Shares of Planet Fitness Inc. seesawed around the flatline Thursday, after the fitness-center operator beat fourth-quarter earnings expectations but provided a downbeat growth outlook for this year.
The company also said Chief Financial Officer Tom Fitzgerald plans to retire in August after about four years with the company. That means the company is now looking for two top executives, as Craig Benson remains interim chief executive until a permanent CEO is found.
The stock
PLNT,
edged up 0.2% ahead of the open, but had been down as much as 2.1% and up as much as 3.6% in the premarket.
The company said net income for the quarter to Dec. 31 increased to $35.3 million, or 41 cents a share, from $33.7 million, or 40 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 60 cents topped the FactSet consensus of 58 cents.
Total revenue grew 1.4% to $285.1 million, above the FactSet consensus of $282.7 million, as same-store sales were 7.7% better than a year ago, to match Wall Street forecasts.
Franchise revenue rose 13.9% to $98.2 million, due primarily to higher royalty revenue, and corporate-owned stores revenue was up 15.9% to $116.4 million.
Meanwhile, equipment revenue dropped 25.5% to $70.4 million, due to lower equipment sales to existing franchisee-owned stores.
For 2024, the company expects adjusted EPS to increase in the 10% to 11% range, while the current FactSet EPS consensus of $2.51 implies 12.1% growth.
The company said full-year revenue is expected to be 6% to 7% above that of 2023, while the FactSet revenue consensus of $1.155 billion implies 7.8% growth.
The company said given its new growth model, which focuses on reducing the capital requirements for opening and maintaining a franchise location, Chief Executive Craig Benson said he believes 2024 will be a “transition year” for franchisees.
The stock has lost 9.8% year to date through Wednesday while the S&P 500
SPX,
has gained 4.4%.
