Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2021 Results

Taco Cabana Divestiture Completed During Third Quarter of 2021

Sequential Improvement in Pollo Tropical Third Quarter 2021 Comparable Restaurant Sales from Second Quarter 2021

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. ("Fiesta" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: FRGI), parent company of the Pollo Tropical® restaurant brand, today reported results for the 13-week third quarter, which ended on October 3, 2021, and provided a business update related to current operations.

Fiesta President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockinger said, "We announced the sale of Taco Cabana on July 1, and successfully closed the transaction on August 16. We are now debt free with a cash balance of $55.8 million as of October 3, and our leadership team is fully focused on achieving what we believe are significant growth opportunities for Pollo Tropical."

Stockinger added, "We were pleased with Pollo Tropical's third quarter sales performance despite reduced operating hours from staffing shortages throughout the quarter. Third quarter 2021 comparable restaurant sales were 13.8% vs. the third quarter of 2020, and increased to 0.9% vs. the third quarter of 2019, an improvement from the second quarter 2021 comparable restaurant sales vs. 2019 of -1.8%⁽¹⁾. Comparable restaurant sales results were much stronger in markets that had adequate staffing – those markets realized third quarter 2021 comparable restaurant sales of approximately 16.7% vs. the third quarter of 2020 and 4.3% vs. the third quarter of 2019. Our positive comparable restaurant sales growth compared to 2019 continued in October, and we are optimistic about accelerating sales momentum as we reach full staffing levels."

Stockinger continued, "Staff availability has been an industry-wide challenge. We have approached this issue with a very disciplined and forward thinking approach, and took proactive action that included wage rate increases and offering hiring incentives. In addition, we are enhancing our medical plans and increasing other benefits such as emergency child-care and commute assistance so that we can remain a preferred employer. We achieved adequate staffing levels at a total company level by September and continued to realize staffing improvement in October."

Stockinger added, "In order to improve margins after the wage rate increases, we implemented a phased approach to price increases of 3.7% in mid-third quarter with approximately 4% to 6% planned for the fourth quarter along with accelerating our ongoing actions to optimize restaurant labor efficiency. Those actions have already resulted in Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ margin improvement, a non-GAAP financial measure, based on preliminary October 2021 results⁽³⁾ compared to the third quarter of 2021. Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margins declined during the third quarter compared to 2020 primarily due to hourly wage rate increases, short-term hiring incentives, and additional overtime and training. A large portion of those increases are short term only, estimated at $0.9 million, or approximately 100 basis points as a percentage of sales. Third quarter 2021 loss from continuing operations was $3.2 million compared to income from continuing operations in the third quarter of 2020 of $4.4 million."

Stockinger concluded, "As we look toward the balance of the year, we are focused on continuing efforts to be a preferred employer and accelerating our margin improvement above the third quarter of 2021. We are targeting Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margins returning to the 18% to 20% range in the first half of 2022, barring unforeseen changes in our cost structure and operating environment. In addition, we will continue enhancing the customer experience across all service channels, further investing in our growing digital platform, and refining our brand proposition and new unit design features in remodel tests to drive future growth."

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Summary

• Total revenues from continuing operations increased 13.7% to $88.6 million in the third quarter of 2021 from $77.9 million in the third quarter of 2020;
• Comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical increased 13.8%. Compared to the same fiscal period in 2019, comparable restaurant sales for Pollo Tropical increased 0.9%;
• Net income of $17.3 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2021 (which includes a gain on the sale of Taco Cabana), compared to net income of $4.6 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2020;
• Net loss from continuing operations of $(3.2) million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2021, compared to net income from continuing operations of $4.4 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2020;
• Adjusted net loss (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $2.4 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2021, compared to adjusted net income of $1.2 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2020 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below);
• Continuing Operations Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $3.7 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $8.2 million in the third quarter of 2020 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below);
• Adjusted EBITDA for Pollo Tropical of $6.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2020; and
• Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) for Pollo Tropical of $13.0 million, or 14.8% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $16.4 million, or 21.2% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the third quarter of 2020 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

 Third Quarter 2021 Comparable Restaurant Sales

• As a result of the 53^rd week in fiscal 2020, our 2021 fiscal year began one week later than our 2020 fiscal year. Changes in comparable restaurant sales are impacted by the shift in weeks as the thirteen weeks ended October 3, 2021, are not directly comparable on a calendar basis to the thirteen weeks ended September 27, 2020.
• For Pollo Tropical comparable restaurant sales comparisons in 2021 vs. 2019, the Fourth of July holiday timing had an impact on fiscal July. After adjusting for the holiday timing difference, July 2021 comparable restaurant sales vs. 2019 would have been approximately 170 basis points lower.
• Third quarter comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical vs 2019 benefited from the negative impact of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. After adjusting for the impact of the hurricane, 2021 third quarter comparable sales would have been approximately 160 basis points lower.

Cash and Liquidity

• At the end of the third quarter of 2021, we had $52.0 million in cash and $3.8 million in restricted cash. We fully repaid our outstanding term loan borrowings on August 16, 2021, and our outstanding debt balance was $0.9 million of finance lease obligations at the end of the third quarter of 2021.
• Our cash balance decreased from the second quarter balance of $65.8 million at July 4, 2021 to a third quarter balance of $52.0 million at October 3, 2021.

Third Quarter 2021 Pollo Tropical Results

Total Pollo Tropical restaurant sales increased 13.4% to $88.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 compared to $77.6 million in the third quarter of 2020 primarily due to a comparable restaurant sales increase of 13.8%. Pollo Tropical dine-in and counter take-out comparable restaurant sales increased 45% from the third quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2021 due primarily to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dine-in traffic and closures of our dining rooms during a portion of the third quarter of 2020. The increase in dine in channel sales was supplemented by off-premise channel growth. Third quarter 2021 drive-thru comparable restaurant sales were flat compared to the third quarter of 2020, while third quarter 2021 delivery comparable restaurant sales were up 32.7% compared to the third quarter of 2020. The increase in comparable restaurant sales resulted from a net impact of product/channel mix and pricing of 9.6% and an increase in comparable restaurant transactions of 4.2%. The increase in product/channel mix and pricing was driven primarily by increases in delivery and drive-thru average check, and menu price increases of 5.7%. During the third quarter of 2021, Pollo Tropical experienced increased hourly staffing challenges due to workforce availability which we believe had a negative impact on sales throughout the quarter, driven in part by reduced operating hours.

Adjusted EBITDA for Pollo Tropical decreased to $6.3 million in the third quarter of 2021 from $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2020, a decrease of (40.5)%. The decrease was primarily due to higher labor costs, advertising expenses, general and administrative expenses, and repair and maintenance costs, partially offset by the impact of higher restaurant sales, and improved cost of sales margins. Higher labor costs were driven primarily by hourly wage rate increases, short-term hiring incentives, and additional overtime and training. We believe that approximately $0.9 million of the labor cost increases for overtime and staffing-related incentives are short term in nature. We plan to take price increases to offset labor costs in a phased approach in order to minimize the negative impact on traffic. A 3.7% price increase was implemented in late August, and additional pricing action is planned for the fourth quarter of 2021.

Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) for Pollo Tropical as a percentage of restaurant sales decreased, with third quarter Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of restaurant sales of 14.8% in 2021 compared to 21.2% in 2020 and 20.1% in 2019 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below). Continuing Operations Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $3.7 million compared to $8.2 million in 2020.

Previously Approved Share Repurchase Program Resumed

The Company resumed its share repurchase program that the board of directors had previously authorized for the repurchase of an aggregate 3.0 million shares of common stock, of which 668,282 shares remain available for purchase as of October 3, 2021. Under the share repurchase program, shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The number of shares repurchased and the timing of repurchases will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, stock price, trading volume, general market and economic conditions, and other corporate considerations. The share repurchase program has no time limit and may be modified, suspended, superseded or terminated at any time by the board of directors.

Taco Cabana Divestiture Completed

On August 16, 2021, the Company completed the previously announced sale of its Taco Cabana restaurant business through the sale of all of the outstanding capital stock of Taco Cabana, Inc., the parent company of the Taco Cabana business (the "Transaction") to an affiliate of Yadav Enterprises, Inc. The terms of the Transaction are set forth in the Purchase Agreement which was filed by the Company on Form 8-K on July 7, 2021.

Restaurant Portfolio

As of October 3, 2021, there were 138 Company-owned Pollo Tropical restaurants, and 31 franchised Pollo Tropical restaurants in the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Panama, Guyana, Ecuador and the Bahamas.

Investor Conference Call Today

We will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET today. The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 856-344-9299. A replay will be available after the call until Thursday, November 18, 2021 and can be accessed by dialing 1-412-317-6671. The passcode is 1291956. The conference call will also be webcast live and archived on the corporate website at www.frgi.com, under the Investor Relations section. A replay of the webcast will be available through the corporate website shortly after the call has concluded.

About Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., owns, operates and franchises the Pollo Tropical® restaurant brand and prior to August 16, 2021, owned, operated, and franchised the Taco Cabana® restaurant brand. The brands specialize in the operation of fast casual/quick service restaurants that offer distinct and unique flavors with broad appeal at a compelling value. The brands feature fresh-made cooking, drive-thru service and catering. For more information about Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., visit the corporate website at www.frgi.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release and in our public disclosures, whether written, oral or otherwise made, relating to future events or future performance, including any discussion, express or implied regarding our anticipated growth, plans, objectives and the impact of our initiatives, our investments in strategic and sales building initiatives, including those relating to operations improvements, digital infrastructure supporting ordering and online sales, catering and third-party delivery and drive thru improvements and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and our initiatives designed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic on future sales, margins, earnings and liquidity, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are often identified by the words "may," "might," "believes," "thinks," "anticipates," "plans," "positioned," "target," "continue," "expects," "look to," "intends" and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or the affirmative, that are not statements of historical fact. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our actual results and timing of certain events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements and the internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations included in this release are made only as of the date of this release and may change. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we expressly disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.

Supplemental Non-GAAP Information

The following table sets forth certain unaudited supplemental financial data for the periods indicated

(In thousands):

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (including Continuing Operations Adjusted EBITDA) and Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings (loss) attributable to the applicable operating segments before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other lease charges, goodwill impairment, closed restaurant rent expense, net of sublease income, stock-based compensation expense, other expense (income), net, and certain significant items for each segment that are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of our restaurants as set forth in the reconciliation table below. Adjusted EBITDA for each of our segments includes an allocation of general and administrative expenses associated with administrative support for executive management, information systems and certain finance, legal, supply chain, human resources, construction and other administrative functions. Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA is defined as Adjusted EBITDA excluding franchise royalty revenues and fees, pre-opening costs and general and administrative expenses (including corporate-level general and administrative expenses). The "Other" column includes corporate costs that were allocated to Taco Cabana and are not included in discontinued operations.

Adjusted EBITDA for each of our segments is the primary measure of segment profit or loss used by our chief operating decision maker for purposes of allocating resources to our segments and assessing their performance. In addition, management believes that Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA, when viewed with our results of operations calculated in accordance with GAAP and our reconciliation of net income (loss) to Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA and Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA (i) provide useful information about our operating performance and period-over-period changes, (ii) provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the operating performance of our business, and (iii) permit investors to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing earnings, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced. However, such measures are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly, should not be considered as alternatives to net income or cash flow from operating activities as indicators of operating performance or liquidity. Also, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies.

FIESTA RESTAURANT GROUP, INC.

Supplemental Non-GAAP Information

The following table sets forth certain unaudited supplemental financial data for the periods indicated

(In thousands of dollars, except per share amounts):

Adjusted net income and related adjusted diluted earnings per share are non-GAAP financial measures. Adjusted net income is defined as net income (loss) before discontinued operations, impairment and other lease charges, goodwill impairment, closed restaurant rent expense, net of sublease income, other expense (income), net, board and shareholder matter costs, restructuring costs and retention bonuses, certain legal settlements and related costs and other significant items that are related to strategic changes and/or are not related to the ongoing operation of our restaurants. Management believes that adjusted net income and related adjusted earnings per diluted share, when viewed with our results of operations calculated in accordance with GAAP (i) provide useful information about our operating performance and period-over-period growth, (ii) provide additional information that is useful for evaluating the operating performance of our business, and (iii) permit investors to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting our ongoing earnings, from which capital investments are made and debt is serviced. However, such measures are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, accordingly should not be considered as alternatives to net income or net income per share as indicators of operating performance or liquidity. Also, these measures may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies.

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