Kona Grill widens its 4th-quarter loss but sees hope in December traffic, sales rise

Kona Grill restaurant chain widens 4Q loss

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Kona Grill Inc. on Wednesday reported a loss for the fourth quarter as sales grew slowly.

The company, which runs a chain of American grill and sushi bars, posted a loss of $19.2 million, or $2.10 per share, for the quarter — including $17.6 million in asset impairment and other special charges. That’s more than a year earlier, when it reported a loss of $5.4 million, or 67 cents per share.

Excluding one-time items in both periods, the company lost 18 cents per share for both periods.

Quarterly restaurant sales grew from $18.6 million to $20 million.

But sales at Kona’s locations open at least a year decreased 8.1 percent. This is considered a key indicator because it eliminates the impact of openings and closings during the year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected the company to post a loss of 16 cents per share for the quarter on revenue of $20.1 million.

The company said it saw higher sales and traffic in December, which its leaders said was an early sign of recovery.

Kona now expects to record a loss of 12 to 19 cents per share for the first quarter, in line with analysts’ expectations of a loss of 16 cents per share.

For the full year, the company reported a net loss of $21.5 million, or $2.49 per share. That compares with a full-year loss of $10.5 million, or $1.30 per share in the prior year.

Adjusted for one-time items, the company posted a loss of 44 cents per share for the year, down from a loss of 40 cents per share in 2008.

Shares of Kona rose 8 cents to close at $3.20 Wednesday and were unchanged in after-hours trading.