Stock Monitor: The ONE Group Hospitality Post Earnings Reporting

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2018 / Active-Investors.com has just released a free earnings report on Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC). If you want access to this report all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=SONC. The Company reported its second quarter fiscal 2018 operating and financial results on March 27, 2018. The United States' largest drive-in chain beat earnings estimates. The Company also provided guidance for the full fiscal year 2018. Register today and get access to over 1000 Free Research Reports by joining our site below:

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Active-Investors.com is currently working on the research report for The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ: STKS), which also belongs to the Services sector as the Company Sonic. Do not miss out and become a member today for free to access this upcoming report at:

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Active-Investors.com is focused on giving you timely information and the inside line on companies that matter to you. This morning, Sonic most recent news is on our radar and our team decided to put out a fantastic report on the company that is now available for free below:

www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=SONC

Earnings Highlights and Summary

For the second quarter ended February 28, 2018, Sonic recorded revenues of $88.1 million compared to $100.2 million in Q2 FY17. The Company's revenue numbers fell short of analysts' estimates of $93.9 million.

For Q2 FY18, Sonic's Company drive-in sales were $53.1 million compared to $64.3 million in Q2 FY17. The Company's Franchise drive-in sales totaled $33.7 million compared to $34.3 million in the prior year's same quarter.

During Q2 FY18, Sonic's system same-store sales declined 2.9%, consisting of a same-store sales decrease of 2.8% at Franchise drive-ins and a decrease of 3.7% at Company drive-ins. The same-store sales consisted of positive check-in of almost 3%, and that was more than offset by negative traffic in the reported quarter.

For Q2 FY18, Sonic's adjusted operating margin improved 140 basis points to 17.2%, driven primarily by a higher mix of franchise stores, as well as effective expense management. The Company's drive-in margins improved 40 basis points in the reported quarter, with the positive impact of Sonic's refranchising efforts offsetting the deleverage of negative same-store sales, commodity cost inflation of approximately 2.2%, and hourly labor inflation of 2.6%, excluding the Colorado minimum wage.

Sonic reported a net income of $19.6 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, in Q2 FY18 compared to $11.0 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in Q2 FY17. On an adjusted basis, the Company's earnings improved 13% to $0.17 per share. The lower tax rate resulting from the federal tax reform benefited adjusted earnings by approximately $0.04 per share. Sonic's earnings beat Wall Street's estimates of $0.15 per share.

During Q2 FY18, Sonic opened 8 new drive-ins.

Cash Matters

Sonic ended Q2 FY18 with $64.2 million in unrestricted cash. During the reported quarter, the Company repurchased 1.2 million shares, bringing the total to 2.8 million shares, or 6% of shares outstanding, through the first half of the fiscal year 2018.

Outlook

For the full fiscal year 2018, Sonic is forecasting adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.43 and $1.50, inclusive of the tax reform. Excluding the impact of the tax reform, the Company expects earnings to increase by 2% to 7% on a y-o-y basis.

For FY18, Sonic is projecting same-store sales for the system to be down 1% to up 1% on a y-o-y basis. The Company expects to open 55 to 65 new franchise drive-in openings, and estimates drive-in-level margins of 15.0% to 15.5%. Sonic is anticipating capital expenditure of approximately $40 million; free cash flow of $60 million to $63 million; and share repurchases of approximately $160 million across FY18.

Stock Performance Snapshot

April 25, 2018 - At Wednesday's closing bell, Sonic's stock was slightly up 0.75%, ending the trading session at $26.73.

Volume traded for the day: 374.36 thousand shares.

Stock performance in the last month ? up 7.83%; previous three-month period ? up 0.11%; and past six-month period ? up 5.61%

After yesterday's close, Sonic's market cap was at $1.04 billion.

Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio was at 19.65.

The stock has a dividend yield of 2.39%.

The stock is part of the Services sector, categorized under the Restaurants industry. This sector was up 0.2% at the end of the session.

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