Cracker Barrel 2012 Annual Report Download - page 3

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SUCCESS
It’s a pleasure to highlight in this Annual Report the many
successes Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. had in fiscal
2012. A clearly focused and well-executed strategy led to
a year of positive financial results for our shareholders. The
priorities we announced at the beginning of the fiscal year
steered our progress over the course of the year, and we
also outlined our three-year strategy for ongoing success.
Operationally,we stayed focused on meeting our guests’
needs and, along the way, we celebrated the biggest sales
day in the company’s history. Financially, we grew sales,
operating margins,and earnings per share. We paid down
debt and increased the dividend for shareholders. Overall,
it was a year of many accomplishments, and I am proud
of the 70,000 men and women who are part of Cracker
Barrel and whose work every day is dedicated to this great
company’s success.
There was progress on several important fronts this year.
We introduced new menu items such as our $5.99 daily
lunch specials and seasonal promotions, and we enhanced the
entire salad category. We improved our retail merchandise
with an increased focus on affordable, unique and nostalgic
items. We strengthened the Cracker Barrel brand connection
to our guests through multiple channels, including new TV
and radio messaging, focused digital media outreach,
Financial Performance
The year’s financial results reflect our success and
commitment to generating positive returns for you, our
shareholders. The success of our sales began with an
increase in store traffic. The last three quarters of fiscal 2012
were three successive quarters of increased year-over-
year traffic growth. On a comparable 52-week period, we
grew revenues in fiscal 2012 by 3.9% to $2.5 billion, with
comparable store restaurant sales increasing 3.8% and
comparable store retail sales increasing 3.1%. With this
top-line growth, we outperformed the Knapp-TrackTM
Casual Dining Index, culminating in a 1.1% positive
spread between our sales and the industry metric.
In addition to outperforming the Knapp-TrackTM Index, we
improved our operating margin, achieving 7.4%, compared
to 6.9% in fiscal 2011. This improvement was the result
of the many cost savings initiatives that enhanced our
operating platform. Our adjusted earnings per diluted share
grew 13.9% to $4.34, adjusted for severance and proxy
expenses and on a comparative 52-week basis. During
2012, we increased the quarterly dividend by over 80% to
$0.40 and reduced our debt by $25 million. In addition,
ending the year with 616 stores in 42 states. We added
new depth in our executive leadership team and continued our
board succession. All the while, we focused on increasing
shareholder returns.
and memorable music programs. We opened 13 the market price per share of the Company’s common
stock was $62.96 at the close of business on the last day
of fiscal 2012 (as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select
new Cracker Barrel Old Country Store®locations,
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