Chipotle's 30 new restaurants represented 13 more store openings in the third quarter of 2006 versus the third quarter of 2005, and the chain says that it expects to finish the year with 80 to 90 new locations. According to Jack Hartung, CFO and development officer, Chipotle expects the pace of new openings to quicken in the fourth quarter, with the result that "We should finish the year on the higher end of that (80 to 90) range." In 2007, the company expects to open 95 to 105 new restaurants, approximately 10% of which will be in new markets.
Despite the pace of growth, Monty Moran, president and COO of Chipotle, commented that the company "will only open stores as fast as we can find great real estate and strong managers to run those stores." Chipotle founder, chairman and CEO Steve Ells noted that the company has completed its separation from McDonald's, which he credited with providing both investment and knowledge that helped the chain reach its current size of approximately 530 locations.
Chipotle's earnings, on a per-share basis, translated to 36 cents versus 19 cents in the third quarter last year. The chain reported comparable restaurant sales grew by 11.6% as total revenue climbed by 28.3% to $211.3 million.
Chipotle expects to finish 2006 with a double-digit increase in comparable store sales, which will be the ninth consecutive year in which the chain has finished with double-digit comp sales.
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