Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) plunged in price Wednesday. Dave & Buster’s reported upbeat earnings for its third quarter. Comps were down 1.3% in the quarter and the company reaffirmed FY18 comparable store sales guidance down in the low single digit range.
The Dallas-based owner and operator of entertainment and dining venues today announced total revenues increased 12.9% to $282.1 from $250.0 million, or 15.4% on a comparable week basis.
Net income was $11.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, vs. net income of $12.2 million ($9.7 million on a comparable week basis), or $0.29 per diluted share ($0.22 on a comparable week basis)
EBITDA increased 1.0% to $46.0 million from $45.6 million, or 11.0% on a comparable week basis
The chain opened one new store, the same as in the third quarter of last year.
According to CEO Brian Jenkins, "Driven by strong unit growth, we delivered record top line results for the third quarter. Comparable store sales improved sequentially as we continued to make progress on our key strategic priorities.
"With the 2017 class of stores on track to generate one of our best cash-on-cash returns in recent history, we are more confident than ever in our ability to drive double-digit unit growth and benefit from the large opportunity ahead."
During the third quarter of 2018, the company repurchased approximately 437,000 shares for $25.0 million, with an additional 149,000 shares for $8.8 million through December 4, during the fourth quarter.
As of the same date, cumulatively, the company has repurchased 5.1 million shares for $275.6 million under our $400 million share repurchase authorization.
Shares stumbled $4.22, or 8.3%, to $46.81
