California Pizza Kitchen lowers its profit outlook

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. made less money than anticipated during the fourth quarter of last year, the Los Angeles-based restaurant chain said Thursday.

CPK lowered the projection it provides to Wall Street analysts, saying it expects to report net income of 15 to 17 cents a share for the quarter, rather than the 16 to 18 cents previously announced. Analysts, on average, had expected 18 cents.

Still, revenues were up modestly for the quarter. Customers spent about 4% more at CPK restaurants during the last three months of 2009 than during the same period a year earlier, which included the steepest part of the stock-market crash.

“Sales improvements were widespread across our dine-in, take-out and delivery channels, and we credit the turnaround to the successful launch of our wine, call center and catering programs along with November’s new menu rollout,” the company said in a statement released Wednesday.

For the fourth quarter that ended Jan. 3, revenue will be about $168 million, it said. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected about $167 million. A year earlier, CPK’s fourth-quarter revenue was $161.7 million.

The company did not provide a reason for the drop in its profit outlook and declined to comment further before it releases its official earnings report Feb. 18.

During the fourth quarter, CPK opened its first franchised location in Cancun, its seventh in Mexico.

The company also said it was expanding its franchising agreement with Dubai-based Gourmet Gulf Co., which plans to open 19 restaurants over the next decade.

CPK has 46 licensed or franchised locations, 28 of them overseas, and 205 company-owned restaurants.

Shares rose 43 cents, or 3.1%, to $14.33 on Thursday.

nathan.olivarezgiles@ latimes.com