Papa John's Announces March and First Quarter Comparable Sales Results

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Apr 04, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) today announced that domestic system-wide comparable sales for the five weeks ended March 26, 2006 increased 4.5% (composed of a 5.7% increase at company-owned restaurants and a 4.2% increase at franchise restaurants). Domestic system-wide comparable sales for the quarter ended March 26, 2006 increased 4.2% (composed of a 6.1% increase at company-owned restaurants and a 3.7% increase at franchise restaurants).

Comparable sales results for the period and quarter were favorably impacted by the timing of the Easter holiday weekend, which has lower sales volumes than a typical weekend. The Easter holiday occurred in the March period in 2005, and will not occur until the April period in 2006. The estimated increase in current year comparable sales results of approximately 1.0% for the March period and 0.4% for the first quarter is expected to reverse and have an unfavorable impact on April and second quarter comparable sales results.

Total system-wide international sales for Papa John's branded units increased 30.9% for March and 29.1% for the quarter, on a constant U.S. dollar basis, over the same periods last year.

At March 26, 2006, there were 2,924 Papa John's restaurants (509 company-owned and 2,415 franchised) operating in 49 states and 22 countries. For more information about the company, visit Papa John's at http://www.papajohns.com.

SOURCE: Papa John's International, Inc.

Papa John's International, Inc. David Flanery, 502-261-4753