Cosi Returns to Profitability

Cosi shares gain as casual cafe chain returns to year-over-year profitability.

Author:
Publish date:: Aug 13, 2010 9:28 AM EDT

DEERFIELD, Ill. (

) -- Shares of

Cosi

(COSI)

gained 5.2% Thursday after the café restaurant chain said it returned to profitability in the recent quarter.

Cosi said it earned $3.8 million, or 7 cents per share, in the recent quarter, compared with a net loss of $969,000, or 2 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.

Systemwide comparable same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least 15 months, increased by 3.1% in the second quarter, including a 3.3% improvement at company-owned stores and 2.6% at franchised locations.

Consolidated revenue fell 6.3% to $29.6 million, attributed to thirteen company-owned restaurants in Washington D.C. that were sold to a franchisee during the second quarter.

A roster of fast food and casual restaurant stocks, including

Tim Hortons

(THI)

Brinker International

(EAT) - Get Report

and

Wendy's Arby's Group

(WEN) - Get Report

posted quarterly results Thursday, dishing up a mixed plate of results.

Coffee-and-donut chain Tim Hortons posted

better-than-expected earnings

, thanks to strong same-store sales growth in its Canadian stores. Chili's operator Brinker International missed top- and bottom-line expectations but

forecast 2011 earnings in line with analysts' consensus call

. Wendy's Arby's Group

missed expectations and lowered its 2010 outlook

>>Fast Food Stocks Deliver Mixed Bag

Fast food behemoth

McDonald's

(MCD) - Get Report

, which competes with Tim Hortons for market share in the coffee-drinks space and with Wendy's Arby's in the fast food sector, said earlier this week its comps surged 7% in July, fueled in large part by its beverage business. It was the burger-and-fries chain's biggest monthly increase by that measure since April of 2009.

>>McDonald's Heats Up on Cold Drinks

The Golden Arches said last month it

grew overall global comps by 4.8%

in its recent quarter, helped by its dollar menu and an expanded list of coffee drinks, but the figure came up short of expectations and McDonald's stock fell more than 2%, closing below $70 per share the day it released the quarterly results. McDonald's shares rebounded since then, hitting an all-time high of $73.33 in trading Monday, and closing at $72.06 Thursday.


VOTE: Which 52-Week-High Stock Will Outperform?
Blue chips Siemens, McDonald's, AstraZeneca, Altria Group and Deere hit fresh 52-week highs on Monday. Which will outperform in the remainder of 2010?

-- Reported by Miriam Marcus Reimer from New York.

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>>Tim Hortons Beats on Higher Comps

>>McDonald's Heats Up on Cold Drinks

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