Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund

Hello, this is the course call conference operator. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Boston Pizza's fourth quarter conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen only mode and the conference is being recorded on February 14th, 2025. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Participants on the call may also post their questions via email to Boston Pizza's Investor Relations Department at InvestorRelations at BostonPizza.com. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star then zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Harbinson, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you, and welcome to the call. Today we'll be discussing the 2024 fourth quarter results for Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund, or the fund, and for Boston Pizza International, or BPI. For complete details on our results, please see our fourth quarter materials filed earlier today on CDAR+, or visit the fund's website at bpincomefund.com. Should you request information after the call, you can reach us via the Investor Relations phone number that's listed in our press release. The fund is a limited-purpose, open-ended trust established under the laws of British Columbia to acquire, indirectly, certain trademarks and trade names used by BPI and its Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada. BPI pays royalty and distribution income to the fund based on franchise revenues of royalty pool restaurants. For a complete description of the fund and its business, please see the annual information form dated February 13, 2025, which was filed on cdarplus.ca. Before I turn the call over to Jordan Holm, President of BPI, I would like to note that certain information in the following discussion may constitute forward-looking information. For a more complete definition of forward-looking information and the associated risks, please refer to the Fund's Management Discussion and Analysis issued earlier today. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this call and, except as required by law, we assume no obligation to provide or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances. And with that, I will now turn the call over to Jordan. Jordan?

Thank you, Michael, and welcome everyone to Boston Pizza's fourth quarter investor conference call. Today, I'll be discussing our fourth quarter and full year 2024 results, and I'll share a brief outlook. Michael will summarize our key financial highlights, and as usual, we'll leave time at the end for your questions. In the fourth quarter, Boston Pizza delivered its strongest performance of the year in terms of year-over-year growth, capping off the highest year for total franchise sales and the highest fourth quarter sales record there as well. Effective promotions were instrumental in Boston Pizza overcoming the macroeconomic challenges that we faced earlier in the earlier quarters of the year. The fund posted franchise sales from restaurants in the royalty pool of $234.2 million for the fourth quarter and $931.7 million for the year ahead. representing increases of 2.9% for the fourth quarter and 0.6% for the year versus the same periods one year ago. Same restaurant sales was 3.4% for the fourth quarter and 0.9% for the year. SRS for the fourth quarter was principally due to menu price increases, and for the year, SRS was principally due to menu price increases partially offset by macroeconomic challenges faced by the full-service restaurant industry. From a marketing perspective, we kicked off the fourth quarter with the introduction of our $15 lunch menu, offering guests a main dish, a side, and a drink of their choice for just $15. Additionally, we launched our Hockey Night in Canada partnership, backed by extensive TV, digital, and social media coverage, as well as in-restaurant promotion at participating Boston Pizza locations nationwide. This partnership runs through the NHL regular season, providing guests with a unique hockey viewing experience and the opportunity to win fantastic prizes through a predictive trivia game with every Molson beverage purchase. We also continued to delight guests with our football-themed menu on game days, offering exciting prizes to enhance their experience. To cap off the year, we unveiled our 2024 holiday campaign, featuring a celebration of new favourites and innovative pasta dishes. Complementing the holiday menu and Hockey Night in Canada partnership was our annual gift card incentive program, where guests who purchased $50 or more in gift cards received a $10 promotional card redeemable at Boston Pizza between January and March 2025. Turning to restaurant development, two new restaurants opened and another nine were renovated during the fourth quarter. For the year, four restaurants were opened, four closed, and 27 have undergone renovations. We have an array of exciting initiatives lined up for the first quarter of 2025 designed to drive sales and attract more guests. I'll share the details with you shortly after we hear from Michael about the fund's financial performance. Michael? Thank you, Jordan.