The ONE Group Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (“The ONE Group” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: STKS) today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Highlights for the second quarter 2024 compared to the same quarter in 2023 are as follows (the prior year quarter excludes any contribution from the recent acquisition of Benihana, which closed in May 2024):

• Total GAAP revenues increased 106.8% to $172.5 million from $83.4 million;
• Comparable sales* decreased 7.0%;
• GAAP net loss available to common stockholders was $11.5 million, or $0.36 net loss per share ($0.08 adjusted net income per share) ****, compared to GAAP net income available to common stockholders of $0.6 million, or $0.02 net income per share ($0.06 adjusted net income per share) ****
• Restaurant Operating Profit*** increased 151.3% to $30.0 million from $11.9 million;
• Restaurant Operating Profit Margin*** increased 280 basis points to 17.7% from 14.9%; and
• Adjusted EBITDA** increased 180.6% to $23.9 million from $8.5 million.

"We are pleased to be building lasting relationships with our guests through unforgettable VIBE dining experiences while generating industry leading AUVs. Notably, the cost-saving initiatives we put in place last year coupled with our strong new restaurant performance drove restaurant level profit and restaurant level margin to increase at Kona Grill and stay relatively flat at STK, despite the challenging same store sales environment.”

“In May, we completed our acquisition of the Benihana and RA Sushi brands and welcomed nearly 6,500 new teammates. We have since begun integrating them into our Company and have already started realizing synergies in G&A, purchasing and operations. To date, we have realized approximately $9 million in G&A synergies since the closing and over the next two years, we expect to achieve another $11 million in G&A, supply chain and other operational synergies for a total of $20 million in annual synergies as we leverage our larger scale, combine our expertise, and enhance our capabilities to develop a best-in-class supply chain across our now-expanded portfolio.”

Hilario concluded, “We have a strong pipeline for unit growth in 2024 and beyond. We recently opened a RA Sushi in Plantation, Florida that is off to a strong start and there are another six to nine additional new venues that should open this year. Our expansion story points to significant opportunity ahead.”

*Comparable sales represent total U.S. food and beverage sales at owned and managed units opened for at least a full 24-months. This measure includes total revenue from our owned and managed locations. The Company monitors sales growth at its established restaurant base in addition to growth that results from restaurant acquisitions and new restaurant openings.

**We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash impairment loss, non-cash rent expense, pre-opening expenses, non-recurring gains and losses, stock-based compensation, transaction and exit costs and transition and integration expenses. Adjusted EBITDA has been presented in this press release and is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. Refer to the reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA in this release.

***We define Restaurant Operating Profit as owned restaurant net revenue minus owned restaurant cost of sales and owned restaurant operating expenses. Restaurant Operating Profit has been presented in this press release and is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. Refer to the reconciliation of Operating income to Restaurant Operating Profit in this release.

****We define Adjusted Net Income / (Loss) to Common Stockholders as net income / (loss) to common stockholders before transaction and exit expenses, transition and integration expenses, non-cash rent during the pre-opening period, other non-recurring costs and the income tax effect of any adjustments. Adjusted Net Income / (Loss) to Common Stockholders has been presented in this press release and is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. Refer to the reconciliation of Net (Loss) / Income to Common Stockholders to Adjusted Net Income / (Loss) to Common Stockholders in this release.

Acquisition of Benihana Inc. Owner

On May 1, 2024, the Company announced it had completed its previously announced acquisition of Safflower Holdings Corp., the owner of Benihana Inc. (“Benihana”), for $365 million in cash. The transaction was financed with a portion of a new $390 million term loan and revolving credit facility and $160 million in preferred equity primarily issued to an affiliate of Hill Path Capital LP.

Restaurant Development

The Company intends to open eight to eleven new venues in 2024 consisting of three to four STKs, two to three Kona Grills, one to two Benihanas, one Salt Water Social and one RA Sushi.

In March 2024, the Company opened an STK restaurant in Washington, DC and in July 2024, the Company opened a RA Sushi in Plantation, Florida.

There are currently two Company-owned STK restaurants, one Company-owned Kona Grill restaurant, one Company-owned Salt Water Social restaurant and one Company-owned Benihana restaurant under construction in the following cities:

• Owned STK restaurant in Aventura, Florida
• Owned Kona Grill restaurant in Tigard, Oregon
• Owned Salt Water Social restaurant in Denver, Colorado
• Owned STK restaurant in Topanga, California
• Owned Benihana restaurant in San Mateo, California

Share Repurchase Program

In March 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a $5 million share repurchase program. During the second quarter of 2024, the Company spent $0.9 million for the repurchases of 0.2 million shares.

2024 Targets

The Company is reaffirming its 2024 targets, which are inclusive of the acquisition of Benihana.

Conference Call and Webcast

Emanuel “Manny” Hilario, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Tyler Loy, Chief Financial Officer, will host a conference call and webcast today at 4:30 PM Eastern Time.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 412-542-4186. A replay will be available after the call and can be accessed by dialing 412-317-6671; the passcode is 10190088. The replay will be available until Tuesday, August 20, 2024.

The webcast can be accessed from the Investor Relations tab of The ONE Group’s website at www.togrp.com under “News / Events.”

About The ONE Group

The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (Nasdaq: STKS) is an international restaurant company that develops and operates upscale and polished casual, high-energy restaurants and lounges and provides hospitality management services for hotels, casinos and other high-end venues both in the U.S. and internationally. The ONE Group’s focus is to be the global leader in Vibe Dining, and its primary restaurant brands and operations are:

• STK, a modern twist on the American steakhouse concept with restaurants in major metropolitan cities in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East, featuring premium steaks, seafood, and specialty cocktails in an energetic upscale atmosphere.
• Benihana, a leading operator of highly differentiated experiential brands that owns the only national teppanyaki brand in the US. The Company also franchises Benihanas in the U.S., Caribbean, Central America, and South America.
• Kona Grill, a polished casual, bar-centric grill concept with restaurants in the U.S., featuring American favorites, award-winning sushi, and specialty cocktails in an upscale casual atmosphere.
• RA Sushi, a Japanese cuisine concept that offers a fun-filled, bar-forward, upbeat, and vibrant dining atmosphere with restaurants in the U.S. anchored by creative sushi, inventive drinks, and outstanding service.
• ONE Hospitality, The ONE Group’s food and beverage hospitality services business, develops, manages, and operates premier restaurants and turnkey food and beverage services within high-end hotels and casinos currently operating venues in the U.S. and Europe.

Additional information about The ONE Group can be found at www.togrp.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including with respect to the impact of the Safflower Holdings acquisition, restaurant openings and 2024 financial targets. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “target,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan,” “outlook,” and “project” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. A number of factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: (1) our ability to integrate the new or acquired restaurants into our operations without disruptions to operations; (2) our ability to capture anticipated synergies; (3) our ability to open new restaurants and food and beverage locations in current and additional markets, grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with suppliers and obtain adequate supply of products and retain employees; (4)factors beyond our control that affect the number and timing of new restaurant openings, including weather conditions and factors under the control of landlords, contractors and regulatory and/or licensing authorities; (5) our ability to successfully improve performance and cost, realize the benefits of our marketing efforts and achieve improved results as we focus on developing new management and license deals; (6) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (7) the possibility that The ONE Group may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (8) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 2023 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Investors are referred to the most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The following table sets forth certain statements of operations data as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated. Certain percentage amounts may not sum to total due to rounding.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures

We prepare our financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In this press release, we also make references to the following non-GAAP financial measures: total food and beverage sales at owned and managed units, Adjusted EBITDA, Restaurant Operating Profit and Adjusted Net Income (Loss).

Total food and beverage sales at owned and managed units. Total food and beverage sales at owned and managed units represents our total revenue from our owned operations as well as the revenue reported to us with respect to sales at our managed locations, where we earn management and incentive fees at these locations. We believe that this measure represents a useful internal measure of performance as it identifies total sales associated with our brands and hospitality services that we provide. Accordingly, we include this non-GAAP measure so that investors can review financial data that management uses in evaluating performance, and we believe that it will assist the investment community in assessing performance of restaurants and other services we operate, whether or not the operation is owned by us. However, because this measure is not determined in accordance with GAAP, it is susceptible to varying calculations and not all companies calculate these measures in the same manner. As a result, this measure as presented may not be directly comparable to a similarly titled measure presented by other companies. This non-GAAP measure is presented as supplemental information and not as an alternative to any GAAP measurements. The following table includes a reconciliation of our GAAP revenue to total food and beverage sales at our owned and managed units (in thousands):

The following table presents the elements of the quarterly and annual Same Store Sales measure for 2023 and 2024:

Adjusted EBITDA. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash impairment loss, non-cash rent expense, pre-opening expenses, non-recurring gains and losses, stock-based compensation, certain transactional and exit costs and transition and integration expenses. Not all the aforementioned items defining Adjusted EBITDA occur in each reporting period but have been included in our definitions of terms based on our historical activity. Adjusted EBITDA has been presented in this press release and is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated (in thousands):

Restaurant Operating Profit. We define Restaurant Operating Profit as owned restaurant net revenue minus owned restaurant cost of sales and owned restaurant operating expenses.

We believe Restaurant Operating Profit is an important component of financial results because: (i) it is a widely used metric within the restaurant industry to evaluate restaurant-level productivity, efficiency, and performance, and (ii) we use Restaurant Operating Profit as a key metric to evaluate our restaurant financial performance compared to our competitors. We use these metrics to facilitate a comparison of our operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period, to analyze the factors and trends affecting our business and to evaluate the performance of our restaurants.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Operating income to Restaurant Operating Profit for the period indicated (in thousands):

Restaurant Operating Profit by brand is as follows (in thousands):

Adjusted Net Income. We define Adjusted Net Income as net income before transaction and exit costs, transition and integration expenses, lease termination expenses, one-time stock-based compensation, non-recurring costs, non-cash rent during the pre-opening period and the income tax effect of any adjustments.

We believe that Adjusted Net Income is an appropriate measure of operating performance, as it provides a clear picture of our operating results by eliminating certain one-time expenses that are not reflective of the underlying business performance. Adjusted Net Income is included in this press release because it is a key metric used by management, and we believe that it provides useful information facilitating performance comparisons from period to period. Adjusted Net Income has limitations as an analytical tool and our calculation thereof may not be comparable to that reported by other companies; accordingly, you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP.

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