US burger chain Wendy’s Co. same-restaurant sales miss views

NEW YORK — US burger chain Wendy’s Co. on Wednesday missed Wall Street estimates for same-restaurant sales in North America as fewer customers visited its outlets amid intense competition with bigger rivals such as McDonald’s Corp.

The sales miss comes despite Wendy’s more diverse “4 for $4” value menu, which had helped the burger chain’s sales gain in the past few quarters.

The lack of any other new value menu items may have led sales trends to slow, RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a preearnings note.

Same- restaurant sales in North America rose 1.3% in the quarter. Analysts on average were expecting same-store sales to rise 1.8%, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

Net income rose to $159.3 million, or 64 cents per share, from $28.9 million, or 11 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, benefiting from a $121.6-million gain due to changes in the US tax law.

Excluding items, the company earned 11 cents per share, in line with the analysts’ estimates.

Total revenue fell 0.2% to $ 309.2 million, below the average analyst estimate of $ 313.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company fell 1.4% to $16 after the bell. —