OKLAHOMA CITY Sonic Corp., operator or franchisor of 3,350 namesake drive-ins, said on Tuesday that first-quarter same-store sales at restaurants majority-owned by the company rose within its targeted range of 2 percent to 4 percent, leading Sonic to say it would hit Wall Street’s per-share profit target.
For the first quarter of the company’s fiscal 2008, which ended Nov. 30, Sonic said it was comfortable with the mean per-share profit target of 21 cents that analysts had estimated. A year ago, Sonic earned 20 cents per share in its first quarter.
The company said that despite a slow start in September, first-quarter same-store sales at partner drive-ins, in which Sonic holds a majority interest, rose between 2 percent and 4 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Systemwide same-store sales results were at “the lower end of the range,” the company added.
Sonic also said it completed 240 restaurant retrofits during the quarter, including revamps at 202 franchised locations.
Sonic will report its full first-quarter results on Jan. 3.