Julia A. Stewart
Analyst · Stephens Inc
Thanks, Ken, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to DineEquity's second quarter earnings call. By now, you've had the opportunity to review the press release we issued today. I'm going to provide a brief overview of the quarter, and then Tom will discuss our second quarter financial results before we open the call for questions. I'll start by saying I am very pleased with our stronger same-restaurant sales performance this quarter and the progress we're making at both IHOP and Applebee's. We continue to effectively manage our G&A and delivered solid results. Our disciplined approach to G&A management has enabled us to enhance operating performance and adjust our comp structure to support our fully franchised business model. We're continuing to make progress on foundational improvements and brand innovation by leveraging our shared services model. We're sharing best practices across both brands, enabling us to efficiently test innovative platforms at the restaurant. Our shared services and Centers of Excellence structure, which is a real differentiator, was designed to allocate our best resources toward our biggest opportunities and drive both brands forward, and we're doing just that. Now during the first half of 2013, we returned over $43 million combined to our stockholders, affirming our commitment to allocate capital. In the second quarter, we returned approximately $29 million through the combination of a meaningful dividend of $0.75 per share of common stock and share repurchases. In fact, our dividend yield of 4.6% is among the highest in the restaurant industry. And while we expect dividend payments and opportunistic share repurchases to be the primary components of our capital allocation strategy, we will also use our strong free cash flow to reduce debt if it's in the best interest of the company to do so. Managing our capital structure remains of the utmost importance. We continually monitor the credit market and assess potentially refinancing our debt. We are evaluating our options very thoroughly. At the brand level, both IHOP and Applebee's are making progress to get to their strategic priorities, which we believe will drive performance over the long-term. We continue to work collaboratively with our franchisees to drive consistent and sustainable same-restaurant sales and traffic growth. I'm also pleased to announce that for the sixth consecutive year, both IHOP and Applebee's were, again, ranked #1 in their respective categories by Nation's Restaurant News on the basis of U.S. systemwide sales for the last year. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our franchisees and the popularity of both brands among guests. I'm proud to say we are the only restaurant company in America with 2 #1 brands. I'll now briefly review our second quarter highlights, and then I'll turn the call over to Tom to discuss our financial results. I'll begin with IHOP. Now I've previously discussed with you the 4 key pillars of our strategy to improve performance at IHOP. And we've remained focused on menu innovation, operational excellence, advertising and media, and our value proposition. These 4 pillars serve as a roadmap to turning IHOP around and driving sustainable, positive same-restaurant sales and traffic. The second quarter provided an opportunity to highlight the improvements we've made against these areas. I'm excited to announce that IHOP's domestic systemwide same-restaurant sales increased almost 2%, marking the first quarter of both positive comp sales and guest traffic since the fourth quarter of 2010. This is the second sequential quarter of improvement in same-restaurant sales. We believe the recent performance reflects the efforts made against our 4-pillar strategy. Let me give you a brief detail on each of them. Pillar #1, menu innovation. The strategy and principles that we've successfully applied at Applebee's, following the acquisition, are being implemented at IHOP. We are laser-focused on keeping the menu fresh. Additionally, we are alpha-testing several new innovative breakfast items to differentiate ourselves, create additional excitement and exceed the expectation of our guest. IHOP's menu has been redesigned and streamlined for better navigation and to emphasize the heritage of the brand. In early June, we launched the second of 3 new menus scheduled for this year. The third launch is scheduled for late 2013. Pillar #2, operational excellence. We are executing on our plan to achieve operational excellence at the restaurant level. We're driving the process by collaborating with our franchisees on continuous improvement of our service training programs and holding them accountable to meet and exceed our high standards. We are working to simplify processes and improve speed of service. IHOP's team members have laid the foundation to ensure we continue to deliver excellent service to each and every guest. In addition, we are testing several platforms that will further enhance guest service and operation. Pillar #3, advertising and media. We are evolving our media strategy to maximize our spin through an improved buying process. Our plan focuses on media weights and key decision time periods, a strong on-air presence to maintain share of voice and diversifying our media mix to reach our guests. Our goal is to increase new traffic to our restaurants and to encourage our existing guests to visit more often through compelling and focused communications. We are refining our advertising message by taking our testimonial creative strategy to the next level with a bolder approach. We will continue to drive innovative advertising that resonates with our guests. And lastly, pillar #4, our value proposition. Providing a compelling value proposition remains a core tenet in our strategy to improve sales and drive traffic to our restaurants. We remain keenly aware of the importance of affordability and quality to our guests. We also realize that value is not only price point, but rather a consumer-defined perception that includes price, portion size and customizable options. We responded to the needs of our guests, introducing new value-oriented items that are unique to IHOP such as our latest breakfast innovation, Brioche French Toast and Griddle Melts, earlier this year. We will continue to work on a variety of ways to improve our value perception. I would like to thank the entire IHOP leadership team and especially our franchisees for their dedication and hard work. I am very pleased with our accomplishments this quarter, but we still have much more to do. We will continue our efforts to deliver consistent and sustainable positive same-restaurant sales and traffic. Now let's turn to Applebee's second quarter results. The casual dining segment continues to face some challenging headwinds, but we're glad to say that we outperformed the category in the second quarter. Regarding same-restaurant sales, Applebee's performance was strong in an uneven consumer environment. Domestic systemwide same-restaurant sales were up 1.3% in the second quarter, with traffic down slightly. This is a solid improvement over the first quarter. Sales were primarily driven by the continuing evolution of our advertising strategy, which resonated with guests and directed more attention to our lunch business. To drive the brand forward, we are executing on a strategy that focuses on our key objective, driving sustainable positive sales and traffic while improving the guest experience. Our plan centers on the value proposition, our advertising approach, menu innovation and guest preferences. Let me provide a little detail on each. On our value proposition, value is a key component of our position as the leader in the casual dining industry and its important theme in our story. Applebee's represent great food at an affordable price. The value and variety in our menu makes Applebee's a destination of choice for guests every day. We understand that there is more to value than just price. We know that the quality of the food, the variety on our menu [Audio Gap] are just as important in our value proposition. Our guests visit our restaurants for different reasons at different times, so it's important that we provide compelling value throughout the day. We offer a wide variety of lunch combos starting at $6.99. Our new Take Two offering allows guests to choose 2 smaller portion entrées starting at $10.99. And half-priced late-night appetizers attract guests into our restaurants after the traditional dinner day part. Again, variety, price and quality are key drivers. Regarding our advertising approach. Even when the price point is not the main focus, our value message resonates with guests when we effectively communicate the quality of our food, the freshness of ingredients that we use, and the high level of service at our restaurants. The menu items we advertise on TV are an important part of our advertising strategy and a point of differentiation. For instance, we introduced 2 for $20 in 2007 as a way to drive traffic into our restaurants. Since then, it's what many guests first associate with Applebee's and what the competition has tried to duplicate without success. The evolution of our advertising strategy in the second quarter had a favorable impact on same-restaurant sales. We will look to build this momentum. On menu innovation. We remain at the forefront of differentiation by creating popular value platforms. Additionally, we consistently update our menu with enticing options at attractive price points. We are confident that providing the right item at the right price will continue to resonate with guests and drive sales and traffic across all day parts. During the second quarter, we launched Fresh Flavors of Summer starting at $9.99 and a new lunch combo, providing excellent value options for any mealtime. In addition, the recent introduction of Take Two, starting at $10.99, offers guests the opportunity to sample any 2 items from the new Fresh Flavors of Summer selection. It's about new high-quality food, a wide variety of choices and attractive price points. Our menu provides guests with all of these key value drivers. And finally, guest preferences. Bottom line, food quality remains an important driver and influences where guests choose to dine out. An environment of intense promotional activity, we are focused on differentiating ourselves more effectively, looking for new ways to be innovative and committed to continually improve our service platforms to provide a dining experience that you can only have at Applebee's. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Tom Emrey, our CFO, for a discussion of our second quarter results. Tom?