(Reuters) – Chipotle Mexican Grill tempered its annual forecast for comparable sales on Wednesday while sticky inflation and economic uncertainty oblige consumers to less, sending the actions of the Burrito chain 3% after the hours.
The company now provides for annual growth in comparable sales in the range to a low-turn figure, compared to a previous forecast for an increase of low to mid-chiffre.
President Donald Trump’s radical prices on business partners, including Mexico and Canada, as well as climbing trade war with China, have raised a recession in the United States and forced companies to resume their annual expectations, consumers who deal with higher lifestyles.
While Chipotle has so far benefited from menu innovation and optimization of cooking operations, the company could face a certain impact on import prices on goods such as lawyers and beef, analysts noted.
“In February, we started to see this high level of uncertainty felt by consumers. Consumers save money due to concerns about the economy and reduce restaurant visits. These trends continued in April,” said CEO Scott Boatwright during a post-benefit call.
Sales of comparable chipotle restaurants dropped 0.4% in the first quarter finished on March 31, against an increase of 5.4% of the previous period of three months.
The company declared a total turnover of $ 2.85 billion, going down average estimates of analysts of $ 2.95 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The operating margin at the restaurant fell 26.2% in the first quarter, compared to 27.5% a year ago
In January, Chipotle said Trump’s prices on Mexico would have an impact of around 60 points on its raw materials costs for the year.
In an attempt to protect the margins of higher contribution costs, the company has also invested in the introduction of technology such as products of products and three -level rice cuisers that help optimize work and time in the kitchen.
(Report by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; edition by Devika Syamnath)
