period, primarily as a result of increased
sales volume, as well as an approximate 11.6% increase in the cost of our hot
dogs. The increase in the cost of our hot dogs would have been
approximately 15.4% but for the purchase commitment we entered into in January
2008, which locked in a fixed cost on approximately 1.8 million pounds of hot
dogs and resulted in a savings of approximately $462,000 during the fiscal 2009
period. These savings offset some of the effects of the substantially higher
commodity costs for beef and beef trimmings. The cost of beef and beef trimmings
increased through August 2008, reaching the highest level since the inception of
the Branded Product Program. These costs have declined by approximately 25%
since that time. However, despite this decline, the cost of beef and beef
trimmings is still significantly higher than last year. During January 2009, the
cost of beef and beef trimmings have increased, causing our per pound beef costs
to increase by approximately 10% over December 2008. In an effort to offset the
increased cost of our hot dogs, beginning in July 2008, we initiated price
increases in our Branded Product Program.
-21-
If the
cost of beef and beef trimmings does not continue to decline and we are unable
to pass on these higher costs through price increases, our margins will continue
to be adversely impacted. With respect to our six Company-owned
restaurant outlets, our cost of sales during the fiscal 2009 period was
$6,211,000 or 58.5% of restaurant sales, as compared to $6,250,000 or 57.9% of
restaurant sales in the fiscal 2008 period. During the fiscal 2009
period, our Company-owned stores experienced higher food and direct labor costs,
which were partly offset by slightly lower labor-related costs as a percentage
of sales. The higher food cost as a percentage of sales was due primarily to the
higher commodity cost of our hot dogs, hamburgers, cooking oil, bread and fish,
which were substantially mitigated by our sales price increases for select menu
items of between 3.0% and 7.3%. Cost of sales to our television retailer
declined by $403,000 in the fiscal 2009 period, primarily due to lower sales
volume which was partly offset by our higher cost of hot dogs.
Restaurant
operating expenses increased by $120,000 to $2,586,000 in the fiscal 2009 period
as compared to $2,466,000 in the fiscal 2008 period. The increase during the fiscal 2009
period when compared to the fiscal 2008 period resulted primarily from
higher utility
costs of $76,000, occupancy costs of $17,000 and various other costs of $37,000,
which were partly offset by lower insurance costs of $9,000. During
the fiscal 2009 period our utility costs were approximately 14.3% higher than
the fiscal 2008 period. Despite reductions in the commodity markets for oil and
natural gas over the past six months, we remain concerned over the uncertain
market conditions for oil and natural gas. We may continue to incur
higher utility costs in the future.
Depreciation and amortization was
$608,000 in the fiscal 2009 period as compared to $564,000 in the fiscal 2008
period.
General
and administrative expenses increased by $449,000 to $6,829,000 in the fiscal
2009 period as compared to $6,380,000 in the fiscal 2008
period. The difference in general and administrative expenses was due to an
increase in bad debts of $155,000, higher income tax preparation fees of $86,000
due in part to the earlier preparation of Nathan’s tax returns, higher legal
fees of $80,000 during the fiscal 2009 period primarily associated with Nathan’s
litigation against SFG (see Part II, Item 1), higher accounting fees of
$60,000 in the fiscal 2009 period related to Nathan’s audits under Section 404
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, requiring Nathan’s auditor to audit Nathan’s
internal controls over financial reporting, a $70,000 increase in Nathan’s
stock-based compensation expense and higher compensation costs of $90,000. The
actual amount and timing of future SFG litigation costs is not presently
determinable.
Recovery
of property taxes of $441,000 recorded in the second quarter fiscal 2009 period
represents the settlement of a multi-year certiorari proceeding at one of
Nathan’s Company-owned restaurants, net of fees.
Provision for Income Taxes
from Continuing Operations
In
the fiscal 2009 period, the income tax provision was $2,304,000 or 36.1% of
income from continuing operations before income taxes as compared to $2,270,000
or 36.0% of income from continuing operations before income taxes in the fiscal
2008 period. For the thirty-nine week periods ended December 28, 2008 and
December 23, 2007, Nathan’s tax provision, excluding the effects of tax-exempt
interest income, was 40.4% and 40.6%, respectively.
Discontinued
Operations
On April 23, 2008, Nathan’s completed the
sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, NF Roasters Corp, to Roasters Asia Pacific
(Cayman) Limited. Pursuant to the NFR
Agreement, Nathan’s sold all of the stock of NF Roasters for $4,000,000 in
cash.
Nathan’s
realized a gain on the sale of Roasters of $3,656,000 net of professional fees
of $39,000, and recorded income
taxes of $1,352,000 on the gain during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 28,
2008. Nathan’s has
determined that it will not have any significant cash flows or continuing
involvement in the ongoing operations of NF Roasters. Therefore, the results of
operations for NF Roasters, including the gains on disposal, have been presented
as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
On June
7, 2007, Nathan’s completed the sale of Miami Subs to Miami Subs Capital
Partners I, Inc. (“Purchaser”). Pursuant to the Stock Purchase Agreement (“MSC
Agreement”), Nathan’s sold all of the stock of Miami Subs in exchange for
$3,250,000, consisting of $850,000 in cash and the Purchaser’s promissory note
in the principal amount of $2,400,000 (the “MSC Note”). The MSC Note
bears interest at 8% per annum, and is secured by a lien on all of the assets of
the Purchaser and by the personal guarantees of two principals of the Purchaser.
The Purchaser may also prepay the MSC Note at any time. In the event the MSC
Note was fully repaid within one year of the sale, Nathan’s had agreed to reduce
the amount due by $250,000. Due to the ability to prepay the loan and reduce the
amount due, the recognition of the additional $250,000 was initially deferred.
The MSC Note was not prepaid within the requisite timeframe and Nathan’s
recognized the deferred amount of $250,000 as additional gain and recorded
income taxes of $92,000 during the first quarter ended June 29, 2008. Effective
August 31, 2008, Nathan’s and the Purchaser agreed to extend the due date of the
MSC Note from its initial four-year term until April 2014, to reduce the monthly
payments and to settle certain claims under the MSC
Agreement. In accordance with the MSC Agreement, Nathan’s
retained ownership of Miami Subs’ then-owned corporate office in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
Nathan’s
initially realized a gain on the sale of Miami Subs of $983,000, net of
professional fees of $37,000 and recorded income taxes of $334,000 on the gain
during the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007. Nathan’s also recognized
an additional gain of $250,000, or $158,000 net of tax, during the thirty-nine
weeks ended December 28, 2008, resulting from the contingent consideration which
was deferred at the time of sale. Nathan’s has determined that it will not have
any significant cash flows or continuing involvement in the ongoing operations
of Miami Subs. Therefore, the results of operations for Miami Subs, including
the gains on disposal, have been presented as discontinued operations for all
periods presented.
-22-
During
the thirty-nine weeks ended December 23, 2007, Nathan’s completed a Lease
Termination Agreement with respect to three leased properties in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, with its landlord, and CVS 3285 FL, L.L.C., (“CVS”) to sell
our leasehold interests to CVS for $2,000,000. As the properties were subject to
certain sublease and management agreements between Nathan’s and the then-current
occupants, Nathan’s made payments to, or forgave indebtedness of, the
then-current occupants of the properties and paid brokerage commissions of
$494,000 in the aggregate. Nathan’s made the property available to
CVS by May 29, 2007, and Nathan’s received the proceeds of the sale
on June 5, 2007. Nathan’s recognized a gain of $1,506,000 and recorded income
taxes of $557,000 during the thirty-nine week period ended December 23,
2007. The results of operations for these properties, including the gain on
disposal, have been included as discontinued operations for all periods
presented.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
At
December 28, 2008, we were not a party to any off-balance sheet arrangements. We
previously guaranteed a severance agreement totaling $115,000 which had been
recorded by Nathan’s on the accompanying balance sheet. The severance agreement
has been fully satisfied without any payments being made by Nathan’s under the
guaranty. We have concluded our purchase commitment to acquire a total of
1,785,000 pounds of hot dogs through August 2008. In January 2009, the
Company entered into another commitment to purchase 2,700,000 pounds of hot dogs
at a cost not to exceed $4,610,000.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Cash
and cash equivalents at December 28, 2008 aggregated $7,535,000, decreasing by
$6,846,000 during the fiscal 2009 period. At December 28, 2008,
marketable securities were $27,003,000, compared to $20,950,000 at March 30,
2008 and net working capital decreased to $35,070,000 from $35,650,000 at March
30, 2008.
Cash
provided by operations of $3,174,000 in the fiscal 2009 period is primarily
attributable to net income of $6,538,000 less gains of $3,906,000 from the sales
of Roasters and Miami Subs, plus other non-cash items of $1,197,000. Changes in Nathan’s
operating assets and liabilities decreased cash by $655,000, resulting primarily
from increased accounts and other receivables of $1,427,000, which
were partly offset by decreases in prepaid expenses of $539,000 and inventory of
$235,000. The net increase in accounts and other receivables relates primarily
to a receivable of $516,000 for a property tax recovery, sales to our television
retailer of $333,000, sales from the Branded Product Program of $303,000,
franchise royalties of $196,000, and amounts due from the Nathan’s Famous
Advertising Fund of $74,000. The net decrease in prepaid expenses is
primarily due to the utilization of prepaid corporate income taxes from our
fiscal year ended March 30, 2008 of approximately $470,000 against our current
year income tax obligation.
Cash
was used in investing activities of $2,491,000 in the fiscal 2009 period,
primarily related to our investment of $6,860,000 in available-for-sale
securities. We received cash proceeds from the sale of Roasters in the amount of
$3,961,000, the redemption of $500,000 of maturing available-for-sale securities
and receipt of all scheduled payments of $337,000 on the MSC Note receivable. We
incurred capital expenditures of $429,000.
Cash
was used in financing activities of $7,529,000 in the fiscal 2009 period,
primarily for the purchase of 589,783 treasury shares of Company
Common Stock at a cost of $8,443,000 pursuant to the stock repurchase plan as
authorized by the Board of Directors on November 5, 2007. Cash was
received from the proceeds of employee stock option exercises of $412,000 and
the expected realization of the associated tax benefit of $502,000.
From
the commencement of its stock repurchase program in September 2001 through
November 25, 2008, Nathan’s purchased a total of 2,500,000 shares of common
stock at a cost of approximately $16,397,000, concluding the third stock
repurchase plan for 500,000 shares previously authorized by the Board of
Directors. On June 11, 2008, Nathan’s and Mutual Securities, Inc. (“MSI”)
entered
into an agreement (the “10b5-1 Agreement”) pursuant to which MSI was authorized
to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, having a value of up to an
aggregate $6 million. Nathan’s purchased 500,000 shares of its common
stock at a cost of approximately $7,312,000 in completion of its third
repurchase plan, concluding the purchases authorized pursuant to the 10b5-1
Agreement. On November 13, 2008, Nathan’s Board of Directors authorized the
purchase of up to an additional 500,000 shares of its common stock. Future
purchases may be made from time to time, depending on market conditions, in open
market or privately-negotiated transactions, at prices deemed appropriate by
management. Through December 28, 2008, the Company had repurchased
89,793 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $1,170,000 pursuant to the
fourth repurchase plan. For the period commencing March 31, 2008 and ending
December 28, 2008, Nathan’s repurchased 589,793 shares at a cost of
approximately $8,443,000 including 404,629 shares at a cost of approximately
$6,000,000 pursuant to the 10b5-1 Agreement. On February 5, 2009,
Nathan’s and MSI entered into another agreement (the “second 10b5-1 Agreement”)
pursuant to which MSI has been authorized to purchase shares of the Company’s
common stock, having a value of up to an aggregate $3.6 million, which purchases
may commence on March 16, 2009. The
second 10b5-1 Agreement shall terminate no later than March 15, 2010.
Both the first and the second 10b5-1 Agreements were adopted under the
safe harbor provided by Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in
order to assist the Company in implementing its previously announced third and
fourth stock purchase plans, in each case for the purchase of up to
500,000 shares. There are 410,207 remaining shares authorized to be repurchased
under Nathan’s fourth stock repurchase plan. There is no set time
limit on these repurchases.
-23-
Management
believes that available cash, marketable securities and cash generated from
operations should provide sufficient capital to finance our operations and stock
repurchases for at least the next twelve months. Effective October
2008, Nathan’s decided that it would not extend its $7,500,000 uncommitted bank
line of credit, having never borrowed any funds under that line of
credit.
Nathan’s
philosophy with respect to maintaining a balance sheet with a significant amount
of cash and marketable securities reflects our views of maintaining readily
available capital to expand our existing business and pursue any new business
opportunities which might present themselves. Nathan’s believes in
the value of returning its cash to its shareholders through the repurchase of
its outstanding common stock and continuously evaluates this opportunity.
Nathan’s routinely assesses its investment management approach with respect to
our current and potential capital requirements.
We expect that we will
continue the stock repurchase program, make additional investments in certain
existing restaurants and support the growth of the Branded Product Program in
the future and fund those investments from our operating cash flow. We may also
incur capital expenditures in connection with opportunistic investments on a
case-by-case basis.
At
December 28, 2008, there were three restaurant properties that we lease
from third parties which we sublease to franchisees and a non-franchisee. We
remain contingently liable for all costs associated with these properties
including: rent, property taxes and insurance. We may incur future cash payments
with respect to such properties, consisting primarily of future lease payments,
including costs and expenses associated with terminating any of such
leases.
The
following schedule represents Nathan’s cash contractual obligations and
commitments by maturity (in thousands):
Payments Due by Period
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Less
than
|
More
than
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Cash Contractual Obligations
(A)
|
Total
|
1 Year
|
1 - 3 Years
|
3 - 5 Years
|
5 Years
|
|||||||||||||||
Employment
Agreements
|
$ | 2,984 | $ | 1,184 | $ | 800 | $ | 600 | $ | 400 | ||||||||||
Operating
Leases (B)
|
11,360 | 1,545 | 1,531 | 1,093 | 7,191 | |||||||||||||||
Gross
Cash Contractual Obligations
|
14,344 | 2,729 | 2,331 | 1,693 | 7,591 | |||||||||||||||
Sublease
Income (C)
|
1,337 | 366 | 545 | 322 | 104 | |||||||||||||||
Net
Cash Contractual Obligations
|
$ | 13,007 | $ | 2,363 | $ | 1,786 | $ | 1,371 | $ | 7,487 |
(A)
|
In
January 2009, Nathan’s entered into a purchase commitment to acquire
2,700,000 pounds of hot dogs at a cost not to exceed $4,610,000.
|
(B)
|
In
January 2009, Nathan’s entered into a one-year License Agreement to
operate its seasonal
restaurant.
|
(C)
|
In
January 2009, Nathan’s entered into a Sub-lease Agreement with a
franchisee to operate the Company’s restaurant in Farmingdale, New
York.
|
Inflationary
Impact
We
do not believe that general inflation has materially impacted earnings during
fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006. However, during the fiscal 2009 period, we have
experienced significant cost increases for certain food products, distribution
costs and utilities. Our commodity costs for beef have been very volatile since
fiscal 2004 and the cost of beef continued to set new highs during the summer of
2008, before declining during the third quarter fiscal 2009. Nathan’s
was able to partly mitigate some of the increase by entering into a purchase
commitment in January 2008 for approximately 35% of its projected hot dog
purchases during the period from April through August 2008. As a result of the
purchase commitment, Nathan’s actual cost of hot dogs for its Branded Product
Program was approximately 11.7% higher than its cost during the thirty-nine
weeks ended December 23, 2007, instead of being approximately 15.4% higher. In
addition, the cost of beef for our fiscal year ended March 30, 2008 was
approximately 8.2% higher than our prior fiscal year. During January
2009, the cost of beef and beef trimmings has increased, causing our per pound
beef costs to increase by approximately 10% over December 2008. Although we are
unable to predict the future cost of our hot dogs, we expect to
experience continued price
volatility for our beef products during the rest of fiscal 2009 and during
fiscal 2010. Since
January 2008, we have experienced cost increases for a number of our other food
products. We expect to incur higher commodity costs for cooking oil, fish,
potatoes and paper products during fiscal 2009. As previously
discussed, Nathan’s increased beef prices in response to the increased commodity
costs. In addition, notwithstanding the decline in the price of oil over the
past six months, for the past four years we have continued to experience the
impact of higher oil prices in the form of higher distribution costs for our
food products and higher utility costs in our Company-owned
restaurants.
-24-
From time
to time, various Federal and New York State legislators have proposed changes to
the minimum wage requirements. On May 25, 2007, President Bush signed
legislation which increased the Federal minimum wage to $5.85 per hour,
effective July 24, 2007, with increases to $6.55 per hour effective July 24,
2008 and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. The New York State minimum
wage, where our Company-owned restaurants are located, was increased to $7.15
per hour on January 1, 2007 and will increase to $7.25 per hour on July 24,
2009. These wage increases have not had a material impact on our results of
operations or financial position as the vast majority of our employees are paid
at a rate higher than the minimum wage. Although we
currently only operate five Company-owned restaurants, we believe that
significant increases in the minimum wage could have a significant financial
impact on our financial results and the results of our franchisees. Continued
increases in labor, food and other operating expenses could adversely affect our
operations and those of the restaurant industry and we might have to further
reconsider our pricing strategy as a means to offset reduced operating
margins.
The
Company’s business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows can be
impacted by a number of factors, including but not limited to those set forth
above in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations,” any one of which could cause our actual results to vary
materially from recent results or from our anticipated future results. For a
discussion identifying additional risk factors and important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, also see the
discussions in “Forward-Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and “Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements” in this Form 10-Q and “Risk Factors” in our
Form 10-K for our fiscal year ended March 30, 2008.
-25-
Item
3. Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents
We
have historically invested our cash and cash equivalents in money market funds
or short term, fixed rate, highly rated and highly liquid instruments which
are reinvested when they mature. Although these investments are not
considered at risk with respect to changes in interest rates or markets for
these instruments, our rate of return on short-term investments could be
affected at the time of reinvestment as a result of intervening events. As of
December 28, 2008, Nathan’s cash and cash equivalents aggregated $7,535,000.
Earnings on these cash and cash equivalents would increase or decrease by
approximately $19,000 per annum for each 0.25% change in interest
rates.
Marketable
Securities
We have
invested our marketable securities in intermediate term, fixed rate, highly
rated and highly liquid instruments. These investments are subject to
fluctuations in interest rates. As of December 28, 2008, the market value of
Nathan’s marketable securities aggregated $27,003,000. Interest income on these
marketable securities would increase or decrease by approximately $68,000 per
annum for each 0.25% change in interest rates. The following chart presents the
hypothetical changes in the fair value of the marketable investment securities
held at December 28, 2008 that are sensitive to interest rate fluctuations (in
thousands):
Valuation
of securities
|
Valuation
of securities
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Given
an interest rate
|
Given
an interest rate
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Decrease of X Basis points
|
Fair
|
Increase of X Basis points
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(150BPS)
|
(100BPS)
|
(50BPS)
|
Value
|
+50BPS
|
+100BPS
|
+150BPS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Municipal
notes and bonds
|
$ | 28,079 | $ | 27,852 | $ | 27,461 | $ | 27,003 | $ | 26,534 | $ | 26,062 | $ | 25,594 |
Borrowings
The
interest rate on our prior borrowings was generally determined based upon the
prime rate and was subject to market fluctuation as the prime rate changed, as
determined within each specific agreement. At December 28, 2008, we
had no outstanding indebtedness. If we were to borrow money in the future, such
borrowings would be based upon the then prevailing interest rates. We do not
anticipate entering into interest rate swaps or other financial instruments to
hedge our borrowings. We maintained a $7,500,000 credit line at the prime rate,
which we decided to let expire as of October 1, 2008. We have never borrowed any
funds under this credit line. Accordingly, we do not believe that
fluctuations in interest rates would have a material impact on our financial
results.
Commodity
Costs
The cost
of commodities is subject to market fluctuation. In January 2008, we entered
into a purchase commitment to acquire approximately 1,785,000 pounds of hot dogs
at $1.535 per lb through August 2008. In January 2009, we entered an additional
purchase commitment to acquire 2,700,000 pounds of hot dogs at a cost not to
exceed $4,610,000. We may attempt to enter into similar arrangements in the
future. With the exception of those commitments, we have not
attempted to hedge against fluctuations in the prices of the commodities we
purchase using future, forward, option or other instruments. As a
result, we expect that the majority of our future commodities purchases will be
subject to changes in the prices of such commodities. Generally, we have
attempted to pass through permanent increases in our commodity prices to our
customers, thereby reducing the impact of long-term increases on our financial
results. A short-term increase or decrease of 10.0% in the cost of our food and
paper products for the thirty-nine weeks ended December 28, 2008 would have
increased or decreased our cost of sales by approximately
$1,865,000.
Foreign
Currencies
Foreign
franchisees generally conduct business with us and make payments in United
States dollars, reducing the risks inherent with changes in the values of
foreign currencies. As a result, we have not purchased future
contracts, options or other instruments to hedge against changes in values of
foreign currencies and we do not believe fluctuations in the value of foreign
currencies would have a material impact on our financial
results.
-26-
Item
4. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our
management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, conducted an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and
procedures, as required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15. Based on that
evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief
Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by
this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure
that the information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file
or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and forms and that such
information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our
principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow
timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes
in Internal Controls
There were no changes in
our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the thirteen
weeks ended December 28, 2008 that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
Limitations
on the Effectiveness of Controls
We
believe that a control system, no matter how well designed and operated, cannot
provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the control system are met,
and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control
issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected. Our
disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance
of achieving their objectives and our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating
Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that such controls and
procedures are effective at the reasonable assurance level.
-27-
PART
II - OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal
Proceedings.
We and our subsidiaries
are from time to time involved in ordinary and routine
litigation. Management presently believes that the ultimate outcome
of such ordinary and routine litigation individually or in the aggregate, will
not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or
results of operations. Nevertheless, litigation is subject to
inherent uncertainties and unfavorable rulings could occur. An
unfavorable ruling could include money damages and, in such event, could result
in a material adverse impact on our results of operations for the period in
which the ruling occurs.
On March
20, 2007, a personal injury lawsuit was initiated seeking unspecified
damages against the Company's subtenant and the Company's master
landlord at a leased property in Huntington, New York. The claim relates
to damages suffered by an individual as a result of an alleged "trip and fall"
on the sidewalk in front of the leased property, maintenance of which is the
subtenant's responsibility. Although the Company was not named as a
defendant in the lawsuit, under its master lease agreement the Company may have
an obligation to indemnify the master landlord in connection with this
claim. The Company did not maintain its own insurance on the property
concerned at the time of the incident; however, the Company is named as an
additional insured under its subtenant's liability policy.
Accordingly, if the master landlord is found liable for damages and seeks
indemnity from the Company, the Company believes that it would be entitled to
coverage under the subtenant's insurance policy. Additionally, under
the terms of the sublease, the subtenant is required to indemnify the
Company, regardless of insurance coverage.
The
Company is party to a License Agreement with SMG, Inc. ("SMG") dated as of
February 28, 1994, as amended (the "License Agreement") pursuant to which: (i)
SMG acts as the Company's exclusive licensee for the manufacture, distribution,
marketing and sale of packaged Nathan's Famous frankfurter product at
supermarkets, club stores and other retail outlets in the United States; and
(ii) the Company has the right, but not the obligation, to require SMG to
produce frankfurters for the Nathan's Famous restaurant system and Branded
Product Program. On July 31, 2007, the Company provided notice to SMG
that the Company has elected to terminate the License Agreement, effective July
31, 2008, due to SMG's breach of certain provisions of the License Agreement.
SMG has disputed that a breach has occurred and has commenced, together with
certain of its affiliates, an action in state court in Illinois seeking, among
other things, a declaratory judgment that SMG did not breach the License
Agreement. The Company filed its own action on August 2, 2007, in New York State
court seeking a declaratory judgment that SMG has breached the License Agreement
and that the Company has properly terminated the License Agreement. On January
23, 2008, the New York court granted SMG’s motion to dismiss the Company’s case
in New York on the basis that the dispute was already the subject of a pending
lawsuit in Illinois. The Company has answered SMG's complaint
and asserted its own counterclaims which seek, among other things, a declaratory
judgment that SMG did breach the License Agreement and that the Company has
properly terminated the License Agreement. On July 31, 2008, SMG and Nathan’s
entered into a stipulation pursuant to which Nathan’s agreed that it would not
effectuate the termination of the License Agreement on the grounds alleged in
the present litigation until such litigation has been successfully adjudicated,
and SMG agreed that in such event, Nathan’s shall have the option to require SMG
to continue to perform under the License Agreement for an additional period of
up to six months to ensure an orderly transition of the business to a new
licensee/supplier. The parties are currently proceeding with the
discovery process.
Item
1A. Risk Factors.
In
addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully
consider the factors described below, as well as those discussed in Part I,
“Item 1A. Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended March 30, 2008, which could materially affect our business, financial
condition or future results. The risks described below and in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K are not the only risks facing Nathan's. Additional risks and
uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be
immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial
condition and/or operating results.
Increases in the cost of food and
paper products could harm our profitability and operating
results.
The
cost of the food and paper products we use depends on a variety of factors, many
of which are beyond our control. We purchase large quantities of beef
and our beef costs in the United States represent approximately 80% to 85% of
our food costs. The market for beef is particularly volatile and is subject to
significant price fluctuations due to seasonal shifts, climate conditions,
industry demand and other factors beyond our control. For example, in the past,
reduced supply and increased demand in beef resulted in shortages, which
required us to pay significantly higher prices for the beef we purchased.
We were unable to pass all of the price increases to our
customers. In an effort to reduce the effect of rising beef
costs, Nathan’s entered into a commitment to purchase 1,785,000 pounds of
hot dogs for the period from April through August 2008. In January
2009, we entered into an additional purchase commitment to acquire 2,700,000
pounds of hot dogs at a cost not to exceed $4,610,000. Nathan’s may
seek to enter into similar commitments to purchase in the future. However,
Nathan’s does not have the ability to effectively hedge all of its beef
purchases using futures or forward contracts without incurring undue financial
risk. As the
price of beef or other food products that we use in our operations increases
significantly, particularly in the Branded Product Program, and we choose not to
pass, or cannot pass, such increases on to our customers, or effectively hedge
against such increases, our operating margins would decrease. Food and
paper products typically represent approximately 25% to 30% of our cost of
restaurant sales.
Fluctuations
in weather, supply and demand and economic conditions could adversely affect the
cost, availability and quality of some of our critical products, including beef.
Our inability to obtain requisite quantities of high-quality ingredients would
adversely affect our ability to provide the menu items that are central to our
business, and the highly competitive nature of our industry may limit our
ability to pass through increased costs to our customers. Continuing
increases in the cost of fuel would increase the distribution costs of our prime
products thereby increasing our food and paper costs and those of our
franchisees, thereby negatively affecting our profitability.
-28-
The
loss of one or more of our key suppliers could lead to supply disruptions,
increased costs and lower operating results.
The
Company relies on one supplier for the majority of its frankfurters and another
supplier for its supply of frozen French fries. An interruption in
the supply of product from either one of these suppliers without the Company
obtaining an alternative source of supply on comparable terms could lead to
supply disruptions, increased costs and lower operating results.
The
Company is currently engaged in litigation with its primary supplier of
frankfurters for each of the Company’s major lines of business seeking a
judicial declaration that the Company is entitled to terminate its License
Agreement with such supplier. In anticipation of such termination,
the Company is seeking one or more alternative sources of supply to commence
immediately following the termination of the License Agreement (or sooner if
necessary); however, the termination of the License Agreement presents a number
of risks to the Company and its operations.
Although
the Company believes that its frankfurter supplier is contractually obligated to
perform its obligations under the License Agreement until its termination and
the Company expects its frankfurter supplier to continue to discharge those
obligations, there is no assurance that the supplier will do so. In
the event that the frankfurter supplier breaches its contractual obligations
under the License Agreement by failing or refusing to manufacture and supply
frankfurters for the Company’s restaurant and Branded Product Program operations
or to manufacture, distribute, market and sell Nathan’s Famous frankfurters
to the retail trade, there is no assurance that the Company could secure an
alternate source of supply in a timely manner. In addition, Nathan’s
frankfurter supplier is also the supplier of hot dogs under the forward
commitment entered into in January 2009. In the event the frankfurter
supplier breaches its obligation under the forward commitment, Nathan’s will not
obtain the benefit of the lower cost of beef, which would adversely affect the
Company’s results of operations.
Additionally,
all of the frozen French fries sold through its franchised restaurants are
obtained from one supplier. In the event that the French fry supplier is unable
to fulfill Nathan’s requirements for any reasons, including due to a significant
interruption in its manufacturing operations, whether as a result of a natural
disaster or for other reasons, such interruption could significantly impair the
Company’s ability to operate its business on a day-to-day basis.
In the
event that the Company is unable to find one or more alternative suppliers of
frankfurters or French fries on a timely basis, there could be a disruption in
the supply of product to Company-owned restaurants, franchised restaurants and
Branded Product accounts, which would damage the Company, its franchisees and
Branded Product customers and, in turn, negatively impact the Company’s
financial results. In addition, any gap in supply to retail customers
would result in lost royalty payments to the Company, which could have a
significant adverse financial impact on the Company’s results from
operations. Furthermore, any gap in supply to retail customers may
damage the Nathan’s
Famous trademarks in the eyes of consumers and the retail trade, which
damage might negatively impact the Company’s overall business in general and
impair the Company’s ability to continue its retail licensing
program.
Additionally,
once secured, there is no assurance that any alternate sources of supply would
be capable of meeting the Company’s specifications and quality standards on a
timely and consistent basis or that the financial terms of such supply
arrangement will be as favorable as the Company’s present terms with its
frankfurter or French fry supplier, as the case may be.
Any
of the foregoing occurrences may cause disruptions in supply of the Company’s
frankfurter or French fry products, as the case may be, damage the Company’s
franchisees and Branded Product customers, adversely impact the Company’s
financial results and/or damage the Nathan’s Famous
trademarks.
The
closure of a Coney Island amusement park, and the redevelopment of the Coney
Island amusement district, may have a material adverse effect on Nathan's
financial results.
The
original, flagship Nathan's Famous restaurant is located in the Coney Island
amusement district in Coney Island, New York. We believe that
customer traffic at this location depends, in part, on the operation of the
various area amusements and attractions. One such attraction, the
Astroland Amusement Park, has reportedly been closed permanently as of September
2008. Additionally, the City of New York and a private real estate
developer have proposed competing plans to redevelop the entire Coney Island
amusement district. We are unable to determine the impact of the
closing of Astroland and/or the redevelopment of the Coney Island amusement
district; however, any substantial decrease in the number of visitors to Coney
Island would likely have a material adverse effect on our financial
results.
-29-
The recent
economic crisis and erosion of consumer confidence may negatively impact the
Company’s profitability and operating results.
Recently,
the United States economy has experienced a severe recession, resulting in
rising unemployment, an upheaval in the credit markets and an erosion in
consumer confidence. The Company believes this has resulted in reduced
sales at the Company’s owned and franchised restaurants, an increase in
uncollectible accounts receivable and adversely affected the ability of an
existing franchisee and a potential new franchisee to obtain funding, which has
adversely affected the Company’s operating results. If the recent economic
crisis continues to result in reduced sales at our Company-owned and franchised
restaurants and adversely impact franchisees’ ability to finance purchases or
restructurings of restaurant franchises, or if it begins to affect sales of
licensed products for which we receive royalties, it will negatively impact the
Company’s business and operating results.
-30-
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity
Securities and Use of Proceeds.
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY
SECURITIES
Period
|
(a)
Total Number of Shares Purchased
|
(b)
Average Price Paid per Share
|
(c)
Total Number of Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly
Announced Plans
|
(d)
Maximum Number of Shares
that May Yet Be
Purchased Under the
Plan
|
||||||||||||
September 29,
2008
October
26, 2008
|
174,848
|
$14.6437
|
174,848
|
524,191
|
||||||||||||
October
27, 2008
November
23, 2008
|
8,075
|
$15.3912
|
8,075
|
516,116
|
||||||||||||
November
24, 2008
December
28, 2008
|
105,909
|
$12.6369
|
105,909
|
410,207
|
||||||||||||
Total
|
288,832
|
$13.9287
|
288,832
|
410,207
|
On
September 14, 2001, Nathan’s was authorized to purchase up to 1,000,000 shares
of its common stock. Pursuant to this first stock repurchase program, we
repurchased 1,000,000 shares of common stock in open-market transactions and a
private transaction at a total cost of $3,670,000. On October 7, 2002, Nathan’s
was authorized to purchase up to 1,000,000 additional shares of its common
stock. Nathan’s concluded the second authorized stock repurchase program of
1,000,000 shares of common stock at a total cost of approximately $5,416,000. On
November 5, 2007, Nathan’s Board of Directors authorized the purchase of up to
an additional 500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. On June
11, 2008, Nathan’s and Mutual Securities, Inc. (“MSI”) entered into the 10b5-1
Agreement pursuant to which MSI has been authorized to purchase shares of the
Company’s common stock having a value of up to an aggregate $6,000,000; the
purchases were completed during the quater ended December 28,
2008. On November 25, 2008, Nathan’s concluded the third authorized
stock repurchase program of 500,000 shares of common stock at a cost of
approximately $7,312,000 including 404,629 shares at a cost of approximately
$6,000,000 completing the purchases made pursuant to the 10b5-1
Agreement.
On
November 13, 2008, Nathan’s was authorized to purchase up to an additional
500,000 shares of its common stock. There are 410,207 remaining
shares to be repurchased in order to complete Nathan’s fourth stock repurchase
plan. Nathan’s has cumulatively purchased 2,589,793 shares of its common stock
at a cost of approximately $17,529,000. Future purchases may be made from time
to time, depending on market conditions, in open market or privately-negotiated
transactions, at prices deemed appropriate by management. There is no
set time limit on the repurchases.
On
February 5, 2009, Nathan’s and MSI entered into another agreement (the “second
10b5-1 Agreement”) pursuant to which MSI has been authorized to purchase shares
of the Company’s common stock, having a value of up to an aggregate $3.6
million, which purchases may commence on March 16, 2009. Both the
first and second 10b5-1 Agreements were adopted under the safe harbor provided
by Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to assist the
Company in implementing its previously announced stock purchase plans, in
each case for the purchase of up to 500,000 shares. There is no
set time limit on the repurchases to be made under the fourth stock repurchase
plan.
-31-
|
Item
6. Exhibits.
3.1
|
Certificate
of Incorporation. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
3.2
|
Amendment
to the Certificate of Incorporation, filed December 15, 1992.
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registration Statement on
Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
3.3
|
By-Laws, as amended. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 27, 2005.) | |
4.1
|
Specimen
Stock Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
4.2
|
Form
of Rights Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit A to Exhibit
4.2 to Form 8-K dated June 6, 2008.)
|
|
4.3
|
Rights
Agreement dated as of June 4, 2008 between Nathan’s Famous, Inc. and
American Stock Transfer and Trust Company. (Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.2 to Form 8-K dated June 6, 2008.)
|
|
10.1
|
Settlement
Agreement and Release between Miami Subs Capital Partners I, Inc. and
Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Form
10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2008.)
|
|
10.2
|
Amended
and Restated Promissory Note of Miami Subs Capital Partners I, Inc.
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended September 28, 2008.)
|
|
10.3
|
*10b5-1 Agreement between Nathan Famous, Inc. and Mutual Securities, Inc. dated February 5, 2009. | |
31.1
|
*Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
31.2
|
*Certification
of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
32.1
|
*Certification
by Eric Gatoff, CEO, Nathan’s Famous, Inc., pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section
1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
|
32.2
|
*Certification
by Ronald G. DeVos, CFO, Nathan’s Famous, Inc., pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002.
|
*Filed
herewith.
-32-
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
NATHAN'S
FAMOUS, INC.
|
||
Date:
February 6, 2009
|
By:
|
/s/ Eric Gatoff
|
Eric
Gatoff
|
||
Chief
Executive Officer
|
||
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
||
Date:
February 6, 2009
|
By:
|
/s/ Ronald G. DeVos
|
Ronald
G. DeVos
|
||
Vice
President - Finance
|
||
and
Chief Financial Officer
|
||
(Principal
Financial and Accounting
Officer)
|
-33-
Exhibit
Index
3.1
|
Certificate
of Incorporation. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
3.2
|
Amendment
to the Certificate of Incorporation, filed December 15, 1992.
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to Registration Statement on
Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
3.3
|
By-Laws,
as amended. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended March 27, 2005.)
|
|
4.1
|
Specimen
Stock Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 No. 33-56976.)
|
|
4.2
|
Form
of Rights Certificate. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit A to Exhibit
4.2 to Form 8-K dated June 6, 2008.)
|
|
4.3
|
Rights
Agreement dated as of June 4, 2008 between Nathan’s Famous, Inc. and
American Stock Transfer and Trust Company. (Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.2 to Form 8-K dated June 6, 2008.)
|
|
10.1
|
Settlement
Agreement and Release between Miami Subs Capital Partners I, Inc. and
Nathan’s Famous, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Form
10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 28, 2008.)
|
|
10.2
|
Amended
and Restated Promissory Note of Miami Subs Capital Partners I, Inc.
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended September 28, 2008.)
|
|
10.3 | *10b5-1 Agreement between Nathan Famous, Inc. and Mutual Securities, Inc. dated February 5, 2009. | |
31.1
|
*Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
31.2
|
*Certification
of the Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
32.1
|
*Certification
by Eric Gatoff, CEO, Nathan’s Famous, Inc., pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section
1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
|
32.2
|
*Certification
by Ronald G. DeVos, CFO, Nathan’s Famous, Inc., pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002.
|
*Filed herewith.
-34-