DineEquity’s Fourth Quarter Shows Greater Net Loss

DineEquity Inc. had a wider net loss for the fourth quarter and year of 2010 while sales at its Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP restaurants increased. For the quarter that ended Dec. 31, the Glendale-based company had a net loss of $58.1 million, or $3.33 per diluted share, on revenues of $299.8 million. For the same quarter the previous year, the company had net loss of $48.2 million, or $2.84 per diluted share, on revenues of $355.2 million. For the full year of 2010, the company had net loss of $30 million, or $1.74 per diluted share, on revenues of $1.3 billion. For the year of 2009, the company had net income of $9.2 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, on revenues of $1.4 billion. Both restaurants experienced a higher average guest check combined with declines in guest traffic for the fourth quarter. Menu pricing also increased by 2.1 percent at company-operated Applebee’s restaurants in the fourth quarter. The net losses for the 2010 fourth quarter and the year were primarily due to the extinguishment of debt and the redemption of Series A perpetual preferred stock and related premiums in connection with the company’s refinancing. These charges were partially offset by gains on the disposition of assets related to the sale of company-operated Applebee’s restaurants in Minnesota and parts of Virginia. For the fourth quarter, domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales increased by 2.9 percent for Applebee’s over the same period in 2009 and by 1.1 percent for IHOP. For the year of 2010, domestic system-wide same-restaurant sales increased by 0.3 percent for Applebee’s and remained flat for IHOP. Jessica Vernabe