Denny's Restaurant Mix Shifting to More Franchises

With 286 company-owned units and 1,260 franchised units, Denny’s is pushing its restaurant mix towards more franchises.

During the quarter, the company opened 11 new restaurants (10 franchised and one company-owned), and sold 30 units to franchisees. Overall, the company has sold 239 restaurants to franchisees since the 2007 launch of its Franchise Growth Initiative. The high-margin income generated as a franchisor now exceeds the income contribution of company-owned restaurants, noted Nelson Marchioli, president and chief executive officer.

… Denny's ended the quarter with a system mix of 82% franchised and licensed restaurants and 18% company restaurants, compared with 66% franchised and licensed restaurants and 34% company restaurants before the FGI program. – GlobeSt.com

Denny’s saw its revenues decrease from $196 to $165.8 but its earnings slightly increased in the first quarter.