Sonic 4Q, 2009 Profit Fall On Lower Sales

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Sonic Corp. said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter and yearly 2009 profit fell as sales dropped by a double-digit percentage during a tough year for the restaurant industry.

Sonic runs a chain of drive-in restaurants and franchises its name.

The Oklahoma City-based company's fourth-quarter profit fell 17 percent to $16.9 million, or 28 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Aug. 31, from a year earlier.

That beat a 27 cent per share prediction of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. But it is lower than the $20.2 million, or 33 cents per share, that Sonic earned a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue fell 23 percent to $173.8 million from $226.9 million. Analysts had expected $170 million.

Sales at stores open at least a year fell 4.5 percent during the quarter.

CEO Clifford Hudson said that while sales performance was "not where we would like it to be," he believes the company can keep customer traffic levels at flat.