Del Taco Restaurants Shares Slide After Mixed Q3 Results

Del Taco Restaurants Inc TACO reported third-quarter FY21 sales growth of 2.9% year-on-year, to $124.27 million, marginally missing the analyst consensus of $124.86 million.
Adjusted EPS of $0.11 beat the analyst consensus of $0.10. Adjusted EBITDA of $14.1 million fell 7.8% Y/Y.
Comparable restaurant sales increased 1.8% system-wide, rose 1.6% at company-operated restaurants, and increased 2.0% at franchised restaurants.
Company-operated restaurant sales grew 2.2% to $112.0 million. Restaurant contribution margin contracted 150 basis points to 16.5%.
General and administrative expenses rose 3.5% Y/Y. The operating margin was 4.9%, and operating income for the quarter fell 20.6% to $6.1 million.
Del Taco Restaurants held $3.4 million in cash and equivalents as of September 7, 2021.
The company's quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share is payable on November 24, 2021, to shareholders of record on November 3, 2021.
Price action: TACO shares are trading lower by 6.29% at $8.79 on the last check Friday.