Twin Hospitality Group Inc.

Greetings. Welcome to Twin Hospitality Group, Inc.' 's second quarter 2025 conference call, hosted by Chief Executive Officer Kim Borrema and Chief Financial Officer Ken Kulik. Also joining today's call is SatBrand, Inc.' 's Chairman of the Board, Andy Wiederhorn. At this time, all participants have been placed in a listen-only mode. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, July 30th, 2025. After the market closed, Twin Hospitality issued its quarterly financial results via press release. Please refer to this document, which can be found in the investor section of the company's website at TwinPeaksRestaurant.com, among other places. Before we begin, I must remind everybody that part of the discussion today will include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and therefore undue reliance should not be placed upon them. Twin Hospitality does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements at a later date. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of risks and uncertainties. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that could impact future operating results and financial condition, please see today's earnings release and recent SEC filings. During today's conference call, the company will also discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which it believes can be useful in evaluating its performance. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations, comparable GAAP measures are available in today's earnings release. I would now like to turn the call over to Kim Vilrema, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining us today. I am excited to be here today on my first earnings call as CEO of Twin Hospitality Group. I joined Twin Hospitality in May, bringing with me three decades of proven restaurant industry expertise with a particular focus on scaling and optimizing high-volume, full-service operations. Most recently, I served as president and COO of Perry's Pizzeria and Tap House, where I helped lead the brand through significant expansion, growing from 10 to 30 locations. Prior to that, I held key leadership positions, including COO of California Pizza Kitchen and regional vice president at Texas Roadhouse, where I oversaw operations of 125 units across 22 states. Over the past two months, I spent time in the field listening to our teams, getting to understand the business firsthand, and shaping a focus growth strategy. What I have discovered has only strengthened my conviction in the tremendous potential of this organization. I believe Twin Peaks has the best franchisees, operators, and partners in the business. We also have a powerful brand, a strong team with passionate people, and clear opportunities to enhance performance and accelerate growth. While our second quarter results reflected some short-term pressures, we are acting with urgency around six clear priorities. First, we are focusing on the fundamentals of great operations. This means reinforcing operational excellence that built this company. Speed, hospitality, energy, and consistency. We must have an unwavering commitment to an exceptional guest experience that defines our brand and drives our success. This is why we are going to double down on guest engagement, Twin Peaks hospitality, and execution. We are also recommitting to the five core pillars of Twin Peaks experience. Scenic views, scratch-made food, 29-degree draft beer, lodge decor, an immersive vibe, and wall-to-wall TVs for unbeatable sports viewing. These elements define our unique value proposition, and we are focused on delivering them with excellence across every lodge and every shift. Second, we are reducing complexity and eliminating redundant systems. We are conducting a comprehensive review of our tools and processes to eliminate redundancies and reduce friction points. This will allow our operators to focus more time on enhancing guest experience and team leadership. Third, we are sharpening our cost discipline across the business. we have launched a full internal spending across both Twin Peaks and Smoky Bones. Our goal is to eliminate inefficiencies and refocus our resources on initiatives that drive returns. Fourth, we are streamlining and strengthening our menu offerings. This quarter, we will be testing a streamlined menu aimed at improving execution, increasing speed of service, and enhancing productivity in the kitchen. This will empower our team to deliver a more consistent and elevated guest experience. We are optimistic that we will see a clear path to maintaining guest satisfaction while simplifying operations. We will also continue to evolve our menu by embracing trends that align with the brand's identity. Even as we complete our menu simplification initiative, we remain committed to introducing exciting new food and bar innovations. Burgers, wings, and flatbreads remain core drivers of our food mix, but to keep the brand fresh and future-ready, we will explore bold, on-trend topping and flavor profiles, especially for burgers and wing flavors. Notably, burger pricing is locked in our food cost control, while flatbreads, our low-cost award-winning category that continues to deliver strong performance. Fifth, we are taking a measured market informed approach to pricing. In today's environment, we know the guests are feeling pressure, so we are being selective and moderate in our pricing adjustments. We have taken increases in targeted categories to help offset labor and commodity pressures while maintaining our barbell pricing strategy to offer strong value at the entry point and optionality for guests who want to trade up. And finally, we are positioning the company to continue growth. We are working with our franchisees and real estate team on a value engineering exercise to reduce build-out costs and improve return on investment. Our smoky bone real estate portfolio gives us significant near-term opportunity to open new Twin Peak locations more efficiently. And we are focused on accelerating the opportunity during Q3 and Q4 in a disciplined, cost-effective way to finalize the plans for those stores that will be converted, as well as plans for those that will not. We will grow with purpose, entering new markets, grow increasingly. growing share in existing ones, and exploring new formats to reach even more fans. Our robust pipeline of 100 committed lodges provides clear visibility to growth, with 75% coming from existing franchise partners. We are on track to open a franchise Twin Peaks Lodge in Fayetteville, North Carolina by year-end, our third conversion from Smoky Bones to Twin Peaks. There are two additional company-owned conversions planned for early 2026. Notably, our converted locations deliver significantly higher volume than they generated at Smokey Bones. Looking to the second half of the year, we are optimistic that stronger sports calendar will drive revenue gains. As part of our football season strategy, we are positioning Twin Peaks as a premier destination for fantasy draft parties with new online reservation capabilities launched this year. Our restaurants will host weekly watch parties featuring gear giveaways, live DJs, and localized specials. We are launching a weekly $1,000 cash giveaway throughout the regular season. Select locations will offer burnt services to capture early game day traffic. Importantly, these draft parties serve as a launchpad for sustained engagement throughout the football season. They help early momentum and drive repeat visits, reinforcing Twin Peaks as the go-to destination for the ultimate sports-watching experience. Beyond football, our third quarter also brings us six to seven major boxing and UFC events, promising high-traffic watch parties. During gaps in the sports calendar, we are maintaining momentum through targeted happy hour promotions and lodge-specific daily specials. Our six strategic priorities reflect our renewed focus on operational excellence, strong unit economics, and discipline growth. Together, they will form the foundation for improving execution, rebuilding momentum, and delivering long-term value. As the sports calendar strengthens, we see meaningful opportunities to drive traffic and engagement in the months ahead. I am more confident than ever in our brand strength and our path forward. In the months ahead, I will continue visiting locations, meet one-on-one with franchise partners, and work closely with our support team to uncover opportunities for innovation and guest connection. I am committed to protecting what makes this brand great. With that, I'll turn the call over to Ken to review our second quarter financial results.

Thanks, Ken. Before I discuss our second quarter results, as announced yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice has dropped all charges against Faprans, our parent company, Andy Wiederhorn, Faprans chairman of the board, and all other defendants. We are grateful to the U.S. Attorney's Office for taking a fresh look at this case, and we are glad to have it behind us. Now, moving on to our results. In the second quarter, our system-wide sales, which includes both Twin Peaks and Smoky Bones, were $181.9 million, a 3.3% decrease from last year's quarter. Of the total, Twin Peaks system-wide sales were $145.2 million in the quarter, an increase from $144.8 million in the prior year quarter, driven by new Twin Peaks lodges that have opened since the second quarter of 2024. partially offset by a 4.4% decrease in same-store sales and both Smokey Bones permanent closures as well as temporary closures for conversions. Total revenue was $87.8 million in the quarter, a 4.1% decrease from $91.6 million in last year's quarter. Looking at revenue between Twin Peaks and Smokey Bones, Twin Peaks revenue was $51.1 million in the quarter, up $2.8 million, or 5.8%, from $48.3 million in the prior year quarter. The increase was driven by the opening of new lodges, partially offset by the decline in same-store sales. Twin Peaks results reflect some short-term pressure as we experienced softer sales and traffic, primarily due to less favorable sports calendaring. The NBA and NHL playoffs, which typically drive strong engagement, lacked key market teams like the Dallas Mavericks this year, impacting our usual momentum during these high stakes periods. International soccer also contributed less than expected, with FIFA Club World Cup matches scheduled during off-peak hours that limited our ability to capture broader audience engagement. Smokey Bones revenue was $36.7 million in the quarter, down 15.2% from $43.3 million in the prior year quarter. Smokey Bones revenue declined as we continue our strategic conversion of Smokey Bones locations into Twin Peaks Lodges, which requires temporary closures. And as a reminder, approximately half of our Smokey Bones locations are part of this transition plan. Since the first quarter of 2024, we have completed the conversion of two Smokey Bones locations into Twin Peaks Lodges, and those units are generating significantly higher AUVs than they did as Smokey Bones locations. Our third conversion is under construction and expected to open later this year or early next year. Finally, we have closed five of the nine underperforming Smokey Bones locations identified at the end of last year. Again, we plan to accelerate and execute on the smoky bones conversions during the third and fourth quarter. Total company-owned restaurant sales were $79.6 million in the quarter, a 4.9% decrease from $83.7 million in last year's quarter. This decline was attributed to the closure of five underperforming Smokey Bones locations, the temporary closure of one Smokey Bones location for conversion into a Twin Peaks Lodge, and lower same-store sales. This was partially offset by the opening of new Twin Peaks Lodges. Franchise revenue increased 4.2% to $8.2 million in the quarter, compared to $7.9 million in last year's quarter, related to the growth from our new Twin Peaks franchise openings, partially offset by the decline in same-store sales. Turning to costs and expenses, food and beverage costs in the quarter decreased 30 basis points to 27.1%, as menu price increases were substantially offset by higher food costs. Commodity inflation during the second quarter was in the low single digits, and we expect these trends to continue for the remainder of 2025. Labor and benefits costs in the quarter increased 20 basis points to 31.8%, as wage inflation and sales deleveraging were mostly offset by menu price increases and labor efficiencies. Other operating costs increased 150 basis points to 21.4% in the quarter, compared to 19.9% in the prior year quarter due to sales deleveraging. Occupancy costs increased 10 basis points to 8% in the quarter, compared to 7.9% in last year's quarter, also due to sales deleveraging. Restaurant-level contribution margin decreased 160 basis points to 11.8% from 13.4% in last year's quarter. Looking at individual brand performance, Twin Peaks restaurant-level contribution margin decreased 30 basis points to 17.7% from 18% in last year's quarter, reflecting the decline in same-source sales. Smokey Bones restaurant-level contribution margin decreased 410 basis points to 4.9% from 9% in last year's quarter. And as we continue to close higher-performing Smokey Bones locations for conversion to Twin Peaks Lodges, we expect continued pressure on Smokey Bones restaurant-level contribution margins. General and administrative expense was $19.9 million compared to $6.9 million in the year-ago quarter, reflecting non-cash share-based compensation related to our public listing earlier this year. Total other expense net, which consisted primarily of interest expense, was $11.3 million compared to $12.2 million in last year's quarter. Net loss in the quarter was $20.8 million compared to $10.7 million in last year's quarter. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $5.2 million compared to $7 million in last year's quarter. Twin Peaks adjusted EBITDA was $7.2 million compared to $7.9 million in last year's quarter. And Smokey Bones adjusted EBITDA was negative $1.9 million in the quarter compared to a positive $12,000 in last year's quarter. Turning to the balance sheet, following our bond refinancing in the fourth quarter of last year, we committed to raise between $75 and $100 million of equity in 2025 and using 75% of that to reduce outstanding debt. While we anticipated securing the first one-third of that amount by April, the volatile market conditions in the second quarter and completing our CEO search impacted our ability to do so. Despite this temporary timing adjustment, we are confident that we will achieve our full annual equity target raise over the next 12 months. And with that, I'll turn it back over to Kim for closing remarks.

Thank you, Ken. Before we open for questions, I wanted to highlight our recent Twin Peaks Idea Exchange held at the Fountain Blue Miami Beach, celebrating 20 years of Twin Peaks. Over 600 attendees, including franchise owners, general managers, and vendor partners gathered for three days of alignment, inspiration, and celebration. As our largest annual gathering, the idea exchange continues to be a vital forum for aligning on growth strategies, sharing best practices, and strengthening the culture that drives our success. Attendees left energized, inspired, and more excited than ever about the future of Twin Peaks. I'm also pleased to report that Twin Peaks has earned the 97th spot on the 2025 Technomic Top 500 list of the largest restaurant chains in the US. Additionally, as part of our commitment to the communities we served, we raised over $100,000 for Texas flood relief efforts. These milestones, along with our strategic initiatives and financial discipline, underscore our confidence in Twin Peaks' continued growth and success. With that, I'd like to thank you again for your interest in twin hospitality. Ken and I are now happy to answer any questions that you may have. Operator, please open the line for questions.

Thank you. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. And for participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary... to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment while we poll for questions. Our first question is from Roger Lipton with Lipton Financial Services. Please go ahead, sir.

Yeah, hi, Kim. Hi, Kim. And Kim, I'm looking forward to meeting you sometime real soon. You too, sir. Hey, Roger. Yeah, obviously a lot of moving parts here as you get your feet on the ground, Kim. Could you provide... us with just a rough estimate relative to smoky bones, what the chain will look like, say, as best you can tell, rough estimate, nobody's holding it to it, say six months from now, by the end of this year, you've closed a handful, you've converted a couple, and so of the remaining smoky bones that you're managing, how will that change over the next six months? If you want to take another year, fine, but Obviously, your visibility isn't the greatest right now, yet.

Yeah, I would say there's going to be moderate changes. As I have a chance to work with the team there to assess where our leases are and what opportunities are out there to convert, I think there's going to be very moderate change until we can figure out really how to balance. our performance there from a top-line sales perspective and quality of profits at the bottom line. So I'm going to say there's going to be minimal change. We do have some leases that once they expire this year, we will close, but it's only a handful at this point. So it's going to be minimal change.

Okay. Just a second. Okay. Just add a couple of things for that. So again, of the 60 Smokey Bones restaurants, half of them or about 30 of them will be converted into twin locations. Of the 30, 10 of them will be company owned and 20 will be franchise locations. And of the 20 franchise locations, 10 are in existing franchise markets and 10 are in markets that we're not in yet. We've done two conversions so far, two company owned conversions. There's a franchise conversion in Fayetteville that will be completed this year. We're in process on a company-owned location in Kissimmee, Florida. We have a couple of additional company-owned locations for early next year, several more franchise locations to be converted over the next six to nine months. So I would say over the next 12 months or 12 months from now, we'll have most of the conversions completed or underway. Um, we identified at the end of the year, nine underperforming smoky loans locations. We closed five of them through the end of the second quarter. We closed an additional three of them in the third quarter. So those will be closed by the end of the year. We'll continue to make assessments on the restaurants that are left, but that's where we, that's where I would say we would think we'd be in the next 12 months.

Okay. Um, and the, the, the GNA is the biggest, the increase in the GNA year to year is the biggest single, um, negative line item uh and of course a great deal out of smoky bones gna what what as a percentage of sales as a percentage of of um twin peak sales what is a rough percentage number yeah so first of all on the comment of gna in the second quarter uh the majority of that 12 and a half million dollars of that increase was um equity grants that were uh granted

after the listing of Twin Peaks. So most of that is in the second quarter. So that expense will go down significantly going forward. On the G&A side overall, we're continuing to be focused on consolidating the G&A between Smoky Bones and Twin Peaks. And we think we'll get that done by the end of the year. And we're looking to greatly reduce our G&A overall.

All right. Okay. Okay. And Kim, do you have any thoughts in terms of the store level at 17.4% store-level margin at Twin Peaks, which is not too shabby, really. But what are your initial thoughts in terms of whether there's room to improve that or whether it's going to be perhaps a challenge just to maintain it? What do you think?

I think, listen, I'm proud of the team. They've done a really good job managing our gap in sales decline. The team is committed. As I said, I think there's some things that internally are causing some EBITDA gaps and flow through that we're going to adjust and look at. Like I said in our read that we're doing a deep analysis on all of our cost structure to make sure that everything that we're doing is adding value both to the restaurant experience, the guest experience, and to the bottom line. This is a little bit of a process. There's a lot a lot between both brands that we're looking at, but I am confident that we're going to find some improvements both with sales as the sports calendar improves and with our performance on the bottom line.

All right. For the moment, there's not much more you can say. You haven't been there all that long, so I'm sure a lot of great deals are going to come into focus over the next three to six months, so I'll look forward to following the progress.

You bet. Yeah, very excited to be here. I'm very proud of what the team's doing so far.

Okay, thank you. Thanks, Roger.

There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the conference back over to Kim for closing remarks.

Sure. Well, thank you very much. Thanks, everybody, for attending. We'll talk in the next call. Thank you.

Thank you. This will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.