Restaurant chain sees sales climb amidst aggressive growth strategy

Matthew Corrin, founder & CEO of Freshii, poses for a photograph at one of the company's franchises in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday January 24, 2018. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

TORONTO -- Freshii share prices tumbled 10 per cent in midday trading as the Toronto-based restaurant chain missed earnings expectations for the second quarter.

The Toronto-based company, which reports in U.S. dollars, saw net income nudge into the black at $298,000 in the latest quarter, compared to a loss of $383,000 in the second quarter of 2017.

Adjusted net income inched up to three cents per share, falling short of analysts' expectations for four cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Total revenue jumped 29 per cent to $10.4 million, the vast majority coming from franchise food and beverage sales as the health-oriented chain continued its expansion strategy across nearly two-dozen countries.

Shares in the company were down 61 cents at $5.72 per share on the Toronto Stock Exchange a day after it reported second-quarter earnings.

The company says it expects up to $285 million in sales from as many as 760 stores within the next year or so, a big leap from its current count of between 400 and 500 locations.

Freshii fare is on offer on hundreds of Air Canada flights daily, part of an "omni-channel" plan that also aims to install about two-dozen branded coolers in Shell Canada Ltd. stations later this month.