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E1 Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco Holdings , Inc. Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results May 6 , 2021 COSTA MESA , Calif . , May 06 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- El Pollo Loco Holdings , Inc. ( Nasdaq : LOCO ) today announced financial results for the 13 - week period ended March 31 , 2021 . Highlights for the first quarter ended March 31 , 2021 compared to the first quarter ended March 25 , 2020 were as follows : • • • • Total revenue was $ 107.7 million compared to $ 105.2 million . System - wide comparable restaurant sales ( 1 ) increased 7.4 % , including a 3.3 % increase for company - operated restaurants , and a 10.5 % increase for franchised restaurants . System - wide comparable restaurant sales increased 5.9 % compared to the same period in 2019 . Income from operations was $ 6.0 million compared to $ 5.7 million in the prior year period . Restaurant contribution ( 1 ) was $ 15.2 million , or 16.1 % of company - operated restaurant revenue , compared to $ 16.3 million , or 17.6 % of company - operated restaurant revenue . Included in income from operations and restaurant contribution margin were approximately $ 2.8 million in COVID - 19 related expenses . Net income was $ 4.0 million , or $ 0.11 per diluted share , compared to net income of $ 3.6 million , or $ 0.10 per diluted share . Pro forma net income ( 1 ) was $ 4.7 million , or $ 0.13 per diluted share , compared to $ 5.5 million , or $ 0.16 per diluted share . Adjusted EBITDA ( 1 ) was $ 11.9 million , compared to $ 13.4 million . ( 1 ) System - wide comparable restaurant sales , restaurant contribution , pro forma net income and adjusted EBITDA are not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ( " GAAP " ) and are defined below under " Key Financial Definitions . " A reconciliation of these non - GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is included in the accompanying financial data . See also " Non - GAAP Financial Measures . " Bernard Acoca , President and Chief Executive Officer of El Pollo Loco Holdings , Inc. , stated , " We are pleased with our solid start to 2021 , as we saw a significant improvement in sales trends during the first quarter , resulting in system - wide comparable restaurant sales growth of 7.4 % compared to last year and an increase of 5.9 % compared to 2019. Our momentum has continued into the second quarter with April system - wide comparable restaurant sales growth of 39.1 % and two - year growth of 13.5 % . Also highlighting our recovery , we recently achieved three consecutive records for average weekly sales and posted our highest single day of sales ever on National Burrito Day . While margins in January and February were challenged due to COVID - 19 related expenses , March margins were strong at over 20.0 % . These performance indicators along with declining COVID - 19 cases , increasing vaccine availability , and loosening of dining room restrictions in California , give us confidence that the operating environment is normalizing and that we can now focus our efforts on our Acceleration Agenda , which provides a detailed roadmap for successful growth over the next three years . First Quarter 2021 Financial Results During the first quarter , the Company paid down $ 9.0 million of debt , and as of March 31 , 2021 had $ 53.8 million of debt outstanding and $ 6.7 million in cash and equivalents . Company - operated restaurant revenue in the first quarter of 2021 increased to $ 94.2 million , compared to $ 92.6 million in the first quarter of 2020 , primarily due to an increase in company - operated restaurant revenue of $ 2.2 million , due to a 3.3 % increase in company - operated comparable restaurant sales and an increase of $ 0.5 million of non - comparable restaurant sales . The company - operated comparable restaurant sales increase consisted of an approximately 15.7 % increase in average check size , partially offset by a decline in transactions of 10.7 % . This company - operated restaurant sales increase was partially offset by a $ 1.0 million decrease due to temporary restaurant closures due to the COVID - 19 pandemic . Franchise revenue in the first quarter of 2021 increased 7.8 % to $ 7.6 million , compared to $ 7.1 million in the first quarter of 2020. This increase was primarily due to a 10.5 % increase in franchise comparable restaurant sales and the opening of three new franchise restaurants during or subsequent to the first quarter of 2020. The increase in franchise revenue was partially offset by the closure of seven franchise locations during the same period . Income from operations in the first quarter of 2021 was $ 6.0 million , compared to $ 5.7 million in the first quarter of 2020. Restaurant contribution was $ 15.2 million , or 16.1 % of company - operated restaurant revenue , compared to $ 16.3 million , or 17.6 % of company - operated restaurant revenue in the first quarter of 2020. The decrease in restaurant contribution was largely due to the impact of wage increases , labor costs associated with the COVID - 19 pandemic , increased delivery fees and higher operating costs . The decrease was partially offset by the impact of higher menu prices and labor efficiencies . Restaurant contribution is a non - GAAP measure defined below under " Key Financial Definitions . " A reconciliation of GAAP income from operations to restaurant contribution is included in the accompanying financial data . See also " Non - GAAP Financial Measures . "