MTY Food Group reports higher third quarter sales and profits amid customer rebound

MTY Food Group Inc. recorded an uptick in sales and profits in its third quarter amid a rebound in customer traffic at the company's restaurants.

The Montreal-based restaurant franchisor and operator said Friday the positive results come despite ongoing supply-chain issues, labour shortages and temporary restaurant closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MTY reported a third-quarter profit of $24.3 million, up from $22.9 million a year ago. The profit amounted to 98 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 31, down from 93 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $150.8 million, up from $135.4 million a year ago.

The company behind more than 80 restaurant brands including Country Style and Mr. Sub, which are franchised by convenience and gas operators, said system sales in Canada were up 29% while system-wide sales across all markets were up 13%.

"We are highly encouraged by our financial results in the third quarter of 2021, which was marked by solid double-digit percentage increases in system sales,'' Eric Lefebvre, chief executive officer of MTY, said in a statement.

"This strong financial performance reflects a rebound in customer traffic for many of our brands,'' he added. ``It was realized in a difficult context of lingering supply-chain issues, labour shortages and the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as shown by the business days lost due to temporary closures.''

The company said 456 locations were temporarily closed for at least one day during the quarter, resulting in approximately 19,300 business days lost.

MTY said 139 of its restaurants currently remain temporarily closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

-With files from Michelle Warren