BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal...

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter of
Fiscal 2011

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., July 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BJ's Restaurants,
Inc. (Nasdaq:BJRI) today reported financial results for the second quarter of
fiscal 2011 that ended on Tuesday, June 28, 2011.

Highlights for the second quarter, compared to the same quarter last year, were
as follows:

-- Total revenues increased 17% to $152.9 million
-- Comparable restaurant sales increased 6.9%
-- Net income increased 29% to $8.2 million
-- Diluted net income per share increased 22% to $0.28

Results for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 include a pre-tax charge of
approximately $1.0 million, or $0.03 per diluted share related to the settlement
of certain California employment practices lawsuits that have been outstanding
since 2009 and 2010, partially offset by a pre-tax gain of approximately $0.6
million or $0.02 per diluted share, pursuant to the settlement agreement with
the Company's broker-dealer for its former auction rate securities portfolio
that was fully liquidated in December 2009. Under the terms of that settlement
agreement, the Company is entitled to potential future recoveries of its loss on
that portfolio based on the performance of the securities through December 2012.
During the second quarter of 2011, certain of those securities were redeemed at
par, thus resulting in additional cash recoveries for the Company. Excluding the
impact of these two aforementioned items on a non-GAAP basis, net income and net
income per diluted share for the second quarter of 2011 was $8.5 million and
$0.29, respectively. A reconciliation between GAAP financial measures and
non-GAAP financial measures is included in the accompanying financial data.

"Our leadership team was pleased with our strong top-line and bottom-line
performance during the second quarter of 2011," commented Jerry Deitchle,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our focus on providing a higher quality,
more differentiated dining experience with broad consumer approachability
continues to resonate with our guests, as evidenced by our strong comparable
sales increase of 6.9% for the quarter, which successfully hurdled a solid 5.3%
increase for the same quarter last year. During the second quarter, we
introduced our highly successful, lower calorie Enlightened Entrees(TM) menu
offerings and continued implementing our seating efficiency, expanded beer taps
and other initiatives that provide us with opportunities to further improve our
sales productivity and operational efficiency. Furthermore, our restaurant
operations team continues to achieve increased leverage within the four walls of
our restaurants. Compared to the same quarter last year, our estimated four-wall
restaurant level operating cash flow margin increased by 90 basis points to
20.9%. One of the most difficult challenges executing any new restaurant
development plan is to preserve the concept's initial favorable unit economics
as it expands further away from its home base. At BJ's, we continue to
demonstrate our ability to grow from a small regional California restaurant
company into a national restaurant company while preserving and expanding our
four-wall restaurant level margins. With only 108 restaurants open today in 13
states, we continue to believe that BJ's best years are still well ahead of us."

As of the end of the second quarter 2011, the Company has successfully opened
five new restaurants of which three new restaurants opened during the second
quarter (Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Century City, California). "Sales
for our new restaurants continue to exceed our initial expectations, and we
remain on track to achieve our stated goal to open as many as 12 to 13 new
restaurants this year," said Deitchle. The Company currently expects to open as
many as four new restaurants in the third quarter, of which one has already
opened in College Station, Texas, and as many as three to four new restaurants
in the fourth quarter of this year. Investors are reminded that the actual
number and timing of new restaurant openings is subject to a number of factors
outside of the Company's control, including weather conditions and factors under
the control of landlords, contractors and regulatory/licensing authorities.

Investor Conference Call and Webcast

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will conduct a conference call on its second quarter
earnings release today, July 21, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. (Pacific Time). The Company
will provide an Internet simulcast, as well as a replay of the conference call.
To listen to the conference call, please visit the "Investors" page of the
Company's website located at http://www.bjsrestaurants.com several minutes prior
to the start of the call to register and download any necessary audio software.
An archive of the presentation will be available for 30 days following the call.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc. currently owns and operates 108 casual dining restaurants
under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewery(R), BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse(R) or BJ's
Pizza & Grill(R) brand names. BJ's restaurants offer an innovative and broad
menu featuring award-winning, signature deep-dish pizza complemented with
generously portioned salads, appetizers, sandwiches, soups, pastas, entrees and
desserts. Quality, flavor, value, moderate prices and sincere service remain
distinct attributes of the BJ's experience. The Company, along with its
qualified third-party craft brewers, produces and distributes BJ's critically
acclaimed handcrafted beers throughout the chain. The Company's restaurants are
located in California (53), Texas (23), Arizona (6), Colorado (4), Oregon (2),
Nevada (5), Florida (6), Ohio (2), Oklahoma (2), Kentucky (1), Indiana (1),
Louisiana (1) and Washington (2). Visit BJ's Restaurants, Inc. on the Web at
http://www.bjsrestaurants.com.

Certain statements in the preceding paragraphs and all other statements that are
not purely historical constitute "forward-looking" statements for purposes of
the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby.
Such statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding expected
comparable restaurant sales growth in future periods, those regarding the effect
of new sales-building initiatives and future guest traffic, as well as those
regarding the number of restaurants expected to be opened in future periods and
the timing and location of such openings. These "forward-looking" statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause
actual results to be materially different from those projected or anticipated.
Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (i)
the effect of credit and equity market disruptions on our ability to finance our
continued expansion on acceptable terms, (ii) our ability to manage an
increasing number of new restaurant openings, (iii) construction delays, (iv)
labor shortages, (v) minimum wage increases, (vi) food quality and health
concerns, (vii) factors that impact California, where 53 of our current 108
restaurants are located, (viii) restaurant and brewery industry competition,
(ix) impact of certain brewery business considerations, including without
limitation, dependence upon suppliers, third party contractors and related
hazards, (x) consumer spending trends in general for casual dining occasions,
(xi) potential uninsured losses and liabilities, (xii) fluctuating commodity
costs and availability of food in general and certain raw materials related to
the brewing of our handcrafted beers and energy, (xiii) trademark and
service-mark risks, (xiv) government regulations, (xv) licensing costs, (xvi)
beer and liquor regulations, (xvii) loss of key personnel, (xviii) inability to
secure acceptable sites, (xix) limitations on insurance coverage, (xx) legal
proceedings, (xxi) other general economic and regulatory conditions and
requirements, (xxii) the success of our key sales-building and related
operational initiatives and (xxiii) numerous other matters discussed in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BJ's Restaurants,
Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or alter its "forward-looking"
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

BJ's Restaurants, Inc.

Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income

(Dollars in thousands except for per share data)

Thirteen Weeks Ended
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------

June 28, 2011 June 29, 2010 June 28,
2011 June 29, 2010
----------------- -----------------
------------------ -----------------
Revenues $152,887 100.0% $130,497 100.0% $297,749
100.0% $252,183 100.0%
Costs and expenses:

Cost of sales 37,886 24.8 31,707 24.3 73,606
24.7 61,771 24.5
Labor and benefits 52,315 34.2 45,095 34.6 102,780
34.5 88,515 35.1
Occupancy and operating 31,045 20.3 27,855 21.3 60,361
20.3 53,867 21.4
General and administrative 9,794 6.4 8,961 6.9 19,712
6.6 17,435 6.9
Depreciation and

amortization 8,256 5.4 7,030 5.4 16,203
5.4 13,761 5.5
Restaurant opening 1,685 1.1 1,290 1.0 2,686
0.9 2,419 1.0
Loss on disposal of assets 283 0.2 -- -- 668
0.2 140 0.1

Legal settlements 1,020 0.7 -- -- 1,020
0.3 -- --
--------- ------ --------- ------ ----------
------ --------- ------

Total costs and expenses 142,284 93.1 121,938 93.5 277,036
93.0 237,908 94.5
--------- ------ --------- ------ ----------
------ --------- ------
Income from operations 10,603 6.9 8,559 6.5 20,713
7.0 14,275 5.5

Other income (expense):

Interest income 56 -- 31 -- 88
-- 60 --
Interest expense (27) -- (22) -- (55)
-- (43) --
Gain on investment

settlement 614 0.4 -- -- 614
0.2 -- --

Other income, net 96 0.1 108 0.1 334
0.1 344 0.1
--------- ------ --------- ------ ----------
------ --------- ------
Total other income

(expense) 739 0.5 117 0.1 981
0.3 361 0.1
--------- ------ --------- ------ ----------
------ --------- ------
Income before income taxes 11,342 7.4 8,676 6.6 21,694
7.3 14,636 5.6

Income tax expense 3,174 2.1 2,342 1.8 6,331
2.1 3,952 1.6
--------- ------ --------- ------ ----------
------ --------- ------

Net income $ 8,168 5.3% $ 6,334 4.8% $ 15,363
5.2% $ 10,684 4.0%
========= ====== ========= ====== ==========
====== ========= ======

Net income per share:

Basic $ 0.30 $ 0.23 $ 0.56
$ 0.40
========= ========= ==========
=========

Diluted $ 0.28 $ 0.23 $ 0.53
$ 0.38
========= ========= ==========
=========

Weighted average number of

shares outstanding:

Basic 27,644 27,041 27,537
26,957
========= ========= ==========
=========

Diluted 29,161 27,963 29,021
27,852
========= ========= ==========
=========

Percentages reflected above may not reconcile due to rounding.

Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Information
(Dollars in thousands)

December
June 28, 28,
2011 2010

Balance Sheet Data (end of period): (unaudited) (audited)
----------- ----------

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investments $ 55,570 $ 53,192

Non-current investments $ 4,976 $ 1,005

Total assets $ 458,210 $ 430,085

Total long-term debt, including current
portion $ -- $ --

Shareholders' equity $ 310,995 $ 287,826

Supplemental Information

(Dollars in thousands)

Thirteen Weeks Ended
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
------------------------------
---------------------------------

June 28, 2011 June 29, 2010 June 28,
2011 June 29, 2010
--------------- -------------
----------------- --------------
Stock-based compensation (1)

Labor and benefits $ 342 0.2% $ 205 0.2% $ 706
0.2% $ 431 0.2%

General and administrative 753 0.5 739 0.6 1,433
0.5 1,517 0.6
-------- ----- ------ ----- ----------
----- ------- -----

Total stock-based compensation $1,095 0.7% $ 944 0.8% $2,139
0.7% $1,948 0.8%
======== ===== ====== ===== ==========
===== ======= =====

Unaudited Operating Data

Comparable restaurant sales %

change 6.9% 5.3% 7.3%
4.9%
Restaurants opened during period 3 2 5
4
Restaurants open at period-end 107 96 107
96
Restaurant operating weeks 1,362 1,236 2,693
2,435

(1) Percentages represent percent of total revenues.

Reconciliation of Selected GAAP Financial Measures to Non-GAAP Financial
Measures

To supplement the consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with
U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), the Company has included
the following non-GAAP financial measures in this press release or in the
webcast to discuss the Company's financial results for the second quarter of
fiscal year 2011 which may be accessed via the Company's website at
http://www.bjsrestaurants.com: (i) non-GAAP net income and (ii) non-GAAP basic
and diluted net income per share. Each of these non-GAAP financial measures is
adjusted from results based on GAAP to exclude certain expenses and gains. As a
general matter, the Company uses these non-GAAP measures in addition to and in
conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. Among other things,
the Company uses such non-GAAP financial measures in addition to and in
conjunction with corresponding GAAP measures to help analyze the performance of
its core business. In addition, the Company believes that such non-GAAP
financial information is provided by its competitors and such information is
used by analysts and others in the investment community to analyze the Company's
results and in formulating estimates of future performance and that failure to
report these non-GAAP measures, could result in confusion among analysts and
others and a misplaced perception that the Company's results have underperformed
or exceeded expectations.

These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing aspects
of the Company's operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results and the
reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more
complete understanding of the Company's results of operations and the factors
and trends affecting the Company's business. However, these non-GAAP measures
should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or
superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

For the thirteen weeks and twenty-six weeks ended June 28, 2011, non-GAAP net
income and non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per share excludes the effect
from the settlement of certain California employment practices lawsuits and the
gain pursuant to the settlement agreement with the Company's broker-dealer for
its former auction rate securities portfolio that was fully liquidated in
December 2009. The Company believes that presentation of measures of net income
and diluted net income per share that exclude these items assists management and
investors in evaluating the period over period performance of the Company's
ongoing core business operations because these items are non-routine in nature.
Furthermore, the Company believes that presentation of a measure of non-GAAP net
income and non-GAAP net income per share that excludes such items is useful to
management and investors in evaluating the performance of the Company's ongoing
operations on a period-to-period basis and relative to the Company's
competitors.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(Unaudited, dollars in thousands except for per share
data)

Thirteen Weeks Ended
Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
--------------------------------
----------------------------------

June 28, 2011 June 29, 2010
June 28, 2011 June 29, 2010
---------------- --------------
------------------ --------------
Net income, as reported $ 8,168 5.3% $ 6,334 4.8%
$15,363 5.2% $10,684 4.0%
Legal settlements 1,020 0.7 -- --
1,020 0.3 -- --
Gain on investment settlement (614) (0.4) -- --
(614) (0.2) -- --
Tax effect - legal settlements (1) (298) (0.2) -- --
(298) (0.1) -- --
Tax effect - gain on investment

settlement (1) 179 0.1 -- --
179 0.1 -- --
-------- ------ -------- ----
---------- ------ -------- ----

Non-GAAP net income $ 8,455 5.5% $ 6,334 4.8%
$15,650 5.3% $10,684 4.0%
======== ====== ======== ====
========== ====== ======== ====

Basic net income per share: $ 0.30 $ 0.23
$ 0.56 $ 0.40
Legal settlements 0.04 --
0.04 --
Gain on investment settlement (0.02) --
(0.02) --
Tax effect - legal settlements (1) (0.01) --
(0.01) --
Tax effect - gain on investment

settlement (1) 0.01 --
0.01 --
-------- --------
---------- --------

Non-GAAP basic net income per share $ 0.31 $ 0.23
$ 0.57 $ 0.40
======== ========
========== ========

Diluted net income per share: $ 0.28 $ 0.23
$ 0.53 $ 0.38
Legal settlements 0.03 --
0.04 --
Gain on investment settlement (0.02) --
(0.02) --
Tax effect - legal settlements (1) (0.01) --
(0.01) --
Tax effect - gain on investment

settlement (1) 0.01 --
0.01 --
-------- --------
---------- --------

Non-GAAP basic net income per share $ 0.29 $ 0.23
$ 0.54 $ 0.38
======== ========
========== ========

Per share amounts reflected above may not reconcile due to rounding.

(1) The tax effect is based on the Company's annual estimated tax rate
of 29.2%.

CONTACT: Greg Levin
BJ's Restaurants, Inc.
(714) 500-2400