Jack in the Box Reports Lower Q2 Profit

Quick-casual restaurant operator Jack in the Box JACK released its fiscal second-quarter earnings results after the closing bell on Wednesday. In after-hours trading, the stock was down a little more than 1 percent to $37.90. The company reported net earnings of $13.3 million or $0.29 per share, compared to $21.6 million or $0.48 per share, in last year's corresponding period. Operating earnings in the quarter were $0.33 versus $0.30 in last year's second-quarter. This came in slightly ahead of Wall Street analysts' consensus EPS estimates of $0.31. Sales in the quarter fell to $355.62 million from $366.48 million last year. This also missed street consensus revenue estimates of $358.87 million. Jack in the Box company same-store sales rose 2.1 percent in the quarter while Qdoba same-store sales were up 1.5 percent for company restaurants. Looking ahead to Q3, the company guided for a same-store sales increase of 1 percent to 3 percent for Jack in the Box company restaurants and flat growth for Qdoba company restaurants. Jack in the Box also raised its guidance for fiscal 2013. The company sees operating EPS of $1.55 to $1.65 versus its previous guidance of $1.48 to $1.63. Currently, analysts have consensus EPS estimates of $1.61 for fiscal 2013.