: Papa John’s tops profit expectations, but revenue and same-store sales fall short

Papa John’s International Inc. PZZA reported Thursday a first-quarter profit that topped expectations, but revenue that fell short and a surprise decline in same-store sales. The pizza chain’s stock was still inactive in premarket trading. Net income more than doubled, to $22.4 million, or 65 cents a share, from $10.5 million, or 29 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share fell to 68 cents from 95 cents but were above the FactSet consensus of 67 cents. Revenue fell 2.9% to $527 million, below the FactSet consensus of $534 million, while total same-stores sales fell 1.3% to miss expectations of 0.2% growth. Domestic company-owned restaurants saw same-store sales rise 3.4%, while same-store sales for North America franchised restaurants declined 0.8% and for international restaurants were down 5.8%. The stock has dropped 8.5% year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 6.5%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.