SAN ANTONIO The Steak n Shake Co., which is led by investor Sardar Biglari, returned to profit in its first quarter and said it planned to change its name to Biglari Holdings Inc.
The company earned $5.5 million, or $3.82 per share in the quarter ended Dec. 23, compared with a year-ago loss of $3.4 million, or $2.43 per share. Revenue rose 13 percent to $147.6 million.
The parent of the 485-unit Steak n Shake chain said its planned name change to Biglari Holdings would reflect its new direction as a diversified holding company and would “eliminate confusion among the activities of the holding company and those of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Steak n Shake Operations Inc.”
The company said last year it planned to acquire Western Sizzlin, which like Steak n Shake was taken over by Biglari, who is based in San Antonio. It also is trying to take over insurance firm Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp.
Steak n Shake’s corporate name change will be voted on by shareholders at the company’s annual meeting April 8.
The company has reserved the trading symbol BH on the New York Stock Exchange and will be traded under that symbol once the name change is approved. It has also moved its headquarters to San Antonio from Indianapolis.
In December, Steak n Shake became the restaurant industry’s most expensive stock after executing a 1-for-20 reverse stock split. In trading on Monday, the company’s stock fell 0.8 percent to close at $318.62.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].