Panera Bread Franchise Operator Plans 10 New Outlets

Ford, a former tennis director at the suburban Heathrow Country Club in Heathrow, FL, has opened 17 bakery-café locations since opening his first outlet in Winter Park, FL in 1998. Each site is about 4,800 sf.

"We don't need it much larger than that to operate soundly," Ford tells GlobeSt.com.

The four metro Orlando sites on which Ford already has contracts are at the Villages of Lady Lake in Lake County opening in July; the Trails at Ormond Beach, FL, Volusia County, also opening in July; the new 1.3 million-sf Mall at Millenia in south Orlando, opening in October; and at the Florida Mall, a direct rival of Mall at Millenia, opening in November.

At least five other new outlets are planned for the Orlando-Melbourne market where 600 workers on Panera Bread payrolls. Ford also has four bakery-cafes in Jacksonville, north Florida and two locations in Palm Beach County, south Florida.

Ford's plans follow Panera Bread's just-announced fourth quarter results showing the 15-year-old company with a three-month profit of $4.8 million or 32 cents per diluted share compared to a profit of $2.4 million or 17 cents a share in fiscal 2000. Revenue rose 31% to $55.7 million from $42.6 million a year ago.

In a prepared statement on its financials, Panera Bread anticipates 2001 earnings per share of $1.32 versus 2001 earnings of 91 cents per share.

Panera Bread is headquartered in Richmond Heights, MO, a St. Louis suburb. In the St. Louis area, the company operates as the Saint Louis Bread Co. In the rest of the country, the Panera Brand name is used. The company has a total 369 locations in 30 states with 110 units company owned and 259 franchised.

Panera Bread's common is trading on the Nasdaq at $57.89 per share. The stock's 52-week high low is $66.94 and $22.37 per share. The stock has a price-earnings ratio of 63.62 with 14.1 million shares outstanding. The company's market capitalization is $813 million.