Occupancy expenses for the 13 and 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012 decreased as compared to the same periods of fiscal 2011 as a result of a reduction in costs related to properties that were closed due to lease expiration.
General and administrative expenses (which relate solely to the corporate office in New York City) for the 13-weeks ended June 30, 2012 decreased compared to the same period of fiscal 2011 as a result of the elimination of the former President’s salary in connection with his resignation in December 2011. General and administrative expenses (which relate solely to the corporate office in New York City) for the 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012 increased compared to the same period of fiscal 2011 as a result amounts recorded in connection with the former President’s separation agreement partially offset by cost cutting measures implemented in the latter part of fiscal 2011.
The Company’s provision for income taxes consists of U.S. Federal, state and local taxes in amounts necessary to align the Company’s year-to-date provision for income taxes with the effective tax rate that the Company expects to achieve for the full year. The income tax provision on income from continuing operations for the 39-week periods ended June 30, 2012 and July 2, 2011 reflect effective tax rates of approximately 28% and 12%, respectively. The provision for income tax consists of U.S. Federal, state and local taxes and includes discrete items related to certain tax return to provision adjustments in connection with the filing of the fiscal 2011 and 2010 tax returns respectively, and the accrual of interest for uncertain tax positions. 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 tax credits and 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 current estimates.
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.
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 used in financing activities for the 39-week period ended June 30, 2012 of $5,337,000 was principally used for the payment of dividends, purchase of treasury stock and distributions to non-controlling interests.
Net cash used in financing activities for the 39-week period ended July 2, 2011 of $3,980,000 was principally used for the payment of dividends and distributions to non-controlling interests.
The Company had a working capital surplus of $367,000 at June 30, 2012, as compared to a working capital surplus of $4,080,000 at October 1, 2011 resulting primarily from the construction ofClyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine located in New York City. We believe that our existing cash balances, investments and cash provided by operations will be sufficient to meet our liquidity and capital spending requirements at least through the next 12 months.
On December 30, 2011, April 4, 2012 and June 29, 2012 the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.25 per share on the Company’s common stock. The Company intends to continue to pay such quarterly cash dividends 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 the New 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 during 2012. In exchange for this commitment, the landlord agreed to extend the food court lease for an additional four years. As of June 30, 2012, the Company has spent approximately $2,000,000 related to this commitment.
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 (all of which has been paid as of June 30, 2012 and is included in Intangible Assets in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheet). Under the terms of the agreement, the owner of the property will construct the facility at its 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 within the next 12 months.
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 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.
On March 18, 2011, a subsidiary of the Company entered into a lease agreement to operate a restaurant and bar in New York City namedClyde Frazier’s Wine and Dine. In connection with the agreement, the landlord has agreed to contribute up to $1,800,000 towards the construction of the facility (of which $1,000,000 was received as of June 30, 2012), which totaled approximately $7,000,000. The initial term of the lease for this facility expires on March 31, 2027 and has one five-year renewal. This restaurant opened during the second quarter of fiscal 2012 and as a result the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Operations for the 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012 includes approximately $970,000 of pre-opening and early operating losses related to this facility.
Recent Restaurant Dispositions
Lease Expirations–On July 8, 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with the landlord ofTheGrill Room property located in New York City, whereby in exchange for a payment of $350,000 the Company vacated the property on October 31, 2011. Such payment and the related loss on closure of the property, in the amount of $179,000, are included in Other Operating Costs and Expenses in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Operations for the 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012. This lease was scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011.
The Company was advised by the landlord that it would have to vacate theAmerica property located in Washington, DC, which was on a month-to-month lease. The closure of this property occurred on November 7, 2011. The related loss on closure of this property, in the amount of $186,000, is included in Other Operating Costs and Expenses in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Operations for the 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012.
Discontinued Operations – 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. 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 $148,000 for the 39-weeks ended July 2, 2011, all of which are included in discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations.
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Effective March 15, 2012, the Company vacated its food court operations at the MGM Grand Casino at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, CT. The Company determined that it would not be able to operate this facility profitably at this location at the current rent. As a result, the Company recorded a disposal loss in the amount of $270,000, which was recorded during the second quarter of fiscal 2011, as well as operating losses of $343,000 for the 39-weeks ended June 30, 2012, all of which are included in discontinued operations in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Operations.
The results of discontinued operations were as follows:
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| | June 30, 2012 | | July 2, 2011 | | June 30, 2012 | | July 2, 2011 | |
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Income (loss) before income taxes | | $ | 2 | | $ | (264 | ) | $ | (613 | ) | $ | (1,219 | ) |
Income tax expense (benefit) | | | (39 | ) | | 10 | | | (218 | ) | | (182 | ) |
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Net income (loss) | | $ | 41 | | $ | (274 | ) | $ | (395 | ) | $ | (1,037 | ) |
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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 1, 2011. There have been no significant changes to such policies during fiscal 2012.
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 2012 and the expected dates of adoption and the anticipated impact on the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.
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.
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 June 30, 2012 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
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and that all such information is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
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 2012 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
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
The Company is not subject to other pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary claims incidental to its business, which the Company does not believe will materially impact results of operations.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
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 1, 2011 (the “2011 Form 10-K”). There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously disclosed in the 2011 Form 10-K. The risks described in the 2011 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.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
None.
Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not Applicable.
Item 5. Other Information
None.
Item 6. Exhibits
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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. |
101.INS* XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH* XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL* XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF* XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB* XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE* XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
*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 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 14, 2012 | |
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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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