MTY Food Group reports $23M Q2 profit, restarts paying quarterly dividend

MTY Food Group Inc. said it will restart paying a dividend as it reported a profit of $23 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $99.1 million a year ago when then pandemic started.

The restaurant franchisor and operator, which had suspended its dividend last year when it the pandemic forced restaurants to close, says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 18.5 cents per share next month.

The payment to shareholders comes as MTY says its profit for the three months ended May 31 amounted to 93 cents per diluted share compared with a loss of $4.01 per diluted share a year ago.

Revenue for what was the company's second quarter totalled $135.9 million, up from $97.8 million in the same quarter last year.

At the end of the quarter, MTY says 359 locations were still temporarily closed because of the pandemic including 283 in Canada, 54 in the U.S. and 22 internationally. It says 258 locations remained temporarily closed as of Friday.

MTY is the company behind more than 80 restaurant brands, including food court staples like Thai Express and Tiki-Ming. In addition, its brands, including Country Style and Mr. Sub express concepts, are franchised and co-located with convenience and gas bars across the country.