On June 21, drive-in fast-food chain Sonic (NASDAQ:SONC) released fourth-quarter earnings for the period ended May 31.

  • Net profits are down, but per-share figures are up. The difference maker? A massive share buyback program.
  • While operational margins were stable enough, the net margin suffered from interest payments on a much higher debt load than last year.
  • Sonic's financial data comes in an unusual format. There's plenty of juicy, detailed information about in-house and franchise operations -- the average franchisee generated $34,000 more in sales than the average company-owned location -- but the balance statement is rudimentary and there's no cash flow information.

(Figures in millions, except per-share data)

Income Statement Highlights

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Sales

$209.9

$186.5

12.6%

Net Profit

$20.6

$23.8

(13.4%)

EPS

$0.31

$0.27

14.8%

Diluted Shares

67.4

89.0

(24.3%)

Get back to basics with the income statement.

Margin Checkup

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change*

Gross Margin

53.4%

53.5%

(0.1)

Operating Margin

20.6%

21%

(0.3)

Net Margin

9.8%

12.8%

(2.9)
*Expressed in percentage points.

Margins are the earnings engine.

Balance Sheet Highlights

Assets & Liabilities

Q3 2007

Q3 2006

Change

Current Assets

$91.9

$42.5

116.1%

Current Liabilities

$92.7

$78.1

18.8%

Long-term Liabilities

$711.9

$168.2

323.2%

The balance sheet reflects the company's health. The company only gave us a condensed version this time, and we'll have to wait for the 10-K filing for the full details.

Cash Flow Highlights
 Free cash flow is a Fool's best friend. Sonic didn't let us see our pal this time, though.

Related Foolishness:

Fool by Numbers is designed to give you the raw earnings information in a timely fashion, putting all the numbers you need in one easy-to-read place. But at The Motley Fool, we believe numbers tell only part of the story, so check Fool.com for more of our in-depth discussion of what the numbers mean.

At the time of publication, Anders Bylund had no position in any company mentioned. Fool rules are here.