El Pollo Loco gains on upbeat sales projection

El Pollo Loco Holdings

10/01/2022 18:20

** Shares in restaurant chain  LOCO.O  rise 2.1% at $14.10
and are on course to snap a three-session losing run
    ** El Pollo Loco Holdings expects revenue of $108 million to
$109 million for the fourth quarter, above Wall Street
expectations, on strong demand for Mexican-style fire-grilled
chicken
    ** LOCO still estimates reduced operating hours and sales
channels due to continued staffing challenges hurt same-store
sales at restaurants it operates by 5-6 percentage points during
the quarter
    ** "We are keenly focused on staffing and retention in our
company-owned restaurants" - Interim CEO Larry Roberts
    ** LOCO management will host a virtual chat at the ICR
conference at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday
    ** Most U.S. restaurants chains are down amid broader
declines in equities  .N 
    ** LOCO shares shed roughly a fifth of their value last year

 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com;))