Benzinga | Nov 4, 2021 10:19AM EDT

Papa John's Q3 Earnings Smashes Estimates; Plans $425M Stock Buyback

* Papa John's International Inc (NASDAQ:PZZA) reported a third-quarter FY21 sales growth of 8.4% year-on-year, to $512.78 million, beating the analyst consensus of $498.87 million.

* Adjusted EPS of $0.83 beat the analyst consensus of $0.69.

* Comparable sales growth was 7.3% in Q3, versus the 23% growth recorded last year. Comparable sales growth was up 6.9% for North American restaurants, versus 23.8% growth the prior year.

* Total global system-wide restaurant sales growth was 11.2%. System-wide restaurant sales for International restaurants grew 21.4%, North America franchised restaurants rose 8%, North American restaurants increased 7.9%, and domestic company-owned restaurants gained 7.3%.

* Papa John recorded 46 net unit openings driven by International growth.

* The operating margin was 7.5%, and operating income for the quarter rose 57% to $38.5 million.

* The company held $105.8 million in cash and equivalents as of September 26, 2021, and generated a YTD operating cash flow of $193.6 million with a free cash flow of $145.9 million.

* The board of directors has approved a $425 million shares repurchase program.

* On October 28, 2021, the company's board declared a Q4 dividend of $0.35 per common share, payable on November 19, 2021, to stockholders of record on November 9, 2021.

* Price Action: PZZA shares traded higher by 12% at $138.01 on the last check Thursday.