Chipotle Mexican Grill, the US-based burrito concept, has reported a 35.1% increase in first quarter profit to $62.7m driven by increased footfall and the impact of menu price rises implemented in the previous year.
Revenue climbed 25.8% to $640.6m, as increased traffic led sales at restaurants open at least a year to rise 12.7%.
The group, which was founded by chief executive Steve Ells, opened 32 restaurants during the quarter, bringing the total restaurant count to 1,262.
It said it expects to open between 155 and165 new restaurant openings in 2012, and projects that same-store sales will be in the “mid-single digit” range. The group also predicted that food inflation of mid-single digits
The company said it continued to make progress with its expansion in Europe not just in terms of opening new restaurants, but also in terms of developing teams of “top performers to provide us with the future leaders we'll need as we continue to grow”.
The group currently has two restaurants open in London with plans to open three more between now and the end of the year in Wardour Street, St Martin’s Lane and Islington.
Its first Paris restaurant is slated to open this spring.
Steven Ells, chief executive, said: “As we work in Europe, I can't help but notice the tremendous benefits of starting from scratch in these new markets, but built upon a solid restaurateur culture with teams of top performers who have high standards. Our initial teams in London are extraordinary and our managers are taking great care to hire only top performers who can be developed into our future managers and future leaders for us in Europe.
“As we work to open our third restaurant in London on Wardour Street, we have already appointed a manager who has been with us since day one at our first London restaurant on Charing Cross Road and we've screened hundreds of applicants to hire only 15. The team in London tells me that they expect to screen hundreds more to get the 25 or 30 employees they'll need to open. That strong commitment to finding and hiring only top performers for positions will help us accommodate growth in the future.”
