The Japanese restaurant chain Kura Sushi US has disclosed a fourth-quarter net income of $2.92 million for the fiscal year 2023, marking a significant increase of 53% from the $1.91 million reported in the same period last year.
In the quarter concluding on August 31, 2023, the company achieved total sales of $54.93 million, reflecting a notable increase of 30.7% compared to the $41.99 million recorded in the corresponding period the previous year.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, food and beverage costs, as a percentage of sales, stood at 29.5%, showcasing a decline from the 30.7% recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company attributed this decrease to the implementation of higher menu prices.
In the quarter, labor and related costs, as a percentage of sales, remained nearly unchanged at 28.8%, showing minimal variation compared to the corresponding period from the previous year.
Comparable restaurant sales experienced a 6.5% increase compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year.
During the quarter, Kura Sushi US reported an operating income of $2.2 million, marking an increase from the $1.9 million recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The company reported an adjusted EBITDA of $6.3 million for the period, showcasing growth from the $4.8 million recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
During the quarter, the company expanded its reach by opening four new restaurants in Framingham, Massachusetts; Carle Place, New York; San Jose, California; and Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Kura Sushi president and CEO Hajime Uba said, “I’m very pleased to announce that we’ve closed another record-breaking year with a great fiscal fourth quarter. In Q4, we achieved comparable sales growth of 6.5% against one of our hardest comparisons yet.
“Traffic growth has continued to be a highlight for Kura Sushi, with 5.6% of our comparable sales growth being driven by increased guest traffic. We also opened four new restaurants during the quarter.
“Over the course of fiscal 2023, we achieved our three major goals by opening a record ten new units, improving our restaurant-level operating profit margins by 70 basis points and leveraging our general and administrative expenses by 80 basis points.”