El Pollo LoCo Shares Dip Following Q1 Results

Shares of

tumbled over 12 percent in after-hours trading, despite the company reporting stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter. The Costa Mesa, California-based company posted a quarterly profit of $6.79 million, or $0.17 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $5.47 million, or $0.18 per share. On a pro forma basis, the company's earnings climbed to $0.18 per share from $0.13 per share. Its revenue surged 11.1 percent to $90.4 million from $81.4 million. However, analysts were estimating a profit of $0.17 per share on revenue of $88.49 million. The average estimate among 13 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.19 per share and revenue of $89.68 million. Company-operated restaurant revenue surged 11.2 percent year-over-year to $84.7 million in the first quarter, while franchise revenue jumped 9.2 percent to $5.7 million. Its system-wide comparable restaurant sales rose 5.1 percent during the quarter. Comparable restaurant sales rose 3.5 percent for company-operated restaurants, while franchised comparable restaurant sales climbed 6.2 percent. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 11.6 percent year-over-year to $16.6 million in the latest quarter. Steve Sather, President and Chief Executive Officer of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., stated, "We are very pleased with our first quarter results, which once again demonstrate strong operating momentum through solid sales and earnings growth. Our Crazy You Can Taste authentic Mexican inspired cuisine continues to resonate with guests, as evidenced by our system-wide comparable restaurant sales growth of 5.1%, which extended our track record to 15 consecutive quarters of positive comparable restaurant sales growth." El Pollo LoCo projects 2015 pro forma net income of $0.67 to $0.71 per share, versus pro forma diluted net income of $0.55 per share in 2014. El Pollo LoCo shares slipped 12.87 percent to $25.32 in the after-hours trading session.