US pizza chain Papa John’s International has reported an attributable net income of $14.63m for the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, down 34% compared to $22.37m a year previously.

For the quarter ended 31 March 2024, the company’s total revenues declined to $513.91m from $527.04m in Q1 2023.

The decline in total revenues was primarily due to lower revenues in the North American commissary segment, influenced by commodity price declines.

Papa John's operating income also saw a downturn, decreasing by 11% to $33.71m compared to $37.79m in Q1 2023.

Papa John's global system-wide restaurant sales were $1.23bn, a marginal 0.9% decrease from the previous year's Q1.

North American comparable sales experienced a 2% drop, with domestic company-owned restaurants down by 3%.

International comparable sales also declined by 3% from the same period of the previous year.

Papa John's continued its expansion by opening eight net new units in Q1 2024, driven by growth in North America.

The company is on track to achieve more than 20% net unit growth in North America relative to 2023 and anticipates opening between 100 and 140 new international restaurants.

Papa John's interim CEO and chief financial officer Ravi Thanawala said: “Our teams are taking a disciplined approach to running the business, improving restaurant-level margins and increasing operating profits despite a challenging environment in the first quarter.

“More importantly, we’re making meaningful progress on our Back to Better 2.0 and International Transformation initiatives.

“The foundational improvements we are implementing in our restaurant operations, digital solutions and marketing platforms are designed to drive sustainable, profitable growth around the globe.”