Sonic Beats on Q2 Earnings, In Line on Revenue

Sonic (NASDAQ:SONC) reported Q2 earnings of $0.07 per share, up from $0.05 per share last year and a penny better than the analyst consensus on Capital IQ. System-wide same-store sales increased 1.4%, consisting of an increase of 1.5% at franchise drive-ins and an increase of 1.3% at company drive-ins. Total revenue was $109.7 million, down from $111.1 million last year and about in line with the Street view of $110.3 million.

Looking forward, the company expects its initiatives to drive 14% to 15% earnings per share growth in fiscal 2014 as compared to the adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share for fiscal 2013.

In Other News

Shares of Safeway (NYSE:SWY) are higher after-hours as the food and drug retailer declares a special stock dividend to its stockholders of shares of Class B common stock of Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. owned by Safeway, representing approximately 94.2% of the total outstanding shares of Blackhawk’s Class B common stock and approximately 72.0% of the total number of shares of Blackhawk common stock of all classes outstanding. The distribution date is expected to be April 14, 2014. Shares of Blackhawk Class B common stock are not currently traded on any stock exchange but, upon completion of the spin-off, are expected to trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol “HAWKB.”

Celator Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPXX), a pharmaceutical company focused on therapies to treat cancer, reports a Q4 net loss of $0.13 per share, lower than a loss of $0.15 per share expected by analysts polled by Capital IQ. The Q4 2013 loss is deeper compared to a Q4 2012 loss of $0.04 per share.

CPXX closed the regular session at $3.30 – shares are unmoved after-hours.