Oklahoma business briefs for June 22

WATONGA — The board of Watonga Municipal Hospital has agreed to lease the hospital to Mercy, which has managed the facility since July 2011. Mercy will operate the hospital as Mercy Hospital Watonga starting July 1, but the city of Watonga will retain ownership.

TLC Garden center to hold sale

TLC Garden Center is holding its annual moonlight madness sale this weekend. Discounts on trees, shrubs, plants and accessories will be begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and continue through 6 p.m. Sunday. TLC Garden Center is at 105 W Memorial Road and 8208 Northwest Expressway.

EARNINGS

SONIC CORP.

Stronger same-store sales and operating margins boosted third-quarter profits for Sonic Corp., the Oklahoma City-based drive-in restaurant company. For the quarter ending May 31, Sonic's net income totaled $14.4 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $4.7 million, or 8 cents per diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter. Last year's quarter included costs associated with a debt refinancing. Sonic also reported that this month it completed its $30 million share repurchase program, which involved buying about 4 million shares. Sonic CEO and Chairman Clifford Hudson said the strong third-quarter sales were driven by the company's promotional strategy. “We were very pleased that positive same-store sales in the third quarter fueled other layers in our multilayered growth strategy including operating leverage and increased franchising revenue,” Hudson said in a statement.