Page 5 of17
Cash Position
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $425.4 million of total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, of which $361.4 million was unrestricted cash. The Company believes that its asset-light business model and cash position will continue to provide strong liquidity during the ongoing recovery from the pandemic.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s leverage ratio was 3.86x compared to 4.36x as of September 30, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s debt service coverage ratio was approximately 4.7x compared to approximately 4.8x as of September 30, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, there were no outstanding borrowings under the revolving credit facility. As of December 31, 2021, $3.3 million was pledged against the revolving credit facility for outstanding letters of credit, leaving $221.7 million available.
GAAP Effective Tax Rate
The Company’s effective tax rate for 2021 was a 19.7% tax expense compared to a 4.2% tax benefit for 2020. The 2021 effective tax rate of 19.7% applied to pretax book income was different than the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% primarily due to the recognition of excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation. The 2020 effective tax rate of 4.2% applied to pretax book loss was significantly different than the statutory Federal income tax rate of 21% primarily because of the $92.2 million impairment of goodwill incurred, which was not deductible for income tax purposes and therefore had no associated tax benefit.
Capital Return to Shareholders
The Company repurchased 59,099 shares of its common stock in 2021 for a total of approximately $4.5 million. On October 29, 2021, the Company declared a cash dividend of $0.40 per share of common stock for the fourth quarter of 2021, which was paid on January 7, 2022.
On February 22, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors declared and approved a 15% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to $0.46 per share of common stock. The dividend will be payable on April 1, 2022, to the Company’s stockholders of record at the close of business on March 21, 2022.
Effective April 1, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors also approved a new share repurchase program of up to $250 million and terminated the existing share repurchase program, approved in February 2019. Approximately $66 million remained available for repurchases under the existing share repurchase program as of December 31, 2021.
Financial Performance Guidance for 2022
The Company’s guidance assumes there are no significant disruptions to its business due to COVID-19 during 2022, except for the impact from Omicron in the first quarter. The projections are as of this date. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement this information.
| • | | General and administrative expenses are expected to range between approximately $188 million and $198 million, including non-cash stock-based compensation expense and depreciation of approximately $30 million. This range reflects incremental investments in technology and operational initiatives as well as unit development and is inclusive of general and administrative expenses related to the company restaurants segment. |