Wendy's/Arby's Earns $14.7 Million in 3Q

A Wendy's window attendant hands off a food purchase to a drive-thru customer in Jackson, Miss.,...

A Wendy's window attendant hands off a food purchase to a drive-thru customer in Jackson, Miss., Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009. Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. said Thursday, fewer customers gulped down its sandwiches in the third quarter.(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

(AP)

Dollar drinks, sandwiches and desserts will join more Arby's menus as the struggling fast-food chain jumps on the deep-discount bandwagon aimed at wooing customers who have fled its higher-priced meals.

The plan is a bid to boost sagging sales at the chain that led its parent company, Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. on Thursday to post only a thin profit for the third quarter.

The fast-food chain is already trying to attract customers with its $5 combo meals for certain roast beef sandwiches. But executives said Thursday that they'll make a newly developed $1 menu more widely available in hopes of improving performance at the chain.

The menu, which includes chicken, ham and cheese, and small roast beef sandwiches, has been in testing for 10 months, mostly in the Southeast.

Arby's, owned along with Wendy's by Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc., saw revenue slide nearly 7 percent during the third quarter. Meanwhile, sales in restaurants open at least a year sank 9 percent because fewer customers gulped down its sandwiches and shakes. The figure is an important restaurant performance measure.

The poor results continued into October, after the quarter ended.

Wendy's and its cheaper menu fared better than its higher-priced sibling, with flat sales in sites open at least a year.

Although executives hinted that they plan a massive expansion to Wendy's deeply discounted offerings next year as well.

"It's not just one product. It's a strategy," CEO Roland Smith told investors during a conference call. "It's a way for customers to look at our menu."

Fast-food restaurants were among the early winners of the recession as diners swapped price restaurants for the cheaper eateries. But now, customers are spending less as restaurants race to slash prices, or staying home entirely. That dragged down business at the nation's fast food chains by 3 percent this summer, according to a recent report from a market research firm NPD Group.