El Pollo Loco Slides As Revenue Falls Short

Shares of El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. slid in Thursday's extended session after the Mexican-themed fast food chain posted weak quarterly revenue. El Pollo Loco reported its fourth-quarter earnings rose to $5.4 million, or 14 cents a share, from $4.6 million, or 12 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company, whose name means "the crazy chicken" in Spanish, earned 15 cents a share. Revenue slipped to $86.3 million from $90 million and system-wide same-store sales rose 1.8%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 13 cents a share on revenue of $88.1 million. The company projected same-store sales to grow in the low single digits in 2016 and announced plans to open up to 22 new company-owned restaurants. El Pollo Loco shares fell 5.7% in after-hours trading.