4th-Quarter Results Mixed for 3 Chains

Three Irvine-based restaurant chains owned by South Carolina-based Advantica Restaurant Group Inc. reported mixed fourth-quarter results. El Pollo Loco, which owns 98 Mexican-charbroiled chicken eateries and franchises another 149, said fourth-quarter operating profits before extraordinary gains rose 20%, to $3.6 million, as sales rose 1%, to $31.6 million. Sales at stores open at least a year--a key measure of growth--rose 1%. For the year, El Pollo Loco’s operating profits before extraordinary gains rose 4.5%, to $13.7 million, as sales rose 1%, to $130 million. Coco’s, which owns 178 of the bakery-oriented coffee shops and licenses another 315, said fourth-quarter operating profits before extraordinary gains rose 42% to $3.7 million on an 11% gain in sales, to $70.2 million. Annual figures aren’t comparable because Advantica didn’t own Coco’s for all of 1996. Carrows, which owns 140 dinner houses and franchises 14 others, said fourth-quarter operating profits before extraordinary gains were flat at $1.5 million, as sales fell 6%, to $51.1 million.