Bojangles CEO talks earnings, growth
Bojangles' fried chicken sales were sizzling hot in the wake of a Q4 earnings report released before close on Thursday.
The fried-chicken chain, public as of May 2015, beat its own estimates in reporting 22 cents earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2015. Despite seeing a decline in customer traffic, revenue also beat forecasts with same-store sales rising 0.6 percent. As a result, the company's shares rose nearly 24 percent on Friday.
Bojangles has seen increased competition from McDonald's, which entered the "all-day breakfast market" in October 2015. CEO Clifton Rutledge told CNBC in an exclusive interview that he is not about the growing number of companies selling breakfast round the clock. "The food is the star of our brand, and we welcome the competition," Rutledge said.
The North Carolina-based restaurant chain reports having over 100 stores approved or under construction and looks to expand to adjacent markets, according to Rutledge.
"It's something that we feel very, very comfortable about," he said. "We're doing it smart and in the right way."
Rutledge sees mobile ordering as the next big move for fast-food chains to continue sustaining growth in the digital age.
"Everything is going from a technology standpoint, how to figure out how to play in that game," he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Bojangles' CEO and misspelled the company's name.