EXHIBIT 99.3
[AFC LOGO]
AFC ENTERPRISES RELEASES MID-QUARTER BUSINESS UPDATE FOR FOURTH QUARTER 2003
Company Provides Key Operational Drivers for Periods 11 and 12 of 2003
ATLANTA, Dec. 16 -- AFC Enterprises, Inc. (Ticker: AFCE), the franchisor and
operator of Popeyes(R) Chicken & Biscuits, Church's Chicken(TM), Cinnabon(R)
and the franchisor of Seattle's Best Coffee(R) in Hawaii, on military bases and
internationally, today released key operating performance measures for the
Company's fiscal period 11, which began October 6, 2003 and ended November 2,
2003, and fiscal period 12, which began November 3, 2003 and ended November 30,
2003.
Overall Performance
Domestic System-wide Comparable Store Sales
The Company reported that blended domestic system-wide comparable store sales
at its restaurants, bakeries and cafes were down 1.1 percent in period 11 and
flat in period 12 of 2003, compared to down 2.5 percent and down 3.0 percent
for period 11 and period 12 of 2002.
Domestic system-wide comparable store sales by brand were as follows:
P11 2002 P11 2003 P12 2002 P12 2003
Domestic System-wide 10/7/02- 10/6/03- 11/4/02- 11/3/03-
Comparable Store Sales 11/3/02 11/2/03 12/1/02 11/30/03
Popeyes (0.5%) (3.1%) (1.6%) (1.1%)
Church's (5.9%) 3.2% (3.4%) 2.0%
Cinnabon (1.8%) (4.0%) (9.3%) 0.0%
Blended Domestic System-wide (2.5%) (1.1%) (3.0%) 0.0%
Comparable Store Sales
"The Company continues to see improvements in domestic system-wide comparable
store sales with period 12 of 2003 representing the best period performance
since the second quarter of 2002. Church's had a favorable increase of up 3.2
percent in period 11 and up 2.0 percent in period 12, primarily driven by new
food-focused advertising, successful product tests, and the holiday pecan and
sweet potato pie sales. We are pleased with our recent operational results and
we continue to strive for greater performance for each of our brands," said
Dick Holbrook, President and COO of AFC Enterprises.
Unit Openings and Unit Count
The AFC system opened a total of 66 restaurants, bakeries and cafes during
periods 11 and 12 of 2003, compared to 60 total system-wide openings during the
same periods in 2002. On a system-wide basis, AFC had 4,077 units at the end of
period 12 of 2003, representing 448 Company-owned units and 3,629 franchised
restaurants, bakeries and cafes.
Unit Openings Unit Count
P11 P11 P12 P12 P11 P11 P12 P12
2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003
Popeyes 15 17 11 17 Popeyes 1,681 1,785 1,694 1,796
Church's 3 6 13 4 Church's 1,481 1,513 1,496 1,515
Cinnabon 7 5 9 11 Cinnabon 603 621 609 631
Seattle's Best Seattle's Best
Coffee (1) 1 5 1 1 Coffee (1) 84 134 85 135
Total 26 33 34 33 Total 3,849 4,053 3,884 4,077
(1) SBC units are in Hawaii, on military bases and
internationally only
Commitments
As previously stated, the Company remains unable to participate in certain
domestic franchise sales-related activities until the filing of the 2003
franchise offering circulars and renewed state franchise registrations. As of
November 30, 2003, the Company had a total of 2,351 outstanding commitments for
future development, of which included 287 that were signed in 2003.
Corporate Profile
AFC Enterprises, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of 4,077 restaurants,
bakeries and cafes as of November 30, 2003, in the United States, Puerto Rico
and 35 foreign countries under the brand names Popeyes(R) Chicken & Biscuits,
Church's Chicken(TM), Cinnabon(R) and the franchisor of Seattle's Best
Coffee(R) in Hawaii, on military bases and internationally. AFC's primary
objective is to be the world's Franchisor of Choice(R) by offering investment
opportunities in highly recognizable brands and exceptional franchisee support
systems and services. AFC Enterprises had system-wide sales of approximately
$2.7 billion in 2002 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.afce.com.
AFC Contact Information:
Felise Glantz Kissell, Vice President, Investor Relations & Finance (770)
353-3086 or fkissell@afce.com
Forward-Looking Statement: Certain statements in this release, and other
written or oral statements made by or on behalf of AFC or its brands are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws.
Statements regarding future events and developments and our future performance,
as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections
relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of
these laws. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
are the restatement of the our financial statements, the delisting of our
securities from the Nasdaq National Market, adverse effects of litigation or
regulatory actions arising in connection with the restatement of our financial
statements, the inability to attract and retain additional qualified management
personnel, our ability to comply with covenants contained in our credit
facility, the cost and availability of our principal food products, labor
shortages or increased labor costs, our ability to franchise new units and
expand our brands, our ability and our franchisees' ability to successfully
operate existing units and open new units, changes in consumer preferences and
demographic trends, competition, general economic, political and regulatory
conditions and the risk factors detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 29, 2002 and the other documents we file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on any
forward-looking statements, since those statements speak only as of the date
they are made.