Investing.com -- Shares in Potbelly Co . (O:PBPB) surged by more than 6% in after-hours trading after the sandwich chain reported optimistic revenues and guidance on Tuesday when it released results from its third quarter of Fiscal Year 2015.
For the company's third quarter of 2015, which ended in late-September, Potbelly's total revenue increased 14.7% to $277.8 million, up from $242.2 million during the same period last year. Excluding write-downs and other items, Potbelly finished with revenues of $96 million, an increase of 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expected revenues of $96 million on earnings of 0.09 per share. It came as comparative-store sales for shops open for at least 15 months rose by 3.7% for the quarter.
"We made solid progress executing our priorities during the third quarter and this is reflected in our top-line performance. This was our fourth consecutive quarter of solid sales growth," Potbelly CEO Aylwin Lewis said in a statement. "We are pleased with our strong revenue and same store sales growth trends, and are focused on driving flow-through of our positive top-line growth to the bottom line. Our strong culture and values provide us with the foundation to effectively execute our growth strategies. We remain committed to our long-term goals and confident in the fundamentals of the business."
At the same time, Potbelly's earnings slumped 28% from the same quarter in 2014 amid escalations in cost of goods sold, labor and occupancy expenses. As a result, Potbelly's net income fell to 1.457 million for the quarter down from 1.952 million a year earlier.
Still, Potbelly offered an optimistic full-year outlook of adjusted net income of $8 million with company-operated comparable store sales growth of 4% and the opening of up to 55 new stores. Potbelly also reiterated full-year diluted earnings per share of 0.27 to 0.28 in line with analysts' expectations. The company's Board of Directors has also approved an initiative that would allow Potbelly to expand into California on a franchise-only basis, Lewis added.
Potbelly shares jumped 8.74 or 6.27% to 12.55 in after-hours.