Mexican Restaurants Inc., the Houston-based parent to the Casa Ole, Mission Burrito and other brands, said it plans to delist from the Nasdaq exchange to ease costs and reporting obligations.
The company, which has 72 corporate and franchised units, said Friday it was eligible for delisting because it has fewer than 300 shareholders.
“We’re taking this important step with our shareholders’ interests in mind," Curt Glowacki, chief executive of Mexican Restaurants, said in a statement.
“The burden of reporting under the Exchange Act, and in recent years the added burden of numerous Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, has become too expensive for many small companies such as Mexican Restaurants,” he added.
The company said it plans to maintain a market by listing its shares on a service that does not require it to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as the Pink Sheets.
Mexican Restaurants had said in June that it was looking at options to reduce costs, including possibly taking the company private.
In August, Mexican Restaurants reported it had narrowed its second-quarter loss to $102,524, or 3 cents a share, from a loss of $207,937, or 6 cents per share. Revenue for the July 4-ended quarter slipped 6 percent to $16.9 million, from $18.1 million a year ago. Same-stores sales declined 7.1 percent at corporate restaurants and fell 6.6 percent at franchised locations.
Mexican Restaurants operates and franchises 72 Mexican restaurants under the brands Casa Ole, Crazy Jose’s, Mission Burrito, Monterey’s Little Mexico and Tortuga Mexican Kitchen. The company operates 55 units, franchises 16 locations and licenses one restaurant.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].