IHOP 2015 Annual Report Download - page 6

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in Kansas City. By improving our organizational agility,
collaboration and alignment, this measure will enable us
to streamline operations, enhance speed to market and
lay the foundation to potentially diversify our brand port-
folio. We believe that the historical legacy of two separate
headquarters does not support the successful execution
of our growth plan. Everything we are doing today —
accelerating growth and innovation to grow our business
— depends upon our ability to engage more collabora-
tively and operate more efficiently as an organization,
and I am confident that nothing could better facilitate
that than putting brand-centric teams under one roof.
CHANGING THE STORY AT APPLEBEE’S
We are maintaining a relentless focus on changing
the story at Applebee’s. It starts with a commitment to
return Applebee’s to positive comparable system-wide
same-restaurant sales growth in 2016. We are seeking
to reestablish Applebee’s as America’s first choice grill
and bar — the place to be with friends and family — by
strengthening our roots in the notions of Americana and
neighborliness that have long distinguished this iconic
brand. We have presented franchisees with a bolder,
more focused playbook that is designed to separate us
from the pack in casual dining, beginning with a set of
initiatives that we expect to gain traction in 2016.
In order to spearhead this transition, I have assumed
the role of brand president for Applebee’s and will
remain in this position until Applebee’s performance
is back on course. With extensive knowledge of the
Applebee’s brand and a long history with our team
members and franchisees, I am uniquely aware of what we
need to accomplish. I am encouraged by the alignment
we received from franchisees at our most recent fran-
chise conference, when we unveiled the bold initiatives
FREE CASH FLOW2
(in millions)
$128.6
2013
$120.9
2014
$142.3
2015
REVENUE
(in millions)
$640.5
2013
$655.0
2014
$681.1
2015
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
(in millions)
$7.0
2013
$5.9
2014
$6.6
2015
INTEREST EXPENSE
(in millions)
$100.3
2013
$96.6
2014
$63.3
2015
per common share. Altogether, we
returned approximately $136 million
to shareholders in 2015, through
a combination of cash dividend
payments and share repurchases. As
of the close of business on December
31, 2015, our dividend yield was 4.1%,
one of the highest in the restaurant
category. Additionally, we substan-
tially increased the share repurchase
authorization for our common
stock to $150 million, replacing the
remaining previous authorization
of approximately $48 million as of
the end of the third quarter. Since
reinstating the cash dividend in 2013,
we have paid approximately $166
million in quarterly cash dividends
and have repurchased over $131
million of our common stock, and we
plan to continue returning a signif-
icant portion of free cash flow to
shareholders through a sustainable
program of quarterly dividends and
share repurchases.
CONSOLIDATING INTO
A SINGLE LOCATION
In support of our vision for
DineEquity’s next chapter, we made
an important strategic decision in
2015 to initiate the process of consol-
idating our restaurant and franchisee
support functions in Glendale, and
wind down most of our operations
2. For fiscal years ended December 31, 2013, 2014, and 2015, respectively, “Free cash flow" for a given period is defined as cash provided by operating activities,
plus receipts from notes and equipment contracts receivable, less capital expenditures. (See non-U.S. GAAP financial measure reconciliation of cash
provided by operating activities to free cash flow in the Company’s 2015 Form 10-K filing.)