The decreases in the Other Revenue for the 13-week and 39-week periods ended July 2, 2011 compared with the comparable periods of the prior year are due to the impact of management fees included in Other Revenue in the prior periods related to VIEs which are now consolidated.
Food and beverage costs for the third quarter of 2011 as a percentage of total revenues were 27.6% (excluding food and beverage costs associated with VIEs in the amount of $1,512,000) as compared to 25.6% for the third quarter of 2010. Food and beverage costs for the 39-weeks ended July 2, 2011 as a percentage of total revenues were 27.1% (excluding food and beverage costs associated with VIEs in the amount of $4,453,000) as compared to 25.6% for the 39-week period ended July 3, 2010. These increases are the result of higher commodity prices in the current fiscal year.
Other operating costs and expenses as a percentage of total revenues were 12.6% for the third fiscal quarter of 2011 (excluding other operating costs and expenses associated with VIEs in the amount of $856,000) were compared to 12.5% in the third quarter of 2010. Other operating costs and expenses for the 39-weeks ended July 2, 2011 as a percentage of total revenues were 13.6% (excluding other operating costs and expenses associated with VIEs in the amount of $1,941,000) and were comparable to 13.6% for the 39-week period ended July 3, 2010.
General and administrative expenses (which relate solely to the corporate office in New York City and therefore there is no impact from the VIEs) as a percentage of total revenues were 5.9% and 7% for the 13-week and 39-week periods ended July 2, 2011, respectively, compared to 6.3% and 8.5% for the 13-week and 39-week periods ended July 3, 2010, respectively, and were in line with management expectations.
The income tax provision on income from continuing operations for the 39-week periods ended July 2, 2011 and July 3, 2010 reflect effective tax rates of approximately 12% and 32%, respectively. The Company expects its effective tax rate for its current fiscal year to be significantly lower than the statutory rate as a result of the inclusion of operating income attributable to the non-controlling interests of the VIEs that is not taxable to the Company. The final annual tax rate cannot be determined until the end of the fiscal year; therefore, the actual tax rate could differ from our current estimates.
An audit of the Company’s tax returns for the fiscal years 2008 and 2009 was recently completed by the Internal Revenue Service and did not result in a material adjustment to the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
The Company’s overall effective tax rate in the future will be affected by factors such as the level of losses incurred at the Company’s New York facilities, which cannot be consolidated for state and local tax purposes, pre-tax income earned outside of New York City, the utilization of state and local net operating loss carryforwards and the utilization of FICA tax credits. Nevada has no state income tax and other states in which the Company operates have income tax rates substantially lower in comparison to New York. In order to utilize more effectively tax loss carryforwards at restaurants that were unprofitable, the Company has merged certain profitable subsidiaries with certain loss subsidiaries.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our primary source of capital has been cash provided by operations. We utilize cash generated from operations to fund the cost of developing and opening new restaurants, acquiring existing restaurants owned by others and remodeling existing restaurants we own.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the 39-week period ended July 2, 2011 was $3,170,000 and resulted from net proceeds from the sales of investment securities and the inclusion of cash balances from VIEs in the amount of $757,000 partially offset by purchases of fixed assets at existing restaurants and the construction ofThe Broadway Burger Barlocated at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the 39-week period ended July 3, 2010 was $1,815,000 and resulted from net proceeds from the sales of investment securities partially offset by purchases of fixed assets at existing restaurants and the construction ofRobertin New York City.
Net cash used in financing activities for the 39-week periods ended July 2, 2011 and July 3, 2010 of $3,980,000 and $6,338,000, respectively was principally used for the payment of dividends and distributions to non-controlling interests in 2011.
The Company had a working capital surplus of $2,794,000 at July 2, 2011 (excluding working capital from VIEs) as compared to a working capital surplus of $4,897,000 at October 2, 2010.
On December 8, 2010, April 1, 2011 and June 29, 2011, the Company paid quarterly cash dividends in the amount of $0.25 per share on the Company’s common stock. The Company intends to continue to pay such quarterly cash dividend for the foreseeable future, however, the payment of future dividends is at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors and is based on future earnings, cash flow, financial condition, capital requirements, changes in U.S. taxation and other relevant factors
In February 2010, the Company entered into an amendment to its lease for the food court space at theNew York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pursuant to this amendment, the Company agreed to, among other things; commit no less than $3,000,000 to remodel the food court by March 2012. In exchange for this commitment, the landlord agreed to extend the food court lease for an additional four years. Through August 2011, the Company has spent approximately $1,300,000 related to this commitment in connection withThe Broadway Burger Bar construction discussed below.
On March 18, 2011, a subsidiary of the Company entered into a lease agreement to operate a yet to be named restaurant and bar in New York City. In connection with the agreement, the landlord has agreed to contribute up to $1,800,000 towards the construction of the facility, which the Company expects to be $4,000,000 to $5,000,000. The initial term of the lease for this facility will expire on March 31, 2027 and will have one five-year renewal. The Company anticipates the restaurant will open during the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year.
On April 17, 2011, the Company suffered a flood at its Sequoia property located in Washington, DC. The Company expects to recover substantially all of its losses from insurance proceeds and/or the landlord and does not expect unrecovered amounts to have a material impact on its consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
On June 7, 2011, the Company entered into a 10-year exclusive agreement to manage a yet to be constructed restaurant and catering service atBasketball City in New York City in exchange for a fee of $1,000,000 ($400,000 of which has been paid as of July 2, 2011 and is included in Intangibles Assets in the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet). Under the terms of the agreement the owner of the property will construct the facility at their expense and the Company will pay the owner an annual fee based on sales, as defined in the agreement. The Company expects to begin operating this property in the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year.
Recent Restaurant Expansion
In August 2010, the Company entered into an agreement to lease the formerESPN Zone space at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino Resort in Las Vegas and re-open the space under the nameThe Sporting House. Such lease is cancellable upon 90 days written notice no earlier than May 31, 2011 and provides for rent based on profits only. This restaurant opened at the end of October 2010 and the Company did not invest significant funds to re-open the space.
In the quarter ended January 1, 2011 the Company combined three fast food outlets located in theVillage Eateries in the New York-New York Hotel & Casino Resort in Las Vegas into a new restaurant,The Broadway Burger Bar, which opened at the end of December 2010.
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Recent Restaurant Dispositions
The Company was advised by the landlord that it would have to vacate theGonzalez y Gonzalez property located in New York, NY, which was on a month-to-month lease. The closure of this property occurred on January 31, 2011.
During the fourth fiscal quarter of 2010, the Company closed itsPinch & S’Mac operation located in New York City, and re-concepted the location asPolpette, which featured meatballs and other Italian food. Sales atPolpette failed to reach the level sufficient to achieve the results the Company required. As a result, the Company closed this restaurant on February 6, 2011 and it was sold on April 28, 2011 for $400,000, including a four-year note for $100,000 bearing interest at 6%. The Company realized a loss on the sale of $71,000 which was recorded during the second quarter of fiscal 2011 as well as operating losses of $0 and $148,000 for the 13-weeks and 39-weeks ended July 2, 2011, respectively, all of which are included in discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Condensed Statement of Operations.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements requires the application of certain accounting policies, which may require the Company to make estimates and assumptions of future events. In the process of preparing its consolidated condensed financial statements, the Company estimates the appropriate carrying value of certain assets and liabilities, which are not readily apparent from other sources. The primary estimates underlying the Company’s consolidated condensed financial statements include allowances for potential bad debts on accounts and notes receivable, leases, the useful lives and recoverability of its assets, such as property and intangibles, fair values of financial instruments, the realizable value of its tax assets and other matters. Management bases its estimates on certain assumptions, which they believe are reasonable in the circumstances, and actual results could differ from those estimates. Although management does not believe that any change in those assumptions in the near term would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or the results of operations, differences in actual results could be material to the consolidated condensed financial statements.
The Company’s critical accounting policies are described in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended October 2, 2010. There have been no significant changes to such policies during fiscal 2011, other than the implementation of amendments to ASC 810 (formerly FASB Statement of Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 167—Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R) (“SFAS No. 167”)) which required the Company to consolidate certain variable interest entities effective October 3, 2010.
Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Standards
See Note 1 to the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements for a description of recent accounting pronouncements, including those adopted in fiscal 2011 and the expected dates of adoption and the anticipated impact on the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.
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Item 3. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
The Company purchases commodities such as chicken, beef, lobster and shrimp for the Company’s restaurants. The prices of these commodities may be volatile depending upon market conditions. The Company does not purchase forward commodity contracts because the changes in prices for these items have historically been short-term in nature and, in the Company’s view, the cost of the contracts is in excess of the benefits.
The Company’s business is also highly seasonal and dependent on the weather. Outdoor seating capacity, such as terraces and sidewalk cafes, are available for dining only in the warm seasons and then only in clement weather.
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Item 4. | Controls and Procedures |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Based on this evaluation, our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of July 2, 2011 to ensure that all material information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to them as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and that all such information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
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Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during the third quarter of fiscal 2011 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations of the Effectiveness of Internal Control
A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the internal control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations of any internal control system, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues, if any, within a company have been detected.
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PART II
OTHER INFORMATION
The Company is not subject to any other pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine claims incidental to its business, which the Company does not believe will materially impact results of operations.
The most significant risk factors applicable to the Company are described in Part I, Item 1A (Risk Factors) of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 2, 2010 (the “2010 Form 10-K”). There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the 2010 Form 10-K. The risks described in the 2010 Form 10-K are not the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to management may materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition, and/or operating results.
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Item 2. | Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds |
None.
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Item 3. | Defaults upon Senior Securities |
None.
None.
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31.1 | Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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31.2 | Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32 | Certificate of Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officers Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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101.INS* | XBRL Instance Document |
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101.SCH* | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
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101.CAL* | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
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101.DEF* | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
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101.LAB* | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
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101.PRE* | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
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|
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*Pursuant to Rule 406T of Regulation S-T, the Interactive Data Files on Exhibit 101 hereto are deemed not filed or part of a registration statement or prospectus for purposes of Sections 11 or 12 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are deemed not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and otherwise are not subject to liability under those sections.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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Date: | August 16, 2011 |
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| ARK RESTAURANTS CORP. |
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By: | /s/ Michael Weinstein | |
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| Michael Weinstein | |
| Chairman & Chief Executive Officer |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
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By: | /s/ Robert J. Stewart | |
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| Robert J. Stewart | |
| Chief Financial Officer |
| (Authorized Signatory and Principal |
| Financial and Accounting Officer) |
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