Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund

Hello, this is the course call conference operator. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Boston Pizza's first quarter conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded on May 9th, 2025. After the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. Participants on the call may also pose 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 a telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Harbinson, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

Thank you very much, and welcome to the call, everyone. Today, we'll be discussing the 2025 first quarter results for both Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund, or the fund, and for Boston Pizza International, or BPI. For complete details on our financial results, please see our first quarter materials filed earlier today on CDAR+, or visit the Fund's website at bpincomefund.com. Should you require additional information after the call, you can reach us via the Investor Relations phone number that is 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, in its Boston Pizza restaurants in Canada. BPI pays royalty income 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 March 28, 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 update 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 first quarter 2025 investor conference call. Today I'll be discussing our first quarter results and share a brief outlook. Michael will then summarize our key financial highlights and as usual we'll leave time for your questions at the end of today's call. In the first quarter Boston Pizza achieved record high first quarter total franchise sales and delivered strong same restaurant sales results. Our engaging promotions was focused on day parts and late night sectors, clearly resonated with guests, bringing excitement and energy into our restaurants across Canada. Additionally, sustained momentum in our takeout and delivery business contributed meaningfully to our strong same restaurant sales performance. The fund posted franchise sales from restaurants in the royalty pool of $231.1 million for the first quarter, representing an increase of 4.1% versus the same period one year ago. Same restaurant sales was 4.4% for the first quarter and was principally due to the positive performance of promotional initiatives, sustained momentum in the takeout delivery business, and the benefit of being compared to softer performance in the first quarter of 2024. From a marketing perspective, we kicked off the first quarter with Boston Pizza's past the Tuesday all month long promotion in January. where guests enjoyed pastas every day of the week starting at just $11.99 with gourmet pastas available for $15.99. The promotion paired perfectly with the winter lineup of sporting events as we continued our partnership with Hockey Night in Canada throughout the full regular NHL season. To celebrate the NFL playoff season, we introduced an exciting NFL Pepsi promotion offering guests special pricing on six-packs and a chance to win exclusive NFL prizes, including a trip to the Super Bowl. On February 14, 2025, we celebrated one of our most cherished traditions at Boston Pizza, Valentine's Day with heart-shaped pizzas. For every pizza sold, $1 was donated to support local charities across our communities. Thanks to the generosity of our guests, this meaningful promotion raised over $600,000 for the Boston Pizza Foundation and local charities across Canada. In terms of restaurant development, the first quarter saw no new restaurants opened or closed, and six restaurants have undergone renovations. We have an array of exciting initiatives lined up for the second quarter of 2025 designed to drive sales and attract more guests. I'll share more details with you shortly after we first hear from Michael about the fund's financial performance. Michael?