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) |
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.
