ional franchised) operating in 47 states, the District of Columbia and five international countries.John Schnatter's recipe for success is simple, concentrate on what you do well, and do it better than anybody else. To maintain the integrity of that fundamental principle, Papa John's menu is limited to just a few core products, namely pizza, breadsticks, cheesesticks and soft drinks, available for delivery or carryout.Papa John's unwavering focus on a limited menu of high-quality products, streamlined operations, their distribution system and training and development programs have resulted in an increasing respect from customers, franchisees, investors and employees alike.Papa John's, the fourth-largest and fastest-growing pizza chain in the segment, exceeded $1 billion in system wide sales for the first time in 1998, while the chain's same-store sales increased nearly 10 percent. Last year this chain added 372 new restaurants to the system, including its first international units in Mexico. This year, Papa John's is continuing international expansion, while increasing its presence in such Western states as California and Arizona. Papa John's is expecting their sales to exceed $ 1.4 billion in 1999, and is looking to surpass Little Caesars this year in terms of system-wide volumes, which is an achievable goal.Selected financial data for the nine-month period ending September 26, 1999, as compared to same period ending September 27, 1998, has been highlighted in Table 5 for Balance Sheet accounts and Chart 6 highlights Revenues, Selected Expenses and Net Income on the following page.Expressed in Thousands of $$ - TABLE 59 MONTHS ENDED 9/26/99 9 MONTHS ENDED 9/27/98% OFINCREASE/(DECREASE)BALANCE SHEET Current Assets$ 79,474$ 68,023 16.8%...
