Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) 8-K Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter Earnings per Share of $1.10

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Investor Relations Contact:

Heather Pribyl

952.253.0731

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. Announces
Fourth Quarter Earnings per Share of $1.10

Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 4, 2014 –Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc.(NASDAQ: BWLD)announced today financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 29, 2013. Highlights for the fourth quarter versus the same period a year ago were:

o Total revenue increased 12.4% to $341.5 million

o Company-owned restaurant sales grew 13.1% to $319.8 million

o Same-store sales increased 5.2% at company-owned restaurants and 3.1% at franchised locations

o Net earnings increased 24.9% to $20.8 million from $16.7 million, and earnings per diluted share increased 23.6% to $1.10 from $0.89

As a reminder, Buffalo Wild Wings utilizes a 52- or 53-week fiscal year. The fiscal year ended December 29, 2013 was a 52-week year, with the fourth quarter of 2013 having thirteen weeks. The fiscal year ended December 30, 2012 was a 53-week year, with the fourth quarter of 2012 including fourteen weeks.

Sally Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “The fourth quarter completed a great year for Buffalo Wild Wings. In 2013 we continued to build the brand for future success by focusing on several key initiatives, including selling chicken wings by portion, our new Stadia restaurant design, continued rollout of our guest experience model, launch of Game Changer beer brewed by Redhook, continued international expansion, and a minority investment in PizzaRev.”

Ms. Smith continued, “Same-store sales growth, along with 53 additional company-owned and 49 franchised restaurants, helped drive the total revenue increase of 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Excluding the fourteenth week of the fourth quarter of 2012, total revenue increased 22.0%. Cost of sales and labor improved as a percentage of company-owned restaurant sales in the fourth quarter compared to last year. As a result, our net earnings grew 24.9% and earnings per diluted share increased 23.6% for the quarter when compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Excluding the fourteenth week in fourth quarter last year, our 2013 fourth quarter net earnings grew 59.6% and earnings per diluted share increased 57.1%.”

Total revenue increased 12.4% to $341.5 million in the fourth quarter compared to $303.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Company-owned restaurant sales for the quarter increased 13.1% over the same period in 2012, to $319.8 million, driven by a company-owned same-store sales increase of 5.2% and 53 additional company-owned restaurants at the end of fourth quarter 2013 relative to the same period in 2012. Franchise royalties and fees increased 2.7% to $21.7 million for the quarter versus $21.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. This increase is attributed to a franchised same-store sales increase of 3.1% and 49 additional franchised restaurants at the end of the period versus a year ago. The revenue increases were calculated using the thirteen weeks of operation in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the fourteen weeks of operation in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Average weekly sales for company-owned restaurants were $58,204 for the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to $55,595 for the same quarter last year, a 4.7% increase. Franchised restaurants averaged $61,167 for the period versus $58,490 in the fourth quarter a year ago, a 4.6% increase.

For the fourth quarter, net earnings increased 24.9% to $20.8 million versus $16.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. Earnings per diluted share were $1.10 as compared to fourth quarter 2012 earnings per diluted share of $0.89.

2014 Outlook

Ms. Smith remarked, “With our wall-to-wall televisions and big screens, Buffalo Wild Wings was the place for our guests to Tablegate™ and watch football - from NCAA bowl games to the NFL playoffs culminating with the Super Bowl. Same-store sales for the first five weeks of 2014 were 4.8% at company-owned restaurants and 2.1% at franchised locations compared to (0.2%) and 1.0%, respectively, for the same period last year. The excitement of March Madness is just around the corner and we’ll launch our Blazin’ Bracket Challenge to engage guests online and in restaurant. In the first quarter we expect to open nine company-owned restaurants, we anticipate our franchise partners in the United States will open 13 locations, and our international franchisees in Mexico have already opened two restaurants.”

Ms. Smith concluded, “We continue to evolve Buffalo Wild Wings as a vibrant and strong brand. We recently achieved a significant milestone with the opening of our 1,000^th location. We are rolling out new guest-facing technologies, including tabletop tablets and proprietary TV content, to further enhance guest engagement. In addition to continued unit growth, net earnings will be driven by same-store sales momentum and continued operational diligence. We reaffirm our 20% net earnings growth goal for 2014.”

Buffalo Wild Wings will be hosting a conference call today, February 4, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time to discuss these results. There will be a simultaneous webcast conducted at our investor websiteir.buffalowildwings.com.

A replay of the call will be available until February 11, 2014. To access this replay, please dial 1-858-384-5517 password 4659693.

About the Company

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., founded in 1982 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a growing owner, operator and franchisor of Buffalo Wild Wings^® restaurants featuring a variety of boldly-flavored, made-to-order menu items including its namesake Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. The Buffalo Wild Wings’ menu specializes in 21 mouth-watering signature sauces and seasonings with flavor sensations ranging from Sweet BBQ^™ to Blazin’^®. Guests enjoy a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere that includes an extensive multi-media system for watching their favorite sporting events. Buffalo Wild Wings is the recipient of hundreds of "Best Wings" and "Best Sports Bar" awards from across the country. There are currently more than 1,000Buffalo Wild Wings locations across 49 states in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Forward-looking Statements

Various remarks we make about future expectations, plans, and prospects for the company constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the Safe Harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to our future financial and store performance measures and growth goals for 2014 and beyond, including but not limited to those relating to our first quarter sales trends and projected unit and net earnings growth rates for 2014 and beyond. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements and are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology, including “anticipates,” “believes,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “potential,” “predicts,” “should” or “will” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Actual results may vary materially from those contained in forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to achieve and manage our planned expansion, the ability of our franchisees to open and manage new restaurants, market acceptance in the new geographic regions we enter (particularly non-U.S. locations), success of acquired restaurants and investments in new or emerging concepts, unforeseen obstacles in developing nontraditional sites or non-U.S. locations, our ability to obtain and maintain licenses and permits necessary to operate our existing and new restaurants, our franchisees’ adherence to our system standards, the cost of commodities such as traditional chicken wings, the success of our key initiatives and our advertising and marketing campaigns, our ability to control restaurant labor and other restaurant operating costs, the continued service of key management personnel, our ability to protect our name and logo and other proprietary information, economic conditions (including changes in consumer preferences or consumer discretionary spending), the impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating to our employees, the sale of food and alcoholic beverages, the effect of competition in the restaurant industry, and other factors disclosed from time to time in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the factors described under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2012, as updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Investors should take such risks into account when making investment decisions. Shareholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS

(Dollar and share amounts in thousands except per share data)

(unaudited)

	Three months ended				Twelve months ended
	December 29, 2013		December 30, 2012		December 29, 2013		December 30, 2012
Revenue:
Restaurant sales	$	319,830		282,679		1,185,351		963,963
Franchise royalties and fees		21,717		21,147		81,368		76,567
Total revenue		341,547		303,826		1,266,719		1,040,530
Costs and expenses:
Restaurant operating costs:
Cost of sales		95,345		90,440		363,755		303,653
Labor		95,802		85,457		360,302		289,167
Operating		47,353		41,645		174,338		141,417
Occupancy		18,127		14,798		68,394		54,147
Depreciation and amortization		22,164		19,023		84,978		67,462
General and administrative		26,620		21,936		96,182		84,149
Preopening		4,965		5,968		14,647		14,630
Loss on asset disposals and impairment		1,560		1,169		3,262		3,291
Total costs and expenses		311,936		280,436		1,165,858		957,916
Income from operations		29,611		23,390		100,861		82,614
Investment income		30		41		674		754
Earnings before income taxes		29,641		23,431		101,535		83,368
Income tax expense		8,826		6,771		29,981		26,093
Net earnings	$	20,815		16,660		71,554		57,275
Earnings per common share – basic	$	1.11		0.90		3.81		3.08
Earnings per common share – diluted		1.10		0.89		3.79		3.06
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic		18,787		18,608		18,770		18,582
Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted		18,965		18,789		18,872		18,705

The following table expresses results of operations as a percentage of total revenue for the periods presented, except for restaurant operating costs which are expressed as a percentage of restaurant sales:

	Three months ended						Twelve months ended
	December 29, 2013			December 30, 2012			December 29, 2013			December 30, 2012
Revenue:
Restaurant sales		93.6	%		93.0	%		93.6	%		92.6	%
Franchising royalties and fees		6.4			7.0			6.4			7.4
Total revenue		100.0			100.0			100.0			100.0
Costs and expenses:
Restaurant operating costs:
Cost of sales		29.8			32.0			30.7			31.5
Labor		30.0			30.2			30.4			30.0
Operating		14.8			14.7			14.7			14.7
Occupancy		5.7			5.2			5.8			5.6
Depreciation and amortization		6.5			6.3			6.7			6.5
General and administrative		7.8			7.2			7.6			8.1
Preopening		1.5			2.0			1.2			1.4
Loss on asset disposals and impairment		0.5			0.4			0.3			0.3
Total costs and expenses		91.3			92.3			92.0			92.1
Income from operations		8.7			7.7			8.0			7.9
Investment income		0.0			0.0			0.1			0.1
Earnings before income taxes		8.7			7.7			8.0			8.0
Income tax expense		2.6			2.2			2.4			2.5
Net earnings		6.1			5.5			5.6			5.5

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

(unaudited)

	December 29, 2013		December 30, 2012
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	57,502		21,340
Marketable securities		7,584		9,579
Accounts receivable – net of allowance of $25		21,845		20,203
Inventory		9,492		7,820
Prepaid expenses		4,509		3,869
Refundable income taxes		4,329		4,122
Deferred income taxes		9,287		5,774
Restricted assets		68,208		52,829
Total current assets		182,756		125,536
Property and equipment, net		440,538		386,570
Reacquired franchise rights, net		33,403		37,370
Goodwill		32,533		32,365
Other assets		16,498		9,246
Total assets	$	705,728		591,087

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Unearned franchise fees	$	1,818		1,763
Accounts payable		31,806		36,418
Accrued compensation and benefits		52,049		39,637
Accrued expenses		13,784		11,461
System-wide payables		67,017		51,564
Total current liabilities		166,474		140,843
Long-term liabilities:
Other liabilities		1,913		1,752
Deferred income taxes		37,822		37,128
Deferred lease credits		33,711		27,992
Total liabilities		239,920		207,715
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Undesignated stock, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued		—		—
Common stock, no par value. Authorized 44,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding 18,803,663 and 18,623,370, respectively		133,203		121,450
Retained earnings		333,601		262,047
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(996	)	(125	)
Total stockholders’ equity		465,808		383,372
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	705,728		591,087

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

(unaudited)

	Twelve months ended
	December 29, 2013			December 30, 2012
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings	$	71,554			57,275
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to cash provided by operations:
Depreciation		79,881			64,154
Amortization		5,097			3,308
Loss on asset disposals and impairment		3,253			2,883
Deferred lease credits		5,247			4,322
Deferred income taxes		(2,209	)		(835	)
Stock-based compensation		11,496			8,119
Excess tax benefit from stock issuance		(5,471	)		(4,151	)
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Trading securities		(1,287	)		(992	)
Accounts receivable		(2,012	)		(11,797	)
Inventory		(1,581	)		(1,088	)
Prepaid expenses		(647	)		(46	)
Other assets		(1,218	)		(2,071	)
Unearned franchise fees		55			(89	)
Accounts payable		(1,467	)		3,172
Income taxes		5,264			7,590
Accrued expenses		13,405			15,434
Net cash provided by operating activities		179,360			145,188
Cash flows for investing activities:
Acquisition of property and equipment		(138,735	)		(130,542	)
Acquisition of businesses/investments in affiliates		(10,288	)		(43,580	)
Purchase of marketable securities		—			(132,140	)
Proceeds from marketable securities		3,282			163,509
Net cash used in investing activities		(145,741	)		(142,753	)
Cash flows for financing activities:
Proceeds from line of credit		5,000			—
Repayments of line of credit		(5,000	)		—
Issuance of common stock		2,514			2,783
Excess tax benefit from stock issuance		5,471			4,151
Tax payments for restricted stock units		(4,946	)		(8,522	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		3,039			(1,588	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents		(496	)		(37	)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents		36,162			810
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year		21,340			20,530
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	$	57,502			21,340

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Supplemental Information

Restaurant Count

Company-owned Restaurants:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
2013	397	407	415	434
2012	327	330	343	381
2011	263	277	288	319
2010	235	234	244	259
2009	206	215	220	232

Franchised Restaurants:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4
2013	514	525	534	559
2012	505	505	511	510
2011	488	492	498	498
2010	430	447	457	473
2009	373	383	400	420

Same-Store Sales

Company-owned Restaurants:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Year
2013	1.4%	3.8%	4.8%	5.2%	3.9%
2012	9.2%	5.3%	6.2%	5.8%	6.6%
2011	3.9%	5.9%	5.7%	8.9%	6.1%
2010	0.1%	(0.1%)	2.6%	(0.3%)	0.6%
2009	6.4%	2.8%	0.8%	2.6%	3.1%

Franchised Restaurants: 

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Year
2013	2.2%	4.1%	3.9%	3.1%	3.3%
2012	7.3%	5.5%	5.8%	7.4%	6.5%
2011	1.6%	2.7%	4.2%	5.9%	3.6%
2010	0.7%	(0.7%)	0.3%	(1.1%)	(0.2%)
2009	6.0%	3.7%	1.9%	2.0%	3.4%

BUFFALO WILD WINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Supplemental Information 

Average Weekly Sales Volumes

Company-owned Restaurants:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Year
2013	$56,953	54,759	55,592	58,204	56,392
2012	55,131	51,524	52,561	55,595	53,783
2011	48,845	47,970	49,461	51,983	49,627
2010	45,327	43,021	44,394	45,595	44,601
2009	45,593	42,938	42,602	44,583	43,912

Franchised Restaurants:

	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Year
2013	$60,050	58,186	58,926	61,167	59,594
2012	57,282	54,766	55,608	58,490	56,570
2011	52,744	50,995	51,350	53,385	52,081
2010	51,532	49,051	49,005	49,837	49,835
2009	50,729	48,619	48,458	50,115	49,479