Carrols Restaurant Group reports Q2 net loss, authorizes stock-repurchase program

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAST), the largest Burger King franchisee in the U.S., has reported a net loss of $3.7 million, or 9 cents a share, in the second quarter.

That compares to net income of $7.8 million, or 17 cents a share, in the prior-year quarter, Carrols said in a Thursday news release.

Syracuse–based Carrols also announced that its board of directors has authorized a stock-repurchase program under which the company may buy back up to $25 million of its common shares outstanding.

The company’s net loss in the second quarter included a $7.4 million loss on extinguishment of debt due to the 2019 refinancing and write-off of previously deferred financing costs; $400,000 of impairment and other lease charges; $1.4 million of acquisition expenses; and $1.2 million of integration expenses.

“While we are disappointed with our 2019 first half performance, we do not believe that these short-term results reflect a shift in the fundamentals of our business model,” Daniel Accordino, chairman and CEO of Carrols, said in the company’s news release. “With two world-class brands, a supportive franchisor partner, an experienced management team, and growth opportunities across multiple attractive markets, we believe we are positioned to deliver strong growth and value creation to our investors for years to come. Also, given the flexibility provided by our recently reset capital structure, we believe this is an opportune time to pursue additional acquisitions within both the Burger King and Popeyes systems, and build an even stronger foundation to drive our growth going forward.”

Carrols owned and operated 1,023 Burger King restaurants and 58 Popeyes restaurants in 23 states on June 30.

The company on April 30 completed its merger with Memphis, Tennessee–based Cambridge Franchise Holdings, LLC which resulted in Carrols acquiring 165 additional Burger King and 55 Popeyes restaurants in 10 Southeastern states.

Carrols on June 11 also completed the acquisition of 13 Burger King restaurants in the Baltimore, Maryland market, the firm said.

Stock-repurchase program

The board of directors has approved a stock repurchase program under which the company may buy back up to $25 million worth of its common stock.

The authorization is effective immediately, and will expire in 24 months, unless the board terminates it earlier. Purchases under the program may be made from time to time in open-market transactions at prevailing market prices or in privately negotiated transactions, the company noted.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com