Papa John’s ends tough year with weaker-than-expected Q4

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Papa John’s closed out a tough year on a weak note but says it expects improvement in 2019.

The Louisville, Kentucky-based pizza chain said Tuesday that sales at established locations in North America dropped 8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period a year ago. International same-store sales were down 3 percent.

But it says it’s confident it can stem those losses this year with new products and menu changes.

Papa John’s lost $14 million, or 44 cents per share, in the fourth quarter.

Excluding one-time items, the company earned 15 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 17 cents a share.

Papa John’s said its fourth-quarter revenue fell 20 percent to $374 million. That was also lower than Wall Street forecasts.