SONC Sonic Corp. (delisted)

Shares of Sonic Corp. slipped Thursday as the drive-in restaurant chain gave a lower annual target for same-store sales growth.

Last month, the company said it expected the May quarter would register same-store sales below its full-year projections of growth of 4% to 6%.

On Thursday, the company said the quarter posted same-store growth of 2% for the latest quarter and added that it now expected annual growth would be in the range of 2% to 4%.

The company did back, however, its outlook for adjusted earnings per share, which it expects to grow between 20% and 25%.

Shares, up about 22% over the past nine months, sagged 7.4% in after-hours trading to $28.11 as the growth estimate reflected an industrywide slowdown in customer traffic and unfavorable weather.

For the latest quarter, the company exceeded expectations for profit by a penny while just missing revenue targets. But earnings declined from the same period last year while revenue was nearly flat.

For the period ended May 31, Sonic reported a profit of $15.4 million, or 31 cents a share, down from $20.4 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, earnings rose to 43 cents a share from 36 cents a year earlier.

Revenue rose 0.3% to $165.2 million.

Analysts had projected earnings of 42 cents a share on $166 million in revenue.

The restaurant chain started in 1953 in Shawnee, Okla., as a hamburger and root beer stand. It revolutionized the ordering process by installing curbside speakers that allowed customers to place orders without leaving their cars. Now based in Oklahoma City, Sonic has more than 3,500 restaurants styled after 1950s drive-ins.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at ezequiel.minaya@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 23, 2016 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

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