Sonic Spoils on Mixed Q2 Earnings

Shares of Sonic

are trading lower in the after-hours following the release of the company's Q2 earnings results. Currently, shares are lower by 3.98%, trading at $7.73; they ended the regular session higher by 3.07%, at $8.05. Sonic reported Q2 EPS of $0.03 on revenues of $115.1 million; the Street was looking for $0.02 per share on revenues of $116.64 billion. Revenues increased by 1.4% year over year. System-wide same-store sales increased 3.5% during the second quarter. “We are pleased with our second quarter results and believe they reflect our ongoing focus on improving our products and service,” said Cliff Hudson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe a continued focus on innovative and distinctive products to drive sales across multiple day-parts, combined with our new creative strategy which was implemented at the end of the quarter, will continue to distinguish Sonic from the competition and will help drive more consistent and sustained same-store sales growth going forward. We are especially pleased with the addition of James O'Reilly as our new Chief Marketing Officer. His depth of experience in the quick-service restaurant industry will assist our efforts to build on these initiatives.” The company plans to open 30-40 new franchises in FY2012 with flat to slightly favorable annual restaurant-level margins. Sonic Corp. operates and franchises chain of drive-in restaurants in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Company Drive-Ins and Franchise Operations.