Kura Sushi sinks to 1-1/2-yr low after swinging to quarterly loss
10/07/2024 17:56
** Shares of Kura Sushi USA KRUS.O drop as much as 13% on
Weds after restaurant chain surprisingly swung to fiscal Q3 loss
** KRUS shares sink to $50.89 on the session, lowest since
Jan 2023
** Irvine, California-based co late Tues reported loss of 5
cents/sh for qtr ended-May vs profit of 16 cents a yr-ago, as
CEO Hajime Uba said results were unexpected and driven by
macroeconomic trends
** Wall Street analysts on avg had called for earnings of a
penny/sh, per LSEG
** Co said labor and related costs as percentage of sales in
qtr were 32%, up from 29% a yr earlier, while food and beverage
costs came down a percentage point to 29% primarily due to
higher menu prices and supply chain initiatives
** Total sales grew 28% yr/yr to $63.1 mln, in line with
consensus, as same-store sales increased 0.6%
** Co reiterated FY 2024 sales forecast of $235-$237 mln
** Several brokerages cut their PTs in wake of the report,
including Barclays which reduced its PT by $5 to $60, lowest on
the Street, per LSEG
** Avg rating among 8 analysts is "buy"; median PT of $70
down from $115 a month ago
** On Jun 28, KRUS shares shed 23% after co's preliminary Q3
results disappointed
** Shares last off 11.5% at $51.75 on Weds, down 32% YTD.
Stock a yr ago closed at $107.40
(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))