Noodles Q1 sales fall 9% amid COVID-19 restaurant closures

BROOMFIELD — Broomfield-based fast casual restaurant chain Noodles & Co. (Nasdaq: NDLS) posted sales of $110 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, down 8.8% from the same period in 2019.

That drop, attributable to the COVID-19 outbreak’s closure of in-store dining, came despite system-wide comparable sales increases of 5.5% during the first 10 weeks of the year through March 10, according to the firm’s Q1 earnings report released Wednesday afternoon. Sales dropped 43% from March 11 to March 31.

Noodles posted a $5.8 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, loss for the quarter compared to a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.04 per diluted share during Q1 in 2019.

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The company reported its earnings after the close of trading Tuesday, a day that saw the firm’s stock price slide 2.12%.

“I am proud of all of our team members and partners for their tremendous commitment to quickly evolve and address the needs of the consumer during this unprecedented time,” Noodles CEO Dave Boennighausen said in a prepared statement. “After a strong 2019 reflecting continued growth in comparable sales, margin and earnings, 2020 began with significant business momentum as our off-premise, culinary and operational initiatives continued to resonate with our guests. As we previously disclosed, the company achieved mid-single digit comparable sales growth during the first ten weeks of the quarter before sales were abruptly disrupted by the current COVID-19 crisis.”

Noodles withdrew its financial guidance for the remainder of the year in March. No new guidance was issued Tuesday.