Dave & Buster's Inc.'s second-quarter loss narrowed to $3.1 million, better than a loss of $9.5 million in the same period last year, the restaurant-and-arcade chain said Tuesday.
It's the company's first earnings report since July, when it filed regulatory papers saying it intends to go public. Dave & Buster's gaming venues are geared toward adults, with food, alcohol and games like skee-ball, video games and billiards.
Dave & Buster's has been a public company before, until it was bought in 2006 by Wellspring Capital Partners and HBK Main Street Investors. Those new owners installed the current managers, then sold the company last year to another investment firm, Oak Hill Capital Partners.
As a private company, Dave & Buster's has cut costs and said it wants to open more locations. It now has 57 but says it believes it could grow as big as 150. In regulatory filings, it says it expects to raise $150 million by going public, which it would use to pay down debt.
The company has lost money in four of the past five years even though revenue has risen over the period.
In the latest quarter, which covered May through July, revenue increased 0.6 percent to $128.7 million. The games unit, which makes up about half of revenue, saw revenue rise 2.2 percent. The food and beverage unit saw revenue decline by 1 percent. The company was able to trim its loss by cutting general and administrative expenses.
The company hasn't said when it expects to go public.
