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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jenna who wrote (10922)	7/2/1998 10:44:00 AM
From: Jenna	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

MLHR..doing nicely.. SFNB.. out of NSOL 46 3/4. Will be selling everything by todays' close. Might hold on to HBOC.

To: Jenna who wrote (10922)	7/2/1998 12:30:00 PM
From: Jenna	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 120523

RI...on a 'down day' this one was raised to a strong buy. I would watch this today on Monday. Usually stocks like this have a delayed reaction to a strong buy and could move the next trading session. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. Reports Second Consecutive Year Of Earnings Per Share <RI.N> Ruby Tuesday, Inc. Reports Second Consecutive Year Of Earnings Per Share Growth of at Least 20 Percent Fourth Quarter Earnings Per Share Up 24 Percent Directors Declare Semi-Annual Dividend MARYVILLE, Tenn., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE: RI) today reported fourth quarter earnings per share of $0.26, up 23.8%from $0.21 a year ago. For the fiscal year, the Company reported earnings per share of $0.84, up 20.0% from $0.70 in the previous year. This marks the Company's ninth consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding its goal to grow earnings per share 15% - 20%. For the quarter, Ruby Tuesday concept reported a 3.3% increase in same-store sales. In addition, the Board of Directors declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $.045 per share, payable at the close of business on July 31, 1998, to shareholders of record on July 10, 1998. The Company Had Another Very Solid Year "Our goal, as approved by our Board of Directors, is to grow earnings per share at a rate of 15 - 20% annually. We have met or exceeded the higher-end of that goal by growing earnings per share by at least 20% for the second consecutive year," said Sandy Beall, Chairman and CEO of the Company. "We were successful in increasing return-on-equity to 13.3% from 11.9% and in increasing our pre-tax profit margin to 6.3% from 5.9% in the prior year," continued Beall. "In addition, we increased system-wide sales by 14.8% year over year. We successfully lowered the turnover of our management and hourly team members and increased the satisfaction and monthly visit frequency of our current guests. "Our focus is on execution at the unit-level," said Beall, "by offering great food and great service in sparkling clean restaurants with every visit of every guest. We were especially proud of our recent recognition in Parents Magazine where critics named Ruby Tuesday the 'Best Restaurant Overall' and rated our food best for kids and adults in a nationwide survey among 30 national chains. These critics also had high praise for the cleanliness of our restaurants. All three of our concepts, Ruby Tuesday, Mozzarella's American Cafe and Tia's Tex-Mex, reported positive same-store sales for the year. "Our strategies revolve around having true entrepreneurial ownership and reducing risk," continued Beall. "We have partnership plans throughout every management level of our organization whereby our team members have invested their own capital in the future success of our company. We have successfully lowered the investment cost in our new units while increasing their average unit volumes, thus providing greater returns on invested capital. We change our menus every six months in order to keep a sense of excitement and newness in our restaurants. We focus on having fast, friendly service in a clean neighborhood atmosphere. "We thank our customers for their continued support, our teams for their service and dedication and our shareholders for their trust and commitment. The culture and continuity among our team members is stronger than ever and ready to guide us in our continued success. Highlights from our past year's performance follow." Fourth Quarter Highlights: Ninth Consecutive Quarter of Solid Earnings Performance; Positive Same-Store Sales with Positive Momentum Continuing in June -- Earnings per share increased 23.8% to $0.26 from $0.21, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of solid earnings performance. -- Same-store sales were up 3.3% for the Ruby Tuesday concept with positive same-store sales continuing in June. Same-store sales for Mozzarella's American Cafe and Tia's Tex-Mex were also positive for the quarter. -- Net income increased 19.6% to $8,818,000 from $7,375,000. -- Total revenue increased 9.6% to $185,436,000 from $169,202,000. During the quarter, 17 company-owned Ruby Tuesday units were sold to franchisees as part of the Company's domestic franchise partner program. -- System-wide revenue increased 21.5% to $207,248,000 from $170,520,000. -- Company-owned unit openings included 13 Ruby Tuesday Restaurants. -- Company-owned unit closings included 17 Ruby Tuesdays sold to franchisees, 1 Ruby Tuesday due to fire which will be re-built and one Mozzarella's American Cafe due to normal lease expiration. -- Domestic franchise unit openings included 17 Ruby Tuesday units which were former company-owned units. -- One international franchise unit was opened. Year-to-Date Highlights: Ruby Tuesday Concept Same-Store Sales Up 2.8% and Earnings Per Share Increased 20.0% -- Earnings per share increased 20.0% to $0.84 from $0.70. -- Same-store sales were up 2.8% for the Ruby Tuesday concept. Same- store sales for Mozzarella's American Cafe and Tia's Tex-Mex were also