Ahead Of The Bell: Dropping Sales For Jamba Drinks
Fruit smoothies chain Jamba Inc. core offerings are a “low priority purchase” for consumers during tough times, an analyst said Friday, a day after the company said sales fell 15 percent in the second quarter.
Its shares shed 5 cents, or 4 percent, to $1.20 in premarket trading on Friday.
Jamba owns and franchises Jamba Juice stores. The Emeryville, Calif., chain said Thursday that its loss for the period ended July 14 shrank 94 percent to $5.3 million, or 10 cents a share. That was due mostly to cost controls and the re-franchising of stores, said Jefferies & Co. analyst Jeff Farmer in a note to investors.
Meanwhile, sales at Jamba’s company-owned stores open for more than a year dropped 13.7 percent. That measurement is a key indicator of retailer performance.
Farmer commended Jamba for launching its grab-and-go offerings. The company is depending on the flatbreads, wraps and salads to drive foot traffic and customer spending, he said, but it’s too early to tell if that strategy is working.
