GEN Restaurant Group, Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Gen Restaurant Group, Inc. fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings call. All participants will be in listen only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Tom Crowell, the company's chief financial officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. By now, everyone should have access to the fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings release. If not, it can be found at .genkoreanbbq.com in the investor relations section. Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements within the meeting of federal securities law, including, but not limited to, statements regarding growth plans and potential new store openings, as well as those types of statements identified in our annual report on form 10-K for the with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and therefore, you should not put undue reliance on them. These statements represent our views only as of the date of this call and are also subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we currently expect. We refer you to our recent SEC filings, including our annual report on form 10-K, for a more detailed discussion of the risks that can impact our future operating results and financial position. Except, as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. During today's call, we will discuss some non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. Presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are available in our earnings press release and our SEC filings, which are available in the investor relations section of our website. Now I'd like to turn it over to our Chairman and CEO, David Kim.

Thank you, Tom, and good afternoon, everyone. To begin the call, I wanted to summarize what we promised and delivered on our guidance for 2024. For revenue, we gave a range of $200 to $205 million for the year. We finished a year with $208 million in revenue. For restaurant-level EBITDA, we estimated that we would reach 17 to 18 percent for the year. We ended the year at 17.7 percent. For GNA expenses, we estimated total GNA expenses between $18 and $19 million for the year before non-cash stock-based compensation. We ended the year at $18.3 million. For new restaurant development, our goal was to open 10 to 11 restaurants in 2024. We opened six restaurants during the year, have opened three additional restaurants in the January of 2025, and are about to open a fourth restaurant in this next week. Even though our timing was off by a month for opening new restaurants, we still achieved our overall revenue goals for the year. These one-month delays were caused by continuous local and state government permits. The restaurants were built and ready to open in December of 2024, but could not due to these permit issues. Continuing from this summary, we closed out 2024 with a strong fourth quarter as we delivered 21 percent -over-year total revenue growth and 25 percent -over-year growth in total adjusted EBITDA. For the full year, I'm proud to report we delivered our highest total annual revenue figure as a public company while maintaining healthy unit-level economics, primarily driven by the continued success of our new restaurant openings. Older revenue for the year increased to $208.4 million, exceeding the upper end of our 2024 guidance range and analyst expectations, even with the three-restaurant opening one month late. We also achieved our goal of our restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA margin approaching 18 percent, with total restaurant-level adjusted EBITDA of $36.9 million. Additionally, we achieved adjusted EBITDA of $16.7 million. If you exclude pre-opening costs, adjusted EBITDA totaled $22 million. Net income before income tax for the year was $4.9 million, which equated to $0.13 of diluted earnings per share, and we delivered $7.4 million in adjusted net income, which equated to $0.21 of adjusted diluted earnings per share for the year. Looking at our new restaurant development since our year-end call last year, we've opened nine new restaurants, six of which were opened in 2024 and three since the beginning of 2025, bringing our total restaurant count to 46 locations nationwide. The three stores we opened in January of 2025 were originally planned to launch in December 2024. Additionally, we had a fourth restaurant opening in the next week. Our restaurant development process is strong and is positioned to reach our 2025 target of opening 10 to 13 new restaurants, which does not include the three recent openings that shifted into the new year from 2024. Our current restaurants have maintained steady profitability with new restaurants driving consistent revenue growth and the fourth quarter benefiting as expected from the holiday season. With that, we delivered full-year restaurant level adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.7%. While our total revenue exceeded our guidance and analysts' expectations, our comparable sales, same store sales for 2024 were down 5.6 year over year. As we have discussed at length, Jen's business model does not rely on comparable restaurant sales growth and primarily revolves around the expanding store count to generate our robust average unit level economics. Our new units deliver returns on investment in the 40% range. That being said, we have been proactively working to return to comparable restaurant sales growth through pricing adjustment, enhancing training programs, additional premium drink options on the menu, and our latest incubator projects. During quarter four, we began to see impact on our efforts with premium menu sales increasing and our incubator projects receiving positive feedback as we continue rolling out these initiatives on a limited basis. We also implemented a 3% increase to our menu price, which went into effect across majority of our locations at the end of 2024. We're happy to report that this price increase has not influenced customer traffic and Jen remains a high-quality value dining experience for our customers. We're even more pleased to announce these initiatives have resulted in comparable restaurant sales return to growth, generating positive 1% comp figures in the first two months of 2025. As a sign of confidence in the company's future, the board of directors have approved a stock buyback program for up to $5 million while still maintaining our goal of opening a total of around 75 restaurants by the end of 2026. Transitioning now to our key incubator initiatives. Last quarter we announced the launch of Jen gift cards at 78 Costco locations, all within the five mile radius of most of our restaurants across the US. The gift cards have been selling exceptionally well, with Costco's buying department saying that we are one of the best selling restaurant gift cards ever. This is a testament to Jen's brand strength and position as a leader in the Korean barbecue. We look forward to expanding this avenue with additional big box retail partners in 2025. Entering this next year, we're well positioned to achieve our growth target with 13 leases for new restaurant locations signed or in the process of being finalized with an additional 16 leases and negotiations. Additionally, we expect to maintain a restaurant level adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 18% and to generate $245 to $250 million in total revenue for the year. All of this positions us nicely for our medium term goal around 75 total restaurants by the end of 2026. Growing Jen's footprint is at the heart of our business model and we're excited to finally announce our international expansion. In the near future, we will be bringing the Jen experience to South Korea with at least two location planned for 2025. Overall, 2024 marks a year of consistent progress towards our key growth objectives as reflected by exceeding our revenue projections and meeting our restaurant level adjusted EBITDA margin goals for the year. With strong demand for Jen cream barbecue and our growing brand strength backed by our robust balance sheet, we believe we're well positioned to capitalize on our promising pipeline of new restaurants and achieve our growth targets both in the United States as well as internationally. Thank you for all your continued support. We're excited for the future ahead and look forward to delivering sustainable value to our shareholders. Now I'd like to hand the call over to Tom for a deeper look at our fourth quarter and full year financial performance.

Thank you, David. We ended the year with a strong fourth quarter as revenue was up 21% year over year. Restaurant level adjusted EBITDA was up 29% and total adjusted EBITDA was up 25% for the year over year quarter, all leading to a fantastic year end. With that, let's dive into the specific financial metrics for the fourth quarter and full year. For the fourth quarter, revenue increased .2% to 54.7 million compared to 45.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. For the year ended December 31st, 2024, revenues increased .1% to 208.4 million compared to 181 million in 2023, driven by new restaurant openings. Turning to expenses, cost of goods sold as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased by 160 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the fourth quarter last year. For the full year, cost of goods sold as a percentage of company restaurant sales increased 80 basis points to .1% compared to the prior year period. The increase is largely due to higher store count and our premium menu. Payroll and benefits as a percentage of company restaurant sales decreased by 130 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2024 to .8% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. For the full year, payroll and benefits as a percentage of company restaurant sales decreased 60 basis points year over year to 30.9%. Occupancy expenses as a percent of company restaurant sales increased by 30 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of last year to 8.6%. For the full year, occupancy expenses increased by 30 basis points to .4% compared to .1% in 2023 due to the new restaurant openings over the last 18 months. Other operating expenses as a percentage of company restaurant sales decreased 140 basis points to .8% compared to .2% in the fourth quarter of last year. G&A during the fourth quarter was 5.6 million or .3% of revenue excluding stock-based compensation, compared to 4.4 million or .7% of revenue in the year ago period. For the full year, G&A excluding stock-based compensation was 18.3 million or .8% of revenue compared to 12.6 million or .8% of revenue in 2023 including management fees in 2023. The year over year increase in G&A is largely a result of additional personnel hired to support new restaurant development including construction teams, regional managers, and staff training persons as well as higher costs associated with our first full year of being a public company. As a reminder, we expected to incur 18 to 19 million in G&A this year and we are pleased to be within the low end of our cost expectations. In the fourth quarter, we had a net loss before income taxes of 1.2 million which equated to 4 cents per diluted share of Class A common stock compared to a net loss before income taxes of 0.3 million which equated to 1 cent per diluted share of Class A common stock in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the fourth quarter, the loss was created by pre-opening costs of 2.3 million as we opened two restaurants and had four more restaurants ready to open. We continuously reinvest our operating cash flows to open additional restaurants without incurring significant debt. For the full year, net income before taxes was 4.9 million which equated to 13 cents per diluted share of Class A common stock compared to net income of 11.5 million which equated to 8 cents per diluted share of common stock in 2023. Adjusted net income which represents net income plus non-cash stock based compensation was 7.4 million which equated to 21 cents per diluted share of Class A common stock for 2024. Restaurant level adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter increased 28% to 9.3 million or 17% of total revenue. For the full year, restaurant level adjusted EBITDA increased 10% to 36.9 million or 17.7 percent of total revenue. Both figures were in line with our expectations of approaching 18% in 2024. Total adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2024 increased 25% to 2.1 million compared to 1.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2023. For 2024, total adjusted EBITDA was 16.7 million compared to 18.8 million for fiscal 2023. This decrease is primarily the result of increased pre-opening costs. Without pre-opening costs, adjusted EBITDA would be approximately 3.7 million for the fourth quarter and 22 million for the year. Shifting to liquidity. As of December 31, 2024, we had 23.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and we carried no material long-term debt aside from the approximately 4.3 million of government-funded EIGL loans which we had when we went public in 2023. We also had the majority of our $20 million revolving line of credit available. We did borrow $3 million from our line of credit as we prepared for future expansion, but we have since paid that down and our net cash position remains in line with our expectations. One thing I would like to note is that we have $148 million in lease obligations on our balance sheet as required by GAAP with the new ASC 842. This may show up as debt on certain financial platforms due to reporting requirements. Please note this is not debt and is offset by $131 million of operating lease assets. We continue to have a healthy liquidity position. Moreover, GEN continues to generate strong free cash flow which allowed us to self-fund approximately $18 million in new restaurant development costs and an additional $4 million towards the buyout of our GKBH restaurant. We anticipate this trend of substantial self-funding to carry throughout our long-term expansion plans. Lastly, turning to our fiscal 2025 outlook, we expect to open a total of 10 to 13 new units in 2025 which does not include the three recent openings that were originally slated for 2024. We also expect to generate total revenue between $245 million and $250 million and restaurant level adjusted EBITDA margin of 18 plus percent for 2025. This concludes our prepared remarks. We'd like to thank you again for joining us on the call today and we are now happy to answer any questions that you may have. Operator, please open the line for questions.

We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press 1 on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then 2. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Again, if you have a question, please press star then 1. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to David Kim for any closing remarks.

Thank you all again for joining the call. As always, we welcome the opportunity to speak with any of you at one of our upcoming investors conferences. We will be attending the 37th annual Roth Conference in Southern California, March 17 through to 18. We'd love to meet you there, but if you are not able to connect, we'll speak with you all when we report the first quarter of 2025 in May. Thank you.

Thank you, everybody.

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.