HEATHROW Fla. Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc., the parent to Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Mitchell’s-branded steakhouse and seafood restaurants, said Friday it had filed documents with regulators that would allow it to raise up to $200 million in capital.
The documents, filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the company does not have any current commitments or intentions to sell securities, but that the registration statement provides Ruth’s with flexibility to quickly access the capital markets with equity, debt or other types of securities.
Ruth’s said in the filing that it planned to use proceeds to repay debt or for general corporate or working capital purposes. There are currently 128 Ruth’s Chris restaurants, including 64 corporate locations and 64 franchised restaurants. In February 2008 Ruth’s purchased 22 restaurants from Cameron Mitchell Restaurants LLC for about $93 million.
The company’s latest quarter ended March 29 included a 17-percent year-to-year drop in net income to $3.7 million, and 1.0-percent drop in revenue to $97.5 million. Same-store sales at corporate Ruth’s Chris Steak Houses fell 18.5 percent.
As of March 29, Ruth’s long-term debt totaled $160.3 million.
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected]