Pizza Pizza Reports 2008 Sales Growth and February Distribution

About this update from Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp.

[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nTORONTO, Feb. 2 /CNW/ -\n\n\nDistributions:\n\n\nPizza Pizza Royalty Income Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: PZA.UN) today\nannounced a cash distribution of $0.0775 per unit for the month of February,\n2009. The distribution will be payable to unitholders of record at the close\nof business on February 27, 2009, and will be paid on March 13, 2009.\n\n\nIn 2008, Unitholders earned distributions per unit of $0.923 compared to\n$0.888 per unit in 2007, or a 3.9% increase.\n\n\nThe Fund's payout ratio for 2008 was 92% compared to 94% in 2007.\n\n\nThe Fund, indirectly, has a positive working capital balance at December\n31, 2008 of $3.5 million ($1.9 million - 2007) accumulated as a reserve.\n\n\nSales:\n\n\nRoyalty Pool sales for 2008 increased 14.9% to $470.6 million compared to\n$409.5 million in 2007. For the fourth quarter, Royalty Pool sales increased\n2.9% to $122.4 million compared to $118.9 million for the same quarter in\n2007. The increase in Royalty Pool sales was the result of the positive SSSG\nplus the 37, net new restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2008,\nand the full-year impact in 2008 of the 41 Pizza 73 restaurants added to the\nRoyalty Pool on July 24, 2007 with the acquisition of the Pizza 73 trademarks.\n\n\nPizza Pizza Limited (the "Company") reported same store sales increased\n1.7% for its year ended December 28, 2008 compared to the prior, fiscal year;\nthe fourth quarter same store sales decreased slightly by 0.6% compared to the\nsame quarter in 2007.\n\n\n"Pizza Pizza continues to direct marketing efforts to meet the\nchallenging economy and is pleased with the positive sales growth for the\nyear. Growing and protecting our brands and increasing market share will\ncontinue to be our focus," said Curt Feltner, Chief Financial Officer.\n\n\nRestaurants:\n\n\nDuring the fourth quarter of 2008, Pizza Pizza opened two traditional\nrestaurants and one non-traditional location and closed two traditional\nlocations; six traditional and 12 non-traditional locations have opened and\nfour traditional and five non-traditional locations have closed. This brings\nthe total number of Pizza Pizza locations to 568 at December 31, 2008, of\nwhich 559 were in the Fund's 2008 Royalty Pool. Two traditional Pizza 73\nlocations were opened during the fourth quarter; for the year, ni...

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