Hot dog! Nathan's Famous profit rises 61 percent

Nathan's Famous Inc. announced a 61 percent gain in net income for the most recent quarter on Friday, due to its lower cost of sales and decreased interest expense.

The Jericho-based hot dog maker had net income of $4.80 million for the three-month period ending June 24, up from $2.92 million a year earlier. Its cost of sales fell by almost $2 million, to $15.45 million, due to the declining cost of beef. That drop was "partly offset" by higher labor costs, the company said. 

Its interest expense for the quarter was $2.65 million, down by about $1 million from a year ago. In November, Nathan's Famous refinanced $135 million in outstanding debt at 10 percent interest, replacing it with $150 million in debt at 6.625 interest.

The company's revenues for the quarter were $30.17 million, an annual decline of 2 percent.

Its income per diluted share was $1.13, up from 69 cents a year earlier.

Shortly after the market opened Friday, the company’s stock price rose by 0.2 percent, to $96.90. Over the past 12 months, it has increased by 59.9 percent, from $60.60 a year ago.

Sales fell by 7.9 percent annually, to $20.47 million for the quarter, a company filing shows. License royalties increased by 9.4 percent year-over-year, to almost $8.1 million, due to an 8.5 percent increase in volume and a 4 percent rise in selling price under its license agreement with John Morrell & Co., a division of meat industry giant Smithfield Foods.

Nathan's Famous signed an agreement in 2014 with Morrell, which now manufactures, sells and markets Nathan's products for stores and food-service venues such as movie theaters and ballparks.