El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) has reported 92.21 percent plunge in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 28, 2016. The company has earned $0.42 million, or $0.01 a share in the quarter, compared with $5.37 million, or $0.14 a share for the same period last year.

Revenue during the quarter grew 7.15 percent to $92.48 million from $86.31 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 127 basis points over the previous year period to 44.35 percent. Total expenses were 97.92 percent of quarterly revenues, up from 88.71 percent for the same period last year. That has resulted in a contraction of 921 basis points in operating margin to 2.08 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $1.93 million, compared with $9.75 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter stood at $14.30 million compared with $15.24 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 219 basis points in the quarter to 15.46 percent from 17.65 percent in the last year period.

Steve Sather, president and chief executive officer of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., stated, "We remain focused on differentiating El Pollo Loco from other QSR and Fast Causal concepts. Initiatives such as our authentic advertising campaign, highlighting our differentiated offering, our recently launched mobile and online ordering app, our upcoming delivery test, and our future launch of a loyalty program are all aimed at increasing our value equation, thereby strengthening the brand and driving financial results."

For financial year 2017, the company projects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.65 to $0.69.