Hamad International Airport (HIA) has recorded an increase in the movement of its passengers during the second quarter of 2022, displaying the ongoing momentum of air traffic recovery. Voted the World's Best Airport 2022 for the second year in a row by SKYTRAX, HIA's passenger traffic numbers have been steady and growing strong over the past few months - showing a return to pre-COVID levels.

The average monthly passenger throughput for Q2 2022 indicates that travel between the State of Qatar and the rest of the world has risen significantly, showing an 18 per cent increase in comparison to the first quarter of this year. The passenger transfer percentage also grew by 16 per cent this quarter over last, and the number of outbound local passengers in Q2 was 47 per cent higher than in Q1. The number of inbound passengers increased by 7 per cent in comparison to Q1.

HIA served a total of 2.5 million passengers in the month of April, 2.8 million passengers in May and 3.1 million passengers in June, which is a total of 8.42 million passengers served in the second quarter of 2022.

Commenting on the traffic figures, HIA's COO, Badr Al Meer, said: 'During the second quarter of 2022, HIA recorded more than 100,000 daily passengers and over 3 million passengers in a single month, for the first time since the pandemic, which is a testament to HIA's well-calculated planning and concerted efforts in rebuilding connectivity and mobility after an unprecedented global pandemic.'

With a busy summer season underway, Al-Meer stressed: 'In light of the restrictions placed on travel over the past two years, we have recognised that passengers need to travel this summer and had anticipated the travel rush over this period. Using a combination of technology and effective stakeholder coordination, we mitigated it in advance. Through real-time monitoring of passenger flow across the terminal and forecasting of passenger rushes, we are able to anticipate any traffic issues and mitigate them well in advance, working with our airport stakeholders such as airlines, government partners, contractors, etc.'

Not only was Q2 2022 the busiest quarter for HIA since 2020, but the award-winning airport also welcomed Malaysian Airlines in late May 2022 with the launch of daily direct service from DOH to KUL on the A333. This milestone marked the airline's commitment to enabling optimal connections to the Middle East, the United States, Europe, and Africa.

HIA also continues to expand its network of airline partners, with a strategic partnership with American Airlines established in early June 2022, which involved the launch of daily direct service to New York's JFK Airport.

The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 countdown has officially begun as HIA prepares to welcome thousands of fans from all over the world. Qatar's main airport will be able to host 58 million passengers after phase A of the airport's expansion wraps up, while phase B of the expansion will begin in early 2023 and will further boost the airport's capacity to over 60 million passengers. Working with FIFA's organisational committee, the two-time SKYTRAX #1 airport is ready to welcome fans and visitors with a hassle-free travel experience.

HOTEL & RESORTS

Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2022 Results

Second Quarter 2022 Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth Accelerated above First Quarter 2022 to 8.4% vs. 2021

June and July 2022 Comparable Restaurant Sales at or above 10.0% vs. 2021

Four Consecutive Quarters of Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth above 2019

August 11, 2022 04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time

DALLAS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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 second quarter, which ended on July 3, 2022, and provided a business update related to current operations.

Fiesta President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockinger said, 'We are very encouraged by our sequential sales growth throughout the second quarter that continued to accelerate into the third quarter with June and July comp sales at or above 10.0%(1). Importantly, as a direct result of the actions we shared last quarter to improve staffing and offer value-focused promotions and menu innovation, recent year-over-year traffic trends(2) have improved by approximately 340 basis points compared to first quarter traffic results of -7.0%, with select markets generating positive traffic growth. Like most in our industry, inflation headwinds challenged our anticipated recovery in restaurant margins during the second quarter and we will continue taking action to address cost pressures. We expect our margins to improve meaningfully in the third quarter and are targeting Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margins of 18.0% to 20.0% as our sales growth and labor optimization initiatives increasingly gain momentum.'

Stockinger continued, 'Second quarter 2022 Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margin, a non-GAAP financial measure(3), was 15.2%, including approximately $1.0 million(4) in non-recurring expenses related primarily to short term supply disruptions caused by plant damage to a key chicken supplier which adversely impacted Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margins by 100 basis points. In addition to increased inflation pressures, we also proactively invested in expanded labor hours to improve staffing levels, which showed positive sales results that were only partially realized during the second quarter. We expect margins to improve measurably in the third quarter driven by our accelerating traffic trends from improved staffing, effective value-focused promotions, menu innovation and prudent pricing action of 4.0% to 6.0% that we plan to take in September.'

Stockinger added, 'When compared to the second quarter of 2021, our Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA margins declined during the second quarter of 2022 primarily due to food cost, labor and other operating expense increases including utilities and insurance. Second quarter 2022 net loss from continuing operations was $6.5 million compared to income from continuing operations in the second quarter of 2021 of $2.7 million.'

Stockinger further commented, 'We continued to make significant progress during the second quarter on the brand's previously communicated key growth initiatives. We made great strides in enhancing our digital platform with the ongoing rollout of our digital drive thru technology with five units targeted for completion by the end of August and 8-10 units by year end. All dining rooms now allow access to the 'Kiosk in Hand' QR code feature to enable customers to order online in the restaurant. We also made progress on improving kitchen and drive thru productivity in high volume units, with our first kitchen retrofit unit completed this week and additional retrofits being identified as part of our ongoing remodel plans. Our refresh/remodel program continues to exceed initial sales growth expectations. The refreshes completed to date have generated a sales lift(5) of approximately +3.8% to +5.6% when comparing the sales trend of each unit before and after the refresh to a control group of other Pollo units in each refresh unit's local market. Finally, our investments in restaurant general manager leadership training and retention are already showing very positive results through improved execution and reduced turnover. As we realize the full impact of our growth initiatives, we expect them to contribute meaningfully to sales momentum.'

Stockinger concluded, 'We are encouraged by our continued strong sales momentum thus far in 2022, and are intensely focused on driving ongoing traffic growth across all channels while also taking action to improve margins. In addition, G&A expense reduction plans are being implemented which we expect will result in a reduction in expense levels in the second half of this year, and an ultimate reduction in G&A to the targeted range of 8.5% to 9.0% of restaurant sales. Most importantly, we will continue to drive growth by further implementation of our key initiatives to enhance customer experience across all service channels.'

(1)

Comparable restaurant sales results are not adjusted for the impact of named storms.

(2)

Recent trends represent preliminary traffic results for the trailing 21-day period ended August 10, 2022.

(3)

See non-GAAP discussion below.

(4)

See discussion below on non-recurring costs from chicken supply issue and labor.

(5)

Sales lift on refreshed units based on sales in the respective units for 4-weeks prior to the commencement of the project compared to the sales after reopening the unit for full operations, excluding units with non-recurring events impacting the comparability of the unit's respective results.

Second Quarter 2022 Financial Summary

Total revenues from continuing operations increased 8.0% to $98.5 million in the second quarter of 2022 from $91.2 million in the second quarter of 2021;

Comparable restaurant sales at Pollo Tropical increased 8.4% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the second quarter of 2021;

Net loss of $(6.2) million, or $(0.25) per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022, compared to net loss of $(0.1) million, or $0.00 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2021;

Net loss from continuing operations of $(6.5) million, or $(0.26) per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022, compared to net income from continuing operations of $2.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2021;

Adjusted net loss (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $(2.1) million, or $(0.09) per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2022, compared to adjusted net income of $3.4 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below);

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $5.7 million in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below); and

Restaurant-level Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) of $14.9 million, or 15.2% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the second quarter of 2022 compared to $18.4 million, or 20.3% of Pollo Tropical restaurant sales, in the second quarter of 2021 (see non-GAAP reconciliation table below).

Second Quarter 2022 Comparable Restaurant Sales: See full results at:

https://www.frgi.com/news/press-release-details/2022/Fiesta-Restaurant-Group-Inc.-Reports-Second-Quarter-2022-Results/default.aspx

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