Cara: Ontario's minimum wage hike has been manageable for restaurant operator

TORONTO -- The restaurant group owned by Cara Operations has managed the impact of Ontario's hike in minimum wages through selective price increases and changes to its menu, chief executive officer Bill Gregson told analysts Monday.

Gregson's comments follow Cara's release of fourth-quarter results on Friday that showed it had $27.3 million of net income for the 14 weeks ended Dec. 31.

That was up from $19.7 million a year earlier, when there was a more normal 13 weeks in the 2016 fourth quarter.

Cara's gross revenue was $225.4 million, up from $175.6 million, while system sales for its various restaurants was $774.9 million, up from $641.1 million.

Same restaurant sales -- which indicates performance for most locations open at least a year -- was up 2.5 per cent.

Gregson said that most of the year-over-year increase in restaurant sales was due to higher prices but there was also some increased customer traffic.

Companies in this story: (TSX: CARA)

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